War is one of the predominant themes in fantasy literature. The push and pull of opposing forces, adrenaline, and death fascinate writers and players alike. As such, these themes are often examined from behind the safety of a page or, in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons' case, a DM sc🦩reen. Some of the most powerful st▨ories in fantasy have been told through the lens of a returning king, soldier, or spy.

Many Dungeon Masters may find themseജlves at a standstill when trying to create a story based around one. Because the concept of war in fantasy is so heavily explored, there are at least a hundred ways to handle one, so here are a couple of ideas to consider when building your war campaign.

Why Is War Happening?

Any self-respecting fantasy novel based around battle will tell you upfront what the problem is between the two factions, and then slowly reveal undercurrents. Your story may have a greater impact if you do the same. Wars can be started because of various things: resource allocation or confiscation, differences in ideology, revenge, and economic or territorial disputes.

In t༒he case of kingdoms or societies in which there's a ruler who believes they have a divine right, you can even go ahead and claim: "We're fighting because my god told me to."

Fantasy also allows you to create a setting for war in which the enemy is a Really Big Dragon or an Ancient And Evil Threat that the nations of your campaign must band together and fight. That, too, can be your war. Either way, decide why this confrontation must be fought, so you aren't left scratching your head when the more inquisitive players start poking aroꦜund and asking.

After you decide on the big reason for the conflict, you can start adding in little, supplementary reasons.

Maybe one nation is revealed to have access to a magical mineral that can craft particularly potent weapons, or maybe the daughter of one king refuses to marry the prince 🤡o🥃f the other realm, and the bigger reason is a front for hurt feelings.

You can make these reasons as silly or serious as you like, and chances are, they'll have some basis in fact that will make them plausible. T🔥his possibility will add layers to your conflict an🐠d let your players decide what to do.

Types Of War

War is complicated, even in fantasy. To craft a campaign based around it, you may find yourself trying to decide the setting or events of your war, which will be entirely dependent on the type of war happening.

Is your war being fought by a small group of rebels against a monarchy? You may find yourself utilizing spies and destroying supply routes. Your players will be running from area to area. Is your war between two monarchies? You may need to develop your leaders or decide who's currently winning and where. Your players may be holed up in fortresses or running sie😼ges.

Here are some examples.

What Are The Rules Of Your War?

If you want to get more complicated with it, set up lines that your players can't cross. Mechanically, this will be engaging, but interpersonally, it could also serve as an 'X card' of sorts. More plainly, it could keep your players from going too far.

Chances are, you're going to be playing more Lord of the Rings than Band of Brothers, but it's good to have ꦛthese things outlined just in case!

You may also want to decide how magic or magical creatures are handled, since they're both an integral part of Dungeons and Dragons. Are mages allowed to fight or are they encouraged to? Can one side use a dragon if they convince it to fiౠght?

Decide The Party's Role

Here's where you have more room to play. Once you've sorted the big picture and the type of war campaign you want to run, you can decide what your players will be doing.

If you're unsure, narrowing the scope of the actions you want them to take may be less overwhelming. If you've seen media where a team is sent in to do s𓆉pecific jobs, this is more or less an uncomplicated way to tackle this type of campaign.

Your players can act as a type of special force, which will broaden the scope of what you can have them do, whether it's parlaying with an enemy or stealing explosive powder off a ship. You can also make your players assassins, spies, or protectors of certain assets. For a lighter tone, perhaps your party is assigned𝓡 to protect the future heir and shenanigans eꦗnsue.

Another great way to handle your party's role would be to have them fight certain NPCs one-on-one, advancing the storyline as they defeat bosses or small groups of enemies. You can have them go behind enemy lines to incorporate stealth, or you can have them do it amid a battle.

Mechanics

Keeping it small makes it easier to manage, but you may also like the idea of expanding and running big, Game of Thrones-type battle sequences. There are a couple of great resources online for this, but one of the better ones is from DM Matt Coleville's Kingdoms and Warfare, which explains in detail how infantry o🃏r aerial units may work.

If you're less detail-oriented, you may want to assign stat blocks to groups or treat groups using swarm mechanics. You can give your players areas to control or🌠 units to command and set them loose.

Creating NPCs

A war campaign provides you with tons of avenues to create fleshed-out characters and will he♏lp your players care about the world the🍸y're fighting to defend.

A good way to start with NPC creation is to decide right away why they've joined the war. This can be 𒁃anything from a mercenary who only cares about money t♓o the queen of the nation.

Adding a complication to their story can make for a fascinating character for the players to interact with (i.e. the mercenary has a grudge against the commander of the player's army and the queen is newly appointed upon the previous monarch's assassination) or can lead to side quests (the mercenary will turn again𓃲st this commander and asks the party to help, or the queen will ask the party to seek out the assassin).

Here are ten ideas for NPC-driven sidequests for your convenience:

A war campaign provides endless tropes to pull from, so check wikis or discussion forums to see what types of characters you want to introduce. Another fantastic aspect of a war campaign is that you have a built-in Big Bad Evil Guy, or, BBEG. This can be a rival general, a vizier, a monarch, an archmage,ꦏ or a usurper.

But is the BBEG wrong? This is entirely up to you!

Determining Victory

The point of the war campaign, ultimately, is to end it. So how is victory determined? As DM, you'll have to decide what the player's actions have caused. This can lead you to make your players play diplomat, brokering peace among previously hostile groups. Not only does this end the campaign on a bittersweet note, but it's a great way to let your players have a hand in the aftermath.

How does this work in your campaign? Does victory only come after a long series of battles, or does it happen once one side has an ancient, magical artifact? Figure out the terms of a surrender, and what your party will have to do to ensure it. This can help guide your campaign.

The aftermath of a war is an important aspect of a war campaign, as it can set up a second story. Ask yourself if ☂your player's actions have created a ripple effect or if they've merely put a bandage on the real source of the pain.