Talkan
2012-03-10, 07:57 PM
This might be a bit of a read. Sorry about that.
Ok, so I'm going to be running a campaign with a group of friends. It won't be for a while, the earliest it'll start is the end of the semester, so I've got a couple of months to plan during my down time. I'm not expecting this to be very good, mediocre at best, but I'll definitely do my best to help everyone have fun. I've even set aside some notepads for the first session so that I can have the players write down stuff I do that they do and don't like and everything I do that they don't understand the motives or reasoning behind, so that I can know what they don't like and adapt my DMing style if needed.
I don't have a plethora of dice, but I do have the WotC Dice simulator bookmarked. Is this a suitable substitute?
In all the games I've played, someone has died early on (level 2 and below) so I'm starting it at level 4. The Players all also like some decent power in the beginning and level 1 or 2 isn't really enjoyable to them. I don't know why, 4 just seemed like a good number to me. I was considering lowering it to 3, but some of the players have already made character sheets, and I don't really want to force them to remake them. Is 4 a good starting level?
The Island
The campaign is set on a large, secluded island in the middle of an ocean. Not the size of Greenland, but large enough to have a mountain range, a couple plains, a few large forests, maybe a swamp, etc. There are some islands relatively nearby, but most are inhabited by monstrous races, so not many people explore them. The island is inhabited by Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings, Humans, and Goblins (only Goblins at first. Not Bugbears or Hobgoblins). Goblins are considered pests of bestial intelligence. Orcs live on a nearby island and get bored occasionally and decide to pillage the nearby island. Half-orcs are a result and are seen as abominations and are either left to die in the wild (and possibly grow up as barbarians/druids/rangers) or used as cheap manual labor.
The island is large enough to have several small settlements for each race (excluding Goblins) and at least two cities. There is an extremely influential Church system, which incorporates all the pantheons of each race. The headquarters of this Church is in the dead center of the Island and each pantheon has its own headquarters in the main city of its race.
There is a 'Council of Races' with 5 members of each sentient race contributing. I want a sort of race-based caste system-type thing, such as Gnomes on top, Halflings on bottom, everyone else somewhere in between. Not necessarily that though, that was just an example. I somewhat want hunting to be restricted if not outright illegal, since they're on an island with limited resources.
There will be a University of types, which will encompass Wizardry, Bardic training, Fighter School, and others. Monks will be taught at Monasteries instead of the University, while Clerics and Paladins will be taught in a combination of both.
Magic will be heavily regulated by the Church, especially Necromancy, which will have a 'You will be interrogated and possibly killed if we find you using it' policy. The same thing for associating with Demons and Dragons. The Church is pretty much the governing body and they use their Paladins and Clerics as well as Lawful Fighters to enforce the laws and regulations they put out.
Once a year there is a Performance competition in one of the towns, where you enter into your best skill of performing and try to win with a performance check. There is a cash reward. I know this is tailored towards Bards, but I think it adds flavor to the land. I'm also debating having an Archery, Fencing, Wrestling, and other contests to make it more balanced.
That's pretty much all I have for the mechanics of the Island. I do have some ideas for story-lines, but I need help in narrowing them down. I'm thinking of giving the players the choice of their side in all of these.
1)A coven of Necromancers are going to attempt to get the laws to change so that there won't be Discrimination against any Magic school. The Church doesn't like this. The group decides what side they're on, and a massive Undead VS Church war breaks out. This sounds over-used to me, but I don't think I'll do this one anyway, since there are possibly two Rogues, and potentially no cleric in the party (Explained below). It might depend on what side they chose, though. If they are on the side of the undead, that might be better. This was my first idea, and I think it would be fun to try, but I might want to save this for later, when I have more experience under my belt.
2)A bunch of Warlocks (not necessarily the character class) are communing with Demons and are planning a full-scale invasion. Pretty much the same as the 1st one, but with Outsiders instead of Undead. Might progress to a 'Heaven VS Hell' campaign. It's probably also over-used, but I think it could be fun. Also maybe a little crazy for a new DM.
3)The native Goblins are becoming stronger and smarter and are enlisting the help of Orcs and other monstrous humanoids to destroy the oppressive 'sentient' races. They will eventually experiment in cross-breeding, resulting in strange new races. I like this one, but it could use a lot of work and I think it might end up being shorter than others.
4)A chunk of the Druidic Council has decided that all civilization is bad and that they must 'lead all back to The Wild'. They will enlist the help of some Clerics, Rangers, and Barbarians. This one seems to me to be the simplest and most easily done, and it works well with the party's play style.
5)The Dwarves have found a massive cavern that doesn't look like it's naturally occurring, with strange statues and runes carved into the walls. They need a group of hardy adventurers to explore it and tell them what it's like. Likely to include Illithids, Drow, and other subterranean races/monsters. I'd prefer not to do a massive Dungeon Crawl, but I'm up for almost anything.
