Blades in the Desert

I think I have my new campaign. Back when I was planning "The Mists of Lamordia" I put together the skeleton of a desert-based swashbuckling game, "Blades in the Desert". I'm inclined to dust that off, modify it quite a bit, and go from there.

Originally, the campaign was to be set in Calimsham, but I'm going to shift it out of the Realms entirely. Instead, the campaign will be set in an undefined desert region - that's something I need to work on.

The structure will more or less follow that of "Lost Mine of Phandelver" - an initial adventure, then some urban mini-quests, then some mini-quests in the larger environment, and then a finale against one of the big bads.

In terms of the "side dish" I'm going to focus the campaign on the factions, of which there will be seven - five 'normal' campaigns, one opposed to all the others, and the PCs acting as a wild-card. The factions are as follows:

• Acolytes of the Dark Tide: Currently the dominant faction, the cult of Olhydra, the Princess of Elemental Evil Water, holds a monopoly on the supply of clean water, and consequently have a stranglehold on temporal power. They are allied to the Silver River and the Foundation, and opposed by the Crocus and the Desert Angels.
• The Crocus: Rogues and swashbucklers dedicated to the service of princess Saffron, this somewhat wild faction is held at a distance by their patron for political reasons. They are allied to the Silver River and the Desert Angels, and opposed by the Acolytes of the Dark Tide and the Foundation.
• The Silver River: An alliance of merchants and traders. They are allied to the Acolytes of the Dark Tide and the Crocus, and opposed by the Foundation and the Desert Angels.
• The Desert Angels: A tribe of wemics obsessed with honour and battle, this nomadic group rarely ventures into the town but their influence extends everywhere. They are allied to the Crocus and the Foundation, and opposed by the Acolytes of the Dark Tide and the Silver River.
• The Foundation: Descendants of the dvergar who built the town, this faction controls much of the illicit activity in the region. They are allied to the Acolytes of the Dark Tide and the Crocus, and opposed by the Desert Angels and the Silver River.
• The Carrion Claws: A loose alliance of gnoll tribes, these fanatics serve Yeenoghu with unmatched zeal. They are opposed to all the other factions.

As a consequence of this, PCs will gain XP in the following ways:

• They will gain an award for each encounter completed. As always, it does not matter how an encounter is completed. A partial success will, as always, give a partial award.
• They will gain an award for each quest completed.
• They will gain a quarter award each time they change the balance of power between the factions. This should encourage them to seek out and engage with the factions.
• They will gain a quarter award each time they exhaust a temporary magic item (except a potion of healing). (Note that this is a larger award than in my current campaigns. I tend to think that's better.)

Of course, all of this assumes that there will actually be a next campaign!