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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 12:24:03
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As DM I'm finding myself introducing my favourite evil creatures, evil deities and evil organisations into my campaign. The Realms being what they are, there are a lot of each that I'm going to end up introducing. It's still fairly early in the campaign but it's already gotten a little confusing, mainly through the deliberate actions of two opposing Yuan-Ti Houses masquerading as agents of the other (one of which has a loose alliance with Illithids), spreading misinformation about a possibly fictional Cult of Shar, Mulhorandi agents of Set, a Yuan-Ti double-agent loyal to the Knights of The Shield and Gargauth, and a mad 'ambassador' of House Karanok.
There is still the inclusion of the Rundeen, an actual Cult of Shar, the Churches of Tiamat and Bane, Calishite Wizards, a THIRD Yuan-Ti House, and a living (rotting) temple of Moander.
And these are just the major manipulative forces at work. There are all their underlings and agents to deal with too.
Am I overextending myself and making the campaign needlessly complex and perhaps incomprehensible without a study guide, crib notes and a sixteen-week correspondence course?
I just thought I'd canvas opinion.
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2067 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 14:25:38
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My approach is two-fold.
First, I try to work out the groups, motivations, and their tangled interconnections. I also try to work out the name and abilities of the leader of each group, as well as a low-level underling of each.
Then, I put all that aside and work out the first adventure.
Inevitably, the "background" changes significantly as the campaign progresses and much of the early work does not get used. However, by working out a logical framework, I can make changes on the fly that don't get me into a pickle. Likewise, by knowing the upper limits of a group's power and by working out an individual agent, I can introduce a group at a moment's notice without worrying that I'm setting up a situation I can't really support in the rules.
Of course, everyone does it different.
--Eric |
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
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msatran
Learned Scribe
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 17:06:45
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I usually start with the following:
Who is my mastermind?
What is his/her evil plan? (Note: Some masterminds do not believe that their evil plan is evil. This is usually the best kind of game, because when the PC's have to make a moral decision about what to do about the villain, that's the best sort of roleplay.)
Then, once I get my mastermind and my evil plan, I try and figure out what the mastermind would do to achieve his/her evil plan. Usually, I read the sourcebooks heavily before doing this.
For instance: My players insisted that I run a game in the Dragon Coast. I was about as familiar with the Dragon Coast as David Duke is with the writs and procedures of the NAACP, other than Westgate, which had been an adventuring stop before.
So I had to do a lot of reading. I finally decided what I was going to do at 5 AM after hours of annoyed wakefulness.
My master villain would be the Faceless, Aka Vampire Manshoon. His evil plan was to recover the Dragon Scepter of Westgate and control the mighty Red Dragon King trapped within. As the PC's progress through their adventures, and make enemies of the Night Masks, it will slowly become apparent that the PC's are interfering with his plans.
It's my hope that I will get to actually use the Colossal Red Dragon miniature when the game ends.
Coming up with adventures: Well, unfortunately, they didn't give me a lot of choice or time in how to set this campaign up, so I had to use some pregenned adventures to fill in the gaps. If I had more time, many of these adventures would have been more embellished, and less of them would have come out of prepublished material.
Adventure 1: Box of Flumph (Dungeon) This brought the characters together and gave them some laughs. I wish I had been able to come up with something on my own, but there wasn't time. On the way out of town, they fought one of the PC's gangland rivals, and made their way out of town.
Adventure 2: Old Feodol's Basment (Name Modified, Goodman Games, Dungeon Crawl Classics #29) Some alteration was done to the backstory of this adventure. I made the irritated wizard the same wizard who trained one of the PC's, and I made his rival a member of the Night Masks, thus facilitating the development of my master villain.
Adventure 3: Seeds of Rage: The heroes drop off a note in Cedarspoke,with one of the influential druids who lives in the town. Slowly, people are growing angry with each other, and unhappy with the druids ruling the town. Will anyone notice the strange plants giving off spores? Will the Priest of Talona and his blightspawned myconids hiding in the forest outside of town succeed?
