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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 6167033" data-attributes="member: 67">Lesson 24: Monsters may wander, but encounters aren't random.Building a world can be done in between sessions, but that's a lot more work than you need to put into it (though, if you like world-building and have the time, by all means, have at it!).  It is entirely possible to create most of the world as you play.Obviously, one way to do this is to use random generators to fill in the gaps as needed.  You can also just make stuff up as you go along (and encourage your players to do so, as well).The thing is, that kind of world-building can be very haphazard and lacking in depth.  But it doesn't have to be.  In the case of randomly generated results, some oddities could emerge.  That's a good thing!  If you take a moment to consider how an unusual result fits into the world, what was an unrealistic anomaly becomes an exception that establishes the norm.  Everything has its place in the world, even if you just made it up on the fly.  Finding that place adds a wealth of depth to the world you are building.If you remember that <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?316091-Full-time-DM-Part-time-Prep&p=5768800&viewfull=1#post5768800" target="_blank">everything is an NPC</a>, consider that all NPCs have a purpose—a motive, or a reason for being.  Every time you introduce something new to the campaign, think, why is this what and how it is?Once you've got that, you just need to tie it all in.  And you can do it in two ways that drive your game forward:Everything has a hook attached.  Figure out what it is, write it down, <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?316091-Full-time-DM-Part-time-Prep&p=5768802&viewfull=1#post5768802" target="_blank">and put it in the box</a> for further use!  Not only will this potentially tie the newly created element to the campaign's future, it provides another course for the players to follow.You can also tie your newly created element into the previously established campaign by pulling an old hook from the box and weaving the two together.  This helps to reinforce the history of the campaign (as it directly relates to the characters) and, of course, also gives them an opportunity for action (or consequences for inaction).All of a sudden, that simple roll on a random chart, or that off-the-cuff introduction of some minor detail has become a significant factor in the PCs' lives and that world you've been building a campaign around is just a little bit more layered and interesting.</blockquote>

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