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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 3343017" data-attributes="member: 3192">I've been doing something like this for my Age of Worms campaign.  It's not quite freeform as it is an adventure path, but the players are in charge of where it goes and what they do.  There are plenty of other adventurous things to do too.  Your western shore world is cool.  I really like the mix between Westeros and other traditional D&D worlds.  I'm seriously thinking of stealing that family lineage idea of yours too.  I expect it'll bring a lot of political infighting to the forefront of the game.Dropping in favorite adventures is something I've done in my own campaign too.  What I've done is extrapolate the backgrounds, NPC goals and histories, locations, items, and anything else I thought was important from the adventures into the the world.  I find this really helps in that I never need hooks into adventures; the world is the adventure.  We have a much smaller space though, but as it's Greyhawk I expect it to grow in later levels.  You map seems pretty large actually.  The mileage for travel on the map key means a lot of long overland treks.  Just an FYI.We use rumors too.  Originally I started the game with a local area introduction and a list of rumors.  What I didn't expect was that was enough to get the group up and exploring.  We had a big bang starting session to get things going, but in retrospect I don't think my group needed it.  Rumors are the way I have information spread in my campaign.  I do upkeep on them (like pretty much everything) and put a few new ones in and pull a few old ones out.  How I determine this is by spinning the world forward.  I like to use dice to determine important actions when the world comes in conflict between sessions, but I'm not above manipulating those outcomes to fit with the AoW path.  It isn't too bad, but it does still feel like playing God.  Below are the intro and starting rumors.[sblock=Intro]BlackwallThe hamlet of Blackwall lies on the southern edge of the western spur of the Cairn Hills and just north of the large Mistmarsh swamp.  Originally established around ten years ago as a small mining outpost for Greyhawk City, the site is rumored to have been previously occupied long ago.  Throughout much of its existence the hamlet has been blessed with good fortune.  Owed in part to the wealth of the diamond ore plied from its sole mine, Blackwall’s true fortune is in the character of its people.  Around 100 or so in number, the Blackwallers have formed a safe haven away from the larger, seedier and corrupt mining towns.  Having escaped the cruel, servile existence other miners suffer, the people of Blackwall have not taken their good fortune lightly.  They guard their freedom and befriending one means earning the trust of all.  Blackwallers are a mixed lot.  Mostly human, some gnomes and halfings have come to stay, as well as a few less common races.  Owing to their close-knit nature, the good people in town overlook their differences recognizing the real worth of what each offers the community.  Wildmen in the hills regularly trade food for metal goods and often end up staying longer than first intended.  The hamlet did not begin on such peaceful terms however.  The original mine owner Harristor Slade supervised from offsite using brutish overseers to enforce exacting laws and harsh consequences for failure.  Then only after a year Slade died and the mine was purchased by a man named Balabar Smenk.  A large, fat man Smenk visits only periodically, but he removed the half-orc Kullen and the other overseers.  Taking them away with him to the closest town, Diamond Lake, Smenk installed new watchmen for the mine.  Ever since productivity has increased.  And though the strict rules governing entrance into the mine and the handling of ore are still in place, the changes in management have been beneficial for all.Most of the people in Blackwall work in the small mine or are family members of the laborers.  A few others run shops or services out of their homes like Barren Faraday’s Stablehouse, which is the only inn in town.  A small garrison of soldiers accompanied by the beautiful sorceress Marzena also live in Blackwall.  Protecting it from the rare incursions of beasts from the Mistmarsh and guarding the ore caravans back to Diamond Lake, the soldiers have become a part of the community.  Operating out of an old tower dubbed Blackwall Keep, the garrison is led by Commander Garm Land.  A gruff, older gentleman it is rumored Garm was an adventurer in his younger days and fought in many wars before coming to Blackwall.  Whatever his background, Garm was the first to befriend the gnomes and tribal humans surrounding the hamlet in the Cairn Hills.  Some of his soldiers say these alliances have kept the people safe from bandits and worse dangers in the hills.More recently, an unforeseen calamity has befallen the hamlet of Blackwall.  Just two weeks ago a mighty earthquake shook the entire land.  Fortunately, it occurred during the night and no one was hurt, but the braces in the mine collapsed and the tunnels filled with fallen stone.  Balabar Smenk arrived a few days later to survey the damage.  Unfortunately, due to the strict laws governing how the stone is removed and checked for diamonds the process is slowly moving forward.  The Blackwallers have not been deterred however.  