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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dalmuti" data-source="post: 812894" data-attributes="member: 11310">Yeah there is a difference between working out the storyline, and setting down in stone the storyline.  This is the system I came up with (and I swear to god I came up with this before Dragon Magizine did an article on it... I started doing this when I was Playing Changeling, during Season 4 of Buffy).Basically I came up with the model of making a campaign like a TV season.  I like making adventures that are pretty short, and can be played in one session (4 to 6 hours).  It helps keep things focused in my opinion... I dunno give it a try it works for me... anyhoo, TV Season.  Yeah what that means is each adventure is a Episode, 22 Episodes make up a season.  A Season is a self contained story with a beginning Middle and End.  When starting a new campaign with this model I heavily plot out the first 3 to 4 episodes, cuz the campaign is new and the Players need to find their characters.  I always start the campaign with the Players knowing each other, trying to come up with an adventure where they all meet and decide to form a group is stupid and usually doesn't work.  Just have them know each other.  Anyhoo then about ever 4 episodes I have a "storyline" episode which moves the story along with specific points I have thought about before hand.  The last two episodes of the season are the finalie and wrap up the season.For example lets look at the Season Outline i made for a Farscape game I never ran (Farscape is a Science Fantasy Setting based on a TV show of the same name.  Levaithans are living spaceships which can breed, they are like Space Whales.   Peacekeepers despite their name are bad guys upto no good)1)  Premere:  PC's wake up on a Levaithan, have an adventure on a Peacekeeper Space Station, and escape from the Peacekeepers.2) Introduce that Peacekeepers have hired Bounty Hunters to hunt PCs.3)  Introduce a Girlfriend for the Levaithan PC's are on.4-5)  Random Adventure6)  Girlfriend and PC's have to travel away from each other.7-9)  Random Adventure10)  Introduce Levaithan hunters, and how nasty they are11-13)  Random Adventure14)  PC's learn Girlfriend has been captured by Levaithan Hunters.15-17)  Random Adventure18)  PC's learn Girlfriend has been sold to the Peacekeepers.19-20)  Random Adventure21-22)  Season Finale:  Players learn where Girlfriend is, and go rescue her.Random Adventures are things I come up with, to focus on storyline stuff that PC's are interested in.  Normally I try to base these on the Player Characters histories and motivations.  Also I can use these for moments of Foreshadowing.  Like before episode 10 (leviathan hunters) I can have like a dead Leviathan killed by the hunters, or something.  Just to begin setting up the Storyline adventure.Normally I decide that the Players should level up every... three to four adventures... depending on what I want.  And yes I do predetermine this.  However I also have Story XP awards, which are not factored in, and thus if you Role Play well you WILL level faster.  Basically everytime a player does somethign I like they get a point, normally the max points a player gets is 7 or so, if they do really good.  Each point is worth the Players Level, multiplied by 20.  Then to make the experience seem more random I roll a d20 and add that into the total.  Notice this means the players are not level 20 by the end of the season, I aim for they will hit level 20 if we make it to season 3 (note I say if, cuz it's never happened... my record is 1 and one half seasons).In my opinion, your storyline is a tad... too worked out.  You need to have a little room for flux in it, so you can do things outside the storyline, or to change it if you want.  What if the PC's suddenly find themselves really liking... I dunno... partying with the Nobility of Arabel.  You need to have a little more room for error.  Or what if the PC's don't really like the storyline, and feel railroaded through it, then you have one dead campaign.  Also it seems that you could potentally do some of the things inbetween levels in like a sesson or two.</blockquote>

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