Creating Your Own Campaign - Web DM
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2015
- How does one go about creating an original Campaign in Dungeons & Dragons? Jim & Pruitt tell us how they create their own game worlds.
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New to 5th Edition D&D? Check out this playlist - • Web DM
Intro To 5th Edition - • 5th Edition Dungeons &...
Backgrounds, Feats & Spellcasters - • Backgrounds, Feats & S...
Inside Editions - • Inside Editions - Web DM
Getting Started in 5th Edition - • Getting Started In 5th...
Character Creation Part One - • Character Creation Par...
Character Creation Part Two - • Character Creation Par...
Campaigning “On Rails” - • Is Your D&D Campaign "...
Treasure - • Treasure: How Much Is ...
Player Styles - • Different Player Style...
Killing Characters - • Killing Characters Res...
Barbarians & Bards - • Barbarians & Bards - W...
Druids,Fighters, Monks, Rangers & Rogues - • Druids, Fighters, Monk...
Sorcerers, Warlocks, Clerics, Paladins & Wizards - • Sorcerers, Warlocks, C...
Beholders - • Beholders - A Classic ...
Kobolds, Goblins & Bullywugs - • Zombies in 5e Dungeons...
Red Dragons - • Red Dragons in Dungeon...
Mind Flayers - • Mind Flayers in Dungeo...
New DM Tips - Resources, Backgrounds & Pacing - • New DM Tips - Resource...
Modules Vs Homebrew Campaigns - • Modules Vs. Homebrew C...
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I keep telling myself "I'll just watch this one then go to bed" and here I am 12 videos later. These are incredible, keep it up lads!
Same
0.0 I know!
ProfessorButts same
"What evokes the feel of being on a sailing vessel."
Having the bard sing "Come Sail Away" the entire journey.
Or have the bard do I'm on a Boat the whole journey.
The best way to simulate being on a boat is by taking a ten year hiatus.
Have an NPC shout, "I'm king of the world!" At the front of the ship.
I have come up with 90% of my campaign ideas listening to The Sword. Whenever I go out to mow the lawn I listen to Apocryphon or Warp Riders and brainstorm campaign ideas.
I find a really good way to homebrew your own campaign is to start off building a world. as you start drawing just simple shapes for continents you start to come up with ideas for campaigns naturally.
JacobBeau99 works well for islanda
JacobBeau99 start with a town, village, city, or whatever.
I like this approach so much. It keeps the theme in front of you while slowly moving from high level to medium level. Then the fine details come out in play. Thanks for this!
I'm in the process of homebrewing a Harry Potter campaign. it's slow going but I'm making a lot of progress. I'm setting it aprox 100-200 years after the founding of Hogwarts to keep the medieval feel for DnD.
I would play in that campaign! Good luck to you.
Oh, cool.
Korrine Walker sounds interesting
I have been watching your guys weekly show, and I am beside myself. Every week I get super exited about DnD and my brain just goes crazy thinking of all of these different ideas that you spur on. Please, please continue to post. You videos help a whole lot with new players and players like myself who haven't delve into the myth and lore that DnD has to offer. While still encouraging the creation of your own lore. Thanks again. I look forward to more of your stuff.
Glad to be of service. Comments like this are why we're here and what keeps us going. Thank you.
+Ian Powell Pru's right! Thanks for the feedback!
Ive been having trouble with this but i love the idea of an NPC map, i can see how that will help a lot, Thanks!
The images idea is awesome. I always provide my players reference pictures in the recaps I write up, but it would be helpful to give them those pics ahead of time, I think.
guys wow, your very informative and the ideas you've mentioned is helping me out tons. please, don't ever stop making these "how to videos". Guys rock.
The Sword reference, awesome! I had the exact same thought about a campaign; gunslingers, vikings, post-apocalyptic zealots and Spelljammer! What more can a DM ask for? It's an old video, but nice work!
