Some story and worldbuilding help

[Dorgnificant]

So I have this campaign (5e) that I'm starting with the group I normally play with (this is my first time DMing though usually one of the other members does it), and I have a setting pretty much down. I have a hook and a fairly loose ending (there's a final character that they'll encounter but how they deal with it is up to them--it's not necessarily an enemy but it can be), but I have no idea how to get from one to the other. Basically I'm missing the actual story. Any tips I guess as to how to give them a story to actually follow? I'm thinking of having them chase the final "boss" and run into a bunch of obstacles and stuff along the way, but I don't know if that would be too awful.

A second point, I don't know how solid my world is and the group I play with is the kind that will find a way to question like every detail, but totally legit in-character and I want to be prepared so is there anywhere I could find a list of questions to run my world against? Or if you guys would be willing to grill me about it, that'd be cool too.

[thedanster7000]

Stories often surround conflict, perhaps have a conflict (violent, or political, etc.), and how the players are involved in that (or maybe even what side they're on) could help generate a story. As for the questioning, I don't know how specific the questions your players will ask are, so I'd just think of what they're likely to say, knowing them, and then prepare answers for those (or just improvise with your knowledge of the world).

[Gildedragon]

Tell us about the world or campaign idea.

[Dorgnificant]

Tell us about the world or campaign idea.

It's set in a formerly fairly standard high-fantasy setting--based somewhat off of Eragon, where there are a bunch of different "civilizations", except rather than being all on the same place, it's a global society and the different races tend to inhabit different continents. In an effort to break down the borders and whatnot, a group of elves try to expand from their small island and move up into a continent that is primarily inhabited my humans, and the country there gets mad and scared and takes it as an act of war, and respond accordingly. The elves think that the humans are trying to declare war on them, so they respond with more violence, and from there it spirals out of control. A la WW1 and WW2, different civilizations start backing the various sides and it becomes a fantastical world war.
About halfway through the war, a figure appears, calling himself Tane, who is moving from place to place, and preaching that the war will cause the world to end and that only his followers will be saved. People are scared and worried that the war will never end because they've never seen something on this scale or this long, so they flock to him. After a few years of this, he begins changing his tune slightly, saying that he and his followers will cleanse the world of the filth that creates these wars and will rebuild the world from the ashes. A bunch of people nope their way out of his order, but very soon afterwards, crazy natural disasters start hitting the world--massive earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. that essentially destroy the world as we know it and leave it barren and wasted.

When the campaign starts, it's a few generations later (anybody that survived the original thing is long dead, and their great-great grandchildren are reaching an older age now), and the people that survived (and their descendants) have begun the rebuilding process (on a small scale, obviously. At most, there are a few cities that are aware of each others' existence, but for the most part, it's just barely more than an encampment that grew because more survivors came through). The campaign takes place on a single island. The main rebuilt city where the players start is called Idunn, and one of the core principles among Idunn residents is a hate towards magic and magic users because the original founders blame magic for the destruction and their descendants just kept that going. The problem arises when people like Sorcerers and other innate casters get born, and they're being prosecuted for something beyond their control and so after a while of that, the magic-users rebel and try to change Idunn, but that doesn't work, so they move away and found another town called Dalki, which is almost entirely magic-users. There's not a war, per se, but it's not uncommon for residents of these places to run little "unofficial" raids against the other.

The religious beliefs in Idunn and Dalki indicate that the world operates on a cycle and history will quite literally repeat itself, so going into the ruins of old cities for information about the past is a lucrative but dangerous business.

Aside from the regular survivor descendants, there are the Devout. The Devout are the people who still follow Tane and believe that they are the ones who were meant to inherit the world after its destruction. Most people don't like them and treat them like trash so while they do go preach to cities to try to convert people, they tend to not stick around for long, and they are forever searching for what they call "the promised land", which is where they can join Tane and build a utopia with him.

My endgame is that they search for and find Tane (there's a lot there as far as gods and planes go that they may or may not get into), and I have a plan for them to help a group of Devout defend themselves against a monster who turns out to be a Coatl, and when it dies it gives some ominous warning to them/to the devout, but I'm not sure how to get them from the ominous warning to finding Tane.