6)A group of humanoids (not sure what type exactly. Maybe Tieflings or Aasimar) with more advanced technology and magic come from across the seas and start offering to trade and help this society. They are welcomed warmly and given generous offers for their fancy wares. The newcomers then attack unexpectedly. The Church will be divided, some thinking it is the Will of the Gods and that they have been unrighteous, others thinking these are Demons come to bring about the Apocalypse who must be destroyed at their source, and others not sure what to think. The general public will be in chaos and many will want to fight and hurt the enemy. Players decide what they want to do. This one is my favorite, since I like history, and this is heavily based on the Spanish invasion of the Americas. The NPCs won't necessarily be a lot more powerful than the players, they will just have more flashy stuff.
7)Then there's the crazy idea that I just let the players choose their own path, like a sandbox-type thing, which I'm honestly not too psyched about. I can, as a player, imagine one of those getting very boring unless the DM is phenomenal, which I am probably not.
As for the starting: I don't want to start in a Tavern, as my first DM complained about the cliche of doing this and then started us in a Tavern, and I don't want to do the same thing. I was thinking that I could start with a massive party for a prominent member of society and go from there, but I'm not sure how to do that. I was thinking something along the lines of "There are strange noises coming from the local Church-house. The Head Priest has asked that you to investigate and has offered to pay you." The things they would encounter in the dungeon would be determined by the Story line I choose.
Also, I don't really know how to limit the players, so could you help me decide? I have given all of them a tentative 'yes' on their current characters, but I'm not sure what they're all planning in the long run, so I don't know if they'll work well together. I don't want to ruin their fun though, so I almost want to let them do almost anything for their character within reason.
Here is the party so far:
Player A: loves to make optimized and generally overpowered characters, but due to some restrictions, he can't really build them. His original idea was a Binder, but from what I've heard I don't know how well it would work in my world. He then wanted to make a defensive Fighter who specializes in dual wielding spiked tower shields and pinning monsters smaller than himself against the wall. Next, he wanted to make an Elf Rogue who is in the 'old' age category, who had an incredible backstory. I have no idea if he's kept that idea for what he wants to do, or if he's changed his mind again.
Player B: Likes to try new things, and thus is a half-elf Bard. That's all I really know about his character. I think he's trying to come up with a backstory, but he's usually good at this, so I'm not rushing him.
Player C is a Chaotic Neutral Ranger who will be focusing on Two-weapon Fighting. He wants to be a member of one of the prominent families in society. He could easily turn my campaign on its side, regardless of what I do. I've seen him do it to another DM. That DM was not happy whatsoever.:smallbiggrin: I just hope that when he inevitably does that to me, I can take it and roll with it and not freak out and railroad everyone...
Player D is True Neutral Rogue, and wants to become a member of the Assassin Prestige Class. He originally wanted to be Chaotic Evil, but I told him that that probably wouldn't be a good idea. I've told him that I want to think about the prestige class thing, because I don't know if there's going to be any assassins to begin with.
And then there's Player E. He has no idea what he wants to be, but he generally tries to be a party-beneficial class, so I'm guessing he'll be a Cleric or Druid. He wants to know what everyone else has planned before making a decision, though.
This seems like a pretty balanced group to me. What do you guys think?
I'm not planning on having it get any bigger, as I've played with bigger groups and the sessions almost always went straight down the drain. I'm letting them decide if their characters know each other. From what I've heard from each of them, they don't really want to, which could lead to some interesting role-playing. They all enjoy a more hack-and-slash style campaign, but a few have requested more role-playing opportunities than former DMs have provided.
I thought in the beginning it might be simpler if I restricted them to PHB Races and Classes, and to PHB/DMG Items and Feats. Which brings me to my next question:
Was this a bad idea?
I've been reading some other threads trying to pick up some tips, and I've noticed that people seem to prefer to be restricted to NOT be allowed to be PHB standard classes/races rather than to be restricted to them. My main reasons were that I didn't want any confusing nonsense and that I don't have any of the supplementary source books. But if it would make the game more fun, I'd consider letting them do other stuff. Not Truenamer, though. I have no idea how they are supposed to work. Someone tried explaining it to me and I am completely confused. Please don't try to explain it to me, though I am completely fine with being in the dark for now. I would also prefer no Artificers, I'm playing in a campaign with one right now, and it's a little crazy.
Another question I have:
Player C has brought up that he thinks two new skills would be interesting. Tinker and Engineering (both Int based) Tinker would be improving upon an item, while Engineering would be figuring out how it works. If I do the 'Spanish Conquest' one, this could be very useful for figuring out the other side's technology. Is this a good idea? I can see using an Intelligence check instead of making a new skill, or a Disable Device check, or something along those lines being simpler.
