The Campaign Builder's Guild

OK, so I just formed a new group of players and they are excited about the idea of a campaign where the PCs are bounty hunters, investigators, spies, and special agents.  Though this could be done with standard D&D, the main inspiration for this campaign style is "Crime and Punishment" published by Atlas Games and written by Keith Baker.  The book mostly has game mechanics and some adventure ideas and some general discussion about different systems of laws.  While the mechanics will not likely be mine, I will have to create characters, places, plots, and adventures so it is basically a homebrew campaign.  I am simply not claiming the idea as original.  I also enjoy the "Dynasties and Demagogues" and "Love and War" books, so I may use ideas from them, though I think I want to keep the action fairly high, so I am reluctant to delve too far into politics/religion.

My first steps will be (in order, I think):
(1) come up with the first adventure to introduce the group to the themes of the world and get the group to be eager to learn/experience more.
(2) build a smallish community that will serve as their initial base of operations.
(3) brainstorm about a campaign story-arc.  Will it even have an overall arc?  Would it still be fun as episodic?

[ooc]Current Steps:
*) Decide upon style of campaign & rules.
result: action-based, party is a group of bounty hunters who also engage in some other activities.
O) Brainstorm one-paragraph adventure ideas
O) Decide upon and write the first adventure
O) ... and outline initial settlement
O) ... and decide upon general theme/atmosphere/mood (probably won't be high fantasy)[/ooc]

So it's going to be Law Enforcement & Justice in a Fantasy game?

Somewhat.  I was vague, and am in the middle of creation and making things more concrete.  Sorry. :)

While I think mysteries and investigation would be cool, the focus is going to be on ACTION, so it will be about bounty hunting.  There will be some mystery and investigation and conspiracy, but I think my players are wanting ACTION more than thinking, so I'm going to give them that but also have some twists and puzzles in there... I'll post some stuff I sent to the players to get us started.

An e-mail I sent to my players

RULES: campaign.

Alignment: Detect alignment spells will not work.  Spells that affect certain alignments may work
if the subject of the spell is inherently that alignment.  For example, if you use a holy weapon
against a thief that is kinda evil, has done evil stuff, but is not evil to his core, then the
"holy" ability of the weapon will not trigger.


CLASSES [This summarizes some of the additional core classes & prestige classes that appear in "Crime & Punishment"]

Investigator (Core Class)
-----
Sherlock Holmes.  Skilled investigator.  Good at deducing clues and solving mysteries and has
several special abilities to help out with that.  Uses a social network to aid in investigations.


Inquisitor (Prestige Class)
-----
Lawful characters who commit themselves to the pursuit (and obeyance) of the law.  These
characters gain access to a limited set of divine spells that make them magical investigators and
they have special abilities tied to discerning the truth.


Bounty Hunter (Core Class)
-----
Similar to the rogue class.  This class focuses more on combat and using special attacks to subdue
opponents.  They become good wrestlers and are able to deliver their painful subdual strike if
they can achieve a "pin."  Painful strike can also be used on opponents who are denied their Dex
bonus.  [you could also make a rogue that specializes in using the sap weapon...?]


Magehunter (Prestige Class)
-----
These martial characters never were magical (nor had magical abilities).  They excel at combating
magic and immediately gain spell resistance.  Their attacks disrupt casters and they have special
smite attacks that they can use on casters or creatures with spell-like abilities.  They also gain
the ability to detect magic at will.


Spellbane (Prestige Class)
-----
Spellbanes are rare, they commit themselves to arcane studies and then mid-career they must
abandon the path of wizardry.  They permanently lose old spell-list and gain a new limited list.
They excel in using magic to dispel magic.  They also can detect magic at will.

A clarifying e-mail I sent to my players

A quick note as I think about this more... I get the feeling that there will be more action than
investigation, so Investigator & Inquisitor will not be as useful as player classes.

Here are some general roles that you should/may want to fill: [this summarizes character/party ideas from "Crime & Punishment" from the bounty hunting section]


* Tracking - ranger or bounty hunter or character with Track feat. Survival and Gather Info
skills.

