| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Well since I will be starting a new campaign soon (as a player) I have been thinking about this lately and do not recall seeing a topic on it. I figured having such a thread would be as helpful to others as it is to me.
So, without further ado; what are some important things to know or ask about when starting a new campaign?
I shall start:
What setting are we playing in? Is it a prefab setting or a homebrew?
What starting races are allowed? Are certain races taboo for this campaign?
What material/resources is allowed for character development?
How much downtime are we likely to have while/in between adventuring? Are item creation feats or crafting feasible?
How are starting abilities determined?
What alignments are allowed? Will running any particular alignment likely be problematic?
What are our likely options for obtaining gear upgrades aside from via looting our kills?
What is the common availability of exotic weapons (or whatever exotic gear your character may potentially use)?
Is this going to be a high magic, low magic or somewhere in between type of campaign? How does the general populace view magic and spell casters?
Is there anything you would like out of character backgrounds?
What is going to be the binding reason our group will be traveling/adventuring together?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Before you are strating a new Campaign ask your players what types of characters they want to play, what themes they want to explore and what kind of plots they find interesting.
To many times I have seen DM's (and I have been guilty of this too)have these grand visions of how the Campaign should be, how the plot will develop and vizualising all the epic scenes that will play out, only to realize that the players want to play something completely diffent.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What specific house rules do you have? <---This takes care of any surprises or at least it should.
theme very important
are the party flung together, or are they handpicked to start
do the party need to be compatible with each other (all good, non-evil)
do we need to live the number of tag-alongs like familiars, companions, summonable, leadership etc
do you need a balanced party?
What specific house rules do you have? <---This takes care of any surprises or at least it should.
I was always amazed (when hunting for a group) the number of times I was told some variation of, "We don't have any house rules, just by the book."
Then you start playing with them and it seems a constant stream of "Oh, we don't do it that way."I have zero problem with house rules. I think alot of them really improve things. But please write them down and tell newcomers the truth.
I agree with the house rules thing in fact I have/had a handbook of mine that I would give each player. It helps with referencing rules.
Some of my favorites:
-How does the major societies we will encounter view women?
-What are the restrictions on starting gold?
-Will our characters have to supply there own rations, tents, blankets, etc.?
-What are the equipment restrictions?
-What is the closest historical time period in the real world to the campaign world?
|
Some things you will have to find out from the other players, not just the GM:
Is anyone playing a Paladin or Undead Lord?
Either of those can have effects on the allowable party makeup, including the fairly obvious point that those two characters wouldn't work well together...
PvP or no PvP? Obviously, no PvP means you don't have to worry about the party Rogue stealing from you, or disagreements within the party turning fatal; but sometimes it can be limiting in PC interaction. (See the two PCs listed above, and contemplate their interactions with and without PvP)
You mentioned determining starting abilities, which is important. Also, as someone else mentioned, starting gold. I also think you need to find out what level the GM is starting you out at, whether he is going to be running E6 or E*, or if there is a level cap of any sort.
How are Prestige CLasses handled? Some of the local GMs require you to complete any PrC you start, not just dipping the class. And that means you also can't start into a PrC if there aren't enough levels left in the campaign to complete the PrC. Sometimes irritating. And always something to bear in mind if you plan your PC's prgression all the way to retirement/end of campaign.
Hmm.
-What is the campaign name?
-What is the map layout?
-Are the races mixed together in a melting it culture or are they in separate kingdoms?
-If the campaign was a movie/video game what would its rating be?
All of these (especially the last) can tell you a lot about the GM and the world.
What sort of storytelling is predominant? Are you hack and slash or entirely RP? if you are middle of the road would you say 50/50 or 80/20?
Do you take character background into play when creating the adventure or is it all pre-scripted? Is there room to go on Player want/need centered quests?
If I take a non-human, what are the general reactions in many places going to be?
How is magic viewed in your world? Are certain classes gimped by this? (I personally have a low magic world where casters of all kinds level at 1/2 rate and arcane casters have a good chance of attracting the attention of Witch hunters)
Would children be able to play or should I keep them at home due to nature/theme/graphic detail/language...
Is drinking/drugs allowed? I do drink but won't play with people on drugs...
Are any of the other players on the Sexual predator list? is the GM? Prefer not to get involved here...
Great input guys! Keep it up. :)
@Bltzkrg242 I... I am honestly don't know what to say...
Well other than: what level of ninja are you?
0th...
But I have a high stealth rating?
OP listed:
What alignments are allowed? Will running any particular alignment likely be problematic?
I think that might cover your question LazarX?
As a DM, I've learned over the years that communication with your players is key. Sometimes players don't listen... and sometimes I screw up... but even still, openly talking about things is never bad. Slipping up now and then is fine and MUCH better than just closing off and only talking to your players at the table during game time.
Any time I join / start a new gaming group / adventure / campaign, I have a few staples I try to cover before we even start:
* Start a private Facebook Group and invite all of your players. This is a fantastic tool away from the table. Everyone can use it to discuss the game away from the table, it keeps the group fresh on your players' minds since they will see it every time they get on FB, and everyone will be notified when something new is posted in the group. You can use it to schedule your next game's event, you can post game-related documents that everyone can share (such as a list of house rules), you can use the page to distribute XP from the previous game, and you can even cover selling loot and buying magic items on the page. I can't express how awesome using a Facebook group is for a tabletop gaming group.
* Discuss house rules with the players FIRST before beginning the campaign/adventure. Ask them if they want any house rules, too. It's always best to have this covered. It's also okay to add more later if you come across something that everyone agrees should be different for whatever reason.
* Make clear what your players can use and what they cannot. For example, if you're okay with anything published by Paizo but no 3rd party material, then for pete's sake tell that to your players. They're not mind readers... again, communication is key.
* Try to not say "no". The whole point of playing is to have fun. Remember that the players can always TRY whatever they can think of... it's the DM's job to enforce any consequences/repercussions. Even if a player's decision de-rails the story, a good DM can always find a new way to re-align the story. The DM is a referee; not a dictator.
* Deal with problematic players accordingly - even if you don't want to. You're not the only person suffering from a trouble player's actions - everyone else at the table is to. If a player is being a jerk by constantly picking fights with the other PC's or trying to burn down every town you come across, etc... talk to the player privately and give him a warning. A serious, firm warning. Be okay with the player walking away on his own free will. That's better than accommodating a jerk just because you're trying to please everyone... it's much better to displease one problem player than to displease 3 other innocent players. Hesitation on the DM's part only adds fuel to the fire. If after 1 fair warning the player continues to be a jerk, boot him from the game. You can worry about filling in the blank slot later. If nothing else, you can use a stand-in NPC ally as a replacement, and allow the other characters to take exact revenge on the jerk player's character. Okay... that may be a little extreme, but you get the picture. :p
Say to the DM: "Here are a few characters ideas. Which do you think would be a good fit for the campaign?"
|
I make a "campaign guide," inspired by the adventure paths, that lays out the starting area, a hint to the impetus of the campaign, as well as guidelines for character creation and any house rules or gameplay rules. I also have the players make characters as a group so we don't arrive with 4 archery-based fighters.
As a player, you might want to know exactly what would be in one of these "guides" even if the GM isn't providing one. Also ask about "banned" feats or classes as some gamers believe, as an example, that Leadership is a broken feat, or that a Gunslinger might not fit in with their ancient evil campaign.