Constucting a Campaign?

[Jürgen Hubert]

This issue is interesting to me as well, since I am going to start my first Urbis playtest soon...

I usually start with a central villain, or plot. In this case, I've decided to start the campaign with a conspiracy of a group of monarchists who want to topple the ruling merchant council of the city the PCs are initially in.

In order to bring the heir to the throne back, they must first destabilize the city so that the people will want a king to return. This means spreading fear, terror, and chaos among the populace - and lots of possibilities for the PCs to get involved, as they stop various nefarious schemes. Only gradually will they realize the full extent of the conspiracy - or even that there is a conspiracy...

Of course, I'll have to create an initial adventure that brings the PCs together - but that will have to wait until the players create their characters. It will make the world feel much more "real" if I can tie them in on an individual basis...

 

[Psion]

I'm a firm believer in the advice given in the old Dungeoncraft articles.

Two things I read in the dungeoncraft articles stick with me forever:

1) The four roles of NPCs.
2) Making a new secret for every detail you create.

 

[barsoomcore]

Make a "Cool Stuff" list. Just jot down anything and everything you think is cool, even if it doesn't fit into your campaign world very well.

Leaf through sourcebooks, history books, comics, whatever. Anything that makes you go, "Cool!", make a note, save a jpeg, whatever.

Put the list away for a week. Spend time on other stuff -- drawing maps, doing up NPCs, all that good stuff.

Then pull out that list and try stuffing as much as you can into your campaign. Be ambitious. Pirates, dinosaurs, intelligent volcanoes and vampire gods? Cool, fit it in. Giant desert cats, Mayan temples and an ocean of undead souls? Cool, make it work. Don't worry if it doesn't make sense now. It will. Somehow, you'll figure it out.

A campaign that's full of stuff you think is cool is going to be more fun than anything else. You're going to be more excited about running it, and your players will be more excited about playing it.

Cool stuff. You can't go wrong.

 

[barsoomcore]

One more thing -- Dungeoncraft rocks. Read it. Know it. Live it. (are they online anywhere?)

And read Piratecat's Story Hour.

 

[Yellow Sign]

Then pull out that list and try stuffing as much as you can into your campaign. Be ambitious. Pirates, dinosaurs, intelligent volcanoes and vampire gods? Cool, fit it in. Giant desert cats, Mayan temples and an ocean of undead souls?

LOL!!! That is pretty close to the mark since I am going to run a Skull and Bones pirate game. I had even thought of adding a isolated island with dinosaurs!

Pirates check
dinosaurs check
vampire gods check
mayan temples check

 

[barsoomcore]

I like you already. You can sit right next to me.

 

[Desdichado]

One more thing -- Dungeoncraft rocks. Read it. Know it. Live it. (are they online anywhere?)

Not really. I've got 'em, though! Also, see the link in my sig...

 

[Afrodyte]

OT: testing

*shakes internet fairies*

 

[Afrodyte]

I hope this works.

Anyway, I originally had a more thorough response to the initial question, but logging in presented a problem. So, in a much more abbreviated form, I'll share my own process for creating campaigns.

Before everything else, I make sure I am solid on three things: character, genre, theme, and mood. Setting, plot, etc all flow from there. The result is that I get a sense of structure and unity that makes things more satisfying. If somebody actually asked me what my game was about, being very clear on these things allows me to do this in a concise yet meaningful way.

Genre, theme, and mood essentially define the parameters of the game and reveal what sorts of characters would fit best. If I'm running a gothic psychological thriller, the standard "adventurer" won't really cut it. There is a certain amount of introspection that's required to get the most out of such a game, and players who make characters lacking in that aspect make it difficult to go in the direction I want to go in. Likewise, if the main thrust of my game is a satirical look at how mortals interact with the supernatural, a touch of irony and sarcasm (in the players if not the characters) will go further than angsty brooding or toilet humor.

As a DM, I require three things from a character: desire, motivation, and conflict. Knowing what your character wants, why s/he wants it, and what internal or external cause prevents him/her from getting it gives me something to work with when designing the basic plot as well as NPCs. If I were planning a "serious," long-term game, I'd also require tying the character to the major themes in some way. This way, I can work with a much lighter touch and allow the characters to determine the course of the story. I don't need to tell the players what they are going to do and why because they are providing the goals and motives themselves. Only after I have these things do I consider a character complete, no matter how crisp the character sheet is.

Only after I do that do I go into setting. Usually, I only give a little bit of information beforehand to give the players and idea of what type of game I'm running. In most cases, this is only if it deviates from standard D&D with regards to the time period emulated, the level and power of magic, races that exist, and important setting factors that can impact the character (like a female character in a Taliban-esque society, or a human in a demi-human game). I also give some idea of plot (not much) in cases where I think it's needed to create a character. Mostly, this has to deal with how much intrigue, combat, or heavy roleplaying I expect to happen. In the case of combat, if I am going to be using a particular type of creature often, I'll let the players know. More often than not, combat enemies are animals or humanoids.

After that, it gets pretty easy as I design plot to fit around the characters, impacted by what paths the PCs take (or don't take). In some cases, a refusal to look deeper into something can backfire. Although the main crux of the plot still centers around the PCs in some way, the things they don't deal with can come back to haunt them.

 

[Hand of Evil]

When I am building my world I have some ideas, which I add to. Then there is the player backgrounds, let the players do some of the work for you, just ask questions and see how they answer. The news and history, if you can't find a plot there you live on an island by yourself!