Three chapter campaigns

[Duff]

The 3 power levels kind of beg for a campaign to have 3 chapters, with the climax of each chapter including whatever goal xp are required to get the party up to 11th/21st level (training montage optional). But I've never read or heard of it actually being done. Have I just missed it?

Maybe 1st chapter being an invasion of orcs (for example) and going from dealing with the scouting forces through special ops and ending in the climactic battle where the orc king is defeated, also revealing that there's a power behind the throne (say some Yuan Ti for example). The Paragon chapter involves discovering and countering other plots of this enemy, maybe traveling all over the continent say, climaxing with taking on the leader of the Pantathions Yuan Ti. Epic would then consist of taking the enemy on in their homeland.

[Meta]

Most of the campaign ideas in the books are set up exactly like this.

[ThePurple]

Most of the campaign ideas in the books are set up exactly like this.

I have a hard time filling them with enough relevant content to actually justify all 10 levels. I tend to run the "chapters" in 4-6 level increments, though I do link them. All of my campaigns have been planned from 5 (where I start them) to 30 with chunks that follow the tiers pretty closely.

[Kurald Galain]

Most campaigns are also way shorter than this. You could just as easily fit your idea in levels 1-3 (orcs), 4-6 (yuan-ti) and 7-9 (homeland).

[MwaO]

I have a hard time filling them with enough relevant content to actually justify all 10 levels. I tend to run the "chapters" in 4-6 level increments, though I do link them. All of my campaigns have been planned from 5 (where I start them) to 30 with chunks that follow the tiers pretty closely.

I generally use a wheel-like structure, where 3-5 plots are in front of the players, the players choose, and then the ones they're bored with go away, the ones I think they ignored metastasize, and new ones linked to the ones they solved show up.

So the merchant caravan they saved from the bandits? Turns out the leader of the bandits isn't particularly happy about that. Dealt with him? Turns out he was a low-level member of a Thieves Guild. Dealt with his friends? Thieves Guild isn't happy. And so on.

Or didn't save the merchant caravan? Well, bandits now have more money and get some more recruits. Maybe from that orc tribe the players keep ignoring. Etc...

And in that context - that's Heroic tier plot - they're learning about a small corner of the universe with hints of a bigger one. Paragon is a medium-sized corner with hints of a large one. And Epic is an overview with an idea about how everything works.

In each instance, the PCs have the opportunity to institute change and rewrite their area to reflect their values and failure is likely going away from their values.