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LemursGalore
2020-07-16, 03:16 PM
Greetings to the forum people.
I’ve signed up to DM a campaign in 3.5, gestalt, with heavy good v. evil themes. Four out of five players have arrived.
I’m having trouble putting together a campaign from the scattered ideas I have & the backstories my players have given me.
For their backstories, I would refer you to the OOC thread for our campaign, titled “Expectations for Campaign 273.”
If you want them here I will post them here.
As for my scattered ideas, the opening I have revolves around a dragon relic hidden beneath a town in the desert. There are dragons attacking the town trying to steal the relic. I don’t know why, though, and I don’t know who’s behind it all.
I’m sorry if this is too broad, but I really need help building my campaign. Any advice you have would be much appreciated.
Thanks for listening to me.
Chaim B

Adamantrue
2020-07-16, 10:32 PM
Alistair Erlens (Unseelie Feytouched Rogue//Warlock):
In some places, the parents of newborns place iron scissors over their infants, believing that this deters the faeries come to steal them from their cribs.

The parents of one Alice Erlens need not have worried. When the faery finally came for their daughter, not only was it three years late, the magics it laid on its wooden false Alice were so inept that while they did indeed grant it a semblance of life, they failed to make the thing look anything like flesh. Alice herself had grown large enough that her prospective abductor proved physically unable to carry her off, and in the end the hapless faery gave the whole enterprise up and departed the scene in disgust.

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Alice woke groggily to the tugging of tiny hands at her nightclothes. She whined, batting blindly at the annoyance, but by the time her eyes were fully open, whatever it was was gone, barely registered in the wake of a curious new sight. On the bed beside her lay a misshapen lump of wood, all twisting bark and gnarled protrusions, and out of what seemed to be a head stared two glowing amber eyes.

Unafraid, she reached out a wondering hand.

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Twenty-Four Years Later
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Alistair Erlens was nothing special as far as wooden and wood-like beings went. He was not comely like a dryad, nor possessed of a treant's might. He could not even boast of the refined stateliness that all the best animated cabinets display.

Yet what he did have had not served him so badly over the last two decades: a certain capacity for sneaking, an array of minor magical powers... Most importantly, though, he had a sister for whom their parents would do absolutely anything.

It was that last factor which had prevented Mother and Father, on that morning so long ago, from hacking him to pieces and throwing them very far away when they had awoken to find their daughter playing with an unknown magical being. Even at three, all she had to do was scream at the injustice of her newest 'toy' being taken away to banish all serious thoughts of the axe from her parents' minds.

Her protestations had also gotten him out of the cage in the kitchen a few weeks later and bought him a tentative promotion to family pet, then raised him all the way to eventual sibling after he displayed the ability to speak.

Their parents had initially defaulted to the 'axe solution' upon hearing his first word and realizing that they knew nothing at all about what they had let into their home. As Alice later told her little brother, upon hearing their decision she had set upon them screaming bloody murder until either the anguished cries or surprisingly powerful five-year-old fists forced a change of plans.

When one put things that way, Mother and Father came out of it looking rather bad, but really only by comparison to Alice. Most of the humans he had known over the years would probably have gone straight for the hacking option no matter what their pretty little girl said, and even that could largely be attributed to survival instinct instead of any real malice.

In any case, they had warmed to him of their own accord over the years. Mother, the family business's manager, had been the first to realize the commercial opportunities inherent in an unpaid agent with magical powers. Over the years, the Erlens Trading Company had grown very large and prosperous indeed, bolstered by a number of rivals whose goods had mysteriously exploded overnight or inexplicably decided to donate their entire fortunes to charity. Alice sometimes said that he was letting Mother use him, but Alistair wasn't naive enough to expect the same kind of unconditional love Alice took for granted. Besides, he lived in the big house and ate the fine food all those profits had bought.

Father mostly gave everyone the same, bumbling, absent-minded lack of attention even when he could tear himself away from his books, and might even favor Alistair a little for being the only one who shared any interest in academic pursuits.

