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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 3624966" data-attributes="member: 19675">Yes.My 2 main tools for getting away from "Quest of the Week" campaign plotting and making the game more player-driven are:1) The Dynamic Environment Campaign (or campaign feature):The DEC comes in many forms- a caravan, a ship at sea, etc.- but regardless of its details, the overarching theme is that adventure comes to the players.In the Caravan, the PCs are either members of or hirelings in a caravan that wends its way across the campaign world.  They may be merchants or mercenaries.  Regardless, they are always doing something to forward the goals of the caravan- protecting it from raiders, foraging for food, greasing the palms of the locals for favorable booths in the market square, riding ahead for medicine or some other form of aid, etc.A great bonus of the DEC is that absent/late players are rarely a problem.  Unless you're in the middle of an extended adventure, the absent PCs are simply off doing something else.  While the players who are there are doing a role-playing adventure in the city the caravan is preparing to enter, the absent PCs are riding rear-guard.  Etc.The Ship at Sea- in which for whatever reason, the PCs are forced to wander the world, but cannot control where they go- is an oft-overlooked classic.  How classic?  Think of The Odyssey, Jason and the Argonauts, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate from the Elric portion of Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.  Consider more modern twists on the theme- Lost in Space or the Kung Fu, Sliders and Incredible Hulk TV shows.Sometimes, the adventure will be as simple as finding food on a deserted island- perhaps one like The Mysterious Island (also by Jules Verne)- or a sea-monster attacking the becalmed ship, or even pirates.2) The Neverending Rumor MillEverybody uses rumors in their campaigns, be they overheard in bars or seen on a town's meeting board.My refinement of this is to post the rumors for the players to read at their leisure, and then listening carefully to their table talk about the rumors to generate more rumors and, eventually, adventures.The first time I did this, I used a physical newsletter- the "in-house publication" of the organization to which all of the PCs belonged - posted on the cork board of our host's house but the same can obviously be done these days via email or an online group site, etc.In it, the internal rumors were posted as news, including synopses of the party's last adventure, as well as news of the world that would interest the organization.  Some of the rumors were purely created to discuss the world, others were designed to interest particular players using info culled from the PC backgrounds...such as odd happenings in their former home region, or symbology with which they alone were familiar.For instance, the PC who was part Atlantean was, of course, very interested in the pirates who emerged from beneath the waves in various attacks on ships around the world. Were they her kin or were they something else?  (Answer: both- some were Atlanteans, some were from other submerged cities...)All of them were incensed when they saw the news that the BBEG they put behind bars escaped.However, until the players actually did something, all the blurbs were just that- blurbs.As the players discussed the blurbs, however, they'd spin all kinds of theories as to what was happening.  The good ideas got formed into adventures, and some of the best ones became the foundation for plot twists.  The bad blurbs faded into obscurity as other agents took care of those missions.After the first 4 adventures in the campaign were completed, I never had to worry about adventure ideas- the players supplied me with numerous plotlines.How do you translate this into a Fantasy game?  Well, if the PCs are members of organizations, you could use the same format as above.  Otherwise, just have them be good friends with a recurring NPC Bard, Fence, or general blabbermouth.In either case, you can still have Quests and Overarching Plot Themes, but the PCs aren't required to advance the main Uberstory every step of the way.  Perhaps they just get called in to set the table for the BBGGs, or they are the BBGGs who get called in at the last minute to do the final big sweep.</blockquote>

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