How would I go about doing a campaign set in the souls universe?
I have decided on using D&D as a base but I don't know how I would go about keeping players invested without railroading to hell and back
>>46369279
>I have decided on using D&D as a base
And that was your first mistake.
Use whfrp as base2e of course
>>46369817
No, his first mistake was asking about 'the Souls universe' as if all the games take place in the exact same setting, which is patently untrue even if you discount King's Field from qualifying as part of the 'series'.
D&D was his second mistake.
>>46369279
What aspects of the souls series do you like?
Set in the souls universe, using the same themes as the souls settings or following a similar plot to the souls games? because those are three very different questions
>>46369279
Do not use DnD.
Feel free to use Dark Souls themes and elements. And then use >>46369873
>>46369279
Just don't use game locations
>lol I shoot the dragons tail to get the sword
>>46369279
There's ultimately two choices in souls (or three perhaps)
1. fuck fire
2. fuck dark
3. fuck both we grey fog now
So that's the ultimate goal your players are working towards and there should be enough variance here that they don't lose interest.
Don't wanna go on a quest to link the fire? Whoops you opted into the Age of Dark ending, what now bitches?
Don't want the age of dark? Thenn you best be linking the fire.
Don't want either? Then you need to go out and find the hidden third option.
Things in the souls series, or at least the games that matter :^), tend to naturally lead into each other pretty well.
In the first game the player completes oscar's quest because those were his last wishes and they seem to make sense, then you find out that there are actually two bells, then you talk to frampt who tells you to go get the lordvessal which leads to you meeting the fake gwynevere who tells you to succeed gwyn and then frampt tells you that to succeed gwyn you need to go collect the other lord souls and then you link the fire.
>>46369279
>I have decided on using D&D as a base
Just give up now.
>>46370503
>linking the fire
>age of dark
>grey fog
>not just going full Bed of Chaos and making your own First Flame
>>46370580
>implying the flame of chaos is bright enough to light the world
me and my black knights are gonna wreck your shit
>>46370580
>your own first flame
>with blackjack
>and hookers
>>46369279
>I don't know how I would go about keeping players invested
According to the laws of the universe, undead who lose a sense of purpose are the ones who go hollow, so use a system that has an "insanity" system and use that to prod them along towards whatever the fuck they think their goal should be.
>>46370580
What ever could go wrong?
>>46369279
I'm currently trying to do something similar. However I am not using the actual setting. I instead want to implement themes from the games like constant threat, the sense of inevitable demise and ambiguous metaphysics into my campaign. That should be easier. Let's see how it works out.
>>46369279
As someone who loves Souls and Dnd, Dnd is a TERRIBLE system to try to emulate Souls on. Dnd is a heroic fantasy system. The most you can emulate in Dnd without reworking the system is maybe some low fantasy, but that's still pretty heroic-tier. And honestly, there's not a lot of reason to emulate Souls as a ttrpg. The most you can do is borrow it's themes and tone and use it in, I dunno, whrpg?
So how would you go about this anyway? I mean, do you just DM for one guy alone? Or go with a party? Because the latter seems somewhat not really fitting for the Souls experience, barring the occasional co-op.
You don't
The souls series is all about the tireless march of undeath and the heavy oppression that comes with struggling through unsurmountable odds and coming back from the dead time and time again until you finally triumph.
>players
>i cant die?
>yolo!
>>46370303
I disagree, it would be funny to see people try and Meta-game it, but fail a dodge roll or something.
>A demon guarding the tower? Good thing I chose the master key!
>I'll just open the door below and skip the Parish!
>Roll for initiative against Havel.
>>46371444
I'm also planning something like this going mainly for the "people wandering through a hostile environment in the name of some obscure goal" idea
>>46369279
This gives me the urge to run a campaign that's basically exactly Dark Souls. Maps and NPCs would be the same. Would love to see where the players end up to. What should I change to make it work?
As for game system, DnD doesn't work IMO.
WHFRP 2e would probably be the best. It would also give the players a nice background.
There's a contradiction to Dark Souls gameplay tho. Trial and error is hard to bring in to the game since your tactical actions don't have that much to do with whether or not you will hit the monster, as opposed to DaS-style combat where you dodge/block and utilize brief moments to make a sure hit count.
>>46370239
>>46370247
I should reiterate because I worded the post poorly and I hadn't got sleep all night and I may or may not have been heavily drinking.