* Stealth & Observation - gather info, move silent, hide, spot, listen, open locks.  bounty
hunters, rangers, monks, rogues.

* Countermagic - spellbane most effective, if use magehunter then the character must close quickly
on the enemy caster.

* Firepower - when fights go down, you may need a straight fighter for muscle.  bounty hunter and
ranger have good combat skill.  monk and bounty hunter are good at unarmed combat (subdual
damage).  Spells like fireball are a little too messy. :)

* Taking Em Alive - magically, spells like charm, hold person, and sleep are better options.
Fighters can grab Improved Unarmed Strike and Stunning Fist, and go for disabling feats under
Combat Expertise.

 [ooc]Preliminary Party Composition:
Druid
Monk
Ranger
Rogue

I envision the monk and rogue teaming up on foes and knocking them out, and lots of teamwork in general.
The role that they do not currently have filled is the countermagic.  I figure that they will diminish that by scouting their opponents first when possible and zipping the monk to the spellcasters and disabling the spellcasters quickly via grappling, stunning fist, etc.[/ooc]

Brainstorming Adventure Ideas

My next step is to brainstorm adventure and event ideas.  If people want to do this with me they are more than welcome to.  This list is just the start.

Wolf's Head - death warrants on creatures that are a menace to the community, or death warrants for infamous villains or murderers.  I may start the game with a Wolf's Head on wolves or rodents or maybe a monster/animal.

Tomb Robbers - dungeons aren't just dungeons, they can represent the tombs of a beloved ancestor.  If the characters loot a dungeon, they can find themselves in a world of trouble -- accused of defiling a resting place and robbery.  On the flip side, they are asked to hunt down an adventuring group and bring them back alive for questioning/trial.  They might also catch wind of an adventuring group that is dungeon delving in stages and they recently spoke at town about their ongoing exploits.

Jailbreak! - hunt down those fugitives... who are now getting help from shady people on the outside.  They could also escort a magician or inquisitor who knows who committed a crime and aid in the initial apprehension.  Who else do they upset while delving to apprehend the criminal?  The thieves in the sewers?

Item Hunt - collector wants an item, or item was just stolen from a tomb/mansion and a bounty is placed for its return.  This could even be an item that the group already has and it is their decision whether to turn the item in for the bounty or deal with other bounty hunters coming after them.

Falsely Accused - of course.  I don't wanna use this more than twice, maybe once in the beginning and once near the end of the campaign.  Also mistaken identity could be used for other purposes.  At higher levels, it will probably be a rogue that is a social master and a master of disguise and acting.

Bad Guy Bounty - the PCs earn themselves a powerful opponent who puts a bounty on them.  Most bounty hunters do not turn out to try and nab the PCs, however the unscrupulous, evil ones do...  The PCs turn paranoid as they do not know who to trust when in the public.  Who is watching them and why?

Other stuff:
Trials
Mysteries
Arrests
Infiltration
Spying
Assassination (of bad guys, of course)

It definately sounds like an interesting twist on a Fantasy idea.  
Are the players going to be a mixed group of alignment types?  Is it going to be 'good' guys hunting down 'bad' guys or is it going to be a grayer setup?

Alignment. I'm going to restrict the players to non-evil.  If they are to embrace the bounty hunter role, they may be non-lawful.  I don't mind if they are neutral, but there will be consequences for their actions.  There may be consequences even if they uphold the law (pissing off the unlawful types).  My only concern as DM is that they (1) take the missions/adventures that I prepare, (2) enjoy them immensely.  So I don't feel the need to restrict them further.  I expect some friction if there are both lawful and chaotic types in the group.  That should provide some decent (though predictable) role-playing.

Motivation. I think the PCs will be motivated by earning money/loot from bounties that they can convert into magic items.  Most players play to: (1) gain phat loot, (2) kill cool monsters, (3) use cool abilities/spells.  So where I will need to be careful is to make sure they fight enough monsters and aren't always hauling in humanoids.

