Just thought of an interesting campaign

[randomhero00]

Might be a bit complicated. But I was thinking were time is in reverse. And you start at lvl 20, and reverse back to level 1 to make it right, and rearange time.

what do you think? Is it pull-off-able?

[Kilbourne]

It could work if the structure of the plot were something like a "race against time".


- the magic of the world is dying
- as it fades, the inherent magical nature of adventurers fades
- casters fade faster (lose levels faster)
- magical weapons become mundane
- face the BBEG in the final battle in a dark, muddy room, in the bottom of a tavern, armed only with some knives and 6hp.



I just want to point out that this idea of yours has been stolen, by myself. It is awesome.

[Lord Vampyre]

Basic concept, the characters screwed up and the BBEG has completely changed the world for the worse. To fix the problem, the characters need to travel back in time through a means of regression.

By using regression, their minds travel back in time, but their bodies stay in the present. Each time they go back, they attempt to fix a mistake they had made in the beginning. As they succeed, they realize that they need to travel even further back in time.

[Treblain]

Reminds me of Philip K. ****'s Ubik, when reality starts decaying and the technology jumps back several decades for no reason. Weird book.

What if the campaign was a flashback? It opens with the 20th level adventurers about to battle their longtime arch-nemesis, and flashes back and back and back until it ends with the adventure where they first foiled his goblin thugs at level one, and then jumps back to the epic, ultimate, insanely awesome 20th level battle.

[Ravens_cry]

That means any character, including the PC, in the 20th level super mega EPIC game now has Plot Armour.

[grimbold]

Basic concept, the characters screwed up and the BBEG has completely changed the world for the worse. To fix the problem, the characters need to travel back in time through a means of regression.

By using regression, their minds travel back in time, but their bodies stay in the present. Each time they go back, they attempt to fix a mistake they had made in the beginning. As they succeed, they realize that they need to travel even further back in time.

that seems almost inception-like to me
this is a cool campaign idea though
its an intereesting idea to have the challenges work in reverse
but would the players get any goodies?

[Jarian]

One thing you'll want to avoid is plot immunity. Make it clear that the future (past?) can be changed if their past (future?) selves die.

[begooler]

that seems almost inception-like to me
this is a cool campaign idea though
its an intereesting idea to have the challenges work in reverse
but would the players get any goodies?

If the players are going back in time to fix mistakes, maybe some of those mistakes are items they looted in the past, which they thought would make them more powerful, but that are actually cursed. Every time they beat an encounter where they would have looted the item they already have, the curse is broken, and they're freed from the item. (Also loosing whatever benefits it has.)

[Otogi]

A simple, but perhaps silly idea: a flashback game, with flashbacks within flashbacks.

[Ryu_Bonkosi]

This reminds me of Zero Punctuation's RPG (possibly MMO) idea "What if we leveled backwards?"

I would think a back to the Past sort of game would be much easier to run than a flashback game. Because if the players characters can remember what happened in the previous session it would help with the flow of character knowledge.

Another idea for the opening is that the guy with the most health, magical resistance, whatever is lying on the ground at around -9 hp while the other characters are dead. The BBEG starts to monologue about how far you have come to have it all end here right before his plans are to come to fruition. But as the final blow is about to be struck the PCs are flung into the past and have to follow around their past selves fixing all the mistakes that they once made (Leveling down of course) Until they get the time line in such a way that they can win.
Their characters physical descriptions should change along with what they change. John got his face mauled by a Were. They kill the Were before that happens and his face goes back to before it was mauled, that sort of thing.

[Tyndmyr]

Seems interesting enough that I'd play it. =)

How would items and wealth be handled?

