The original post can be found
here. This is a summary of the beginning of a new campaign I have plotted out. I mostly wrote it as musings to myself.... the rest of the journal is not relevant to D&D, but more probably will be.
First time DM, next message will have a link to the campaign invitation and basic summary on Pen and Paper Games, which is also going to be randomly growing till around august 15th. It basically describes the campaign world and my DMing philosophy. Feel free to comment on either here, but please copy and paste something, as well as attribute it, because there are a lot of links there for the bored as well.
Here we go....
The actual story I have envisioned is laid out at the veeeeeery very bottom, for no apparent reason. Mostly doing this as an exercise for how to create such a thing in the future. Maybe my questions and thoughts will be helpful.
Investigating the city of Aushantyr.
The party is investigating a border village in the human kingdom of Faihn. The investigation may have been requested of them by the Dragonborn Empire, as it requires investigating a node as well. This node is not listed, no information is given. Historical requests yield further knowledge.
Split 1. Does the party know of the node? If human aligned, but not Dragonborn aligned, no. If a wanderer requested for assistance because of nodal experience, no. If a historian, talented arcanist or devoted study of religion, yes. With access to human records, yes. High dungeroneering or nature, partial yes. Most are a partial yes, really....
Party meets in the capitol. Prior to introducing the party to each other, each has been met in private and requests have been made by various officials.
Party is in general co-operative. - King meets them in full splendor, a feast is promised where they can be introduced properly. Feast may be declined, it is not insisted upon, but merely offered. Party is offered their fill of whatever mundane provisions they could ask for. Special requests will be considered... but traveling gear is understood.
Party is half and half, or some variation thereof. (exception is mostly hostile) - King is varying degrees of enthusiastic, becoming more dismissive of their success and relatively unconcerned with the fate or opinion/questions of those who were hostile/unco-operative in their interview.
Party is mostly hostile - They are all sent letters inviting them to dine, at the expense of the king, in the Crown and Stag Inn, in a private room that they might better acquaint themselves and discuss their plans for "investigating the village". They are free to leave. If they do so, this arc ends. Continue later, based on character backgrounds/histories. Each will be given private motivations, and may band together to survive at the expense of everyone else, or not.
No real splits yet. Except for the ones that matter to the people, I hope.
If the party decides to leave for the village, then.....
2a)If they go by the roads, they run into the road encounters. Plot is foreshadowed, chances are offered to wander from the beaten path.
2b)if they go by the woods, check after they are well underway and chances have been given - is the party well equipped? Do they have anyone trained in nature, perception, acrobatics or athletics? If not, it may be hard for them to orient themselves. They will be wandering well off the beaten path.
2c) They take a ship to a closer city down the river, then walk. Check 2a and 2b tables, but shorten travel time. Sea travel is uneventful, save a few minor storms. Characters may interact with crew. This route takes the longest.
Story assumes party arrives at the town. Other events may occur as a result of split 2, but we shall assume, for this exercise.
Check time. They did request formal aid. You were not told when. Just saying. May or may not be a factor. Partially also depends upon DM fiat.... which is more fun.
Party arrives very fast. Aid was requested weeks ago, but you left the capitol how long ago? Well, thanks for making haste! Discuss problems.
Party arrives in a reasonable amount of time. Annoyed, but maybe hopeful reaction. Depends on party.
Party arrives late. All but outright accused of drunken lechery or lawlessness along the way, being a waste of time. We could do better.
Party arrives outrageously late.... depends on how late
Earliest possible village. Tensions are moderate, but haste is stressed. These are a superstitious lot. Or just scared of something out of the ordinary. Preparations discussed.
If party chooses to stay overlong, village status and party reception depend upon parties actions.
If the party arrived at a later time, the villages will be discussing leaving. They are all immigrants, and new the risks of settling an unclaimed place. They'd rather just pick up and leave again, mostly. Party learns what they can. Once again, village status and party reception dependent on players.
Later times will remain secrets in my head, to be improvised mostly and maybe revealed at a later time. Village is having problems though.
