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<blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 3068041" data-attributes="member: 9254">Beware, young Buttercup, Fear is the Mind Killer.&nbsp; It's really not that bad.&nbsp; Yes, it is a bit more complicated b/c there is baggage.&nbsp; On the other hand, if you didn't power-level your characters then you've had time to become comfortable with the baggage.&nbsp; Kinda like when you first get an apartment and it's empty and then you buy stuff over several years to make it comfortable.&nbsp;&nbsp; Only when you move do you realize how much stuff it is.&nbsp; IMC there are several BBEGs out there, but it didn't start out that way.&nbsp; I introduced them one at a time.&nbsp; Some were defeated permanently, some not.&nbsp; They built up over time and in a reasonable (for me) pace.&nbsp; I will point out that I generally have an RP-intensive campaign with combat occuring no more than 50% of sessions.&nbsp; Now it may happen 6 session in a row but will generally be countered by the 6 consecutive sessions of traveling the party does later on.&nbsp; By letting the combats happen on a more relaxed timetable (mainly b/c the party doesn't thirst for the blood of their enemies every session) there is more character- and world-development.&nbsp; Ehh, you need goals, long term and short term.&nbsp; I started with the megaplot (Defeat Dragonlords), a major plot (Return the Divine Spirits), and had &quot;adventures&quot; (Find Lost City of Thordheim) that had internal goals of their own. Defeat Dragonlords&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; I.&nbsp; Return Divine Spirits&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; a.&nbsp; Find Lost City of Thordheim&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1.&nbsp; Meet draconians&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2.&nbsp; Get Key of O'tarr from Dryad Nerissa&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; i. Release O'tarr (see g.2.i)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3.&nbsp; Release Archmage Tiflan &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; b.&nbsp; Defeat Nedrag of Durbin&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1.&nbsp; Acquire broken Dragon Orb&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; c.&nbsp; Defeat Tamarat Once-Elven&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1.&nbsp; Meet Glyad Laesh&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; d.&nbsp; Pursue Japeth the Bleak&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1. *PCs break plot by releasing Hellwyrm.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; i.&nbsp; PCs must deal with plague at Helena while Japeth deals with Wyrm.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; ii.&nbsp; PCs must prep world for undead invasion&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; iii.&nbsp; PCs must fight undead invasion&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; e.&nbsp; PCs diverge from plot by going to invaded Sylvanost&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; f.&nbsp;&nbsp; Crypt of Draconiennes&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1. Find temporal stasis device &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; g.&nbsp; Gain divine support for Japeth's war with Hellwyrm&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1. Make Raistlin aware he is a Spirit of Magic&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2. Release the real Chislev&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; i.&nbsp; get O'Tarr released&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; h-q.&nbsp; Ongoing plot eventsI kept the players oblivious to the plot goals so they wouldn't get hung up on &quot;winning&quot; a plot goal.&nbsp; Admittedly some, like the treasure map to Thordheim, were pretty blatant.&nbsp; My original 2-page plot summary went to about I.a.3 and took about a year to achieve. I used what I learned about the players' idea of fun and the characters' goals to develop b &amp; c (another 4-6 months or so).&nbsp;&nbsp; I came up with d. as the start of my next arcs but they so derailed my plot that those notes became completely useless and the players were drivin' the bus for the next few months.&nbsp; I regained &quot;control&quot; of the plot with f-g.2.i. where things started happening according to my general plans.&nbsp; They've managed to get ahold of the steering wheel more than once and give it a yank so I can't claim it's exactly how I envisioned it.&nbsp; So I planned a very loose campaign with plenty of wiggle room so I can adjust it to fit the party.&nbsp; I learned to tailor adventures and pacing to what the party was comfortable with.