Just became obsessed with the idea of running 1-shot DnD campaigns using the characters from the fantasy novel I wrote two years ago
How dumb is this idea? Anyone ever done something similar?
For context, the characters of the novel are basically already a DnD group:
>A tiefling warrior (DPS)
>A tiefling archer
>A human warrior (tanker)
>A human sorceress (DPS)
>An elf rogue
>An elf druid (healer & DPS upon cat form)
>A tiefling warlock (mostly utility rituals)
My idea is simply to make the characters and let players pick one at the beginning of each session
>How dumb is this idea?
Very dumb, for a moltitude of reasons. In order for having that flying you need a group of friends that...
1) could be interested in following whatever linear story you want to dish out to them (as i assume it would be because you literally wrote a novel about);
2) would be interested in interacting with your original work (admittedly the easier prerequisite to fulfill);
3) agree into using, not only pregens, but fully fleshed out ocdonutsteel characters and swap them in between sessions
Not impossible ma probably a futile. Ttrpgs are a group endeavour, not an outlet for your unfulfilled writerboner.
Thanks for the input!
>3) agree into using, not only pregens, but fully fleshed out ocdonutsteel characters and swap them in between sessions
Well, the idea started off already as a 1-shot w/ pregen characters. This is because I want to introduce this kind of games for more casual people (namely, the GFs of my gaming buddies). And in my experience, pregen is highly underrated and can be quite fun
I'm ofc not expecting any player to act out the character as they are on the novel. The sentence "your character wouldn't do that" is not a sentence that would be used, ever
>2) would be interested in interacting with your original work
In that regard, it's not much different than playing on a homebrew world, which many groups do already. Plus, the novel actually takes place on my homebrew world that my friends have been playing in for 15+ years
Could also be highly interesting experience to the few people who did read the novel, and maybe motivate others who might want to give it a try
>1) could be interested in following whatever linear story you want to dish out to them
>(as i assume it would be
Oh it's not a linear story at all! Or barely a story lol
The first session I have in mind is based on a chapter where the group searches an abandoned castle for a specific magical item. So the 1-shot game would simply have that premise "you are at the entrance of an abandoned castle, you need to find a specific magical item". The contents of the castle itself will probably wildly change to improve gameplay
So the goal of the game is: find the item, get out of the castle alive & with the item
>Ttrpgs are a group endeavour, not an outlet for your unfulfilled writerboner
Tbh, all my friends are outlets for my unfulfilled creative boners XD
>I make board games and I use my friends for playtest
>I make custom MTG expansions and I use my friends to play them out
Throughout the years, I've created a reputation as the guy who creates random new (& fun) stuff
>1 shot
>campaign
>using characters from a fantasy novel I wrote
Might want to figure out what words mean and how they work before you write a novel.
No bait. I'm seriously considering this, 90% chance I will do it sometime next month
Only thing standing in the way of it is the fact I got other priorities (such as working on my other games - in fact, I was just now running a blind playtest for one of my board games)
You sir surely cares a lot about the geopolitical situation in the Lournes
The Forbidden Forest has a big role on the first novel (the DnD session would be based on the sequel). A lot of things happen on this forest (many chapters), and the protagonist becomes scarred (both literally and figuratively) from those things
But since you asked...
>Why do you have a major city
The capital of Beralourne used to be another city (namely, Falcon Reach on pic related). But during the Tiefling War, Falcon Reach was captured and suffered heavily losses, and Hisenhorn became the major standing city specifically because it's located on a shitty place to invade
>7 roads leading into the forbidden forest?
Those are rivers. They run out of the forbidden forest
>If it's forbidden shouldn't there be 0 roads to it and 0 people in it?
"Forbidden" is relative. The Forbidden Forest, also known as Berawoods (and other names), belongs to Beralourne and has historically been the domain of house Hisen of Hisenhorn. It is therefore foreign territory to the people living in Teralourne and Siralourne, while also being a reserved place for hunting, fur trapping & other stuff (only people who have House Hisen's authorization to hunt/etc in there can do). On the 1st novel, the cast finds a set of human brothers who were arrested for illegal hunting there
As I mentioned, during the Tiefling War, it was this forest that provided Beralourne a way to resist the tiefling invasion and wait out until they could fight back. This was actually not the first time this has happened - historically, over and over again other states failed to invade the Forbidden Forest, further granting the name
Nice bait OP
Why do you have a major city and 7 roads leading into the forbidden forest? If it's forbidden shouldn't there be 0 roads to it and 0 people in it? You should rename it the "Mildly Discouraged Forest".
