PDA

View Full Version : Pitch a campaign idea!



elliott20
2008-07-10, 11:50 PM
In the game Prime Time Adventures, one of the major steps is for the players to all sit down and pitch ideas for a "show" that they would like to see produced. (Basically, what kind of game they want to play)

Most of the time, it's an idea that can be summed up in one or two sentences.

While it is an actual mechanical step in the game Prime Time Adventures, I always thought this is a cool thing to do for just about ANY game that you'd want to play. This way, people already have a thematic concept in mind and sometimes it will even suggest a flavor that the players will just instantly get. Most of the time, we try to do this before we pick the system we use.

some ideas I've heard pitched around the table before:

- Cowboys... but in space! (Firefly clone)
- Doctors... but in space! (sci-fi ER)
- Investigators... but in space! (in case you're wondering, the "in-space!" ones all came from the same guy)
- Superheroes game, but instead of being the superheroes, you play the clean up crew and the various other people in the city
- Roman centurians meets steampunk
- Revolution-era America meets steampunk ("George Washington with a steam engine arm riding on a mechanical horse" was the example he used)
- Greek heroes... IN SPACE (this one we actually kinda liked)
- Arthurian legends in mecha
- Arthurian legends crossed with Superheroes
- A game that is about legacy. First you play Gods who created and walk the earth. Then you play the great heroes who are the progenies of the Gods. Then you play the tribes who are the descendants of this once great hero. you keep going until you eventually play an old man, who tells the stories of his great tribe to his children. (great idea, but tough to pull off.)
- Samurais but with a cyberpunk twist
- Wuxia steampunk
- Merchants of death, selling alcohol/cigarettes/guns/whatever is bad for you. Players play either the CEOs of these respective corporations, or pivotal employees within the corporation.

We also had some just god awful ones. (mostly for laughs... I hope)

- Hentai superheroes, I'm not making this up. Superheroes in a hentai world
- Big monsters (mothra, godzilla, etc)
- the life of a split personality individual. each player plays a persona that individual takes on. (if it weren't for the fact that every possibility coming out of this ends up having us play essentially a psychotic murderer, this wouldn't have been TOO bad)
- Farmers in the Southwest.

there are a bunch more that came up... what's your idea?

monty
2008-07-11, 12:10 AM
Elves...in space!
Giant hamsters...in space!
Hippo men...in space!

mikeejimbo
2008-07-11, 12:16 AM
<noun>...in space!

chiasaur11
2008-07-11, 12:16 AM
Die Hard...In Space!
Die Hard... In Jurrasic Park!
Die Hard... In DnD!
Speed 2... But on a bus!

TheOOB
2008-07-11, 12:17 AM
Elves...in space!

They did that and it was called Warhammer 40k

Teen romantic sitcom...in a mutant infested post apocalyptic wasteland
Little kids fighting not so imaginary monsters that adults can't see(see razor in the apple from true 20 worlds of adventure).

elliott20
2008-07-11, 12:21 AM
Elves...in space!
Giant hamsters...in space!
Hippo men...in space!

Spelljammer?

mikeejimbo
2008-07-11, 12:24 AM
Here's one...

The characters are normal people (normal being subjective for the campaign/setting/etc, they could even be adventurers if you're playing a 'normal' D&D game), but they begin to feel odd things happening. They can't exactly pinpoint it, but it's like strange forces are dictating their fates.

Eventually, they become more and more Genre Savvy until they realize they're characters in an RPG.

erikun
2008-07-11, 12:26 AM
Snakes on a Boat!

The party finds out that they boarded the wrong boat, and the one they are currently on is full of Yuan-ti (and possibly Medusae, or other serpents). The PC's can either choose to play dumb and see where it leads, or try to fight against the entire crew and be stranded in the middle of the ocean.

elliott20
2008-07-11, 12:28 AM
Here's one...

The characters are normal people (normal being subjective for the campaign/setting/etc, they could even be adventurers if you're playing a 'normal' D&D game), but they begin to feel odd things happening. They can't exactly pinpoint it, but it's like strange forces are dictating their fates.

