Level Up (A5E) Planning an Adventure101: Please Help

[Indagare Nogitsune]

So, I'm trying to figure out how to make my very own First Adventure, but it's not clear what I should do. Being Author-Minded, I tend to think of things in the direction of a story but, of course, it needs to also be flexible enough that the Players don't feel railroaded.

The thought starts thus: There is an average town full of fairly average people. Lately there have been some rumors of strange creatures appearing in outlying farms. There's some debate about whether or not the creatures really are strange (or even real--the creatures could appear at times or under conditions that might make even 'normal' animals seem odd and/or the person/people relating the tale are not known for their reliability). The PCs are either from the town or visiting it for some reason. They will thus either know about it or very easily hear about it (no DC check). If they go to investigate they'll find that it's due to a leaky Gate and that there are worse things coming if they can't fix it soon.

The problem: figuring out where to go next if the PCs aren't interested in the rumors. Of course, there are other possible locals like ruins or such. There's also near-by towns or cities to explore. The thing is, I'm really not sure where to go with stuff in a way that allows for both Player agency and also not creating an if-then tree of adventures 100 pages long.

Advice?

 

[GMMichael]

If you already have players, you can find out their feelings on Railroads™ and what their characters' motivations are, to answer some of these questions.

One way to decide where to go with stuff is to have a BBEG.* Those make campaign decisions for you. And they're kind of required - unless your campaign is about forces of nature.

*Decided not to use "villain," since it's pretty insensitive to villagers.

 

[Indagare Nogitsune]

If you already have players, you can find out their feelings on Railroads™ and what their characters' motivations are, to answer some of these questions.

One way to decide where to go with stuff is to have a BBEG.* Those make campaign decisions for you. And they're kind of required - unless your campaign is about forces of nature.

*Decided not to use "villain," since it's pretty insensitive to villagers.

I have a group I've been playing with for a few years now. The DM has been the same person and I thought it might be nice to try and do something so he can be a player for a change (given that DMing is a lot of work when done correctly).

nods I had thought on that too, but BBEG are very common (probably because they're easier than forces of nature or Player vs Self). However, I keep thinking of the Alexandrian on Calibrating Your Expectations and wondering how that could work in practice: to make even relatively small issues feel like big wins.