Assuming story continues, we leave the village.
Checks - Village status, party reception, party knowledge, secret forces alerted. Who knows! What did the players do, anyways? All or none may factor, but probably will to some extent.
Village status - is the village capable of rendering future aid? Would they? What news have they spread of the party?
Party reception - You were asked to perform a task. How did you fare? How does this effect your reputation? How does it affect you? Will you get paid? We will see.
Party knowledge - What is the MacGuffin? Is there one? Where is it? Who made it? Why? When? How? What the hell are we getting into? Anything? Something else? Another story? Who knows.
Secret forces alerted. - Has the party done something to piss someone off. Violence usually does that. It is a cycle of hatred, broken only when you visit a level of violence so atrocious that the person capable of feeling even the slightest insult from what you've done in the distant future will not fuck with you unless they are insanely confident that they will win. On the other hand, have they impressed someone? Who is aware of their existence that wasn't before, and how will they spread the word? Who would it reach? Who would care? Who would believe?
The party has left the village, whatever the consequences, if they ever arrived. They are in a dense wood, surrounded by ruffians. Vast encounter/skill check time!
If they fight, someone is searching for something here. Enemies are aware of them, but not all are hunting them. They are not the MacGuffin. Damn, one down.
If they hide, the same knowledge is gained. Do they trail, or do they pursue their own leads?
If they flee or avoid, no knowledge is gained. They pursue their own leads, or destiny.
Searching the woods. Are the PCs skilled in any relevant skills? Do they know what they are looking for? Do they find/have they stirred enemies? What are the properties of the wood?
Story elements as is are as follows.... The node is an abandoned Elven City, imprisoning a Shadow Dragon. Finding the villages leads to finding out about humanoids (kobolds) who are trying to free this Dragon. Dragons are sacred arbiters of the Game of the Gods... this one tried to bend the rules in his own favor. Finding the villages leads to discovering that the kobolds are looking for something. Varying stages of lateness will affect the villages very existence. Further searching in the woods will lead to the discovery of a tunnel that leads into a sealed escape tunnel from the city. If the tunnel is not taken, it will eventually become semi- inaccessible due to kobold infestation. The escape tunnel is also the tomb of an elven general who died in sealing it. Knowledge of how may be gained, but is not given.
The woods and roads en route to the city from the capitol will have increasing signs of disturbance, but no chance of kobolds up till the very end. Perhaps multiple lizards, or some bandits, maybe something truly bizarre that could be interacted with or fought. There is trouble in the area. Some things are just drawn to that. It is the eternal struggle. No conflict is necessary.
The village may be helped, in various ways. These relate to both the nature of the Elven City/node and their current troubles.
Nodal disturbances - The elven city is a sunken trap of magic. Spells constantly rebound, and may echo, found, and spring anew again within for decades. No knowledge of this is given to the players.... at the start of the adventure. Partial information is available all along the way, through investigation and insight. Full disclosure may be gained through interrogation of anything inside the city itself, in the jaws of the beast, or in the tomb/tunnel entrance. Magic is chaotic and semi-unreliable inside, but any arcane user may have an opportunity to peer into the very fabric of magic itself within!
The land around the village is sometimes affected by random surges of chaotic magic. Most is usually harmless, some beautiful, fewer still deadly. The curses of a traitorous dragon rebound off the walls of the city, but mostly make it out to become sparkly butterflies. Time is delayed, so some may take decades, or even eons. Perhaps as time itself fades, the last curses of this very dragon will all echo together in a final crescendo and destroy the very universe itself. Not likely, but who knows.
The kobolds are using the city (somewhat reluctantly) as a temporary base of operations. Thus, the party may encounter kobolds, magic surges, magically disturbed creatures (being created in the city by.... something yet to be revealed), villagers leaving, disturbed arcanists, demented fanatics, natural wardens, or other such things. They may also find evidence of any such disturbances, or nothing at all.
Part two to come.... investigating the city with what we know now, the consequences thereof, and how will our adventurers fare? A full writeup will come sometime... when people actually play it
