Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormborn" data-source="post: 2743850" data-attributes="member: 14041">The nature of any game, RPG or CRPG or other, neccesitate that it be in at least someway bound by the limitations of the resources available to the one constructing the enviroment, DM or programmer.  However, I feel like most of the games I have played in or run were a little to "closed" for the PCs.  That there hasn't a feeling that the PCs could do anything they wanted and still continue to play the game.  I am sure that this is because all the DMs in my group, myself included, are really big on Plot and Story, to various degrees. When we have tried to give the PCs more freedom the players, again myself included as both player and DM, often feel frustrated, not knowing what to do next.  I think that the players have liked the games that where they were basically the main characters in the story that took them through certain key story points, even if they meandered a bit between them, but I also think that they would like the experiance of being able to create the "story" themselves.To this end I have a "No Plan" Plan:1) Get a highly detailed enviroment, I am thinking Ptolus when it comes out but Sharn or another city book might work too.2) Go through my Dungeon magazines and index them based on level, enviroment, elements etc.3) Get a big list of NPCs ready and in a format I can make notes on.4) Have an initial "adventure" or three ready for 1st level characters the first day of play.5) Subsequent games have the Dungeon adventures with encounters and plots appropriate for their level on hand.  Scatter hooks throughout and and see if they take any of them.6) As the game develops see what they have done and how they have reacted, bring in elements later to possibly hook together a "metaplot" if such a thing works out.  (For example, if they PCs seemed to run afoul of a Cult periodically, later this might draw the attention of that Cults leadership who would then proactively start dealing with the PCs.)Now, I can deal with all of that pretty well I think.  The problem I see is how to have the hooks of 5) integrated in such away that they seem natural and organic.  I know that lots of books have rumor generators and such, and maybe thats how I will do it.  But I know thats the sticking place for me and my group.So, suggestions?  Does anyone run a pretty much Open Campaign?  What are your experiances with running/playing such a game?I am obviously thinking way ahead on this, but I usually do, so any advice or comments would be appretiated.</blockquote>

Verification