Looking to Add Patron Players to My Campaign- The Pitch

 Patron Pitch

I’m looking to add patrons to my home campaign.  I have a dedicated group of PCs who have been playing solid for 2 years, and the game is about to go into 1:1 time play.  This is the perfect opportunity to add patrons, because the player's main PCs will be pulled off the map for a while, and that will give patrons time to get established.  It also will give the players the option to start up a secondary party and play some sessions with those PCs.  

The map below depicts the “Nappendixia” region.  It is located in Greyhawk, but very loosely, there is nothing of note relative to Greyhawk in this part of the map, so it is open for total creation and exploration.  Note the red line on the map denotes a change in hex size, the NW corner of the map connects to a different section of the campaign friendlier to PCs and others who are more prone to walk places.  The Nappendixia region is much more unexplored and expansive, so the hex size increases to 20 miles.  The big chunky things at the bottom represent massive mesas that will be the home location for most of the patrons.  Each mesa will start with only one way up/down into the jungle terrain in between the mesas.  Any further paths down will have to be constructed, if desired.  

I was thinking about how to provide resources to incoming patrons, and I was thinking of how to incorporate modules in a less stagnant way into 1:1 campaigns.  I came upon the idea of giving patrons modules wholecloth, and a location on the map and say have at it.  You have all the resources in the module-  all the monsters, treasure, magic items, all the map locations, you place them however you want in your area.  You can keep things located as stated in the module or you can totally reorganize whatever you want, barring a few alterations that a few modules required.  

So that’s it.  That’s the pitch.  I’m looking for people who want to play patrons in the Nappendixia campaign.  The patrons will be released in an order, a few will be available, and when they are claimed a few more will “unlock”.  If there is interest among the patrons, or among any others, I would be agreeable to running online sessions for anyone who wanted to adventure in Nappendixia as a PC.  The flavor/inspiration of the campaign world is obviously Appendix N Canon, More of a Howard/Vance/Lovecraft slant with some Den of Earth/ Heavy Metal/ Science Fantasy added.  The volcano located at the center of the map is frequently belching out weird gases and projectiles, making this a weird colorful hazy environment a lot different from a more straight Greyhawk flavored game.  Here’s what the patrons will be and how they will unlock-

First 3 Patrons-  All patrons will get 250,000 xp to build their own “Patron PC” who should make sense in connection to the module given, there would be some good reason he is connected to the module and able to move pieces around and direct things, not necessarily everything as there will be powerful leaders in each module.  Patrons will also get 110,000 xp to build henchmen and 1 magic item of their choice.  See the map for the corresponding mesa for each module.

1-  *Taken* Lawful Good Humans- will get the top NW corner of the map.  The Capitol City, the road, the riverside village, and a caravan will all be provided.  The general goal will be to guard the NW corner from evil and hopefully try to make alliances with other good or possibly neutral patrons/PCs.  The patron will receive all the keep resources from B2 Keep on the Borderlands, and all the village resources and Burne’s Tower and troops from T1 Village of Hommlett, and additionally a caravan and adventuring party from The Rogues Gallery.

  

2-  *Taken* Chaotic Evil Hill Giants-  You get G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief.  Your goal is to be gross hill giants.  

3-  *Taken* Neutral Primitive jungle land with dinosaurs and weird creatures and primitive people.  You get X1 the Isle of Dread converted lightly to the terrain,  the jungle areas in between all the mesas is your area, as well as the marked mesa.  You can place things from your module wherever you want, and water based stuff can become based along a river in the jungle terrain.  You're neutral so you have options if you want to try to make alliances or just manage your terrain.

After those 3 are claimed more will unlock-

4-  Chaotic Evil Frost Giants-  You get G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl.  Be frost giants.  Good treasure in this one.

I (DM) will be running G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King

5-  Good Demi-humans-  You get S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.  You really get the demi human and human troops and resources on the surface/ wilderness part of the module, and a few of the evil wilderness monsters are converted to good monsters.  You get to place the lost caverns on your mesa and either you can recruit PCs to delve it for you, or you can run your own mini game delving the caverns with your own resources.

6- Evil Slavelords- You get A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade and A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slavelords. you get no home area on the map, you have to secret all of your locations and resources in other peoples territory or on neutral areas of the map. Being a slavelord is sneaky business, act accordingly.

7- Final Big Bad type evil cleric with legions of dervishes and weird magical races.  You get X4 Master of the Desert Nomads, and X5 Temple of Death.  This could possibly pan out to be a “Big Bad” in the campaign, and it will be last to unlock.  It will require the most coordination with the DM but could be very rewarding.

If there’s real interest the final modules that would be given out as a patron would be S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and GW1 City of Gold (Gamma World).  Crazy Sci-Fi complex with robots and rayguns.

The very last mesa is S1 Tomb of Horrors, suicide for any who dare to enter.  It will not interact, only accept entrants