I am so afraid for DnD I do not plan enough.
Part of it is because I like to run my games with a plot line encased in a very open world. It's like Skyrim (which I've been playing a lot of these days), but I'm hoping a better received main plot line.
The problem with this is that you never know what your players will latch on to and want to pursue. It's not only the little tidbits you thought would be easy to have your players forget, it's also the players interpretation of the big things.
For example, the last two times I ran a game in my setting, I definitely had players who took the role of working for the King seriously. They had experience and honor and lineages that they wants to make sure came into play. They knew that they were the best of the best for a reason, and it was an honor to be serving the King.
These players feel they are not the best of the best. They have bad habits and not the most impressive histories. Two of them are from a friendly kingdom, and aren't entirely 100% sworn to the king (they already have one). One was busy trying to sell potent potables to the public as a druid. One is busy trying to impregnate every lady he can. And one is merely amazed that he has a warm bed and food provided to him as a courtesy. They know they are not the best of the best, and if anything it makes this same setting feel more desperate. This isn't a position of honor. This is proof that the Kingdom needs to be pitied.
With the same introduction and the same world, the feelings are entirely different. Imagine then the difference between the person who knows everything in the world as "God" so the speak, and the difference between the players who only know what I tell them.
Therefore, considering all the unknowns with the decisions made, you cannot plan enough.
Showing posts with label campaigns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaigns. Show all posts
August 8, 2012
July 18, 2012
Two ideals that help me plan an RPG game.
Getting back to planning a game as a Dungeon Master is fantastic. Part of the joy of running a game is that you get to see people directly react to your writing, and then add to it. It's a storytelling conversation, that's really an art form. It's improv with statistics and stricter structure.
By the way, if any of you visit Chicago and you have a chance, do the walking tour at Second City. It's definitely fun and funny and you learn some things about Chicago and improv as an art form. Did that yesterday with a college friend and it was fun. Sorry about that interruption. Back to the RPG talk!
The writing skills you need to create a great game for your players are a little different than the ones used for a standard fiction piece. As a writer you should create a linear path for your reader to follow as your main characters go through a hardship and overcome it. But when the person enjoy your story is also producing the main character of your story, there are a couple of things you have to consider when writing. These two rules tend to guide me, and a couple of friends of mine who also run games, into making a game a fun venture for everybody.
1. You must know where you want to go.
My friend who runs my Obsidian game always reiterates this tip. Specifically he says "If you run the scene you're in without knowing where you want it to end, you have already failed." He's absolutely right. In college we though having an open game without railroading the players meant presenting 1 piece of a puzzle and expecting the players to build the rest. But with any game, you have to establish a thread for the players to follow. Whether they know it or not, most players spend the game looking for that thread.
Games that don't do this dwindle fast. When I first started running my D&D day, I built in days where nothing would happen thinking my PCs would go do their own thing those days. But most of the times my players were just waiting for something to happen. As the DM/GM/ST you are in charge of the action, and you know what's coming. Your players don't. Sure, you may want to give them some time to investigate something, and some games you know for certain that they will, so you'll set aside that time. But you can't assume they'll have motivations of their own every single game, especially when you first start. Set up that thread for your players to follow. They are trying to see where it is, and will at least like to know where it's going.
However, at the same time,
2. The players will decided where you really go.
You have to be ready to set up a ton of things for the players to do, but you also have to be ready to be directed by their responses. Just because you think that your players will hold on to one clue or be captivated by one situation doesn't mean that they absolutely will. They may find a certain NPC worthy having as a friend or a lover. They may decide that certain monsters can be trained for good. They may even decide to start a taco stand on the side. You will never be able to 100% predict what a character my want to do. And you don't want to deny them something that they'll find fun.
The great thing about this is that this process is how you can add to the thread that you start. Sure, you may have wanted to have your players explore the catacombs of the city, but certainly you could tie in your plot points for when they try to raid the local sheriff's office. Maybe that NPC noble your players like to antagonize is actually helping them out where they least suspect it. The players pursuits are a tool for writing the plot. You have to be flexible enough to go with the flow.