[Ravens_cry]

A simple, but perhaps silly idea: a flashback game, with flashbacks within flashbacks.
I, and others, have already mentioned the problems with a flashback, plot immunity. If it's an explicit journey to the past or vision, you can bring out the time travel/prophesy tropes, "the future is vague/mutable/yada yada/ parallel universes/yada yada yada." But if it is a flash back, then what you see is what happens. Sure, you might miss one or two details but if you see player charachter x, player charachter x has to make it to the end of the game. WHat if that charachter dies and doesn't/can not come back, or comes back in a different form from reincarnation or some other means? What if they simply leave the party? The only way around it is plot immunity and plot immunity makes for a boring game. Many games do have some plot immunity for the PC, but they also try to maintain the illusion they don't. This strips that illusion bare and makes it explicit.
I am sorry to rail on your idea but I do not see it being very fun for any of the parties involved.

[Doktor Per]

That means any character, including the PC, in the 20th level super mega EPIC game now has Plot Armour.

Au contraire~! How they came back from the dead is now a mystery and an episode that will be explored. Perhaps there is more to things than they appear. This is Media Res, we're talking about. Plot twists, flashbacks! By slaying this dude on level 10, you create a new adventure around level 17 where he rose back from the dead or whatever. And thus can go back and forth like a trashy TV show.

(BEST thing would be if the big 1st level showdown would end with a Total Party Wipeout. TURNS OUT! These guys have been impostors all along!)

[Ravens_cry]

Au contraire~! How they came back from the dead is now a mystery and an episode that will be explored. Perhaps there is more to things than they appear. This is Media Res, we're talking about. Plot twists, flashbacks! By slaying this dude on level 10, you create a new adventure around level 17 where he rose back from the dead or whatever. And thus can go back and forth like a trashy TV show.

(BEST thing would be if the big 1st level showdown would end with a Total Party Wipeout. TURNS OUT! These guys have been impostors all along!)
Sounds like a bad comic book.
Players:"But we killed them!"
DM: "Well, they came back."
Players: "We cremated them, mixed the ashes in mud cast purify food and drink on the mud, boiled the water, and went to the Underworld to kill their soul! We bargained with a Greater Deity to make sure they never, ever, came back. How did they come back?!"
DM: ". . ."
DM "Well, that was just a robot."

[Doughnut Master]

Cool idea. You'd have to make sure everyone is on board first, obviously. I don't know how I'd feel to start with all my goodies only to have them taken away as I played. You might need some other type of incentive to keep going.

Along the lines of the "race against time" suggestion, you could balance their decay through normal xp gain. But the farther back they go, the faster their levels shed.

Who knows, maybe your players will end up as BBEGs themselves, constantly killing and causing havoc just to maintain their own degenerating powers.

[Doktor Per]

I can see it more of a method to play through different levels at different times, which would make up different chapters of their lives. We start at Level 20. And after that first session, where they establish their magnificence and where they are at the end of their lives. Then the players go "I'd like to try out starting at level 6, like the real start of their adventuring career." Or whatever, and then you keep jumping back to "present time." It lets you and the players keep the same characters, and allow for a much different narrative and various forms of stories, as things become a lot more episodic, and the present day situation becomes clearer and clearer, as character motives are established. You decide you have a past with someone, and you're damn sure they're going to pop up later on. Continuity being seemingly broken only causes questions that it allows you to answer later on. This is Dungeons and Dragons, it's full of magic, amazing creatures and nigh omnipotent gods. You just need to give things motives for why things happen. And if something needs clearing up first, address it in game to establish it. It's only bad "writing" if it doesn't make sense.

A possible set up could be:
Chapter 1: The Final Act. (level 20)
Chapter 2: Outlanders (Level 6)
Chapter 3: The Crimson Masque (Level 12)
Chapter 4: Run Aways (Level 2)
Chapter 5: Port Bernard (Level 3)
Chapter 6: Biting our time (Level 12)
etc.

For like six games or something, you get the idea. It forces a lot of work on the GM's hand. But I strongly believe in it.

[Vangor]

Should actually be relatively straightforward, only make sure of prerequisites for PrCs, feats, etc.. Probably would not start from level 20, however, due to the ability to gain information at such a level, which could make the campaign seem drastically less interesting.