(You)
If I may also add some inserts from the 1st novel:
>Despite its name, the Forbidden Forest was a fairly safe route for them, especially considering they would only travel through the southeast edge of the woods. There, they would probably be too far from Hisenhorn to run into any patrolling soldiers from Bera. Additionally, the woodland was outside the borders of Siralourne and beyond the domains of Fynhowl, which hopefully forbid the knights hunting the group from chasing them through the woods.
- Telja's thoughts
>“There are only two larger rivers on the Forbidden Forest that flows east, milady.”, Arthor stepped in, moving a little closer to Telja. “The Scaled River to the south and Woodsheart to the north. And based on the distance we have traveled so far, this must be the latter.”
-Arthor, to Telja
>“This forest…”, said the woman with a fainted voice. “I fricking hate this forest.”
-Telja
>“Past the forest’s edge is Beralourne.”, another knight mentioned. “Is it wise to march two hundred men into the land of another lord, let alone another lourne?”
-Random knight, to Sir Thorious
>“I am Darann, and I speak on behalf of Lord Hisen, ruler of Hisenhorn and liege of all Beralourne.”, the man proudly announced. “And who are you, foreigner?”
-The Envoy, to Tarakumih of Baradá
the honor system forest
>forbid the hunting knights who hunt the group in the forbidden forest from pursuing the party (their prey) through the woods of the forbidden forest in which they were hunting them (the party).
>a fainted voice
Trips proclaim your writing skill. I beg of you OP, do not hasten to realise this fel notion. Not for sake of mine or thine, but of your guiltless players.
Although running it as an AU might be fun, for you as well as the players
I'm an alright writer at best. My true calling is game design
Writing though is way more than just prose. It's character creation & voice, overall plot, pacing, etc. I have had mostly good reviews from readers so far (though none of my novels are final yet, it's all a manuscript still)
Only bad review though was this (I paraphrase):
>I read the beginning of your novel and I didn't like it. Then I tried to read a(nother) friend's novel and that's when I realized how well you write. My (other) friend's novel was a shitshow
Also, worth noting I'm not a native English speaker. That certainly adds a big barrier/challenge in writing in English
>Although running it as an AU might be fun
What is AU, if I may ask?
Not familiar with the term
>esl
Ah, that might be it.
AU is alternate universe. Like playing through LotR but Gandalf gives the ring to Merry and Pippin instead, and Legolas takes them to Mordor. Framing it as a “non-canon” scenario would give it the freedom to be an actual game instead of an extended semi-interactive book reading, while letting you retain the setting and characters.
>esl
>Ah, that might be it
🙂
>AU is alternate universe
Not sure if it makes sense calling it that since I'm the owner of the original content lol
>Framing it as a “non-canon” scenario would give it the freedom to be an actual game
But virtually, that's the idea. I'm not trying to reenact the book - I really just want to make a 1-shot game with pregen characters. That's the core of the idea
Only later on I had the thought of just using the characters of the novel for the pregen, which sounds like it would be a lot of fun for me, plus it gives the characters more personality (rather than being completely generic characters). The idea of doing one of the chapters only came in because there's one chapter that happens to be perfect for it (the overall plot of the chapter is that this same cast of characters go into a haunted castle searching for a macguffin)
But by no means I intend to remain true to the novel:
>The cast is 7 characters but I will probably try to run it with only 3~5 players (each player picking their character, rest of the characters will just not be used)
>On the novel, the Duskar Keep (haunted castle) is "designed" to fit my narrative (within reasonable logic for the reader), while for the game, I will completely rework the place to function as a fun dungeon (so more variety of monsters/encounters, maybe traps, puzzles, etc)
>I also thought it would be a good idea to have one of the first rooms be an armory, where players can change their equipment if they want (so they are not stuck with whatever the character from the novel uses)
>The session will have a very low roleplay factor, it's what I call a "dungeon crawler" (so it focuses mostly on combat and problem resolution). I will put some info on each character's personalities, but that's merely a suggestion for the player IF they even want to roleplay (sometimes newer players find it hard to do so)
>I'm also ignoring some relationship factors
Go for it then. Sounds like a fine time in my book.
ALSO
I want to have the freedom for deaths, if needed. As a DM I'm not a big fan of killing off characters (far from it), but I want that to remain an equal possibility for all characters/players. It would be ultra unfair/unfun if some characters were bound to die or survive from the gecko
There's also one thing I haven't decided yet: the actual book chapter ends on an ambush/betrayal, where shit hits the fan and two characters die. But using this event in the game might be anti-climax (and be a spoiler for those who might be interested in the novel afterwards). So I might skip this part entirely
I'm really looking forward to design the dungeon, and it's gonna be 100% focused on gameplay
Inserts are fun. I had honestly never tried taking them from my novels!