&nbsp; I occassionally pandered to them to ensure they didn't get bored with the setting or their characters (the game is supposed to be fun, after all).&nbsp; I made sure that if they did something drastic and blatantly public or world-altering that it was actually public knowledge or altered the world.&nbsp; Especially if it was something I hadn't originally anticipated.&nbsp; I incorporated their characters' plans into my plots and avoided being the petty GM who destroys the players pretty toys because I can; I only destroyed their pretty toys when it makes sense.&nbsp; And I never had the nobility fail to ultimately reward the party for their good deeds; smart nobles know not to make heroes turn into bandit-heroes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="kigmatzomat, post: 3068041, member: 9254"] Beware, young Buttercup, Fear is the Mind Killer. It's really not that bad. Yes, it is a bit more complicated b/c there is baggage. On the other hand, if you didn't power-level your characters then you've had time to become comfortable with the baggage. Kinda like when you first get an apartment and it's empty and then you buy stuff over several years to make it comfortable. Only when you move do you realize how much stuff it is. IMC there are several BBEGs out there, but it didn't start out that way. I introduced them one at a time. Some were defeated permanently, some not. They built up over time and in a reasonable (for me) pace. I will point out that I generally have an RP-intensive campaign with combat occuring no more than 50% of sessions. Now it may happen 6 session in a row but will generally be countered by the 6 consecutive sessions of traveling the party does later on. By letting the combats happen on a more relaxed timetable (mainly b/c the party doesn't thirst for the blood of their enemies every session) there is more character- and world-development. Ehh, you need goals, long term and short term. I started with the megaplot (Defeat Dragonlords), a major plot (Return the Divine Spirits), and had "adventures" (Find Lost City of Thordheim) that had internal goals of their own. Defeat Dragonlords I. Return Divine Spirits a. Find Lost City of Thordheim 1. Meet draconians 2. Get Key of O'tarr from Dryad Nerissa i. Release O'tarr (see g.2.i) 3. Release Archmage Tiflan b. Defeat Nedrag of Durbin 1. Acquire broken Dragon Orb c. Defeat Tamarat Once-Elven 1. Meet Glyad Laesh d. Pursue Japeth the Bleak 1. *PCs break plot by releasing Hellwyrm. i. PCs must deal with plague at Helena while Japeth deals with Wyrm. ii. PCs must prep world for undead invasion iii. PCs must fight undead invasion e. PCs diverge from plot by going to invaded Sylvanost f. Crypt of Draconiennes 1. Find temporal stasis device g. Gain divine support for Japeth's war with Hellwyrm 1. Make Raistlin aware he is a Spirit of Magic 2. Release the real Chislev i. get O'Tarr released h-q. Ongoing plot events I kept the players oblivious to the plot goals so they wouldn't get hung up on "winning" a plot goal. Admittedly some, like the treasure map to Thordheim, were pretty blatant. My original 2-page plot summary went to about I.a.3 and took about a year to achieve. I used what I learned about the players' idea of fun and the characters' goals to develop b & c (another 4-6 months or so). I came up with d. as the start of my next arcs but they so derailed my plot that those notes became completely useless and the players were drivin' the bus for the next few months. I regained "control" of the plot with f-g.2.i. where things started happening according to my general plans. They've managed to get ahold of the steering wheel more than once and give it a yank so I can't claim it's exactly how I envisioned it. So I planned a very loose campaign with plenty of wiggle room so I can adjust it to fit the party. I learned to tailor adventures and pacing to what the party was comfortable with. I occassionally pandered to them to ensure they didn't get bored with the setting or their characters (the game is supposed to be fun, after all). I made sure that if they did something drastic and blatantly public or world-altering that it was actually public knowledge or altered the world. Especially if it was something I hadn't originally anticipated. I incorporated their characters' plans into my plots and avoided being the petty GM who destroys the players pretty toys because I can; I only destroyed their pretty toys when [i]it makes sense.[/i] And I never had the nobility fail to ultimately reward the party for their good deeds; smart nobles know not to make heroes turn into bandit-heroes. [/QUOTE]

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