Campaign Writing Assistant

Writing a campaign for the first time can be daunting and often overwhelming, leaving you unsure of where to begin or even how to proceed. This document will guide you through the process and help alleviate some of the pressure of writing your campaign.

It's perfectly okay not to have an idea for the kind of campaign you want to run. It's a good thing we have the internet, fantasy novels, video games, and all kinds of media at our fingertips to draw inspiration from. Unless you plan to sell your campaign as a pre-built adventure, you can make it as close to your research material as you want. Whatever helps you tell the story and have fun with your friends.

If you can't find inspiration in the media, here are a few examples to get you started.

1. Children have slowly gone missing over the years as a member of royalty (or high noble) appears to have never aged for as long as you have known of them. At the same time, they claim to have children, but they never seem to be in the same room at the same time. It's almost as if they are the same person living a long life.
• The truth of the matter is that the noble person has been taking children and draining the youth out of them to remain immortal.
2. A mysterious individual is looking to hire a group of adventurers to steal a special item from a noble family. This item possesses great power that can cause world-altering events, but the noble family views it as a beautiful art form that they have acquired at a considerable cost.
• In truth, the mysterious individual could use the item to alter the world in drastic measures. Or, they need it to save the world from some great danger. Mysterious individuals don't always have to have secret evil intent.
3. Bandits have taken control and made an entire town their base of operations. The local magistrate wishes to free its people of the bandits but is unsure as to who is a citizen and who is a bandit. The bandits have settled in so well that they treat the town as their home more than a base.
• The group would need to filter out who's bandits and who's scared citizens playing along to stay safe. There could even be a group of individuals in the nearby forest who are fighting the bandits to reclaim their homes. This group could be seen as bandits because the actual bandits in the town have spread lies that they need help with a bandit issue in their local forest.

Something to keep in mind when writing your campaign. It will continually change in some way because the players will change it based on what their characters want to do. Keeping this in mind, you can go one of two ways.

1. Inform the players that, since this is your first campaign, the story will be linear, and you aren't yet comfortable with side quests. Running the campaign this way is considered railroading, which has a negative association, but since this is your first time, don't worry about that.
2. Expect the unexpected and roll with it. Write your story through plot points or an outline that can be adapted for when your players derail it. For example, you have a bandit camp you want an event to take place in. Instead of setting it in a specific location, like a forest north of town, write it so that the bandit camp can be in any location based on the character's location. If they decide to go south and there are no forests, then the bandit camp will transition from a forest camp to a plains camp.

What to Know & How to Write It

Now that you have a basic understanding of the foundation of writing a campaign, you need to write it. To do that, consider asking yourself some questions to help spark your idea into a campaign.

What is the style of the campaign?

• This part of writing the campaign will require input from your players. You will need to ask your players what type of campaign they want to play.
• Do they want mostly combat, more social aspects, or a mix of both?
• A heist? Dungeon crawler? Hack and Slash adventure? Espionage? Puzzles, riddles, and information gathering?

What is the Big Bad Guy (BBG)?

• Is it an organization? One powerful individual running the show? A corrupt noble family? A foreign invader? Or even a group of bandits knocking at the door? A misunderstood person? Someone who is doing wrong things for a good reason?
• The BBG doesn't have to be a single individual and can comprise multiple individuals.

What is the objective of the BBG?

• To rule the Empire, Kingdom, or even world? To seek revenge? Do they hate the world and want to see it burn? Are they trying to resurrect their old master? Do they want riches? Or are they simply seeking to control everyone and exert power?
• Their objective could be nearly anything that contradicts the character's morals or ethics.

How do the player's characters get involved?

• Are they in the wrong place at the wrong (or right) time? Do they have a connection in their backstory that connects to the BBG? Are they hired by someone to hunt down the BBG or investigate events related to the BBG? Do they stumble upon an event connected to the BBG?
• A nice way to keep the players engaged (besides the fact that it's a game, and to play, they have to be engaged) is to learn about their personalities and backstories so you can weave them into the story. Make them want to seek out your clues and events because their character would be interested, not just because it progresses the story.

The Important Session Zero

Once you have the idea for your campaign written up and have at least the beginning session's plot points aligned, it's time for Session Zero. This session is one of the most important ones you will have during your campaign. It is essential because it is when your players create their characters and start developing their backstories. You get to learn who your players will be and what fun aspects of their story you can incorporate into the main story.

During Session Zero, ensure that you explain to your players the type of campaign they will be participating in. Inform them of any restrictions you have for their characters, if applicable. Let them know where they will be starting in the world so they have an idea of the environment and can incorporate how they got there in their backstory.

This session will provide you with the necessary information regarding the type of characters that will be in the campaign and how you can twist and manipulate their backstories to better the main story.