Weird Campaign Idea

[Sparky McDibben]

Hey y'all,

So I had a strange campaign idea pop into my head the other day (they do that pretty frequently). I'm sort of pitching this as an episodic, monster-of-the-week campaign that feels like Curse of Strahd meets Witcher 3. Does anyone have any resources for monster-filled sandboxes, dark Gothic horror settings, or ways to customize monsters so they are more suitable for a horror setting.

I've already got Curse of Strahd, and I'm ordering Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, but I'm looking for more. 3rd-party, non-5e supplements are welcome.

Thanks!

[Segev]

I have been seeing a lot of ads for something called "Grim Hollow."

[Veldrenor]

I have been seeing a lot of ads for something called "Grim Hollow."

Unfortunately Grim Hollow won't help too much in terms of monsters. The Campaign Guide has a few monsters in it but not many, and the Monster Grimoire kickstarter just finished so it will likely be a little while before that's available. In terms of other dark fantasy elements, though, the campaign guide and players' guide have plenty of material to draw from.

[Sparky McDibben]

Thanks, y'all! I'll check out Mr. Petersen's book; I totally forgot about Grim Hollow - I already own it!

Now, does anyone have any recommendations on sandboxes I could borrow for this? It doesn't necessarily have to fit the tone exactly - I'm just looking for bits and bobs I can steal.

[Theodoxus]

The Van Richten's is pretty chop full of sandboxy goodness. Especially if you strip out the Plane of Dread/Mists aspect and just mash the whole thing into it's own continent or plop them into your world as a thing.

Of course, you can also simply take the concepts of each location and build from there. I'm particularly fond of Falkovia, with the endless monthly zombie swarms. But the political intrigue of Borca with the two competing dark lords could be quite interesting.

I won't run down each domain, but there is loads of interesting ideas, adventure hooks and fun random tables to generate unique ideas. Mixing something like the Carnival with, well, any other domain would create sufficient sandbox replay-ability, even within the same campaign.

It's something that's been percolating in the back of my mind for the last couple days since I got the book.

[Veldrenor]

Thanks, y'all! I'll check out Mr. Petersen's book; I totally forgot about Grim Hollow - I already own it!

Now, does anyone have any recommendations on sandboxes I could borrow for this? It doesn't necessarily have to fit the tone exactly - I'm just looking for bits and bobs I can steal.

How would you define "sandbox" in this instance? What elements does it need to have to satisfy what you're looking for?

[Sparky McDibben]

How would you define "sandbox" in this instance? What elements does it need to have to satisfy what you're looking for?

I define a sandbox as any bounded area of play where player choices and the consequences thereof drive forward motion in the campaign.

Characteristics of a good sandbox, in my experience:


Lots and lots and lots of scenario hooks, letting the players choose which ones they'll try to get to
Secrets for the players to uncover
Mysteries for the players to solve
Strong procedural content generation to give improvisational support
Reasonably stocked locations, NPCs, and / or items that can all spawn their own adventures

[Segev]

I own, somewhere, an old "Judge's Guild" volume that had tngs like Baby Saga's Hut and a werewolf mansion and a well containing an ancient demon. that last was called "Wilchidar's Well."

I cant remember more specifics, but if that helps you find a copy, some of the stuff in there probably would work as inspiration.