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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Agback" data-source="post: 1356915" data-attributes="member: 5328">I usually start with characters and a conflict. For instance, I might have a beautiful widowed queen, a brave and handsome fourteen-year-old king, and a regency council of various politicians and courtiers (including an unscrupulous uncle of the king, an honest chancellor, a venal chamberlain, and a dupe). The uncle might be scheming to usurp the throne by framing the queen for adultery and having the king declared illegitmate. As long as I keep the number of parties in the conflict manageable, and calculate (or intuit) how each of them will react to every development, I can keep the situation consistent. And then the pieces have to fit, because they were cut out of a whole.I put a lot of work into describing a rich setting, one complex and conflicted enough that the adventures can take place within it, and not in its hinterland or on its borders. But then my plan for the campaign that occurs within the setting would rarely be more detailed than the previous paragraph (plus names and titles for the characters mentioned). The players read the setting description and generate characters. I look at the character designs, and think of a way that one or more characters could be involved in or stumble across the edge of one of the villain's schemes or of the good-gal's counter-schemes. I put the PCs in a situation, see how they react, calculate and intuit the way the situation develops as a result of that incident. Keeping in mind the NPCs' natures and core motivations, and the rule of steadily rising dramatic tension, off I go. I maintain the crucible, draw the PCs into contact with the significant NPCs, and gradually turn up the heat. The rest looks after itself, especially with the character-players doing all the work to maintain consistent, fathomable protagonists and reveal their natures and core motivations through their actions. (My approach is collaborative as well as being improvisatory: this is important.)Regards,Agback</blockquote>

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