| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| dariusredraven |
Posted - 21 Sep 2006 : 03:01:48
Starting a new campaign in FR. 4 Players, all are vaguely familiar with Faerun, but some coming back to D&D since before 3.0 came out. I have some overall story arcs worked out in my head, but I'm having trouble with getting a party hook, a reason why they would join up in the first place. We have set the starting level at 3rd, so that the players have an option of exploring some of the EL+ races that are unigue to Toril.
I am thinking about setting it in the Silver Marches as it seems restrictive and possibly most familiar place for players with limited knowledge of the world.
Any thoughts on party hooks? The players are human monk, human fighter, moon elf druid/bard and human sorcerer.
Any thoughts on campaign location?
Thanks. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 22 Sep 2006 : 11:11:03
Shieldmeet 1372 DR makes for a good festival start time, and I do like that idea. I had a tournament going on at the Temple of Tempus in Battledale during Shieldmeet in the Dales. |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 22 Sep 2006 : 10:52:35
Setting in the silver marches -
take a little town not too far away from silverymoon - like a 3-day-travel by horse or the like, mostly consisting of a human population. Luckily there is a festival going on (religious holiday e.g.). That gives also the unusual elfen Bard the likely option to be "in town" at the right time.
During the festival little contests in various disciplines are held all week long -
singing for the BARD;
fighting/grabbling or running/jumping for the MONK;
Sword-duels/Bow shooting for the FIGHTER;
spell battle/duel for the SORCERER...
whatever suites the characters individual abilities and tastes (why not a wine taste contest if one of them is into that or a blueberry pie eating contest...). It's a good way to let the players get used to the new system and get to know their charcter abilities at the same time.
At the end of the week they should make it to the "top three" in their contests. All those are invited to a formal dinner banquett for honors and celebration. That evening something happens, whatever might fit into your campaign - Orc attack, assasination attempt or a kidnapping. The invited "top-three" of the contests are asked to help the town solve the problem. However, some of those present refuse right away (like the fat merchant who wone the pie contest). THe Players should follow that call for help of course, maybe by convincing offers in gold or the like. Naturally not only for persons feel the call to adventure but more. Mix in some interesting NPC to your liking (maybe someone who is a spy or has other plots in mind...). Split all the vonlunteers in two task force units (e.g. consisting out of 6 in total) and voila - your players are all set to adventure together............
Just one option that is not the old "tavern-meeting".
Ergdusch |
| Tio |
Posted - 22 Sep 2006 : 08:27:35
When starting up a new campaign (which I only recently did) I will tell my players what the starting point is of the campaign. For you this would be the Silver Marches.
Once the players know this, they can spin their own background and why they are in the area at all.
With the background information of the characters I will then individually create hooks and either play them out with the player, or simply discus it with him. This gives the players a sense of involvement with how they started out.
I will give you an example (it's 2nd edition, but that doesnt matter for backgrounds). This campaign started out at 1st level and the party consists of the following characters:
- Half Elf Wizard
- Human Cleric (Lathander)
- Human Cleric (Torm)
- Human Fighter (Barbarian Kit)
- Human Fighter (Soldier Kit)
- Human Ranger
The campaign I'm running basically has the wizard being an appretice of a crippled wizard (13th level). The apprentice will be sent out to gather information and resources for the creation of a magical item.
Now for the hooks.
Cleric of Lathander: Being a follower of Creation, creation itself is a goal to reach for. Thus that is the hook for this character (he came up with it himself).
Cleric of Torm: The wizard was crippled during the destruction of Tantras during the fight between Torm and Bane (ToT). Thus the priesthood of Torm is more then willing to supply a cleric for the quest.
Barbarian: This guy lost his tribe early on in life, came from the North down to Tantras. Now seeking to survive. He's being hired to protect the apprentice from the brawls.
Soldier: Former deckhand that took up a sword when defending the ship against pirates. Survived and decided to continue with fighting for a living. Mercenary type, same as barbarian.
Ranger: Farm boy, hawk trainer and mountaineer. The wizard has a hawk as a familiar and has know this ranger since he was a youngster. The wizard is helping him set up a business as a hunting bird trainer. In exchange, the ranger has agreed to accompany the party with local area knowledge.
*******************************
I hope that helps you. I could probably come up with something like that for your players if i know more about the general campaign you have in mind and the players background. |
| Reefy |
Posted - 22 Sep 2006 : 00:57:42
quote:
Originally posted by dariusredraven
Thanks. Already downloaded them and are going through them now.
Enjoy them, they're great. 
The Silver Marches seems a good place to start to me - you can start small and then expand outwards from there. It also has a large amount of information about it (including the North as a whole), and the Silver Marches book is one of the best 3E Realms books in my opinion, with plenty to run a campaign around. |
| dariusredraven |
Posted - 21 Sep 2006 : 04:02:36
Thanks. Already downloaded them and are going through them now. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 21 Sep 2006 : 03:53:18
You might still try looking at some of the suggested material... You never know where inspiration can come from; looking at some Larry Elmore cards tonight, I got the inspiration for two NPCs, at least one (and hopefully both) of which will feature in the Volume VIII Untold Stories.
There's several ways to get a party together. You could have them all already know each other. You could have each party member know one other, so that everyone has at least an indirect connection to the others. You could have them be hand-picked and assembled into a team by someone needing something done, much like a boy band or caper movie.
Or you could have them meet while on their first adventure. For example, Adventure Hook III in Volume I of the Compendium has the PCs acting as caravan guards, who notice a strange illness seems to affect various people as the caravan is traveling. When they investigate, they find they are unwittingly escorting a vampire hunter turned vampire to Silverymoon, where he seeks his final rest. If you used this hook, for example, the PCs could each have been independently hired, and don't know any of the other characters. As they begin to investigate the odd occurrences, they wind up working together, and they've formed an adventuring group by the time they hit Silverymoon. |
| dariusredraven |
Posted - 21 Sep 2006 : 03:30:17
I have adventure ideas. What I am lacking is a way of getting the party together, without using old "you meet at a tavern" cliches. Once the party is together, I know where the campaign is going. I just can't seem to get them together. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 21 Sep 2006 : 03:23:28
As for various hooks... There are several hooks to be found in each volume of the Candlekeep Compendium; perhaps one of them would suit your purposes. See the link in my sig; it'll take you to a page where you can download all but the volume I'm editing now. The Untold Stories are nothing but adventure hooks, but many of the other articles have potential hooks in them.
There's a whole bunch of stuff on the Wizards website, too, that may prove useful. |
| Kalin Agrivar |
Posted - 21 Sep 2006 : 03:07:16
quote:
Originally posted by dariusredraven
Any thoughts on party hooks? The players are human monk, human fighter, moon elf druid/bard and human sorcerer.
Any thoughts on campaign location?
with those four characters? my first thought is somewhere around the Bloodstone Lands or the Vast...The Monestary (sp?) of the Yellow Rose for the monk and Aglarond for the elf...the human fighter from Damara or Implitur and the sorcerer anywhere...
but if in doubt there is always Waterdeep, the greatest crossroads of the Realms |
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