Writing, managing, and expanding campaigns.
12
votes
4answers
373 views
How to succesfully make one quest naturally lead to the next?
My old GM used to make our quests highly modular and separated. While this had some advantages, it gave the feeling of running through a video game with discrete levels where we just popped from one ...
33
votes
7answers
1k views
Pre-modern farming: What percent of the population is in agriculture?
I'm running a premodern setting where the characters will be involved in local administration. Assuming no magic, how many farmers does it take to support one non-farmer? Any statistics/estimates ...
6
votes
3answers
257 views
Help with some ideas for a campaign
Okay, so I am a relatively new GM. I've started running the Road Trip campaign for Monsters and Other Childish things for my group. I thought I'd run a one night one-shot Halloween themed campaign for ...
15
votes
12answers
280 views
What sort of events provides an impetus for adventuring to become commonplace?
As an example, in the Earthdawn setting, civilization was segregated because of demonic creatures known as the horrors that scourged and ruled over the surface world. The tides of magic that enabled ...
17
votes
14answers
1k views
What are some interesting ways to structure a random encounter table?
The standard tables I've seen have been basic 'Wandering Monster' tables where you roll some dice in order to generate a random encounter.
I'm sure many have taken this concept further, but I haven't ...
17
votes
7answers
399 views
What makes a good pitch for a new game?
What should make up a pitch about a new game to a prospective group of players? What does a good RPG pitch entail? What should go into the case for why a game should be played (and why that GM is the ...
15
votes
6answers
418 views
What would clever creatures do to protect their lair?
(This question is for fantasy worlds like in D&D and other such games.)
Usually, as the adventuring party goes up in ability, they end up facing stronger and more powerful characters. Let's say ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
Game of Thrones (D20/Tri-Stat) vs Song of Ice and Fire RPG: which has the most substantial setting information?
Of these two game lines for the Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, Game of Thrones by Guardians of Order, or Song of Ice and Fire RPG by Green Ronin, which contains the largest amount of ...
8
votes
10answers
690 views
What RPG worlds/systems work best together in crossover combinations? [closed]
I'm curious: What RPG worlds have you combined most successfully in a crossover setting as a GM? (Or what was the best crossover that you played as a player?)
My best experiences almost always ...
9
votes
1answer
206 views
Where can I learn more about the World Tree?
I am going to be taking over the role of Dungeon Master soon, with a group of players that have leveled from 1 all the way up to epic tier. The characters will be level 21 at the start of my campaign. ...
7
votes
4answers
231 views
How do I get my dresden files players involved in city creation?
I've tried to involve my players in city creation a few times through the course of the game, usually whenever they are about to finish up a story arc, but I usually all I get are just get a few ...
8
votes
3answers
269 views
Any mechanics out there for developing and maintaining a spy/information network?
I have a player who would like his character to begin developing a network of people in the towns they visit. For lack of a better phrase, and because it seems that would be the most likely mechanic ...
17
votes
8answers
380 views
What's a good method for making cultures differ?
Just read through a great question (on getting players to play in line with their characters' cultures) and it got me thinking:
What do you do to make the cultures in your setting differ?
Let's say ...
13
votes
4answers
440 views
How late in history can I set a campaign based in the US without cars and telephones being widespread?
I'm deciding on my next campaign offering, and I'm dealing with this dilemma: although I prefer, and am best at, running games set in the near-present, one of my players has a mild antipathy toward ...
9
votes
2answers
278 views
What collaborative mapping software would meet my needs?
Background
I am the head of plot for a boffer LARP that runs monthly. A given game has anywhere from 10 to 50 players. We have around 5 people that run plot. I need the entire plot team to be able to ...
7
votes
2answers
222 views
What campaign wiki - or other collaborative tool - has these features?
I saw the question "Is there a campaign wiki with mobile support" and realized that perhaps I could find what i was looking for with a more targeted question.
I am organizing a plot team (for a LARP) ...
17
votes
3answers
528 views
Good resources for travel times?
