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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ThirdWizard" data-source="post: 5549751" data-attributes="member: 12037">First, I drop a bunch of hooks and see if they bite at any or if they have their own plans. Then at the end of the session, I ask what their immediate plans are. So, say they tell me that they're tired of dealing with the bandits in the forest messing with their nearby temple and they want to end that threat. We decide that sounds good for next session, and wrap it up. Between sessions, I write up an adventure around that concept.I use TiddlyWiki as my means of preparation. I have subcategories for places, allies, enemies, encounters, monsters, etc. It's very useful!The first thing I write is a synopsis of what they will find there, who their enemies will be, who their allies will be, and possible outcomes. I know my players, they want to eradicate the bandits! But, I want to give them options. I organize the bandits under a charismatic trio of leaders, make them ex-mercenaries who were never paid, and then put a tie to a deal one of the bandit leaders secretly made with the Winter Court of the fey.The players are free to just slaughter their way through, but there might be deals struck. The bandits are tired of their life and, if the PCs play their cards right, they could hire them out as mercenaries to protect their temple! We'll see if they go for it.I flesh out the NPCs. There's potential for lots of roleplaying. One of the bandit leaders will ally with them if they can pass a skill challenge. The one who made the pact will see them as a threat only. The other one is up in the air. I don't want to over-design. They might just kill 'em. So, I jot some notes, and move on.Then I design encounters. What will happen when the PCs enter the bandit territory? I start off with a fey encounter. It sets up that things aren't straightforward here. Then a bandit attack. When they find the bandit camp, one leader asks for a parlay. This could be a diplomacy challenge or a combat, whatever they like. And so on and so forth. If they investigate, they find out about the fey connection, otherwise they kill a bunch of bandits and solve their problem. If they didn't find the fey connection, we have loose strings I can use in the future...Then wrap up.The last thing I do is go back over the whole thing and start dropping plot hooks in for future games. When they visit the temple, they meet an old friend who needs some help. One of the bandits turned mercenary helper knows the location of a treasure and offers to share the location with them. So on and so forth.Looks good. Go over it again. Retweak monsters. Look for inconsistencies. Final pass.That's how I do it.</blockquote>

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