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Message: <blockquote data-quote="aco175" data-source="post: 9762651" data-attributes="member: 27385">I read someplace, so I cannot take credit for it, that there is an art of illusion.  The players will believe you if you do not show them behind the curtain so to speak.  Don't tell them about the trap secret or the magic item they missed.  If they run into a NPC and ask his name and you have nothing, you pick up your notes and page through them as you make something up and say- "Here it is, his name is Twigleaf."  Like you had it there all along and your players will think you put all this work into the world.  You can also ask your boyfriend.  Ask him first if he would help, but this means that he would know some of the stuff and it might not be as fun when everyone discovers it.  He might/should be willing to help if you are having design problems or he might be great with making maps and such.  If he is a good player and boyfriend he should not let his prior knowledge spoil the fun and others enjoying things.A key part of designing world stuff is that the players will not care as much as you.  You can spend all this time making a great list of gods and how they interact and relate to each other, but the players will be just as interested with copying the list from Forgotten Realms or Grayhawk.  Now if you have a player that wants all this, plan some and let them plan more.  You only need to plan one week at a time.  Do not burn yourself out making this grand level 1-20 campaign when it might never last that long.  Plan some vague plans on the big bad guy and a couple cool ideas, but nothing set on paper.  Do make the initial adventure and some detail on a small home base town.  Have an idea on a small level 1-3 or 1-5 plot with a minion of the big bad.  Work on this but you only need to stay just in front of the players and what they want to do and go.  After they wrap up these few levels and save the village or defeat the underling, then they learn of a bigger threat with maybe the bid bad and some of his plans.  Then you plan out a few more levels  with something to defeat a plot of the big bad and so on.</blockquote>

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