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<blockquote data-quote="Knightcrawler" data-source="post: 1303582" data-attributes="member: 5097">I've never really liked the whole episodic idea for gaming sessions.&nbsp; If you plan a specific beginning and end to each session you may finish the session very early or you might have to stop in the middle of an important plot scene because your players took longer than expected to reach the end point.I have one meta-plot which I treat very much like a play.&nbsp; Each major portion of the meta-plot can be viewed as an act, a campaign within the campaign.&nbsp; Now my plan is to run a campaign lasting many years so each of these &quot;Acts&quot; can last from 6 months to a year in length and could be used almost as separate campaigns.&nbsp; The meta-plot involves the major shaker and mover villian that is gaining power and that the party will not actually face until the end of the campaign.&nbsp; Now this meta-plot has a specific timeline.&nbsp; X will happen at X time pretty much no matter what the part does.&nbsp; Now many of these events have no direct impact of the party immediately but there is always the butterfly effect.&nbsp; Now this timeline covers a lot of game time, somewhere between 10 and 15 years of game time.&nbsp; Depending when the party hits certain plot points decides how hard these encounters will be.Next we have the sub-plots.&nbsp; These are plots that have really nothing to do with the meta-plot but can be effected by it.&nbsp; Some of the sub-plots have timelines that move along but the difference is that the party can affect these timelines.&nbsp; Some of the sub-plots don't necessarily have timelines but are instead party activated.&nbsp; If the party does X then Y will happen.&nbsp; But if the party never does X then Y never happens.&nbsp;&nbsp; I usually have 2 to 3 sub-plots running at one time.&nbsp; They don't have to be covered in every gaming session but they usually hold importance for the party for several months of real world time and anywheres from 6 months to 1 year of game time.Then lastly I have what I call character plot threads.&nbsp; These are minor plots that come from a characters background.&nbsp; Like a character has an old jilted lover, a secret admirer, a childhood enemy, an angry family, etc, etc.&nbsp; These are usually situational plots.&nbsp; If the party goes to X inn/tavern/shop then theres a chance that one of the characters will run into one of their chracter plot threads.&nbsp; These can be short term plots or they could keep popping up throughout the whole game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Knightcrawler, post: 1303582, member: 5097"] I've never really liked the whole episodic idea for gaming sessions. If you plan a specific beginning and end to each session you may finish the session very early or you might have to stop in the middle of an important plot scene because your players took longer than expected to reach the end point. I have one meta-plot which I treat very much like a play. Each major portion of the meta-plot can be viewed as an act, a campaign within the campaign. Now my plan is to run a campaign lasting many years so each of these "Acts" can last from 6 months to a year in length and could be used almost as separate campaigns. The meta-plot involves the major shaker and mover villian that is gaining power and that the party will not actually face until the end of the campaign. Now this meta-plot has a specific timeline. X will happen at X time pretty much no matter what the part does. Now many of these events have no direct impact of the party immediately but there is always the butterfly effect. Now this timeline covers a lot of game time, somewhere between 10 and 15 years of game time. Depending when the party hits certain plot points decides how hard these encounters will be. Next we have the sub-plots. These are plots that have really nothing to do with the meta-plot but can be effected by it. Some of the sub-plots have timelines that move along but the difference is that the party can affect these timelines. Some of the sub-plots don't necessarily have timelines but are instead party activated. If the party does X then Y will happen. But if the party never does X then Y never happens. I usually have 2 to 3 sub-plots running at one time. They don't have to be covered in every gaming session but they usually hold importance for the party for several months of real world time and anywheres from 6 months to 1 year of game time. Then lastly I have what I call character plot threads. These are minor plots that come from a characters background. Like a character has an old jilted lover, a secret admirer, a childhood enemy, an angry family, etc, etc. These are usually situational plots. If the party goes to X inn/tavern/shop then theres a chance that one of the characters will run into one of their chracter plot threads. These can be short term plots or they could keep popping up throughout the whole game. [/QUOTE]

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