This will be my first campaign I've ever DMed so I'm asking for a bit of help here on this one since I'm still very new to the game as well. I've roleplayed before, but the type I do is nothing like playing a game as in depth as Pathfinder/D&D or any other table top games. So many more rules to follow, and I'm still learning all of them, let alone getting used to the style of the roleplaying done in a tabletop game.
So far what I've gotten is it's a water campaign, the setting is on 5 islands, originally it used to be 7 islands but two of them sank. All these islands follow one government, and they all depend on each other for different needs. The center island is where the kingdom was built, the rest are villages/cities where they fulfill their duties.
When I was first putting this together I thought maybe the final boss could be a wizard and dragon working together, but as I went through the bestiary I found the Kraken. So I'm going for the Kraken instead because my group has used dragons and wizards so much it's ridiculous. The Krakens goal is to get a hold of two artifacts that are hidden in the ruins of the two sunken islands, which grant the bearer full control of the ocean.
My problem is, what type of lifestyle should I go for with this campaign for the islands, I thought about something similar to what Atlantis would've been like but I'm afraid it might not work out or it could be overdone.
And I need some ideas for the artifacts, I'm thinking about a crown and trident, but I'm not sure how they would work.
For the lifestyle, what first struck me as I read your post, was a sort of Greek islands type thing with some tropical flare to it.
As for the artifacts. A crown and trident seem right on.
Sounds like you've got a pretty cool campaign coming up! Truth be told, I would play it.
So how should I make these artifacts work?
I'd say just have it be something like the following.
With one artifact, you can control aquatic life (fish, squid, etc). Dominate Monster at will, home brewed Create Swarm spells at will, summoning spells, etc.
With the other, you can control storms, the sea, and water in general. Control Water and Control Weather as at will abilities for the possessor. Possibly other water type spells.
With them combined, you can cast Awaken and Anthropomorphic animal both once per day, but can effect all aquatic creatures in a one mile radius.
This seems to suggest some sort of plan by the Kraken to conquer the islands by force, but I don't know how you want the Kraken's plans to work.
The Krakens plan is pretty simple, remember Ursula from The Little Mermaid? He's gonna try and pull the whole 'become God of the Ocean' thing. It's a curse, me being a fan of the Little mermaid ha ha. And I unintentionally did that as well.
Alright, so for my campaign I went with greek with tropical flare looking, but the lifestyle is ancient egyptian. We started off today, and I decided on the pirates attacked their ship while they were on their way to a festival.
Little did I realize how powerful master summoners can be. Even the player didn't realize how powerful this thing was, so my first session got a bit screwed up and I had to improvise enough to get the players through to what I had planned for the next session which was getting the players to find out about the artifacts.
They've all gained necklaces that will allow them to breathe under water, after signing a contract with a noble who works for the King and Queen to find out if the artifacts are safe due to rumours of pirates looking for them and things he would not mention (aka the Kraken). I am unsure of what to do now at this point, I could send them to the first sunken island, and give them some more combat for under water, or just end the session for the night until I can think up more stuff to do for next time and better prepare myself for these players since the master summoner alone kind of screwed me over.
Thankyou, I ended up throwing a giant CR 5 Moray Eel at them last night which left for one epic battle before they could entire the ormer hidden door that leads to the chamber where one of the artifacts is located. I came up with something this morning to help drag this campaign along so they can lvl up more before gong up against the Kraken.