How to write your first Dungeons and Dragons campaign

Ready to start creating a Dungeons and Dragons campaign? This video covers the five key areas I focus on when building my own campaigns.
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Music Credits: "Papov" by Yung Logos
Link: • Papov
Used in accordance with KZbin Audio Library guidelines
All artwork used in this video was either created by me using Inkarnate (inkarnate.com/) or is official artwork from 4th and 5th Edition Dungeons And Dragons - ALL copyright for these images belongs to Wizards of the Coast LLC (I own nothing) and is used here under Creative Commons (License: creativecommons.org/licenses/...) for the purposes of entertainment and education.

[@TalesArcane]

"Worldbuiling" 😭

[@squidy7207]

Make Worldbuiling easier with toays sponsor Worl Anvil!

[@TalesArcane]

@@squidy7207 I saw the spelling error literally the moment it finished uploading, absolutely fuming 😂

[@shuukenji6585]

@@squidy7207 What abut DungenDaft?

[@whiskeySe7en]

Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha OF COURSE there's a typo in the ice breaker video. OF COURSE!!!!! sorry, I definitely cackled like mad man. But of course I've been looking forward to your longer format vids. If you ask me this is a fantastic start. Looking forward to the next one😎😁

[@TalesArcane]

@@whiskeySe7en I swear I was ready to break some plates when I saw the error after publishing 😂 My 9-5 job literally involves editing other people's writing, so I have NO excuses. Glad you enjoyed the vid though, and thank you for sticking with the channel all the way through to this point!

[@crazyrussianman2128]

Don't change the world around the players. If they go to an empty cave instead of fighting the vampires in the castle, don't just say the vampires were living in the cave the whole time. Let them screw around in the cave. Then when they return they find the town has been raided by the vampires while they were gone. The villains should have a plan that the players interrupt. The vampires wanted to raid the town and the players would have stopped them if they were there. They weren't, so the villain's plan went ahead.

[@TalesArcane]

I think the middle ground is having something in the cave, just not the vampires. If my players go into an empty cave by accident, there's 100% going to be a monster in there, but that's just me 😁

[@crazyrussianman2128]

@@TalesArcane that's fair. I think the main point is to have a story that the players then interrupt. Without the players, the bbeg wins. If the player do nothing, the boss doesn't sit at the end of a dungeon forever.

[@saintjiubtheeradicator]

I like your way of thinking. Makes the players think about their actions and what effects they have on the world.

[@angelalewis3645]

@@saintjiubtheeradicator Yeah yeah!

[@Greg_Rock]

Step 1: The gang starts in a Tavern. Step 2: Rogue gets the party jailed. Step 3: Rogue gets the party un-jailed, with a bounty on their heads in this region. Step 4: Mandatory adventure to run from the po-po begins. Step 5: Encounter a goblin that coughs on the Wizard, killing him of 1d2 damage.

[@rasendestroyer2701]

I imagine a Coin can be used as a D2 😂

[@ajerqureshi6411]

This is not too far off from how our campaign is starting. Very first session we were prisoners for a band of sky pirates and made a daring escape, and spend the last two sessions on the run from them (and also killing a priest but that's a different story). We realized that we couldn't keep running from these guys for long, so now the party is going on the offensive and try to infiltrate one of their local hideouts to figure out who they are and what their plan is.

[@IWubYooz]

12 minutes is considered long form now? God, I'm old.

[@notbloodylikely4817]

For anyone wondering, the maps in the background are made with Inkarnate. I highly recommend this online resource. It's cut my campaign build time down massively and gives players plenty of eye candy.

[@briezeee]

Interesting.. thank you

[@RavenRvX]

Thank you for this mate..really appreciate it. I'm only beginning my DM journey so looking for anything that will make it a little bit easier, especially on time

[@johnx140]

Thanks man.

[@lj_aderyn]

I looked into it and it costs a bit of money that I unfortunately can't spare right now. Would you consider the free version of Inkarnate to be worthwhile? Or is it missing too many features in comparison to the Pro?

[@notbloodylikely4817]

@@lj_aderyn the free version is ok if you don't have the money. But there are lots of free floorplans and maps out there too.

