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TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 03:38 AM
Took yalls advice. You told me to run a game now gotta work on the story.


Thinking its gonna be a 5th starting campaign. All books allowed, and some dm juju which I will discuss later and need assistance on.


The story is the basic trickery. There is a council of Casters (Druid/Cleric/Wizard/Sorcerer/....) They have decided that the world should be under thier control. The party doesnt know this and is under the influence as is the rest of the world that the council is the best thing for them. The party will begin by being recruited for a mission. The mission is to stop a plague that is sweeping the land. It is draining the magic from the land and causing the land to fight back. They are sent to stop the person in charge of this plague. Its a Wizard/Alchemist. Once they get to said location they find either by killing him or by talking (hopefully the later) that he is there to cure the land. After listening to his rant they hear the tales of what the council is planning. To spread this word in any city means near certain death. They must travel back, find proof..defeat the council...and of course rescue the damsel...the damsel being a 200 lb barbarian..but still. From there I continue on. What do yall think? of course ill splash in alot in the middle to give it fun.


Anyone have any suggestions via rules/story line?

Eloi
2010-06-12, 03:42 AM
Why would a Wizard drain magic from the land, and why would they be against a magic council they can probably join?

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 03:50 AM
The magic is being drained from the land to further thier spell power. It feeds them energy which will bring them into a new form. (in this game anyhows)...and the wizard alchemist is there as a plot twist with the reason that he wants to stop this..and purify the land as it once was and restore magic to what it once was.

Eloi
2010-06-12, 03:53 AM
The magic is being drained from the land to further thier spell power. It feeds them energy which will bring them into a new form. (in this game anyhows)...and the wizard alchemist is there as a plot twist with the reason that he wants to stop this..and purify the land as it once was and restore magic to what it once was.

Ah, o-kay then. Sounds needlessly complicated, but I'm sure you can pull it off. :smallwink:

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 03:54 AM
I figured with all that stuff will let me put in side stuff and move things around and such so I can work with it rather than struggle.


just go with go kill this guy..bring back this?

Pink
2010-06-12, 04:41 AM
...*resists suggestion to make the renegade wizard/alchemist a big black man with a prosthetic hand whose catch phrase is something along the lines of "They're draining the life-blood of the planet!"*

As a note, if you want this dude to impart important knowledge of plot in a way that doesn't look too forced, probably best to not have the party in a mood to kill first ask later. Maybe has council orders to bring back anyone responsible or suspicious alive, for questioning by the wizards. or something like that. Gives barret...I mean...wizard/alchemist a chance to tell the party the truth.

Naia
2010-06-12, 06:55 AM
Why a wizard/alchemist instead of a druid? Makes more sense IMO to have a druid discover what's wrong and trying to heal the land. And the threat, the PCs are going to investigate/eradicate would be a renegade druid, twisting the laws of nature and so forth.

But I like the general plot outline. :smallsmile:

Gnaritas
2010-06-12, 07:06 AM
The story is the basic trickery. There is a council of Casters (Druid/Cleric/Wizard/Sorcerer/....) They have decided that the world should be under thier control. The party doesnt know this and is under the influence as is the rest of the world that the council is the best thing for them. The party will begin by being recruited for a mission. The mission is to stop a plague that is sweeping the land. It is draining the magic from the land and causing the land to fight back. They are sent to stop the person in charge of this plague. Its a Wizard/Alchemist. Once they get to said location they find either by killing him or by talking (hopefully the later) that he is there to cure the land. After listening to his rant they hear the tales of what the council is planning. To spread this word in any city means near certain death. They must travel back, find proof..defeat the council...and of course rescue the damsel...the damsel being a 200 lb barbarian..but still. From there I continue on. What do yall think? of course ill splash in alot in the middle to give it fun.


Anyone have any suggestions via rules/story line?

1. I agree with a druid
2. The first thing you need to think about is how you will let the druid talk to the party instead of the party killing him the first chance they get.
3. Questions:
So the Council is draining the land of power and sends a party to capture the Druid who is trying to prevent this. Why would they use the party when they know well enough what is going on?
And why would the party believe the druid?
Why would asking for help in a city result in certain death and how does the party know this?
If the council is so powerfull (certain dead?), they would certainly know the party let the druid live, not?
If the council is so powerfull, why would getting proof help them defeat the council?
Can they even defeat the council?
Do they take the council down one member at a time?
Who the hell is that damsel?

Do not read this as critism, but questions your players might ask or things you might run into you have to think about and have answers to.

Naia
2010-06-12, 07:33 AM
The party probably shouldn't be hired by the Council for this mission, but maybe some local ruler.