Adventure 4: Pillar of Salt: The heroes, investigating the smuggler of Flumphs, discover that his Night Mask backed mine is run by Norkers for a reason. The mine is supported by a central pillar of salt, guarded by an enraged pair of scrags that the Norkers constantly tease and torment. Can the PC's disable the norker miners, forcing him to hire human workers? Will they slay the merchant?
Adventure 5: Like You: If you thought the campaign got dark before, it gets darker here. The merchant's rival lives on a clifflike island, where he mines salt. But something strange has been going on in Daersalor's Mine, and the merchant just hasn't been the same since his wife died. Unbeknownst to the PC's, a terrible secret rests beneath the island. An evil artifact of the Sarrukh rests beneath the island, and it turns those who touch it into undead monsters. (Salt Mummies) The mummies retain their intelligence and personality. Daersalor's wife touched the pillar, but she was a vain creature, obsessed with her own beauty. Daersalor has struggled to find a way to return his wife to the living, but the transformation has unhinged her, and she believes herself to still be alive, though her hunger for the living has driven Daersalor almost completely insane, "forcing" him to become a necromancer to control his wife. "Do you think I'm beautiful?" as the Salt Mummy advances on the PC's will no doubt make them scream in horror. These salt mummies also drain Charisma as well as hit points, raising their CR by 1. The mummies temporarily gain this charisma, making them more difficult to resist. Plus, the artifact was meant to be used on Sorcerers... This will be a scary, horror style trapped on the island during the storm adventure, as the PC's try to figure out a way to kill the salt mummy, defeat Daersalor and his staff, and get off the island...(References: I Walked With a Zombie, Dr Who: Brain of Morbius)
Adventure 6: Tel Quessir Isle: This adventure, I have been waiting to run for a group for many years. Another unpleasant island adventure, it begins with the PC's leaving the island during the storm, only to lose their battle with the storm and arrive somewhere in the Sea of Fallen Stars, washed up on shore. The elves in the group will be able to smell the Mythal. Shortly after penetrating into the heart of the forest, they will encounter the first Shadesteel Golem. The golem is shaped like an elf, and greets the PC's cheerfully. It speaks elvish, and after a brief conversation, the PC's will hopefully proceed to the manor house, where the majority of the adventure takes place. The golem explains that all the golems on the island are elves, who fled the crown wars long ago, and in order to preserve relics from that time, they keep much of the history of that period and many secrets from that age in a guarded library on the island. Chatting with the other "elves" reveals much the same thing, but there are things the PC's should find disconcerting. Furthermore, since there are elves in the group, the leader of the little band of "Golems' will insist that the elves in the group "join" him, although he is completely insane. The secret? The golems have a chest cavity with a brain in a jar inside that controls the actions of the golem. The ultimate screamqueen moment should be when one of the PC's asks "So who are you, really?" and one of the golems reaches in, opens up his chest cavity and says "This is not me. (Gutteral Burble) This is me. This is all that is left of me..." And hopefully, I'll be ready to end the session right about there... When the PC's destroy the last Shadesteel Golem, they are still shipwrecked, but they can try to get off the island, there's plenty of food and small game to hunt, but eventually...they'll be rescued by pirates!
(You didn't think I'd run a Dragon Coast Game without pirates, did you?)
Adventure 7: The Pirate Killer: The PC's are impressed into service by the pirates, after all, they really don't have much choice, law of the sea and all, and off to the secret haven of the Pirates they go, to sell their loot. (The pirate captain will want his cut, no doubt...) When they get to port, the murders start. Did something come with the PC's from the island? Or did one of the Pirates do something to earn the ire of supernatural creatures? The killer is a Maulagrym on board the PC's vessel, looking for a piece of the Dragon Scepter before Vampire Manshoon can get to it. Ideally, the PC's will wind up with it. (It's just a nice looking ruby rod) and then agents of the Night Masks can try to steal it from them.
Adventure 8: The Children's Thief: The heroes return to any city along the dragon coast, only to discover a thief who steals to help the children survive. But is he sincere in his objective? Or is he turning the children into monsters? The thief, of course, is a wererat agent of the Night Masks, who is slowly turning the kids into wererats. Wererats he controls. He is looking for the second piece of the scepter, but has he found it? Or is it merely a decoy.
