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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9046422" data-attributes="member: 42582">I've not GMed 5e D&D or PF1. I have GMed a lot of AD&D, D&D 4e, and quite a few other RPGs.Here's a bit of advice, which obviously you may take or leave as you see fit!In my experience most RPG players want to do interesting and exciting things with their PCs, and don't want the GM to have written the plot in advance. They also tend to enjoy their PC having some sense of purpose or reason for doing what they're doing.So I'd probably send the players an email asking each of them to tell you one thing their PC cares about or is loyal to, and one sort of monster or faction or person that their PC is opposed to as a result of that care or loyalty.Once you get the answers, I'd then think of a few NPCs and a few situations that speak to those things the players have told you. Look for ways to connect the players' answers together (eg if one of the players tells you their PC hate bandits because bandits drove their family off the family farm, and another tells you that their PC is a disciple of St Cuthbert who hates all agents of Iuz, then it makes sense to have the bandits also be Iuz cultists). Then when you actually start play, use on of the situations you've come up with, play it through and see what happens, and use the outcome - whatever it is - as a springboard to one of your other situations. Introduce and adapt your NPCs to help creates some links, and to give your players a clear sense of how they can act on their PCs' motivations. And don't be afraid to tell your players you're taking a 5-minute break to flip through your Monster Manual and draw up a map if the natural upshot of some episode of play is a situation or encounter different from any of the ones you've prepped.And finally, always honour the players' achievements. If their PCs defeat someone, that someone is defeated (unless the players go on to declare actions with the intention of putting their victory back into question). If the PCs befriend someone, that someone is their friend, not a potential traitor. If the PCs persuade some enemies to surrender and swear an oath of loyalty, then have the NPCs keep their oath (again, unless the players declare actions that deliberately put the oath under pressure, like trying to order the NPCs to turn on former comrades).In my experience, the approach I've described will produce fun RPGing in low(ish) level D&D.</blockquote>

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