I'm getting back into D&D after (counts on fingers), um, after a really long time away. Let's just say that the last time I DM'd, the guy that just passed away was President.
Anyway, I got the LGG, and noticed that everything's changed. I can handle the changes, but thought I'd ask where most of y'all are starting your campaigns.
I'm thinking of one of the border areas of Keoland or Nyrond for a first-level campaign. The local ruler doesn't necessarily have to be "in tight" with the regional ruler, and there could be some diplomatic give-and-take later on as the borders start to solidify.
So, where do you start your campaigns, and at what level?
I like Keoland and its a good place to star a ampaign, IMO. However, i am very partial to the Great Kingdom Area. Twice i thought in starting either a campaign in the transition pre-GH Wars through the current year or a saga based in Rel Astra, using cool characters such as Drax and the fiend sage. _________________ Kneel before Rahu!
My group has been doing a lot of campaigning in the lands of the former Great Kingdom (County & Duchy of Urnst, Nyrond) as well as the Pomarj border area (Celene, Ulek Veluna). For our next campaign, the one I'm running, I'm going for somewhere different and starting/basing the campaign in Perrenland. Greyhawk is so big and diverse, yet most of my experience with the world has been in the general area of the City of Greyhawk, I wanted to do something a bit different.
I've run three different campaigns in Greyhawk in the the recent past. I think there are many story rich areas on Greyhawk -- that is why it is one of my most favorite game worlds to begin D&D play.
First campaign was a low level game (1st level start -- ended with PCs at about 7th level). It took place in Ratik along the southern spur of the Rakers. The PCs mainly battled the forces of the Bone March (who in my campaign were led by a quasi-demon).
Second campaign was a mid-level game (6-8th level) that ended only after a few games. Took place in Nyrond on the border with Almor and Adri Forest. It would have been fun to play this camaign out a bit more -- because it took place just after the Greyhawk wars when the region was in total chaos and the King of Nyrond was looking for some strong swords to keep the border safe.
Third campaign was mid-to-high level (10th level start) that also ended after just a few games. It was primarily urban -- set in Critwall -- also just after the Greyhawk War during the Crusades. It was a very dark game that focused on the evil nature of the territory and the fact that it had been controlled for so long by Iuz and/or the Horned Society. Lots of evil pots and dark dark storylines.
I'm now working on my next Greyhawk campaign - and I am giving serious thought to a game Geoff -- so I can work with giants and drow in the 3E rule set. I'm also giving serious thought to returning to Nyrond and running a "theological" campaign with Nyrond vrs. the Pale. I am also considering alternate environments -- like doing a waterbourne campaign that has the PCs aboard ship and sailing to various nations -- and I am considering a game which is based on Greyhawk, but has the PCs travelling to the Outer Planes in order to stop various plots against the civilizations of Oerth.
This is just the three most recent -- I've been basing games in Greyhawk for years -- it was the first game world I ever played or DMed in. The Greyhawk Wars material made it all that much more exciting to play in the various areas of Oerth. And as you noted, it changed a lot of what was going on in Greyhawk. I think it added a lot of depth and created a world with "real" history that can be re-visited over and over.
So, as you can see -- I like Greyhawk -- many many opportunities for good storybased game play -- unlike to many other game worlds that are purely concern with creating an environment for high level game play (18+) with little or no regard to story or versimilitude.
I am presently building a campaign that starts in Gran March and migrates across Geoff under the Crystalmist to the Dry Steppes climaxing near its western edge. I have created NPCs for another in the northern Perrenlands. I am thinking on building something around the reason the Perrenlands stayed out of the war against Iuz. There is much to choose from that's for sure. Where to start? That is a tough question.
My campaign starts in the county of Ulek. The druids are not going to interfere directly with the worlds ills,yet... It also allows for the greatest freedom for the players. Do you go to Geoff, Ulek/Wild coast, Greyhawk, Furyondy, Keoland/Hold of the Sea Princes you get the idea. Plus it is ine of the lesser detailed places so I can fudge up more
Seriously, thanks to everyone for the responses; a lot of them mentioned areas I was looking at, and largely for the same reasons. Keep replying if you like; I'll keep reading.
I'm looking at the western edge of the Yeomanry. Like coleman said, there's not too much detail, so I can "oops" it however I want. Throw in a few Giants and maybe some Underdark action (is that copyrighted?), and we're there. There's also the "frontier" aspect, and some potential plot hooks if the characters seek Citizenship.
(The LGG seems to contradict itself in that suffrage is allowed either to those who have fought in defense of the land, or to those who have fought and to those who are gainfully employed. I'm choosing the former; a little Heinlein never hurt a campaign.)
Aside from that, there seems to be a wealth of information on the LG Yeomanry site. I'll have to wade through it and decide what stays and what goes, but it's there....
I'm planning on starting at 1st level. For what it's worth, I think players identify more with their characters and use them more effectively when they've built them from scratch.
Eventually my PCs brought down ToEE but, at this stage, I chose to run the adventure in a much more unconventional way. More of a story-based adventure than dungeon-crawl.
Telas wrote:
I'm looking at the western edge of the Yeomanry. Like coleman said, there's not too much detail, so I can "oops" it however I want. Throw in a few Giants and maybe some Underdark action (is that copyrighted?), and we're there. There's also the "frontier" aspect, and some potential plot hooks if the characters seek Citizenship.
Yeah, my current campaign set in Geoff just liberated the place from the giants. They also kicked drowish butt in the Underdark coz these folk had stirred the giants into action. The land, although liberated, is still full of roving monsters and giant brigands. Also more Underdark adventures are planned when the Drow Strike Back.
