How to write your first D&D campaign arc

[@JazzJackrabbit]

If you are planning a twist, then please foreshadow it. It is the difference between the players going "Oh wow, it all makes sense now!" and "You just pulled that out of a hat"

[@TalesArcane]

Absolutely! As I say in the video, step 4 doesn't always have to be a big shocking twist, of course - it's just the addition of information that was previously absent from the players' understanding of the situation. If you ARE doing a big twist/reveal though (an NPC betrayal, for example) the hints should be there, even if they're only visible in hindsight.

[@Draconatus24]

13:29 Exactly, the best thing about dnd is that nobody expects how a campaign is gonna go, the dm might know some main points, but if the players decide just to do something completely different in order to reach the goal then that’s a great thing.

[@SingularityOrbit]

This method is related to the 5 Room Dungeon method, but you've uncovered something like a fractal pattern to a campaign. A DM can design an entire campaign around these steps. (Campaign Arcs: 1. Intro to Adventuring In This Setting, 2. Questing Across the Land, 3. Defeat the Realm's Known Big Threats, 4. But There's a More Sinister Threat Waiting In The Wings, 5. The Final Adventures to Save The World) Each arc has its own quests, each built with the 5 steps, with the last quest of one step feeding into the first quest of the next one. (The party might reach the capital city of the kingdom and meet the king and queen at the end of step 2, at which point they are asked to help fight the Known Big Threats, leading to step 3.) Each quest can be built using the 5 steps, exactly as described here. Individual elements of a quest can also be built along these lines as well -- a dungeon can be built in 5 levels that each use this framework, each level built with the 5 Room Dungeon method. It can be 5 Steps all the way from the top of the world to the deepest dungeon floor. In this way the DM never forgets to include motivation, intrigue, exploration, action, rising tension, and surprises every step of the way.

[@hardleers]

After getting valuable information from you session 0, you dropped this at absolutely the right moment. Looking forward to it!

[@TalesArcane]

Heyyy perfect timing! Good luck with the campaign 💪

[@3kT0m0rF]

I've just recently begun DM'ing DnD 5e... of course i went the hard way and went on to create a whole own world with my own pantheon, world lore etc. xD... Your content has been a great source of inspiration and guidance. and my first few sessions were a raging success! Thanks for the awesome videos mate. Greetings from Germany!

[@TalesArcane]

You went straight into the deep end! But that must be an amazing learning experience too. I'm so glad the videos have been helpful, and also, it's great to hear that Tales Arcane has some subscribers in Germany! My experience of Germany is limited to one lovely day in Frankfurt (there's a great D&D bookstore there!), but I'll be back 😁

[@eldritchepics1]

Most important thing is having fun and not overdo the prep! Channels like this are a big resource. Happy playing my friend! Enjoy the hobby!

[@teedteed9130]

Damn thats ballsy. I started with premade modules lol. After like 5 years and 2 pre made modules campaigns I'm barely just now making my first homebrew and I'm still overwhelmed which is why I'm here 😅

[@tiredfrog308]

As an “always player” who is about to DM for the first time, this video is incredibly helpful! Thank you for outlining such a useful and versatile formula; it’ll definitely come in handy.

[@MarkoSeldo]

Funnily enough, D&D provides a mechanism for this as well. Milestone levelling. You can pace your campaign through milestones. Early on, your arcs are short - just enough work to justify bumping them up a level. Each level should come after a satisfying conclusion to a chapter in your story. I actually structure my campaigns using Chapters. It helps break the story into discreet blocks, if players need a break or want to do a separate one-shot, we can schedule it between chapters. The chapters get longer as the amount of adventuring needed to level up increases, and the plots get more complex and more obviously/directly linked to the BBEG and their schemes.

[@Ikotofan98]

For anyone else who struggle to retain without a list - here you go: 1. Call to adventure by the Quest Giver 2. Challenge that must be overcome to get to the main challenge 3. Larger combat or encounter that may be the main challenge 4.Twist! Something is revealed that the players didnt know before that recontextualizes what they thought they knew.