An e-mail to my players about Party Composition.  One player is going to run a monk.

Monk should prove to be a great choice for Bounty Huntin' Goodness (tm).  If I can make some observations/suggestions, I would say that Stunning Fist would be a good choice for the 1st-level Bonus Feat, otherwise you have to wait until 11th level to qualify for that feat; Combat Expertise and Improved Grapple would be a good combo (for your other feats) if you choose human as your race; good early class skills to take would be hide, move silent (stealth), listen (observation), sense motive (social), tumble (combat teamwork), climb (movement/mobility).  

Spot isn't quite as useful as listen, though if the monk is scouting, it may help prevent getting hit by traps / hidden creatures.  I don't really envision the PCs encountering traps as much as a regular party of adventurers.  There may be ambushes if you go up against a thieves guild, other bounty hunters, or if you go for a hike in "enemy" territory.

Stunning Fist would be good against rogues/bards, wizards/sorcerers, this is a good 50/50 chance to knock them out in one round.  Improved Grapple is good to tussle with a variety of opponents from the two-handed weapon wielding bad-arse, to clerics and wizards.  Giving the monk tumble will allow the group to set up flanking attacks more quickly in each battle.

A sap-wielding rogue would be good to combo with the monk.  (flank + subdual damage sneak attacks) Nets are also very handy and there is a Net Master feat in "Crime & Punishment" that allows net users (heh, sounds like computers) to fold nets faster and gives opponents bigger negatives.  You would need the Exotic Weapon (Net) feat to be proficient, though the Bounty Hunter core class is proficient.

Knowledge (law) & Knowledge (local) will also prove to be handy.

Difficulty


Putting My Foot Down

As a DM, it can be hard to determine the best level of difficulty for a game.  Sometimes fights end up being too hard and you almost have to fudge in the favor of the players, sometimes fights are very easy and you almost gotta fudge for the opponents.  "Crime & Punishment" does a good job of discussing the various aspects of a bounty-hunting campaign including 1) table talk during combat, 2) tactics players can use to jump and disable their opponents.

You might be thinking, "What's so important about table talk?"  It can ruin the mood of an evening or adventure and get the players "out" of their characters.  Depending on the group and the situation, you don't necessarily want to clamp down on in-combat, out-of-turn strategy talk because of the group of players.  For this team of bounty hunters (in my campaign), the level of their success will be directly related to their level of teamwork.  Another part of the attraction will be for them to strategize ambushes or attacks before they happen. ...So what I'm going to do is restrict strategy talk to be IN CHARACTER.  When characters do strategy talk during combat, they will have to do it DURING THEIR TURN.  If they speak of their strategy, then their opponents will hear; they will either want to develop a secret code for combat commands, use telepathic magic when they can get their hands on it, or keep it to a minimum and get most of the talk out of the way beforehand.

If they want their adventuring lives to be easier, this forces them to plan things in advance and work together and even discuss some hypothetical situations.


Letting Go of the Wheel

A temptation of long-time DMs or RPG die-hards seems to be that they want to make their game tough.  They want to make their players "earn it."  When I announced my game, one prospective player gave me some unsolicited advice and said the first adventure I should run should have the PCs get all their stuff taken from them and thrown in jail, then you get them to really hate a villain.  I replied, "Yes and they will want to kill the DM as well."  Gladly, he isn't able to make it to the game...

People play games because they provide entertainment and are FUN.  Players (1) want to have fun, (2) want their characters to succeed, (3) want their characters to improve/level.  Unless my players want the game to be insanely hard, I am going to allow them to have what they want.  Now, I'm not going to tell them this upfront, but it will be what happens.  One thing I can't do is make it too easy, but what I will do is put them in situations where they can plan and gather more information to make life much easier for them (and throw wrinkles in there once plans are in motion).