But why should you make a path that your players are going to veer from anyway? Because then you know better is is off the beaten path. If you know what you would like to have happen, then you have a better idea of what will happen if your players make other choices. And that helps you more if they through you a curve ball. I've had many a times where characters pursue flavor text, but because I had at least made the time to include flavor text, it was easier for me to think up something on the fly. That helps game flow and consistency, which make playing in a particular universe more fun.
In the end, you still have to write a story with a path, but willing to continue in a different direction when the players introduce it. That makes the most successful RPG campaigns fun and memorable.
By the way, if any of you visit Chicago and you have a chance, do the walking tour at Second City. It's definitely fun and funny and you learn some things about Chicago and improv as an art form. Did that yesterday with a college friend and it was fun. Sorry about that interruption. Back to the RPG talk!
The writing skills you need to create a great game for your players are a little different than the ones used for a standard fiction piece. As a writer you should create a linear path for your reader to follow as your main characters go through a hardship and overcome it. But when the person enjoy your story is also producing the main character of your story, there are a couple of things you have to consider when writing. These two rules tend to guide me, and a couple of friends of mine who also run games, into making a game a fun venture for everybody.
1. You must know where you want to go.
My friend who runs my Obsidian game always reiterates this tip. Specifically he says "If you run the scene you're in without knowing where you want it to end, you have already failed." He's absolutely right. In college we though having an open game without railroading the players meant presenting 1 piece of a puzzle and expecting the players to build the rest. But with any game, you have to establish a thread for the players to follow. Whether they know it or not, most players spend the game looking for that thread.
Games that don't do this dwindle fast. When I first started running my D&D day, I built in days where nothing would happen thinking my PCs would go do their own thing those days. But most of the times my players were just waiting for something to happen. As the DM/GM/ST you are in charge of the action, and you know what's coming. Your players don't. Sure, you may want to give them some time to investigate something, and some games you know for certain that they will, so you'll set aside that time. But you can't assume they'll have motivations of their own every single game, especially when you first start. Set up that thread for your players to follow. They are trying to see where it is, and will at least like to know where it's going.
However, at the same time,
2. The players will decided where you really go.
You have to be ready to set up a ton of things for the players to do, but you also have to be ready to be directed by their responses. Just because you think that your players will hold on to one clue or be captivated by one situation doesn't mean that they absolutely will. They may find a certain NPC worthy having as a friend or a lover. They may decide that certain monsters can be trained for good. They may even decide to start a taco stand on the side. You will never be able to 100% predict what a character my want to do. And you don't want to deny them something that they'll find fun.
The great thing about this is that this process is how you can add to the thread that you start. Sure, you may have wanted to have your players explore the catacombs of the city, but certainly you could tie in your plot points for when they try to raid the local sheriff's office. Maybe that NPC noble your players like to antagonize is actually helping them out where they least suspect it. The players pursuits are a tool for writing the plot. You have to be flexible enough to go with the flow.
But why should you make a path that your players are going to veer from anyway? Because then you know better is is off the beaten path. If you know what you would like to have happen, then you have a better idea of what will happen if your players make other choices. And that helps you more if they through you a curve ball. I've had many a times where characters pursue flavor text, but because I had at least made the time to include flavor text, it was easier for me to think up something on the fly. That helps game flow and consistency, which make playing in a particular universe more fun.
In the end, you still have to write a story with a path, but willing to continue in a different direction when the players introduce it. That makes the most successful RPG campaigns fun and memorable.
May 16, 2012
I missed tabletop
In a way, video games are one of the easiest nerdoms to get into, along with TV shows and some books, in the sense that it's something you can easily find and get into. I think that's part of the reason I devote a lot of time to video games in this blog. It's something that easiest for me to enjoy after a long day of work. But I really became a full fledged nerd with tabletop, and now I'm finally getting back to that.
