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...what kind of game would people be interested in playing?
Hi all, Oblivion's Scion here. I returned to the boards a little over a month ago after stepping away for family reasons late last year. Since then I have been toying around with the idea of starting up a game. As for what that game will be, well that is the point of this thread. I thought it might be intriguing to have the community help come up with a concept. So below I'm going to lay out two topics (character concept/theme and campaign arc) and I'm requesting people submit additions to those categories. What do I mean? Let's work through it a bit.
Character Concept & Theme
Holy order
King's Guard / musketeer
Convicts / dirty dozen / suicide squad
Secret society
Single race
Same class or class category
New Batch / children & pupils or past heroes
Childhood friends
Isolated population
Campaign Arc
Thieves Guild
Rebels in occupied nation / evil government
Defense against Invasion
Gods go Silent
Rescue missing monarch
Race against time
Recover artifact(s)
Search for lost city
Magical plague
Civil war
Child of destiny
Frontier / undiscovered lands
Horde (undead, humanoid, extra planar?)
Players imprisoned
On the run
Here are the settings I would be comfortable running the game in:
Campaign Setting
Golarion
Forgotten Realms (3rd edition, 1369-75 DR)
Ravenloft (late 2nd edition, Domains of Dread)
HB: shattered world / post-apocalyptic
HB: war torn medieval fantasy
Once we have a good list for the two aforementioned topics we will be putting them together to create game concepts. But that will come in a few days. So, let the creativity flow!
Hi! Some of these sound very nice. Which system are you going to use?
Pathfinder 1e
That should really be in your subject line.
Hey Oblivion's Scion, great to see you're thinking of running something again!
Of the proposed settings, I'm most partial to the two homebrew ones. As I'm sure you know I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic games in PF1.
Some ideas for game concepts:
Character Concepts:
Performing troupe/circus
Mysteriously resurrected
Army unit
Themes:
Become famous
Planar travel
Some sort of military
Looks like you've got a lot of great options already :)
Character Concept & Theme
Mysteriously murdered before we could die of old age then Reincarnated (A variation of Simeon's mysteriously resurected)
Tavern regulars (Think Cheers, with Swords!)
Refugees or Exiles
Apprentices
Themes
Gods Wake up (Variation on your Gods go Silent but in Reverse)
Homeowners (Rebuild/Protect this city and get a house/Manor)
Royal Wedding that someone doesn't want to happen
War breaks out, welcome to the draft
The Great Games
For settings, I'd probably like Golarion or FR just for the familiarity of it making it easier to build from there, but some homebrew ideas end up working just fine
Character Concept & Theme
Single race
New Batch / children & pupils or past heroes
Childhood friends
Themes
Campaign Setting
Golarion
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Looks like you've got a lot of great options already :)
Character Concept & Theme
Mysteriously murdered before we could die of old age then Reincarnated (A variation of Simeon's mysteriously resurected)
Tavern regulars (Think Cheers, with Swords!)
Refugees or Exiles
ApprenticesThemes
Gods Wake up (Variation on your Gods go Silent but in Reverse)
Homeowners (Rebuild/Protect this city and get a house/Manor)
Royal Wedding that someone doesn't want to happen
War breaks out, welcome to the draft
The Great GamesFor settings, I'd probably like Golarion or FR just for the familiarity of it making it easier to build from there, but some homebrew ideas end up working just fine
Tavern regulars (Think Cheers, with Swords!)
Homeowners (Rebuild/Protect this city and get a house/Manor)Love so much of this! Have always thought how cool it would be to build a campaign ... around DOWNTIME. Like zoom in on the rebuild of the Hellknight Citadel in Age of Ashes: build an episodic campaign based on Drezen in WotR. Because the backdrop of the downtime threads everything together, the adventures could all start and end in the Tavern (or Inn or Ship or ...) as the team works to solve whatever is impeding their focus in downtime. Really could be anything every time the group gets together.