We've done the first session which was just the characters' introduction to each other but we haven't made it to the Coatl yet

[Gildedragon]

In an effort to break down the borders and whatnot, a group of elves try to expand from their small island and move up into a continent that is primarily inhabited my humans, and the country there gets mad and scared and takes it as an act of war, and respond accordingly. The elves think that the humans are trying to declare war on them, so they respond with more violence, and from there it spirals out of control. A la WW1 and WW2, different civilizations start backing the various sides and it becomes a fantastical world war.
What happened to diplomacy as a first volley? if the world was connected enough to result in a Great War there must have been networks of diplomacy that pulled unwilling or hesitant nations into the fray. Not that it isn't implausible, but it requires a series of very closely knit together nations.
Now if the elvish land-grab was a terrorist act: what sort of injustice or trouble had the elves suffered at the hands of the humans that war was their first reaction?


...preaching that the war will cause the world to end and that only his followers will be saved...After a few years of this, he begins changing his tune slightly, saying that he and his followers will cleanse the world of the filth that creates these wars and will rebuild the world from the ashes.That feels less of a slight tune change of tune as a complete change in position. Also this has the Tane character feel less... fleshed out. It makes more sense if he splintered from another movement: either guided by visions or dissatisfied with the lack of emphasis on making the world great again after the cataclysm.

So overall, the world has ended. Don't worry TOO much as to the details of the world before. Everyone is in diaspora, and records are lost. There are ruins but the precise reasons of why aren't needed.

regarding the devout: the world is ended. I'd expect some devout to be rebuilding. there ought be at least one or two devout enclaves. Also why do people treat them like dirt? I expect a milleniarist religion to change some post the cataclysm; and if they can cleric some water or vegetation up, they might be quite popular. they might be paladinesque ultra-dogmatic a-holes but... they do have water, or druid spells.

anything about the distant past is a total mystery: too shrouded in myth and resignation to the present to be worthwhile

As to how to start a quest:
The wells are drying up. Find and secure water.
The Dungeon Crawl: Stories spoke of relics that powered the vast baths and fountains of the ancient cities (a create water trap wondrous architecture, or a rockgourd statue). Venture into the wastes to find one. There might a ruins access in or near Dalki.
The Diplomatic Route: The city of Dalki is situated over vast reservoirs; they have more than enough water to sell. Establish ties with them to supply your town with water.
OR
get a spell or ritual to reawaken the wells.

Alt Diplomatic Route: A fortress of the Devout is near-is and their clerics can produce water. convince the Devout to provide your city with water. It will come at a cost: a debt to the Devout which may be to find some relics/signs of their prophet.

The routes involving Dalki might have them come across someone either pointing them to the desert for the water trap OR being willing to trade them a prototype well-filler for some ancient books in the wastes; a sort of "get me the books, i'll solve your water crisis", or it might push them into some diplomatic intrigue: the cult of Tane is planning on assassinating the leader of Dalki, pin it on Idunn and take over the cities by establishing a martial peace.

The delving into the ruins may present them with some evidence that the cult of Tane is older than expected. Or that Tane was a man.

[Thrudd]

What motivates the players and the PC's in this game? That's the most important thing in planning the campaign. The world building is great, but it means nothing if the players don't have any investment in it. Investment, here, means that they care what is in the world, because it affects them and how they play the game.
For instance, when players gain XP for their characters by finding treasure, they are invested in finding treasure and will proactively engage with the game world in order to do that. They will go looking for treasure, and all you need to do is put adventure in between them and their goal.

You're playing 5e. So what variation of the rules are you using to determine character advancement? How the players get XP is a significant consideration when you plan your adventures, since that is the primary motivator for players in the meta sense.
Also what sort of decisions will the players be making, what do you expect them to be doing? What sorts of things do you hope they will engage with? You've got a setting that establishes there are ruins/dungeons full of stuff from past ages. In what way will the players be motivated to go to those places? What will they find when they go there? Thinking about these things should help you formulate some ideas. Don't think in terms of "how should this story go?", think "what things do I hope the players will be doing?"

