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<blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 5129407" data-attributes="member: 15470">Good stuff from Keldryn, above. I'd say there are two ways to go, really.One is, simply run a sandbox: prep nothing, and respond on the fly. I did this in Greyhawk 1e; I actually thought it went terribly, as my players wound up becoming admirals of some fleet, battling pirates, water monsters, and other nations' navies ... I felt like I was providing no story, ad-libbing everything badly, and generally always reacting to the players rather than driving anything ... but one of my players recently told me, 20 years later, that that remains the most fun campaign he's ever played in. I was quite surprised.The best campaign I thought I ran followed immediately after: I didn't throw one railroad at the players, I threw six or seven. The Wizard's master was killed in the night; the apprentice was blamed and barely escaped town with his life. The drow, after escaping the Underdark, was being pursued by assassins many levels higher than himself. The ranger's forest was being cut down by the invading gnoll army. Basically, &quot;ignore this and die.&quot; ... classic carrot-and-stick, of course, as I also held out potentially rewarding plot hooks with the other hand, plot hooks which might help the apprentice clear his name, help the drow escape the constant scrying that kept the assassins in touch, or help the ranger figure out what the gnolls were after (a McGuffin rather than simple loot and pillage). It created a break-neck pace thriller, with pursuit of several types who could show up anytime things slowed down, resulting in rollicking fun for everyone.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Amaroq, post: 5129407, member: 15470"] Good stuff from [B]Keldryn[/B], above. I'd say there are two ways to go, really. One is, simply run a sandbox: prep [b]nothing[/b], and respond on the fly. I did this in Greyhawk 1e; I actually thought it went terribly, as my players wound up becoming admirals of some fleet, battling pirates, water monsters, and other nations' navies ... I felt like I was providing no story, ad-libbing everything badly, and generally always reacting to the players rather than driving anything ... but one of my players recently told me, 20 years later, that that remains the most fun campaign he's ever played in. I was quite surprised. The best campaign [b]I[/b] thought I ran followed immediately after: I didn't throw [b]one[/b] railroad at the players, I threw six or seven. The Wizard's master was killed in the night; the apprentice was blamed and barely escaped town with his life. The drow, after escaping the Underdark, was being pursued by assassins many levels higher than himself. The ranger's forest was being cut down by the invading gnoll army. Basically, "ignore this and die." ... classic carrot-and-stick, of course, as I also held out potentially rewarding plot hooks with the other hand, plot hooks which might help the apprentice clear his name, help the drow escape the constant scrying that kept the assassins in touch, or help the ranger figure out what the gnolls were after (a McGuffin rather than simple loot and pillage). It created a break-neck pace thriller, with pursuit of several types who could show up anytime things slowed down, resulting in rollicking fun for everyone. [/QUOTE]

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