I'm going to brainstorm on this... What I am going to do is come up with a list of things I can do to make the game more fun in ways that does not detract from the experience.  I realize these things may drive simulationists crazy, but sometimes simulation <> (does not equal) fun.  Besides you don't need to be DETAILED for the players to feel IMMERSED.  That's another blunder folks make.  Detail can be annoying and frustrating.

(1) Coin system.  I'm doing away with silver and copper in treasure.
(2) Selling stuff.  Generally: Successful appraise will get them 60% of the value (if they sell).  Failed appraise nets 50%.  Hot items or bartering will net 100%+ for items the buyer really wants. (OK somewhat simulationist, but I intend to do this fast, and it's not full barter)
(3) Magick Shoppe.  Unless there is a pure wizard in the group, I will allow the PCs to buy magic items in places where there is a decent concentration of magic users (provided the laws allow regular citizens to possess magic).  The shoppes will not stock much, but they can produce them with a 50% down payment.
(4) Roll all dice at once if possible.  Concealment (miss chance), d20 to hit, and damage.
(5) In terms of adventure design, I'm going to give them the opportunity to excel and show off their skills/abilities/magic and teamwork.
and...?

This campaign setting is good I like it, But is there very much open for the non-bounty hunter team. If so what?

Not sure what you're wanting to ask/know here...

The world is designed around a certain style of play: the bounty hunting team.  It will be fairly typical fantasy, but I will add elements that deal more with issues around crimes and punishments.  The adventures designed will mostly be bounty-hunting type scenarios and missions that the PCs would be good at.  This is how the game has been advertised to the players, so they know what they are getting into.

I haven't designed the setting/world yet, because I hadn't decided on the campaign before I recruited the group of players and so I asked them to rank several ideas that I had.

The setting here will definitely start out in the background.  It IS a SETTING.  It is where it is SET, so it is the background (and may stay in the background).  I need to focus my energies on the action and adventure, the details the PCs will get on the world (at least initially) will be fuzzy.

I will slowly be building the world, I have a few fuzzy ideas for some kingdoms, areas, and power groups.  If the group of players tires of the adventures and developing storyline, then I would likely scrap the setting/world completely.  Does that answer your question?

I will be posting stuff as I develop more which will be VERY soon because of the first adventure will be run Saturday.

I would recommend instead of developing an entire world, work towards developing a large city, complete with power groups and structure of law and punishment. Bounty-based or investigative type of campaigns tend to flourish during the early levels in a city.

Then, work on fleshing out a few countries or backgrounds to make the city seem somewhat cosmopolitan.

If you need some inspiration, look up the city Belegost on my webpage. http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Belegost

It is the city I developed specifically for an investigative/bounty-based campaign in a large city with no magic whatsoever. I'm tellin' ya, Speak with Dead, Know Alignment and Locate Object/Locate Creature from D20 can really ruin some of the better aspects of an investigative game that relies on suspense and drama. But that's just a personal preference.

Awesome page Moniker!  I might have to run a game in that setting.

Starting in a large city just intimidates me a little too much.  I would if I could...  The party is starting out as a druid, monk, rogue, and ranger, so I think this time they will be better suited to start in a town on the edge of a kingdom.  This way I can let their talents shine before I nudge them toward the city.  I think I have a fun idea for the whole nudging part... the PCs inadvertantly start a war (but that will not be in the first adventure).


[spoiler=Adventure One - Illusionary Bandits]Adventure One - Illusionary Bandits

the Story

About a week ago, Carlito quit his job clerking for Tonnaupt the merchant.  Carlito is good with numbers but his excuse to Tonnaupt is that he's "not made right" for driving a caravan to trade with the dwarves in the nearby mountains.  Tonnaupt insisted, but Carlito refused.  You see, Carlito, a secretly aspiring illusionist, had bigger designs.  He had been waiting for months to learn of Tonnaupt's business plans; he'd also been waiting for some folks to join up with in town but he's been unlucky in that regard.  Carlito schemed to hit Tonnaupt's caravan... and ransom the merchant back to the town (Carlito has school loans to pay off after all).  