Eventually, they become more and more Genre Savvy until they realize they're characters in an RPG.

the players handbook is found on TVTropes.org.

drawingfreak
2008-07-11, 12:56 AM
Your group is a group of humans being hunted down on a mutant infested world. Survive.

NecroRebel
2008-07-11, 01:13 AM
A bunch of epic-level Wizard jerks decided to make several sentient animate planets. Those planets are your characters.

Just for kicks, let's also make this a post-apocalyptic setting. Said epic-level jerks also shut off all the stars. Or better yet, they simply dispersed the local galaxy! Now you, the orphaned planets, must rush to... Well, I guess if you don't find a star quickly enough you'll just lose all the life on your surface maybe? So your goal is to find a new star for your party to orbit! Or maybe you need to gather some cosmic MacGuffin to actually make a star from the scattered galactic mass. Like, some neutronium or something.

That or just Gate to some faraway galaxy, which would be tricky in itself since you're all Colossal+++++++++++++++++++++++++ creatures. That's probably Artifact-level stuff, too.



...Wow, that's a terribly silly idea, isn't it. :smallsigh:

TheOOB
2008-07-11, 01:23 AM
Sliders, but with D&D characters.

Xuincherguixe
2008-07-11, 01:34 AM
Why not something a bit like the Silver Surfer?

So, super powered beings In Space, but in this case the fact that it's in space isn't really so much of a non sequitur.

The characters would be travel far and wide, encountering all kinds of weird stuff, and probably having fights with it. As an example, maybe there's a teenage god, and they have to fight it's cast off angst. Or there's a planet infested with extra dimensional spores which became extra powerful when it devoured an ancient civilization.

A chance to do way, way far out there science fiction ^_^

Draz74
2008-07-11, 01:46 AM
Wuxia Cavemen?

Swashbuckling Cavemen (think of a Shakespeare play, i.e. melodramatic and overly eloquent, long monologues, all in an early Stone Age setting)

for completeness, I'll add:
Superhero Cavemen

Dark Ages Court Politics game (players are all vassals of the same lord, and much of the campaign takes place in the area surrounding his one castle; for an extra twist, all characters have to wear heavy armor of some sort and be Lawful Evil!)

Ascension
2008-07-11, 01:50 AM
Since reading the rules for Xorvintaal dragons I've been wanting to run a D&D game where everything is part of a massive "game" being played between warring factions of dragons (or illithids, or any powerful race with too much time on their hands). That quest hook dangling in front of you? One of the dragons trying to play you against a rival. The village soothsayer? A dragon in human form trying to ensnare you in her web. The guy selling cheap magical items in that shop around the corner? A dragon's minion selling loot he got from a defeated dragon's hoard in a ploy to buy you over to his master's side. If you get attacked by ogres they're actually pawns being manipulated by a band of evil gnomes who are actually being manipulated by a draconic exarch.

Would the whole thing reek of railroading? Possibly. But hopefully it would also turn into some sort of d20 Paranoia campaign. In a fantasy setting.

It gets even better the more layers of deception you cram into the sandwich. Maybe the dragons themselves are merely pawns in the hands of an evil god? Maybe Asmodeus is really calling all the shots in the prime material and we're all just his playthings? Maybe there's an even greater chessmaster... some sort of master of the game who serves as the arbiter of everything.

I know I'd have a heck of a lot of fun DMing it. The players, on the other hand...

CarpeGuitarrem
2008-07-11, 02:26 AM
Steampunk wuxia Firefly clone? Now that could be sweet.

Ceiling009
2008-07-11, 03:55 AM
Militant Bakers fighting evil magical girls, in hopes to build their maid cafe empire!

Ecalsneerg
2008-07-11, 04:21 AM
Cyborg, super-powered dragons in space!

