Lil bit of homebrewing

[Epicniro1]

So I've been asked to dm for the first time ever and I've been playing dnd for a few years now. I've gotten to know quite a bit about 3.5 so i said yes. Unfortunately i didnt quite realize the rabbit hole of creativity i jumped into.

The campaign setting will be based almost entirely on a mysterious island that the characters end up shipwrecked on after a massive storm strikes on their way there. think of the island as a sort of Australia sized skull island. the outsized bottom section where the group lands will be dense jungle/rainforest filled to the brim with scary creature such as dinosaurs cause thats fun. after the characters awaken on the beach the will be told by an unknown divine presence that they are on the island because they are recognized as promising adventurers and that they are being trusted to save the world.

so far i have 4 players. i okayed a little pathfinder so one is an ifrit sorcerer. a new player chose apostle of peace (not sure how i feel about it for a new player). another new player wants to be a rogue. and the fourth player has plenty of experience wants to be either a warlock or warpreist. i have decided to do a little homebrewing to make the characters feel a little special in this campaign by giving them unique leveling paths. kind of like a video game as they make accomplishments. for example, the rogue may have a shadow tree that as he accomplishes things via being sneaky, it levels up and gives him interesting new abilities like skyrim.

this will definetly be an epic level campaign so any advice to help me come up with these trees or keep things stream lined would be appreciated.

[Crake]

These "trees" already exist, in the form of feat trees. Just give the players bonus feats when they accomplish things, and let them decide how they want to spend them.

If you're going epic though, you may want to look into epic destinies (http://web.archive.org/web/20090218080723/http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080428). Maybe homebrew some of your own?

[ComaVision]

Trying to DM an epic level game as your first endeavor is probably a bad choice.

[Holcane]

Are they starting off as Epic or will eventually become Epic as they reach level 21?

[Vaern]

There's a variant rule in Unearthed Arcana that suggests prerequisite actions for feats. If you want actions to dictate which feats or abilities they unlock, this might be an option you'd like to consider.

Aside from that, I wouldn't recommend beginning your first campaign at epic levels. I've linked an article to a couple of friends who were talking about running their first game, and the article recommends that a first-time DM use a pre-made adventure module instead of creating their world from scratch. Run the game for no longer than three sessions, and then scrap it. This is for a number of reasons, but chief among those is for the DM to develop his storytelling style and for the players to learn how to interact with said style before they go into a more serious setting. Using a pre-made module takes a lot of pressure off of you to create an imaginative and unique world, and knowing that you're going to scrap the "trial game" after three sessions takes a bit of pressure off of the players to make viable long-term characters as well.

Also, the skull island thing is a bit cliched. Personally, I'd recommend something along the lines of...

"You awaken on an island, and in the distance you see a mountain. It towers above the jungle below, its sheer sides likely too steep to scale. Twisted rock slopes upward around one side towards the back, possibly all the way up to the wide plateau at the top. On the near side of the plateau there is a massive narrow spire, which reaches up from the cliffside to split the clouds. The more you look at it, the more it looks like the Hand of God offering an obscene gesture to you and your companions. You fear that the shipwreck has stranded you on the fabled Bird Island."