NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rabbitbait" data-source="post: 6625200" data-attributes="member: 60100">I feel that this is going to be an interesting module to play. It is very much a sandbox to play in, and as such I feel that the players could go off in any direction - including away from what is available in the module.The hardest bit so far has been working out the best way to hook the characters into the action - how to connect them in a meaningful way to the missions. To do this, I have really encouraged players to come up with deep backgrounds for their characters. This included the reason that the character is in Xandrar. I have then used that to hook all the characters to their future patron - Sir Isteval. This will give me a backup to send characters on missions if the trail goes dry, or if I feel that this module is getting boring (there is a lot of dungeons in this, but they all seem to have something interesting about them).This also means that from their backgrounds I am able to patch together overall character arcs for each character over the course of the campaign. This will bring each character in the spotlight occasionally - some more than others depending on how interesting their arc is. Again, these will change depending on the decisions made by the players.My general rules for setting a campaign.* Start off with a general campaign arc in mind. (This one started as the Swords of Liberty - I won't go into too much detail as my players might read this)* Think of a backup arc. (I stole from Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle, and I have now changed over to PoTA) - Note that my backup arc has become my main arc as it was just easier. It might slip back to the Swords of Liberty at any time and I will continue to seed small pieces of information about the swords while PoTA progresses.* Have good character backgrounds and think up rough character story arcs that I might pursue. I generally get the players to write a background and then adjust it back and forth with them to fit the story. I generally end up fleshing out who their contacts and family are, and this gives more opportunities for roleplaying, seeding adventures and changing things up when needed.* Get started. It always feels a bit stilted trying to get a group of totally different people from totally different backgrounds together for a common cause. So it will be a bit stilted and it is best at this stage to have a clear goal for the group.* Start putting in decision points. These are moments where the group needs to make a choice that will change the direction of the campaign (or at least feel like it). I like to have three choices, but two will do. In this case, the first decision point was to hunt down the missing delegation or to investigate the Feathergale Knights.* Keep putting in decision points throughout the entire campaign* Be willing to scrap all of your careful preparation if something cooler comes along. This is shared storytelling - if the group suddenly decides to establish a keep rather than follow your plan of long distance travel, just go with it and bring in further decision points. There is nothing worse than forcing a direction. In the past I have lost an entire arc (The Pirate Isles), because the party unexpectedly escaped from the slavers that had captured them and went inland. But them escaping was so unlikely and fun and they did it fair and square.* Don't be scared of killing characters (but don't kill players, that is considered bad manners at a gaming table). My players know well that I let the dice lie where they fall and I will allow a TPK to happen. I've not had a TPK yet, but it has come down to one dice roll in the past. However it means that my players really think hard about their choices as they know there will be consequences for a dumb decision. They also run away when the odds are stacked against them. It's just more fun when there is a risk of death.Whoops, how did this turn into an advice column. I was just writing about my process. Do whatever works for you, this is what works for me.</blockquote>

Verification