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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 4281950" data-attributes="member: 9254">You just described my last campaign and, like you, I did it on purpose.  I'd tried a major plot and managed to wind up with a railroad-y fiasco.  I salvaged the campaign to some extent but it definitely left me aware of my own weaknesses as a DM.So my next campaign started in a thorp, where an extended adventurering party (maybe 4th level) settled down a couple of decades back and their kids are now getting the bug.  Their first real adventure was to make it to the nearest town on the other side of the mountain.  Wild dogs, a storm, with flash floods and mudslides along with general mountain travel provided their 1st level worth of challenges.  I had an overarching plot but it was ...vague.  Maybe half a typed page with a couple of key events listed and the player actions that would trigger them.  That was the key; the players had to do something that would cause the event sequence.  I leaned heavily on the AEG "Adventure" series of mini-modules at the beginning so I didn't need to worry about wasting prep.  It took minimal effort to work them into my setting and it gave me a working rogue's gallery.  One of which, Tamarat Once Elven, became a recurring villain and another, Kuroshin, wound up as a deity.  The trick is to not worry about hitting your plot points.  Matter of fact, I came to relish the times the players missed them.  Fail to pursue the BBEG to the Temple of Dread Ha'amm?  'Kay.  Six game-months later and a horde of fiendish pot bellied pigs demolishes the countryside.  Okay, it wasn't that cartoony but the idea was if the PCs didn't completely finish stuff, they knew it would eventually show up again.  And sometimes those fiendish pigs would appear when the heroes were already occupied elsewhere.  Nothing like coming home and finding the entire town has been raised by the Unkosher.  It was a great way to winnow out those followers from Leadership or that magic-item making cohort.  You turn their village into a hell-sty and they'll start keeping a list of their enemies and unresolved plots.Edit: I just remembered something else: I stole heavy from the Babylon 5/Buffy approach for designing plots.   In those shows you have a per episode arc that represents the "adventure" as well as arcs that cover the entire season.  Many times you have several layers of arcs (episode, minor season arc, major season arc, multi-season arc).  Around 25% of the episodes are stand-alone, but with some minor tidbits that advance the major arc a tick.  Roughly 25% are the minor season arcs, with the remainder either directly or indirectly tied to the major arc.  Some minor season arcs and most major season arcs contribute to the multi-season arc.  I generally had each "season" last a game year, with my game ultimately lasting about 7 game years.  For the first half of the "season" or so, the players probably won't be able to tell what the season arc is.  It wasn't until the second or third season that they realized what the over all campaign plot was.  And by then my campaign plot was tailored to their play style, characters, and the NPCs they bonded with.  I couldn't get them to stop playing the game unless I threatened them with a firearm.</blockquote>

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