Hi folks, I am new to the CBG and I hope I am putting this in the correct forum.
After being out of RPG's for several years, I have started playing Pathfinder with my daughter at our local gaming store. We have also introduced a few friends to the game and I now have the bug to 'tell my own story' if you will.
We have already had our character creation session and our first play session but the reason for my post hear is for some creative help in fleshing out some storylines.
While I dont intend to railroad my players I do want to have some adventure options for them.
As a foundational note, we are using the pathfinder rules for the most part. I find even the 3.5 stuff to be a little clunky and if I had the inclination I would probably try and use some original or ad&d level works. But I have a collection of PF books now so that is where I am drawing most of my material from.
for this game I have 5 newbie players and then me as a newbie GM. since it is my first time behind the screen if you will, I limited my players to the core classes and core 5 races (human, elf, half elf, dwarf, & halfling).
here is my basic history for their world:
Its been over fifteen hundred years since the last dragon was seen in the world of Aruelan. The Dragon Wars are just fairy tales now but the results are still evidenced. Once great castles and strongholds and temples are today layers of rubble and dust. Great mountains have risen and deep caverns were carved at the scenes of mighty dragon battles.
In the Dragon Wars, dragon fought against dragon, races fought amongst themselves, and brother fought against brother. It was a bloody, civil war that scarred the land and all who dwelt in it.
No one remembers the cause of the Dragon War and fewer still have an idea of who won.
The only thing people are sure of is that the dragons are gone and the world is still trying to repair itself.
Immediately after the Dragon Wars was a time of chaos and strife and confusion.
But in the fifteen hundred years since the end of the war a peace has finally settled over the lands. Dwarves, Elves, Humans and Haflings all get along and trade easily together. There is even an elven settlement outside one of the dwarf kingdoms. Because of this, there is rarely a settlement that doesnt have a mix of races living and working peacefully together.
The Elves and Dwarves have both re-organized their societies.
The Dwarves divided into 3 mountain kingdoms; however in the last 500 years all communication has been lost with the northern kingdom; and something now causes the mountains there to shift and change at random ceasing all trade and exploring attempts. The middle kingdom has a strong trade relationship with a human settlement exchanging iron and gems and gold. The middle kingdom also has the benefit of an elven settlement right outside their doors, and it is a bustling trade hub for the two races. Meanwhile the southern kingdom trades mostly in limestone and marble and granite with some iron and gems, working with another human settlement. Each dwarven kingdom is ruled by a council of clans and the leader of the council changes every 50 years.
The Elves settled into their own kingdom in the great Hillock Tree forest; a forest of massive trees over 400 feet high and some 20-30 feet across. No one remembers if the trees grew to such great heights before the elves took up residence there or if it is the presence of the elves that causes the trees to be so massive. The elves are led by a council of elders with no one truly ruling the council.
The halflings of the world have given themselves over to the rule of humans and have created small pockets of societies within reach of several of the human strongholds and even the elf and dwarf kingdoms have outlying settlements of halflings.
Only the humans seem to be having trouble unifying under a central ruler. Instead, over the years, 12 human strongholds have sprung up, and while not all of the rulers of these areas strive to be the King, each one has an opinion about the matter. Still, these strongholds trade easily and work together to keep the peace, often coming to each others aid should the need arise. However, some might say its the Merchant Guilds that truly hold the power, keeping trade between the strongholds open and pushing for military support when one area is in danger even though the Merchant Guild does have its own private security force.
And danger still comes in many different ways.
From the north are the Kobold and Gnoll tribes, to the south the Goblin kingdoms. Over the Mountains of Kaldarol to the east are the Orc and Ogre hordes as well as the frost and hill giants that call the mountains their home. And finally in the oceans of the west are the pirates and the end of the world. Although somewhere to the west also lies the island home of the Minotaurs; fearsome sailors and renown warriors, they have worked hard to keep the location of their island a secret.
