D&D General Campaign character focus tracking

[iserith]

Cool, but then I think we're looking for different experiences from our campaigns is all? I've found the campaigns I've run to be a little too 2-dimensional because the characters (whilst being the protagonists) seemed quite static and disconnected from the world. I'm trying to make things feel a bit more 3-dimensional.

I think we want the same thing, it's just that my way requires little to no work on your part and some effort on the players' part.

 

[Quickleaf]

Yep - I just need a way to make sure I'm thinking about opportunities to enrich the campaign with personal touches that pull in the players characters. The main campaign can be kind of a steam roller. Folks need to remember that I'm still very much in the noob category of DMs. I feel like I've finally gotten the basic running of the game down, describing the scene, action resolution etc. Now trying to up my story evocation game. Those are some good ideas Quickleaf. Thanks.

You're welcome! There's another thing I do, which I forgot to mention. I compile a list of the PCs' story beats/RP traits, which I keep in my notes, periodically referencing & updating. When I'm strapped for ideas about how to weave the PCs' backstories into a game, I roll on this list.

Here's an example from my last campaign:

Character RP Notes (d10 + d6/d8)

1-2. KOKO
1 Personality: I’m willing to listen to every side of an argument before I make my own judgment.
2 Ideal: Knowledge is power & Emotions must not cloud logical thinking.
3 Bond: It is my duty to protect my students.
4 Flaw: Unlocking an ancient mystery is worth the price of a civilization.
5 The Golden Queen: New Queen of Dungrunglung trying to save settlement from undead.
6 Death Knight’s Geas: Geased by Ras T’fima to stop heretical grung (revering Wastri) coming to Mezro
7 Swamp Warden: Necromantic corruption of plants in Dungrunglung/Nsi Wastes similar to Uluu Thalongh & Kuluth-Mar
8 Hand of Vecna: Luring her to darkness (LE), is there a way to remove it while sparing her life?

3-4. RANDOLF
1 Personality: Nothing irritates me more than a question I can't answer or a mystery I can't solve. Also, I frequently quote "famous sayings" from history or races I have encountered; their validity is... questionable.
2 Ideal: Knowledge is power.
3 Bond: I have a friendly rival - Artus Cimber. Only one of us can be the best, and I aim to prove it’s me.
4 Flaw: Overconfident in intelligence and education. Obviously would never remember something wrong.
5 Acererak (Archaeologist/Heir to Robilar): Ancestor survived the Tomb of Horrors…vision of himself becoming Acererak…
6 Lich’s Skull: Teaches him necromancy spells and encourages morally questionable choices.

5-6. SALLEEK
1 Personality: I connect everything that happens to me to the grand cosmic plan of the Aarakocra religion.
2 Ideal: Emotions must not cloud our sense of what is right and true, or our logical thinking.
3 Bond: Nothing is more important that than the members of Kir Sabal.
4 Flaw: I am dogmatic in my thoughts and philosophy.
5 Rod of Seven Parts: One of the relics in Chult – possibly the Navel of the Moon – is a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts.
6 Save Koko, Kill the Hand: Seeks to remove the Hand from Koko, sparing her life if possible.

7-8. SCOMETT
1 Personality: I avoid waste, and find value in almost everything except money.
2 Ideal: It is best to avoid meddling in the affairs of others unless something is to be gained.
3 Bond: I must put the needs of my tribe above my own.
4 Flaw: I have not been exposed to the vices of the populated world, and may enjoy them more than I should.
5 Touched by Devourer: What is the origin/purpose of the hand burned onto his arm?
6 Tribal Conflict: Rise of the Akabkan tribe worshipping demon lord Sses’innek and subjugating the Zopchik.
7 Semuanya/Kecuala: Why did he lose visions from Semuanya? What are Kecuala’s intentions with the Pact?
8 Reptile Pets: “Ma’o” the deinonychus (with darkvision!) & archaeopteryx “Maka” sent by Kecuala.

9-10. YARGLE
1 Personality: Proud, respectful, defend the weak, bring people together.
2 Ideal: Redemption – there's a spark of good in everyone.
3 Bond: Holy quest to end Death Curse & redeem himself.
4 Flaw: Gross, smelly, and overly trusting.
5 Heir of Mbobo (Knight): Wants to unite & civilize Batiri tribes, like Great Queen M’bobo but with less violence.
6 Meriadar: Mysterious peace god worshipped by Omuan slaves and throughout small pockets in Chult.
7 Night Hag Wife: Married/cursed by Widow Groat, who want to elevate him to power over goblins...
8 Nilbog: Inhabited/possessed by the nilbog spirit, unbeknownst to party – complications?

 

[robus]

I think we want the same thing, it's just that my way requires little to no work on your part and some effort on the players' part.

OK, but I still don't see how players can spontaneously generate conflict. My job is to place obstacles between players and their goals. If they have (at the moment) evaded their past how does their past catch up (and cause conflict) if not through my machinations as DM?

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Also, I've noticed that character arcs in which characters want to do something are much more fun than character arcs in which characters want to avoid something.

"I want to avenge the murder of my father by slaying the six-fingered man" = good.
"I want to design my own airship and decorate it with gold and sparkly gems" = good.
"I want to avoid my former slave master" = much harder (but not impossible) to pull off in a satisfying way.

 

[robus]

You're welcome! There's another thing I do, which I forgot to mention. I compile a list of the PCs' story beats/RP traits, which I keep in my notes, periodically referencing & updating. When I'm strapped for ideas about how to weave the PCs' backstories into a game, I roll on this list.

Brilliant, thanks!

 

[robus]

"I want to avoid my former slave master" = much harder (but not impossible) to pull off in a satisfying way.

I can imagine, but giving the player the dilemma of wanting to rescue someone dear to them that has been taken by that slave master and also wanting to avoid said slave master sounds like just the kind of interesting plot development I'm looking for.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

I can imagine, but giving the player the dilemma of wanting to rescue someone dear to them that has been taken by that slave master and also wanting to avoid said slave master sounds like just the kind of interesting plot development I'm looking for.

"Wanting to rescue someone dear" is not avoiding. That's doing.

 

[prabe]

@WayOfTheFourElements has a point, here. A goal works better in a TRPG context if it's something the character needs to go and get or do. Avoiding something works less well as a goal. On the other hand, all you really need is one or two characters to have goals that require action, and you can point the party in the direction of those. If those goals turn out to align with the other PCs' intentions, you can turn one or two PCs' goals into much of a campaign, and fill in with things that arise from their actions.

 

[iserith]

OK, but I still don't see how players can spontaneously generate conflict. My job is to place obstacles between players and their goals. If they have (at the moment) evaded their past how does their past catch up (and cause conflict) if not through my machinations as DM?

In a Saltmarsh game in which I played, my character, Jacoby Nimble, had a bond that mentioned seeking revenge for the sinking of my ship The Candlestick by a tabaxi pirate named Captain Whiskers. One session, the DM dropped hints about some scheming pirate lord. So I mused aloud that this could be the work of Captain Whiskers, my most hated foe! The DM then erased the name of the pirate lord, replaced it with Captain Whiskers, and without any prior planning on his own, a conflict in my backstory was integrated into the game.

 

[robus]

"Wanting to rescue someone dear" is not avoiding. That's doing.

I guess I missed your point?