And yeah - you have to plan out really well, what the druid is going to say. AND have a plan B for when the PCs kills him anyway... :smallbiggrin:

Maybe the Council hasn't gained complete power and control yet - just enough to be deadly, but not so much, that they can't be brought to answer for their actions by some higher power, if definite proof is brought to light. The PCs can be hunted by the Councils agents, while they are searching for this proof?

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 12:42 PM
1. Switched it to druid.

2. The damsel is: no one really...i got carried away..doesnt exist..but imagine a barbarian damsel...male...will throw everyone off..yet again not real.

3. the council is beatable..they must cure the land...off quests to gain the items they need to slow the process and revive the land.

4. yes the wizards will know..will make for some battle encounters.

5. They are not that strong..just the speakers.

6. The certain death is the whole (speak bad about the rulers, be put in prison thing)

Frosty
2010-06-12, 12:55 PM
Where's Harry Dresden when you need him?

Anxe
2010-06-12, 12:56 PM
That really makes no sense to me... Why have the magic council if the only visible villain is the guy draining the land? It's like the magic council is a red herring.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 01:00 PM
Druid = Good Guy Saving

Council = bad guys draining

Coucil = blaming druid..council is respected..druid is loner...meaning people believe the council and the druid is doing it.

Anxe
2010-06-12, 01:06 PM
How is that guy trying to stop the plague? Why would they even know it was him stopping the plague? Why would they confuse his attempts to stop the plague as attempts to further it?

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 02:02 PM
Thank you guys for the help.

Discussion ended.

Greenish
2010-06-12, 02:06 PM
Discussion ended.The discussion never ends!

A simple "defeat supervillain" black-and-white adventure is probably good for a beginner DM, but it wouldn't be my first wish.

Maho-Tsukai
2010-06-12, 02:13 PM
Perhaps. Also, if you REALLY want to play up the final fantasy VII similarities and expand the game past the council you can make some mentions of a legendary mage who once worked under the council but then went insane. Later on bring him in as the main BBEG who wants to become the god of the planet. Bonus points if he has long, silver hair and a kick*** theme song with Latin chanting over an evil sounding orchestral track.(or evil sounding metal track if you prefer remixes.)

In all seriousness though, the poster said he had all the info he needs, so while extra advice can be helpful, it's polite to respect his wishes. Now I may not be in any place to talk, but my "advice" was a (lame) joke, so it technically doesn't count.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 02:43 PM
The issue was it started off as good constructive things then went downhill. Asking for advice being a new dm and all and trying to get some. The story needed help, the constant issue of demeaning it and causing to become nothing but a joke was rather irritating. The fact is yes...i still need help and need help with rules and the general idea. I prefer not to do a go kill this guy without a twist. Some of what yall said was helpful..while other bits were just unneeded.

If you have something helpful to say, please do so. If you are trying to collect posts or simply be annoying take it elsewhere.


Thank you to all those who have helped me so far, druid was a good idea and im working with it.

Gnaritas
2010-06-12, 03:45 PM
It seems to me you cannot handle critism well.

Like i said in my posts, the questions i asked were not intended to offend you, they are questions i might ask a player (maybe after the story has finished). If you have logical answers for them, excellent. If you do not, no problem, figure out how to get them.

Personally i would dislike illogical reasoning from an evil person that is supposed to be a smart person.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 03:50 PM
Actually, you were one of the ones to help me. I took those questions and helpful...the ones i was referring to were the ones that were more badgering than helpful..if that made any sense at all. Its reasonable questions or tips that help me...such as you did.

Gnaritas
2010-06-12, 03:56 PM
They are just joking, do not take it seriously.

Also, for those suggesting it's stolen from Final Fantasy (no idea, do not play it). There is not one story you can think of that does not have similarities with a book/game/movie.

The game i am currently running has some major similarities with the Star Wars story, though i doubt the players currently realise that.

Maho-Tsukai
2010-06-12, 03:58 PM
I'm sorry for the random joke. It was really uncalled for. However, I did misunderstand what you where saying. I thought you had everything you needed and I actually thought that I was trying to prevent issues when I said that it's polite not to go against what you said earlier. I am truely sorry for the misunderstanding and the joke.

As for the campaign itself, it's actually very interesting and if you want to make it more interesting then what you have to do is give the council a reason for being evil. The best villains usually have some justification, no matter how twisted, for what they do. While the whole "power-hungry" angel is rather cliche', if you give the council a reason to want power then they become more fleshed out and developed villains. Examples of possible motivations include the following...

-They feel they can somehow create a better world through controlling it.
-They are magocrats...aka they believe that magic-users should rule society and have prejudice against the non-magical folk.
- They want power only so they can use it to better their own lives
- They desire power so they can gain control of the world's magical secrets.

