Creating a Campaign 101: Episode 2

Welcome back, budding Master of Dungeons! This is the second instalment in creating your new campaign. Today we will look at creating a plot and how to make it exciting and well planned.

First of all, we need to recap what information we got from the last post. We got the following info: The world of our campaign (Runeterra), the specific region within that world (Bilgewater) and a settlement/building/place within the region (Serpent and Harpoon Tavern). Now that we have this basic information, we can start creating our plot.

The first question to ask is: Who or what are the main villains? Sometimes you might need to do a bit of Lore research to figure out what type of creatures are there and what their motives are. I decided that a group of pirates would be a suitable threat, and their leader would be a half-orc. Considering this, I decided to give him a title: The Fanged Scourge. Now that we have our main villains, we need to figure out their motives. This could be absolutely anything, and can be complicated or simple. After researching some lore, I found out that Bilgewater is run by guilds and pirate gangs. So the motivation was simple: Take over Bilgewater. This is the bare bones of what are plot is.

Now we need to decide how our villain is going to get what they want. It could be through political unrest, war or even legal ways. As i said in the first post, the Islands of Bilgewater are populated with Goblins, Bugbears and Lizardfolk. So, the plot will involve them. How about they are helping to take over Bilgewater? But why would they is the big question. Money, power? I decided that a goblin had been captured by the pirates, and held ransom. I think a goblin shaman (Druid) would be a good enough reason. So, here is the plot so far: A group of pirates lead by a half-orc have captured a goblin druid, and are forcing the goblins and bugbears to help take control of Bilgewater. It's good, but I think we need a better boss. One that will really have an impact...

Let's be realistic. Few parties of 3rd level and higher are going to be scared of a bandit captain. Let's make our pirate captain a Veteran. That makes them a bit better. But it could still use something more... exciting. How about a pet Worg? Not as deadly as the pirate, but enough to take on a party member solo. And then we have the problem of a bigger, badder BOSS. How about this boss isn't really connected to the pirates.But it is involved for it's own benefit. It could be guarding the goblin druid? I think that it should be a very well known creature. A dragon will do. As we're in swampy, tropical islands, a Young Black dragon works.

So, we now have the plot: A group of pirates lead by a half-orc with a pet worg have captured a goblin druid. They are now forcing goblins and bugbears to help take control of Bilgewater, while a young black dragon is guarding said druid. There you go, and it wasn't that hard.

-WildemountWanderer