DM Dilemma - I Need Help, ENWorld! - *UPDATED* - Putting YOUR ideas to work!

[athos]

You have a good idea...now how do you bring that idea PHYSICALLY to paper? Also, it is worth noting I do NOT like to run adventures COMPLETELY off the seat of my pants. Ability to improvise is valuable and necessary, of course, but I like to have a good idea of what my options are.

So, please, for the sake of my game and players, what is your input?

I like to start with either a blank sheet of paper or a word file. Then I try to define what the conflict is, for writing, conflict is what creates the drama. So I will either put down a situation, queen is jealous of the king's attentions to someone else, or the big bad guy is looking to take over the town, or whatever. At that point, I try to define the antagonist. What is he/she like, what type of character class and level, what race, what motivates, etc.

Then I try to lightly define the setting. Town of snarksville, kingdom of jealous lovers, whatever the setting might be for the series of adventures. At that point I look to add in little side quests and NPCs of note. Who is in what faction and why, what do they want, etc.

Once I have the antagonist and the setting, I will flesh out the minor plots and their hooks and create the mini adventures that are not a part of the main story, I do this first for two reasons, first I want to see if I can eventually weave some plot element into them, and second, it helps me to define the setting and NPCs more.

Then once I have all that, I start making the main series of adventures for the plotline. I will go backwards though, starting with the queen, the bbg, or whatever and do the final confrontation. Then I will make smaller confrontations and put them in some kind of order that makes sense to me. Voila, adventure is ready to play.

That is my method, hope it helps...

 

[Goonalan]

I usually start with approx. 1 or 2 sides A4 written notes, generally I get ideas when I watch films, read books, play games or read other scenarios- decide which parts of the plot I've just got interested in I like.

Obviously I like the plot because it fits in with my campaign aims, or will serve as a useful diversion for my PCs.

If I need a map I find one- from dundjinni user creations, campaign cartographer, enworld- whereever, or else as a last resort draw one myself- I'm crap at drawing, I ran a fantastic 1st Level D&D adventure using the maps from the original Lara Croft Tomb Raider- actually now I think about I've used quite a few maps from other bought scenarios and or game books (walkthrough guides).

Then I try to think of it as a story, how it will unfold for the PCs- what order things SHOULD happen in- obviously the SHOULD sometimes doesn't work out.

If it's a single session then I go for 3 to 5 encounters (D&D 4e), if it's something longer then, well it depends on how complex the plot is.

Write out what I want the PCs to get up to on a sheet of A4- single sentence for each, e.g.

Guys meet up with so-and-so in wherever, it seems there's a problem- figure patron from the list of NPCs the PCs know or intro someone new (dependent on plot)

Usually the intro leaves the PCs with a couple of things to check out- leg-work investigating, going to rough up someone for info whatever.

Keep writing down the next thing that happens, then the next till the plot is done.

Number the points- then draw lots of arrows- a potential flow chart.

Note I always try and get a twist in the plot, like the patron is the real bad guy, or else the thing the PCs are looking for turns out to be something quite different from what they expected- I remember an RPGA scenario called something like the Radiant Vessel of Thesk, the Radiant Vessel turned out to be a pregnant woman with innate healing powers- nice twist for a bunch of treasure hunting, beer-drinking, goblin-slaying... you get the idea.

Regardless somewhere in the plot something is not right-

Like when my players investigated a forge making Dwarforged (robot dwarves essentially), the cult behind the Forge were trying to create the ultimate Terminator (pass as a Dwarf) Dwarforged- the PCs were out to stop this happening and were lead by a brave (and violent) Dwarf who turned out to be (maybe) the ultimate Terminator (pass as a Dwarf) Dwarforged- which came as a surprise for the guy who was playing the Dwarf.

The next bit is the best bit (for me) decide on the bad guy (sometimes this has already happened in my head- because of the campaign aims, or because the guy/monster in what ever media I've stolen the idea from is just obvious)

So you've a list of plot points- which of these are combat encounters, which of these are Skill Challenges, which of these a puzzles/traps or other.

Get another piece of A4 paper, number as above and make notes for the encounters (usually only a sentence or two again, sometimes just a heading like 'The Back Alley Gang')- decide what you want, easy fight- easy skill challenge- hard fight- puzzle- end of level bad guy. Remember rising tension it gets harder as the PCs go on. I sometimes go for an ongoing Skill Challenge which takes as long as the adventurers need to figure it all out- failure just means more Red Herrings or tougher opponents et al.

Hit the books- generally I photocopy monsters/traps etc and put them all in a clear plastice wallets- and then into a file in the order they appear.

Lastly go back to the map and figure what bits I'm using find appropriate floorplans that will do the trick or when I used Maptools just get the pictures set up and ready to play. When I was using Maptools I would then have to populate every map, sort out all the monsters, maybe type up various info points, intro sections, skill challenge results etc. Playing around the table I don't do this, generally the scenario gets a life of its own at some point and I end up thinking about it much too much- so I know it off by heart.

So for a multi-level spanning scenario I end up with a thick A4 file with 40-60 pages (95% photocopied, scanned or printed from PDFs). For a four encounter one-shot I have much much thinner file with 10-15 pages in it (again 95% photocopied etc.).

