Looking for Seeds and Quest Ideas for an Evil Campaign

[darkmarena]

My players are of Neutral Evil and Chaotic Evil alignments. They're petty thieves, assassins, and everything in between if it will get them gold.

This is the second campaign I've ever DMed, and it is with the same group I've played and DMed with before.

As they've just made it to level 3, I have plenty of immediate ideas seeded and prepared for wherever the wind blows them, but for now it seems they've decided to settle in the burnt-out, poor district of a city called Whiteridge.

This city has a taste of everything. A guild of mages and psions that champion knowledge and Boccob, a hall of fighters and warriors that give their services to those with coin, and paladins and clerics who champion Heironeus, acting as the law.

Reigning over it all is a lord, yet to be named or worried about by the players, who pours his money into these groups to better protect himself and his goods.

There is plenty of room for theft, murder, assassination, and things of that ilk, but I'd like to hear input from other people who have worked on evil campaigns.

What are good missions and quest lines outside of the norm that you know have or think would go well for an evil lot of characters? Any interesting hooks or characters that you've had good results with?

[Tragak]

I would talk to the players out-of-game about whether they have their own ideas: what goals they want their characters to accomplish, what obstacles to those goals (possibly old enemies that the players write into their characters' backstories) would be the most fun for the players to attempt to overcome...

If the players set their own goals for their characters that they will actively pursue in-game, and you simply introduce obstacles to the players' own stated goals, then you don't need to worry about coming up with a ideas that you *hope* they will be excited to play: they've already come up with ideas that they will definitely be excited to play.

I would do this anyway - both before the game and between sessions - but especially since you described the PCs as "settling" someplace instead of staying more proactive.

[Banjoman42]

I don't have any solid ideas, but I can give you some of advice, since I've done this thing before

Try not to have every antagonist be a good NPC. It will get boring very quickly, and your players will view all of them as "another annoying paladin". Throw competing thieves guilds or adventuring parties at them. Occasionally, throw quests that would normally for good characters their way. If it threatens their lives as well as the city, they will quickly jump at it.

Revenge can be a powerful motivator in Evil campaigns. Throw higher level NPCs at them in the hopes that they will flee plot for a rematch. Always prepare an escape hatch in case the NPC really crushes them, or have the battle turn against the NPC once he has killed a cohort or taken something of value. Sometimes, you can even flip the traditional "go into dungeons and beat up NPCs" the other way, and have them set up a dungeon and defend it from good NPCs.

[Brookshw]

Rival thieves/assassin guild/empire moving into the city trying to take over. Splinter factor of guilds. All the guild wars.

Corrupt Noble trying to start a civil war in a bid to position themselves to take over the thrown.

Evil clerics trying to turn the thieves/assassins into their tools rather than respecting independence.

Undead never get old, brings down the property value.

Questions of legitimacy of kings reign, party hired to help bring him down.

[pilvento]

Party wants to steal something from an evil wizard, get captured and forced to work as henchmen or die. Evil wizard wants to destroy/rule city, party plays the role of henchmen until they can bring him down and take his place?

[Kanthalion]

I would talk to the players out-of-game about whether they have their own ideas: what goals they want their characters to accomplish, what obstacles to those goals (possibly old enemies that the players write into their characters' backstories) would be the most fun for the players to attempt to overcome...

If the players set their own goals for their characters that they will actively pursue in-game, and you simply introduce obstacles to the players' own stated goals, then you don't need to worry about coming up with a ideas that you *hope* they will be excited to play: they've already come up with ideas that they will definitely be excited to play.

I would do this anyway - both before the game and between sessions - but especially since you described the PCs as "settling" someplace instead of staying more proactive.

This. I and the guy I trade of DMing with will often have the players create a "3x3" for their characters (the other guy introduced it, not me. I'm not sure where he got it.) Basically, the player as part of the character's background must have 3 friends, 3 allies, and 3 enemies. From there, the adventure almost writes itself.

[nolongerchaos]

You could use Elder Evils but mirrored, so that the party is trying to awaken the E.E., but the good guys are trying to thwart them at every turn. Could make for some interesting intrigue as well, with the PCs trying to send out false leadsas to their goals to throw the paladins or what have you off their trail.