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[kitsune9]

Originally Posted by MerricB

I like my campaigns to be about something. Well, perhaps more correctly, I like them to have shape. The campaigns I've enjoyed running the most have had strong villains, the PCs (mostly) aware of their place in the world, and one event following another to form a greater tapestry that, at the end of the campaign, is a great story.

I'd like to emphasize that I'm not talking about railroading. Many of the best events of these campaigns have been entirely player-driven. When a player mistakes a slaver for a slave and "rescues" her... only to be betrayed by her a year of real time later - you can't plan that. All you can do is take advantage of the opportunities your players give you.

The trouble starts - and is well underway in my current homebrew - when the opportunities aren't coming.

It's a combination of hopping plotlines (I'm confused as to which one we're on at the moment - oh wait, it's the African Tigers one) - some weak PC personalities, and general DM fatigue.

The annoying thing is that there are actually some really strong elements to the campaign. One of the PCs has a great history which ties back to earlier campaigns and provides a lot of good character-building roleplay. Another PC turned evil and is now an NPC that I'm using to drive a few story elements. A good nemesis is hard to come by, and Archibald is doing the job superbly.

So, I'm not quite ready to give up on the campaign yet, but I really need to sit down and look at where it's going.

Things like...

...what are the goals of the PCs?
...what are the goals of the villains?
...heck, who are the villains?
...and can we have some connected adventures rather than "adventure of the week"? (Hopefully, yes, if I can get a few hours to sit down and write them!)

Argh! The campaign began quite strongly, exploring Castle Zagyg. Then the rights to CZ went walkabout and I've been improvising a lot since then. Still, I've been running campaigns in this world for over a decade. I should be able to get some inspiration from past games!

Cheers!

Well, you've identified some questions that I would think give your campaign shape if they are answered.

In my campaign, I kind of take your approach. I outline one major story arc with two side arcs. This gives me my villains, their goals, and the relevant goals of the PC's. I plot out each adventure, the level of the PC's, and make any special notes that the PC's will encounter such as "reveal hidden bad guy here", etc.

As for railroading, the main arc is a background in which the PC's can jump into or not, but it will eventually hit home from time to time and at higher levels will be the focus of the campaign. However, the PC's have the choice to either do nothing, do something, or it will come to them at a later point. There are two side arcs going on that has their attention for the moment.