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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 9602017" data-attributes="member: 50987">I'm allergic to railroads...this was all done in a big giant sandbox.  I used tons of random tables from [USER=54840]@SlyFlourish[/USER] and my own design, and when it came to major plot points and rewards I left it up to the players.  I rarely had more than a few generic maps (special thanks to [USER=83678]@Dyson Logos[/USER] and [USER=6733]@Turgenev[/USER] for all that they do for the community) and a rough outline written in Google Docs.  Everything else was done through improvisation and theater of the mind.There were exceptions, however: when the party was going to be on a fixed trajectory for a few gaming sessions (like a lengthy ocean voyage, or an extended visit to a family member's house), I would map it all out carefully and prepare a module in Google Docs.  I only did this a couple of times, and only because the players had "painted themselves into a corner," so to speak.I also try to involve the players as much as possible.  If they found a magical weapon, I asked a player to describe what kind of weapon it was (my notes said "flame tongue," but the player said "halberd," so that's how they ended up with a flaming halberd.)  If they found a spell scroll, I asked a player to tell me what Xth level spell was written on it.  That sort of thing.  Less work for me, and more engaging for the players.After that first adventure when the heroes saved the baby from the burning shop, I had everyone roll a d20.  I asked the player who rolled the highest, "who did this shop belong to?"  He chose one of the merchants in my campaign handout, who was a member of the Arcane Academy--the same school that the artificer was attending.  That meant they would gain favor with the Academy, be rewarded with some potions and scrolls, and would get to know the professors and politics of the local college.  If he had said "a priest from the Temple of Dawn," they would have gotten different rewards, and the campaign could have had a very different tone.It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea.  But I like surprises...even as a DM.  So I set the tent posts, and the players hang the canvas.</blockquote>

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