jgsugden
Legend
If you want to keep the PCs advancing slowly, you need to provide them with things to do between adventures or adventures that take place on a slow pace.
I've slowed things down a bit with the following tactics:
1.) A romance between a PC and an NPC. The player loved roleplaying, so I tossed her a romantic situation that she threw her character into head-first. The rest of the PCs were ready to leave town, but she begged them to stay a few extra days ... then weeks ... then months ... The other PCs ended up starting businesses, wasting gold on boozing, etc ...
2.) Put adventures on a timeline. My most recent campaign features a prophecy that takes place on a timeline. Accordingly, the PCs must be at certain places at certain times. THis forces them to plan, which usually takes up some time.
3.) GET RID OF TELEPORTATION AND DIRECTIONAL PLANAR TRAVEL. You'd be surprised at how much time PCs spend traveling when they can't teleport or plane shift to get to their target location instantly. Seriously, look at how fast ships travel. Look at how fast mounts travel. Then factor in the fact that ships might not be available when PCs want them, land based travel may be slowed by weather or terrain, etc .... This is especially effective in a huge campaign world with lots of distance to travel.
4.) Make PCs look for their goals. Don't mark the dungeon on a map with an X. If everyone could find it easily, it would have been plundered years ago. Let the PCs find out the dungeon is located in the 'eastern side of the Kildjor forest, approximately 40 miles from the Great Grendale lakes'. It could take them weeks, or months, to find the dungeon with a description that vague.
5.) Put PCs on the lamb. Make it so that they are hiding from something, either to protect something or to keep safe from a powerful enemy. It takes a lot more time to sneak through the countryside than it does to take the common roads.
6.) Add training time back into the game. If a PC gets enough experience to level up, they must spend time training their skills to improve.
7.) Make the PCs wait for others. If the merchant hiring the PCs to watch his caravan won't be ready to leave for a week, the PCs have to wait a week or decline the job.
8.) Give PCs real life issues to worry about. Invite them to weddings in far off locations. Have the local lord offer them land ... but then require them to oversee the management of the land.
9.) Make adventuring less profitable, so that it makes sense for adventurers to have other jobs. If the PCs go on an adventure, get lots of neat stuff that they can not sell, but find no money, they may have trouble buying food. If so, they may have to take a caravan guarding job or a city watch position just to put food on the table.
I've slowed things down a bit with the following tactics:
1.) A romance between a PC and an NPC. The player loved roleplaying, so I tossed her a romantic situation that she threw her character into head-first. The rest of the PCs were ready to leave town, but she begged them to stay a few extra days ... then weeks ... then months ... The other PCs ended up starting businesses, wasting gold on boozing, etc ...
2.) Put adventures on a timeline. My most recent campaign features a prophecy that takes place on a timeline. Accordingly, the PCs must be at certain places at certain times. THis forces them to plan, which usually takes up some time.
3.) GET RID OF TELEPORTATION AND DIRECTIONAL PLANAR TRAVEL. You'd be surprised at how much time PCs spend traveling when they can't teleport or plane shift to get to their target location instantly. Seriously, look at how fast ships travel. Look at how fast mounts travel. Then factor in the fact that ships might not be available when PCs want them, land based travel may be slowed by weather or terrain, etc .... This is especially effective in a huge campaign world with lots of distance to travel.
4.) Make PCs look for their goals. Don't mark the dungeon on a map with an X. If everyone could find it easily, it would have been plundered years ago. Let the PCs find out the dungeon is located in the 'eastern side of the Kildjor forest, approximately 40 miles from the Great Grendale lakes'. It could take them weeks, or months, to find the dungeon with a description that vague.
5.) Put PCs on the lamb. Make it so that they are hiding from something, either to protect something or to keep safe from a powerful enemy. It takes a lot more time to sneak through the countryside than it does to take the common roads.
6.) Add training time back into the game. If a PC gets enough experience to level up, they must spend time training their skills to improve.
7.) Make the PCs wait for others. If the merchant hiring the PCs to watch his caravan won't be ready to leave for a week, the PCs have to wait a week or decline the job.
8.) Give PCs real life issues to worry about. Invite them to weddings in far off locations. Have the local lord offer them land ... but then require them to oversee the management of the land.
9.) Make adventuring less profitable, so that it makes sense for adventurers to have other jobs. If the PCs go on an adventure, get lots of neat stuff that they can not sell, but find no money, they may have trouble buying food. If so, they may have to take a caravan guarding job or a city watch position just to put food on the table.