To be honest these days I don't do this that often (actually hardly at all), time constraints mean I have to settle for bought scenarios.

 

[Nagol]

Bingo. You've hit the nail on the head. This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about when I said "I don't know how to DO situational preparation, even though I understand what it IS"

You see, I want these to be SITUATIONS, not chokepoints, rails, or bottlenecks. This is EXACTLY the intent of my questioning.

But ANY adventure is susceptible to a player saying "No." Even the one you outlined above. For example, you put:

Younger brother will be assaulted on road by rebels I had an adventure in which a similar (escort) event occured. Instead of aiding their charge, they turned on him, killed the rebels AND the prince, and then blamed it on the rebels by leaving their bodies to show that it was a raid, took the loot, and ran away. How would THAT affect your outlined adventure, hm?

The actual result of that situation is the PCs turned down the younger brother and decided to go into the widerness for a few weeks.

The younger brother got kidnapped and was killed during his brother's rescue attempt. The elder brother ascended the throne, but the mother withdrew to a nearby city since the situation didn't make sense to her and began looking for someone who would help her recover a portion of the body for resurrection possibilities.

The PCs eventually saw the McGuffin the next time they ran into the new baron and his governship of the baronry has been a thorn in the side of the region ever since.


First, make sure the players are happy to play the prophesied heroes. If they're not, the scenario is already doomed.

If they are, adapt the concept of a "drunken walk". Design each new scenario in a way that can lead towards your eventual goal. Preferentially, design the situation such that the resources can be reused at a later time if the players don't notice/refuse to nibble the first time. Always include multiple ways for the group to discover information that leads onwards.

Allow for player activity to drive the discovery and plot forward. Discover what motiviates and interests the PCs and use those items as hooks to lead the group towards the eventual climatic encounter.

 

[Umbran]

...and as those go I will increase my preparations to suit

My question is thus: HOW will you do so? WHAT will you write down to prepare?

Well, that's rather wrapped up in the "to suit" part. What preparation I'll need with depend on what the party wants to do. What I write down for intrigue scenarios is different from what I write down for action-packed monster hunting.

 

[Umbran]

How would THAT affect your outlined adventure, hm? Totally derailed.

Well, I would think that it can take a session's worth of time to play through the derailment, at which point the GM has time to adjust.

Yes, it is always possible to posit that the players will do something completely unexpected. But, in practice, they strongly tend to play to type. They choose a character, and a personality, and tend to stay in it. If you take that into account, you're usually good to go, and a bit of improvisation covers the rest of the cases.

Really - you had a party of Chaotic characters, and gave them a scenario in which the basic expectation that kept things rolling was that they would uphold the law?!? That seemed like a good idea at the time?

Rather than use this as an example of how PCs do the unexpected, it is a better example of how they stick to type (in this case, a Chaotic type), and that the GM has to remember that type when designing scenarios.

 

[Gloomshroud]

The actual result of that situation is the PCs turned down the younger brother and decided to go into the widerness for a few weeks.

The younger brother got kidnapped and was killed during his brother's rescue attempt. The elder brother ascended the throne, but the mother withdrew to a nearby city since the situation didn't make sense to her and began looking for someone who would help her recover a portion of the body for resurrection possibilities.

The PCs eventually saw the McGuffin the next time they ran into the new baron and his governship of the baronry has been a thorn in the side of the region ever since.


First, make sure the players are happy to play the prophesied heroes. If they're not, the scenario is already doomed.

If they are, adapt the concept of a "drunken walk". Design each new scenario in a way that can lead towards your eventual goal. Preferentially, design the situation such that the resources can be reused at a later time if the players don't notice/refuse to nibble the first time. Always include multiple ways for the group to discover information that leads onwards.

Allow for player activity to drive the discovery and plot forward. Discover what motiviates and interests the PCs and use those items as hooks to lead the group towards the eventual climatic encounter.

I really like this. Lately, I've been using Alexander's Creations as my inspiration for making stories. I'm REALLY trying to grasp his Three Clue Rule, Design Situations, Not Plots, and Node Based Adventure Design. Based on THAT information, I will attempt to leave at LEAST 3 possible ways for any problem to be solved, whilst being open to others. This creates a safety net that allows for player ingenuity, but failing that there's still something to throw at them. I understand the theory. Putting it in practice is diffuclt. Same with nodes

 

[Gloomshroud]

Well, I would think that it can take a session's worth of time to play through the derailment, at which point the GM has time to adjust.

Yes, it is always possible to posit that the players will do something completely unexpected. But, in practice, they strongly tend to play to type. They choose a character, and a personality, and tend to stay in it. If you take that into account, you're usually good to go, and a bit of improvisation covers the rest of the cases.

Really - you had a party of Chaotic characters, and gave them a scenario in which the basic expectation that kept things rolling was that they would uphold the law?!? That seemed like a good idea at the time?

Rather than use this as an example of how PCs do the unexpected, it is a better example of how they stick to type (in this case, a Chaotic type), and that the GM has to remember that type when designing scenarios.