Six months ago, Alice had browbeaten their parents into sending her to train as a paladin at a distant temple. Mother still hadn't completely come around, but even she could see Alice had neither an aptitude for commerce nor a disposition that made her easily marriageable. In any case, the temple hadn't asked for payment.

Last week, a letter marked with the temple's seal had arrived by express courier. Alice was now missing, following a heated ideological disagreement with one of her instructors.

Mother had dispatched Alistair immediately to find her.

Although Alistair was touched by his mother's faith in his abilities, he wished she had listened a little more to his objections that he possessed absolutely no path-finding ability outside the city, because two days after he should have arrived at the port where the ship to the temple docked, the only thing he knew was that he was really, utterly lost.

He was a little concerned about Alice, but she had always been much tougher than he was, not to mention that he had been the one to listen to all her fantasies of being a knight-errant and had a sneaking suspicion that she was now living that dream. It was himself he was worried for—he had been wandering down this middle-of-nowhere road for the last two days after disembarking from the wagon train at the wrong stop, and his hopes of finding civilization again soon were slowly dwindling.
The Gnome Ramon (Gnome Knight//Ranger):
Coming from a family of dog breeders, the Gnome Ramon grew up hearing tales of noble knights, having grand adventures and performing great deeds. He fell in love with the concept of becoming one, the romance of it all, and decided to leave the family business.

He tries to live up to what he considers the ideals of chilvary, having never thought that they may have be nothing more than stories, or that these weren't tales of non-gnome heroes. Or that one doesn't simply choose to be a Knight.

A bit of an idealist, somewhat naive about how the world works outside his village, and WAY more confident than he has any right to be. He often does not understand a situation for what it really is.

He has chosen to fly his family crest as his banner, the "Leaping Dogs" (which actually looks like two dogs... breeding, but he never figured that part out).
Brim Rizen (Human Fighter//Rogue):
The Rizen family was a family of discipline and direction. From the moment a child is born into the family and through their infancy and childhood they are told by, no, forced by, their surrounding family members that they are destined for great things. For the Rizen family protects the traditions and lives of nobility.

For generations this so-called ‘great’ family saw it as their sworn duty to create the next line of elite protectors and until 4 years ago that line was unbroken. That line was broken by me. For a long time it seemed that I would go on to be a legendary protector, and it was said that eventually I could even rival my father, Brim Rizen The 3rd.

I was the perfect child, excelled in every way. In my crossbow training I always met my mark, I sped ahead in my studies, and my sisters just stood by and watched. Those were the good old days. Everybody loved me and I never lost… never. Back then I would do anything for my father’s approval and I kept everyone under my thumb.

No one knew that I had a secret… almost no one. I saw myself as a big fish in a little pond and saw it fit to finally put my name out in the world. I became a dealer of rare and exotic herbs, I made quite a fortune for myself before my nosy sister had to follow me one night, using our father's green cloak, and see everything.
I made her swear to never tell anyone what she had seen and I would put a good word to father for her.

For a while everything went great and my sister didn’t tell a soul but all that changed after my first job.

I was to escort a family of nobles across a small passage through the mountains. I went ahead a couple hundred feet to make sure the path was clear when I heard screams behind me. But by the time I had arrived it was way too late, all I saw was the edge dark green cloak flit away in the night, leaving me in the carnage.

When I came home my entire family was standing in front of the door, waiting for me. I was interrogated right there and then, somehow they had gotten it into their heads that I had orchestrated the attack. I tried to defend myself but my father wouldn’t budge. But the final nail in the coffin was my sister.
She walked out in front of my entire family and told what she saw 2 years prior. I was going to defend myself but I looked at my father and saw the hurt pride in his eyes and I couldn’t say anything.

I just picked up my travel bag and turned and walked away. By this time I had accumulated many favours within the underground sects of the neighboring cities and cashed most of those in to get far far away. I was determined to change my ways, to become a good person.