You all got a peak of my character in a friend's Obsidian game Amy Valencia. I had never really played a truly carefree character before so I decided in this universe I would play one. She is kind of a ditz following the easiest path of a high power, a high demonic power. She's not entirely stupid, just entirely honest about her love of drugs, parties and the occasional visit to the masseuse. It's been very liberating playing her because she is not one to give two shits about most dramatic stuff. I think the most concerned she got was when a bomb was about to kill her and her group in a tiny office. Having traditionally played characters that have stressed out very easily, it's great to play one that is not.
I think my experiences with Amy have colored my choices in playing a new character in another game. I got invited to play in a Apocalypse World game that has been going for some time but had some people playing new characters due to old characters dying off or becoming unplayable. I came in with Iris, the classiest brainer in the tree town. Brainers actually can manipulate people with their psychic powers and find out personal things just by touching people. Usually people go for the mystic in rags look for brainers. I went a little more fabulous. She has her kinky hair in an up do and wears a shiny pants suit with a corset. Still weird, but a bit more approachable. Like Amy she is a social creature who looks for the fun in life. Unlike Amy, she strategizes more in the long run. She's not really book smart but she is definitely world-smart. If someone has recently become very powerful, you damn well make sure that you are their friend. Things like that.
On top of those two games I am also running my 3.5 D&D campaign again! I'm super excited about it. The last two times I ran the game we had a ton of characters who were honored, privileged and eager to serve a king to the 2nd largest kingdom in the world. This time I have a lot of hesitant characters who decided to go along merely because is somewhat fulfills their alternative goals, which include siring a messiah and selling potables to whoever will buy them. The first session happened last week and even though it ran so late I was working on low brain power, we all had fun. Next session will immediately start with combat!
It's so great to go back to my roots. I really became a nerd when a friend of mine in high school invited me to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons that her father was running. I'm not sure how nerdy I really was before then, but after that there was no turning back. It now feels like I'm really a nerd again, spending a significant amount of time rolling dice and playing make believe with friends.
You all got a peak of my character in a friend's Obsidian game Amy Valencia. I had never really played a truly carefree character before so I decided in this universe I would play one. She is kind of a ditz following the easiest path of a high power, a high demonic power. She's not entirely stupid, just entirely honest about her love of drugs, parties and the occasional visit to the masseuse. It's been very liberating playing her because she is not one to give two shits about most dramatic stuff. I think the most concerned she got was when a bomb was about to kill her and her group in a tiny office. Having traditionally played characters that have stressed out very easily, it's great to play one that is not.
I think my experiences with Amy have colored my choices in playing a new character in another game. I got invited to play in a Apocalypse World game that has been going for some time but had some people playing new characters due to old characters dying off or becoming unplayable. I came in with Iris, the classiest brainer in the tree town. Brainers actually can manipulate people with their psychic powers and find out personal things just by touching people. Usually people go for the mystic in rags look for brainers. I went a little more fabulous. She has her kinky hair in an up do and wears a shiny pants suit with a corset. Still weird, but a bit more approachable. Like Amy she is a social creature who looks for the fun in life. Unlike Amy, she strategizes more in the long run. She's not really book smart but she is definitely world-smart. If someone has recently become very powerful, you damn well make sure that you are their friend. Things like that.
On top of those two games I am also running my 3.5 D&D campaign again! I'm super excited about it. The last two times I ran the game we had a ton of characters who were honored, privileged and eager to serve a king to the 2nd largest kingdom in the world. This time I have a lot of hesitant characters who decided to go along merely because is somewhat fulfills their alternative goals, which include siring a messiah and selling potables to whoever will buy them. The first session happened last week and even though it ran so late I was working on low brain power, we all had fun. Next session will immediately start with combat!
It's so great to go back to my roots. I really became a nerd when a friend of mine in high school invited me to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons that her father was running. I'm not sure how nerdy I really was before then, but after that there was no turning back. It now feels like I'm really a nerd again, spending a significant amount of time rolling dice and playing make believe with friends.
