Writing, managing, and expanding campaigns.
52
votes
18answers
3k views
I'm creating an original setting for D&D—where do I start?
Creating a new fantasy setting for D&D is daunting but I don't want to use one of the published settings. I have a blank piece of paper in front of me and a whole world to create. My friends want ...
36
votes
6answers
902 views
Preventing saturation in a horror campaign
I am currently designing my first horror campaign and what I've come up with so far is pretty dark and gruesome. I worry that if it is gut wrenching the whole way through, eventually the players will ...
34
votes
8answers
2k views
What ways are there to anger the PC's without angering the players?
Since I got so many good ideas on my last question, here's part 2:
What ways are there to really anger my PC's -- give them that sense of unbridled rage and fury -- without pissing the players off ...
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 ...
31
votes
11answers
1k views
What are some dangerous non-fantasy creatures?
We're running a fantasy game where the adventurers frequently travel through the wilderness. Too many of the threatening encounters they have are with fantasy creatures (like goblins, orcs, etc.). ...
29
votes
8answers
805 views
What are the essential features of a successful evil campaign?
Until this point, I have demanded that my players not build characters with evil alignments, as I am familiar with how to design campaigns and adventures around "good" or "redemption" themes. ...
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 ...
27
votes
11answers
400 views
How to get better feedback from players?
OK, we started a new campaign yesterday and I really want to take quality feedback from my players. When I ask, "How was it? Do you like it?", I generally get some vague answers like "It was good, I ...
27
votes
8answers
386 views
Running Parallel Campaigns
So, as seems to frequently be the case with me, more players wish to be a part of my new campaign than I'm comfortable putting around one table (maybe 8). I toyed briefly with the idea of running two ...
25
votes
9answers
866 views
What qualities are important when creating a fantasy RPG campaign?
Creating custom game play content for a group can be challenging for even the most experienced GM. Understanding how your group members' play and understanding what they want to experience is ...
24
votes
5answers
323 views
Creating the setting with the players
As far as I'm aware, the two most common ways to choose a setting for your campaign are one of these:
The GM makes it up pre-game, or
the GM has some source book containing the desired setting.
...
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 ...
20
votes
10answers
1k views
What alternative models exist for Vampire populations in WoD?
The official WoD sources say that a vampire requires between 50,000 and 100,000 people to support them, giving an upper limit of about 50,000 vampires in the entire world. I've always found this ...
20
votes
4answers
662 views
How much to bend “the rules” about populating a world?
All right, I have a question about creating a world and populating it with appropriate monsters, etc.
I created a world a little while back, loosely based off of the world found in Michael ...
20
votes
7answers
558 views
How can I convey the nonsensicality of a dream world?
Soon I will be GMing a campaign that allows the players to move freely back and forth between the "real" world and the "dream" world. I do not want this to be a secret or try to confuse the players; ...
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 ...
19
votes
4answers
444 views
Is it plausible to have a Player Character play as a villain against the rest of the party?
If anyone has experience running a game like this, what are some common errors to avoid and tips you would give to a GM embarking on such a campaign?
Specifically I intend to have a 3 PC party with 2 ...
18
votes
5answers
2k views
Tips for running a successful and engaging campaign WITHOUT combat?
I'm thinking of starting my own campaign with a few of my friends with me as DM, primarily because I wasn't extremely impressed with the campaign my friend was DMing. When I started thinking about the ...
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
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?
...
17
votes
9answers
411 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
17
votes
6answers
466 views
Am I designing my campaign setting to be too specific?
I'm a first time DM (3.5e), and, being a passionate writer, I decided to create the entire campaign and campaign setting myself. It's been good fun, and I have about 12 pages of (elaborated upon) ...
17
votes
5answers
316 views
How can I have a mixed game of nWoD without having a thematic mess?
I'm planning on starting a full-on mixed nWoD game, but I don't know how to avoid having it feel like a fantasy kitchen sink, since that can easily destroy the feel of a game. What are scenarios or ...
17
votes
3answers
529 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 ...
17
votes
5answers
245 views
Rules system for playing out the details of founding and developing a city?
I want to run a campaign in which the players control individual but influential characters (maybe heads of families), with the main focus of play on the PCs building up a city over time, starting ...
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).
...
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 ...
15
votes
12answers
294 views
To document house rules, or no?
Or, how much documentation should your "campaign world" provide?
This is a fairly generic (and subjective) question, but there is a genuine purpose behind it: I have a set of "house rules" for Tales ...
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 ...
15
votes
4answers
857 views
Middle age transportation by river questions
I am playing in a medieval fantasy type setting and am trying to determine travel speeds when people are traveling on rivers. This is similar to this previous question, but that question really only ...
15
votes
4answers
349 views
Rules for generating a game world as you go?
As an alternative to pre-fabricated game worlds (whether published or home-brewed), I'd like to create some rules for generating a game world gradually and organically.
It would work in a manner ...
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 ...
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 ...
13
votes
7answers
686 views
Are there any RPGs/settings where a character's class is not chosen but “earned” through their actions?
My experience RPGing has thusfar been limited to Dungeons and Dragons v3.5. As I've grown more experienced playing the game, I've toyed with creating my own campaign settings and am now playing with ...
13
votes
7answers
1k views
Starting the first game tips?
I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to start our very first session. Everyone, counting the DM, has yet to play the game and we are not exactly sure were to start. Our PCs are:
Drow ...
13
votes
3answers
295 views
Is an ongoing Human Occupied Landfill (HōL) campaign possible?
Back when White Wolf ruled the land of RPGs, they released a really bizarre game called HōL on their Black Dog label. A lot of the game was obviously written as a joke, but I've felt myself drawn ...
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 ...
12
votes
5answers
584 views
Are there any good websites which have story hooks and plots points for campaigns? [closed]
Are there any good websites which have story hooks and plots points for campaigns?
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 ...
12
votes
4answers
173 views
What are some tips for writing a novel from a campaign?
I am sure there are many GMs or player groups out there with this same idea of writing a novel out of their campaign, even if jokingly. I have been GMing a campaign for some years now and I am ...
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 ...
12
votes
5answers
844 views
Reasonable stats for a god (DR 25)
I'm constructing a god based on a video game boss to assist a DM friend of mine, which means that ultimately it is intended that the players may (or perhaps WILL) confront his avatar. Given this, I ...
12
votes
3answers
6k views
Any good premade campaigns for beginners?
Does anyone know of some good premade campaigns for a small (not more than 5) players, all of whom are new to D&D? I want to start them at low level since they haven't played before. I'm finding ...
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 ...
11
votes
3answers
305 views
I'm building a science fantasy settlement in a harshly extreme environment; how do these guys survive without natural resources?
In this setting, people are living in isolation in what is effectively a dungeon. Dungeons are usually built with an ecology in mind. Standard answers to common questions such as "Where do clean air ...
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 ...
11
votes
4answers
303 views
Adding comic relief
As a GM, I would like to add comic relief to my sessions.
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
...
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 ...
