Aid a DM with a new campaign

[Sivarias]

Ok, so I love D&D, I've been wanting to play it since I heard about it when I was twelve. It just sounded like fun to me. I never got a chance to play it until now in college. My new friends were doing homebrew systems (shadows and dust on the homebrew page), but it wasn't classic D&D. It wasn't what I wanted.

I finally talked them around into giving me a shot to show them the beauty and power of actual D&D (3.5) where the rules don't change between sessions and apart from power gamers, things are well balanced already. Here's the rub, I had to DM, and I've never DM'd before. I've been running ok, and we got some other regular players (AD&D) who jumped in on my game because they were pissed at thier DM for running the show with like 4 DMPC who were 5(?) levels higher than them.

Truth be told I enjoy playing more then DMing, but I promised them I would and now I want to show them a good time. I also kinda TPKd them.... Twice.... in the same session......

I've always said death was on the table so consider your consequences. I also misread the challenge ratings so a party of 5
-druid (girlfriend w/ small clue)
-scorceress w/ 22 charisma (allowed because friends girlfriend w/ NO clue so broken not so much due to her lack of gaming experience)
-Alchemist (converted from PF by experienced player)
-Monk (experienced player)
-Halfling Rogue (friend I was showing D&D to)
all level 2 fought an 8th lvl tiefling illusionist
CR 1/2 class level, (though boss fights were 2 challenge ratings higher than party)

Plot so far They fought him to standstill and he fled after getting hit once and knocked to 1/4 health (After I nerfed his phantom illusion spell, bc I semi TPK'd w/ it).
He ran and they fallowed behind with the aid of an emaciated red dragon (CR 4 one) who I ruled was exhausted (his energy being drained by the illusionist for nefarious schemes. They chased and got destroyed by him when he had the backup of his lvl 5 fighter vampire boss and his two vamp spawn guard minions. (Sonic shout with them stuck on stairs)

The alchemist got PISSED because he takes D&D way to seriously. I told them that if they chased to the end of the tunnel they would get destroyed. (I should have had the tunnel door lock behind the illusionist). They as a group said ok. Alchemist almost rage quit like 4 times (his character kept charging forward and dying (I retconned to save because it was an innappropriate encounter)

I design my dungeons with paths. generally an easy one, a medium one and a hard one. each in turn sprouts a path for a tree effect. From the first dungeon they get going down the hard path (Sure we can fight 20 undead and a wight single handedly, NO problem) so they basically skipped the whole dungeon and ended up about 3 or 4 dungeons past were they were supposed to be. (like I said I'm new).

Campaign idea Generally the campaign was a "lich king" that was a female vampire beguiler who got pissed when her party dumped her when she got turned (she was arrogant and was turned due to arrogance and this was the last straw) and is trying to make a nation of the dead by going from top (nobles, military) down (commoners) and casting a Viel of Darkness spell over the nation to shield the inhabitants from the sun. To do this she needs to drain the energy from a grand dragon. Dragons have become aware of this and have teamed up to prevent species abuse (They like power and they don't want to share).

Idea for fix Right now I have Behamut reviving six months after death the party in a 1/2 dragon village in the mountains on the edge of the kingdom and giesing the players to head to a grand dragon to get further order (that's were I am so far) they get revived at lvl 4 because the campaign is higher level than expected. I still feel that might be too low but I'm not sure.

There is also an evil adventuring party (Ranger (no campianion or spells), Rogue, Hexblade) hired by "lich to harrass them that they haven't met yet. they will meet this party piecewise and if I have my way, won't know they are together.

The party knows about "Lich" because I tipped my hand to early. Basically I'm trying to salvage this campaign but not sure where to go from here. I have a MILLION ideas but they don't fit, and I never wanted an undead campaign to begin with (their cleric dropped). and now I feel it's too cruel.

Any ideas how to fix this?

P.S. a random cat they have named Pate (cleric who dropped) is randomly appears and helps, though not in the way they expect (Gold dragon of unknown level polymorphed)

P.P.S. For the mods, the first one was posted in the wrong place I think. Please lock that one

[Toy Killer]

Okay, So you've got story threads but no weave, Am I correct?

I want you to realize one big thing.

Your player's need to help you individually, not cooperatively

I know, I know, heresy to think that you could participate on both sides of the screen.

So, talk to each of you're players; (Preferably in order of most experienced to least experienced) Don't ask for their background, explore it with them. If you look up character development questionnaires, you'll find hundreds of amateur author websites that offer hundreds of questions that will help flesh out characters. Ask your players these kinds of questions about their characters. Pepper details from their characters into your story you're trying to tell With them.