Even now they gather around the miners relieving them as they labor harder and faster than before.  Dishes, furniture, clean clothes, and other items are all being shared with those who lost them in the earthquake.  Already the hamlet has been cleared of fallen rubble from the unusual hexagonal columns of black stone that make up the cliff sides.  Blackwall is buzzing with activity and its people alive with hope to overcome and carry onThe Mining Towns of Greyhawk CitySeveral generations ago three towns were established in the Cairn Hills to dig for the precious metals and gems within.  Due to the rugged terrain and lack of surrounding civilization these three have fallen into disrepute and corruption.  Greed rules those in power.  And those without remain trapped in near bondage to the mines.The Cairn HillsThe northward-thrusting arm of the Abhor-Alz is known as the Cairn Hills.  The hills surround Midbay on Nyr Dyv and form the borderland between territory claimed by Greyhawk City and that of the Duchy of Urnst.  Several thousand gnomes once dwelled in the central portion of the Cairn Hills until the past generation of orc attacks dwindled their number.  Halflings enjoy the northern slopes, while many dwarvenfolk live in the area where it meets the Abbhor-Alz and the hills become young mountains.  In the hinterlands below Nyr Dyv’s Midbay, where the hills are very rugged, there have been strange burial sites discovered from time to time.  The rich finds are of a people unknown even to the demi-humans, evidently predating them!  Discoverers returned with harrowing tales of horrid guardians, death, and worse, but carried back ingots of precious metal, gems, and other treasures as well.  The discovery of these burial sites gave the hills their name, and also makes them a target for many foolhardy adventurers.  There are no settlements east of the marshes around the Upper and Lower Neen Rivers until the eastern edges of the hills are reached.- The Savant-SageThe MistmarshA broad shallow swamp teeming with reptile life, the Mistmarsh fills the lowlands west of the Cairn Hills.  Lizardfolk claim certain areas of the deep marsh, and wandering ghoul packs are a danger throughout.- Iquander[/sblock][sblock=Rumors]Blackwall Rumors1.    Balabar Smenk owns many mines and is very rich, but he seems very angry or unhappy whenever he visits.2.    Marzena is missing.  Some say she went into the Mistmarsh again to meet with her friends the magical faeries there.  Others say she is a faerie. 3.    Commander Garm took several of his best soldiers west into the hills a day or two ago.  They say he is going to kill some goblins who are raiding a gnome hovel. 4.    Strange creatures have been seen in the hills lately by the wildmen.  They call them barkers, but say they are unusual.  Some are red as fresh blood.  Others are pitch black all over.  Maybe these were born from the blackstone?5.    The garrison caught something that wandered out of the mistmarsh.  They are keeping it locked up in the dungeons beneath the tower.6.    An old witch named Maive lives in the marshes east of Blackwall.  She can kill you with the evil eye or turn you to stone.  If you say her name three times in a row, she’ll put a hex on you.7.    Barren Faraday has a brother he never talks about.  Many think he is an Elf as Barren has the pointy ears of those who never grow old.8.    The earthquake was caused by Harristor Slade’s ghost.  He hates all Blackwallers and returned to haunt the mine.  9.    Kullen the old overseer is now a thief.  A visitor said he saw him, an albino ½ orc, beat up one of the townsfolk in Diamond Lake.10.    Dwarves built the old tower of Blackwall Keep.  They are the ones who protect us from the dangers of the Mistmarsh.11.    Two families of halflings have left the hamlet in the past year.  A few think the little folk have discovered a way to steal the diamonds from the mine, but no one wants to accuse any who are still around.12.    Some of the young men want to go to the towns to meet women.  They say there are not enough in Blackwall for all of them, but everyone knows what kind of girls live in the towns.[/sblock]For dangerous creatures I think in Big +'s and Big -'s.  The most powerful lawful creatures are in lawful cities.  The most powerful chaotic ones are in dangerous monsterlands.  As it's generally safer in civilization the adventures change form, but can still be deadly.  In uncivilized areas it is harder to get to the high CR monsters without having to move through many low ones first.   I find this works for a having a few CR 20's and lots of CR 1's in both cases.  It also helps for drawing lines of cause and effect up ladders of authority as rippling consequences or down those lines based upon powerful leaders' plotting.I don't do serendipity either (with that one AoW path exception again); by which I mean I don't create hooks for adventure any more than the rumors.  The encounter dice fall where they may, so what occurs depends on the players and on the roll.  I know I roll on the spot, with both adventure-laden and non-adventure-laden encounters on the list.  On the other hand, serendipty can be fun and having the most enjoyable thing happen is just more fun.  I try and balance it with reality.  Everyone's going to have their own preferences though.Is that any help?  There's more from where that come from.  I think what we're doing is similar in some ways.</blockquote>

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