[@janniskort3852]

Very helpful thanks! It's so simple but I didn't really thought about plot twists for every story arc. But with this, my campaign could be way more complex and fun😊 Thanks :D

[@Maiasgameroom]

A PDF template of a written version of all these steps would be very helpful! 🙏🏾

[@TalesArcane]

Ohhhh that's a good idea! I'll see what I can do.

[@RadeFoxxy]

Look up 5 Room Dungeons, you'll find it!

[@Maiasgameroom]

@@TalesArcane Any updates on this?

[@nickmcdonald4092]

Thanks for this! Started our first session last week and now scrambling to write the rest of the campaign. Really appreciate your videos as a beginner DM

[@TalesArcane]

I'm really happy to hear that mate! It's a lot to manage when you're just starting out, but the more you DM, the more natural and intuitive it all becomes. Hope the content can help out in the meantime!

[@TasareAlda]

You make this content so accessible. Thank you for being awesome.

[@eldritchepics1]

Great video. Adding this to my must watch content for new DMs.

[@angelalewis3645]

This is a very helpful video! I’ve not heard this structure idea form any other GM KZbinrs!

[@Teraclon]

Long-format!!! Just made my day, mate. Loving the great content! 😎👍

[@TalesArcane]

Glad you're enjoying the new content mate! Plenty more to come 💪

[@barryreisenbuechler]

Love the channel, over 40 sessions into my homebrew campaign, second cast of characters and your videos help a ton in making prep manageable

[@TalesArcane]

Makes my day to hear it, mate, I'll keep the content coming 💪

[@panda_pr1nc3ss8]

Liking and commenting because this is very helpful

[@higgybonk845]

Subscribed to your Patreon a few days ago! Your KZbin videos have helped me as a dm but joining the Patreon has defo upped my game already😎 I’m currently running DiA but you’ve given me the inspiration to make my own campaign ready for when we finish

[@TalesArcane]

Thank you so much for supporting my content like that, it means a lot! Really happy to hear that you've found the materials useful so far.

[@ceranko]

The art yiur using in the backgroundviscexcellent.

[@historyguy3869]

awesome video! your videos are really helping me out in making my first own campaign:)

[@NineInchFailz]

When a mustached man with a UK accent and a turtle neck speaks some knowledge to me, i listen.

[@brianbays867]

Kingkiller Chronicles reference. Very nice 😉

[@TalesArcane]

The Doors of Stone is coming any day now, any day now... 😭

[@hexvictor]

Great timing! Just having difficulties on my first campaign

[@TalesArcane]

Happy to be of assistance! 😁

[@mjthegm6159]

Finally someone who pronounces "wyvern" the way I do!

[@TalesArcane]

I hear a lot of people say Y-vern, but it never sounds right to me 😅

[@johnmagowan6393]

Excellent work as always! I'll be applying this to my series of small arcs based off classic Lieber and Moorcock short stories! Also is Hollywood doesn't cast you as a dashing WWII pilot they're nuts.

[@TalesArcane]

Heeeey you're too kind 😁 Also, Fritz Leiber is one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors - I've been collecting all the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser editions I can find since I first came across the graphic novel adaption many years ago. I need to read more Moorcock though!

[@johnmagowan6393]

@@TalesArcane I have been dipping back and forth between both as we're playing Black Sword Hack at my table, well the nights I run anyway. Leiber is perfect for short arcs. I'm trying to get my players more into the now of their characters.

[@tylerwilson2515]

Any tips for making a crime family that my players can interact with when they get to the group of towns. I’m having trouble deciding what the family wants and how the party can interact with them

[@thekrakenskrak4253]

Most crime families will want to spread their influence and power as far as possible. Have them be trying to get control of as many things as possible. What I did when I had a criminal empire in my game that I thought was clever was have them be called The Unkindness (group of ravens) and have the police force be called the Wolfe Syndicate. The Unkindness ended up being in control of and working with the Wolfe Syndicate, foreshadowed by the saying "Where the wolves go, the ravens will follow." An interesting concept to explore is how much each member actually wants to be in the organization. Do they like what they do? Are they working with the boss out of fear? By force? Are they just in over their heads? It's easy to get overwhelmed by such a complex web of a concept, but I recommend fully embracing the complexity. The complicated nature makes it all the more interesting.