Carlito set up an ambush yesterday evening for the caravan and used his illusion magic--along with some lackeys--to gain the upper hand on the caravan.  Unfortunately for Carlito, Tonnaupt died of a heart attack during the ambush; also Thom, a stableboy who was hired on to look after the horses, got away.

Carlito is expecting a quick response from the town and will use his magick once again, but this time he will first use it to figure out the strength and tactics of the response.

TODO

So, I need to map out the ambush site, a cave where Carlito and his lackeys stay at night (and is somewhat known as a shelter for caravaneers when the weather is bad), and how the PCs can encounter the bandits.

Carlito is a human illusionist2 (w/Chains of Disbelief & Shadow Shaper variants from Unearthed Arcana)

Aftermath/Results

The other, more generic general store in town begins to prosper and become more specialized.*Tonnaupt's widow takes out a loan, and takes his corpse to a city with a priest to raise him from the dead; to pay off the loan, the store property and inventory are sold.*Each of the PCs gain in reputation (get better prices on goods), and gain bonuses to some social skills for the town (and those who move from the town, if any prominent members do).*If the PCs have not yet been to the Shoppe by the end of the adventure, they will gain an invitation from the sheriff.

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=the Town of Nwot Retrats]the Town of Nwot Re'trats

(pronounced "watt reh-trats")

Nwot Re-trats rests on the edge of a kingdom.  It is very close to a line of mountains which are inhabited by dwarves.  The hills are rich in mineral deposits (left over from a glacier, of course), making the area good for farming and small-scale mining.  Being on the edge of the kingdom subjects it to a weakened rule of law and the threat of raids from denizens of the mountains who have lesser morals.  The area of Nwot Re'trats is known for its lawlessness and consequently criminals flee here from deeper in the kingdom.  As a result, it also has a higher percentage of bounty hunters.  

Included in the seedy aspects of the town are a brothel, gambling, and recreational drugs...  Prostitution and gambling are outlawed by the kingdom, but the local lord/governors have been paid off with money, booze, ladies, (and if necessary, threats of blackmail for taking the bribes).  There is a sheriff, town guard, town council, and current mayor (who also serves as judge).  In most legal matters, the town tends to protect its own interests and do what is best for the town, and so they don't necessarily go by THE letter of the law.  Punishments can still be brutal with hangings and maimings.  Things do not necessarily go to court or get resolved in the public eye if they think the kingdom will not be happy with the result.  (influences: Dead Wood)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=the Retreat (& "the Shoppe")]the Retreat (& "the Shoppe")

The sign for "the Retreat" is the silohuette of a man with spikey hair running away from a pack of three ogres that are carrying clubs.  The inside is dingy and yet cheesy at the same time.  When you are seated, the waitress says, "What are you escaping from today?"  After the order is given, "I will surrender your order as expeditiously as possible!"  The menu items are filled with puns.  To drink: Dashing blonde (beer), Fireball Redhead (dwarven ale), Hiding Brunette (ale), and a Flight of Wine.  To eat: Barbeque Chicken Out, Pigs Defeat, Quail, Betsy's Retirement (beef), and Chocolate Escape (for desert).  This place is a joke that the locals like to play on fugitives and also a dingy place where fugitives may begin to feel more comfortable when they realize that it's a joke.  Or is it?  The Shoppe uses the Retreat to spy on visitors and strangers and to take fugitives when they are drunken and defenseless.  Besides direct observation, they also have your standard hole in the wall, one-way mirrors, and some magickal devices.

The Shoppe does not really have a name that its members and clients call it directly.  It is both a place and a secret society but it is not spoken about except in the upmost confidence.  The only time its members refer to it as "the Shoppe" is when they want someone to meet them there.  "Meet me back at the Shoppe."  Or if they are wanting to do some planning or discuss some matters, "How about we work on this in the Shoppe?"  The Shoppe is located in the cellar of the Retreat.  There usually is a lookout at the entrance to the alleyway when people are purposely going into the Shoppe.

