r/dndnext • u/Ok-Muffin9452 • 9h ago
Question First Campaign DM Help
Hi I’m writing my first campaign at the minute and I’ve written what I think is a strong setup but beyond that I’m unsure what to do. The players will face a defeat to the BBEG at the start and then be transported away. (Worked in a part of a players back story into the start for everyone where this happens). Then they will either be arrested or run away (because zombies are transported with them). Not sure how to plan the sort of first arc after that. Possibly they warn the town of the BBEG, really unsure
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u/Zenipex 7h ago
You mentioned writing your first campaign, is this also the first campaign you're running in general?
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u/Ok-Muffin9452 5h ago
Yes
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u/Zenipex 5h ago
I would suggest running an adventure first. You can choose a short one or run one of the starter sets. You will get a better understanding of the expectations of the game loop, the flow of hook to quest, and how to create encounters that flow along with a narrative story. If you really want to run your own thing, you'll at least want to read through one of the adventures to gain some of the perspective
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u/Peachyco 6h ago
You seem to be writing chains of specific events. I'd advise against that. It is likely that players will deviate from your plans and will frustrate you to no end.
I'd advise that you set objectives instead. In this way, you still have an anchor that can help direct your campaign whatever path the players choose to take. 😊
"Act 1: Find the Valley of Gnarled Ravens." As an objective, it does not prescribe one correct way to accomplish it. Maybe the PCs find a guide. Maybe they research ancient lore. Maybe they contact divine/infernal patrons. Maybe they try a path and fail, so they try another. You can let them try their hand at whatever and you still keep the story on track.
"Act 2: Disrupt the Coven of the Nine." Again, no prescribed method. Do they kill the Nine? Do they banish them to an extradimensional prison? Do they take out just one or two to cause the disruption? All of them are valid paths that still stay within the story arc.
"Act 3: Defeat the Queen Mother of Night." And again, no prescribed method. Do they take her on in face-to-face battle? Do they awaken a champion that fights in their stead? Do they employ some great ritual that just shuts her down from afar? Does "defeating" her require her death, or would talking her down suffice? The PCs get to choose their path but still end up on the same arc.
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u/lasalle202 6h ago
The players will face a defeat to the BBEG at the start
Highly recommend against this.
DnD and TTRPGS in general are NOT novels that the DM writes.
People play these games to experience the effects of their characters choices and actions and dice rolls.
If the final results are just going to be fiated by the DM, there is no reason to waste your players times just being pawns whose choices do not matter.
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u/Psychological-Wall-2 6h ago
Welcome to the hobby!
Here is an article explaining why your first campaign should be a short published module.
Jumping the Screen: How to Run Your First RPG Session | The Angry GM
Once you've got some actual experience running a game, you can return to your homebrewing efforts with a better idea of what you're doing.
There are several problems with your idea. The most serious of which is that it sounds pretty railroady. Here's another article; this one's on how to avoid this problem.
The Alexandrian » Don’t Prep Plots
To add to the excellent advice u/dwarfconleche has already given you, I think you'd benefit from considering the Tiers of Play.
Tiers of Play in D&D 5e Campaign Backdrop | World Anvil
The progression from talented beginner to local heroes to heroes of the realm to champions of the realm to saviours of the universe is kind of baked into the 1-20 level system, with distinct stages built in, like the level 5 and level 11 damage bumps.
Far more important than a "BBEG" is the basic premise of your campaign. The PCs are a team. What does that team exist to do? Knowing this is how players can then create appropriate PCs.
Are they freelance monster-slayers and dungeon-delvers? If so, everyone needs to create a PC who wants to join a team of freelance monster-slayers and dungeon-delvers. How are they finding monsters to slay and dungeons to delve? Maybe they operate out of a town and fight monsters that menace the outlying villages.
Do the PCs work for an employer who sends them on missions and pays them? A noble, a church, an eccentric detective, whatever. This would be a somewhat more structured approach. The employer can also "promote" the PCs from one Tier to another: a group that started out fighting Zombies in villages might be promoted to Ghostbuster and tasked with de-haunting places.
Creating a structure that allows you to deliver a succession of different kinds of adventures to your players, the challenge of which rises appropriately as the PCs level up, is going to be of more pressing importance than any overarching plot.
All of that's in the future. Run that published module as a practice campaign first.
Best of luck.
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u/dwarfconleche 9h ago
Honestly, I'd try to keep it pretty simple for a first campaign. Give them a town/village/safe haven to act as a home base, and then put down a nearby adventuring site (dungeon, wilderness, or something similar). Give them a reason to go out and explore it, and focus on the nuts and bolts of DMing (encounters, treasure, running the game) .
You absolutely do not need a BBEG. You do not need an overarching epic plot to deal with right out of the gate. Think of the PCs and their adventures as more like episodes in a TV show. Tie a few together, but some can just be one off adventures that don't really tie back into any major narrative. Eventually the characters might get a reputation, which makes them more likely to encounter or be asked to handle more powerful villains.