|
I just got this crazy idea of how to start a new campaign - and it hit me that doing it this way might even allow a group to play without a DM.
Picture this:
You pull a Harrow card out of the deck for each player - that card represents the character they are going to build. They can interpret the card however they want, but it's supposed to serve as inspiration for their character, somewhat like the destinies available in star wars d20 do. You might give them a "mulligan" in case they pull a card they really have no idea what to do with, or hate... but keep it reasonable.
After each person pulls the card that represents their character, they build it.
After everyone has a character ready, you keep the cards representing their characters out (you might even let them keep it with their character sheet for kicks), and you have someone pull a card out of the deck that will represent the CAMPAIGN - Limitless possibilities exist here.
For example, if you pull the brass dwarf, the campaign might be working for the Hellknights of Cheliax - especially if everyone likes the idea of playing in Cheliax, or you might be tasked with retrieving items for someone to build a great weapon - the premise is broad and general enough that you might even reverse it - you could be stopping a tyrant from building the ultimate weapon, or even working against an organization like the hellknights, or a group of azers - by denying them their weapons supplies and attacking their economic centers and resources.
With these kinds of restrictions, I see that much of what the DM does is already fixed up - there's a story, each player gets to take a part in it, and you might even have a lot of fun taking turns playing as the monsters at the same time that the party is trying to take them down - whenever they show up.
In fact this might be the beginning of a new way of playing the entire game.
Anyone interested in taking it for a test spin? I'd love to try it out and get feedback from other DM's and players who like the idea.
|
|
Pretty interesting idea. You'd have to have a lot of creative types...
Yeah, we've got no shortage of that.
I thought of some other rules, to help it along - and to make it more interesting.
Each player that pulls a card doesn't collaborate with other players when building their character - if the party is missing someone important like a tank or healer, those roles will be fulfilled with "cannon fodder" npc's that everybody gets to control.
After the party gets their characters created, they collaborate on how to get the group together, and work that into the campaign card.
For example, here's a sample pull.
player 1 pulls the juggler, and creates a freedom-loving half-giant warrior type guy.
player 2 pulls the hidden truth, and creates an old wizard who's been dabbling in forgotten and forbidden magic.
player 3 pulls the betrayal - and creates a cleric who has fallen out of good graces with her goddess and has secretly been drawing her powers from an evil god in order to stick with her party - something that is doomed to hurt the party whenever someone finds out.
player 4 pulls the dance - and creates a Varysian harrower.
then the party collaborates with each other on how to get the group together, when they pull the card "the keep".
they decide that the campaign will revolve around an adventuring party that's decided to settle down and find a place to base their operations, while they train others who will be carrying on their work - little do they know there's a betrayer in their midst.
instant campaign! ha!