I'm a new DM running through HOTDQ with my friends. I've been trying to build a campaign on the side so that we can branch out. What Jim said about a list of characters and motivations has really helped stimulate my creativity. I concur with other commenters in that you make top notch content. I appreciate the humble presentation, high production values and the experience that you guys bring to the table from your years of roleplaying. Your two-way dialogue format is much easier to digest than a single person talking into a microphone, the use of multiple camera angles to accentuate someone when they are talking keeps things fresh. I wish you guys all the success in the world.
I have been playing D&D since 3.5e back around 2004 and have been a DM for just as long. That being said, even after a decade, these videos have inspired me and given me new ideas and approaches. Love the videos especially about the monsters and how you use them.
Another awesome episode as always! I'm glad you guys did something like this because I'm in the middle of making a homebrew campaign, so these tips has are as always helpful! Keep up the excellent work!
+blahlbinoa Glad to help. Planning for a homebrew game is one of my favorite parts of DMing.
I told my friends to come back next week. now what?
Your check is in the mail.
Man, i would love to hang out with this these dudes and play some d&d while listening to The Sword.
You guys are fantastic, really enjoyable content you are making.
I´d like to see more of your DnD world, like how that Spelljammer adventure is being made or even played or how Jim makes up one of his homebrews in a bit more detail.
Anyways just keep up the good work.
Great band picks, you guys are the best rpgers on youtube.
I always come back to the Holy Diver album from Dio for inspiration. I can always find something, whether it is Holy Diver, Stand Up and Shout, Rainbow in the Dark, or Invisible. I can't help but feel like Dio is perfect D&D inspiration, for a campaign, NPC, or PC.
Okay then, gotta work on my own campaign now.
ShadeSlayer1911 same, haha
A tool people may find useful for creating a set of visuals to communicate the campaign vibe (or inspire more ideas for the DM) is Pinterest.
It would be easy to create a board specifically for the campaign, and use the huge visual library Pinterest contains to flesh out landscapes, architecture, clothing and armor styles, known monsters, etc. Tons of art and projects there.
There are even loads of homebrew content - if you wanted to use one or create one for the setting, just so players can review it up front, that might be helpful.
Hope this helps!
I've been DMing my own campaign, inspired by the Death Gate Cycle book series (anyone who knows this gets a virtual cookie!). It's been fun; the world is pretty crazy and it's great to see the players get their minds blown :D
Awesome stuff man, keep it up!
The NPC goals map is actually a brilliant idea. Not sure why it had never crossed my mind before to actually map it all out... i will be using that idea a lot!
Thanks for the video, this was very helpful!
another great episode.
I may be years late, but I just finally noticed that community reference at the end (binder like Abed). Nice
The song is "Destroy the Orcs," the band is Three Inches of Blood. Awesome \m/
Thx for this video this really help my d&d group save more money because we are a group of people who likes d&d and saves a lot of money for campaigns and now I can make my own thx
You listen to the Sword? Best TH-cam channel ever.
Y'all are my inspiration
the band that had the song "destroy the orcs" is 3 inches of blood.
if you want to hear a band to inspire d&d, try Blind Guardian. half their songs are about bards and tolkien books and dungeons and dragons and raistlin "the soulforged" and stephen king books.
heavy metal for nerds.
The campaign I'm currently running is heavily influenced by doom/stoner metal like The Sword, Black Sabbath, Sleep, Electric Wizard, etc.
I also would LOVE to run one based off the song Sacred Heart by Dio
How'd that campaign turn out? It sounds awesome. I love doom metal and the bands that you mentioned.
I find a lot of inspiration in the songs of Manowar, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Freedom Call, Nightwish, Schandmaul and E Nomine. There are tons of movies and books that I draw ideas from, too many to list here but including Logan's Run, Warcraft, Enemy Mine, Harry Potter, Flash Gorden, The Poetic Edda, The Iliad, Journey to the West, MacBeth, Elfquest, ......
