Planning & Worldbuilding The Name of Love's Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Idea Thread

[The Name of Love]

Guys, I'd like to hear your thoughts now: which of the four campaign ideas do you want to play in? Your vote will also tell me if you guys are interested at all in the campaign. I only need three to six people for this game.

[X] Breach Smashers - You are a group of ordinary villagers go on an epic quest to close the interdimensional portal causing all sorts of weird phenomenon that sends them sprawling across the multiverse. You'll travel to different parts of the D&D multiverse, like the City of Doors, Feywild, the Elemental Chaos, and the like, as well as various parallel worlds. If you Slider-like shenanigans, you'll love this campaign.

[X] Pillars of the State - You are all heirs to the throne - princes and princesses that will one day run your respective kingdoms. But royalty in this universe is expected to go out adventuring and fighting evil directly in addition to engaging in court politics and intrigue. If the idea of ruling your own country appeals to you, you'll love this campaign.

[X] Blood and Treasure - You are all soldiers engaging in a continent-wide war against monstrous hordes (orcs, goblins, etc.). You'll engage in a lot of fighting, yes, but managing logistics and strategizing will be equally important, and some battles will rely on your skill checks. If you like the idea of playing war games in which you try to conquer an entire map, you'll love this campaign.

[X] The Mobius Trippers - You are all normal people brought together by shared visions of greatness compelling you to build a time machine. It's up to you to use the time machine to your own advantage while stopping evil time travelers from destroying the timeline. If you want a lot of freedom to just mess with time however you want, you'll love this campaign.

 

[Grav]

[X] Breach Smashers - You are a group of ordinary villagers go on an epic quest to close the interdimensional portal causing all sorts of weird phenomenon that sends them sprawling across the multiverse. You'll travel to different parts of the D&D multiverse, like the City of Doors, Feywild, the Elemental Chaos, and the like, as well as various parallel worlds. If you Slider-like shenanigans, you'll love this campaign.

 

[Pluff0]

Once again, I'm good with any of the top three, but I'll put my vote in for
[X] Pillars of the State.
It's pretty hard to decide, since all these sound interesting.

 

[Ganurath]

Assuming we can vote for more than one...

[X] Pillars of the State - You are all heirs to the throne - princes and princesses that will one day run your respective kingdoms. But royalty in this universe is expected to go out adventuring and fighting evil directly in addition to engaging in court politics and intrigue. If the idea of ruling your own country appeals to you, you'll love this campaign.

[X] Blood and Treasure - You are all soldiers engaging in a continent-wide war against monstrous hordes (orcs, goblins, etc.). You'll engage in a lot of fighting, yes, but managing logistics and strategizing will be equally important, and some battles will rely on your skill checks. If you like the idea of playing war games in which you try to conquer an entire map, you'll love this campaign.

 

[The Name of Love]

Thank you guys for voting, I will be closing the polls in about 10 hours. So I assume that all of the voters are planning on joining this campaign?

 

[Grav]

Thank you guys for voting, I will be closing the polls in about 10 hours. So I assume that all of the voters are planning on joining this campaign?

Yes.

 

[Ganurath]

Thank you guys for voting, I will be closing the polls in about 10 hours. So I assume that all of the voters are planning on joining this campaign?

That's what I hope to do, yes.

 

[The Name of Love]

Hey guys, it looks like we’re going to be looking be doing “Pillars of the State.” If you like role playing political intrigue or power fantasies involving you ruling your own kingdom, it’ll be your bread and butter. Don’t worry if neither one is your cup of tea, as there will be plenty of excellent fights going on too.

 

[Grav]

Hey guys, it looks like we’re going to be looking be doing “Pillars of the State.” If you like role playing political intrigue or power fantasies involving you ruling your own kingdom, it’ll be your bread and butter. Don’t worry if neither one is your cup of tea, as there will be plenty of excellent fights going on too.

Hurrah. I still like the campaign.

 

[Ganurath]

I have entirely too many character ideas. I assume that our nations are neighbors of at least somewhat good standing. Do we have a specific starting continent, or NPC neighbor states of note?

 

[The Name of Love]

I have entirely too many character ideas. I assume that our nations are neighbors of at least somewhat good standing. Do we have a specific starting continent, or NPC neighbor states of note?

First, let’s look at the basic campaign outline.

Pillars of the State: Here, the players are fated from birth to be kings and queens of their own kingdoms in this political saga. The monarchies that the players rule have similar cultures and histories and share the same coastline, but each has differences based on each player's background, class, and race. A paladin or cleric might rule a theocratic kingdom, while a fighter character might rule a kingdom ruled by a long line of warrior-kings, for example. In these Kingdoms, monarchs don't sit around all day in their castle; they are expected to go around fighting villains and monsters with their cool powers in addition to governing the realm. Your characters will start out as princes and princesses, but will eventually succeed their parents and become the rulers. From there, it's a matter of balancing the concerns of the different kingdoms to keep the peace.