Two years past and I was just managing to scrape by then I received a missive that my father had died of grief over the betrayal of his son. I made my way back so I could apologize to my family and attend the funeral.
When I arrived I was surprised to find nothing had changed and when I knocked on the door and my father opened it. I was stunned and so was he, to see his treasonous son return and for what?

While we stood there staring at each other I heard a crossbow snap and I felt something fly by my ear. I turn around to see a green cloak dart into the surrounding woods. I spun back around to see my father, a bolt dug 4 inches into his skull and when he fell I saw my sister, standing with a look of horror on her face.

I ran. I ran further than I’ve ever gone. I ran till exhaustion and when I woke up I ran again. And here I find myself, certain that I have been framed again, certain that I am a fugitive, certain that I need to find that green cloaked man, certain that I need to avenge my father's death and restore my honour.
Roland Tomas (Dragonborn Crusader//Cleric):
Regarding flavor I am thinking that my character is a relatively young knight who's just undergone the ritual of rebirth as a Dragonborn to better allow him to (insert what the early plot is about). He's learned some magic but mostly he's geared towards defending those less sturdy than himself and leading/inspiring people to greater heights

Note: Not sure if this is the complete background, just the only one I remember seeing.
From my "pitch" in another thread:
Lord [Insert Name Here] has decided to run a Tournament in [Such and Such Town]. Perhaps it's to find a champion for a quest, perhaps it's to improve morale of the common folk (who may be experiencing troublesome times), or maybe the Lord is aware of an upcoming threat, and wants to have some of the finest warriors in the realm nearby.

Or maybe there is another reason entirely. Or none, it's simply an excuse for a holiday.

In any case, it is still a month away, but construction for the event is already underway. And people have begun to arrive.

Alistair overheard knights talking of the event, and hopes that perhaps he could find some information about Alice, since they seem to be part of the same circles.

Brim is going to attend covertly, still having some friendly contacts among the noble families (and among those of his days dealing contraband). He is searching for a lead on the green cloak.

Roland has come to test his new abilities. He is eager to reunite with old friends, and perhaps join someone on a worthy quest.

And the Gnome Ramon is eager to compete with real, honest-to-goodness knights! He can't wait to earn their acceptance, and hear the tales of their adventures. And maybe he can start down the path of becoming a proper knight.
The first question is, is this idea something you wanted to incorporate? Or did you want to go in another direction...

...or is there something else entirely that you wanted to focus on first?

keybounce
2020-07-17, 07:57 PM
There are two good ways off the top of my head to run a campaign:

1. Have a good world idea for them to play in, and find a way for them to choose what they want to do.
2. Have them in trouble (owing someone, in dept, being chased, etc) and forced to survive.

What I see here is a bunch of characters with little to no common thread, and ... a single idea.

Ok. If you want to go with the dragons attacking, then come up with a "why?". "Recovering ancient dragon relic" is fine. How did that relic get there? How long has it been there? What tipped the dragons off about it?

At this point, you need to start asking "what do you want to run next?"

When you can get a sense of what you want to run next, and the world that they are in (even if it's just "xxxx is the cause of the dragon problem"), then you have your campaign -- world, conflict, and actors.

Adamantrue
2020-07-18, 05:14 PM
I've been in campaigns that worked out with less to go on.

The way I see it, there are basically 3 ideas to work with.

1 - Dragon Shenanigans. It seems to be what you wanted to play with, and can easily tie in with the Dragonborn. This could easily persist through the entire length of the campaign.

2 - Missing Sister. There is more of a sense of urgency here, since she recently disappeared, and is why the Warlock is out and about in the first place.

3 - Find the Assassin. This could be a slow burn, involving conspiracies and occasional confrontations, and would heavily motivate Brim.

Now, I personally would tie #2 in with either the first or the third storyline, to streamline the workload and to have a sense of progression of events beyond a single character's goals.

Consider the possibility that "Alice" had a falling out with her order because she discovered something she shouldn't. Maybe she isn't missing, but instead working more covertly than one would expect from a Paladin.

I have other thoughts in this direction, but since you are the one that has to run things, I should wait for you to reply.