April 24, 2012
Rewriting the Campaign
They beauty of having a world you invented is that as long as it's not officially published, you can change it.
I have been looking on and off at my notes for the last few days for my first game, and at first I thought I wanted to just organize the notes in a different way. Something wasn't right, something was off about how I began this... did I just have to retype it in a different format?
Nope, upon further inspection I just realized I had done some silly stuff as "DM porn", where there was a character I was definitely excited to introduce to the PCs, but definitely introduced way too early. Other structure things... including long times of boring where I was like "Here's a place where you can do stuff!", not realizing that PCs are usually pretty good at letting you know when they're doing something without being given a gap.
Unfortunately only experience would teach me about that stuff. It'll be interesting as I go on and rewrite this to have it make more sense. However, the big events are going to stay the same. I'm not telling anybody those yet, who knows what future players may be reading...
I have been looking on and off at my notes for the last few days for my first game, and at first I thought I wanted to just organize the notes in a different way. Something wasn't right, something was off about how I began this... did I just have to retype it in a different format?
Nope, upon further inspection I just realized I had done some silly stuff as "DM porn", where there was a character I was definitely excited to introduce to the PCs, but definitely introduced way too early. Other structure things... including long times of boring where I was like "Here's a place where you can do stuff!", not realizing that PCs are usually pretty good at letting you know when they're doing something without being given a gap.
Unfortunately only experience would teach me about that stuff. It'll be interesting as I go on and rewrite this to have it make more sense. However, the big events are going to stay the same. I'm not telling anybody those yet, who knows what future players may be reading...
July 6, 2010
Same campaign, different people
I finally just sucked it up and let the people at RPG Chicago know that I'm starting up a new campaign. Well, an old campaign. The one I said goodbye to when I left college. I posted here about it over a year ago. I decided that I liked that world so much that I wasn't ready to leave it.
This Sunday I am hoping to meet up with people who like a 3.5 DnD campaign with some psionics and eberron influences, and who like a good balance of role-play with their combat.
I am excited to see how it goes! I will be sure to post details on the following Monday. If anyone is in the Chicago area and would like to check out the situation, here's a link to the event.
This Sunday I am hoping to meet up with people who like a 3.5 DnD campaign with some psionics and eberron influences, and who like a good balance of role-play with their combat.
I am excited to see how it goes! I will be sure to post details on the following Monday. If anyone is in the Chicago area and would like to check out the situation, here's a link to the event.
March 26, 2010
Re-running my campaign!
I talked to The Boyfriend and another friend of ours last night about finally playing an RPG. It's been a while since any of us were in consistent campaigns. I've been filling the void with bioware games, which works to some degree but it's still not the same.
I have told some of you guys about the D&D game I ran in college, but you all only got the tale end of it since I only put in the last semester I ran it--which happened to be my last semester at college. I told you about the fantastic characters I got to play with and how they ended the campaign.
But at the same time, I love have alternate endings to books. And what if different heros were in the same world? I mean, my players were in it for justice considering their backstories, and maintained fairly good "business" and political relationships. Hell, one even fell in love with the Queen he was serving! I know the people that will be playing will have very different views and very different motivations. The Boyfriend is more into setting, and our other friend who wants to play is more into characters but won't be doing the same stuff my college friends did.
I'm definitely someone who's willing to see something go in a different direction. I want to see where this will lead. And at this point, considering I think I will have some time free up soon (I'm switching around my 5 jobs essentially) this is actually feasible.
And I'll be sure to update what happens in my campaign on this blog! Hooray!
I have told some of you guys about the D&D game I ran in college, but you all only got the tale end of it since I only put in the last semester I ran it--which happened to be my last semester at college. I told you about the fantastic characters I got to play with and how they ended the campaign.
But at the same time, I love have alternate endings to books. And what if different heros were in the same world? I mean, my players were in it for justice considering their backstories, and maintained fairly good "business" and political relationships. Hell, one even fell in love with the Queen he was serving! I know the people that will be playing will have very different views and very different motivations. The Boyfriend is more into setting, and our other friend who wants to play is more into characters but won't be doing the same stuff my college friends did.