[@themachbuster]

The more long form stuff is great! Very helpful for me, a homebrew dm who's starting out.

[@TalesArcane]

Thanks for saying so! Definitely doing many more full length vids like this one in the near future - it was so much fun being able to work outside of my usual 60 Second time limit 😅

[@themachbuster]

@@TalesArcane Man. You don't know how much this video is helping me. My whole campaign is "a realm of rejected" grimdark emotional fantasy. You have no idea how many ideas now come together because of your tips. Honestly, thanks so much!

[@ohwow9559]

howd it go? :)

[@tobiasburke9495]

I have never played DnD, but I still find all of these shorts and this longer video extremely entertaining and informative. Keep on keeping on!

[@TalesArcane]

I'm like that with MMOs - I barely play any multiplayer games, yet I'm constantly watching MMO reviews and videos about their game mechanics 😂 Glad you're enjoying the content!

[@anarchyahoy1363]

Never played any D&D, but the concept of creating my own campaigns and building worlds and DM'ing is incredibly fun. So much so that I've decided to write a one on one campaign for my partner to experience based on farming sim games we enjoy. I excel as a writer at building worlds and stories and improvising creative situations and I'm starting to really enjoy the process of creating campaigns. This video is super helpful! If the mini campaign I write up and put together for my partner goes well, I might expand it into something for lots of people to join. I love the concept of D&D but I love the concept of it being less rule heavy and more flexible. And I love creating my own worlds and npcs and plots. Having a specific set of rules catered to campaigns I've personally created sounds so much more fun. Thanks for the tips!

[@mikeb.1705]

This! This is how I run my games. No "railroady" overarching plot line, but instead I throw out a "sandboxy" handful of leads and let the players choose their own fate. Eventually they become fully invested in a single story arc (the players transform the story from "sandboxy" to "railroady" themselves), and from there it is easy to build that to a grand climax with an epic BBEG. Man, you have no idea how much grief I got in various D&D groups on FB when I told people this is how I run my game. Great video. New subscriber. Can't wait to see what else you have to share with us.

[@gallahad2889]

As someone struggling ALOT with getting things in order to kick off a homebrew campaign. This was incredibly concise and valuable information. Please continue these excellent guides! If you're taking suggestions (An in-depth guide of session prep for beginners with visuals would be incredible as it is under discussed and taught, and a walkthrough of building the aforementioned story arcs!) Thank you again!

[@ClocksTickin]

The way you packaged story arcs by combining various 3-4 smaller quests in a region to create influence in a region really clicked for me. I've heard and played this concept many times, but somehow you saying it made me really understand the power of structured story arcs and how they can add some gravity to side quests and help them feel like they still build towards a main quest end game. Thank you!

[@destrious8133]

I needed to hear that part about worldbuilding by sections. I have an awful habit of wanting to know EVERYTHING in my world before I even start. This video rules!

[@danielelsom9259]

I appreciate how you put this concept simply, succinctly, yet with enough variety that showed off the myriad of directions and forms a campaign can take. Thanks for the video!!!

[@TalesArcane]

Thanks for saying so! I think the hardest bit of these longer videos is giving enough info without rambling off on tangents 😅 Glad you found it useful!

[@farseeraradrel4808]

Dedicating time to the starting area of the campaign is very important because there's a high probability that the players will instinctively use that place as a refuge or base of operation (or something within that area). If they start in a small town, that town might become their primary source of income, ressources and informations. So it's important to focus on said town and filled it with places and details that your players can use. The entire politic of the town and its relationship to neighbouring area is not necessary, nor useful, at the start of the Campaign, but it should provide a few things for the players : -Somewhere to Rest (Especially Long ones. A Tavern or a House will do depending on the player's status). -Somewhere to get information (Like a Library, or even a Network if one of the players happen to be a Rogue or some sort of Criminal). This place doesn't need to be where the players gets all their info, but it's always rewarding for players to know they can check their intel or add more to it without waiting for Random NPC (and of course, you can control what information they find here and alter the truth). -Somewhere to shop for ressources and items. Nothing too fancy, but that's always important should the players require even basic equipement, like ropes or arrows. And finally, that area could (and should) possess places of familiarity to the players, something that either call to their Race or their Career choices. The Wizard can have a Library, the Dwarf a Forge, etc. It's not only an easy way to fill your town or kingdom with stuff that makes it alive, it also gives the players the sentiment that their characters belong to greater community, be it their people, species or career path. They can even represent interesting plot hook or NPC factories for your campaign. The players are likely to take any attack against the town more seriously if people important to them are placed in harm's way. Basically, flesh out the starting area cleverly to make it a living area, but also one that players have a reason to stay and call home. Of course, this doesn't apply to Adventurers with a Nomadic lifestyle (and even then, you could replace the Town with a Caravane the players have an habit to travel with).

