Running a campaign from the opposite side. Being the ransacking hoard or monsters!

[Pika...]

So I am starting to plan my next campaign, since I feel we may have hit the midway point of this one, and there is always a chance for a TPK.

Anyway, I want to go back to my homebrewed setting for this one, but this time try to run something a bit different. I want to run where the players/PCs ARE the monsters.

I imagine either of two scenarios:
A) This is my preferred one. Basically, the PCs play monsters of up to a certain ECL with class levels added to balance all the ECLs to that of the highest member. I then set that as the starting level for encounters, hence starting everyone essentially at their equivalent of Level 1.

These PCs are essentially a tribe o wandering monsters. Even better if the PCs are all the same race (say Owlbears).

I then map out a country side, with villages, a keep, a tower, and even rivial monster tribes.

The PCs then...do what they want??? I have no clue how to run such a game as a DM, or what the main goals of the PCs will be. LoL.

Any ideas or advice?



B) The PCs are part of one of my world's hoard armies (Orcs, Gnolls, etc). Not too sure about this one, but eh.




Many Pikas in advance!

[Kefkafreak]

You could make a sandbox type of campaign where the only goal is to conquer the whole region you map out, and they decide how to do it.

[dascarletm]

I suggest doing your choice A, and then just spend a day as the players roll up their characters just spend ask them what motivations their monsters have/ what they want and then just plan stuff for them to do after that.

[Pika...]

You could make a sandbox type of campaign where the only goal is to conquer the whole region you map out, and they decide how to do it.

Sounds nice. :smallbiggrin:

I might need to do this today actually, since they kinda outran me by a lot, and am without material for my spelljammer game...

[Pika...]

Any and all ideas welcomed please.

I have eight hours until our session, and I am having a hard time thinking of anything besides village militia. :smallfrown:

[Kefkafreak]

This is what I'd do:

Make a map of a small region that you can easily expand for future sessions. Big cities / towns should have patrols protecting the roads / farms. Think of several interesting locations that the players are likely to explore so you don't need to improvise too much, but don't make them too obvious. If they go somewhere you hadn't prepared, maybe you can switch what you prepared for one place with the one they've gone to.

Maybe they need to empower their tribe so that they can take over the next town, so they need to bring resources to their village (they could attack caravans, whatever) If it's a "multicultural" monster-village, they could also rescue / recruit some more monsters.

When you/they feel they're ready, they should mount an attack on the human town; let them organize the assault however they want, if they're not good at thinking strategies have the tribe shaman or whatever help them out.

When/if they take over the town, the rest of the cities in the region will take notice and start planning against them.

Monsters are still valid enemies, so they don't need to always fight humans.

[Temet Nosce]

To be honest a world conquest game is one of the easiest to run, since the players will provide all momentum on their own. Basically you just need to make it clear that you're making an entire game where the premise is them destroying/conquering things and then react to their plans.

Maybe if you think they'd have trouble you could start things off as you mentioned earlier with them all part of a specific group (whether brigands, cultists, or monsters) with a nearby rival to take out as an intro. Still, most players are in their natural element slaughtering things or burning them down, so this is unlikely to be hard for them.

[Serpentine]

Here, have a ready-made mini-campaign (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168929). It's deliberately rough, but if you want I can give you an idea of what I had in mind for everything.