My first campaign

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Ultimately, the anti Gnome front is silently being run by a dwarven mining interest of two companies wanting land the gnomes occupy as well as generally hating the weakness they represent.

Any attempts on the dwarf strongholds would rely on defeating traps, puzzles and brute strength.

Establish the world first and see how the PCs react to it first. If they decide to go with evil or good alinged characters, you can prep the campaign with that slant in mind rather than planning two entirely different story arcs.

A session zero where character motivations and pre existing character relationships are established will go a long way to prevent giving you headaches.

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>>53383874
Great advice! I appreciate it.

I'm also looking for concepts/game mechanics that aren't played out.

Any other ideas?

Like, whichever way it goes I want the opposition at the end to be in a living rock castle, boss fight being the actual stronghold

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Here's what I told the players to prepare for, this is all they know:

"I'm hosting Wednesday. I will DM, go ahead and make a lvl2 character. No gunfighters. Flesh out your back story. Map attached, but pay no attention to it being Asian. Asia doesn't exist. Your character is either from the north, a more civilized region bank rolled by very profitable mines; central, a destabilized nation whose economy is based solely on taxing trade routes between the north and south; and the south, rich farm lands and forested mountains home to a more slow paced and peaceful people; the south western isles are open too, but be advised, rough seas, beasts, and frightful people are here, mostly fishers and those wishing to avoid the eyes of the mainland governments are all that dare carve out a livelihood in this harsh environment."

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"The first session will start in a small town called Knox on the peninsula leading to the south western isles, where you have traveled after seeing a posting in your hometown promising a richly rewarding contract but very few actual details offered other than "Kelly's Tav'n; spring equinox, noontime. No gnomes or underdark folk need apply.""

>>53383774
I wish you luck on your first attempt DMing!

>>53383774

You seem to be making the common error both new and old DM's make of designing top down. The problem with this is you'll have an overarching idea of your plot and world but no actual game able content.

So what you need to do is.

>Design a starting village for the players to begin in.

>Design a starting dungeon next to it.

>Work out a quest hook to link dungeon to village.

Keep it simple. Players make life complicated enough.

>>53393250
I like this but I still want to work some interesting ideas in now to foreshadow.

>>53393250
I like this but I still want to work some interesting ideas in now to foreshadow.

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If they take the contract they will be given vampiric bastard swords (2d6+4) where they get +2 health for each strike and unknown to the players the BBEG get a plus 1 hp buff for everyone killed by those weapons. The swords also cause pain or discomfort to the weirder until the taste blood, then there are no effects for a day. There will also be a wand of darkness (one charge a day) that doesn't effect the weirder. After the wand casts 5 times it can release the light it has absorbed by essentially casting daylight. But these are attunements that the players don't know about.

>>53397792
Not that anon, but here's how I like to foreshadow the larger plot while in the beginning stages:
Use the multiple opposing factions to create a lattice of little plot strings that criss cross all over the map.
Then give your players a simple, but obvious mission, such as helping out a wealthy merchant in distress.
However they respond to the mission, have them interact with minor members of each faction, who may not even mention the larger issues. Simply a knowledgeable old npc who feels strongly about an aspect about the issue could work.
Through their interaction, the PCS will either improve or worsen their relationship with the faction.
And repeat.
As characters return and PCs get more well known, the factions will take greater interest in them, seeking their help or removal.

>>53384441
>le
>le island
Kekistan

>>53399150
>2017
>Writing plots for games
>What

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>>53399183
<_<

>>53399207
Trying to have more to go on than "evil church/cult" which seems too common.

There's less story and more, eminent domain. Basically the gnomes understand that the mining and raping of the land will draw the magic from it. As progress on the mines increases magic dies out. Respectively, killing off the little tree hugging gnomes yields stupid amounts of gold and helps the goddess of darkness and death gain a foot hold on the island. Enough development for one side or the other will eventually drive our adventurers to the next land mass (based on Ireland)

>>53383774
I'm also going to be running a campaign for the first time on a similar premise. I wish you good luck. Secondly, bumping to see if anybody else offers advice

>>53399207
>Not writing plot stings of various factions for the PCS to trip over and entangle with, thereby forming the plots of your games
>It's the current year
>what are you even doing?

>>53397939
>(2d6+4) where they get +2 health for each strike
that sounds pretty busted for a 2nd level party senpai

>>53399804
That would be better framed as a conflict between Order (the industrialized north) and Chaos (the wild and magical south).

>>53384962
>No gnomes
So I take it you're disallowing gnomes as PC races, then?

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>>53401761
I want it really incentivized to use for multiple levels, racking the shit out of hp for the BBEG, as well as strong motivation to join the evil forces.

>>53401817
I like that idea, I'll workshop it some. Any advice for practical application?

>>53401907
Bullshit. That's half the fun, and I will probably kill one off to enforce that even small ignorant choices have consequences.

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>>53402492
>I like that idea, I'll workshop it some. Any advice for practical application?
It's a traditional Arthurian fantasy theme. Before the 3x3 alignment grid, D&D only had Law, Neutrality, and Chaos.

Use things like roads, castles, forges, organized soldiers, and commerce to represent the forces of Law.
Untouched wilderness, overgrowth, ruins, anything Fey or wild is Chaos.

You can play with and mix both facets into a scene to give the players context. For example, a tightly laid, barely-broken-in stone road bordered on either side by dense forest shows Law pressing it's way into the domain of Chaos. That same road, worn and overgrown, shows Chaos reclaiming the land.

>>53402738
Ok I get it.


I also want to work deities into the environment. Like the crazy man in the northern province square is actually the god of magic and the arts, the beggar in the southern isles is the god of greed. The bar maid in Kelly's tavern is is really the goddess of death, Kelly just makes really good beer.

>>53403622
If you go the order vs. chaos route, consider swapping the northern and southern gods locations. Magic and the arts seems more chaos themed while greed (and profit?) seems more lawful.

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>>53404388
Nice dubs, kinda have to now.

The deities have all been awol since 450 years prior, just up and vanished. They've been trying to enjoy the world they exercised dominion over for so long, like the god of storms and strength has been trying his hand at blacksmith/smithy work. A goddess of intellect has been whoring somewhere for the sake of learning every possible facet of sex and psychology behind it. Also, she's a bit of a slut.