[@patrickkinniburgh6429]

I enjoy the shorts and really want more of the longer content you are making great stuff here

[@lauraslusser8710]

I love these longer videos, it was great to have a lot of advice in one place.

[@MrTristantheking]

Fantastic to see you do longer form videos!

[@davidu8283]

Excellent video, ideas and info! I've learned alot and have enjoyed your shorts for sometime now and look forward to more long videos in the future. Your channel is super helpful. Thank you!

[@kostas5180]

Great job, look forward to the next one!

[@MrZombieUK]

Have been waiting for a longer video and you dropped it like a bomb!!! Great content and looking forward to the next one.

[@haydenhusman7847]

I love your longer videos great work!

[@petersmith1190]

Great stuff man, very helpful and well delivered. Looking forward to more

[@VenomousMoses]

This was awesome! Especially for your first long form video! I feel I learned a lot and look forward to future ones!

[@jamesblount3143]

Love the long form video, the shorts are great too. Thanks for the inspiration

[@joeprint]

Love the long form, keep up the great work! Thank you for all the awesome tips and advice .

[@DungeonsAndDrams]

Fantastic job! Looking forward to more!

[@TheeIronDuck]

Great vid. Cant wait to see more.

[@Ultraegehan25]

these tips are AWESOME, thank you for explaining everything in a cohesive way

[@acoolyoutubechannelname8504]

This is actually super helpful as I just started to write a campaign. The modular story arcs is brilliant and I never thought of using them like that. Look forward to your future videos!

[@danjbundrick]

Beautiful video. Thank you so much for making it! I wish I could play in one of your campaigns with you!!!

[@sirgideonofnir6840]

Love this video my guy! Would love more of these

[@foughtcleric6144]

I love your shorts and I especially love this transition into long form videos, I mostly just lurk on youtube but wanted to show you some support and I hope you keep it up

[@AaronSteinPittsburgh]

Just wanted to say, your vidoes have been just fantastic and inspiring and have really spoken to the way I design my own campaigns. Keep up the great work and I look forward to what you have coming in the future be it long or short form!

[@kratoast9469]

Yay yay yay! So glad you’ve decided to make longform content. So helpful!

[@dkdrock456]

Good video! There's some solid starting advice here, I look forward to you going further in depth for each aspect.

[@seanknox5785]

Man! Thank you You really got my juices flowing. I’m a new DM to be and I was pretty spooked but now I’m pretty pumped! I need more ideas though I wish you had a part 2

[@redraikotsu8633]

Keep up the awesome work. You've given this player the last push he needed to take a crack at it!

[@Lewel4774]

Hey thanks for this very good video ! It's my first campaign creation and I'm just browsing through all videos of this kind, I just had to thank you for your truly insightful advices. Much love !

[@Pie-ed6nh]

I'm over a year into dming a self written campaign. And this was still super helpful!

[@Aleksandrus12]

Thanks, I'm actually going to start writing my first longer campaign. I think this will help!

[@sebastiansantiago26]

Hey man, thanks a lot for your videos! I've been thinking about mastering for my friends at last, instead of just baiting them I would, and your content is really inspiring and useful for me. So, seriously thank you very much for what you have been doing, and keep up the amazing work!

[@tilletges9331]

That is all great advice, I have been playing about a year now and am starting to get my own campaign up and running after I have finished frozen sick with my group. They have given me great plot opportunities with their backstories. And for days I have been thinking about how to put that together an swirl my way around my difficulties. This video helped a lot. Thank you

[@Bert_G_Orin]

This is some good information. Awesome video!

