I am currently running an irregular Dungeons and Dragons campaign which follows the Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos published adventures. Instead of using the setting as written within the setting book, I am converting it to my favorite setting: Eberron!
(This series of posts is SUPER spoilery. Don’t read this if you are going through as a player and haven’t yet, especially if you’re one of mine!)
I have previously laid the groundwork for the Curriculum of Chaos by exploring the locations and the factions associated with the campaign.
To get my players, especially my new players, ready for the world, I usually offer up this video from Runesmith, which offers the best, and funniest, breakdown of the world of Eberron.
First and Foremost: You’re at College
What I tried to get across to my players from the very beginning, before I talked about almost anything else about this campaign, was that they are at college. There is a school component (that I try to pull out more than even the book): there are classes, there are study sessions, there are extracurriculars, there are part-time jobs, and there are exams– and it all goes on while the young adventurers are going up against a mysterious evil on campus. If they get the idea of arcane-punk meets Hogwarts meets the college seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I’m happy.
It’s also where I put the expectation that the school costs 200 gp per year, which lives into the Eberron question “Why do you need 200 gp?” I allow players to earn this money through scholarships, competitions, and other means.
Relationships
Much like at Hogwarts and in the college years of Buffy, the party has opportunities to meet fellow students and either become friends or rivals. The current system has a variation of +2 (Besties) to -2 (Rivals), but I expand that out to +4/-4.
- +4: Best Friend/Love Interest (Ally actually helps)
- +2: Friend (Gain Bond Boon)
- +0: Neutral
- -2: Rival (Gain Bond Bane)
- -4: Nemesis (Enemy actively joins opposing forces)
Leveling
While I have increasingly appreciated the milestone system, it seems to be the only appropriate choice for this campaign. Students gain levels as they make their way through their school career by LEARNING and not by KILLING EVERYTHING.
The Colleges
I explain that Arcanix follows a system similar to some British schools: Arcanix is the university; it has five colleges; each college has two schools. Each year, the students make a choice as to their focus. The first year they are accepted to the university. The second year they choose their college. The third year they choose their school.
Without going into too much overt detail about the colleges:
- Lorehold: The College of Archaeomancy, the exploration and study of ancient things. Study will take place between the order of systemic structures and culture and the chaos of war and individuals.
- Prismari: The College of Elemental Arts, focused on magic in the arts. Study will balance between perfection in theory, technique, and analysis (often preferring cold, water, and wind), and in expression of personal emotional truths through improv and innovation (often preferring fire, lightning, and earth).
- Quandrix: The College of Numeromancy, study of patterns and mathematics. Study will balance between Substance, emphasizing physical reality, and Theory, emphasizing abstract possibility.
- Silverquill: The College of Eloquence, seeking mastery of the magic of words. Study balances between Radiance, the positive power of words to inspire and dispel evil, and Shadow, the power of language’s ability to hide secrets and harm others.
- Witherbloom: The College of Essence studies the opposing powers of life and death, balancing their coursework between Growth and Decay in nature.
This is helpful for players as they start creating students who will fit within the story.
The Last War Just Ended
I set this campaign two years before the main setting usually allows. The ink on the Treaty of Thronehold isn’t even dry and Arcanix sought to fling open its doors wide to spread arcane knowledge— and to increase its own profits (and, even more secretly, to work on advanced research which will be owned by Aundair).
Most students ought to come from the Five Nations or from Dragonmarked houses, but they could come from ANYWHERE. Arcanix would have primarily served Aundairians, but it’s a university, it would have always accepted students from any nation that it wasn’t directly at war with, like the Shadow Marches (even as a territory that belongs to Breland). As such, one of my players is playing a House Thurashk half-orc from the Shadow Marches. Players should consider where they are from and recognize that they are operating as unofficial ambassadors to Aundair if they aren’t Aundairian.
An Few Understandings
A basic understanding for character creation is that the characters should be spellcasters.
An understanding I have with my players for this campaign (unlike my usual campaigns) is that the characters are VERY unlikely to die (before the final battle, spoilers). I’d say that players can’t die, but there is a possibility (if they really push it).
Thank you for reading!
If you found this post helpful or interesting, please like, follow, and share— it really helps! Want to run your own Curriculum of Chaos campaign? Check out my supplement to help with character creation here. And, as always, you can support me by hitting the Support Me button at the top of the page.
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