Here are the characters I will use on the DnD session:
>“Rhadamantys, isn’t it?”, a sweet voice called. “I know your friends all call you Locke, but a little bird told me your real name is not that, is it?”
-Angel (tiefling archer), to Locke
>“Sit tight, Angel.”, Kanya said before turning to the mage. “I should join them. I’m no use if I stay back here waiting. You can stay here with Angel and make sure she’s ok.”
-Kanya (tiefling warrior), to Lorelai
>"Blader is also from Inna – Lord’s Glade I think. In fact, don’t let the pointy ears fool you, ‘cause I swear that greedy fricker is more human than elf! But my girl Shenly is actually from the elven territories. Isn’t that right, Shenly?”
-Lorelai (human sorceress), to Angel
>“You know what, Lorelai?”, Blader commented. “You’re always calling me a greedy elf, but you’re a loose little mage, aren’t you?"
-Blader (elf rogue), to Lorelai
>“Lorelai, you stay here.”, Tyr ordered, his voice distorted by the dark magic over him. “Keep your barrier up and protect the girls. Me, Locke and Blader will go through the left. Shen’hai, you’ll go through the right. Wait for us to engage first, then strike them from behind, ok?”
-Tyr (human warrior), to the rest of the party
>“If it is for medicinal purposes, I see no harm, Tyr.”, Shen’hai replied with a refined lack of expression.
-Shen'hai (elf druid), to Tyr
>“Yes, your eminence.”, the warlock nodded from the other side of portal. “Our company operates with discretion.”
- Locke (tiefling warlock, about the party
>going on an adventure innalourne
>find myself innaport
well and truly kek'd
>Capital New York state is named New York
>88 different cities named Washington in the country, none of which are the capitals of Washington the state
RL city names are just as bonkers, if not more. We just get used to it
>“Both me and Tyr are from Innaport, which is… well... in Innalourne, obviously.”
>“How’s it over there?”, asked the warrioress.
>“Oh, you know… typical central-Lourne river town. Tall buildings, the eternal smell of fish, busy night life. I guess the main difference is that we get a lot more elves back in the west."
-Lorelai, to Kanya
Note that originally I didn't thought much of this city. But as I was trying to plan for a prequel, I decided to flesh it out. Turns out Lorelai was underselling it and it's a pretty wild city
And it has all sort of floating stuff:
>An arcane academy that floats in the skies above the city (the largest arcane academy in all of that map)
>A tavern that floats in the river and changes positions throughout the day; also, once per year, they have a tradition to go downriver into the next city, getting shitfaced during the trip, and fricking things up when they get there (obviously to say, the other city fricking hates people from Innalourne)
They also have the expression "go whaling", which is a slang for going to brothels. It comes from fishermen jokingly telling their wives they were out all night fishing for whales (since you can't fish for whiles on a river city)
>"Write a book"
>He actually writes the book
>Starts running games in it
Ah frick. They're evolving.
>He actually writes the book
Not one, but two! And a third one to come this year 😉
>Ah frick. They're evolving
Only after creating the thread that I realized the inception-ness of this whole thing (I made a homebrew setting, then I wrote novels on it, now I will be running games about the novel I wrote on top of the world I made to run games in)
Thx friendly kitten!
I'm excited! I have been wanting to do this "1-shot with precons" idea for years now actually, and now that I moved back to my hometown (3 months ago), I can easily pull this off because I have a wide range of people who might be interested on some nerdy shit like this
I wish you luck on this endeavour OP.
thassa lorra lournes
you sound autistic
Only bumping because I'll post the characters once I get them done
No diagnosis on that so far
>consoomer
Lol. I've been literally living an anti-consumerism lifestyle for my entire adult life, and this year I've finally reached the final stage where I get to retire at age 31 since living is cheap when you're not buying useless crap
you are a gay homosexual consoomer with plastic for brains
It's a stupid idea. You are going to become frustrated as your players fail to live up to the expectation you've set in your head about how the characters would act.
>how the characters would act
Characters will be made as pregen. I will make their sheets as they are supposed to be in the novel. Once the session starts and the player picks the character, it's entirely out of my hands
As mentioned here
, I even want to make it easy for players to change things (such as gear)
Good luck, OP. Setting a campaign in an universe you've invested so much on the lore is very rewarding. I can confirm.
>Setting a campaign in an universe you've invested so much on the lore is very rewarding
Yep! My experience tells me the same - though as long as you recognize that your players will be interacting with that universe in ways that you don't necessarily expect or/and approve (such as wanting to create characters using races or/and classes were not part of your vision)
Though honestly, this whole homebrew setting is full of other people's ideas (because I'm often stealing character ideas and incorporate them into the real setting)