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View Full Version : DM Help Starting my own campaign



Origomar
2018-09-27, 10:46 PM
I am playing a pathfinder game with a couple of my friends, primarily because its the system i know best. They are relatively new.

I have a bunch of premade characters that they can choose from with premade backstories as well(but they aren't very expansive so they can add onto them).

I want the story to have a few plot holes as possible, but i also don't think i should plan super far into the future as i have no idea what they are going to do(even though i've given their characters some vague objectives).

So far the story is basically that a group of clerics(and some of their allies) decided they were going to try and spread an incurable(atleast not curable through typical means, the PC's basically will need to find a cure) magical plague that causes people to become zombies upon death(not immediately, but when they do some ritual). They were doing a test run of how contagious the disease was, but accidentally infected someone important. This caused an outside force to put a magical quarantine on the entire city.

I've written how everyone in the party with their differing goals will meet up, but im stil missing some crucial elements to the main plot that i was hoping someone could help me with ideas.


1. How did the bad guys plan on spreading the plague without people knowing? This is a big one because i want this to make logical sense as if this doesn't make sense it will probably break all immersion.

2. I want a local criminal gang to be involved, but i want it to make sense that they had to use criminals to help facilitate the spread of the plague as well. Sort of like an intermediary between the starting point and the actual main bad guys.


3. Why are they doing this? The clerics are doing it to give their god power as they will resurrect undead and those undead will worship their new god(idk if thats how it works in 3.5/pathfinder but thats the story reason im using). I have a few of their allies, one of which is a vampire noble who i don't have a good reason as to why they are helping other than "lul hes undead and hes also evil"

4. How will they cure the plague? I want it to be like they need to gather three items or something like that but they aren't really allowed to leave the confines of a city, and how i go about them figuring out what they will need is also an issue.

Honestly anything helping me answer the above 4 questions would help a lot, i dont think they will move quickly in our first session but i'd rather have everything fleshed out beforehand so i don't give faulty information at any point in time.

Darth Ultron
2018-09-28, 12:14 AM
Well....

1.In the Food or Water is obvious. For the more fantasy feel, you could go with zombie plague rats.

2.Well, for food or water, making the criminals ''merchants" works wonders. It's a typical cover for crime, after all. Or the criminals can run a tavern or such...a popular one, that everyone eats at.

For fantasy feel you could go with a ''drug", like an alchemist mixture that gives a bonus and is addictive. For example, something that adds to charisma would be a big seller...even if it was not addictive. Again, prime spot for criminals.

3.Evil religious folks don't need much of a detailed ''why". They are Evil and worship Evil so they do Evil. But you can add in a Evil Reason. Like ''our plague only effects the weak...the weak become our lords undead minions...but the strong survive!"

4.Well, a obvious quest for a Item of Healing. So you have the Bowl of Curing, an ancient healing artifact. It was broken into three pieces and hid around the city to keep it safe from bad guys....only the folks that hid it are long dead...and never told anyone where the parts are....but they did leave clues. Or maybe one of the order is left.

YohaiHorosha
2018-09-28, 12:11 PM
I've always found that with players who are new to focus on villians, their motivations, their means, and what they're trying to do. If you have a few of those, then being able to plan for their shenanigans is less about set pieces and more about motivations and means.

If you tell me about your villians, I can figure out some things that they'll do and how they'll do them.

DMThac0
2018-10-02, 04:18 PM
1. How did the bad guys plan on spreading the plague without people knowing? This is a big one because i want this to make logical sense as if this doesn't make sense it will probably break all immersion.

As they're trying to figure out the best methods, and how contagious this disease is that opens up a few different gambits you can use in tandem:
-Incense burners using an airborne pathogen.
-Holy water basins in the church to apply it as a topical pathogen.
-In the food/water used for services as an ingest-able pathogen.
Combining all the ideas could make for some really interesting paths the players could take to figure out all the different sources of the pathogen.



2. I want a local criminal gang to be involved, but i want it to make sense that they had to use criminals to help facilitate the spread of the plague as well. Sort of like an intermediary between the starting point and the actual main bad guys.


This could be done in a few ways:
1: Hiring the local thieve's guild/mafia-esq family
2: Paying off the homeless to do the deed for a small amount of coin
3: The "gang" could be disguised as clergy and have infiltrated the church



3. Why are they doing this? The clerics are doing it to give their god power as they will resurrect undead and those undead will worship their new god(idk if thats how it works in 3.5/pathfinder but thats the story reason im using). I have a few of their allies, one of which is a vampire noble who i don't have a good reason as to why they are helping other than "lul hes undead and hes also evil"


You could also continue with the Pantheon and have an Undead based diety subtly pushing for power using these various agents to increase their power and influence. A head figure of the church being corrupted, creating deals with the vampire lord and other powers to facilitate this.



4. How will they cure the plague? I want it to be like they need to gather three items or something like that but they aren't really allowed to leave the confines of a city, and how i go about them figuring out what they will need is also an issue. .