Kinda like Star Trek meets Loveboat meets One Day at a Time, all in a crappy dive bar like Cheers.
On setting ... with total love to the HB thing, it's kinda like being spoonfed, and unless someone wants to try to be as prolific as Paizo or TSR, it's tough. Many of us could place ourselves very very specifically in Absalom or Waterdeep and talk about it at length. With HB settings, generally, that's a lot less plausible.
Any of the ideas presented would be a ton of fun. Like TheWaskally said, a lot of them could overlap over a long game.
Themes
I kinda like the notion that the players know each other in some way. They may be rivals or have some enmities of some sort, but they're united by the call to adventure and learn to work together.
An outdoor environment (jungle, desert, the frozen north, etc.) where survival is difficult without the right skills would add some great color and unique challenges. If there's a lost city or some new frontier to explore, there could be some fun dungeons, too.
Campaign Setting
Golarion.
It's made to host almost any sort of theme you can imagine, and most of us are familiar with it.
I think you’d have the most interest if you used Golarion as the campaign setting. It would also be less work on your end because homebrews already take a lot of mental energy.
Do you know how long you want your homebrew to be? Is this to get your feet wet for something larger down the road?
If you want your game to be longer, like level 1 to 16, I suggest just running an Adventure Path and tailoring it to your own style. A perfect example is the Kingmaker GM Wolf is running - it is reskinned with an undead/zombie twist! Or GMMichael who is running Rise of The Runelords reskinned in a modern setting. Just throwing out ideas. Reskinned Adventure Paths tend to be popular, though not as popular as classic Adventure Paths with classic character creation and clearly outlined rules.
Oblivion, cool design concept - game design by community! It reminds me of two Iron GM events I attended back in the day at Gen Con. Honestly, it actually became a theme for one shots that my group of friends would play on vacations together. One even turned into a long-run campaign.
So, a few ideas:
character concept or theme
Everyone is afflicted by the same curse
Apprentices of one NPC
Bastard children of a king or God
Last members of a forgotten bloodline
Misfits
Non-standard races/monsters
Musical band
'Normal people' with heroic past (El Mariachi from Desperado, doc Holliday from tombstone, etc)
campaign arc
Wake up in a room with a dead man
Marked for death
Us against an army (300-esque)
Meteor crash
The dead walk at night (from dusk till dawn)
Hope this is what you are looking for. Interested to see what comes of this!
Character Concept & Theme
"Strike Squad/Troubleshooters" for the Empire
Campaign Arc
Protect the country/empire from harm
So, a few ideas:
Bastard children of a king or God
Sounds like a great campaign to use Rogue Genius's godling classes!!!
Non-standard races/monsters
There are many amazing 3PP monster classes for playing leveled monsters to use, especially the ones offered by Rite Publishing.
Most of the suggestion made already sound pretty heckin great to me, so I will just add slight variation on one of the above:
Character Concept:
The PCs are all *different* skinwalker/shifter(borrowed from Eberron, though no need to use that setting). Ie, one is wolf, another is bat, a 3rd is croc, etc.
Theme:
Some form of guerrilla warfare/tactics. Can easily be combined with several of the above themes as well.
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Wow, thank you everyone for some great suggestions and feedback. I appreciate all of your input. The lists have expanded to the point that I need to spoiler them to make them manageable. Several were close so I combined them.
On the topic of Campaign Setting, several points were made in favor of Golarion or FR. While I am not removing homebrew completely from the options, it would likely be beneficial for all involved to use a published setting.
I played in an Iron GM game once. It was a cool concept, though sadly our GM was in a little over his head. Still, we had a good time, and have definitely played around with that format in my group as well.
There have been some questions about Character generation and source material. As the campaign itself still needs to be fleshed out, I am still quite a way from determining such details. I will say that, unfortunately, I have rather little experience with most 3pp material and will likely bar it's use. Sorry if that is disappointing for some. I do plan to throw a couple curve balls at character creation, so do not fear, there will be plenty of goodness to go around.
