Creative Fantasy Campaign & Scenario Creation

Dungeons & Dragons, Pen & Paper Roleplaying Resources for DM's

Jun 9, 2009

Dragon Tails, Writing Campaign / Scenario, Fantasy, gabriel77, sxc

One of the most enjoyable things a dungeon master or game master can do is to invent their own game campaigns and scenarios for their respective players to enjoy.

While playing pre-made campaigns can be extremely fun for both the dungeon or game master as well as for the players, the restrictive nature of the campaign can be a chore sometimes and in many cases can stymie the imagination of the players as well as force a prerequisite amount of knowledge unto players who may or may not be familiar with the established canon of the game universe – examples being Dragon Lance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, White Wolf, and Eberron just to name a few.

Creating Your Own Scenario or Campaign, A Few Simple Suggestions

For a game group or dungeon master who has decided that they might want to try a hand at creating a campaign from scratch, it is always best to consider a few basic questions before beginning.

How many players will commit to this game session? It is important to know this because it will allow you to craft enough encounters, obstacles, and items to satisfy each of the player characters within reason.
What level are your player characters? This is obviously important for crafting items, figuring out the respective challenge level both of the monsters or villains as well as the roleplaying obstacles and non-combat dilemmas.
How many sessions do you want the scenario to run? This is vitally important given the increasing constraints of the "real world" into your gaming group. Some members may have shift work, scheduling difficulties, or by contrast your group may be extremely dedicated and reliable. Shorter campaigns are great for sporadic play, while dedicated groups may be able to stomach an epic!
What canon or genre do you wish to base the campaign on? Anything ranging from western to steampunk to modern to high fantasy to cyberpunk is on the table and it really is up to the game master or dungeon master to decide which genre this game will belong to. Many d20 systems currently have enough flexibility to be converted to these genres with relative easy with a few intelligent modifications, and premade rulesets exist abound both in comic stores as well as online in fan communities or even commercially.

Setting Pen to Paper: Crafting Setting, Plot, Monsters, and Items

Now the difficult part – actually setting pen to paper and creating a game world, a plot, villains and monsters or adversaries, and intriguing items and trinkets! While daunting, it is important to have a basic framework to ground your statistics and actual qualities upon before setting out, so be sure to refer to a general d20 DMG (Dungeon Master's Guide) or similar material to base your statistics on - there is simply nothing balanced, fair, nor fun about whimsically overpowered items or enemies.

If your loot and monsters are appropriately balanced with some fun outliers, those items may even be carried on to further campaigns. Powergaming – or the practice of awarding ludicrously overpowered items or gifts to player characters – is frowned upon by the roleplaying community in general and will not sit well with any future DM's the players may encounter.

Imagination, Atmosphere, Setting

Keeping a firm control on your statistics and letting your mind wax creative on the artistic and atmospheric aspects of your campaign will lend a realistic and immersive quality to your work that will not only be fun and rewarding for your player characters, but also for yourself as you get to see their reactions to your creations and to the scenarios you have laid out for them – as well as the intriguing possibilities that may arise as the player characters begin to inevitably "colour outside of the lines", figuratively speaking.

Campaign and scenario creation relies heavily on imagination and spontaneity laid over a statistically sound and fair framework that allows for suspension of disbelief – the crux of any fictional plot in both fantasy roleplaying as well as in speculative fiction. The rewards for such a large endeavour are great, so start brainstorming and consider a customized adventure for you and your gaming group!