The Shoppe is located past a secret door in the cellar.  It appears to be a small shop, there are hand drawn maps on the walls and several WANTED posted bills.  There's a round wooden table with round wooden stools to the left of the doorway and to the right is a metal cage where a human (Saldis, bounty hunter) sits on a round wooden stool reading a rectangular book.  The book rests on the counter in front of him (and between you and him) and a dozen or so boxes are stacked behind him.  The boxes have names branded into the side of them in stencil and some of the names are Rookies, Trackers, Hunters, Veterans, and Professionals.  The man looks like a true warrior: scars and piercings adorn his face, burn marks grace his neck, his right ear is crudely califlower-shaped.  His very appearance is intimidating.  Despite being on the other side of a cage, he wears splint mail armor and has three weapons tucked into his belt: a longsword, a sap, and a net.  A bundle of silk rope hangs lazily from his back.  Tattoos peek out from the tops of his hands.

The "Rookies" box, which is the only box that Saldis is willing to open for the PCs, contains variants of non-magical restraints, alchemical items, net, leather gag (with straps, very hard to wriggle out of), iron hands (can't move fingers), flashstones (blinding), ye olde ball & chain (no, not female), and various weapons such as the sap and hand crossbow.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Stores, Brothels, and Dens of Iniquity]Stores, Brothels, and Dens of Iniquity

The two main stores in town are Tonnaupt's Tonnes and General Store.  

Tonnaupt's Tonnes: Tonnaupt's wife, Gertrude is (wo)manning the store in Tonnaupt's absense.  The Tonnes has higher end items including dwarven crafted "relics" (with statuettes of dwarven kings, and prototypical dwarven figurines, all made of stone of course), "official" souveniers from the kingdom (most notably: crest of the ruling family on various items, some handwritten guides), they also sell your basic sleeping, eating, light, climbing, mining gear.

The General Store is relatively down-scale and they just focus of the basics.  If the PCs go here, the proprietor has a missing tooth and talks like a "southerner".  As time passes (after the adventure) the proprietor gains a golden "crown" tooth in the place of the missing tooth.

There is one "out in the open" brothel (which doubles as a tavern and casual gambling establishment), and a couple of others that are more secretive.  One of the latter has more upscale clientele and is usually by invitation.  The other has the girls "call upon" and go to where the clients are staying.  There are other gambling spots ranging from your pickup games of dice in alleyways to high-stakes card games in private residences.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wolfs Head on Wolves]Wolf's Head on Wolves

About a year ago, sheep farmer Wellkin made the mistake of refusing to allow his son to marry the daughter of his neighbor, Evenstone (not the daughter's name).  Unbeknownst to Wellkin and many others, Evenstone has been plotting ever since for revenge.  He obtained and trained a pack of siberian huskies (wolf-like dogs) to attack sheep on command.  On two occasions recently, he sent them to attack Wellkin's herd at night.  Wellkin was able to determine from the carnage that the attackers were canine in nature and he got a wolf's head bounty of 10 gold pieces per wolf's head posted (the town is paying for it though).

Stats of huskies = wolf.  PCs will face no more than 3 huskies at a time and no more than 6 total.  Evenstone stats = human expert1 with max ranks in Handle Animal.  

Results

Though it isn't posted, if the PCs figure out that a PERSON and not wolves are behind the attack, the sheriff awards them a bonus 100 gold in addition to each husky head.*They will also get bonus XP for bringing Evenstone to justice instead of killing him outright.*Wellkin will reward them with winter wool clothing, mutton jerky, and a fresh lamb roast.*They can combine this with another minor side quest to gain another reputation bonus in town.

[/spoiler]

Bread Crumbs to Adventure Two

[ooc]bed time calls, to be continued soon[/ooc][/size]

Little *bump*  Since the forum doesn't indicate a new post when you edit... I'm going to add notes to recent posts that are currently underway.  So if you are following this and a certain post looks like it is in progress, check back and gander at my notes.  I hope to remove the notes a few days from now when it becomes less new.