As to the suggestion of a published AP, I have actually run two in the past to completion (in person, not PbP). I found it actually required more prep work for me to modify the APs as opposed to writing my own material. The suggested examples are great ideas, and it looks like the GMs are crushing it; it's just not what I am looking to do at this time.
Holy order
King's Guard / musketeer
Convicts / dirty dozen / suicide squad
Secret society
Single race
Same class or class category
New Batch / children & apprentices of past heroes
Old Guard / retirees & heroes past prime
Childhood friends
Isolated population
Performing troupe/circus
Mysteriously resurrected
Army unit / strike squad / medieval special forces
Mysteriously murdered then Reincarnated
Tavern regulars
Refugees or Exiles
Connected Past
Rivals forced together
Everyone is afflicted by the same curse
Apprentices of one NPC
Bastard children of a king or God
Last members of a forgotten bloodline
Misfits
Non-standard races/monsters
Musical band
Lycanthropes/Skinwalkers
Undead
Thieves Guild
Rebels in occupied nation / evil government
Defense against Invasion
Gods go Silent
Rescue missing monarch
Race against time
Recover artifact(s)
Search for lost city
Magical plague
Civil war
Child of destiny
Frontier / undiscovered lands
Horde (undead, humanoid, extra planar?)
Players imprisoned
On the run
Become famous
Planar travel
Some sort of military
Gods Wake up
Home/Castle Owners
Royal Wedding
Drafted into the Army
The Great Games
Wake up in a room with a dead man
Marked for death
Us against an army (300-esque)
Meteor crash
The dead walk at night (from dusk till dawn)
Protect the Kingdom
Guerilla Warfare
Okay, if you still have more ideas to add to either category, please share them. At this point, I would like to shift the phase to Game Concept. Here, put together a pair together a Character Theme and a Campaign Arc to submit a proposal.
Here is an example:
Game Concept: When Our Prayer Are Not Answered
Character Theme: holy order
Campaign Arc: gods have gone silent
You can also use more than one of each - example:
Game Concept: The Stone Helms of Mithral Hall
Character Theme(s): single race (dwarf), kingsguard
Campaign Arc(s): protect the kingdom, us against an army
I greatly look forward to seeing everyone's ideas!
Not sure how many proposals we're allowed to submit, but here are three that came to mind early on..
Game Concept: "Praise Cayden and Pass the Beer"
Character Themes: Tavern Regulars, Holy Order
Campaign Arc: The Dead Walk at Night
Game Concept: A Shiretown of our own!
Character Theme: Single Race (Halflings)
Campaign Arc: Search for Lost City, Home/Castle Owners
Game Concept: The Clown Princess!
Character theme: Performing Troupe/Circus
Campaign Arcs: Rescue Missing Monarch, On the Run
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Wow, had a little fun with this. I hope I did not get too carried away!
Game Concept R.E.D.
Character Themes secret society, old guard, rivals
Campaign Arcs on the run, marked for death
Some heroes meet their end gloriously, dying in battle defending their realm. Other rise to the ranks of monarch or archmage and serve until their last days. But for many, it is simply retirement to a quiet life in some forgotten town. When word reaches you that several of your former compatriots who served the last monarch with you have recently died under questionable circumstances, you know it's time to find what allies you have left so you can stop this evil plan.
Game Concept Another Night at the Befuddled Bugbear
Character Themes tavern regulars, misfits
Campaign Arcs literally any of these...
The Befuddled Bugbear is a rundown, ramshackle tavern and flophouse that has been repaired and rebuilt so many times, a first time visitor might wonder how it even stands. Smelling constantly of stale beer and body odor, it is nevertheless the fabled watering hole of countless heroes throughout the ages. On any night you can find a rogues' gallery of characters awaiting the next bit of trouble - a hooded man stumbles out of the rain and with his dying breath drops a relic from a forgotten ruin, a demonic fiend is accidentally summoned by a drunken warlock, pirates storm in and press gang the passed out guests into a crew, the King's chamberlain sneaks in seeking volunteers to rescue a missing royal child, a pickpocket opens a seized scrollcase and discovers the legend of a mystical artefact, praetorian city guard come in to arrest the entire house, hordes of zombies come marching out of a nearby crypt seeking on of the Bugbear's guests - it all could happen on any night!
