Mystify
2011-12-19, 10:37 AM
There is an idea for a campaign I've been toying with for a while, and I wanted some feedback on it from other players.
The setting as a whole is no-magic. There aren't casters running around, there are not magic items, no magical beasts, its just a normal medieval setting. Or so the players think. It is also an explicitly low-level campaign, the players will probably be at level 1-2 for the vast majority of the time, and so should design their characters with this in mind.
The first session would keep to these paramaters, and let the players get used to the setting. Deal with some wolves, track down a theif, basic, mundane tasks that can pose a challenge to a gaggle of level 1s.
The next session, things really kick off. The party will be in town, going about a normal day, and hence not wearing all of their equipment. Then a guard on the wall lets out a cry, and they start closing the gates. A man makes it through right before it closes, and continues running into the town square. He shouts out for people to take cover. Then, this hairy, manlike beast leaps onto the top of the wall, looks down at the man, then leaps down after him.
The party would not be told this, but this beast is a werewolf, and hence has DR 10/silver. The town guards will be worthless, and he will just swat them aside. If a party member tries to attack(without their weapon or armor, no less), it will easily be able to knock them to negative hp to lay there dying. Hopefully all of this will be enough to encourage the other party members to seek cover nearby.
The werewolf will eventually reach the man, and they will battle. The man is obviously very skilled at fighting, but is clearly losing the battle. Eventually, he manages to knock the werewolf down, and dives behind some nearby cover.
If a party member is there, he will pull out a small object, press it into their hand, look them in their eyes, and say "Keep them safe", before running out of cover and trying to escape. That is the ideal situation, if that is not possible, he will stash as small box behind the peice of cover, where a party member can see it, then run.
The werewolf gets back to its feet, and chases down the man, killing him this time. He searches the body, then obviously not finding what he wants, searches it again more frantically. Tossing the body aside in frustration, he then flees.
When the party looks at the object they were given, or retrieves it from the hidden box, they find what looks like a golden pocket watch, inscribed with odd symbols. opening it reveals that it is a compass. Anyone trained in survival, or who makes a DC 10 untrained check, will realize that it is not pointing north.
From there, the bulk of the campaign will kick off. The compass leads them to the magical MacGuffins, ancient artifacts of potent magical powers. Of course, other groups are working to collect the MacGuffins as well. The werewolf is one such character, and the party will encounter a wide spectrum of colorful characters searching for it, with a variety of goals, methods, an motivations. The compass is also highly contested, as it allow the user to track down new MacGuffins.
The PCs will be low-level, but their power will rise as they gain more MacGuffins and figure out how to use them to the best effect. The MacGuffins can also be stolen by the NPCs, the party can try to steal them back, while also trying to obtain new ones.
If you have ever seen xia lin showdown, it will have many similarities. The MacGuffins would be comparable in power to the shen gong wu.
My hope is that this structure will make combat more involved than "I swing my sword at the beast", as the party won't have the raw power just to brute force their way through an encounter. However, proper utilization of their Macguffins can lead to their victory.
The setting as a whole is no-magic. There aren't casters running around, there are not magic items, no magical beasts, its just a normal medieval setting. Or so the players think. It is also an explicitly low-level campaign, the players will probably be at level 1-2 for the vast majority of the time, and so should design their characters with this in mind.
The first session would keep to these paramaters, and let the players get used to the setting. Deal with some wolves, track down a theif, basic, mundane tasks that can pose a challenge to a gaggle of level 1s.
The next session, things really kick off. The party will be in town, going about a normal day, and hence not wearing all of their equipment. Then a guard on the wall lets out a cry, and they start closing the gates. A man makes it through right before it closes, and continues running into the town square. He shouts out for people to take cover. Then, this hairy, manlike beast leaps onto the top of the wall, looks down at the man, then leaps down after him.
The party would not be told this, but this beast is a werewolf, and hence has DR 10/silver. The town guards will be worthless, and he will just swat them aside. If a party member tries to attack(without their weapon or armor, no less), it will easily be able to knock them to negative hp to lay there dying. Hopefully all of this will be enough to encourage the other party members to seek cover nearby.
The werewolf will eventually reach the man, and they will battle. The man is obviously very skilled at fighting, but is clearly losing the battle. Eventually, he manages to knock the werewolf down, and dives behind some nearby cover.
If a party member is there, he will pull out a small object, press it into their hand, look them in their eyes, and say "Keep them safe", before running out of cover and trying to escape. That is the ideal situation, if that is not possible, he will stash as small box behind the peice of cover, where a party member can see it, then run.
The werewolf gets back to its feet, and chases down the man, killing him this time. He searches the body, then obviously not finding what he wants, searches it again more frantically. Tossing the body aside in frustration, he then flees.
When the party looks at the object they were given, or retrieves it from the hidden box, they find what looks like a golden pocket watch, inscribed with odd symbols. opening it reveals that it is a compass. Anyone trained in survival, or who makes a DC 10 untrained check, will realize that it is not pointing north.
From there, the bulk of the campaign will kick off. The compass leads them to the magical MacGuffins, ancient artifacts of potent magical powers. Of course, other groups are working to collect the MacGuffins as well. The werewolf is one such character, and the party will encounter a wide spectrum of colorful characters searching for it, with a variety of goals, methods, an motivations. The compass is also highly contested, as it allow the user to track down new MacGuffins.
The PCs will be low-level, but their power will rise as they gain more MacGuffins and figure out how to use them to the best effect. The MacGuffins can also be stolen by the NPCs, the party can try to steal them back, while also trying to obtain new ones.
If you have ever seen xia lin showdown, it will have many similarities. The MacGuffins would be comparable in power to the shen gong wu.
My hope is that this structure will make combat more involved than "I swing my sword at the beast", as the party won't have the raw power just to brute force their way through an encounter. However, proper utilization of their Macguffins can lead to their victory.