I'm soon DM-ing a campaign for a group of noobs (nice noobs hopefully) in Faerun. They will start in Green Fields and if they feel like it, they can roam wherever they want.
Now I want to present a single artifact/item/story of setting lore each session. I want to make a list of these events.
My questions are:
- how should I do it
- what lore should I include
Obvious way are some interesting ruins. Perhaps bards singing tales? What else?
thanks
>>46197644
I'm guessing you're new as well?
Because one thing I've always found bad about RPGs, premade adventures and D&D especially is dungeon crawls.
Dungeons Crawls are fucking awful.
Anywway, as to presenting bits of lore:
- Legal dispute: someone the groups is friendly with has some kind of issue that is resolved by various parties trying to bring up history and precedent in their favor. This way, the exposition *it* the goal, so it won't feel forced. Pretty good if you want to bring up past nobles, military action or something about that would tie in to a place specifically.
- A well known seer has asked the party for help. They've discerned that a couple of minor fortune tellers have banded together and are trying to steal their power. Plot twists added according to whim. The reward could be a little money, but more importantly the location of something valuable.
- Professors from [Big City] believe they've found the relative position of an old warlord's tomb. They hire the party to help find the area described in their books and to help them get through anything that might be guarding it. Note: The tomb should be full of pottery, old mummified corpses, half visible writing that that should excite the researches to no end. If anybody in the group has Knowledge: History, this should be fascinating to them. Run this as a mindfuck place, with twisting corridors and maybe some kind of shape shifting entity stalking them. Bonus points if some NPCs have to stay behind to guard their supplies. Add minor magical trinkets for RP reasons and maybe one level appropriate weapon or armor at the end of it all.
- Minor regional cults that worship or pay reverence to people or events that were important. Depending on your timeline, stuff from Baldur's Gate is probably going to elicit at least *one* cult. I'd say go for two who have diametrically opposed views on what really happened. Cult infiltration and paranoia are always fun.
>>46197737
OP here.
Not, really new, have been playing and DM-ing for about 10 years. I just like to go into details and ask people for help becaus my brain < community brain.
>>46197644
- Old Elven oaths or promises could feature heavily. The beauty about vows sworn to bloodlines is that you can reference something from anywhere else and just say those people moved about, or are the heirs to the vow.
- Since you've played a lot, feel free to pepper the local history with tales of previous adventures you've had, or DMed. Maybe the name of a certain CE lolrandumb barbarian is a curse. For that matter, if you've ever TPK and not finished something, referencing that group and how they disappeared might be a good way to finally get around to it.
- Like the Elven promises above, Dwarven grudges. For extra fun, have the grudge be something recently discovered. The Dwarf clan ought to be on good terms and maybe even friendly with some human settlement, but now they have to go to war. Time for the party to either convince the dwarves their grudge was wrong, faked, or not worth it (if they're hardcore). Or to clear out the humans, one way or another.
- Ghosts manning the parapets of an old fort are seen every full moon. Local priests want to know what happened. Turns out an heirloom was stolen from the dead commander's tomb. Now it's a race to find out where it is and inter it, before the trail grows cold.
- Border skirmishes attract hungry abominations/magical beasts/monster of legend
>>46197644
About the regions: I like the idea to have a map that only shows what the players know (not as exact as a hex crawl).
Perhaps give them a map with only the starting zone, perhaps with some rough sketches in pencil of the well-known but far away locations.
Every time they hear something, they can update their map. If they visit a city or zone, they can draw the exact contours and underline the labels.
If they have or buy a map they can correct their old map and keep it for tracking their progress.
If they are new they will go Baldur's Gate, stop them they will nerd out and stagnate the game and drain your patience.
>>46199457
I'm really not afraid of that. I can deal with that.