Game Concept ...And You Get a Kingdom of Your Own!
Character Themes bastard children of monarch(s)
Campaign Arcs frontier, castle owners
The King of has always been known for his womanizing ways. Given that the kingdom has a history of internal fighting because of its inheritance laws, the king is keen to maintain stability. He obviously can't openly acknowledge his many illegitimate offspring, yet wants to provide for them as well. The discovery of a distant island, complete with an aged, not-quite-ruined castle, has prompted his high counselor to come up with a solution: grant the bastard children the island, with responsibility to rebuild the castle and explore and defend the land! Surely his offspring will all get along, right?
Oh, and I may have more coming...
Ridge, Tara, those are both awesome! I have a few coming of my own...
A tavern that is a church - and a priesthood full of drunken monks! I love it!
Ok, try this:
Concept and Theme: Holy Order/King's Guard
Campaign Arc: Civil War/Protect the Kingdom
Set in the Arthurian mythos, with the players as members of the Knights of the Round Table. But there's a civil war, and some evil villain (Mordred probably, maybe Lancelot's run off with Guinevere, whatever) has split the realm and taken some of the Knights of the Round Table with them. Now you, the players, have to fight your evil counterparts, defeat the usurper, and restore peace in Camelot! It could also double as Same Class/category, since everyone is probably playing martials or gishes; not a lot of full casters besides maybe a very martial cleric.
Ridge, Tara, those are both awesome! I have a few coming of my own...
A tavern that is a church - and a priesthood full of drunken monks! I love it!
Thanks. I find myself wishing I'd gone into more details like Tara's excellent suggestions (And You Get a Kingdom of Your Own! is my favorite's of hers). The idea of a congregation of Cayden's faithful at their favorite Tavern/Church being the best line of defense against nightly undead incursions tickled me :)
The "Shiretown of our own" Was inspired partly by a KM I was in that died called Pint Sized Kings. All halflings. Given how halflings are enslaved or at least mistreated in so many parts of Golarion I always thought it would make sense they might look for a home city that was halfling centric for once. Not a kingdom, per se, but maybe a deal with some nation's government that "Hey, if you can clear those ruins out, then yeah it's all yours"
"The Clown Princess" I figure you have a PC Circus group just wanting to put on a show, and unaware that a princess of the land has snuck into the audience. Well, maybe there's a revolution, or an attempted coup, or an invasion or whatever... and the PCs find themselves not only on the run but the Princess only chance to be smuggled back to the crown city and her parents.
Been busy lately, but once I’ve got some time I’ll think up some game ideas.
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Couple of ideas
20gp, a warm meal and a place to sleep. A magnificent seven remake in pathfinder (not required to be seven PCs of course). A village is under threat by a menace (eg orcs, bandits, undead invasion), and a collection of adventurers, bounty hunters and such help them. For reasons of their own.
Reasons could be
A successful bounty hunter who is now hunted everywhere. "a meal and a place to sleep is real attractive right now"
A cleric (or a fallen paladin) seeking a renewal of faith
"If I help them, maybe I can find my way back"
An old adventurer wanting an honourable fight
"This is my stand. I can do no other"
An idealistic youngster
"How can I not help?"
A drunken warrior
"those Bas#$%^% spilled my drink!"
And so on. The village is poor, the need is great, the cause is worthy and the prospects are bad.
Hmm, I'll have to look at this more in a bit. Intriguing.
I had a couple more ideas, so I thought I would throw them out there.