I'm definitely someone who's willing to see something go in a different direction. I want to see where this will lead. And at this point, considering I think I will have some time free up soon (I'm switching around my 5 jobs essentially) this is actually feasible.
And I'll be sure to update what happens in my campaign on this blog! Hooray!
July 13, 2009
So much nerd inspiration
Since I am unemployed right now (and looking, if any of you in the Chicago area find something that could suit me) I've been trying to think of a side project to do, and I keep coming back to one thing:
My previous campaign.
I loved my campaign, especially the characters. Some of those characters I have been working on for years now that I think about it... almost seven years. And I find I can't let go of them, or their world. So what do I do?
There are two obvious answers to this.
1) write a book
It would probably be something targeted to a younger audience, girls in junior high or high school. The characters I created were made in that vain, around the same time I really got into Tamora Pierce. She's a fantastic writer who has a lot of strong, young female characters in her stories. From her I was inspired to make one of the protagonists. With that in mind, the story I will be writing will be for that age group. And I would have fun with it too, since I have technically written some of this before. In high school this was supposed to be a trilogy, and I wrote 2/3 of it. I have a lot I want to change at this point, so it would be a huge rewrite, with a lot of background written before I would start the actual story. The background idea leads to the next idea...
2) create a campaign setting for an RPG
I've ran a campaign in this world, why not use all the characters that made this world the way it is? There is a question if to use a pre or post PC world. Both have a lot of potential, but I think I would rather go pre with some twists. Certain PC-NPC connections became pretty important, and a lot of my PCs are worth immortalizing. The question is with what system? Considering how important politics are in this game, I don't think it would work with the current D&D system. Too much focus on combat. I could also just write my own system but I rather just work with the characters and the setting, and use a good system created by someone else.
And then there's the idea of
3) write both.
This could potentially suck out all my energy from finding a "real" job. I doubt this will even be slightly profitable. But I might just do the crazy thing and actually do both. It's a risk, I know, and I do need a real source of income soon. But if I could help make one person's RPG experience awesome, or give one person a fantastic story... why not?
Over the last month I realized how hard it is to get these stories away. I can't run away from them. I have to write them down. Why not share the story?
Also, if I did the RPG idea, I would definitely keep you all updated here, with sneak peeks and such. I just have to figure out everything.
Someone told me I seemed like a person that needs big projects. And he was right. So now, since I'm out on my own, I need my own big project. This will be it.
May 8, 2009
Three Years of Adventuring: Honoring the Player Characters
Last night was my last D&D session for my game here at college. I'm honestly extremely sad about it. I didn't realize it until about 3 hours into the session and by that time the huge baddy that had been the influence of the whole campaign was dead.
The thing that made this the best game ever was the way the PCs balanced each other out by the time my game ended. Here, I would like to pay homage to who was at my last session, and how they've grown.
Torrin was the one multiclassing PC in the game, and luckily this wasn't because of munchkining. Okay, not completely. Torrin was a Chaotic Good Rogue/Ranger/Shadowdancer. He was introduced to the party by a very powerful NPC, and as soon as he got in he helped the party release an ancient god from her prison. Torrin was really good at sneaking around things, and helped the party get info and treasure. He had some good luck with the deck of many things the party encountered, and was the only one to escape a research facility alive and in tact. The guy playing Torrin was a very good sport about being a campaign with a lot of undead, considering all his sneak attack bonuses were lost. Torrin's epilogue: he's taking over the gang he infiltrated for the Cornwellian Kingdom (the one the party worked for the entire campaign) and trying to make it a good bunch of unlawful drug sellers and pimps. Good luck with that, Torrin!