Totally Guy
2008-07-11, 06:10 AM
You're lost on a magical island and nobody knows where you are. You find the sealed entrance to a dungeon. Stuck in there is a guy that has to kill a lich as it reforms every 1D10 days or else the world gets destroyed. By the lich.

thegurullamen
2008-07-19, 05:50 PM
High magic world where the "ground" is a seething mess of arcane chaos/Hellfire/the gods' sewage/whatever and the land masses all fly for a reason long since forgotten. Some are continent sized but most are shards holding a town or two at most. Your PCs start out in a small city on one of these shards and spend a few levels developing contacts. Then have a big fight where the BBEG hands over the reins to a magical artifact he created to fly the island around. Viola! PCs with their own flying island.

Places to go from here?
-have them start picking up people and subduing creatures to create armies for their new home
-political intrigue! Who doesn't want some form of control over the gigantic landmass floating everywhere? At the very least, it's the closest thing to a nuke that D&D will have and at the worst, it's the biggest warship ever created.
-SimCityD&D!
-Dive, dive! Check out the mess of energy down below.
-Et cetera

Roderick_BR
2008-07-19, 06:01 PM
Here's one...

The characters are normal people (normal being subjective for the campaign/setting/etc, they could even be adventurers if you're playing a 'normal' D&D game), but they begin to feel odd things happening. They can't exactly pinpoint it, but it's like strange forces are dictating their fates.

Eventually, they become more and more Genre Savvy until they realize they're characters in an RPG.

To get a "Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon" feel, you could let your players build characters with d20 Moderm rules, and at the first chance, throw them in a medieval fantasy setting. People used to firearms and automobiles will find themselves in a a place where people wears heavy armor and swings swords around, or make the space arond them explode into fireballs by holding bat sh*t in their hands and saying some weird names outloud, or people that could replace a whole hospital worth of doctors.

BizzaroStormy
2008-07-19, 07:52 PM
Modern Pirates? Instead of cutlasses and single-shot pistols, they have machine guns and rocket launchers.

Deepblue706
2008-07-19, 08:21 PM
You should implement Desert Bus into a campaign. Basically, it goes like this:

You are on a bus. You must drive for three hours to reach Las Vegas. Successfully getting there awards you one point. If you then drive back to your starting location, that's another point.

Obstacles include:

-A constant but minute veering to the right, forcing you to occasionally jerk the wheel slightly to the left to adjust course

-Boredom

Waspinator
2008-07-19, 08:45 PM
Uplifted (http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Uplift/) cyborg (http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/cyberpunk/) vampire (http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/VampireTheMasquerade/) bunnies (http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/bunnies/). In Space (http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/space/).

TheCountAlucard
2008-07-19, 09:19 PM
An adventuring party consisting of Hugh Jackman lookalikes... IN SPAAACE!

Okay, now for a serious one...

Four of the Elder Vampire Lords have conspired to banish the fifth, and war is at hand.

Randel
2008-07-19, 10:54 PM
1. A zombie apocolypse has started on one of the worlds major landmasses and refugees are fleeing on ships to get to other lands. Some of the zombies march into the water and upset the underwater inhabitants who may either side with and help the surface refugees, blame them for this attack on the underwater people, or see this as an opportune time to invade the surface world.

Do the players stay to fight the zombies? Head with the refugees to protect them and help them in the search for a new land? Or do they do something else?

Plot hooks include:
Pirates who attack the stretched-thin ships loaded with refugees and valuables.

Other pirates who take in refugees and plan raids into the mostly abandoned cities to get loot and look for survivors.

A mysterious group of seafolk who know more about the zombie attack then anyone else.

Equally mysterious groups of dwarves, gnomes, and elves who all have defences set up to protect against the zombies. Are they just really prepared or do they have a hand in this?

Some of the undead retain their minds after being converted and begin to form a group. Do they seek to spread the plague? Protect the living? Use their newfound status for personal gain? Or seek a cure for their undead status and rejoin the living?

=======

The cloud kingdom of Harvena has long floated above the lands of men, mostly unaware or indiferent to what happens below. The hard clouds on which their nation rests float above land and sea, the Everflowing Fountain in the center of their capital city providing an abundant river which moistens their clouds. With this water the clouds remain solid and rain comes down to those on the earth to keep crops and plants watered.