For example from my campaign.

I have 5 players, each with their own characters. Most of them were more then co-operative with my back drop, as long as I provided anchoring for them to feel at home in. One player had never played before. He approuched it akin to a video game. When NPCs asked him to tell them about himself, he almost always started with "I'm a Level 6 sorcerer, I like Fireball". Great, he has a grasp on what he's playing, but he wasn't enveloped with the story.

During character creation, I told him Sorcerers were hated and approached with fear (Kind of like Witch trials. Palor is a bit totaliarian in this campaign). But, the Cult of Objibrill would be more then willing to accept him for who he is.

He hid the fact that he was a cultist from the group except for one character (Great, I like inter-party drama!) But not that he is a sorcerer. Why not? Becuase he had nothing else to go off of. He knew his character's name, and played it as himself if he had these abilities. That is poor role playing. After a half hour of exploring Development questions, he had a family, a home, a best friend, a girl he just met before the apocalypse came roaring down on him. He has thirty times the depth, and for once, He has something to say about his character that doesn't involve setting stuff on fire.

(In fact, one question was "what smell does he/she think of, when they think of their childhood kitchen". He said Burnt Venison, because his dad was a Solider and didn't know how to cook very well, and didn't like the idea of taking a risk on under cooked meat, so he always seared it. Then his eye's popped as he realized why his character cared so much about fire spells. Since he was a kid, he associated it with ruining things.)

But this is not the point, I don't know what your players ability to define characters are. The Point is that with that information you start to delve between the interaction between the characters and the world they live in. The age old joke of murder hobo's fades when The Paladin, Ulric, Swore to his daughter he would be back for Alstice Day... Oh, you don't have an Alstice Day in your calendar? Let your players have a little bit of running room in fantasy too, and suddenly; "Alstice day is the day The Kingdom of Gorric declared peace with the Gold Dragon Alstice and his flight" leads to a set of triggers in your mind going "That would be a perfect reason for the Ent-Gutter to sabotage the Throne!" which leads into more plot hooks.

And even better? Try Stopping Ulric's player from defeating Ent-gutter before he can sabotage the celebration, the celebration that he wants to be the perfect day for his daughter.

Now, Multiply that by [x] where [x] is the number of players in your party.

[Sivarias]

Thank you for reminding me of something that I forgot to type. The experienced players have a concrete back story.

Monk (LG)- was former prince of a nation locked in an eternal three way war between three clans, helped get peace with one clan and genocides another. On victorious tour of battlefield he realized his sin and gouged out his own eyes and wandered blind (he also has no idea where his home is, he is completely disoriented due to wondering blind). He was apprenticed by a hermit monk who lived in a secluded woods, ended up marrying a half-nymph decedent of the nymph of the woods were he lived. Snuck out to atone for his sins, wife chased.

Sorceress (NG)- the aforementioned half-nymph wife (played by monks gf) that's all she got

Alchemist (CN?)- was showing off mutagen to earn state alchemist in neighboring country to where campaign takes place in. show wrecked by cult, alchemist decimates cult and decides he likes killing, blowing things up, unleashing his Hyde. Gets state alchemist status for his heroics and ran off

Druid (NG)- my gf, she's a gnomy who rides a dog into combat and hates undead because they killed her family (I think is what we got right now)

Rogue (N)- Halfling noble's son (doesn't yet know he's a bastard son, it's a family secret), father was disfavored by king of campaign ("lich"). Mother kept father's gambling in check, but she passed away. Father's lost favor+gambling addiction=destitute family. Rogue starts forging letters of credit to get money, gets found out by creditors and chased out of town. He wants to start a fortune to create his own noble line independent of his father. Do to his bored youth he gets bardic knowledge (based on aristocrat levels of which he has 0) but not trap finding, (he can learn trapfinding later). He has an older sister and two troublemaking twin younger brothers (think triplets from Brave)

My Ranger is a genocide survivor

My Rogue will be an assasin promised nobility for killing the forger

My Hexblade will be a high ranking cultist

So that's the pot I've got. It's got good stuff. I just feel I'm stuck with the "lich King" and they'll get suspicious if I kill her off. And it feels like too much of a retcon.

[Sivarias]

GOOD NEWS!! They've completely forgotten about the "lich king" so I don't have to worry about her. I think I know what I'm doing now, but any tips or tricks would still be appreciated

[Shining Wrath]

Ask the experienced players to set an example for the n00bs.

[Sivarias]

It was the experienced players who charged in saying "We can totally kill this!" they are used to thier previous DM who saved them with DMPCs