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/includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 122: preg_match_all(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 124: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 122: preg_match_all(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 124: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 122: preg_match_all(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 124: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 122: preg_match_all(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 124: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 122: preg_match_all(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 124: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 122: preg_match_all(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 124: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() WorldWorksGames • View topic - The Best Way to Plan a Campaign
I almost exclusively play D&D, and what I've found works best, having launched many different campaigns at one time or another, is to do one of two things:
1) Have something in mind that you really want to run, and set up to run that as the basis for your campaign. A set of modules, or even just a theme (Knights called into service by a king, a group of dedicated dragonhunters, etc.)
2) Devote (at least) one session to having everyone sit down together and talk about a unifying concept or theme for the group. Not every adventuring party consists of a random collection of individuals who happened to bump into each other, and some of the most fun campaigns I've either DMed or played in have come from a group that decided, AS a group, they wanted to play something that meshed together.
Humans who grew up together in the same village.
Recently "retired" officers of the Elven Navy.
The young men of a tribe of barbarians.
I've found that a common theme can really help mesh the party together and give them a good, solid reason for looking out for each other.
That theme, then, provides you with the seed for your own campaign design. The village is theatened with starvation from a poor harvest, the elves (now on their own) are hunting down smugglers that have eluded them when they were in service. The barbarian tribe is threatened with war from the much larger bands of Orcs.
I have written for:
Patron saint of papercut martyrs.
Guru of all things Kitbash, proud to carry on the traditions of Aubrey.
I usually try to have 3 adventures already created and ready for each "character level grouping" ie 1-3, 3-6, 6-9, etc. This way if they are in one and need the cluex4 to hit them, I take them on another adventure to hopefully jar their brains.
I also have a richely detailed world that I created over a 10 year period and I find it easy to adapt modules to my campaign world.
I also create adventures off of what the characters do in the current adventure.
Example: I was running the with the added web download and the party ran into the Ratmen den. They exterminated all the ratmen but one, the Matriarch of the clan. Now she's pissed and has been hounding the party ever since. That was 3 levels ago, and when they get all nice and content about not being hassled, BOOM!! another assination attempt or something where they know that she was involved. So that has spawned "off the beaten path" adventures or I just incorporate it into the existing adventure, replacing an encounter or modifying it with enough detail where the party knows they are still being watched and followed and that she will never rest until she gets her revenge. Muhahahahahah *gaph*, *cough*, *choke*.... water, water!
The biggest thing I have learned in 30+ years as a gamer and 25 years as a DM, players do stupid things and unexpected things. So be a true story teller that when the tomato soup is really potato soup, you can go with the flow.
One more note, and I learned this the hard way. Don't let your world be static. If the players hear a rumor about something and it should be true and they don't act until months later... guess what, it probably already happened.
Hope this helps.
CCotD' (Cerebral Cortex of the Damned needs to stop writing this and work on that)
When I was growing up, I was told I could be anything I wanted... so I became an asshole!
Hmmm... I think I will annotate my method with the PDFs I employ at each point.
1. I generally start with the premise for the campaign - a description that fits in a single paragraph. My current homebrew has rhe premise 'Magic Returns During the Thirty Years War'. With this premise comes certain assumptions about technology. Creatures, monsters, religion, and mythology come are fleshed out. The link below for Magical Society includes A MAgical Society: Ecology & Culture, which is a handy starting point. For tech is a good guide for changing D20 tech.
2. I then pick a system, lately this has been D20/OGL for the most part, so this will be the assumption that I run with, though it is worth noting that The World Builders Guide and the first two books of A Magical Society can be used without regards to system.
3. Then I sit down and sketch out a world map. The premise influences what I sketch out - for The Thirty Years War I wanted something roughly similar to our own world. This sketch will go through several iterations and refinements, finally being redrawn with a good mapping program. Currently I use Fractal Mapper, soon I am likely to pick up Campaign Cartographer 3.
Good resources at this stage include the by Expeditious Retreat Press. There are several free demos for the series, if you get none of my other suggestions then at least get the freebies for this line - Mr. Browning has chosen some of the most useful portions of each book to use as a sample - enough to be used on their own.
Also useful, particularly if you do not like using mapping programs, is the old by TSR.
4. I then begin hammering out history. For the Thirty Year's War I largely paralelled Earth history. Broad strokes for ancient history, more detailed in the last 100 years, and a stretch of 100 years more lightly pencilled in for what is likely to happen barring PC actions. This last is subject to revision, and lately I have been leaving a space for changes to be written in by hand.
5. I then map out the areas the PCs are likely to spend most of their time and flesh out some of the major cities. At this point comes into play. The Fool over to Ancient Awakenings has created several good tools for city building using Fractal Mapper, they are located on the site. (These more than doubled my use of Fractal Mapper.)
6. I reread my histories and choose points to build adventures aroud, and start writing. At this point I consider actual campaign materials to be in progress, since this is what I have been working towards all along. in all oits versions gets hauled out and put to work. For a D20 based game I tend to work things out three levels at a time, and plan out what I want to become available to the PCs in regards to magical treasures, wealth, and political connections. This is also likely to be revised as the campaign continues.
7. Run the silly thing!
The Auld Grump
Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit.
I've run campaigns different ways. For some of the Savage Stuff, its easy enough to grab the setting book, make some characters and go. For other worlds, there is a little more to it.
I do a lot of what people have talked about. First thing I do is to determine the overall mood/theme of the game (and I try to find a sentence or phrase that encompasses it - for Evernight it was "Nightfall is coming"). The mood/theme should be prevalent (but not overwhelming) is the rest of the choices.
Second thing I like to do is establish a metaplot; the BIG IDEA that drives the game. Sometimes this is fully entrenched with the mood/theme (like in Evernight), sometimes this is different. (In my upcoming Scarred Lands game, the theme is Belief and Perception, while the metaplot has to do with the war beteween the Titans and Gods.) One thing that I read in SW that struck a chord is that players like to move on and try new things; so I work on campaigns that have a definite place to end.
Third thing is to place the game. This is easy if you're working with a published setting or a homebrew already fleshed out, a little more difficult if you're starting from scratch.
Structuring the campaign is interesting. I really like the Plot Point system, where you come up with various different points in the plot that give the players information, contacts and/or resources to fulfill the metaplot, but don't necessarily design them linearly, so that if your groups zigs when you thought they'd zag, you're covered. I've incorporated that into setting building, and it makes it really easy. Come up with a list of things that need to be done, then flesh out a little information about each and the NPCs around each, and that gives A LOT of structure to the whole (plus it gives you a lot of avenues to detour down).
One thing I'm working with now is breaking a campaign down kind of like a TV show, into Seasons and Episodes. Each Season has a focus, culminating in a Big Event that is tied to the overall metaplot. Each episode has a definite story driving it, and often one or two smaller stories as well (the "A" story, and possible "B" and "C" stories). These episodes are more like Firefly episodes than Star Trek epsidoes however; the information all ties in, and each episode has the potential to lead directly (and often seamlessly) to the next - in fact, often the players won't even realize that its a "new" episode. (You can also do this in Act/Scene terms, but the TV terminology is more compelling for me.)
It sounds way more organized than it is; for my Scarred Lands game I have a notebook full of notes about plot points, episodes, a general timeline of background events, information I need the players to acquire and methods for them to acquire it, NPCs and how I want them used, plot twists and mindgames, and continuity notes (so I can do things early in the game that are seemingly meaningless but that bear fruit later to make it a richer game).
When you can't run anymore, you crawl. When you can't crawl, find someone to carry you.
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