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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LucasC" data-source="post: 6239215" data-attributes="member: 6762606">Without trying to tackle the entire question of how to shepherd a party from level 1 to 30 along a predefined route I'll offer a skeleton of how I've been successful with this in the past. <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Rather than try to detail out the entire story, create the personalities and/or events that are going to drive the story.  Get to 'know' key NPCs and their motives.  Understand what drives them and how they make decisions.  Make sure you have enough to respond to unexpected PC events.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Don't define the ending.  If your players feel like they are just running a treadmill to level 30 they will get bored.  Instead know key events and the consequences that will follow them.  Some will be unavoidable, others will be opportunities for your players to make a difference.  Depending on how they do, your story could end much differently than you think right now.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Start slowly.  Your level 1 PCs are not important people.  There is no chance they will change the world.  That won't be the case forever, but don't try to start them right off on the road to the end.  Introduce them to the situation slowly and indirectly.  You have lots of time to build this story up so make use of it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Only plan a few weeks in advance.  There is a very good chance you'll never make it to level 30 so don't try to write the entire thing out at once.  Plan far enough ahead that you can foreshadow things a couple weeks out and handle the rest as the PCs get there.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Don't be afraid to listen to theories and ideas your players throw out while discussing your plot and weave them into future games.  If you don't spill the beans there is a good chance they won't even know you did it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Take a break from time-to-time.  I learned this one only after one of my players started complaining that all they ever did was "try to save the world."  As it turns out, once in a while they want to do nothing complicated, just a good old fashioned dungeon crawl for nothing more than treasure.</li> </ol>As you approach a long-running story recognize that in an RPG you are really reading a "choose your own adventure" book but instead of you picking the choice at the bottom of the page your players are.  You need to give them choices and chances to make a difference.  You can do this, and keep your overarching story on track, by not attempting to control it, but instead understanding it.  In essence, the story is your character and you decide how it responds to the events the players do. Hope that helps some!  30 levels with one batch of PCs is a big investment and can be hard to accomplish, I wish you the best of luck!</blockquote>

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