However, something is wrong. The fountain has dried up and a drought has begun. The clouds become less solid and are slowly falling apart. Worse yet, without the rain those on the surface of the earth feel the drought and crops are harder to grow.

So while the cloud kingdoms greatest wizards try to discover what is wrong, a group of heros is sent down to the earth in the hopes of finding a solution. Its the first contact they have had with the surface in generations and many troubles await. Questions include how the cloud nation had gotten up there and what caused them to keep to themselves? Why did the fountain dry up? And perhaps a more important and difficult question would be "where exactly does the water come from before it comes out of the fountain?"

Hurry before the clouds vanish... and a kingdom worth of castles and buildings fall out of the sky!

====

The world was in trouble.

Monsters and madmen battled for power and their struggles and violence caused incalculable damage and injury to innocent people and nature itself.

Then, the spirit of the Earth sent forth a call and summoned five Heroes to restore balance to the world and put an end to this evil. Bestowing them with powers of the cosmic elements.

Fire, Earth, Wind, Water and Heart.

After a few days of this, four of the heros turned to the other and said. "Ha ha, you suck!" "What kind of lame power is Heart anyway?"

Hurt at these words, the fifth Hero turned away from the others. The remaining heroes did quite well, much more efficiently than before they said to themselves.

But then things in the world started changing. Kingdoms fell, empires formed. The most powerful sages and champions of the world suddenly found their minds assaulted by tempting visions or nightmares of darkest madness. Those who could stand against these psychic intrusions found their former friends turned against them or their lords and lieges suddenly giving unusual orders.

The Hero of the Heart had found his own agenda. He would restore balance to the world... under his absolute control.

Having been granted their powers by the spirit of the Earth, the four remaining heroes are immune to the traitorous ones powers and may bestow some measure of protection to those around them. But they must seek him out and put an end to his plans. And perhaps find out just why he had done this thing so suddenly.

It will not be easy... for he may turn the very Earth itself against them.

Don the Bastard
2008-07-20, 06:11 AM
A reverse time game, where the players start at epic levels and for every enemy they unmurder the lose experience, the first one to level 1 wins!
(would be kind of hard to administer)

Players begin as 5 year old children and have to adventure through primary and high school... in space!

Viruzzo
2008-07-20, 12:54 PM
Players are killed and reborn every day, and must find a way to stop it.

Obviously, in space.

Tsadrin
2008-07-20, 01:19 PM
Your group is a group of humans being hunted down on a mutant infested world. Survive.

Gamma World

Stupendous_Man
2008-07-20, 01:47 PM
all bard adventuring group . fullstop.

Glawackus
2008-07-20, 02:03 PM
all bard adventuring group . fullstop.

I believe I once saw a PBP game in this vein entitled "D&D: The Musical!"

Here's my personal favorites from this contest (http://chattydm.net/2008/05/15/ten-words-to-victory-winners-and-runner-ups-all-together/):

Based On Something Else
- It’s the Plane of Snakes, what did you expect Samuel?
- LG hamlet has little crime, many accidents. Investigate, guns blazing.
- Wizards live on the coast. Everyone argues about their alignment.
- Five Elemental Rings awarded by Wizard. You’re stuck with Heart.

Silly
- Liberate abused Bulettes being used as ogre mage polo mounts.
- Say nothing. This tomb has ears. Hands too. Also: teeth.
- Tarrasque spontaneously starts reproducing asexually. World seeks Tarrasque birth control.
- You’re infected with memory poison. Retrieve cure from… uh… hmmm…
- The Round Knights of the Table: defenders of the Shire.

For Serious, Now
- Long-awaited crackdown on crime arrives. Pity you’re a thief
- Albino Minotaur rules cannibal cult of children in the sewers.
- H. G. Wells is hiring ghostbusters; specialized equipment provided.
- Dragon seeks love, requests adventurers carry presents to distant penpal.
- Clockwork gorilla has a map in heart, murder on mind.
- Slaver raid, airship chase, cult volcanic sacrifice, demon unleashed! [It's an Eberron game, duh! :smalltongue:]

Armoury99
2008-07-20, 02:26 PM
all bard adventuring group . fullstop.
...because there's no problem that can't be solved with a dance-off!

