First time DMing, thoughts?

[Scubasteve0209]

Here's my game pitch:

"The Coming Dawn:

Legend tells of a world burned to cinders. An age ended by the relentless scourge of arcane fire wrought by two warring factions of sorcerers.

The five surviving nations were forced to band together to save their dying world. Unable to attack the magic-users directly, the countries sought to strip away the source of the tribe’s power: the very magic that the sorcerers wielded with such destructive force.

Each nation sent forth their greatest champion to capture the four magical essences, and seal away the eldritch power at its root atop Cairn Rock. While successful, only two of the five heroes returned.

To commemorate the heroes trek, every 50 years the five nations send emissaries to reenact the valiant quest into the mountains

700 years after the heroes’ sacrifice, our journey begins.

Races: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Goliath, Shifter, Half-Orc
Power sources: Martial (up to 3), Primal (up to 2), Divine (1 or fewer), Psionic (1 or fewer)"

What do you think? Any advice?

~Scuba

[WeeFreeMen]

I am not sure what you mean by Power Sources 1,2,3, etc

but that aside, It actually sounds fairly interesting
Id play it for sure.

Who wouldn't want to be the sole emissary of a whole nation?! :smallwink:

[BooNL]

First off: what do you mean by power sources? I that's a 4e thing or did you mean like catagories. 1 divine caster, up to three martial characters, etc?

Your opening sounds intriguing, not like the usual "save the world!" kind of games. Instead you're doing "let's pretend we're saving the world again!". Awesome.

Now, how are you going to play this out. Will everything be re-enacted, or are you planning to get the pc's in actual trouble? I'm thinking it would be fun to have them think they're re-enacting the great quest, only they've accidentally stumbled into a very real and lifethreatening situation.
It'd be interesting to see how long it will take them to figure out that the "other guys" are *really* trying to kill them.

[Kol Korran]

BooNL- i think that the PC's adverseries are realy trying to kill them, i think this is life threatening, though is done "only" for honor.
also, the reference to power sources is meant to be a 4E thing i believe, how many players from each power source... do note that there is no arcane source...

ScubaSteve0209- interesting pitch, though i as a player would like to know more, quite a bit more. are you asking us if this would draw players, or if this in general is a good idea?

if this is the first, then i would say yes, it would draw players, but i would add details such as hints to the future campaign, maybe a bit about the nations and what makes them unique, what levels will the campaign span, allowed materials, and any special rules. (i would highly advise to emphasize there are no arcane characters, some players like to play only those).

if this is the second, then we need to hear more about the idea- more about the background, and more about how you're going to evolve the said campaign. starting this of as a reanactment is fine, but i'd like to get to do something more substantial if i can in the course of the game.

hope this helped,
Kol.

[Temet Nosce]

I'd play (well, I would if it wasn't 4E), however I have to admit the main thing your "pitch" inspired in me was the desire to play an arcane caster, secretly bent on releasing magic onto the world once more.

Still, it's a decent little blurb.

[The Neoclassic]

I'd play (well, I would if it wasn't 4E), however I have to admit the main thing your "pitch" inspired in me was the desire to play an arcane caster, secretly bent on releasing magic onto the world once more.

Agreed and agreed.

However, is arcane magic possible at all? Or would it be again if one or more of the essences were released? What exactly are the essences? Do they correspond to elements or schools of magic, or something else entirely?

[Kiero]

Why is it the moment an interesting, and *gasp* campaign-relevant restriction is suggested, people are immediately wanting to break it?

Scubasteve0209, looks like you've given your game some thought to appropriateness of power sources. I also like that while you've got a premise ("retrace this journey"), you're not pre-supposing what the plot of the thing is going to be. That's one new GM trap you've successfully avoided, trying to "tell a story" rather than letting that out through play.

[Scubasteve0209]

I am not sure what you mean by Power Sources 1,2,3, etc

but that aside, It actually sounds fairly interesting
Id play it for sure.