The goal is to have a campaign with the same themes of hopelessness and shit with a somewhat similar plot.
I plan on going full on original with only some allusions to the series itself. None of my players have played souls and a good dose of hopelessness is a good kick in the nads after the happy go lucky we always end up with.
>>46369873
I'll look into it
>>46370741
Interesting idea, this can tie in decently with how I'm handling death. (die x amount of times in a row and you go hollow. TPKs are TPKs.
>>46371770
it's a party of four
>>46372354
I've told them ahead of time they can't truly die in the campaign but there will be heavy consequences.
I think I'll do the hollowing meter thing. Each player has a max hollowing number that may be smaller or larger depending on stats like willpower and such.
Certain actions gain or lose points in hollowing. Death gives a shitton.
I'm eager to hear more responses. Never really occurred to me that DnD might not be good for souls. I mean I know NOW since the games are rather lacking in realism.
I might wait to see how the bloodborne rpg turns out and adapt it from that
If it's a party of four you could perhaps encourage characters who are destined to take up one of the great souls each.
That could be an interesting plot to roll with rather than a party of chosen undead.
Maybe the seek to rid the land of tyrants but in turn become them. Suits the bleak and hopeless nature of souls.
>>46373278
3 players would be better,as the 4th soul is different,and everybody has it
>>46372846
In case someone goes down, the remaining party could maybe drag them back to the bonfire (or equivalent) to revive them there with less hollowing than a plain respawn, so a TPK is even more punishing and retreating/retrying might be more of an option, as well as a reward if they still manage to clean up a messed up encounter.
To bring the hopeless part: sometimes throw something even more terrific on the way back to the bonfire to make the running away even more intense.
>>46369279
>I have decided on using D&D as a base
S T O P
>>46369279
I feel that I need to suggest Song of Swords.
>>46369279
Watching Let's Plague Dark Souls is mandatory, as PlagueofGripes essentially does a writing and thematic dissection and explains a lot of the themes for people who don't u derstand or miss the thematic elements
Also, shitting on katanas, which all good fa/tg/uys enjoy
>>46380194
As funny as his animations are, holy fuck is this guy abrasive.
>>46369279
Well you could have it that they all hail from a specific region and are on a quest to get X, find X or kill X and have them go off from there to see what they do.
depending on your setting you could have them engage with a bunch of NPCs, ones who may or may not have the Darksign and are on pilgrimages or were outright banished.
>>46370069
But anon with the exception of Bloodbourne they all do...
>>46369279
http://gameswithothers.blogspot.com/2014/03/dark-souls-video-game-table-top-role.html
This has some interesting thoughts on the matter, so do a variety of this persons posts under the "dark souls" tag
>>46380194
>Let's Plague Dark Souls
Is this guy supposed to be obnoxious? Is that his shtick?
Set it during the tail end of the age of fire. When everything is going to shit but people still believe in hope, and not quite everyone turns undead.
>>46380194
>Watching Let's Plague Dark Souls is mandatory
God no, god fucking no, no, no, no- His lets play is awful.
His animations and sense of humor and scripted stuff is amazing, just fantastic.
His lets play of dark souls is terrible though, it's fucking awful- it's HORRIBLE.
He comes off as horribly abrasive, dumb, unfunny and it's just terrible.
The world is going to shit.
People are still around, but everything is just gray and lacking in luster.
All the glory and amazing events happened centuries ago, and if you're very lucky you might get to see the bleached bones of such a glory on your journey.
In fact, what is that journey? To keep the world from going to shit by adding fuel to the fire.
You only discover at the end that the fuel is you.
Dark Souls is about rusty swords, empty throne rooms and mangy dragons.
>>46380194
Eh... That's an okay one to podcast, but actually watching it? No thanks. By his own admission, he spends most of the screentime bitching about tiny details in the level design. While he does offer some literary insights, there's a LOT of dirt to sort through to find those nuggets.
Wanna do it right? Just drop your players in a massive interconnected dungeon where the weakest individual encounter is CR 5 and the players start as level 1 (you get strong pretty quick in the souls series) and don't explain shit really other than 'You guys woke up here'.
Super high lethality and when they die, their XP zeroes out to the base needed for their current level, they awaken back at the closest campfire (which should be sparingly located) and just keep being as brutal to them as your possibly can with no real hope anywhere.
No resting, even short ones outside of the campfires and enemies respawn if they rest.
That is a Dark Souls game.