That's all for now.
Ok, so I'm going to be running a campaign with a group of friends. It won't be for a while, the earliest it'll start is the end of the semester, so I've got a couple of months to plan during my down time. I'm not expecting this to be very good, mediocre at best, but I'll definitely do my best to help everyone have fun. I've even set aside some notepads for the first session so that I can have the players write down stuff I do that they do and don't like and everything I do that they don't understand the motives or reasoning behind, so that I can know what they don't like and adapt my DMing style if needed.
I don't have a plethora of dice, but I do have the WotC Dice simulator bookmarked. Is this a suitable substitute?
In all the games I've played, someone has died early on (level 2 and below) so I'm starting it at level 4. The Players all also like some decent power in the beginning and level 1 or 2 isn't really enjoyable to them. I don't know why, 4 just seemed like a good number to me. I was considering lowering it to 3, but some of the players have already made character sheets, and I don't really want to force them to remake them. Is 4 a good starting level?
The Island
The campaign is set on a large, secluded island in the middle of an ocean. Not the size of Greenland, but large enough to have a mountain range, a couple plains, a few large forests, maybe a swamp, etc. There are some islands relatively nearby, but most are inhabited by monstrous races, so not many people explore them. The island is inhabited by Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings, Humans, and Goblins (only Goblins at first. Not Bugbears or Hobgoblins). Goblins are considered pests of bestial intelligence. Orcs live on a nearby island and get bored occasionally and decide to pillage the nearby island. Half-orcs are a result and are seen as abominations and are either left to die in the wild (and possibly grow up as barbarians/druids/rangers) or used as cheap manual labor.
The island is large enough to have several small settlements for each race (excluding Goblins) and at least two cities. There is an extremely influential Church system, which incorporates all the pantheons of each race. The headquarters of this Church is in the dead center of the Island and each pantheon has its own headquarters in the main city of its race.
There is a 'Council of Races' with 5 members of each sentient race contributing. I want a sort of race-based caste system-type thing, such as Gnomes on top, Halflings on bottom, everyone else somewhere in between. Not necessarily that though, that was just an example. I somewhat want hunting to be restricted if not outright illegal, since they're on an island with limited resources.
There will be a University of types, which will encompass Wizardry, Bardic training, Fighter School, and others. Monks will be taught at Monasteries instead of the University, while Clerics and Paladins will be taught in a combination of both.
Magic will be heavily regulated by the Church, especially Necromancy, which will have a 'You will be interrogated and possibly killed if we find you using it' policy. The same thing for associating with Demons and Dragons. The Church is pretty much the governing body and they use their Paladins and Clerics as well as Lawful Fighters to enforce the laws and regulations they put out.
Once a year there is a Performance competition in one of the towns, where you enter into your best skill of performing and try to win with a performance check. There is a cash reward. I know this is tailored towards Bards, but I think it adds flavor to the land. I'm also debating having an Archery, Fencing, Wrestling, and other contests to make it more balanced.
That's pretty much all I have for the mechanics of the Island. I do have some ideas for story-lines, but I need help in narrowing them down. I'm thinking of giving the players the choice of their side in all of these.
1)A coven of Necromancers are going to attempt to get the laws to change so that there won't be Discrimination against any Magic school. The Church doesn't like this. The group decides what side they're on, and a massive Undead VS Church war breaks out. This sounds over-used to me, but I don't think I'll do this one anyway, since there are possibly two Rogues, and potentially no cleric in the party (Explained below). It might depend on what side they chose, though. If they are on the side of the undead, that might be better. This was my first idea, and I think it would be fun to try, but I might want to save this for later, when I have more experience under my belt.
2)A bunch of Warlocks (not necessarily the character class) are communing with Demons and are planning a full-scale invasion. Pretty much the same as the 1st one, but with Outsiders instead of Undead. Might progress to a 'Heaven VS Hell' campaign. It's probably also over-used, but I think it could be fun. Also maybe a little crazy for a new DM.
3)The native Goblins are becoming stronger and smarter and are enlisting the help of Orcs and other monstrous humanoids to destroy the oppressive 'sentient' races. They will eventually experiment in cross-breeding, resulting in strange new races. I like this one, but it could use a lot of work and I think it might end up being shorter than others.
4)A chunk of the Druidic Council has decided that all civilization is bad and that they must 'lead all back to The Wild'. They will enlist the help of some Clerics, Rangers, and Barbarians. This one seems to me to be the simplest and most easily done, and it works well with the party's play style.
5)The Dwarves have found a massive cavern that doesn't look like it's naturally occurring, with strange statues and runes carved into the walls. They need a group of hardy adventurers to explore it and tell them what it's like. Likely to include Illithids, Drow, and other subterranean races/monsters. I'd prefer not to do a massive Dungeon Crawl, but I'm up for almost anything.
