Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The secrets of winging it
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Vraille Darkfang" data-source="post: 2904643" data-attributes="member: 16989"><p>I wing it a lot (sort of).</p><p></p><p>I have a beginning and an end in mind. But how they get there is a bunch of random encounters where I thread together some commonalities on the fly.</p><p></p><p>You'd be surprised how often this manages to resemble some tangled, complex, design of such subtlety and vision that players will wonder how you managed to do it. (PS. Don't tell them).</p><p></p><p>Here's how you get the best out of 'Winging it' (I hate that term, I prefer <em>Spontaneous Adventure Creation</em>).</p><p></p><p>1. Make a list of each player's strengths (Is the Fighter a up-front tank, Bow Master; is the Rogue a master of Stealth or a Trap-Guru?). </p><p></p><p>2. Make a list of each player's weaknesses (Low Will Saves, Low Charisma, Low AC, etc).</p><p></p><p>Then, copy that list into 2 columns, one Strengths, 1 Weaknesses, but don't include the PC with it. Just make a note of how many PC's have that particular Trait. (High AC-2, Low Reflex-3 for example). You'll know (should) which PC has which trait, but that's not the point. The point is to create an encounter sheet which appears geared <em>expressly </em> to your group.</p><p></p><p>Now.</p><p></p><p>Have roughly 1/3rd of your random encounters play to one of the strengths listed (Gives that player/s a chance to shine).</p><p></p><p>Have roughly 1/3rd of your random encounters play to one of the weaknesses (Gives the other players a chance to aid their ally).</p><p></p><p>Have 1/3rd be whatever you darn well please.</p><p></p><p>Then, just leave little clues/hints that seem random, but wait for a theme to develop (it'll come). Eventually you'll hit on something and that which doesn't fit was just a 'Random Encounter' as opposed to the 'Plot Encounters'.</p><p></p><p>Remember to listen to the players. If you have done your job right, their paranoid little minds can come up with conspiracy theories that's make Fox Mulder blink. (Plus, the get the satisfaction about their 'guess' being right.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Spontaneous Adventure Creation</em> is an Art Form that takes a lot of practice to perfect. But (when done well) gives the illusion (and effect) of having of spent hours and hours and hours crafting encounter after encounter after NPC after Adventure and Plot Hook after......</p><p></p><p>You get the point.</p><p></p><p>If you wing it, try to tailor it to some aspect of your group.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Vraille Darkfang, post: 2904643, member: 16989"] I wing it a lot (sort of). I have a beginning and an end in mind. But how they get there is a bunch of random encounters where I thread together some commonalities on the fly. You'd be surprised how often this manages to resemble some tangled, complex, design of such subtlety and vision that players will wonder how you managed to do it. (PS. Don't tell them). Here's how you get the best out of 'Winging it' (I hate that term, I prefer [I]Spontaneous Adventure Creation[/I]). 1. Make a list of each player's strengths (Is the Fighter a up-front tank, Bow Master; is the Rogue a master of Stealth or a Trap-Guru?). 2. Make a list of each player's weaknesses (Low Will Saves, Low Charisma, Low AC, etc). Then, copy that list into 2 columns, one Strengths, 1 Weaknesses, but don't include the PC with it. Just make a note of how many PC's have that particular Trait. (High AC-2, Low Reflex-3 for example). You'll know (should) which PC has which trait, but that's not the point. The point is to create an encounter sheet which appears geared [I]expressly [/I] to your group. Now. Have roughly 1/3rd of your random encounters play to one of the strengths listed (Gives that player/s a chance to shine). Have roughly 1/3rd of your random encounters play to one of the weaknesses (Gives the other players a chance to aid their ally). Have 1/3rd be whatever you darn well please. Then, just leave little clues/hints that seem random, but wait for a theme to develop (it'll come). Eventually you'll hit on something and that which doesn't fit was just a 'Random Encounter' as opposed to the 'Plot Encounters'. Remember to listen to the players. If you have done your job right, their paranoid little minds can come up with conspiracy theories that's make Fox Mulder blink. (Plus, the get the satisfaction about their 'guess' being right. [I]Spontaneous Adventure Creation[/I] is an Art Form that takes a lot of practice to perfect. But (when done well) gives the illusion (and effect) of having of spent hours and hours and hours crafting encounter after encounter after NPC after Adventure and Plot Hook after...... You get the point. If you wing it, try to tailor it to some aspect of your group. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The secrets of winging it
Top