Dude. Dude! You mention "3 inches of blood - destroy the orcs" just a few minutes in. So good. I recommend "Summoning - Let mortals heroes sing your fame" or "Stronghold". Music based around Tolkien. Really good to listen to while you read or draw dungeons.
He-Man and the master of the universe, anyone? that's a d&d/star wars mashup that could be a great setting. also thundercats.
you guys are great!
If I create, than micro to macro (such as what Jim is describing), I like macro to micro. Whole planet then focus on the small area I need to, but I have an idea of what the geography is like on the rest on my world. I use the d20 SRD Fantasy world generator as sort of balance between what ideas I had preconceived and then oh, I wonder why that keep is called the Abbey of Fiery Ruin. Excellent videos and wonderful to watch each Wednesday (and every other day of the week so far).
And just today the Sword Coast Guide was released!
Good episode as always. I like how (and when) the examples an tips get specific. Many good vlogs around focus more on general DM attitudes.
Regarding the campaign images for the players, how do you deliver them? A campaign blog?
+Raphaelus13 I deliver them in lots of different ways but I most commonly either pass around the image on a tablet or print the image and attach it to the front of my DM screen. Also, the Sword Coast Guide is out? I didn't think it would be released of another month!
+James Davis
Thnx for the reply. It occurs to me a closed FBook group could do the job too.
Oh, an true about the guide. Don't know what was I thinking! The table of content was revealed, though.
Great "Inspiration" but I already know that I am going to do the orient, I think is is interesting setting with lots to build from also I recommend you try to make a hero's of the orient adventure. I'm doing an adventure with a bunch of 10 and 11 year old people, me of which being the dungeon master for them, I'm playing with 2 newbies and 2 decent players. It's my first time DM-ing so please comment useful suggestions to help me make a fun (for the beginners) and interesting (for the more experienced players) adventure that really helps engage everyone so that they fell like they are there characters.
In that list of inspiration, how is there no TRON? Using elemental planes kind of rules for a TRON like setting would be awesome!
You're 13th Warrior idea just blew my mind. That would be a freakin sweet adventure.
I think you guys may be some of the greatest advisors on TH-cam. I think on a fundamental level you understand things better than I've heard anywhere else.
Very good video.
Holy shit you guys listen to the sword?! That's awesome. Been listening to them for almost a decade!
The following idea is based more on modifying a pre-made setting than creating one one my own:
In the Pathfinder setting of Golarion they have a strange nation based on using technology in a fantasy setting (bringing back memories of the old "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" adventure ^_^).
In short, instead of the ship the nation based their technology on being a Colony Ship of some far off world, I though "What it it were a Reaper, from the "Mass Effect" series of games?". That way, the leadership is in some way partially Indoctrinated, simply using the technology of the nation (without it being 'cleansed' in some way) opens up the character to Indoctrination. A question to myself would be "what is the nature of Indoctrination for this Reaper in this new, non-tech universe". Its old 'Prime Directive' of Harvest high tech races before they develop AIs is possibly irrevelant, maybe it has changed that directive to 'Harvest races that use magic destructively", as probably evidenced by nearby nations like the one ruled by Demon Worshippers and the like.
I know, a really Geeky thing to be sure, but I kind of like it (don't know if I'll ever use it, though).
2:46 I love Enemy Mine!
I'm actually watching this whilst brain storming ideas for a homebrew campaign. The idea that's not leaving my mind is something along the lines of AC: black flag meets the Witcher series. What do y'all think?
I realize this is going on3 years old, but if you could turn this into a mini series of you creating a campaign, it would be a great help to us who are trying and not doing so well
My life is built around warhammer 40k
Warhammer Fantasy is better though
'Enemy Mine' great film.
warhammer would be awesomw , thx for the videos, you guys are awesome
TL;DR - I let my players in a previous campaign do lots of the work in my current homebrew campaign.