Divine object + destruction of the people propagating the plan + destruction of the evil shrine/altar/artifact to the diety of undeath.

nineGardens
2018-10-02, 10:47 PM
4. How will they cure the plague? I want it to be like they need to gather three items or something like that but they aren't really allowed to leave the confines of a city, and how i go about them figuring out what they will need is also an issue.


First step, they going to need AN EXPERT.
An expert healer? A Great Cleric? Or perhaps a research alchemist?
Or maybe a necromancer currently in the city dungeons who is completely unrelated to these shenanigans, but is an expert in the area. (Potentially this person gets roped in as their initial suspect... but then turns out to be innocent, and willing to help in exchange for certain lenience)
Personally for this character I would recommend someone who is trustworthy enough to rely upon, but who is cowardly/apathetic/misanthropic enough that they won't do anything helpful without persuasion/bribery.


Once they've got themselves an expert, they'll need A piece of the plauge itself (something to study)

A blood sample? A captured Zombie person? A sample of the poisoned food? Or perhaps a item used in the zombification ritual. Something that really forces the players to confront the bad guys head on.


Once you've got those two things, the third ingredient is... TIME.
Your researcher needs to do some study, and the city is at boilling point, and they need to keep the lid on things and PROTECT their researcher (who is by now being attacked.)



Finally, the Research will be able to identify some sort of secret weapon, which they will need some item to complete (A cup of morning light? The destruction of some evil artifact?)



Alternatively, perhaps you could just throw the problem at your players- hint at a couple possible leads to follow, but if they come up with a different plan then just run with it, and build your encounters so that when your players be all like "We will train mice to smell the plauge" you can run with it.

Avanya
2018-10-10, 09:44 AM
1. How did the bad guys plan on spreading the plague without people knowing? This is a big one because i want this to make logical sense as if this doesn't make sense it will probably break all immersion.

Like others have mentioned food and water is the obvious choice. Since we're talking a magical plague you could even have the local mill's stone cursed, so all grain it mills becomes infected. Drop some in the well too and you're good. It also sounds like you already decided your plague doesn't show right away, which helps you get it spread a lot before anyone becomes aware (even if it didn't go fully to plan so the PCs have a chance to stop it).


2. I want a local criminal gang to be involved, but i want it to make sense that they had to use criminals to help facilitate the spread of the plague as well. Sort of like an intermediary between the starting point and the actual main bad guys.

Local criminals blend in nicely and wouldn't be expected to do crazy things like this. A handful of clerics (or just strangers) might draw attention, perhaps even other clerics would be on guard making local criminals a better option. Plus I guess there's a risk being in the city, so some disposable labor is always nice. ;) If the clerics have just chucked some money at the local gangs to do their dirty work, you can also have one or two of them get suspicious and give some clues to the PCs if needed.


3. Why are they doing this? The clerics are doing it to give their god power as they will resurrect undead and those undead will worship their new god(idk if thats how it works in 3.5/pathfinder but thats the story reason im using). I have a few of their allies, one of which is a vampire noble who i don't have a good reason as to why they are helping other than "lul hes undead and hes also evil"

If you haven't already, I suggest having a look at the villain workshop (I can't post links yet, but click Gaming on the left and it's the 3rd from the top). It's really handy to give a little more depths to your villain and with a little creativity can be used for a group of people too. I looked at it for a cult in my campaign and it helped me get a little more substance for them than just "wants to summon evil creator to kill everyone" :P It can also help you figure out why the vampire is allied with them - maybe he's after more power or wealth and will swoop in once they're done and have killed everyone with the plague, or maybe someone in the city got in his way and he's after revenge. On the other hand he'll have something your clerics need. Maybe he's got the money to pay the local criminals or serves as a middleman (and a potential scape goat if they need it). He could also be a potential follower of their god, promised a high position once they get up and running.


4. How will they cure the plague? I want it to be like they need to gather three items or something like that but they aren't really allowed to leave the confines of a city, and how i go about them figuring out what they will need is also an issue.

Could be some ancient artefact mentioned in the history of the land from a time where there was a great illness or plague that swept the land. Or some legend of a hero favored by a god of healing/health/life, and his cup or something is rumoured to have healing properties. Could also be you need some rare herb that only grows in a distant place of great danger. Or water from a sacred spring. All of those are things that historians or clerics of the city might have heard of and not super secret information, so they would share it with the PCs.

You'll need a reason for someone to let the PCs know there's a disease of sorts that can't be cured by normal means. Could be the city calls on all hero types since someone has to go out and find a cure. You prob don't want to announce it on the market square since that might create a panic in the city. :P Maybe they're already estabilish heroes and someone has heard of them. Maybe a priest of one of the temples had a vision that they could save the city.

Also as I imagine you don't want the whole story to take place inside the city you'll need a way for them to get out. If they're charged with finding a cure, then that should pretty easily let them out. Could be the clerics of the city want to have them sit in a room with some incense for a while to cleanse them before they can leave the city (in the hopes the PCs won't spread it). Or someone who believes they can save them knows of a way to sneak them out of the city (won't be a good idea if your PCs are lawful ofc :P).