What are some good resources, on or off-line, for determining clear travel times for:
different methods of travel (eg: foot, horse, vehicles by period and type, etc)
different terrain types ...
20
votes
4answers
294 views
How do I construct an individual session as part of a larger campaign?
I've been GMing/DMing on and off for years. I prefer playing. Mainly because when I run a game, I'm more a fly by the seat of your pants kind of dm, and it works sort of..
My problem is that, while I ...
6
votes
3answers
250 views
What do I need to make a campaign?
I am a sorta newbie DM (been playing for about 5 months) and I have a couple dungeons. So is that all I need to make a campaign? I have about 6-8 friends that I play with every week, but they are ...
27
votes
12answers
521 views
How do I help my players not get caught up on smaller plot points?
I just finished having a conversation with one of my players, and was led to a question I'm not sure I know how to answer.
I'm running a sandbox campaign (D&D 4e, if it makes a difference) where ...
10
votes
2answers
254 views
Atmosphere of alienation and horror — halloween game
It is Halloween soon and I am planing to run a horror game featuring zombies. Lots of zombies. In fact, hordes of zombies. The setting is akin to Walking Dead than Shawn of the Dead and set in the ...
17
votes
8answers
421 views
How do I create a sense of mystery about magic?
Magic in so many games is something mechanical and fully understood. Assuming I control the setting (and have a group of players willing to try new rules), how do I make magic something mysterious?
...
7
votes
7answers
208 views
What should go into a campaign synopsis (for kids)
My kids have complained that they want more back-story on my campaign world and they want handouts (must be genetic or something). So I'm writing a campaign synopsis. I'll be honest I'm very, very ...
11
votes
8answers
2k views
Short ideas for the development of a Call of Cthulhu campaign or brief adventure
Community wiki post. Everyone can add an answer containing a short idea for a campaign, be it an event, a characteristic of the world, an artifact or object, or an NPC character. Fellow masters can ...
6
votes
3answers
234 views
How to play a Templar Knight
I am looking to create a character that is a member of a monastic order of Templar Knights. The game setting is a historical one set around the 1200s. Thus, I am looking at source material for ...
6
votes
4answers
396 views
Does anyone have good examples of an Adventuring Guild charter?
I'm planning on using established guilds as npc rivals. The player characters start out as nobodies, in some cases as slaves, and will eventually have the opportunity of starting up their own ...
9
votes
1answer
132 views
Playing a pregame, how to keep sense of continuity in campaign
My players and I are currently playing a "pre-game" for a whole campaign I have written. I want the players to be aware of the "how did it get to be this way", so I make them play two games 4000 and ...
5
votes
4answers
217 views
How to avoid the feeling of railroading in my campaign pregame?
This question is related to my other question. Please see that one for campaign background, rather than me repeating it all here.
I don't want the players to feel "trapped" and forced into a ...
7
votes
3answers
393 views
Adapting literary works into RPG adventures
Beowulf is a classic tale which has been translated many times and has had many film adaptations. Seamus Heaney's new translation and Frederick Rebsame's translation
are good starts if you have not ...
10
votes
4answers
209 views
Do I need to stat out & measure everything?
I am preparing a session that contains a fair amount of absurdity. Many of the creatures and situations that my players will encounter will probably not be encountered again.
On the one hand, I know ...
0
votes
0answers
91 views
Player-versus-player: going up against a pre-made team [closed]
Well, our enemy has like a perfect balance. The 'evil' side of the board has this crazy warrior with incredible attack speed, a tanky paladin who has almost unlimited healing power, a mage that ...
17
votes
9answers
410 views
What ways are there to convey loneliness and betrayal in an encounter?
A little background: I am designing a campaign that largely takes place in the mind of a twisted wizard. The wizard was shunned and exiled from his home due to a physical disfigurement, and after a ...
8
votes
3answers
357 views
How to write in-character introduction to new players for a new game background
So, I have this uber cool game world and I want to run a super cool game in it. It should not really matter what genre for this, but let us assume it is fantasy. Instead of either a long conversation ...