Flat as it is, everyone believes that if you sail to far west you will fall off the edge of the world into the deadly Astral Sea, and if you could cross over the Mountains of Kaldarol, you would eventually walk off the edge of Aruelan into that same Astral Abyss.
In the night sky over Aruelan are abundant stars and constellations and the ever present NightMoon. And during the day, the Sun is guided by the DayMoon.
Our first session dealt with the characters rescuing a small merchant who had been ambushed by some gnolls which the players will later learn were hired by the main merchant guild. The session ended with the characters resting in a small thorpe located on the ruins of an old large castle and just being woken up by some grave robbers which they will later learn are working for a powerful necromancer.
My thought was that they would capture one of the grave robbers in order to find an amulet he was using on behalf of the necromancer and then I have to come up with the in between adventures of what it is the necromancer was looking for and why and what it means to his plan.
but my players also expressed an interest in traveling as guards with the merchant they rescued and this could play nicely into learning about the power and corruption of the merchant guild and its private security force. Unfortunately political intrigue is not one of my strong points.
Lastly, I was hoping that they would 'grow' the thorpe into a thriving city and possibly unite the 12 kingdoms of humans into one kingdom.
So I guess my question for all you creative types out there is, can you give some suggestions for me to flesh out some of these stories?
please be gentle, again this is my first time on this side of the screen and I am trying to keep things simple while still making sure everyone has fun playing the game. (again everyone is new and no one even knows what a min/maxer is).
Welcome to the CBG!
You've got a strong opening set up for a good, old-fashioned fantasy game. It sounds like world-building isn't your issue so much as campaign structure and story. I think one major thing to consider when thinking about "stories" is the kind of campaign model you want overall.
So, for example, some campaigns are built around a kind of "hexcrawl (http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/17308/roleplaying-games/hexcrawl)" or wilderness exploration format. This is the sort of structure I'd associate with a campaign built around transforming the thorpe into a city. Here, the players basically have some sort of home-base (in your case, the thorpe), and the game revolves around exploring surrounding regions, dealing with potential sources of trouble, defending the home-base against marauding monsters and bandits, delving into nearby ruins, etc.
The other option is to do something more travel-based, more like Pathfinder's adventure paths (http://paizo.com/pathfinder/adventurePath). Here, the players move from town to town having adventures, and may have some overriding goal they wish to accomplish. This format can be very fun, but tends to require a more fleshed-out story. This is the kind of structure I'd associate more with the "unite the 12 kingdoms" plot, but it could work with a campaign built around traveling with the merchant caravan (at least at the start).
Then there's the old "megadungeon (http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.ca/p/megadungeon-design.html)" model, where much of the campaign revolves around a central "tentpole" dungeon with many levels. There might be some sort of main objective associated with the dungeon - like retrieving a particular object or killing a certain monster.
And, of course, it's possible to borrow elements from these structures and produce different sorts of games that don't fall neatly into any of these structures (and, naturally, these structures aren't an exhaustive list).
So, to start, if it were me, I might think about the overall shape of the campaign and the sort of "format" you feel would work best for you and your players. Once that format is established you can start thinking about the sorts of adventure hooks and locations that work best.
You mention that political intrigue isn't your strong suit. What about doing something more location-based than plot-based? By this I mean that you create a location of some kind for adventuring (it could be a dungeon, a forest, a ruin, etc) and then think of "hooks" to lure the players in and give them a reason to poke around and explore, mess with weird rooms and objects, evade or fight monsters, negotiate with less hostile residents, solve puzzles, etc. This is a very classic mode of play, and good for new players.
You might also mine the old Wizards of the Coast 3.5 archives for adventure hooks (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/sh), locations (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/vv), and small adventures (http://rpggeek.com/rpgseries/8869/wizards-of-the-coast-free-adventure-downloads).
Greetings, Mr. Underhill, and welcome to the CBG.
