Hi I have run a few campaigns in the past, two 3.5 dnd campaigns (one FR and one home-brew) and one pathfinder campaign, all of which were ended prematurely due to my problem of starting well but then having trouble making plot-lines and preparations that end up being to railroad-ish for the players. The same group was in all the campaigns, each one was a work in progress of making a more open player oriented game without such long descriptions of events (something I am prone to, like having a 500-word description for a new type of monster, and every room in a secret demon cult hidden beneath a dilapidated whorehouse described in minute detail). I also have the problem of having too many combats and not enough role-playing events, as I am a meticulous planner for sessions and found it hard to plan for endless options and run the game ‘on the go.’ The last campaign I had improved vastly but in the last few sessions I fell back to my old ways, and since I was quite ill at the time I ended the campaign there.
My new campaign will be set on Golarion in the sub-continent of Iobaria (I think it is big enough to classify as almost being a sub-continent of Casmaron). Playing in Iobaria will allow me to run wild developing my own towns and features away from some of the more over developed areas of Avistan and Garund. I have the information on Iobara from the Varnhold Vanishing episode of the Kingmaker adventure series which has an article that fleshes out some of Iobaria, gives me a map, but is not too in depth on details of the area, allowing my mind to develop the place more fully (another good point in being that Iobara is pretty much a wilderness with no overarching government, but great background – plagues, cyclopses, an old human empire, centaurs etc). I will find a good rural spot not too far north to develop my main town, and have a weird rural Lovecraft theme to the campaign (including meddling Old One cults, derro, Darklands aberrationsHi I have run a few campaigns in the past, two 3.5 dnd campaigns (one FR and one homebrew) and one pathfinder campaign, all of which were ended prematurely due to my problem of starting well but then having trouble making plotlines and preparations that end up being to railroad-ish for the players. The same group was in all the campaigns, each one was a work in progress of making a more open player orienteered game without such long descriptions of events (something I am prone to, like having a 500-word description for a new type of monster, and every room in a secret demon cult hidden beneath a dilapidated whorehouse described in minute detail). I also have the problem of having too many combats and not enough roleplaying events, as I am a meticulous planner for sessions and found it hard to plan for endless options and run the game ‘on the go.’ The last campaign I had improved vastly but in the last few sessions I fell back to my old ways, and since I was quite ill at the time I ended the campaign there.
My new campaign will be set on Golarion in the sub-continent of Iobaria (I think it is big enough to classify as almost being a sub-continent of Casmaron). Playing in Iobaria will allow me to run wild developing my own towns and features away from some of the more over developed areas of Avistan and Garund. I have the information on Iobara from the Varnhold Vanishing episode of the Kingmaker adventure series which has an article that fleshes out some of Iobaria, gives me a map, but is not too in depth on details of the area, allowing my mind to develop the place more fully (another good point in being that Iobara is pretty much a wilderness with no overarching government, but great background – plauges, cyclopses, an old human empire, centaurs etc). I will find a good rural spot not too far north to develop my main town, and have a weird rural Lovecraft theme to the campaign (including meddling Old One cults, derro, Darklands abberations and visitors from the void, the Black Dominion). So a science-fantasy campaign is what I’m looking at running. Good thing the Pit of Gormuz is not far away and the weirder nations of Casmaron too.
So really I am looking for help and advice on how to run a game I can both prepare for to develp interesting locations and characters (a strong point of mine) and run a more ‘open’ style of play where I am not railroading players into decisions. On the Iobara campaign side, I am looking for ideas, locations of more information on Iobaria, Casmaron and the Old Cults and Black Dominion (in my version of the game the two may use similar methods and uphold the same gods but are at odds with each other). Just any weird, wacky and dark science fantasy ideas would be great, later I will make a post fleshing out the background of the first adventure and campaign (I don’t want to dump too much text on the players but I will hand out the Iobara article in the Varnhold Vanishing as a reference for the players and a description of my town and recent events. Perhaps getting the wordy stuff out the way before the campaign begins will help me be sharper and quicker with my descriptions in-game).
Thanks, I know this post is a bit of a ramble but I hope to get some good advice on both fronts of my areas discussed above. Please move this post if in wrong sub forum.
and visitors from the void, the Black Dominion). So a science-fantasy campaign is what I’m looking at running. Good thing the Pit of Gormuz is not far away and the weirder nations of Casmaron too.
So really I am looking for help and advice on how to run a game I can both prepare for to develop interesting locations and characters (a strong point of mine) and run a more ‘open’ style of play where I am not railroading players into decisions. On the Iobara campaign side, I am looking for ideas, locations of more information on Iobaria, Casmaron and the Old Cults and Black Dominion (in my version of the game the two may use similar methods and uphold the same gods but are at odds with each other). Just any weird, wacky and dark science fantasy ideas would be great, later I will make a post fleshing out the background of the first adventure and campaign (I don’t want to dump too much text on the players but I will hand out the Iobara article in the Varnhold Vanishing as a reference for the players and a description of my town and recent events. Perhaps getting the wordy stuff out the way before the campaign begins will help me be sharper and quicker with my descriptions in-game).