6
votes
6answers
195 views
Any good resources for would-be authors of a line of gaming products?
Were you to move into authoring RPG material, where would you go to for advice?
Edit for clarity: I am thinking of publishing a whole line of gaming products. However, I am not adverse to hearing ...
12
votes
6answers
260 views
Speed up campaign development
I'm making a campaign, and it's going fairly nicely. However, I found out that my group is able to meet this week, which I didn't expect. So instead of having 9 days to find time to prepare, I have 2 ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
List of freely available D&D books and resources [closed]
I'm trying to amass a list of D&D books and or resources to use in my DM-ing, like D&D Maps, 83 free D&D adventures, etc. The books can be about a particular Realm or about generic ...
16
votes
3answers
273 views
What would the life of a child be like in a medieval setting?
The basis for an adventure I'm writing is a child. He is extremely intelligent and had a knack for magic at a very young age, but he has a mental disorder (something similar to Asperger's syndrome).
...
9
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the best first adventure to run in D&D 4e?
I am very new to Dungeons and Dragons 4e. I recently picked all the necessary books and surprisingly low priced pound of dice from eBay. I have also coaxed my friends into giving it a shot while I ...
14
votes
10answers
318 views
How do you seamlessly blend inspiration into a campaign?
Often I have campaigns that are inspired by things that are outside of genre and easily recognizable.
Lets take Vikings in Space for example. I could have a race of blond haired people with helmets ...
22
votes
8answers
701 views
How do you discourage “player knowledge” as a GM?
As a trivial random encounter is winding down, a player thinks "That was too easy... The GM wouldn't give us an encounter that doesn't give XP," and starts searching for hidden bad guys or other ...
9
votes
2answers
390 views
Group-wise Combinable Magic Items (each member owns 1)
I realize this isn't the best reference, but there was a show in the 90's "Captain Planet" where there was 5 kids, and each had a ring of power, and it was when they would combine all of them the ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Are there other cooperative world building games like Dawn of Worlds?
I found Dawn of Worlds on the web and got the PDF of it. My group tried and loved it. I was wondering has anyone else worked with this very novel system for cooperative world building?
7
votes
3answers
466 views
Are there any tools for creating a campaign from scratch?
I am toying with the idea of writing up a custom campaign from top to bottom. Are there any tools out there for this sort of thing?
I'm thinking of an editor that allows you to insert the stuff ...
11
votes
5answers
182 views
Overcoming realism and uniqueness block
Whenever I am developing a plot-line, location or an NPC, there are two primary factors I take into account:
Realism - Locations should be believable (no redundant corridors, random unfitting ...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I convert D&D 3.5 to 2nd Edition or older AD&D?
I have accumulated a lot of D&D 3.5 modules and adventure settings, but I play older editions of the game. What is the best way to convert these to an older edition, say AD&D 2nd edition? Is ...
6
votes
2answers
724 views
What information is available for the town Fallcrest?
My next campaign will have some town adventures. I'm looking at the Fallcrest town detailed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Before I get too far into it, I'd like to know if the town has been ...
11
votes
8answers
3k views
What could you call medical doctors in a medieval/fantasy setting?
This is a follow up to Medieval Medicine in a Fantasy Setting?.
What could you call a medical doctor in a medieval/fantasy setting? I'm thinking along the lines of how an "alchemist" is more ...
10
votes
5answers
445 views
Advice on setting up a campaign for a new GM?
A month or two back, I bought the GURPS Basic Set with the hopes of GMing a campaign at my school. I'm fairly familiar with the rules and general concepts by now (GURPS is very well documented), but ...
10
votes
4answers
160 views
How far do you go with custom rules before you have a new game?
We are working on a setting with low magic for Pathfinder, and we initially started out on creating lots of custom rules to go with that. However we found that the more rules we created, the more we ...
6
votes
5answers
186 views
What should I read/watch for information about the 1930s United States?
I'm currently writing a Trail of Cthulhu campaign, in which Investigators travel across the United States in the 1930s. To get inspiration for the scenarios, I read books and watch movies about ...