Who wouldn't want to be the sole emissary of a whole nation?! :smallwink:

Sorry, I forgot to explain that. It is a 4e game, so classes are divided by their respective power sources (Martial, Divine, Arcane, Primal, & Psionic). The general premise is that since magic was sealed away the characters do not have access to the Arcane classes (Wizard, Bard, Sorcerer, Swordmage, Artificer) or what I consider to be "high-magic" races, such as Dragonborn, Eladrin, Tiefling, Deva, or Gnomes.

The campaign is meant for four players, so the "up to 3," "up to 2," bit means that there should be no more than 3 players that chose Martial as their power source. Essentially all that is is that I don't necessarily want there to heavy churchy, or naturalistic slant.

Thanks for the thoughts guys, I have to admit, I'm not creative enough to have considered the idea for the PC's to roleplay their characters roleplaying as the original champions, or for them not to realize a dangerous situation they're faced with.

[Quietus]

Seems like an intriguing premise. You have a general direction that the players will need to go in, so you have something for them to do right off the bat. Restricting things for flavor isn't unreasonable at all, either, though some will cry railroading.

As long as you let the PC's actions and decisions matter within the game world, instead of just telling them what the next step should be and leading them by hand through the whole process, you should be fine.

[Scubasteve0209]

...i would add details such as hints to the future campaign, maybe a bit about the nations and what makes them unique, what levels will the campaign span, allowed materials, and any special rules. (i would highly advise to emphasize there are no arcane characters, some players like to play only those).

if this is the second, then we need to hear more about the idea- more about the background, and more about how you're going to evolve the said campaign. starting this of as a reanactment is fine, but i'd like to get to do something more substantial if i can in the course of the game.

hope this helped,
Kol.

This does help thanks, and I have created a semblance of a metplot, and fleshed out the world, and modern day nations a bit. My intended players like to have a little space to adapt their own background, so I'm leaving the explanations of the world to paragraph-long blurbs. Thankfully, they should also be fine with the inability to play arcane classes.

Honestly, I intend the re-enactment to be the premise for the different characters to come together, stay together, and to be the lead in to the overarching campaign. Without giving too much away: the plan goes sideways, and the characters have to put it right.


is arcane magic possible at all? Or would it be again if one or more of the essences were released? What exactly are the essences? Do they correspond to elements or schools of magic, or something else entirely?

My idea is that magic in the world stems from four powerful ley-lines, which all share a single source atop Cairn Rock. The essences are magical extracts gathered from the furthest reach of each ley-line from their respective guardians. By taking all the essences back to the source and enacting a particular ritual, the original heroes effectively corked the the source of magic. At the risk of being cliche, I intend for each essence to correspond to an element (If you can't be cliche your first time, when can you?)

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I have a lot more good stuff to consider now.

~Scuba

[taltamir]

are the heroes eventually gonna unseal / reseal / something those sources? or is this just general background explanation as to why you do not allow arcane magic?

Either one works fine. No rule says your world MUST be a high magic arcane medieval setting.

[Kiero]

Restricting things for flavor isn't unreasonable at all, either, though some will cry railroading.

And they'd be wrong, railroading is about plot and the players actions during the session. Not about how the GM chooses to frame and premise the game. Which is what restricting the availability of things is.

[taltamir]

frankly there are too damn many supplements to allow everything, many suck, or are contradictory... Boohoo I can't play a sorcerer... fine you are a socerer, your first BBEG is a level 10 blue wizard (BoEF), he gender changes you into a woman, seduces you (you fail the save) and you retire to be one of his many mistresses... Roll a new character, (next two are an elder horror, save vs insanity, and a psion... which ignores all magic and mind rapes you for fun)

And for the name of god DON'T ACTUALLY DO WHAT I SUGGESTED HERE! Just point out the possibility of something horrible and unbalanced.

[Scubasteve0209]

are the heroes eventually gonna unseal / reseal / something those sources? or is this just general background explanation as to why you do not allow arcane magic?

Either one works fine. No rule says your world MUST be a high magic arcane medieval setting.

Well here's the story as I'm considering it now:

The re-enactments of the original heroes' trek to Cairn Rock commemorate's the achievement, however it also serves the purpose of restoring/repairing the seal that prevents magic from entering the world. Four players represent four of the five nations. The fifth group member is a descendant of the old tribes of sorcerers who killed and took the place of the actual champion. Along with his tribesmen, he will destroy the seal to regain their power, an reek arcane vengeance against the five nations.