I GM'ed a group using the 3.5 adventure Expedition to The Ruins of Greyhawk as a mid point of sorts, tying it into an even greater story. Greyhawk and the adventure was simply inserted /there/ on my map. 🤷♂️ As part of it, the PC's became patrons in a relatively massive expansion of a small crossroads village connecting Greyhawk, and a home brew small-ish port city and a landlocked city state.
Some of their characters and/or cohorts are now important NPC's in the now large town, either by legendary status after their death, or still playing an active role in some fashion. One is even on the brink of gaining demi-god status in my eyes, as some have started worshiping her as the overly sane and rational counterpart to Zagyg. She's yet to gain a seat at Boccob's court, and by that divine powers, but who knows?
The larger story ended up involving Iuz' army (broke free. AGAIN), Devil lords and one too many silver dragons, pretty much obliterating Greyhawk. The three cities we created together now sort of took over Greyhawk's "role" as city of thieves (the port city, now governed by a Robin Hood kind-of Pirate lord), the PC's sandbox city being the central hub for everything arcane (With the PC mystic theurg running a temple of Boccob, and acting as mayor), and the southern city state being the political center point of the continent. (What used to be) Greyhawk is now a place where only the bravest will go, where chaotic arcane energies, elemental powers, and masses of undead mingle with various creatures from the Abyss and the Nine Hells in an ever ongoing free-for-all conflict. And yeah, a fallen greatwyrm silver dragon lich lives in the castle ruins now, scheeming on reforging all of dragonkind into his new image.
(tm) 😅
It’s like you were spying on me. I always make an image bank that I show as a slide show during session zero, and it evolves as the campaign grows. Like my Bronze Age Greece campaign did a couple of years ago...
"Enemy Mine"? That's a deep cut.
CONAN! Talk about it! :)
im coming up with a campaign where my groups dark heresy characters get caught up in a warp storm that sends them into the dnd setting
My most recent (and first proper) campaign setting is a Skyrim/Dark souls/ Mobile Suit Gundam inspired equatorial continent that’s like a combination of india and egypt
5 years. Man. Life.
I use pintrest to find alot of art that stirs alot of feels
I use music and art too to get a feel for what I like in my campaigns.
TileScape DUNGEONS Kickstarter is almost over! Get in and get a 3D Printer for Xmas!!!
where can i get a dm shield like that...Its amazing
Thank you so much Im making a campaign right now its a 2025 mutant apocalypse I'm playing with my cousins on it in January
Keep. Making. Videos. More. Please. Must. Feed. Addiction......
Inspiration for me has come from legend of Zelda botw, Mulan, game of thrones, stranger things, assasins creed black flag, the last airbender and eregon.
I'm also trying to figure out a game that rather than going in an actual dungeons, it's all about traveling through the wilds of my campaign setting and fighting big monsters and being a bad ass
The Sword inspired my entire realm
I think I will run a muddier hobo in spelljamer as space pirates.
4:25 "scour Deviantart". When someone says that you know they have seen some shit
You mentioned "tables" near the end of the video> I assume you talked about rolling tables in another vid. Can you link that vid? I love rolling tables.
my world is based on a island shaped like a dragon
nioce
In my currrent campaign only one player ever gave a bio.. and I asked for them. I like having their background in mind for my world
SERENITY
hello i have been hoping to get some opinions on some Settings i have ran before:
im what you would consider an amature DM…when it came to making statistics,and can be sometimes unorthodox in how i handle them…despite this i have been told by just about every player ive ever had that i am very good at designing Campaign settings and concepts some of which i am quite proud of as they go beyond the norm and is outside the box of most settings…of these my favorites and most successfull have been.