Quote from: Mr. Underhill
So I guess my question for all you creative types out there is, can you give some suggestions for me to flesh out some of these stories?
The merchant could be a member of an aspiring guild that is planning on moving into the turf of the larger guild. These upstart merchants are being secretly backed by the leaders of two settlements, who view the influence of the big guild as a threat to their own power and are trying to undermine it by setting up a rival organization. The main guild is aware of this plan and is trying to covertly destroy it. Both sides are looking for allies to help them in the oncoming conflict, which could get ugly.
The necromancer could be something of a dark prophet, haunted by powerful visions of the future and past in fevered dreams. He has become convinced that a great doom will wipe humankind unless a certain legendary king of ancient times can be raised from dead to lead mankind through the apocalyptic ordeals ahead. So he is determined to return this king to (un)life by any means necessary, and is sending his lackeys to raid tombs in search for buried talismans that could be used to open the (magically sealed) crypt of this hero.
As for the the thorpe, if it's located in a ruined castle then the obvious first step would be to restore the keep into it's former glory. Castles were always built to protect something of importance, be it the surrounding countryside or an important trade route. Decide what this castle once protected and then have appropriate people request the player characters (assuming they appear to be "in charge" by occupying the thorpe) to defend them against some threat. They could be farmers needing protection from raidign bandits or monsters. Or merchants who want to re-open the road that passes by the castle, that used to be a prosperous highway but which had to be abandoned when the fortress fell.
SP, I love you on so many levels right now. You just references Peter Dell'Orto's blog. GURPS doesn't get enough love here.
That aside, it does sound like the OP has a good idea of his gaming world. Starting with Steerpike's suggestion of sorting out what kind of game he wants to run is an excellent first step. Beyond this, I would suggest considering what sort of events will unfold during the course of the campaign independent of the PCs and how it will affect the world. Frex, you might decide that in a game-year (not IRW year), a chieftain will rise among the kobolds who unites them with the gnolls and mounts a war of aggression against the civilized lands. This will, in turn, trigger other large-scale events in the setting that may or may not affect the PCs depending on their own actions and situation in a game-year. Perhaps they will want to do something about the threat, or maybe they'll ignore it. Either way, trade may become scarce in certain regions, the price of weapons and armor may increase as demand increases, food may become scarce in regions, there may be fewer craftsmen available to make nifty weapons for the PCs, since they're all off at war, etc. Setting up such a future history helps to breathe life into the world, and knowing what will happen before hand lets you set up such events in advance. Heck, the PCs might get wind of a ferocious and charismatic kobold and realize the threat before it is realized - they might even try to do something about it!
Well, Mr. Underhill (if that is your real name), have you tried having this same kind of conversation with your players?
Maybe I'm misreading your description or I am confused about this for other reasons, but it seems like you have a lot of ideas for conflict and actions in your game that are based on guesses. It seems like you have some guesses about what players will be interested in and have prepared accordingly, and it seems like you have some guesses about how they will handle certain situations and these may or may not pan out, etc.
I personally am in favor of just asking players direct questions about what they want the game to be like. Maybe before the start of a new game, or (especially in this case, since players are just learning how these games work) a couple of sessions in-- "Hey, are you folks more interested in traveling around the world as a merchant's bodyguard companions, discovering various dangers and intrigues while on a quest to sightsee and get rich? Or do you want to go to war with the necromancers and drive their foul magicks out of the realm, at any cost? Or do you want to settle in this town to lead it and defend it against threats from the nearby mountains and chasms, growing it into a mighty capitol of a new nation? Or does anyone have another idea we haven't talked about yet?"
I think a lot of GMs, especially old-school types, have this idea that you've got to have everything figured out, always be ten steps ahead of players, and keep your process totally hidden from everybody else at the table-- and I think that's not necessarily true, or even useful. Personally, I like to engage players in conversations about their preferences and solicit their input, and use that to decide what kind of game you're all going to be participating in.