- An entire party of halfling tumbling acrobat thieves (this was our standard in case of TPK threat for years)

- You play countries!

- You know that that Ring of Invisibility you found, well actually.... (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612)

- Travel back in time and stop the D&D movies being made!!!

- Invade earth!

- Everyone plays newly spawned beholders!

- Welcome to the Harmonium (http://planewalker.com/encyclopedia/harmonium), grunt!

- Snakes on an Outer Plane!

- PIIIIIIII-RAAAAAAAAATES!

Pie Guy
2008-07-20, 07:52 PM
Every thing is on fire. Also, there are vampires. Possibly in space.

Yahzi
2008-07-20, 08:03 PM
Every thing is on fire. Also, there are vampires. Possibly in space.
Space is on fire!

Viruzzo
2008-07-20, 08:17 PM
- Snakes on an Outer Plane!
Must. Steal. Terrible. Pun.

- the characters awake and find themselves polymorphed into roaches
- bugs in space, either Zerg or Starship Trooper style
- the elements in the universe get reversed: skyes of rock, seas of flames

Hallavast
2008-07-20, 08:28 PM
Super Smash Bros. Brawl characters make their way through the Tomb of Horrors... in space!

Xuincherguixe
2008-07-20, 08:57 PM
Every single fantasy cliche ever, all packed together. The more threatening something actually is, the more genre savvy they are. (Naturally, the PCs will be genre savvy.)

Of the fashion...
"Hmm. I want to take over the world. I know! I'll burn all the Taverns so no adventurer's will meet!"
"The Tavern's are all burning? Crap! Some villain is up to something nefarious and doesn't want any adventuring groups to gather! I'll have to get together with some other heros to stop him."

Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick
2008-07-20, 11:05 PM
Okay, I'll bite; this is my actual idea for the next campaign I want to run:

A sand-locked magical academy whose buildings are the corpses of giants, each finger a dormitory and each skull and ribcage a lecture hall. Bells, singing blooms, and humming cables strung throughout the campus serve a mysterious purpose.

mikeejimbo
2008-07-21, 12:06 AM
You're all clinically depressed and you have to deal with your life.

In space optional.

brant167
2008-07-21, 08:34 AM
Every 1d167 baby that is born comes out as a fully grown Slaad.

The PC's die and wake up in a unknown plane where epic souls go and reform after the soul leaves the body for a year and a day... yes an entire plane of epics.

Group of guys sit down to play Super Mario Brothers, however they get sucked into the game and the Plumbers (knights who use the technique of pipe teleporting) are after them.

Justicars come to bring perfect order to the world.

All the players are newly created divine rank 17 beings that have the body, mindset, and mental capacity of a 3 year old.

ghost_warlock
2008-07-21, 10:35 AM
Fallout meets Night of the Living Dead. The world has "ended" due to a convergence of the Negative Energy Plane, resulting in eternal night and an unprecedented scourge of undead. Everyone who can afford to has withdrawn to fortified and sealed vaults. The PCs, of course, aren't so lucky and have to weather the endless, zombie-filled darkness unless they can find a way to force their way into a vault or convince the inhabitants to let them inside.

Doresain
2008-07-21, 10:55 AM
The Pcs were just killed in some gruesome fashion...rather than going to their respective afterlife, the appear in a room with a giant black orb in the center of it

Vexxation
2008-07-21, 11:40 AM
Temporal shifts in localized areas are causing problems. Random aging, disasters, legions of armies from long ago materializing, children being un-born (ie people grow younger). Patches of night and day checkerboard the planet.

The gods who shaped the earth start to turn up through the distortions, and pop away, never to be seen again.

Eventually, the land itself begins to wither and die. The inhabitants realize what is happening: Parts of it are aging too quickly; the others, getting younger.

In the end, all that is left is a pockmarked ball of dust and magma. The world collapses unto itself, and the shouts of millions are cut short as life ends.

Your heroes wake up from the strangest dream ever, wondering why they keep dreaming of the apocalypse.

...then the time jumps start happening...