Campaign Arcs thieves' guild
The city of is a place of amazement of wonder. Yet even such a grand city is not without its beggars, urchins, and orphans. The destitute try to eek out a living in whatever way possible. From the ranks of the flee-bitten souls rises a band of intrepid rakes, looking to make a name for themselves. But in the shadows of the city prowl many a danger, from rival gangs to powerful guilds, and worse things can be found if your pry too deep. Then, of course, there is the city guard. Can the hopeless rise to be lords of the city's underworld?
Game Concept Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...
Character Themes New Batch (children/apprentices of past heroes), Strike Squad / Special Forces, Secret Society
Campaign Arcs Recover Artifact, Stop Evil Plot, Defend the Kingdom
The tragic fate of the greatest adventurers is that with success comes responsibility. Many end up with duties and titles to kingdoms, religions, and major organizations. Gone are the days when they can deal with whatever problem they choose. But, they are often served by the best pupils, perhaps even their own offspring. And when such threats arise, who better to send then your best and brightest.
Campaign Concept: The Calistria Coaster
Character Theme: Childhood friends, Reincarnated (Possibly murdered)
Campaign Arc:: Rebels against an Evil Government, Gods Wake up (Sorta)
In a medium sized but somewhat Isolated city/barony of Isger, a cruel noble has outlawed worship of all gods of Chaos with the aid of a local temple of Asmodeus (or Mammon) (That while not loved by the locals, hopes to get a monopoly on worship). When a shrine to hers is torched, the goddess of vengeance, desire And TRICKERY is furious, and (With help from Cayden or Desna) bypasses Pharasma's ruling by picking some champions from another time and space entirely!
On Earth, at an amusement park, some friends are eager to ride the newest roller coaster 'The Stinger'. They've been buddies for years, beenn through High school together at the least. Something goes wrong with the ride and as the coaster jumps the rails, they hear an odd buzzing and an offer for 'help'. Hastily,each person agrees and....they die, at least, their bodies on that plane do.
They wake up in new stronger ones with instincts and knowledges flashing through their heads: Beginning adventurers! A few of them also happen to resemble heroes of the city who died over fifty years ago! No sooner have our started to figure out who is who, they stumble across hunters working for the noble or evil temple, dragging a hapless unicorn foal in a magic net towards town for sacrifice and such. Hopefully they'll save the poor thing and pick sides fast
Short balding gnome with red robes willing to give them a clue and claiming his name is 'Dunnjyn Mast're' optional :)
Ridge, hahaha, I have to say I got a good laugh flashing back to watching the old animated series as a kid! And no, I was not watching it during its initial release (was an infant/toddler back then), but have found memories from my childhood all the same.
For any who have been following along, I have been compiling the options into a single file while also working out the mechanics on something my in person party has been toying with: demi-gestalt. It is a mashup of Gestalt and Variant Multiclass with an option to also double down on a single core concept if that is your preference. I am hoping to have it all written up in the next few days, and move into more of a recruitment process. Thank you all so much for following along!
I'll look forward to seeing what you mean by "double down" on a core concept.
Without diving into all the details, it's the interesting gap in gestalt: you can make combos like the sorcerer / scaled fist monk who has 9 level casting, good base attack, all good saves, decent skill points, a bunch of abilities, and a single primary ability score, but no real way to build a fluffed out sorcerer, or the best martial artist in history.
Sure, you could go sorcerer/oracle (or bard/summoner/eldritch scion magus/etc) to make a dual caster class build, or a fighter/monk for more combat feats & abilities, but it still doesn't actually allow focus on the single concept. An oracle with more mysteries and bolstered casting. A monk with access to more ki, a rogue that is truly the master of all skills.
Still working out the details, and I am sure there will need to be tweaks along the way. But hopefully I will have it up soon.
Interesting! That’s a really cool concept.
I agree with Simeon.
Hmm, I am interested in seeing what "demi Gestalt" pans out to be. The option to focus on one aspect seems intriguing, I am curious what the other side will look like.