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Repost- first session of Dark Sun campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7041235" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Thank you - that's a very generous thing to say!</p><p></p><p>My preparation can be quite variable, based more probably on my time available than my "theory" of GM prep.</p><p></p><p>Mostly, I write up stats for monsters/NPCs that I think might be interesting in the context of the current ingame situation. If there are places that either (i) I think the PCs might visit, or (ii) that I am going to frame the PCs into, I will draw maps. Following on from (ii), if I have ideas about what I am going to do in the session - eg confront the PCs with a certain NPC, I might make brief notes about the history/motivations of that NPC. And if I think there is going to be a skill challenge of some sort, I might make notes about that -eg what sorts of circumstances it might involve, some ideas on what should come next if the players have their PCs do some thing in the context of the challenge that seems fairly likely to happen.</p><p></p><p>A view that I've often stated on these forums is that I don't want there to be failure off-screen. A related idea is that I don't like the GM's "secret backstory" being a determiner of whether the PCs succeed or fail. This means that if I am noting motivations, or thinking about how a skill challenge might unfold, I am expecting that this is stuff that will come out as part of my framing - and if the situation in play unfolds in ways that require changing the framing, I will do that. This <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=1361" target="_blank">quote from Paul Czege</a> expresses the idea well:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"> I frame the character into the middle of conflicts I think will push and pull in ways that are interesting to me and to the player. I keep NPC personalities somewhat unfixed in my mind, allowing me to retroactively justify their behaviors in support of this.</p><p></p><p>For the first Dark Sun session, I had no notes except the campaign book. After the players had worked out their kickers it was clear that the action was in the arena - and I introduced the templars, the spectators etc as I needed them and they made sense (using stats from the MM, MV etc - a mage becomes a psionicist, etc) and just sketched up a map for the fight with the templars.</p><p></p><p>For the most recent one, I had statted up the templars, their hound, etc - but all the action unfolded in game, the contact at the inn was created in response to the players action declarations for their PCs (of going there looking for a job), the idea of the hound scouting to the inn and that being part of the unfolding scene was spontaneous (although obviously fit the idea of the hound), etc.</p><p></p><p>For <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?484945-Session-report-the-Mausoleum-of-the-Raven-Queen" target="_blank">this session</a> in my high level 4e game, I had drawn up a big map of the mausoleum (4 or 5 A4 sheets cut up and taped together to fit the geography I had come up with) and had stats for the naga, the sphinx and the hazards. (I also had stats for Jenna Osterneth from a previous session). And I had made up the riddle in advance. Otherwise it unfolded as the write-up specifies, including coming up with ideas for the details of the interior of the Mausoluem, the 5 statues in the final room indicating her destiny as sole god of the cosmos, etc. Also the erasure of her name from the walls, and the availability of a Chariot of Sustarre among her grave goods.</p><p></p><p>I hope that gives you some idea of the approach - I'd summarise it as prep of basic elements/participants (eg an NPC, or a place) but letting the details, and especially the story/motivational details, emerge as makes sense in play. To be blunt (but I hope not too rude), if the unfolding of events is settled in advance of play then what is it but a railroad?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7041235, member: 42582"] Thank you - that's a very generous thing to say! My preparation can be quite variable, based more probably on my time available than my "theory" of GM prep. Mostly, I write up stats for monsters/NPCs that I think might be interesting in the context of the current ingame situation. If there are places that either (i) I think the PCs might visit, or (ii) that I am going to frame the PCs into, I will draw maps. Following on from (ii), if I have ideas about what I am going to do in the session - eg confront the PCs with a certain NPC, I might make brief notes about the history/motivations of that NPC. And if I think there is going to be a skill challenge of some sort, I might make notes about that -eg what sorts of circumstances it might involve, some ideas on what should come next if the players have their PCs do some thing in the context of the challenge that seems fairly likely to happen. A view that I've often stated on these forums is that I don't want there to be failure off-screen. A related idea is that I don't like the GM's "secret backstory" being a determiner of whether the PCs succeed or fail. This means that if I am noting motivations, or thinking about how a skill challenge might unfold, I am expecting that this is stuff that will come out as part of my framing - and if the situation in play unfolds in ways that require changing the framing, I will do that. This [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=1361]quote from Paul Czege[/url] expresses the idea well: [indent] I frame the character into the middle of conflicts I think will push and pull in ways that are interesting to me and to the player. I keep NPC personalities somewhat unfixed in my mind, allowing me to retroactively justify their behaviors in support of this.[/indent] For the first Dark Sun session, I had no notes except the campaign book. After the players had worked out their kickers it was clear that the action was in the arena - and I introduced the templars, the spectators etc as I needed them and they made sense (using stats from the MM, MV etc - a mage becomes a psionicist, etc) and just sketched up a map for the fight with the templars. For the most recent one, I had statted up the templars, their hound, etc - but all the action unfolded in game, the contact at the inn was created in response to the players action declarations for their PCs (of going there looking for a job), the idea of the hound scouting to the inn and that being part of the unfolding scene was spontaneous (although obviously fit the idea of the hound), etc. For [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?484945-Session-report-the-Mausoleum-of-the-Raven-Queen]this session[/url] in my high level 4e game, I had drawn up a big map of the mausoleum (4 or 5 A4 sheets cut up and taped together to fit the geography I had come up with) and had stats for the naga, the sphinx and the hazards. (I also had stats for Jenna Osterneth from a previous session). And I had made up the riddle in advance. Otherwise it unfolded as the write-up specifies, including coming up with ideas for the details of the interior of the Mausoluem, the 5 statues in the final room indicating her destiny as sole god of the cosmos, etc. Also the erasure of her name from the walls, and the availability of a Chariot of Sustarre among her grave goods. I hope that gives you some idea of the approach - I'd summarise it as prep of basic elements/participants (eg an NPC, or a place) but letting the details, and especially the story/motivational details, emerge as makes sense in play. To be blunt (but I hope not too rude), if the unfolding of events is settled in advance of play then what is it but a railroad? [/QUOTE]
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