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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, inDungeons & Dragons’case, a DM screen. Some of the most powerful stories in fantasy have been told through the lens of a returning king, soldier, or spy.
Many Dungeon Masters may find themselves 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 the 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 around 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 of 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.This possibility will add layers to your conflict and 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 thesettingoreventsof 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 sieges.
Here are some examples.
Guerrilla War
Nontraditional warfare. Typically, they’re fought between small groups and larger groups.
One nation has breached a border.
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 these things outlined just in case!
You may also want to decidehow 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 fight?
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 candecide what your players will be doing.
If you’re unsure,narrowing the scopeof the actions you want them to take may be less overwhelming. If you’ve seen media where a team is sent in to do specific jobs, this is more or less an uncomplicated way to tackle this type of campaign.
Your players can act as a type ofspecial 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 playersassassins, spies, or protectors of certain assets.For a lighter tone, perhaps your party is assigned to protect the future heir and shenanigans ensue.
Another great way to handle your party’s role would be to have themfight certain NPCsone-on-one, advancing the storyline as theydefeat bossesorsmall groups of enemies.you’re able to have them go behind enemy lines to incorporatestealth, or you can have them do itamid a battle.
Mechanics
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 createfleshed-out charactersand will help your players care about the world they’re fighting to defend.
A good way to start with NPC creation is todecide right away why they’ve joined the war.This can be anything from a mercenary who only cares about money to the queen of the nation.
Adding acomplication to their storycan 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 canlead to side quests(the mercenary will turn against this commander and asks the party to help, or the queen will ask the party to seek out the assassin).
Here are ten ideas forNPC-driven sidequestsfor your convenience:
The prince of the nation wantshis father deposed to end the war.He asks your party to help him supplant his brothers, who each run a portion of the army, but after aninsight check, things may not be what they seem…
Thearmy’s wizardasks your party to undergo magical transformation to make them stronger and faster. Why did she choose the party?
The general of the militia has a plan tocapture the archmageas leverage. The general knows this archmage’s weakness, but no one knows how, yet. Is he trustworthy?
The party has been asked to treat theconclave of dryadsto ask them to join the party.
1d6soldiers explain their ties to a town. In1d4days,this town will come under attack by the enemy.
A rogue group of druidshas started taking matters into their own hands and have started killing whoever steps into their territory. It’s the player’s job to infiltrate them, only to find out the charismatic leader seems to be sustained through somenecromanticmeans…
An inquisitor has captured your party.What can they use against him to secure their release? Or will they fight their way out?
A wizard’s apprentice has joined up but isn’t very good at magic. He’s endearing, but he has odd runes inscribed on his body. Your players discover half of them aremagical secrets from the other side of the war.He is aliving message.
A soldier your party has befriendedsubtly tries to convince your players to defect.
2d6horses are cut loose from the stables.Your player must investigate the stable master.
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 abuilt-in Big Bad Evil Guy, or, BBEG.This can be a rival general, a vizier, a monarch, an archmage, or a usurper.
But is the BBEGwrong?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 theaftermath.
How does this work in your campaign? Does victory only come after along 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 helpguide your campaign.
Theaftermath 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.
