Game ideas come from the strangest places. I’m currently working out details for a new campaign–and I think I’ve stumbled on a few interesting elements that apply more generally. One big element that I’m considering is how much I want to work out before the players come to the table–do I create a detailed world with 80 pages of history, detailed maps, and several detailed alphabets? Do I show up with just a game system selected and collaborate to build a world to adventure in? I just did that. While it worked well, I’d like to follow my vision a little more closely instead of building it through consensus.

My Vision?

The game I’d like to run is a weird smashup of several elements. Here are the seeds–the ideas that got me started and spurred my interest in creating a campaign.

  • Endday is Greywulf’s plan for a 4e campaign stretching from level 1 to 30 over 30 sessions. It’s a great idea–and a great way to let Jennifer and the other players enjoy the full character arc. I know that I’ve rarely [if ever] played through top levels in any edition of D&D, so this should be a great way to experience high level play without starting at 20 and spending your whole session figuring out how things work for you. Especially since it often takes several sessions before you start figuring out how your powers integrate with everyone else’s.
  • The old Myth video games, Myth: The Fallen Lords and Myth II: Soulblighter. I liked the dark setting, the flop eared menaces, ‘casualty’ announced in that dry voice, and the tactical missions.
  • Speaking of dark settings, I liked the Midnight RPG setting. The aftermath of “evil wins” seems very compatible with the Myth seed.

As much as I like Midnight, the setting reflected the assumptions of D&D 3–and the visions that come to mind when I think about the game flow from Myth. As cool as the video game was, it is very tactical–something that’s very enjoyable in the game, but I don’t know how well it will translate. And though I like the Myth plotline, I want to allow a lot more direction and input from the PCs. Together, those requirements argue for a hybrid or homebrew world.

A World of Our Own

Homebrew worlds have their own set of challenges–like the time it takes to create them, and the difficulty in translating the vision to the players. Unlike the glossy books and extensive histories that the major publishers create for their worlds, my notes are likely to remain cryptic and plain. I’m not an artist! Plus, you have the problem all GMs encounter–how do you persuade players to read through your material anyway?

Besides, I’d like to share some of the world building with my players. I do want to create history and places without feeling like I’m borrowing it from their creator, and I do want to build complex relationships between the villains, but I don’t want to be responsible for deciding how many tines forks have in the various kingdoms.

There are a lot of elements that players look for in a campaign–some that are harder to supply in a homebrew. When I create a character, I usually like for it to fit into the world; if I don’t know that elves in this world are vegetarians, then I won’t understand their horrified expressions when my elf carves off a deer haunch for dinner. A sense of authenticity can be hard to communicate–particularly if the GM never thought about whether elves were vegetarians until that moment. (This issue is one reason that many groups have trouble deciding to play more historical games, particularly set in unfamiliar cultures–without research, their characters violate taboos and expectations, unless the GM or table expert halts the game to explain why it’s a bad idea. Few people want to get expert approval or mini-lectures for each of their actions.)

“Blank page” syndrome can make it difficult to begin picturing a character–when you have nothing to work from, it can be hard to find the first thread. While D&D 4e has a built in discussion point for party creation (who is covering each role?), it’s independent of the world and background–both elements that excite me as the GM. (Dogs in the Vineyard provides excellent guidance for beginning character development with the “I’m a Good Shot” example in the character creation chapter.)

Kernels

To provide examples of character elements that make sense in the world, I decided to create kernels–background bits that can be selected alone or in combination. I hope that these kernels will explode into a character in a player’s mind. Here are some examples:

  • Eladrin Freedom Fighter: A hero passionately committed to freeing the world from the Shadow’s grasp–particularly Aluthriden, the breathtakingly beautiful Eladrin capital lost five hundred years ago.
  • Eladrin Guardian of the Green: A roving defender, protecting Faerie’s access points from the Shadow’s probes. Aluthriden fell; only vigorous effort will prevent Faerie from suffering the same fate.
  • Elf Forester: You have extensive experience identifying the Shadow’s taint and fighting the beasts that infiltrate the Fiolden Woods.
  • Bloodsworn Elf: Bloodsworn elves dedicate their lives to protecting a family line or place. Second born children often take up their family’s oaths, allowing their parents to honorably turn to other pursuits.
  • Heir to Ferroth: Ferroth is the westernmost land; it fell when the Shadow’s craven ally Hamal betrayed them seven years ago.
  • Retired Warrior: You fought the forces of the Shadow, and survived the defeat of your side’s army. You put away your sword… but the Shadow has not. The armies march, and your town is in the way.
  • Garrison Solider: Keeping bandits and refugees in order has been tough, but your duty is about to get more difficult. You’re in the path of the Shadow’s army.
  • Secretive Mage: You grew up in the lands conquered by the Shadow, where using magic is a death sentence. You managed to conceal your talent for weeks… but had to flee before Isaal and Jorin could reach the Inquisitor for their reward.
  • Alric’s Heir: Your talents were recognized early–as a Mage of Alric’s bloodline, the free peoples have tremendous expectations. Your training was at a tipping point two nights ago, when your coach was ambushed by Ghuls. You have to gather help and lead it back to your wounded tutors and guards…

Will it Work?

That’s my plan for creating a derivative but hopefully awesome setting. My hope is that the seeds, probably refined into a bullet pointed history/enemy list and sketchy map, will anchor the players enough to get them engaged with the world. I hope that the menu of kernels above, plus more for other races and classes, will make creating characters with hooks and ties to the world easy. If a player creates their own hook instead of picking one of my kernels, they should be able to create something that fits easily–since they’ve read through and rejected the other ideas.

That’s my hope anyway. Have you ever tried something like this? How did it go? Please let me know what pitfalls you see in this approach.