In the last article we dealt with the Next Steps in campaign design, today we’ll discuss various campaign settings, historical periods, novels and talk about the themes that exist within the fantasy genre. This is my favourite part of design as it’s where you get to really dream about the different possibilities. Make sure you have your notebook handy and any of the Resources that you’ve collected to help you along the way. You’re bound to have more than a few flash insights at moments that you aren’t actively working on your campaign world and you’ll want to jot them down for future use.
Tag: Dungeon Master Resource
The lord of the land is ill and dying. The man next in the line of succession is a tyrant. There are rumours that the lord has an illegitimate son who could challenge for the throne.
Setup
- The reputation of the PCs honesty and fairness has reached the ear of the lord’s loyal aide. Since the PCs are neutral and have no stake in the outcome, he hires them to find the rightful heir if he exists.
- The PCs have had run-ins with the tyrant before. His rise to power would be the beginning of huge long-term problems for the PCs. A different heir would make their lives easier.
- A letter from a close friend or family member arrives explaining the situation, pleading for the PCs to help in any way they can.
This skill challenge can be run in both urban and rural settings. They are similar, but in some circumstances make use of different skills. Both variations are presented below.
The Missing Ingredient (Urban)
This Skill Challenge can easily be adapted for any scenario where the PCs need to find an item or object that is rare, dangerous, hard to find, illegal, etc.
Setup
The PCs need to find a rare or illicit ingredient needed to complete a ritual.
In previous editions of D&D Perception was broken out into separate skills for spot and listen. In 4e, Perception is just one skill, essentially a catch-all for five senses. I think this is a huge improvement and opens the door to possibilities. With that in mind, I’ve come up with some alternate uses for Perception.
This skill is not, and should not, be limited to just what you can see and hear. You may not have as many opportunities to use Perception to determine smells, tastes or tactile sensation, but it shouldn’t be ruled out if you come up with a creative use for the skill.
Categories
Campaign Design: Next Steps
You have decided to design your own Campaign World and you have the necessary resources in place. Now you’re wondering what are the next steps? It’s time to consider how you’re going to approach game design. There are a number of different ways to begin working on your campaign and there are still a few questions you need to consider before you begin. We’ll take a look at several of them.
Categories
Adjudicating and House Rules
DM – The bugbear sneaks up behind Ethan the Rogue and strangles him with a garrote. You’re immobilized until you make a successful escape check.
Nenia – I attack the Bugbear with a Magic Missile and use my Orb of Unlucky Exchanges to switch the immobilized condition from Ethan to the Bugbear.
DM – Wait a minute, you mean the garrote magically goes from around Ethan’s neck to around the Bugbear’s own neck? That doesn’t seem right.
Nenia – That’s right and if the Bugbear wants to free himself he needs to make an escape check.
DM – Against himself?! That definitely doesn’t sound right.
What happens when a situation comes up and you as the DM don’t know what to do? Generally it’s one of two things: 1) you know there’s a rule that will solve the dilemma but you can’t find it, or 2) the situation is so unprecedented that you never thought of how to handle it. As the DM, what do you do?
Yesterday on At Will Gamefiend wrote about Branching in skill challenges. This is a way to add to the complexity of skill challenges to make them fresh and interesting. At the end of his article he mentioned Nesting as the next in the series.
The skill challenge below entitled Information Gamble is one we’ve been working on for some time. It incorporates some of what Gamefiend mentions about branching and so its release today ties in nicely with the discussion about skill challenges. The sub-challenge contained within the main challenge may also be what Gamefiend refers to as Nesting. I’m looking forward to his next article as I feel that there is a lot of room for skill challenges to grow and evolve.
Information Gamble
The PCs are attempting to learn some information from an NPC. During the conversation they learn the NPC has a weakness for gambling.
Categories
Skill Training
Let’s face it some skills have more in-game applications than others. On any given night at my gaming table Perception checks are made at least once an hour. Stealth is also a very commonly used skill. And when it’s time for a skill challenge the skills most often relied on are tend to be Diplomacy, Insight and Streetwise.
So what if you’re a Fighter and your best skill is Endurance? How do you turn that skill training and that base roll of +10 into something useful and constructive to the story? More importantly how do you have fun as a player in the process? The answer is simple – use your imagination.
This skill challenge can be run in both urban and rural settings. They are similar but in some circumstances make use of different skills. Both variations are presented below.
Ditch the Tail (Urban)
Setup
The PCs are being chased through city streets and need to loose their pursuers. This can be accomplished by outrunning or outsmarting those giving chase.
Hostility between two neighbouring countries is still fresh in everyone’s mind despite the conflict’s recent resolution. The border guards often take out their pent up frustration on foreigners with legitimate reasons for crossing the border.
Setup
The PCs need to move through the check-point without delay and without arousing any unwarranted attention. Each PC needs to identify himself to the border guard, show appropriate travel papers, and state his reason for crossing.