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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 18:18:01
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So I'm putting together a new FR campaign, and while we're still in the planning stages of determining what system and era we're going to use, one idea that occurred to me was a game set just before the dreaded Spellplague.
In this game, the heroes face the world starting to fall apart . . . and with any luck, they'll hold it together.
We might play in 3.5, in which case the heroes may or may not transition into the 4e rule system at some point during the campaign.
It's still early in the planning process, like I mentioned, but I was hoping to gather opinions from my favorite scribes and sages, on the following topics:
1) What concerns do I need to watch out for?
2) What major events would be fun for PCs?
3) Other thoughts?
All opinions welcome, though I'm less interested in the "what are you, nuts?" sort of opinions. (I already KNOW I'm a little nuts.) 
Cheers
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Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 18:36:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
1) What concerns do I need to watch out for?
2) What major events would be fun for PCs?
3) Other thoughts?
1) Depends on your players. If the wizard works hard to amass a lot of 3.5E spells for his spellbook and then has that number reduced in the switch, he may not be happy (maybe ensure its spells that are in both editions that he has at first). Then again, said player may enjoy the re-discovery of magic (which can be a major event as per #2)
2) A major event that could be fun is what I just mentioned, re-discovering how to use magic.
Another major event, maybe someone has family who is sucked by the spellplague into Abeir. Or maybe a player loses a character this way, only to have his character replaced with another coming from Abeir (like say, a Dragonborn). Then the group gets to learn about their new friend while grieving the loss of another in such a spectacular way (maybe the two characters switch exact places).
Another idea, if there is a cleric of Helm or Tyr, how they cope with their god suddenly dying (or how they interact with other faiths) - how/where they will seek solace in the faith of another deity (do they turn to one similar such as Torm, or did it affect them differently and they turn to the worship of Bane or another?) |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 18:42:03
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You are my new hero.
THAT is precisely the time period I have been advocating as being THE most interesting period of history to run-in. It is the ONLY time in-which you can borrow from EVERY edition.
For instance, whatever 1e/2e/3e NPCs you want alive could still be around (bar Khelben, of course), while at the same time, you can start having parts of the world transpose with parts of Abeir - how cool is THAT?
People in Mulhorand ask the PCs to investigate 'strange, ghostly apparitions' that are appearing all over their homeland. Amn is looking for brave souls to dare cross the now-treacherous Trackless Sea... they haven't heard from their colonies in some months...
The Cormyte Gov't wants someone to investigate the odd sightings in the Dragonmere. The Harpers are interested in the goings-on in Thay, but most are too well-known by the Red wizards, so they seek the help of non-Harpers in their intrigues..
The Turmish want to know what the hell is going on to their south, just across the Vilhon reach... can your players offer assistance?
I could go on and on... that is one great era to place a campaign! |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 04 Mar 2011 18:43:00 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 18:57:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
People in Mulhorand ask the PCs to investigate 'strange, ghostly apparitions' that are appearing all over their homeland. Amn is looking for brave souls to dare cross the now-treacherous Trackless Sea... they haven't heard from their colonies in some months...
Do this one 
I may steal it myself  |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:01:37
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Druids of Silvanus rejoice as the desert of Anauroch fades away. But to their dismay, this causes long buried Netherese ruins to re-emerge. The PCs could be sent to investigate some of these just as the Shades are coming in to do their own reconaissance (as they are surely just as excited at this).
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Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:10:55
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| Contact with Evermeet from Myth Drannor (or Evereska) is suddenly lost as Evermeet moves over into the Feywild. The PCs must investigate this and regain contact with the lost island. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:11:08
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Good thoughts, everybody. Keep it coming!
You're totally right about it depending on the characters. I like to structure character-driven campaigns around what the players want, to appeal to each of them differently and challenge them in new and interesting ways. (This is like how I write novels.)
This is going to be particularly interesting, as one of my players is going to be Brian R. James (you know THAT one), who has forgotten more about the Realms than I know. So this'll be fun!
quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
If the wizard works hard to amass a lot of 3.5E spells for his spellbook and then has that number reduced in the switch, he may not be happy (maybe ensure its spells that are in both editions that he has at first). Then again, said player may enjoy the re-discovery of magic (which can be a major event as per #2)
Not sure if you've read my post in the "Questions about 4e Thread", but I specified that both versions of spells exist (3.5 and 4e), and the 4e spells might be based on the 3.5 ones. The character might be the actual discoverer of those new spells--who knows?
The whole powerloss concept is one that I'd like to explore. Mages lose their spells but not their minds--how do they react? How do they cope? Same with priests--magic suddenly stops functioning, gods suddenly die, etc.--what do they do?
It's kind of like the Time of Troubles all over again, but the stakes are even higher.
quote:
Another major event, maybe someone has family who is sucked by the spellplague into Abeir. Or maybe a player loses a character this way, only to have his character replaced with another coming from Abeir (like say, a Dragonborn). Then the group gets to learn about their new friend while grieving the loss of another in such a spectacular way (maybe the two characters switch exact places).