Of course their are other ones too, but those just came off the top of my head.

Eloi
2010-06-12, 03:59 PM
Sorry for possible offensive material I may have said in relation to your creative work.

Touchy
2010-06-12, 04:01 PM
Reminds me of dark sun a bit, seeing as the land is being drained to increase their magical powers and a new form happening because of it and whatnot.

If the PCs happen to fail, you can look to that for advice on how to build the build the world.

Or if it goes on fast/long enough, you can have the players see the changes in the land happen.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 04:04 PM
Im liking the idea of having them use it to better the world.


Also, im seeing a mishap with power ranges when it comes to players...are there things i should limit.

Gnaritas
2010-06-12, 04:24 PM
Depends, if someone is going for a DMM-cleric or Incantatrix while others take a Fighter and a Monk then you should make sure the Cleric and Wizard are not restricted in their builds.

If there are simply a Wizard, Cleric, Monk and Fighter you might want to be more lenient towards the later two, like dropping good items they could use (and are less likely to fall into the hands of the Wizard and Cleric) or help them optimize the Monk/Fighter.


As for the campaign itself, it's actually very interesting and if you want to make it more interesting then what you have to do is give the council a reason for being evil. The best villains usually have some justification, no matter how twisted, for what they do. While the whole "power-hungry" angel is rather cliche', if you give the council a reason to want power then they become more fleshed out and developed villains. Examples of possible motivations include the following...

-They feel they can somehow create a better world through controlling it.
-They are magocrats...aka they believe that magic-users should rule society and have prejudice against the non-magical folk.
- They want power only so they can use it to better their own lives
- They desire power so they can gain control of the world's magical secrets.

Of course their are other ones too, but those just came off the top of my head.

How about the council members are actually drows or something and they are simply trying to weaken the country so the Drows from the Underdark can rise to the surface and take control.

This could greatly expand your campaign if you so wish, i do not know if it is something you would like or would like to avoid.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 04:38 PM
I am a fan of Forgotten realms. I do like the drow aspect to it. Ill see if i can work with that..and the druid can know the truth or something along those lines...and be able to work to save it..but "mind influencing" has caused most of the surface to be oblivious to the fact.


On the note of power..im probably looking at a wizard, druid, barbarian, and dread necromancer.

Maho-Tsukai
2010-06-12, 04:41 PM
It depends on the power gap between the players, if it's like tier 1 classes vs tier 5 classes then you should most definitely do something to limit the power of the tier 1s. I would say one of the better things to do is be generous with magic items geared towards the weaker characters and perhaps help their players with optimization if they are rather poor with it. Also, certain PrCs should be banned. Incantrix and Tainted Scholar come to mind as a few ones to watch out for.

One of the best things to do though is craft adventures in a way that makes sure all the characters can shine. If the casters overpower the melee guys, make adventures where the melee guys' skills are necessary to succeed. Tailor loot to favor the weaker classed players. Abuse anti-magic fields and include other things which weaken the effectiveness of casters without making them useless.

A good example of the second is from NWN, where one of the campaigns had a location in which magic became random and uncontrollable and when a caster cast a spell there was a chance that the spell would either not work or be an entirely different spell then the one they intended to cast. This makes spellcasters much weaker for that quest/adventure, but not dead weight either since their is a chance they may cast the spell they intended or something they did not intend to cast but at least is effective in the situation. You could do something similar to that for one of your adventures.

Greenish
2010-06-12, 04:46 PM
On the note of power..im probably looking at a wizard, druid, barbarian, and dread necromancer.Get the barbarian to grab Spirit Lion Totem AFC and Whirling Frenzy and he should be able to keep up if the rest of them aren't interested in optimization.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 04:47 PM
I could work in the antimagic stuff..and the caster things since the magic is being drained from the world.

Maho-Tsukai
2010-06-12, 04:57 PM
Yeah, but thats not really necessary in your current party. I was ninja'ed with your post telling the party lineup, and from where I stand anyway, there's only one who's horridly behind the others on power level, which is the barbarian. Adding anti-magic and caster gimps is not a good idea when three of your 4 party members are casters Also, seriously, don't underestimate Dread Necromancers. When they hit level 8 they can have an awesome undead army and are generally THE skeleton horde platform of D&D, and said skeleton horde can be quite deadly and effective.

The best thing to do would be to just drop the Barbarian some good items which allow him to keep up with everybody else.

TripperdeCleric
2010-06-12, 11:37 PM
That was my belief in the party. Not sure how it will go. Im pretty sure we will have a wizard/druid...and most likely a barbarian. But thank you guys in ways to handle the difference.