[@The-Real-Monkey-D-Luffy]

This was a good video man! Keep it up.

[@deadsparrow132]

Awesome! I've been looking for your first longer video for a while now and I wasn't disappointed :D

[@TalesArcane]

Really appreciate you sticking with the channel while it was just Shorts! Hope you found this one useful 👊

[@samuelsheffield1887]

bro this video is sick thank you so helpful on where to start

[@joshporter6853]

Great bit info, for my first campaign this weekend! Cheers dude!

[@mizuneko4201]

Hearing you mention how to give a twist to a story was great! I’m currently making my first ever campaign and my players voted for it to be a pirate adventure. I jumped in excitement when I heard you mention the same thing :)

[@Seth1459]

Good stuff! Your shorts have given me a lot of ideas for encounters and plot hooks to use in a game I'm hoping to run sometime later this year. Keep up the good work!

[@TalesArcane]

Glad you're enjoying the content mate! I've got plenty more to come 😁

[@Naugway]

I would love to have a copy of your world map. It looks incredible. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insight. It has helped me very much. Though you did make me feel like I didn't know what I was doing and I have been running games for the last 35 years. Thank you again.

[@circlepit4598]

Fantastic breakdown! I came straight here after taking notes on your how to build a quest video. Anyway love your content bro keep crushing it 💪✊

[@Griff1011]

Oh hell yeah, long content! A little more of your personality is able to come through when you're not so limited on time, which is awesome. Looking forward to more!

[@cannyjim908]

This was helpful!! Drove home some thoughts I’d already been having but really helped me with the “Endgame” the “Grand Arc” and how to handle that.

[@ryanschuh1756]

This video was amazing so much I can implement into my campaign im starting this'll be so much fun

[@jamesbrander2867]

So happy I came across your channel! I’ve always run modules and just started a home brew campaign. Your advice and tips have really helped me, cheers mate!

[@TalesArcane]

Really glad to hear that mate! Homebrew can be SUCH a rewarding experience - it can be a rabbit hole of world-building and lore writing, but it's a fun rabbit hole to go down 😁

[@simonl9767]

An amazing video, it is very useful for me as a DM who creates his own world

[@createdman9889]

You are right. I am excited for next month!!! 😃

[@loganshockey4041]

One of my favorite youtubers. Can't wait for these longer vids. Great work man keep it up bro!

[@TalesArcane]

Really appreciate the support mate 😁 Comments like this keep me motivated to get more content out - so thank you!

[@grantshumaker6672]

found your stuff on instagram and i cant get enough of it. please keep it up! you're awesome!!

[@TalesArcane]

That's great to hear mate, glad you're enjoying the content! Good to know that the Instagram is getting some reach as well, I'm always curious about how people stumble on my stuff

[@colemanolenick1999]

Currently trying to create some stuff for a duet campaign myself, so this is really helpful. Keep up the awesome work!

[@TalesArcane]

Glad you found it useful mate!

[@davetothemax3845]

great video, even for someone more experienced, nice work man!

[@viniciuscostabulhoes6385]

Great content my guy

[@carolgarcia4295]

This was great, very helpful!

[@CelticCubby]

Excellent video. Thank you.

[@angelalewis3645]

Hey Tales Arcane, this is the first video I’ve ever seen from you. I love your low voice, no cuss words, and great advice! Subscribed!

[@RSVSREV3RSE]

Awesome video! looking forward to more!

[@TalesArcane]

Glad you enjoyed it, mate! Learned a lot in the process of making this one, so I'm very excited to start on the next vid and apply some it 😁

[@Micsma]

I love this stuff. Yup. I've been working on a campaign setting for about a month now, just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

[@drook1]

I really like theses longer videos I hope you do more and keep doing the shorts maybe you could do a video on how to make a good dungeon or other things to help people I am a new dungeon master and these videos are really helpful

[@XxPjaypitxX]

Great video! As a new DM myself running my first homebrew campaign, these are some very helpful tips!

[@TalesArcane]

Really glad to hear that, mate! Homebrew can be so much fun, hope the video helps in future games 💪

[@chloefogelson3297]

Fantastic stuff!

