Note: These articles will contain spoilers for Ptolus.
Ptolus is a sprawling city, packed to the brim with evocative locations, interesting characters and compelling plot hooks. So how exactly do you even begin to run a game in such a developed and dense location?
Well, Monte Cook’s advice is to weave together a campaign using a ‘Campaign Theme’.
“…the material is there; the GM just has to organize it.”
‘Weaving a Campaign’ – Ptolus for Cypher System page 540
Campaign Themes
The Ptolus book outlines a few different themes calling out locations, characters and hooks which fit that respective theme. They are a loose collection of thoughts however and not something to follow ‘as is’.
Over the next couple of articles, I will further expand upon these Campaign Themes with my suggestions on how you could make each of them a full campaign.
There’s a few one paragraph ideas in the sidebar of page 544 too. These are much less fleshed out but are great inspiration. I won’t be writing articles about these themes, unless my Patrons specifically want me to.
- The Holy War
- War With the Barbarians
- The Magic Campaign
- The Political Campaign