This act will release magic back into the world, and force the PC's to deal with a situation that (ideally) they will feel is their responsibility to correct. The most obvious path for them to take will be to retrace the original quest but I'm considering a few other options, such as warring on the sorcerers, etc. Either way their actions will actively shape the future of the world.

Ultimately, once magic is unsealed it will lead to options for magical items (4th ed is pretty much designed with this kind of gear in mind, so removing it would actually be a chore), as well as arcane multi-classing.

[taltamir]

now THAT is an adventure hook :)

[Scubasteve0209]

now THAT is an adventure hook :)

Thanks, I'm just hoping it works out.

Here's my write-up on the countries. I probably won't really present this to the players until after their they come up with character concepts.

The Nations:
Valero: The only country who’s military did not crumble beneath the arcane onslaught. The beleaguered soldiers endured the difficult times by abandoning the ruined cities, taking up camp and defending the survivors they could find while on the move. Modern Valerons frequently consider themselves guardians of the weak, and stalwart watchmen for their allies.
Symbol: The Wall
Emphasis: protection & duty
Champion: Burl Silverbeard- the stout defender of the people. Survived

Redgrave: Little more than an amalgamation of guilds in the last days of Talaris, this nation renamed itself after its champion. Today the people of Redgrave have divided amongst their respective allegiances, where each guild olds power over a single city. Perpetual survivors, the people of Redgrave are known for their practical and hardnosed approach to issues.
Symbol: The Blade
Emphasis: agility & resourcefulness
Champion: Ilsa Redgrave- the pragmatic and skilled survivor. Survived

Solis: The people of Solis endured through the magical scourge through their connection with the Wilder Wood. They escaped into the Forest and used its natural defenses to protect themselves. Instead of leaving the woods once the crisis was averted the population embraced the wilderness as its home, and their numbers grew revering the forest.
Symbol: The Tree
Emphasis: balance & restoration
Champion: Olorin – the passionate defender of nature killed atop Cairn Rock

Homage: Embraced the gods in their time of need, and while they took the most significant casualties, those that remained viewed their deliverance as divine intervention, and have since taken up the mantle of the gods with even greater dedication. Few from Homage would chide others for a lack of faith, but eagerly show their own when given the opportunity.
Symbol: The Corona
Emphasis: ancestry & history
Champion: Denefin- the bestial priest of Pelor. Killed on way to Cairn Rock

Nagase: Was one of the first nations struck at the onset of the magic war, and was the first country to initiate the union of nations to seal away the sorcerer's power. Today Cairn Rock sits at the center of Nagase’s land, and they consider it their duty to maintain the bond between nations and prevent a repeat of history at any cost.
Symbol: The Dove
Emphasis: duty & solidarity
Champion: Aeslin- the elfen sage. Sacrificed herself to save the world

Aeslin was an Eladrin Wizard, so like all other magic species, went into a state of hibernation when the other champions completed the seal. Will return after magic is released, and will potentially help guide the PC's on their quest

[Scubasteve0209]

The World:
The Land known as Nod (once Talaris) still carries many of the scars from the magical war from almost a millennia ago. The jagged peaks of the Spellscarred Mountains and numerous craterous pools of the Blasted Lakes are testament to the arcane fury that almost ended the world.

Despite this apparent damage the earth has regrown to become the lush plentiful wilderness it is today, even without the presence of the numerous magical species.

Where those magical beings went is not fully known. Some scholars believe the creatures escaped to their respective planes, while others hypothesize that they instead went into a state of hibernation until such a time that magic returns to the world. This theory is favored by most, and is reflected in the names of some of the more curious areas of the world, such as the balancing rocks found in Redgrave, known as Beholder’s Respite.

[Fiery Diamond]

That does sound interesting.

Offtopic- is "Scubasteve" a reference to something? I've seen it used before by someone who is not you as a name.

[Scubasteve0209]

Offtopic- is "Scubasteve" a reference to something? I've seen it used before by someone who is not you as a name.

Scuba Steve is usually a reference to a superhero-esque toy in the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. For me it was a nickname I picked up in the Navy.