Help with new campaign

[Xavrias]

Ok, so the characters start in a city called duskhill, the city is on a hill (duh) surrounded by incredibly tall mountains that cast a shadow for most of the day. Duskhill is a large town that is very prosperous because of the dense forest to the south that is at least 60% darkwood (very light wood for those of you wgo don't know) it makes the lumberers rich, selling it to the capital. But a group of druids who have been living in these woods get incredibly pissed off and start to atk the city in force sending in all manner of small creatures. The pcs start at level 1. The main druid antagonist is only lv 3, but has a small magic item that increases his druid level by 3 making him virtually unkillable for the pcs so far. Fortunately, a master-thief lives in the area with hs gang, the deathhawks. The pcs will likely have to figure out a way to convince the town council to clear the thiefs name and give him a reward if he steals this item. Once the item is stolen the pcs can confront the druid and kill,or take him prisoner etc. Plz critique this and give me more ideas.

[Kol Korran]

hey Xavrias, nice creativity there, but there may be a few problems that i see:
1) the main problem is that players don't like it when other characters do the main job for them (i think this is called a "deus ex machina" but i may be wrong). i'd advise to let the PC find some other way that they can offset/ destroy/ counter the Druid's item by them selves. maybe the nighthawks know it's secret and the party must persuade them? or the local temple has a small relic that may only be given to "the worthy"?

2) the party may not like to clear the nighthawks name, what if they have a paladin, or a cleric devoted to law, or they might not feel like it? forcing them at the start of the adventure screams "railroading". and what if the party rogue/ ranger decides he wants to try this? they are the heroes after all!

in general, try to have multiple ways to accomplish the goal. some may be easier, some less, but give your player options. don't be set on "one right way", and don't punish them for choosing something you didn't plan (unless it's really stupid and you warned them.

you have some good creative streak there. just expand it!

[Fenryr]

Nice idea.

My comments:

The "the NPCs save the world" is not cool. A better idea could be that the PC need to borrow an special item from the NPCs and save the world personally. Or that the NPC needs to guide the players to a special dungeon because no one knows where it's. Or something similar. The NPC should help, not end the campaign.

Give the druids a hideout so the PC can plan ahead and think: "We kill the druids? We force the druids to surrender?". So they can choose other options.

[Vandicus]

i think this is called a "deus ex machina" but i may be wrong.

A deus ex machina would be more along the lines of Elminister coming along to fight Ashardalon at the end of the Bastion of Broken Souls without the help or intervention of the PCs, without any contact with Elminister up to this point or explanation for how he knows that he needs to fight Ashardalon or how he got there.

I'd recommend against making a single right way to accomplish the goals of the PCs. It smacks of railroading and the PCs might not think of the plan in the same way you do, it might never even occur to them.

[Xavrias]

Ok,sorry I may have worded that wrong, thepcs still are going to be doing the main stuff and they dont have to clear the guys name but, if they do they have a very valuable contact, I do have a few other ways to solve the problem prepared. I've been dming for a little bit and know railroading isn't a good idea, but this thief guy is essential later in the campaign for some of the story so I need a way to have him come in without helping the pcs too much. Any ideas?

[Vandicus]

It depends whether you want the master thief to have a hostile relationship or friendly relationship with the PCs.

If he's hostile, have him kill off NPCs the PCs are friendly to or work for because he was hired to or is doing so for revenge. For example, he escapes the jail and kills a council member for arresting him.

If he's friendly, have him show up on occasion during his thief based activities in such a way that is beneficial for the PCs, for example he steals the MacGuffin from the evil villain so that he can sell it.

[Bob the DM]

It's a good idea. Also, there's nothing wrong with hving npcs do the major work, so long as that's the players' choice. If the pcs find out about the item and learn they can't stop the druid witout releiving him of it, you should also let the learn of the theif and his trouble with the law. Then they can choose to act and recruit this guy to help them, by clearing his name. Then when they tell him about the item, he can say something like "sure, it sounds doable but only if X happens (ie. The pc's undertake a dangerous distraction mission). This way the npc can work for the pcs to do what they cannot, while the pcs are still the focus of the game and are the ones with the enjoyment of performing the very dangerous, yet accomplishable task if planned well.

The best stories have npcs as the prime movers, simply because they have the backgrounds for it and the resources and knowlege of the world to make interesting plot advancement. The most entertaining games are the ones where the players are at the front, in danger, and earning their renown and scars. The best games are the ones that combine intense background npc plot movement with forground pc adventures. Especially when the npc plot actions only get to advance because of the small yet crutial role the pcs played. They are the elite and don't fight the big battles. They fight the little, clutch ones that let everyone else win the big battles elsewhere.

[Xavrias]

Ok thanks bob the dm that was very helpful, thanks to the rest of you as well, I think I h ave enough to start the campaign, I might post back later if I need more help.