Much depends on the players involved, but think about the mood of the stories also. I feel I lose readers since the main character (if there really is one) is very self-involved. He is weighing the question of Nature vs Nuture heavily. I generally bring it up once every few segments (up dates). I relize this proberly pushes some people away but it is the core of the character and I won't just turn it off. Perhaps over time he will change just as we (the real people) have outlooks and opinions of ourselves that change in time).
So...looking for humor? reality? serious?
"Under a Darksun" tends to be humorous but the subjects dealt with are extremely serious. Thus far I have dealt with:
slavery
sex as a tool
sex as an expression of love
how these two get confused
rich vs poor
boy growing into a man
All this done with the Darksun adventures of:
Gith raids while looking for a possible ancient Gith artifact
Nibenese Templars destroying many Veiled Alliance members
Mania learning he is a child of a Sorcerer-King
There is a book that tells the future
Mania will be either a great force of evil or of good and has been manipulated by good thus far. Evil dosen't know he exists (yet)
A small but effective invasion by the Abyss.
And I'm up to only Segment 086.
Something I use is Segments. I type up anywhere from 1/2 to 2 pages. This section of story, I then refer to as a segment. Each segment has a title. I do this for ease of readers to know where they left off and for references. I plan on taking these characters I introduce from 3rd level to epic levels. In that time a lot of history will be made. If I suggest a secret villian was introduced I can refer readers to a specific segment. If the reader then wishes, they can go back to that and go..."wow...he's right!"
I catalogue every key character by segment and actions. This way, Whenever I return to Nibenay, I can mention previous characters (like Keg and Zeg the 1/2 Giant body guards).
This allows for (in my mind anyway) a more realistic setting.
