17 Subscribers

Well, it looks like my idea is actually going to come to fruition.

I have 5 of the 4E books on the way to me right now, and 2 people currently interested in playing the campaign.

So I’m looking for 2 more people, if anyone’s interested – you can contact me through Twitter, email, or by leaving a comment!

Still need a name for the podcast…

Here is the more-polished version of my plan:

Get 4 other, reliable people to agree to meet online for about 2hrs a week (through Skype) to play D&D and record the session.

Setup super-simple website and release segments of the weeks session throughout the next week.

There will be 4 players and 1 DM per session. The DM will rotate occasionally to another player, but each of the 5 people will have their own character.

The DM for a night’s session will receive XP and treasure for their character comparable to what each other character gets the night the DM is not playing.

Dice-rolls will take place through some type of chat tool – maybe IRC? something simple… so everyone can see what the players roll. Players rolls should be said aloud for the benefit of listeners.

We’ll try to make it fun, but never forced. Try to fill gaps with talk, etc.

We’ll try to setup a server where players and DMs can share important things, like character sheets, information on custom spells/abilites/whatever…

The hardest problem would be maps. There’s like 1 map-sharing program out there (MapTool), which seems like it would work great, except it might be too hard to figure out. Worst case scenarios, DMs throw together maps in Photoshop and share the room the players in while playing the game, or, just show the entire floor to the players… not a big deal.
+ Twiddla = free drawing/chat thing, it’s pretty awesome. DM can upload map and cover up sections with dark squares, players join, draws on map as the game progresses.

‘Story’ Elements

The idea behind the campaign would be to let it grow with the players. Each DM will take on a chapter of the story, and possibly add to the world. This will allow things to be a surprise to everyone in some cases, and help prevent issues like “future bloat”, where the DM plans for events so far in the future that the players never even get to. As such, some rules will need to be followed: DMs will have an opportunity to run the campaign for 1-3 sessions. They must continue in some form from the last session, and end on a solid ‘ending note’ which can be taken up by the next DM.

For example, ending a session when the players are poised to bash down the door leading to a key NPC-enemy which holds special items the players need to go back and finish a puzzle is not a good idea. Ending after the players have beaten the enemy and solved the puzzle is a better idea.

It will be okay for players to discuss small aspects of ‘upcoming events’ with previous/future DMs, such as minor ideas for where a certain plot-line is going, but players should refrain from laying out the complete story for another DM to adhere to.

The campaign story we’ll be starting with is very simplistic:

The players have all arrived at the town of Byston. They are each young and fresh adventurers (Level 1), looking for adventure and a chance to earn a name or wealth for themselves. Once arriving in the town, they meet up with each other and decide to join forces and explore an old, ruined castle just outside of town which is rumored to hold unimaginable treasures, but is also filled with danger. No one has ever entered the ruins and returned alive.

The first session starts with the party standing at the edge of the ruins, just before crossing the threshold into the interior…

Byston will be a hub where the players can return to recuperate, stock up on supplies, or sell their treasures, however, town is almost a day away from the ruins, so they should return sparingly.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Dungeons & Dragons, Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.