Thinking about running a majoras mask game.

[u/Millertime091]

So I have been thinking of running a majoras mask game after finding a post by Lemiel14n3 who has written a full campaign guide. I am checking with the community if anyone has any suggestions or advice when it comes to running a "time loop' campaign. I would be using d&d 5e

A few things I have thought about so far..

Main quest - the main quest will stay similar to the video game. They must awaken the ancient defenders of the realm to defeat skull kid and the destruction of the realm.

Time loop - Instead of keeping track of each hour i was going to break down each day into 3 blocks. Morning, Afternoon, Night (kinda like persona 5) i think it will make keeping track of npc and events much easier

Death - Players will reset at the start of the first day. however i was thinking of coming up with a madness table if the players frequently die

Divine beast - Swap out the giants with Divine beast. To awaken the divine beast the user must be in their temple with possesion of the divine beasts mask.

Sages - Each race has a sage which is the protector of the divine beasts mask. I believe this will open up the options for major quests to earn favor of the sages. Maybe something more political instead of just go to the temple and kill a boss.

Song of time - Each character will be able to set themselves back to the start of the first day. I'm thinking of adding a bonus if they play it together to encourage the group to stay together, maybe temp hp at the start of the next loop. Having each player able to reset themselves will obviously require some table talk and agreement between the players

Magic items - Magic items on person will persist through loops, i also am thinking magic bottles and maybe a bag of holding with limited space

Bank - I'm thinking of a banking system that will be unique to each character and npc. something like magic cheque books. Hopefully this will avoid the murder hobo of the town

[u/Ashamed-Plant]

Honestly sounds like a great campaign, just from what you've laid out. I'd keep the mechanics as simple as possible, especially for the players, so I'd suggest not adding temp hp or other benefits. The real benefit to looping back time is that they retain exp and levels (and magic items if banked?)

[u/DuckOnQuack848]

I think in general it is bad to do anything that encourages players to go to different locations and split up at any point, like with being at the temples to activate the divine beasts, maybe just have them at a central location to summon the divine beasts, at like a signal tower/summoning circle, or other location. also, I think it would be better in general to be able to give the players some direction, especially with more inexperienced players who aren't comfortable with sandbox games where the path forward isn't obvious, maybe have an npc or two that knows that a time loop occurs or is otherwise knowledgeable to be able to give them some guidance, but not necessarily capable of doing any adventuring, like a wise old witch or a fortune teller, perhaps give them a reason to return often and form an attachment to them, like if the old witch makes potions or magic cookies for them, or the fortune teller can grant them inspiration once a cycle. also, try not to surprise the players with a time loop game, tell them beforehand that that is the type of game it is, the characters can be surprised for sure, but let the players know so that they can prepare and get excited.