Quote from: Luminous CrayonWell, Mr. Underhill (if that is your real name), have you tried having this same kind of conversation with your players?
Came here to say this, got beat to the punch. Just have a quick chat with your players to see what kind of inclinations they might have.
Steerpike has some great suggestions. My only comment would be if you wanted to run something sandboxy (players can do whatever they want) and every one is fairly new, they may not be ready/accustomed to driving themselves forward. So a few hooks to start off wouldn't be a bad idea, then they can follow up on what they find most interesting. Not rail roading them, but having some obvious options in case they're unsure or hesitant.
If they're interested in the merchant, that's a good contact to have. If they work as guards that's an obvious point for them to find out about the corruption from the main merchant guild.
Hoping for the grave robbers to be taken alive might be... difficult if you're players are like some of the people I've played with :) A surrender when they're mostly defeated might help, but why would the robbers know/say anything? A written set of instructions might be a good plant, or perhaps a list of things to return with.
As for growing the thorpe, to do so they'd probably need man power. Maybe if they save a bunch of people who can help them by doing labour/setting up skilled trades etc, that can expand as they become more famous to lure more/better people. Maybe the corrupted merchants are slavers and they can free some slaves? Maybe the necromaster has a bunch of peasant prisoners for experiments? Just some thoughts.
Quote from: Lmns CrnI think a lot of GMs, especially old-school types, have this idea that you've got to have everything figured out, always be ten steps ahead of players, and keep your process totally hidden from everybody else at the table-- and I think that's not necessarily true, or even useful. Personally, I like to engage players in conversations about their preferences and solicit their input, and use that to decide what kind of game you're all going to be participating in.
I will second (or third, perhaps) this sentiment.
The best thing to know what your group wants is to ask them, and the best way to create a game that they want is to work together with them to make sure it's that way. :grin:
I absolutely agree with Luminous Crayon and sparkletwist, though of course with new players they probably don't have as much of an idea as to what they like, so it may actually be best to experiment with a few different styles early on - a town adventure, a mystery, a small dungeon crawl, some wilderness exploration - and then "check in" to see what worked for the players.
One thing that works for me, personally, is to prepare a lot of notes/info/description on a particular area (a city, a town, a region, a structure) and then let the PCs just interact with it. They often end up forming their own plots simply by wandering around, talking to people, and getting into trouble.
Another thing that frequently works for me - and which I find players often appreciate - is to mine their character backgrounds for story ideas. Maybe one of them has a missing relative, a family curse, a nemesis, an old love, a price on their head, a holy mission, or some other overarching personal quest or goal; rather than every adventure resulting from some event that the players must respond to, you can draw on characters themselves (their connections, faith, family, guilds, and histories) to create stories. In the main game I DM right now, for example, one player is trying to become immortal, another is trying to rescue her captured father, a third is on the run from Unseelie bounty hunters from her dark past, and a fourth has made a personal deal with the God of Thieves to retrieve an item for him.
As much as I am all for preparation (probably more than most), there's also nothing wrong with improvising a bit and making things up as you go. This can be scary, but the more you do it the better you'll get. My old Goblin Campaign (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,68868.0.html) was about 75% improvised, for example - I ran it as an exercise in improvisation.
Quote from: SteerpikeOne thing that works for me, personally, is to prepare a lot of notes/info/description on a particular area (a city, a town, a region, a structure) and then let the PCs just interact with it. They often end up forming their own plots simply by wandering around, talking to people, and getting into trouble.
You could also take a page from Dresden FATE's playbook, which has "city creation" as the goal of the first session of play, and let players actively help out in the creation of the region, as well. That keeps you from having to come up with everything, and it virtually
ensures there will be plot hooks in the area that they find interesting, because they'll have helped to come up with them.
(Having to come up with the whole region in advance by yourself can sometimes be as troublesome as trying to think of the whole adventure yourself, and I see no reason to not get players involved in this part of it, too!)