6)A group of humanoids (not sure what type exactly. Maybe Tieflings or Aasimar) with more advanced technology and magic come from across the seas and start offering to trade and help this society. They are welcomed warmly and given generous offers for their fancy wares. The newcomers then attack unexpectedly. The Church will be divided, some thinking it is the Will of the Gods and that they have been unrighteous, others thinking these are Demons come to bring about the Apocalypse who must be destroyed at their source, and others not sure what to think. The general public will be in chaos and many will want to fight and hurt the enemy. Players decide what they want to do. This one is my favorite, since I like history, and this is heavily based on the Spanish invasion of the Americas. The NPCs won't necessarily be a lot more powerful than the players, they will just have more flashy stuff.
7)Then there's the crazy idea that I just let the players choose their own path, like a sandbox-type thing, which I'm honestly not too psyched about. I can, as a player, imagine one of those getting very boring unless the DM is phenomenal, which I am probably not.
As for the starting: I don't want to start in a Tavern, as my first DM complained about the cliche of doing this and then started us in a Tavern, and I don't want to do the same thing. I was thinking that I could start with a massive party for a prominent member of society and go from there, but I'm not sure how to do that. I was thinking something along the lines of "There are strange noises coming from the local Church-house. The Head Priest has asked that you to investigate and has offered to pay you." The things they would encounter in the dungeon would be determined by the Story line I choose.
Also, I don't really know how to limit the players, so could you help me decide? I have given all of them a tentative 'yes' on their current characters, but I'm not sure what they're all planning in the long run, so I don't know if they'll work well together. I don't want to ruin their fun though, so I almost want to let them do almost anything for their character within reason.
Here is the party so far:
Player A: loves to make optimized and generally overpowered characters, but due to some restrictions, he can't really build them. His original idea was a Binder, but from what I've heard I don't know how well it would work in my world. He then wanted to make a defensive Fighter who specializes in dual wielding spiked tower shields and pinning monsters smaller than himself against the wall. Next, he wanted to make an Elf Rogue who is in the 'old' age category, who had an incredible backstory. I have no idea if he's kept that idea for what he wants to do, or if he's changed his mind again.
Player B: Likes to try new things, and thus is a half-elf Bard. That's all I really know about his character. I think he's trying to come up with a backstory, but he's usually good at this, so I'm not rushing him.
Player C is a Chaotic Neutral Ranger who will be focusing on Two-weapon Fighting. He wants to be a member of one of the prominent families in society. He could easily turn my campaign on its side, regardless of what I do. I've seen him do it to another DM. That DM was not happy whatsoever.:smallbiggrin: I just hope that when he inevitably does that to me, I can take it and roll with it and not freak out and railroad everyone...
Player D is True Neutral Rogue, and wants to become a member of the Assassin Prestige Class. He originally wanted to be Chaotic Evil, but I told him that that probably wouldn't be a good idea. I've told him that I want to think about the prestige class thing, because I don't know if there's going to be any assassins to begin with.
And then there's Player E. He has no idea what he wants to be, but he generally tries to be a party-beneficial class, so I'm guessing he'll be a Cleric or Druid. He wants to know what everyone else has planned before making a decision, though.
This seems like a pretty balanced group to me. What do you guys think?
I'm not planning on having it get any bigger, as I've played with bigger groups and the sessions almost always went straight down the drain. I'm letting them decide if their characters know each other. From what I've heard from each of them, they don't really want to, which could lead to some interesting role-playing. They all enjoy a more hack-and-slash style campaign, but a few have requested more role-playing opportunities than former DMs have provided.
I thought in the beginning it might be simpler if I restricted them to PHB Races and Classes, and to PHB/DMG Items and Feats. Which brings me to my next question:
Was this a bad idea?
I've been reading some other threads trying to pick up some tips, and I've noticed that people seem to prefer to be restricted to NOT be allowed to be PHB standard classes/races rather than to be restricted to them. My main reasons were that I didn't want any confusing nonsense and that I don't have any of the supplementary source books. But if it would make the game more fun, I'd consider letting them do other stuff. Not Truenamer, though. I have no idea how they are supposed to work. Someone tried explaining it to me and I am completely confused. Please don't try to explain it to me, though I am completely fine with being in the dark for now. I would also prefer no Artificers, I'm playing in a campaign with one right now, and it's a little crazy.
Another question I have:
Player C has brought up that he thinks two new skills would be interesting. Tinker and Engineering (both Int based) Tinker would be improving upon an item, while Engineering would be figuring out how it works. If I do the 'Spanish Conquest' one, this could be very useful for figuring out the other side's technology. Is this a good idea? I can see using an Intelligence check instead of making a new skill, or a Disable Device check, or something along those lines being simpler.
That's all for now.