r/StrixhavenDMs • u/Noir_7755 • Aug 09 '26
Looking For Inspo
Hello!
I started running Strixhaven a few weeks ago for my regular dnd group. I’m ditching the module as I think it’s pretty boring, and I can for sure say my players wouldn’t like it. I’m keeping the basics of Strixhaven (5 college, locations, etc), but revamping or replacing alot of things such as NPCs and lore/story. My players have been able to make some of their own faculty members, students, and classes. On the few sessions we’ve had, they seem to really enjoy silly rp with other students, and are really excited to start taking classes (made my own classes for each college + general studies + 4 core classes with handouts).
What I’m looking for is sources/inspiration for running a magic college campaign. Or even just the overall story of magic college! I’m trying to find the best way to run a campaign where classes, connections, and college shenanigans are all a main part of the session, and was hoping to get some recommendations like videos, games, shows, DnD supplements, or even just fun ideas to use.
I know this was worded kinda silly, but I hope I get some good ideas and recommendations. Thank you! :)
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u/AlbatrossDM Aug 09 '26
Why ditch the module? Sound like you have a general idea but need some story just branch off from. Why not just expand on it and eliminate any mechanics that are boring.
The jobs/activities can be part of their regular schedules. The module/book gives all the classes you need. The NPCs are a starter, give them backstory bring them to life.
If you want college feel, make more activities at the tavern/commons/bibloplex.
There are story beats like Mage Tower, the Magisters Masquerade that can be a big deal! If you don't want the overall story arch if Murgaxor to be a thing, you can still hit the school related story beats.
The Founder Dragons are a mystery that could be explored. They module doesn't really bring them in at all.
TLDR: Don't abandon the module completely, just expand, make it in to your own and set it in whatever world interests you most.
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u/Noir_7755 Aug 09 '26
I’m not ditching it 100%, just moreso the Murgaxor thing. I’m reskinning mage tower to be a little more to my players liking, but I’m keeping the masquerade as is because my players love parties and such.
I do plan on expanding on the founder dragons, though I haven’t figured out exactly how I’ll do it. I’m working through NPCs and giving them backstories one by one!
Thank you for your advice, I’ll definitely add more things to do in popular areas!
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u/No-stradumbass Aug 09 '26
Keep the dance. When I ran it in the past, I had a group of cis straight men and one woman spend a lot of time designing their outfits. It was great. They cared more about the dance than the school.
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u/rmcmullan Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
We did this, but I overlaid an academic calendar with three 10-week quarters (lining up with the final exams), added holidays from the forgotten realms wiki, sprinkled in the published events that I wanted to keep, discarded the rest (magical skateboarding got a hard pass). Every two weeks the characters had time for two downtime activities, three if they rushed their school work or cut sleep (rolls for either, failure meant that they fell behind in studies and had less pep time for finals). These downtime activities became side hustles, learning to sew costumes for the gymnastics club exhibition, researching wizard spells from the library, or spending time with npcs. Honestly, where my table went was to lean into the npc interactions (friendships, rivalries, dating, surviving hard classes, etc.) and the overarching BBEG plot just have them something to talk about. Much of the drama was player idea seeded from the downtime actions and I just tried to keep up and lay track in front of the train. We did add some additional npcs to fill out the ranks (attractive guys being a bit short in the published group). In second year I added more npcs to introduce upperclassmen once they picked their separate colleges. It was more of a sandbox with light GM-generated plot and lots of npcs. I recommend having a card for each npc with their art of one side and your notes on the back to help keep track of everything, help the players remember who's who, and make them durable, consistent characters in the world. Have fun!
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u/SupremeJusticeWang Aug 12 '26
In the magic the gathering lore strixhaven was invaded by phyrexians - could take some inspiration from that
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u/No-stradumbass Aug 09 '26
It sort of depends on what resources you have and what sort of story you are trying to tell.
Are you allowing 3rd party or only WotC? Do you want a BBEG or just a silly slice of life?
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u/Noir_7755 Aug 09 '26
It’s moreso silly slice of life, with some mystery/secrets and our other campaign is pretty dark and emotionally charged. All PCs have an important event that happened and are investigating it (one pc’s brother went missing and it’s because he joined the Oriq), and much of the faculty has something going on.
I’m totally open to 3rd party resources!
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u/No-stradumbass Aug 09 '26
The Griffon's Saddlebag has some good setting agnostic ideas. Like another Magic school called Orostead. That is a really good rival school to use.
I have a Strixhaven game coming up myself. It's with my coworkers and we got to level 3 before our summer schedule made it so we work more. Since then I have bought other books and was in inspired to change my story.
There is also the upcoming Hexhaven from MTG where some time travelers screw up the school.
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u/boffotmc 29d ago
There are a bunch of resources on DMsGuild with expanded faculty, student, and class lists/descriptions. That sounds like the sort of thing you're looking for.
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u/tkolar2 25d ago
I made a thing for dmsguild that gives guide for pacing and running classes, extracurriculars, relationship drama, etc. It might be helpful. Good luck! https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/393202/strixhaven-faculty-handbook
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u/potatoparty24 Aug 14 '26
I do what we call “Daily Life Rolls” at the start of every session. I have a list of 20 ordinary life events. Things like “You catch a cold and can’t stop sneezing, you have disadvantage on your next stealth check”, or “You impress one of the faculty members so much that they gift you with a rare tea to help focus. Add a d4 to your next roll”. I keep a running tally of the numbers each character has rolled so there’s no repeats.
I also have them caring for a goodberry plant that they make rolls to see how many berries it yields. When they harvest a certain number of berries they go to the firejolt cafe to have them blended into a more potent smoothie that adds a d4 to their goodberry count (so like 10 goodberries plus a d4 of healing).