Angel and Demon setting:
set in a medhival earth akin to the real world,where everyone has the Choice of playing either an Angel,or a Demon and can go to and from between their plane and the earth,helping (or harming) humanity as they see fit…the curve ball in this plot as a member of both sides,betrey and join forces…piloting to destroy everything forcing heaven and hell in a position where they must have a temporary truce and band together to stop these antagonists
gameplay hooks include:
-along side character progression in a class,they can rise in the ranks among their kind,to the point of even becoming an Archangel or Demon prince (respectively)
-it goes without saying everyone plays as a full fledged outsider with all the abilities as a Demon (or angel)
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Advant of the Riftwalkers Setting
by far one of my most complex settings i have ever invented
set in a place called the the Etheryum Rift…a demiplane that connects every fictional world togather…the players create a character that can be from ANY fictional universe that exists…the only rules is it they have to be a member of a Cannon race of that universe and they must be an original character
but the fun does not stop there,the players are special individuals that poses “the spark” giving them the ability to travel to other universes as well as travel to the Etheryum Rift itself,where they live and train as a member of an elite sect called “Riftwalkers” a secret order dedicated to preserving the balance of the multiverse and keep the worlds in check…from making sure pre-destined moments in those universes come to pass,to stoping rougue riftwalkers from spreading chaos and causing disturbances to the balence,the tearing the realms assunder.
gameplay hooks include
-being the ultimate crossover,this is a player’s chance to literal play just about any OC from ANY fandom they desire…making limitless roleplaying opertunities
-Being a Riftwalker,the player is in a unique position to not only travel to other Fictional worlds,but learning from them….for instance…imagine if you a riftwalker from the Ben10 universe and possessed an omnitrix…and say you decided to travel to the World of Pokemon…you have a palenthra of over 700 pokemon you could scan giving you many MANY new posible forms to add to your omnitrix.
…………………………………………………………………………………..
Pantheon of Atmaria setting
…or better known by my group as the “God Campaign ”
at the start of the game,each player first picks their allignment,then picks one (or Two depending on what the DM allows) Domains…from this they Create a Character that is a an all powerfull GOD of said domain(s),and togather make up the pantheon of the World of Atmaria…
the catch? the players were Attacked and all but destroyed by the only beings capable of challanging them,Terrible Primordials…whom have killed nearly every god (the NPC gods in charge of domains NOT picked by the players) in a last desperate effort…the Player Gods disperced almost all thier power,seperating it into “godric shards” and spread them out down apon the mortal world….leaving only on fragment still within them and going into a deep sleep for 1000 years….now the world is in turmoil and few remember the “old Gods” that left the world so long ago…now awoken,the players are still Gods but are extreamly weak and are a mear mortal level shadow of what they once were…from there on they must embark on a quest to recover their lost shards,regain their divine powers and finally confront the Primordials that topled them from their rightfull place as the Gods of Altmaria
gameplay hooks
-seriously,who would NOT want to play as a God?
-instead of normal class progression,each level players may pick and choose a number of features,feats,abilities and spells from one or more classes that apply to their domain…in adition as they find and recover their shards of power,or find lost relics that once belonged to them (such as their original weapon) they can unlock divine supernatural powers related to their domain…in additon,spells from thier own domain are treated as spontaneous powers rather than spells and do not need components,dont have to be prepared and ignore spell failure related to armor.
-ontop of recovering their own power,there is a chance of them discovering a shard of one of the murdered gods,if that domain does not conflict with a domain they already posses than they can mantle that power for their own and gain that domain(a player cannot absorb a shard that is part of a domain of a Living God ie, another player)
-another way of gaining power is to win back worshipers,and making themselves known to the few that are still loyal to them
id love opinions on my settings and i welcome any to use them for themselves
I just started a Star Wars style DnD.
1:09 a real life Charles boy
Can you do an episode on mundane weapons?
If the group of players enter a game scene where there is chaos happening than instead of having to figure out that they have to run around and complete tasks. What is better is to help players to make observations about what happening around them. The players might want to help out to the extent that the party should not be left standing around helpless because of the failure of the good npc characters to ask for help, but also no more so than when helping out means that the group has to carry the entire load. If there are six tasks to complete and a large group of towns folk, than surely they can complete at least half of those tasks.
