Tag: Campaign notes

Campaign Pitch: The Council

DnD

When it comes to running a D&D (or TTRPG) game, I’m a big fan of the Campaign Pitch. I first heard about it from Matt Colville in a video on the exact topic. In the video he presents the idea that a Dungeon Master could present multiple ideas for a campaign to the players. The players would then pick and choose among the various ideas to come to a consensus about what kind of game they want to run. He gave his players a document outlining his pitches.

This is counter to the way many many games have started: a DM has a campaign idea, adventure, or setting, and the players find it all out as they play. Colville had a prep document listing four different ideas, with a brief summary of what the central tension would be, what setting or location it would take place in, and a rating of the three most important themes for each one.

He ranked them all on a scale of 1 to 3 for the level of Politics, Roleplaying, and Tactics involved. He did, in the video, suggest other options for what themes are important to the DM making the pitch, though he cautioned us to keep it fairly simple. No need to overwhelm the players with many detailed options, not at first.

I pitched several ideas to my players at the start. But all three of them said all my ideas sounded fun; they didn’t favor one over the others. And maybe I didn’t make each pitch distinct enough to catch the players attention, or convey to them that they did have choice and buy-in up front.

I think they’d get it, now, though. We have all learned a lot about how we all approach the game.

I like my current game and how it’s developing, and my players also seem engaged with the world. But that doesn’t stop me from coming up with new ideas, new frameworks for adventures and characters. Today, while on my lunch break, my mind wandered and I came up with this campaign pitch, in the style of Matt Colville.

A Council of Clerics

In the centuries since the fall of the Old Empire, the gods have retreated and become much less active in the world. Clerics, churches, divine and demonic favor still exist, but there is no single dominant religion or institution. But lawful and powerful people call for a Council; a long-abandoned temple will be a host for a meeting of the minds on the topic of Gods and Mortals.

Adherents of trickster, adversarial, or individualistic gods may seek to disrupt this Council, or manipulate it for their own gain… or their own power.

Likewise, spellcasters seek audience, or simply knowledge, and may be forming their own guilds and schools, to consolidate power and create formal paths of education.

The Temple itself, long abandoned, may hold secrets of its own about the fall of the Old Empire, and why the Gods have retreated from direct intervention. Its secrets would bear investigation, particularly in the presence of many powerful leaders and spellcasters.

  • Politics: High – there will be many factions, each with their own goals. Making friends and enemies will be key to navigating this place.
  • Roleplaying: Medium to High – in this context, roleplaying specifically refers to negotiation, diplomacy, and deception. It’s getting what you want through talking, not fighting.
  • Tactical: Low to Medium – There may well be fighting and tactical situations but they would not be the focus of the game, at least at first. Although bloodthirsty or avaricious creatures may find a single location filled with rich or powerful people very tempting as a target.

Player Buy-In: Your character will need to Have An Opinion about the gods, religion, or politics. The opinion can be positive or negative. There is much here to learn: people and personalities; history, recent or ancient; rumors and lore. Does that sound like a good time to you? If you just want to hit things with sharp or blunt objects until they fall down, you will probably not have any fun here because that will quickly be discouraged by the players involved.

Would that kind of game interest you? I’d love to hear from you.

Notes From a D&D Game

DnD

I wrote this up as a summary and recap for the players in my ongoing D&D game. I’m trying to give hints on unfinished business and give clues and pointers to future adventures. If you’re a player in my game, first, thank you for reading my blog! and b, I’m still editing this so don’t use this as the final version.

It’s my intention to provide this as an example of campaign prep and how much information to give to players. It may or may not be helpful, but I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

The current status quo as of the end of Season’s Turn, 502 A.C.:

In Nabalee, the mysterious Lady Etum is building the fishing village and sea port into a powerful trading center, since it sits on a deep and sheltered cove, and is a stopping point for the road north to Warjos Dos and Deception Bay, as well as the road east over the Mourner’s Mountains into the Rusva Vesta Vale and Kopno’domas.

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • Kobolds and lizardfolk are on the move; travelers report seeing small bands of them camped out or marching through the forests.
  • Lady Etum is still searching for items recovered from shipwrecks; especially a ship’s wheel that is purported to allow travel to other planes of existence.

At Galath Ashelenor the enjoys of the Mahalaman Queen are settling in. In addition to companies of orcs and elves, there are administrators, laborers, and scholars. Regular Mahalaman patrols turn away sightseers and treasure-hunters. More Mahalaman swanships arrive as the days pass, and now a sizable fleet is anchored offshore.

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • The elves are dredging up Grenjolm’s ship but it’s slow-going: the ship was burnt down to the timbers before it sank.
  • You didn’t hear it from me but a friend of a friend said that the Half-Elven Prince was kept in the dungeons underneath.
  • Elves are searching for some kind of magical seed. Weird, innit?

In Port Deception, there is talk of the river-pirates starting to work together, united under the leadership of a person called, variously, The Ghost, Ether Eddy, or Moonwhisper. River merchants are hiring guards, adventurers, and spell-casters to protect their cargo.

  • Some kind of spider infestation is creeping up from the south. Brass spiders! Believe me or not, my cousin got bit by one, I swear on Rhoban’s hoppy thumb.

In Warjos Dos, the Seldaline has established himself as the primary civil administrator; Emil Warjos finds himself disregarded and ignored, and splits his time between the Brewtemple and the Lighthouse. Ohtar and Maegor are the town’s watch. The former watch captains, Sevastian and Tulia, are rarely seen and may have left town. 

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • Illbahn, the Wizard of Warjos Dos, and Emil Warjos, are organizing search parties for some kind of tomb, or vault. That might be where they sent Sevastian and Tulia.
  • This Ghost fella might have found some secret tunnel into the city, and he’s using it to move stolen goods. The elves don’t seem to care at all! Warjos woulda put a stop to it and that’s for certain.

On the far side of the Mourner’s Mountains, in Kopno’domas, the religious leaders war with the mercantile houses, each of their attention focused only on themselves and their immediate enemies. The city is both sleepy and at sword’s point. The de Agosta family, a major player in the city’s politics, have withdrawn, mourning the loss of their troubled son, Grenjolm, and House Bhorosh, whose history goes back to the Old Empire, appears to have taken advantage and are ascendant.

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • A string of murders has got the city on edge. The victims, of all races but eladrin, are found dead, whole, exsanginated. Horrific!
  • The Azure Heart druids have been sending acolytes to Turmlina Prison, buying, or laboring, for more turmlina gems. Are they up to something?