Adventure 9: The Astorian Agenda: The PC's travel to Teziir, a city under seige by the Astorians, a thieves guild rife with intrigue and rivalries. The PC's must save the ruling council of the city, defeat the Astorians plan to take over Teziir, and hopefully garner accolades...from the Night Masks. Have they received a temporary reprieve from their enemies? Or have they merely strengthened their hold over Teziir?
Adventure 10: Haughty is Proskur in the Sun: The last piece of the scepter is hidden in a manse in Proskur, owned by one Aerdrymmath Naerthalar, a rich merchant with ties to the ruling council. The PC's should know something of the scepter by now, and of the Night Masks' plans to steal it? Can they arrive in time, or are they too late? And if they are too late, what terrible things await them? The PC's, framed for the robbery of the scepter, must first prove their innocence, and then try to locate where the scepter has gone, tracking down the Night Mask agents before the last of them leave...
Adventure 11: Faceless Dances: The PC's arrive in Westgate, and try to locate The Faceless before he can use the powers of the Scepter. But the way is difficult, and barred with dozens of Night Masks, hireswords, and Fire Knife assassins hired to kill the PC's. Can the PC's run the gauntlet and discover where Vampire Manshoon has taken the Scepter?
Adventure 12: The Wickedest Dream: Vampire Manshoon currently resides in a secret fortress deep beneath the Sea of Fallen Stars, just off the coast of Westgate. As the ocean is not actually running water, he should be perfectly fine, but as the PC's explore the underwater fortress, without the scepter that controls the guardians, time is running out...for everyone who lives in Westgate! The final chamber where the scepter resides contains the final resting place of Saldrinar of the Seven Spells, and is the keystone for undoing Kisonraathissar's prison. And whoever holds the scepter when it breaks controls the mighty dragon!
Final Battle Creatures number three! Vampire Manshoon, at CR 24, Undead Dracolich Orglaun (Anyone remember Orglaun? I kind of figure that Undead Manshoon should have Undead Favorite Mount Ever.) at CR 18, and Kisonraathissaar, the First King of Westgate, a Colossal Red Dragon, at CR 27. Let the unhappiness and fatalities ensue!
Wish my players luck. They'll need it. :)
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msatran
Learned Scribe
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 17:09:46
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| And no, I did not know about the mini being released when I designed this campaign. It was actually just convenient. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 17:15:57
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| If the DM, who knows what's going on, is confused, then yes, it's too complicated. |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 19:58:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
If the DM, who knows what's going on, is confused, then yes, it's too complicated.
Oh, I'm not confused; I meant it had gotten a little confusing for the players. But it's a good kind of confusing, apparently...
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Wenin
Senior Scribe
585 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 23:19:03
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If you're finding that your Players aren't taking enough good notes, perhaps you can give them a crib sheet of sorts. Provide them a document that simply lists all the NPCs they've met so far. Include a physical description of each character and an image of the NPC if possible.
If some of your Players have home PCs, send them the document in electronic form.
They can pencil in additional notes as to what organization the NPCs are and keep their own copy updated as they get the new list of NPCs after each session.
This should sort out any confusion that is likley caused due to the game being a pencil/paper game. IE you should be able to identify someone you've seen before just by looking at them, but this being a pencil/paper game people maybe bad with NPC names.... so the connection isn't always apparent.
You may want to consider assigning a player to be the clerk of this document, so that they can all stay informed of the basic info on the NPCs.
Essentially, if you hear your players asking "Who is that again??", this might help. |
Session Reports posted at RPG Geek.
Stem the Tide Takes place in Mistledale.
Dark Curtains - Takes place in the Savage North, starting in Nesmé. I wrapped my campaign into the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, but it takes place in 1372 DR. |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2006 : 00:29:44
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I've run some extremely complex and confusing games, because I like being complex and my players like figuring it all out (or at least some of it out). The way I approach it is:
1) Figure out where the characters are going to be. This is is somewhat complicated by the fact that both groups I run are very powerful and have access to mass teleport, et al. However, they tend to stay in a general, if broad area.
2) Figure out which power groups (major and minor) are in said area, and what they're doing. Who's doing what to whom, and what their goals are. Note: running for the hills is a valid option here; one of my groups has so badly mauled the Cult of the Dragon that they just fade into the background whenever the party comes to town.