Well, I expected them to at least be a bit nicer. They didn't say or do anything for 4 adventures before that would have naturally led me to believe they'd butcher their sovereign for profit. I said I was a DM, never that I was a GOOD one.

 

[Gloomshroud]

i usually start with approx. 1 or 2 sides a4 written notes, generally i get ideas when i watch films, read books, play games or read other scenarios- decide which parts of the plot i've just got interested in i like.

Obviously i like the plot because it fits in with my campaign aims, or will serve as a useful diversion for my pcs.

If i need a map i find one- from dundjinni user creations, campaign cartographer, enworld- whereever, or else as a last resort draw one myself- i'm crap at drawing, i ran a fantastic 1st level d&d adventure using the maps from the original lara croft tomb raider- actually now i think about i've used quite a few maps from other bought scenarios and or game books (walkthrough guides).

Then i try to think of it as a story, how it will unfold for the pcs- what order things should happen in- obviously the should sometimes doesn't work out.

If it's a single session then i go for 3 to 5 encounters (d&d 4e), if it's something longer then, well it depends on how complex the plot is.

Write out what i want the pcs to get up to on a sheet of a4- single sentence for each, e.g.

Guys meet up with so-and-so in wherever, it seems there's a problem- figure patron from the list of npcs the pcs know or intro someone new (dependent on plot)

usually the intro leaves the pcs with a couple of things to check out- leg-work investigating, going to rough up someone for info whatever.

Keep writing down the next thing that happens, then the next till the plot is done.

Number the points- then draw lots of arrows- a potential flow chart.

Note i always try and get a twist in the plot, like the patron is the real bad guy, or else the thing the pcs are looking for turns out to be something quite different from what they expected- i remember an rpga scenario called something like the radiant vessel of thesk, the radiant vessel turned out to be a pregnant woman with innate healing powers- nice twist for a bunch of treasure hunting, beer-drinking, goblin-slaying... You get the idea.

Regardless somewhere in the plot something is not right-

like when my players investigated a forge making dwarforged (robot dwarves essentially), the cult behind the forge were trying to create the ultimate terminator (pass as a dwarf) dwarforged- the pcs were out to stop this happening and were lead by a brave (and violent) dwarf who turned out to be (maybe) the ultimate terminator (pass as a dwarf) dwarforged- which came as a surprise for the guy who was playing the dwarf.

The next bit is the best bit (for me) decide on the bad guy (sometimes this has already happened in my head- because of the campaign aims, or because the guy/monster in what ever media i've stolen the idea from is just obvious)

so you've a list of plot points- which of these are combat encounters, which of these are skill challenges, which of these a puzzles/traps or other.

Get another piece of a4 paper, number as above and make notes for the encounters (usually only a sentence or two again, sometimes just a heading like 'the back alley gang')- decide what you want, easy fight- easy skill challenge- hard fight- puzzle- end of level bad guy. Remember rising tension it gets harder as the pcs go on. I sometimes go for an ongoing skill challenge which takes as long as the adventurers need to figure it all out- failure just means more red herrings or tougher opponents et al.

Hit the books- generally i photocopy monsters/traps etc and put them all in a clear plastice wallets- and then into a file in the order they appear.

Lastly go back to the map and figure what bits i'm using find appropriate floorplans that will do the trick or when i used maptools just get the pictures set up and ready to play. When i was using maptools i would then have to populate every map, sort out all the monsters, maybe type up various info points, intro sections, skill challenge results etc. Playing around the table i don't do this, generally the scenario gets a life of its own at some point and i end up thinking about it much too much- so i know it off by heart.

So for a multi-level spanning scenario i end up with a thick a4 file with 40-60 pages (95% photocopied, scanned or printed from pdfs). For a four encounter one-shot i have much much thinner file with 10-15 pages in it (again 95% photocopied etc.).

To be honest these days i don't do this that often (actually hardly at all), time constraints mean i have to settle for bought scenarios.

*eats this post hungrily*

 

[Gloomshroud]

So, I have an adventure idea. I don't want to railroad, and I want it to be adaptable and moveable and all those other desireables. However I DEFINITELY want it to include those ideas I have listed. I'm just having a hard time here. I've even tried incorporating these ideas already presented in this post. I keep hitting a wall with my first scribble.

I'm going to HAVE to force the characters into Dark Sun (I want them to feel "not at home" - it's going to be very foreign for most of my players, I want to reinforce this). So, I've decided on playing superman by ripping them from whichever world they happen to be in (not connected to Dark Sun) and planting them firmly in the middle of the desert. Whoops. Kalak approaches, cursing his luck that his last spell (he's outta juice) brought him such wusses. Then what?

 

[MortonStromgal]

Before a new campaign I...

Make up 5 major npcs and how they feel about each other and 3 goals they each want accomplished. I then give them each 2 named minions who can help achieve one or more of their goals.


Before a game session I...

Write down 4 things that are going to happen that the PCs will notice and insert them at an appropriate moment. This could be anything from an earthquake to a theif steals a purse. I also write down how one of the major npcs will move toward one of his/her goals that session, this may or may not be noticed by the PCs depending on where they are and what the major npc is doing.


... then I just let the story take a life of its own.