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<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 8695560" data-attributes="member: 7635">There is an old rule of Dungeoncraft I live by: never create more than need. That is to say, I don't have two dozen potential plot hooks up in the air, existing in their own space in the vain hope that the PCs will stumble into them. If the campaign is going to center around an evil cult that is attempting to open a portal to the Hells in the King's bedchambers, I'm not ALSO going create a rampaging dragon, a schism between the elven royal heirs, a problem with kobolds in Rock Ridge, the turf war between two rival thief guilds and pirates ravaging the Southern Coast unless any of that is relevant to the Cult activity. Moreover, even if I did, the odds are too great the PCs, unable to be everywhere at once, will be too busy fighting pirates when the Blood Moon rises, and the center of the Kingdom becomes a one-way ticket to Hell. Congrats, the pirate problem is over because now the Kingdom is a demonic wasteland! Those things could exist, but they are not relevant to the campaign I am running, which involves rooting out cults and fighting fiendish foes. They might stumble into a small side quest (those kobolds have grown bolder since the cult started recruiting them) but at most, you're talking a 1-2 session side-trip to fix the problem at Rock Ridge. The focus is on the campaign I'm running.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 8695560, member: 7635"] There is an old rule of Dungeoncraft I live by: never create more than need. That is to say, I don't have two dozen potential plot hooks up in the air, existing in their own space in the vain hope that the PCs will stumble into them. If the campaign is going to center around an evil cult that is attempting to open a portal to the Hells in the King's bedchambers, I'm not ALSO going create a rampaging dragon, a schism between the elven royal heirs, a problem with kobolds in Rock Ridge, the turf war between two rival thief guilds and pirates ravaging the Southern Coast unless any of that is relevant to the Cult activity. Moreover, even if I did, the odds are too great the PCs, unable to be everywhere at once, will be too busy fighting pirates when the Blood Moon rises, and the center of the Kingdom becomes a one-way ticket to Hell. Congrats, the pirate problem is over because now the Kingdom is a demonic wasteland! Those things could exist, but they are not relevant to the campaign I am running, which involves rooting out cults and fighting fiendish foes. They might stumble into a small side quest (those kobolds have grown bolder since the cult started recruiting them) but at most, you're talking a 1-2 session side-trip to fix the problem at Rock Ridge. The focus is on the campaign I'm running. [/QUOTE]

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