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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 319008" data-attributes="member: 812">More than anything else, you need bad guys.Bad guys are bad guys (and of course I'm using the non-gender-specific form of &quot;bad guys&quot;, here) because they are trying to do something the PCs want to prevent. If the PCs don't intercede, bad things will happen.Good bad guys (er, you know what I mean) are what makes a truly great campaign. Some can be dealt with immediately, some may take ages to track down and defeat. Some aren't even revealed as bad guys until it's (almost, but never quite) too late. Nevertheless, it's the bad guys what make a campaign a story.Thing is, with well-done bad guys, you don't have to have a PLOT figured out. All you need to know is the bad guy's desire -- what is he trying to do? Let the PCs find out at whatever rate you deem appropriate and give them chances to get involved. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won't -- but if they ignore the bad guy he gets closer and closer to his goal -- and remember he's a BAD GUY because what he wants conflicts with what the PCs want. So if he succeeds they're in a bad way somehow.This means that the PCs' actions will affect the outcome of the story -- the bad guy will adjust tactics in accordance with their actions and his own way of thinking. There's no railroading, no pre-determined plots. It's way more fun for you the DM, too -- you get to play these nasty villains and figure out ways for them to circumvent the players. And you never know which way it's going to go.Of course, sometimes the players pop up unexpectedly and kill your main bad guy five minutes into your first campaign session. This is where improvisation comes in so handy.(sorry, hit submit before I was done)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 319008, member: 812"] More than anything else, you need bad guys. Bad guys are bad guys (and of course I'm using the non-gender-specific form of "bad guys", here) because they are trying to do something the PCs want to prevent. If the PCs don't intercede, bad things will happen. Good bad guys (er, you know what I mean) are what makes a truly great campaign. Some can be dealt with immediately, some may take ages to track down and defeat. Some aren't even revealed as bad guys until it's (almost, but never quite) too late. Nevertheless, it's the bad guys what make a campaign a story. Thing is, with well-done bad guys, you don't have to have a PLOT figured out. All you need to know is the bad guy's desire -- what is he trying to do? Let the PCs find out at whatever rate you deem appropriate and give them chances to get involved. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won't -- but if they ignore the bad guy he gets closer and closer to his goal -- and remember he's a BAD GUY because what he wants conflicts with what the PCs want. So if he succeeds they're in a bad way somehow. This means that the PCs' actions will affect the outcome of the story -- the bad guy will adjust tactics in accordance with their actions and his own way of thinking. There's no railroading, no pre-determined plots. It's way more fun for you the DM, too -- you get to play these nasty villains and figure out ways for them to circumvent the players. And you never know which way it's going to go. Of course, sometimes the players pop up unexpectedly and kill your main bad guy five minutes into your first campaign session. This is where improvisation comes in so handy. (sorry, hit submit before I was done) [/QUOTE]

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