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View Full Version : I Need help Making a good Cammaign



NullShadow
2012-03-02, 12:35 AM
So this it my problem,

I have offered to run an Eberron campaign. We should have about 6-8 players(I know that's quite a few). So far I have decided that the main goal of the party is to discover the Obdurium spire and uncover its secrets. Unfortunately, this is where my writers block comes in.

Now that i have the theme, what could i do story-wise to start the game off and progress? I've thought of having it linked to the fall of the Giantish empire of Xendrik as well as foreshadowing the return of the True Giants(what the other races were Before the Cataclysm Of Magic).

This is my first campaign that i will be trying to run in quite some time, so i want it to be unforgettable. Any input is welcome! :smallsmile:

Kane0
2012-03-02, 02:23 AM
Im not too familiar with Eberron (my only experience being DDO for a few weeks) but if your rediscovering an ancient tower id recommend old, timeless guardians and traps for the 'antique' feel. You can try to be as cliche as possible and play on it or be as inventive and cunning as you can to catch your players off guard. Undying guards would also be a good idea, foes that get reanimated after a certain time might throw the wrench at the payers plans, as well as magically resetting traps alongside mundane countermeasures.


Summarizing (This is assuming you want it to be hard of course):
- Reanimating/Recurring guardians (undead or constructs work best)
- Magical & Mundane traps (not always seperate. Try one protecting another)
- Magic circles that summon or teleport when stepped into
- Alchemical traps (acid, alchemists fire, gas, etc)
- Submerged passageways (have to dig or magic through)
- Fake passageways and 'short-cuts'
- Recurring villain (primary defender of dungeon, rival party, etc). Sidekick(s) preferable, bonus points for comic relief.
- Joke defenses to set nerves on edge. Funny/Clumsy/Badly placed protectors to ease tension when required.
- Mixing up rest & recovery time
- Easter egg hunt loot (one lot points to more, but progressively more dangerous with more suprises)
- Special and unique loot (items the are useless without imagination, or interesting baubles)

Hope this helped.

EDIT: Also make sure to reward good teamwork, creativity and ingenuity. Make them earn their loot, and want to go for more despite the threat of death around every corner.
Don't punish too much for mistakes and make consequences as real but epic and potentially dangerous as possible. You want them to be on the edge of their seats but still want to try their daring idea anyway. All the more to boast about to the town bard when you come back draped in gold and gems!

NullShadow
2012-03-02, 03:33 AM
Well, to be honest the background for the tower i had in mind was that when the gods created the material plane (Mundus) they did so using the spire as a fulcrum. Essentially the tower is the origin and the world was created around it. I was thinking that at the peak was the secret to holy divinity, while at the base was the secret to unholy divinity or something along those lines. What do you think of the idea?

P.S. I like the way you think I will be implementing those things :smallbiggrin:

Frog Dragon
2012-03-02, 11:08 AM
As I've been looking into Xen'drik civilization myself, I've ran into quite a few interesting details about it. This is all 3.5, and I Eberron apparently changed a little between editions, so if you're running 4E, this might not be precisely accurate.

Firstly, the Du'rashka tul, which is described as a curse. It's mentioned in a few books, explaining why explorers run into ruins only a few thousand years old every once in a while. The curse causes the inhabitants of any large enough settlement to slaughter each other in homicidal rage. All large-scale society in Xen'drik is doomed to come crashing down when the curse triggers. This conveniently explains why no credible civilization came out of the continent in all 40000 years, which is actually far more than human written history. Something is holding them back.

As for the purpose of the spire, it kind of goes again Eberron canon, with the three progenitor dragons and all (even if it is 4E, I doubt they changed it that much), but okay. It's certainly an attractive goal to all sorts of heavily armed murderous hobos.

Reltzik
2012-03-02, 11:36 AM
The problem with things buried in the depths of secrets for millenia is that they have no URGENCY. Task number one is giving your party some reason it needs to be found NOW. A typical approach is to make its powers needed for such-and-such purpose, but I prefer the idea of stopping the BBEG from accessing it. Create an anti-party of recurring villains that are going after it for some despicable world-shattering purpose, make them a bit stronger than the party, have the party cross their paths in a few introductory adventures... and have the Spire enter into the campaign hooks not at all.

The initial motivation should be to beat the BBEGs and/or foil their plans. Though the PCs won't realize this at first, the BBEG plans will center around the Spire. Because of this, the PCs will be drawn to the Spire, one way or another, like a lodestone to iron.

Are they trying to directly attack the BBEGs base and resources? Have them discover that the BBEGs have moved most their resources to a new base near where the Spire is rumored to be. Are they trying to prevent them from doing ____? Have finding the Spire be the lynchpin in those plans. Etc.

Watch a bit of Indiana Jones and read a bit of tvtropes as you whip this up.

Xechon
2012-03-02, 12:53 PM
Honestly, a good campaign is all about the type of people playing. If you have the 4e DM guide (even though the system sucks, there is a bit of good advice in there), then you can open to the beginning of the book and look at those. If not, excuse the gaps in my memory:

Slayer: Only cares about killing. Give them monsters, give them swords.

Power-Gamer: Wants above all else to make their character the best it can be. Give them loot, gold, and XP.

Watcher: Comes to watch and hang with friends, they don't care about the game, just want the social interaction. Don't make them do anything if you can help it, but prompt them when necessary.

Storyteller: Cares about the story, and oftentimes wants to be the main character of it. They like making characters and backgrounds, at least from a non-number point of view. Include their background in the quests, and allow them to determine some things if it isn't game-altering.

Role-player: Creates and imitates their character and their decisions to the end, even if it leads to dangerous situations, but will sometimes alter their style to save the characters, as they cant bear to lose them. Let them customize their characters any way they want, and make sure to give them opportunities for the character to have its beliefs and personality challenged.

I'm sure there were more, but I can't remember at the moment. I will update this when I have access to the 4e books again.