Sounds good; I'm planning some Underdark action for later, depending on the characters. I've always had a love-hate relationship with the Drow. They're extremely powerful, but a pain to play correctly. I use Terry Pratchett's "Lords and Ladies" as a basis for Drow culture.
One of the reasons I didn't pick Geoff was that I'm currently rebelling against the plot-driven campaigns that I've had to deal with in CRPGs. Dropping the PCs in an overrun area felt a bit contrived. You know, "This is your homeland, and it was just taken over by evil giants. Now go to work."
But tastes are subjective; mine change month to month.
Of course, there's also the fact that we'd probably argue on how to pronounce "Geoff".... I prefer the more noble "Zjawff", but some like "Jeff" or "Jee-off".
I prefer a lot of freedom for the adventurers to do what they want. The downside is that they never do what the DM wants. ("You want to go WHERE?! )
One of the reasons I didn't pick Geoff was that I'm currently rebelling against the plot-driven campaigns that I've had to deal with in CRPGs. Dropping the PCs in an overrun area felt a bit contrived. You know, "This is your homeland, and it was just taken over by evil giants. Now go to work."
My PCs started in Geoff when it was fine, then left for Greyhawk, got caught up in the Outer Planes for 7 years, then returned to Geoff to find it invaded. They did a few adventurers (covert ops) and won back the country.
My PCs started in Geoff when it was fine, then left for Greyhawk, got caught up in the Outer Planes for 7 years, then returned to Geoff to find it invaded. They did a few adventurers (covert ops) and won back the country.
I can picture the look on their faces when they got back.... "What the...? Take off for a few years and the whole place goes down the tubes!"
I'm sticking with the current year because, frankly, I'm lazy. I may eventually run a homebrew, but that's at least a year in the making. By then, I'll probably know enough Greyhawkania that it won't matter.
All of the campaigns I've run over many years of Greyhawk have happened pre-wars in a variety of locales. Starting locations I can remember off the top of my head:
1. Idee and Iron League- used some modified MERP material to have a real localized Tolkeinesque campaign in the surrounding area.
2. Ulek - has a little of everything nearby - geographically, topographically and politically.
3. Hold of Sea Princes - nautical based adventure that was more Wizard of Earthsea than Waterworld (thankfully). Was a short campign, but fun for a change and helped me develop idea of sea-mages that ply the trade routes of the Flanaess and aid in the survival of conventional shipping in a magic-based world. They still exist to an extent in all of my campaigns.
4. Barbarian campaign beginning in the Sable Wood area, north of Glot.
5. And of course, the City of Greyhawk. A central location that can be the focus of many adventures itself or a springboard to anyplace in the Flanaess.
All of the campaigns I've run over many years of Greyhawk have happened pre-wars in a variety of locales.
Ah, whew!
I was starting to think I was one of the only DM's to run a pre-Greyhawk Wars campaign still. Altho' in mine, I've substituted something a little different for the Wars but... anyway...
I've actually been running the same campaign for 20+ years with different groups or subsections that continue to interact. For example, one high-level character has gone solo and is now the Loyal Treasurer to the Archbaron of Blackmoor. Another (high-level) one has climbed through the ranks of power in the Hold of the Sea Princes (in my campaign, never occupied by the Scarlet Brotherhood although they did wage war) until he became the Sea Prince himself.
Of the two groups I ran, the first petered out but was a band of rebels living in Rauxes who harkened to the rallying cry of Erasmus Carcossa and sought the overthrow of Ivid V. Of course, they only performed some minorly rebellious acts before being forced to flee the Aerdian capital and were last seen en route to the city of Greyhawk before they morphed into NPC's (translation: the players lost interest).
My longest-running group is a band of rogues based out of a small village on the Wild Coast (which in my campaign, was never half-conquered by the Pomarj). This one has been particularly entertaining as a group who essentially consist of their own small Thieves Guild has come up with all sorts of different storylines than a conventional band of adventurers might have done.
Timeline? My campaign has never gotten past 580CY despite over two decades of trying! _________________ Catapultem habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. (Translation: I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)
If I can recover my old GH stuff from my dad's attic, I'll probably run a pre-Wars campaign, too.
Too much to change right now for me. Like I said, I'm basically lazy (and trying to flesh out my corner of the world, learn a new set of rules, and maintain a healthy work and social life).
I never liked having a "plot" or many "plots" in my campaigns. It's almost an insult to the creativity to the DM and players, as in "you'll be needing our help in this area...." A collection of more than two people will create their own intrigue without any outside direction.
I always preferred the "plot" to be in the background to the characters' actions, and the GH Wars make that almost impossible. Without opening a can of worms (or expecting an answer), a good example would be: How much does the Iraq situation impact your daily life?
my two most recent greyhawk campaigns (The 3rd edition ones) started in different areas... the first one started in the free city of greyhawk, and has focused primarily on the free city, and the cairn hills to this point (CoG boxeed set, TAB, and FtA campaing book have all been helpful, and infact it was the plethora of information about the area that was readily available that caused me to choose this place as a setting). The second I chose to start in the Keoland province of Salinmoor (again there is some good info available on the area, GLH's keoland article in the LGJ, and he three U series 1e modules being the best of it.)
my previous long running (1-2e) greyhawk campaing (started back when that guy who just died was president, and using the '83 boxed set as its base) started off in Verbobonc and spanned the entire flanaess.
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I may eventually run a homebrew, but that's at least a year in the making. By then, I'll probably know enough Greyhawkania that it won't matter.
