I’m working on my campaign front, and somehow the grim portents just don’t feel

I’m working on my campaign front, and somehow the grim portents just don’t feel

I’m working on my campaign front, and somehow the grim portents just don’t feel … right. They feel kinda boring even though there is progress. Would some of you being willing to take a look at them and offer some suggestions or critiques? This is my first time filling out the campaign front.

Please forgive the brackets. I had to leave home suddenly due to an emergency and didn’t bring my notes. Will fill in that information later when I am back home.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ktheRjo3NVliMkoxNJIcAM6p_JghUBh_zQElzlLPBZ8/edit?usp=sharing

11 thoughts on “I’m working on my campaign front, and somehow the grim portents just don’t feel”

  2. The Kingdom of Evil and The Creeping Darkness seems like they should be one Danger to me. I mean, they’re different things, but so many of their Grim Portents are linked, why not just make them one thing?

    They’re also a bit… predictable, I guess. That’s not a bad thing, and maybe Joseph F. Russo’s suggestion of adding names would help here, but there aren’t any surprises. Not that there needs to be surprises mind, but something a bit out of the box might help. 

  3. What if you change the “kingdom of evil” to “the bastard prince”? Rather than an outside force, the first kingdom could be overthrown by a royal who wants the crown from his elder brother. It creates a little intrigue as to who is on who’s side, and gives people a reason to follow an evil person; personal gain, hope for a better future under a new king, all that jazz.

    By the time he’s destroyed the crystal, it’s too late for his army to realise he’s evil.

    You could keep the Darkness a separate entity by having the prince fight it too. He wants to destroy the crystals for some reason, but he doesn’t actually want monsters roaming his land.

    Or perhaps they’ve struck a deal that the prince gets half the world, the Darkness gets the other half. But will either of them keep their side of the bargain?

    As for other kingdoms, here are some interesting outcomes inspired by real wars.

    Kingdom 1: Overthrown in rebellion. Loyal knights and soldiers flee to regroup, perhaps contacting a neighbouring kingdom or becoming outlaws in the woods.

    Kingdom 2: Defeated in combat. Whole kingdom happily joins the cause.

    Kingdom 3: Leader allows the prince to march across the kingdom in hopes of being left alone. Is soundly defeated when the army reaches the capital. The common folk start up La Resistance!

    Kingdom 4: Due to harsh environment and a equally unscrupulous leader, the prince is kept at bay. For now. Perhaps the leader is willing to summon or create something bad to win.

    Kingdom 5: Losing the war, the people do “something” that destroys the kingdom. Like start a city-wide fire or a mass undeath ritual.

  4. Oh oh! What if it isn’t Creeping Darkness?

    What if the crystals were designed to keep nano-bots at bay by an ancient advanced society, and the “monsters” roaming the land are self building robots? 

    Or what if the crystals are actually doors? And when one is “destroyed” it unlocks a massive gate to another universe, where these monsters stream in from. They don’t necessarily all lead to the same world, so different sets of monsters could hate each other!

    Or perhaps the crystals keep beasts calm. They’re not new monsters, never seen before, but things most people consider docile animals and natural beauties.

    Or maybe the people of the land are actually monsters! And when a crystal is destroyed their true forms are unleashed. Like say, the honourable warrior people of Jumba were once berserker orcs, until angels or whatever gifted them a crystal.

  5. Okay, you folks have given me some really great feedback.

    I want to address names specifically, because they are in my notes but I don’t have them. I don’t want to just name them because each of my players named and described a nation in this fantasy world, so except for kingdom 1 and the kingdom of evil, each nation belongs to a player, and I don’t want to overwrite their investment.

    When I finally get my notes back this weekend, I will fill in names and come up with the cast. Thank you all!

  9. I know this older, so I don’t know if you still need feedback, but I think the trouble you are having is everything is too detailed. I always write each ‘danger’ in a kind of vacuum. So, for the “world war” – write each side separately as to what will happen for each side if everything goes exactly as they want it to. Obviously, this will change as you play – either the PCs will change things, or the two sides will battle it out in the background – and never will things go as all the Bad Guys want. The point is you now understand each sides motivations and plan so when stuff starts happening, you can orchestrate it.

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