You guys start riding your horses,on your way to the city of Shakirot,looking for a guy named Gigoj,who word say,knows something really important about Balrog. As you go along the road,your horses are tired. You try to find something to give your horses,but it's getting dark really fast,so one of you think it would be a good idea to go get some rest inside a cave to your right.
So,you.grab your tools and whatever you had on you and begin to move towards the cave. Then,out of a sudden at the middle of the road,you hear a loud crack coming from some bushes. You quickly draw out your weapons and begin to scan the area. Your Warrior yells out loud. A brief silence occurs for a moment,until he is hit by a arrow. You quickly hide near rocks and trees and begin to shoot your arrows and cast fire spells.
Is it good?
Gauche is exactly the term I would use to describe Age of Sigmar. WH Fantasy forever!
So, I am running a homebrewed campaign which follows the Tiamat storyline, but it is extremely homebrewed so the power/metagamers in the group can't read ahead and plan for stuff. My question is, how do I make sure that the bosses are powerful enough to go toe to toe with the power gamers in the group, but weak enough that it's not going to cause an automatic tpk?
Spongebob Dnd campaign. Need I say more?
I have an idea for a series and that is an interactive d'n d game with visuals
Any advices for a brand new GM that is making a custom campaign with custom lore as a first time campaign? DnD 5e is the skeleton.
BOLT THROWER!
Pruitt, what album is on your shirt? Been driving me crazy since last week.
It's actually a 'Jason and the Argonauts' shirt that I procured from our local Alamo Drafthouse. Look close at the top to see the Golden Fleece, and then there's the heads of the hydra framing the undead horde. It is one of my very favorite shirts.
JPruInc Love Alamo Drafthouse, the ones here in San Antonio are not as good as the Austin location.
how much time do you spend writing a single campaign
I’m a new DM. I want to run Silent Hill, and everywhere I look for advice seems to say “Don’t rest Your Head” And “Call of Cthulhu”. Do you guys have any advice?
Spring Creek pen
i have a problem im writing encounters for my pathfinder adventure and the problem is choice there is several directions and many ways things could turn out how do i structure my writing to fit freedom of choice so i dont get stuck scrolling up and down in my document looking for that specific encounter for that choice of development in the adventure?
Do improv exercises with yourself or a friend. Improvisation is extremely helpful with flexibility in story telling. I personally don't use random encounter tables or the like, I am able to understand my own world and lore enough that i could predict what my PC's might encounter out on the road.
You could even practice a little bit of exposition, by telling the players a little more about your world through an encounter or an NPC.
For example: if you want your players to delve into a cave full of goblins preparing for a village raid. Add a broken down merchants cart that has been stripped of food and trinkets. A trail leading back to the cave etc. Often the simplest tools of story telling develop into the most complex storytelling hooks.
So long as your players are given a goal ahead of time that they feel the the need to complete they will normally always continue towards it despite the openness of the world. Sure they can side step and quest outside of it but they should always want to continue towards their goal.
I use the good ole "one sentence campaign"
Band campaign?
SPONTANIOUS COMMENT!
My friend is a new DM we were doing the mine of phantiliefer
NPC's were scared of us
my decision, lets go VISIT THEM!
knocks on the door? rolls a 3 misses there is a hole in the wall...
knocks again. rolls a 5 no one answers.
my friends decision. bust down the door.
rolls a 3. makes a huge hole in the wall and alerts NPC's
LONG STORY SHORT > I MISSED...
What are these random tables?
I wanted to build something around a historical event. Or is that too easy?
sounds great
3 inches of Blood !! FUCKING A
3 Inches of Blood: "Kill the Orcs"
SilverSidedSquirrel Or maybe he meant Band Of Orcs
could have been
im making a dark souls themed campaign for my party