The backstory (which I’m now making up) is that these nations have been allied with each other due to their close proximity and similar status as “points of light” in an otherwise barbaric and monster-infested world, and, as a result of their alliance, developed similar cultures to each other. The nations also share the same coastline, which is nice for their respective economies.

Now, the current ruling monarchs of these countries (aka, your parents) are friends with each other for the most part. Your characters would have grown up being hanging out together while your parents discussed politics over dinner. You would have seen each other regularly and become childhood friends as a result. That’s the PC’s justification for doing things as a party.

I’m planning on writing up a more in-depth write-up in this, but do you get the gist?

 

[Ganurath]

Makes sense. Sounds like things are at more of a city-state scale for the individual kingdoms, then.

Is Xanathar's Guide to Everything Allowed?
-If not, Variant Human Cleric with the War Domain and the Soldier Background.
-If so, does the party need a front line combatant?
--If not, Wood Elf Druid from the Circle of the Coast with the Sailor Background.
--If so, Mountain Dwarf Bard of the College of Hammers Swords with the Noble Background.

 

[The Name of Love]

Makes sense. Sounds like things are at more of a city-state scale for the individual kingdoms, then.

What makes you say that?

Is Xanathar's Guide to Everything Allowed?

Yes.

-If so, does the party need a front line combatant?

Up to you, really.

--If so, Mountain Dwarf Bard of the College of Hammers Swords with the Noble Background.

Go for it, my man.

 

[tirrene]

I hope I can still participate, the website has just refused to show me the new messages. In fact, I came here specifically to ask if we were still doing this, so at least that question has been answered now.

 

[The Name of Love]

I hope I can still participate, the website has just refused to show me the new messages. In fact, I came here specifically to ask if we were still doing this, so at least that question has been answered now.

That's very odd. You should really go talk to a mod about that. Alternatively, you may have accidentally turned off your notifications or something.

In any case, I need you guys to come up with character ideas. I'm planning on moving on to a new thread soon.

 

[Grav]

A drow wizard I'm cooking up.

 

[Pluff0]

Another question: What's your stance on Unearthed Arcana?

As for characters, I've been wanting to play a Vedalken Wizard with the Abjuration school, a Warlock of some kind, or a Fighter of some kind, probably a Brute.

 

[The Name of Love]

Another question: What's your stance on Unearthed Arcana?

I don't have that book, so I don't feel comfortable about you using it unless I know what it is that you are using.

Keep in mind inter-party class synergy; you need to be able to discuss among your fellow players what classes you want to be. Also keep in mind that your character's race and class are going to really matter in terms of what your kingdom is like.

A drow wizard I'm cooking up.

Out of curiosity, why do you want a drow wizard? Do you know what your potential Drow monarchy going to be like?

 

[Pluff0]

I don't have that book, so I don't feel comfortable about you using it unless I know what it is that you are using.

It's a series of publications that WotC puts out. Stuff from it has later made it into books like XGtE. It's only semi-official, but a lot of people use it. It's not an issue if you aren't comfortable using it, though.

Keep in mind inter-party class synergy; you need to be able to discuss among your fellow players what classes you want to be. Also keep in mind that your character's race and class are going to really matter in terms of what your kingdom is like.

That's why we're posting our character ideas, right? And I do have some ideas, but we can discuss more later.

 

[The Name of Love]

It's a series of publications that WotC puts out. Stuff from it has later made it into books like XGtE. It's only semi-official, but a lot of people use it. It's not an issue if you aren't comfortable using it, though.

Okay, the books I do have (besides the Player's Guide, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual) are Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Modenkainen's Tome of Foes, the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, and Volo's Guide to Monsters. So if you want to use some option from one of those books, feel free to do so! Just be sure to mark where you are getting your options.

That's why we're posting our character ideas, right? And I do have some ideas, but we can discuss more later.

You don't have to completely post everything about your characters right now, but I'd like to know your character's class, race, and basic outline will be like so that I will begin constructing your kingdom with you. Also, if you want to have a say in what your character's kingdom is like, let me know.

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Okay, I have the idea for the starting adventure.

I'd imagine that, as royal heirs, the PCs would have the kind of boredom rich kids tend to get. They've grown up hearing tales of how their parents were these great heroes, and they've even gotten to see them in action, and they want some of that excitement. But more than that, they want to prove themselves worthy. So they decide to meet together in a small town to do the medieval equivalent of slumming. They get to know some of the locals, beat up some gang members, get to meet some of the quirky characters, etc. Whatever your characters come up with, they'll try to get done. Then, at night, a monster attack occurs, the town's leaders are killed, and the town itself is devastated. Now, the PCs must show their leadership chops by helping the surviving townsfolk. In doing so, they prove themselves to be worthy royal heirs and their legends truly begin.

What do you guys think?