Thanks, I know this post is a bit of a ramble but I hope to get some good advice on both fronts of my areas discussed above. Please move this post if in wrong sub forum.
My new campaign will be set on Golarion in the sub-continent of Iobaria (I think it is big enough to classify as almost being a sub-continent of Casmaron). Playing in Iobaria will allow me to run wild developing my own towns and features away from some of the more over developed areas of Avistan and Garund. I have the information on Iobara from the Varnhold Vanishing episode of the Kingmaker adventure series which has an article that fleshes out some of Iobaria, gives me a map, but is not too in depth on details of the area, allowing my mind to develop the place more fully (another good point in being that Iobara is pretty much a wilderness with no overarching government, but great background – plagues, cyclopses, an old human empire, centaurs etc). I will find a good rural spot not too far north to develop my main town, and have a weird rural Lovecraft theme to the campaign (including meddling Old One cults, derro, Darklands aberrationsHi I have run a few campaigns in the past, two 3.5 dnd campaigns (one FR and one homebrew) and one pathfinder campaign, all of which were ended prematurely due to my problem of starting well but then having trouble making plotlines and preparations that end up being to railroad-ish for the players. The same group was in all the campaigns, each one was a work in progress of making a more open player orienteered game without such long descriptions of events (something I am prone to, like having a 500-word description for a new type of monster, and every room in a secret demon cult hidden beneath a dilapidated whorehouse described in minute detail). I also have the problem of having too many combats and not enough roleplaying events, as I am a meticulous planner for sessions and found it hard to plan for endless options and run the game ‘on the go.’ The last campaign I had improved vastly but in the last few sessions I fell back to my old ways, and since I was quite ill at the time I ended the campaign there.
My new campaign will be set on Golarion in the sub-continent of Iobaria (I think it is big enough to classify as almost being a sub-continent of Casmaron). Playing in Iobaria will allow me to run wild developing my own towns and features away from some of the more over developed areas of Avistan and Garund. I have the information on Iobara from the Varnhold Vanishing episode of the Kingmaker adventure series which has an article that fleshes out some of Iobaria, gives me a map, but is not too in depth on details of the area, allowing my mind to develop the place more fully (another good point in being that Iobara is pretty much a wilderness with no overarching government, but great background – plauges, cyclopses, an old human empire, centaurs etc). I will find a good rural spot not too far north to develop my main town, and have a weird rural Lovecraft theme to the campaign (including meddling Old One cults, derro, Darklands abberations and visitors from the void, the Black Dominion). So a science-fantasy campaign is what I’m looking at running. Good thing the Pit of Gormuz is not far away and the weirder nations of Casmaron too.
So really I am looking for help and advice on how to run a game I can both prepare for to develp interesting locations and characters (a strong point of mine) and run a more ‘open’ style of play where I am not railroading players into decisions. On the Iobara campaign side, I am looking for ideas, locations of more information on Iobaria, Casmaron and the Old Cults and Black Dominion (in my version of the game the two may use similar methods and uphold the same gods but are at odds with each other). Just any weird, wacky and dark science fantasy ideas would be great, later I will make a post fleshing out the background of the first adventure and campaign (I don’t want to dump too much text on the players but I will hand out the Iobara article in the Varnhold Vanishing as a reference for the players and a description of my town and recent events. Perhaps getting the wordy stuff out the way before the campaign begins will help me be sharper and quicker with my descriptions in-game).
Thanks, I know this post is a bit of a ramble but I hope to get some good advice on both fronts of my areas discussed above. Please move this post if in wrong sub forum.
and visitors from the void, the Black Dominion). So a science-fantasy campaign is what I’m looking at running. Good thing the Pit of Gormuz is not far away and the weirder nations of Casmaron too.
So really I am looking for help and advice on how to run a game I can both prepare for to develop interesting locations and characters (a strong point of mine) and run a more ‘open’ style of play where I am not railroading players into decisions. On the Iobara campaign side, I am looking for ideas, locations of more information on Iobaria, Casmaron and the Old Cults and Black Dominion (in my version of the game the two may use similar methods and uphold the same gods but are at odds with each other). Just any weird, wacky and dark science fantasy ideas would be great, later I will make a post fleshing out the background of the first adventure and campaign (I don’t want to dump too much text on the players but I will hand out the Iobara article in the Varnhold Vanishing as a reference for the players and a description of my town and recent events. Perhaps getting the wordy stuff out the way before the campaign begins will help me be sharper and quicker with my descriptions in-game).
Thanks, I know this post is a bit of a ramble but I hope to get some good advice on both fronts of my areas discussed above. Please move this post if in wrong sub forum.