Illiana was a Half-Elf Ranger who was looking for the human side of her family when she was recruited, around the same time Torrin was. Her main objective was to kick Yuan-ti butt, and boy did she ever! Great archer, and also found the best way to implement spies: talking to animals. She helped the party find out a lot of information, and always had a lot of spirit. Also played by the calmest person in the group, which helped somewhat considering she was helping my counter four rowdy nerd guys. Illiana's fate after the campaign was to keep on pushing the Yuan-ti back away from her homelands, with the assistance of the Cornwellian Kingdom now that she's earned a lot of respect. I'm sure they're scared of you now, Illiana!
Tyberius was a political man from day one. After seeing that the Vidrigez Kingdom wasn't recognizing his genius, he joined the good guys as their resident Cleric (Half-elf Lawful Neutral Cleric of St. Cuthbert to be exact) and rebelled against the country who didn't treat him with the respect he felt he deserved. Because of his aid, the facility that had damaged the rest of the PCs so much was peacefully taken over, and the heal spells were a plenty. Although Tyberius was a man of action, he did take a couple of months off after Queen Elish promoted him to the Councilmen of Religion for the Cornwellian Kingdom. He established political ties, and even got married to the best housewife one could ever wish for. Tyberius was helpful in keeping some reason in the party, although that didn't stop him or anyone else from having a little fun. He now continues his position in the Cornwellian Kingdom, with the added benefit of having his former boss as a pet rabbit at home. Gotta love that baleful polymorph, eh Tyberius?
Zenal was the resident psionic, a Xeph Telepath. With the ridiculous amount of power points at her disposal, Zenal was always ready to raid someone's mind for information. She had been with the group since day one, where the blessed NPC Danacia explained to her and her compatriots the late King's situation and need for aid. Although the kingdom was wary of psionics, she was able to earn their trust and taught them a bit about it. Zenal became a bit of a loose cannon over time, but she kept things lively with encouraging band practice and asking villains inappropriate questions with her psychic powers. She was an essential team member when it came to retrieving information, though she occasional would throw off her plans when asking a warforged if it needed some sleep. She continues to work for the Cornwellian Kingdom with their elite team of female spies. Keep them on their toes, Zenal!
Grey was played by someone who was able to creatively bend the will of the 3.5 rules to his advantage, and I enjoyed watching it. Grey had originally been from the Vidirgez Kingdom until the racist Half-elf rulers kicked his human family out rather violently. He signed up in the beginning along with Zenal and some of the other players, partially in hope of finding his lost brother. Unfortunately is brother had been converted to a half-golem, and there was no turning him back. Grey then proceeded to aid the Cornwellian Kingdom against his homeland, and gained a lot of political prestige by name alone. Being one of the few people that saw Queen Elish as a person, and not a unwelcome heir to the throne or a woman in the wrong position of power, he soon found himself in love with her, and had promised by the time the conflict was ended the two would be married. Having been the one to kill the former King of Vidrigez in a battle right outside the castle of the Cornwellian capital, he's following through on his promise to her, and still staying active in the local politics. Hope y it's good to be King, Grey.
I also can't forget some people who we met and left on the way:
Lelania, who was a Elf Druid with a firey attitude. Standard trick was turning into a bear, and it was a pretty good trick. Now in control of a Duchy in Vidrigez, she's helping establish some order in a place that used to be run by slavery and violence.
Dave, a Rogue who just didn't know how to keep his ass out of trouble. Was helpful from time to time but also proved to be a liability, especially when he stole swords in the same kingdom he was working for. The Queen punished him to being a tester of the local university's potions. Dave's brain is a bit fried now.
Bumpledock was the first cleric to serve the party, and was a Gnome Cleric of Kord who would keep a sword a size too big for him in Kord's honor. Because of his help in releasing an ancient god, Kord rewarded Bumpledock with the ability to actually raise that sword. Bumpledock served the party well until the facility mysteriously took him, making the party wonder where he was, until finally they found out that he had died but had been brought back by Kord to serve him.
It's obvious how much I'm going to miss this campaign. Maybe I'll "re-run" it from the beginning if anyone wants to invest the time in it back in Chicago, but we'll see.
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