Quote from: sparkletwist
Quote from: SteerpikeOne thing that works for me, personally, is to prepare a lot of notes/info/description on a particular area (a city, a town, a region, a structure) and then let the PCs just interact with it. They often end up forming their own plots simply by wandering around, talking to people, and getting into trouble.
You could also take a page from Dresden FATE's playbook, which has "city creation" as the goal of the first session of play, and let players actively help out in the creation of the region, as well. That keeps you from having to come up with everything, and it virtually ensures there will be plot hooks in the area that they find interesting, because they'll have helped to come up with them.
(Having to come up with the whole region in advance by yourself can sometimes be as troublesome as trying to think of the whole adventure yourself, and I see no reason to not get players involved in this part of it, too!)
If you ever want the PCs to be locals to a city you are setting a game in, perhaps have them come up with something in their backstory that connects them to certain other parts of the story--a guild of thieves, a relative in the city watch, a friend on the High Council, an enemy or rival, etc. Or perhaps have them come up with a reason why they are in this city. These reasons and personal relationships can be the source of new adventures when you are wanting inspiration.
First let me apologize for taking so long to respond. Real life issues had me traveling more than normal for this time of year.
Second let me say you guy are brilliant, most specifically Steerpike and Ghostman. Those were exactly the sort of creative ideas I was hoping to get. I cant wait to work those out a bit and then get them into my campaign.
As I said, my players are newbies. During our character creation session I did ask the players for some background on their characters as well as some character goals so I would have an idea where to go with our adventures.
Of course I got goals like "find all the gold" & "find a halfling girlfriend" & "kill a dragon". That last one seems doable but we have to find out where all the dragons went first. I do have some good backgrounds to work with and already have some ideas for getting past family into the future adventures.
We had our second gaming session last weekend and the PC's did not capture the lead graverobber. after defeating his skeletal minions they spent a few hours digging up graves themselves trying to find out what might be in the graves that he was looking for. Only after digging up 4 graves did they decide to track him and our session ended with them grabbing some quick sleep (2 hours) before starting after him in the morning.
They havent even mentioned the merchant and the priestess at the local temple will be upset when she finds they didnt recover the graves they dug up. I was thinking of having a god or goddess come into play somehow to teach them not to be so reckless (two players already dominating the game with "my character only thinks of himself" attitudes). I dont want to tell them how to play their characters but it is a group game and not a solo campaign.
I am not planning on having them catch the graverobber at this time (a kobold shaman working for the necromancer) and instead will have them discover the hideout of the gnolls who attacked the merchants caravan in session 1.
anyone else care to weigh in with some creative ideas about how this could all play out?
Thanks again to EVERYONE for their input and advice.
We had our third session over the weekend.
the characters found the hidden Gnoll outpost and fortunately they came upon it while the main force was out hitting another caravan.
Still the encounter took the entire night and yielded some great fun and laughter. The party has found some letters from an officer in the private security force of the merchant guild to a gnoll captain giving him details of rogue caravans for him to attack, including their routes, number of security personnel, and goods available.
The party is considering setting up an ambush for the gnolls upon their return to their hideout.
They were determined to track down the kobold shaman so I had to take some measures to have them loose his tracks.
Some new background story:
A cyclops has taken over and is uniting the gnoll tribes and at the same time taking kobolds for slaves. The cyclops has been in written contact with the merchant guilds private security force and they have agreed to provide quality weapons and armor in exchange for the attacks on caravans traversing the north parts of the human kingdoms (this takes the private security force out of harms way and there is less evidence to point back to the merchant guild).
The kobolds have approached a necromancer living in their territory for help and he has told them of a powerful artifact that will give them victory over the gnolls. In truth this artifact will help raise a long dead evil king who the necromancer will set up as a general over his forming undead armies.
I am still looking for creative story help here though. If you have any ideas or thoughts or suggestions - I am all ears!
Thanks,