Maybe you want them exploring the ruins, encountering strange creatures and booby traps and finding magic artifacts. So you need characters that are likely to want to do that sort of thing. They need to find out about the ruins and what can be found there. How will this benefit the characters? How will it benefit the players? Has anyone else gone to these ruins before? Did they come back? What did they find? How do they know there is still something there, if other people have been there already? If nobody has ever survived, why do they think they'd fare any better? If the characters are going to the ruins on someone else's behalf, what do they gain from it? Is there more than one group of people that want what is in the ruins? What would change in the world when people have what is found in the ruins, if anything? Is dungeon delving an essential or established part of the economy, or is this a relatively new phenomenon that is causing changes in society? If there is a lot of competition on the island between dungeon delvers racing to get there first, would it make more sense to leave and look for wealth elsewhere? Is there more of this sort of work available in other parts of the world?

Start by considering the characters' and players' point of view, whatever you have in mind, the questions will come and the answers will inform how to design your world and what sort of adventures might be had.

[Dorgnificant]

Don't think in terms of "how should this story go?", think "what things do I hope the players will be doing?"

This actually helps a lot, generally the campaigns I've done have been extremely story- and plot-based so I've been stressing about a plot rather than character experience. It's just a weird way to change my thinking I guess. Thanks!


regarding the devout: the world is ended. I'd expect some devout to be rebuilding. there ought be at least one or two devout enclaves.
(Probably should've mentioned that the devout are supposed to be nomadic. People treat them like dirt mostly because of the stigma that they're the ones who caused their situation in the first place)




As to how to start a quest:
The wells are drying up. Find and secure water.
The Dungeon Crawl: Stories spoke of relics that powered the vast baths and fountains of the ancient cities (a create water trap wondrous architecture, or a rockgourd statue). Venture into the wastes to find one. There might a ruins access in or near Dalki.
The Diplomatic Route: The city of Dalki is situated over vast reservoirs; they have more than enough water to sell. Establish ties with them to supply your town with water.
OR
get a spell or ritual to reawaken the wells.

Alt Diplomatic Route: A fortress of the Devout is near-is and their clerics can produce water. convince the Devout to provide your city with water. It will come at a cost: a debt to the Devout which may be to find some relics/signs of their prophet.

[...]

The delving into the ruins may present them with some evidence that the cult of Tane is older than expected. Or that Tane was a man.

Also this, thanks. Once again, part of my problem was how to introduce anything in a way that made sense for the characters, but this definitely gives me some solid ideas. My biggest question, though, is should I use some quests as padding, or should I do the first (technically it'd be the second because the "intro" session was a quest of sorts) as a way to introduce them to the story?

[Dorgnificant]

If I can sneak in another question real quick, I'm also trying to play with Sanity and Insanity effects (I started planning it before 5e using some modified Call of Cthulhu rules but since 5e has the rules already in the handbook it makes it a lot easier), but I'm not totally sure how to implement it. I want to do it primarily related to magic (and I'm thinking of using something similar to taint, with stronger weapons that in-story are from before the destruction), but I can't think of a way to do it without just straight-up giving penalties to magic users. Would it be reasonable to say that if they use a certain number of spells per day, they start to suffer short-term insanity effects? Or possibly certain types of spells (again, probably higher-powered ones) cause it, or perhaps allow them to access higher-level spells, but at the cost of a sanity check every time they use it?

[Gildedragon]

Also this, thanks. Once again, part of my problem was how to introduce anything in a way that made sense for the characters, but this definitely gives me some solid ideas. My biggest question, though, is should I use some quests as padding, or should I do the first (technically it'd be the second because the "intro" session was a quest of sorts) as a way to introduce them to the story?

Make the "padding" crunchy. Sure it looks like something light and fluffy, go get X from Y spot. Thing is the people of Y will want their X back, or X has some unintended side effects, or something, so that the 'padding' suddenly turned important. And it might not get important right away; a couple missions go by and then the importance crops up; then it is foreshadowing.
Have a couple threads going on at the same time, threads that weave together into a bigger plot, but can be dropped if the PCs resolve them in an unexpected fashion