[@MarkoSeldo]

Very late replying, and I'm assuming that you've already solved this problem, but my take is this: crime families are usually aiming to make money. Crime pays, after all. For crime to pay, they need to be able to conduct business uninterrupted. That means using their money and influence to corrupt local law enforcement. The party may find the gang by walking in on them extorting a shopkeeper, overhearing dodgy dealings in a tavern, or seeing a officer of the law taking a bribe to look the other way. It's a bit different in a fantasy setting, because the crime could be the means, rather than the end. Drug dealing is profitable, but "bad", so it's a crime. But what's a crime in your world? Where an drug addiction can be cured with Greater Restoration, other magic can easily solve crimes (scrying, zone of truth, etc), and powerful adventurers are for hire, regularly burglary, extortion and drug dealing might not be so profitable. So, start with figuring out what's a crime, because that'll tell you what the family wants. If magic is outlawed, are they just illegal magicians trying to avoid the persecution of the law? Smuggling magical artefacts? People smuggling/slavers? that should set you up, I hope.

[@Cookies24359]

This was super helpful! I'm trying to set up my first campaign it's based very loosley off Hotel Califorinia by The Eagles (some of my players llike this song so I'm hoping some of them will catch on). My players also get stuck in my version of the mirror realm so to end this they have to break the curse of the hotel and get out of the mirror realm. Is it too much? Anyways thank you so much for sharing you'r methods and knowlidge with everyone. It helps a lot of people figure this stuff out.

[@karlmaust6172]

1. Hook 2. Hindrance 3. Setback 4. Twist 5. Finale My only concern is, my players are very smart lol ... That being said, I find that the "twist" aspect should vary widely from minimal/no twist to major. Sometimes it's okay for it to be straight forward. Then your twists feel more crazy and wild.

[@TalesArcane]

Absolutely - it's less about a twist, which sounds like it has to be a dramatic reveal, and more about the addition of new info. That new info MIGHT be a crazy twist, or it might just be that there's an expected additional reward, and an unexpected challenge - could be as simple as, they defeat the dragon, and find that there's a valuable dragon's egg in the lair, but it's on the far side of a lava lake, dotted with rocks across which they have to jump. There's a final challenge they weren't able to predict from the very start of the quest. Then the next time it might be a betrayal that triggers a completely new adventure - you can always take the basic template in a new direction.

[@grimmtales503]

Your engagement rate is 'incredible' ('not credible') according to vidIQ. Grats! Question for you: how do you interlink 'character background' and 'team cohesion' and 'module structure'? To gain buy-in, you will want to have the PC's backstory somehow tied in... or is that too railroady? 'Animated Spellbook' (KZbin) covers this in 'How I DM' video (

[@yellingintothewind]

You say the first point doesn't apply to sandbox games, but the opposite is quite true. You can run a linear "modern" campaign in an empty world where the players have no ideas what to do _beside_ the main campaign arc and any intended side quests. A sandbox, by contrast, needs to be brimming with the promise of content around every corner (not _actualized_ content, you can invent the real contents just ahead of the PCs arriving). It's the difference between a sandbox that _only_ has sand in it and one that is piled high with toys and the ruins of past creations. If you want to run a sandbox game and aren't sure where to start, get yourself a decent map and then grab a 5-6 session mini campaign and inject it onto the world. Start with the party knowing about and pursuing that. Any time you mention anything about the world in passing, jot it down and add it to the world map somewhere. By the time you are done with the first short campaign, you will likely have a long list of locations and hints of past events to create the sandbox.

[@CarlosSexyFace]

How many arcs would you suggest for a campaign

[@hexvictor]

🤩🤩🤩

[@yellingintothewind]

A good way to consider the difference between planning an arc and railroading is you are primarily concerned with what happens if the players 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. (E.G. The evil lich plans to sacrifice the princess at midnight two days hence). It is up to your players if they intervene, and how. If you know something about the group, you can anticipate what is likely, so you don't have to improvise 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 after the PCs get involved, but you arne't forcing them down a narrative path. Even a plot point that can't be changed, like aliens showing up to demolish the Earth and put up a galactic highway, isn't a railroad. Sure, they'll die if they do 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, but that is the same when facing a goblin ambush. The key is their response (and survival or failure) are theirs alone.