That's a cool idea. I'll think about how that would play out.
quote:
Another idea, if there is a cleric of Helm or Tyr, how they cope with their god suddenly dying (or how they interact with other faiths) - how/where they will seek solace in the faith of another deity (do they turn to one similar such as Torm, or did it affect them differently and they turn to the worship of Bane or another?)
This is a definite possibility, and one I mean to explore. Also on this note, you should be reading my recent FR books starting with Downshadow, because they talk rather a bit about Helm/Tyr/Torm. In particular, the Eye of Justice organization. But I digress.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
You are my new hero.
Aww. Glad you approve. 
quote:
THAT is precisely the time period I have been advocating as being THE most interesting period of history to run-in. It is the ONLY time in-which you can borrow from EVERY edition.
The idea comes a little from a friend of mine who helps with campaign planning for the Penny Arcade guys and their personal D&D game (which I believe is set in the Wailing Years). Not that I want to steal that--in fact, I just realized there's some cross-over just now. Oh well, still running with it.
quote:
For instance, whatever 1e/2e/3e NPCs you want alive could still be around (bar Khelben, of course), while at the same time, you can start having parts of the world transpose with parts of Abeir - how cool is THAT?
I've already used Khelben in my other FR campaign (as well as Kyriani and Ashemmon), and that went pretty well. But yeah, totally!
I love the ideas. Keep 'em coming!
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:12:57
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| The characters are deep below Undermountain and the Spellplague suddenly arrives. Portals randomly appear (more so than usual) sending the characters to a random location on Toril. Perhaps the route they were using to get in and out of Undermountain suddenly collapses and they must grind their way out back to the surface (this would be more of an isolated Dungeon Crawl adventure if they would prefer this). |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:18:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
This is going to be particularly interesting, as one of my players is going to be Brian R. James (you know THAT one), who has forgotten more about the Realms than I know. So this'll be fun!
Realmslore galore will be needed.
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
The whole powerloss concept is one that I'd like to explore. Mages lose their spells but not their minds--how do they react? How do they cope? Same with priests--magic suddenly stops functioning, gods suddenly die, etc.--what do they do?
I like this one.
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
This is a definite possibility, and one I mean to explore. Also on this note, you should be reading my recent FR books starting with Downshadow, because they talk rather a bit about Helm/Tyr/Torm. In particular, the Eye of Justice organization. But I digress.
I have read it, and now that you mention it, I do remember the Eye of Justice a bit.
[/quote] |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:21:22
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| A flying ship from Halruaa, while the characters are in it (or nearby and witness it) plummets to the earth and crashes. Maybe it's close to Halruaa so they witness the land dissapear at the same time. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:24:53
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| If one of the characters is a cleric or other divine servant of Kelemvor, he could be in Thay as it becomes plagued with Undead. The stench of all these could make him extrememly sick, and Kelemvor would charge him with ensuring they at least remain within the boundaries of Thay (with occasional forays within to find out what is going on exactly). |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:27:14
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| The emergence of Mistshore in Waterdeep. What part do the players play in this politically? Are politics even involved? Do the guilds care and/or want to monopolize on it (maybe a PC works for one of the guilds or the guilds hire the PCs to go in and gather information)? |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2011 : 19:45:43
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Seems to me that you've got a set of decisions to make if you're going to use foreshadowing to what we know of the events in the Wailing Years and what we know of the state of the world in 1479.
The events of the Year of Blue Fire--well, more precisely, the effects of those events--were precipitated by two separate but simultaneous cosmic happenings: the murder of Mystra and the otherworldly conjunction of Abeir with Toril.
Now, my contention is that you can have "fore-echoes" of the latter but probably not the former. Why do I think that? What do I mean exactly?
The two main outcomes of those two terrible events were the Spellplague (tied to both, but mainly to Mystra's murder) and the appearance in the world of large "chunks" of Abeir. I think a lot of your campaign happenings can deal with things related to, let's call it Returning Abeir, but less so to do with the Spellplague, because the events that lead up to Mystra's murder are far above the realm of the PCs.
On the other hand, things (planets, stars, planes) don't just suddenly "conjunct," they come into conjunction. So flashes of things like a wavering town of dragonborn briefly appearing near Airspur, or a treasure fleet from Maztica being attacked by Abeiran dragons could happen with increasing frequency, up to and including (at the highest levels) the early return of an actual Primordial (maybe the prevention of that return could be a major arc, after the PCs have figured out what's going on).
To use foreshadowing, then, you have the unenviable task of deciding which effects were caused by which cosmic event, because, in my view, it's Returned Abeir that would be presaged in the world, not the Spellplague.
That's all up to 1385, of course. Once everything hits, all bets are off and you're in completely chaotic story territory for a little while, which could be great fun. |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2011 : 12:23:35
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| The TV series Jericho (which got cancelled after two seasons), while I was watching it on DVD, the whole time from episode 1 I was thinking FR Spellplague when that Mushroom Bomb hit. Lots of ideas on how a small town deals with the big event. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Forgotten Realms: Before Crisis (1380-1385)