[@dark_SDKR]

love that world map of yours... super interesting.

[@joshuastebbing7408]

Looks like a camera upgrade! Looking forward to longer videos like this mate

[@hazarkaradas4050]

This vid is so great! Keep up the good work! (also i want that video about questlines too, don't forget that)

[@heythatsmika6498]

love the video! excited to see what comes next

[@TalesArcane]

Thank you mate! Many more to come 😁

[@heythatsmika6498]

@@TalesArcane glad to hear it!!

[@aguy4124]

Absolutely golden info

[@TalesArcane]

I appreciate that mate! Glad you found this one useful 💪

[@ReustersPlace]

This could be broken into smaller videos of the same length. It’s the most comprehensive and clear explanation of a process that seems overwhelming when started. Thank You

[@xander7023]

Awesome video! You mentioned the concept of “real time travel” in the video, could you expand on that, perhaps in another video? I’d be really curious how I can make that work without just repeating “you walk though the woods” ad nauseam for a session 😅

[@TalesArcane]

Real Time Travel is a big factor in how I structure my campaigns, so I think that'll be one of the next videos I do, absolutely. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@henriksebring7633]

Picked this up as well, 7 months after the video went live. Guess I'll have to see if real time travel ever got expanded upon =)

[@nerdpie9]

this just got me so excited to bring dnd to my group of friends. no one i know plays and ive always wanted to play, so this was so helpful!!

[@bogiberson2558]

I appreciate the long form content

[@Planofatak]

thank you - as alwasys great stuff! so glad I found you

[@itsanthony1980]

Brillant content. Thank you.

[@ultimategaming8881]

Thank you this will help me start my first campaign

[@deepseastonecore3017]

Thanks 4 all the hard work.

[@bdawgstudios]

This has helped me a lot. Thank you!

[@Mullato_Damage]

This is great and really enjoyable. I needed pointers, because I feel a little lacking when I Dm, compared to my friend. I realized it's due to spur of the moment campaigns that I have to make up on the spot. I have a Star Wars campaign that I loved making, months ago, and I believe I followed a lot of the tips you said. I'll definitely apply the other tips, as I review that campaign. right now, I have two campaigns that I need to make and I definitely need to apply these tips, before I make a failing story.

[@jonathancollins1868]

Huge Help my man. Writting A naval basec campaign and was having a hard time. This helped me flesh out my first island and starting zone for the first few levels. My plan was to have the crews ship act as their mobile home base while adventuring.

[@vanillemor5009]

Thats an awesome video, mate, thanks so much! I’ve just started writing my own campaign so the timing couldn’t be more perfect. :)

[@TalesArcane]

Thank you mate! Glad the video got to you when you needed it 👏 Good luck with your campaign!

[@vanillemor5009]

@@TalesArcane thank you! I'll use a lot of your ideas... remember your video about cambions? One's going to be an important antagonist and I'm so excited to have heard about them!

[@captaincapybara37]

This is my first time making a D&D campaign and really my first time playing D&D at all so I think that this video will help me because I was aiming way too detailed so I will definitely use these tips.

[@MilotheBloodyCrow]

truly a fantastic guide for beginners

[@user-kh8ye8uz5f]

Lovely content. Keep up the good work.

[@flyingcamel74]

Nice work, hope to see more!

[@robbert2308]

Excellent vid, thank you

[@arcanterracrafts]

Awesome stuff!

[@TGFitzpatrick]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@marceldavis5463]

Great Video brother helped out a lot!! I’m currently planning my first campaign:)

[@vloqy]

1 und 1

[@CharlieDouglas]

great video! i’d love to see a video about individual quest lines too!

[@r4dbit416]

Great video, it's very informative and interesting. Thanks.

[@duckfacepersonguy9611]

Love this, big help, thank u

[@fyodorsrat4870]

thankyou!! im a new DM trying to plan a gae for a group of friends, itll be my first game so im really excited. this video helped a lot!

[@TalesArcane]

I'm really glad to hear that, mate! Always delighted to know that a fellow DM is finding the content useful. Good luck with your first game - the first of many!

[@martianepic]

Good stuff. Very helpful.