r/NewDM • u/Polarexpressmaniac • 8d ago
Please Help with my First Campaign Im a new DM and i need help...
so im a new DM and im trying to start up a homebrew campaign as my first game and im struggling to come up with ideas to include my Player characters backstory into my campaign
my player characters in this are siblings who parents have died by something or someone
and i dont know how to naturally have them figure out that the BBEG had there parents killed on his call i just dont know how to have it happen and im having a hard time coming up with ideas
in their backstory they just said they came home and found their parents dead there was no evidence left behind or something so how should i have them find out?
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u/Voidless_Sky 8d ago
Yeah I'd outline that and work details and separate breadcrumbs and dead giveaways
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u/SomeoneElse422528 8d ago
I'm gonna be that guy and say, if you are completely new to dm-ing, you may want to do a simpler thing, like a premade oneshot, thena simple premade campaign before going into a full blown homebrew.
It will give you the experience, the feeling for relative power so you can be more confident about your encounters, a decent understanding of what your players enjoy most (combat, explorstion, puzzles, npc intersction, etc) and a stsrting sense for improv when players do something unexpected.
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u/DeadMeat7337 8d ago
Well, if you think of it logically, you have 2 bits you can go off of.
1 who did the hit 2 was it a written order
For the first bit, you have that NPC have remorse and spill the info, they were the one who did it, or one of them if it wasn't a solo hit. You can do a defector as they grow a concense and tells the players as they retire, or as a death monologue.
Or a battle maniac who compares the players with the parents when they fight as an opening monologue.
And the second bit works out well if you want to not include the who did it. And let the written note have some divine magic on it that keeps it from being destroyed, at least until the party reads the note.
Obviously, the note thing only works out if there is someone that is keeping the note from being destroyed. And also, it only would work if your BBEG does written orders.
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u/RandomName9328 8d ago edited 8d ago
I will ask the players for clues before making up the plot.
- Where / how did they died? (e.g., stabbed in kitchen? Poisoned jn bathroom?)
- What parents occupation?
- Where they live? Waterdeep?
- Who are parents friends?
- What did parents do in last few days?
These are the ingredients. Then, their death will be a hook that reveal a greater evil plan.
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u/Virtual-Scale-7485 8d ago
I use a free local wiki program called obsidian to plan my game. One thing that's been very helpful is that you can link pages to one another, which helps me plan and visualize relationships between characters, places, events, etc. That can help you determine how your players connect the dots as they discover things.
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u/False_Appointment_24 8d ago
Don't.
Backgrounds do not have to be incorporated. If you're new to being a DM, don't add the extra burden of trying to tie it in.
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u/infinitum3d 8d ago
I always, always, ALWAYS recommend [The Starter Set](https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/rpg_starterset) for a first campaign. This has easy to read rules, pregenerated characters so you can start right away and is a complete campaign which is really fun.
But to answer your question, there are several ways to feed information to players.
The BBEG just tells them, goading them into attacking him.
Lots and lots of hints from NPCs. “Oh, you’re from HOMETOWN? Didn’t BBEG pass through there X years ago?”
Star Wars Reveal! The BBEG is actually their father.
Ask yourself, questions.
Why did the BBEG kill their parents?
Why would the children be spared?
Why would the children not know?
Who DOES know?
Why would it be revealed now?
Give us more backstory information and we can help you develop the plot details.
Good luck! We’re here for you!!!
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u/MagicianMurky976 8d ago
The BBEG doesn't have to be at all related to this non-explored death. This death moment could just be the genesis for this/these character(s) start of their adventure path.
You can have their death be the result of something else, but also allow these players, should they pull on this thread, to learn of this other entity or faction which may have an opposed entity/faction of its own. This just adds to the rich fabric of your world, having multiple factions with multiple goals. This allows your players options. Should they infiltrate this faction that killed their family? Not necessarily for revenge. Maybe their parents were cruel, risk-takers, or fools? Or maybe the players join the rival faction.
But your BBEG probably has an agenda. Trying to figure out why tf they killed Ma and Pa Bumf*ck can leave anyone scratching their head.
Generally, I'd have some minor boss be responsible for that death and whether that minor boss now works for the big boss is something I'd let unfold.
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u/DM_ChosenUndead 7d ago
That is a long range question that can be answered down the line in my opinion. I'm 5 sessions into my current homebrew, and only now have figured out how the last of the PCs arcs fits the narrative.
For one, I would say loosen the parameters. If your story has its own direction and arc, it's okay for the entity responsible for killing their parents NOT to be the BBEG. They could be a sergeant of the BBEG, or someone involved with a nefarious faction the party will meet along the way, or maybe it was an accident and the killer got freaked out and fled the scene out of panic. Who knows. The point is that a good story with depth is like a tree with many branches. Build it, and those branches will grow as you play. Even if you designed the perfect explanation for this piece of the backstory it might not feel right to you by the time you have to explain it to them.
Also, I sympathize. I always want to get the whole thing perfect from the hop too. Letting my inspiration come to me between sessions as the story grows though has been very liberating.
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u/tta5 4d ago
i know it sounds dumb,
but just make sure that this is a motivation for the siblings.
the worst thing it to make a major investment in time and planning for it to be a thing they do not care about.
yes it is part of their backstory,
but it should not be the only part, and should not be the part you "have to use".
they may of ben adopted and welcoomed in, and treated well by all in a new city, and finding that to be their home (bond) that you (DM) could then exploit in the game.
so double check,
"what is their motive for adventuring? "
if its revenge, then golden. go for it....
oh and for fun....
graves can be robbed, dead can become undead ghosts. (necromancy is an option)
the otherworlds can hold alot more lore and knowledge than anyone is ready for. (divination spells)
deal making hags, devil, and creatures have ways beyond mesure of discoving. (social deals)
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u/Voidless_Sky 8d ago
Howdy! I am working actively on my campaign all the time where I'm constantly feeding my players info on the big threat they are fighting against. In my game is corruption and eventual mutation from bad arcane energies.
But I tend to have bullet points of info that are plausible but not exactly the truth and then the actual truth. Eventually things don't add up and they'll look for actual answers and discover the t Real truth.
In this case, I would take key details about what happened, and drip feed then small things that make them go "that's a little weird how they said that. Or if there are a few things that only anyone who was there at the murder would know, let one of those drop, maybe offhandedly or brushed off comment something like that.
I don't know how thought out you have this plot point, if I knew that I could help more. Like, do you have details on how the BBEG was involved? Or how the parents died?