3) Once I've figured out the world and decided what will happen if the players don't get involved, I put my players into the situation and step back. The players are entirely responsible for their movements, and I continually improv the world to their actions, drawing from what I figured out above. I'll mine published adventures for dungeons, maps, or encounters, but I rarely will run apregenerated adventure completely unmodified (the map from the old Knight of Newts adventure has made numerous appearances).
As for notes, I take extensive notes. Everything I think of, all my plot ideas, how things change, etc. I also keep a running timeline, outlining what's happening offstage. That's part of the fun for me, watching the other power groups scramble in my mind to take the players into account, complete with information lag.
My players generally play relatively high intelligence characters, so I let them take notes on pretty much anything they want and consult them when they want, within reason. I'll also hand out copies of letters and other pieces of paper that the character gets, but if the players loses it, so does the character. Maps I'll draw and then give the players a copy. I've found trying to describe settings is too vague just by itself.
And when one of my groups starts to time travel, I do all of this, only more so. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2006 : 01:27:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
As for notes, I take extensive notes. Everything I think of, all my plot ideas, how things change, etc. I also keep a running timeline, outlining what's happening offstage. That's part of the fun for me, watching the other power groups scramble in my mind to take the players into account, complete with information lag.
If you could only see my notebooks...
At times, some of my longest remaining players have jokingly said that my campaign notebooks almost always double as encyclopedias for my FR, given the content of each.
The lore-filled notebooks are now so extensive, I make a few of them available (scanned copies of course) to new players entering my campaign for the first time, and tell them they are "required reading." 
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Edited by - The Sage on 18 Jul 2006 01:28:21 |
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2006 : 11:41:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
...I'll mine published adventures for dungeons, maps, or encounters, but I rarely will run apregenerated adventure completely unmodified...
I do exactly the same. I buy adventures like they're going out of fashion, just to rip (not literally) maps and notes and handouts and NPCs and encounters from them and weave my own tapestry of confusion from them.
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
As for notes, I take extensive notes. Everything I think of, all my plot ideas, how things change, etc. I also keep a running timeline, outlining what's happening offstage. That's part of the fun for me, watching the other power groups scramble in my mind to take the players into account, complete with information lag.
I make notes before the a session and then type them up depending on what if anything has changed after a session. I have a running calendar of events as well, it's invaluable for knowing exactly when that curse is going to take effect. Hehe. |
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2006 : 11:43:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Wenin
If you're finding that your Players aren't taking enough good notes, perhaps you can give them a crib sheet of sorts. Provide them a document that simply lists all the NPCs they've met so far. Include a physical description of each character and an image of the NPC if possible.
And ^that is a very good idea. I think one of the players will already have been doing that. He DMs the campaign I'm a player in, and he's quite organised, you should see his inventory! |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2006 : 23:38:02
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| If your PCs figure out everything that's going on in the campaign, it's too simple. If they give up figuring it out, something's gone wrong and one possible reason is that it's too complicated. |
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Fletcher
Learned Scribe
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2006 : 23:50:07
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I enjoy convoluted plots on occasion, and one of the major resources is for me to keep a on which i write names of events/places/people and use lines to connect them to other event/places/people. At the beginning/end of each session I look over and update the sheet as necessary.
Eventually you have quite a detailed story of who owes what to whom for what reason. what was buried where, by whom to hide it from whom. Who is sleeping with whos spouse. Who is blackmailing/bribing who etc.
Loads of fun, and easy to keep track of. Plus as it gets more complicated, plots and storylines just write themselves. |
Run faster! The Kobolds are catching up! |
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wildmage
Acolyte
20 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2006 : 17:38:14
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| One of the reasons the Realms are so great is the endless possibilities for adventure! By interweaving multiple plots that have ties to other parts of the Realms you emphasize the vastness of the world and the power struggles going on within. If the PCs feel like mere delivery boys/girls, mere bodyguards, or mere goblinoid-killing mercenaries then there is definitely room for expanding your plots and intrigues. The earlier point about making sure you as the DM can easily stay on top of all the info is important though so that you're not caught totally off guard and unable to weave new plot elements together based on PC actions. |
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Convoluted Plotting
