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View Full Version : [3.5] Help me in making a cool high level campaign



Hawk7915
2010-05-06, 01:19 PM
So, I'm going to dive back into DMing again. My players want a high-level adventure, so I'm starting them at level 10 (our group has never gotten past level 9 before a campaign ended/imploded) with a smidgen under WBL. I have a rough idea for a story set in a sort of sandbox world. The basic idea is that an army is marching on the "Last Hope of Humanity" kind of kingdom, and the PCs are amongst the world's greatest heroes or most despised villains that have been asked to win the war single-handedly.

Long details in spoiler
As I don't want it to just be a total mook-fest, the "army" is made up of lots of exotic monsters (giants, hydras, wyverns, a few dragons). The reason an army of monstrous humanoids, giants, and barely-sentient beasts are marching and destroying the world is because the "Elder Gods" have commanded them to do so. The party probably won't get around to these "Gods" yet (Pseudonatural Titans :smallcool:), but some of the stuff they fight in the end are going to be Pseudonatural. The "army" is led by a variety of bad monstrous humanoids with class levels; I'm not married to anything yet but I have a Storm Giant Cleric and an Orc Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/mYkD5jL8N9SAcClN3pZ.html)/Marshal (epic leveled) as two "bosses". They also need an awesome mage-slaying assassin (assassin/rogue levels optional but preferred).

I've been building a sandbox style world. The PCs can go try to recruit less savory allies (a Lich lord and his undead army, the Drow, the Druidic Circle that has been corrupted unbeknownst to the heroes, a Red Dragon, and a fleet of pirates), or they can do some recon into the army and try to assassinate their leaders, or they can do hit-and-run tactics to slow the army down, or they can be boring and just shore up defenses and make magic items. They have two weeks to tackle the problem somehow. The victory point system will be used to see if they can actually win or not.

So far, the party is only 3 players. We have:
- An Elf Duskblade, using Obtain Familiar + Improved Familiar to have a Winter Wolf.
- A <something> Druid/Master of Many Forms. Still a few levels from breaking the game with "assume supernatural ability"...
- Unknown, but probably a Conjurer who specializes in summoning. He can't go Malconvoker as we don't have the book, but hopefully he'll take/cast something besides Summon Monster >.>. I'm almost counting on the party having access to teleport; this scenario is near-impossible without it.

So, I guess my questions are:
1) Does this sound cool, or will it be a boring high level adventure? Any ideas on how to flesh it out?
2) I have only the SRD/Monster Manual I for monsters, and only core, Complete Warrior, Complete Arcane, Complete Adventurer, ToB, and Crystal Keep for other stuff (templates, classes, feats). With that in mind, any particularly cool encounters I can cook up?
3) This is our whole play groups first time with high level play. Any general advice?

Thanks in advance as always, oh mighty Playground, for your advice. :smallbiggrin:

nyarlathotep
2010-05-06, 01:35 PM
It really depends on how the whole situation is built up. If they're just in open fields fighting hordes of enemies of course it will be boring, but if you keep the locales and situations varied enough it should be fun.