Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Gilladian" data-source="post: 5038295" data-attributes="member: 2093">I run a &quot;semi-sandbox&quot; campaign, in which I dangle leads, the PCs pick the one(s) that interest them, and the campaign focuses there for a while. Then more leads come up, and more choices are made. Once in a while an &quot;old lead&quot; is re-dangled...Having too many plots leads ME to get confused, if nothing else. I'm capable of forgetting what I was dangling, too. I usually try to present the PCs with 2-3 active and juicy alternatives at each point where they are wondering what to do. In other words, I opened my current campaign with the PCs wanting to join the Delver's Guild, but too broke to do so. They read a message board and found three leads; they could hunt rat tails in the sewers, follow up on a note asking for help locating a missing girl, or investigate the supposed sighting of a ghost at the Inn. They chose the missing girl. Rats in the sewers remains a viable adventure choice right up until now (and they actually almost did go there, once), but the ghost has dropped off their radar. I may bring it back later...I rarely have plots that advance MUCH while the PCs are distracted. This isn't because I think it's a bad idea, but I have only so much time to devote to the game. The rats in the sewers may get a bit more powerful as time goes by; maybe a sorcerer will join them and learn how to make dire rats, or the were-rats will start kidnapping people. But that's as far as I'll take that thread.On the other hand, the PCs may run into a bunch of other adventurers boasting about how they &quot;solved&quot; the ghost mystery, and got some cool treasure. Or not. Maybe in a few months when they return to the Inn, they'll hear about how the Innkeeper died of a heart attack upstairs last week; and everyone is blaming the ghost. Then the new owner arrives, and he's a louse. Was that heart attack really the ghost? Who knows? Until/unless the PCs investigate, there may be no answer.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gilladian, post: 5038295, member: 2093"] I run a "semi-sandbox" campaign, in which I dangle leads, the PCs pick the one(s) that interest them, and the campaign focuses there for a while. Then more leads come up, and more choices are made. Once in a while an "old lead" is re-dangled... Having too many plots leads ME to get confused, if nothing else. I'm capable of forgetting what I was dangling, too. I usually try to present the PCs with 2-3 active and juicy alternatives at each point where they are wondering what to do. In other words, I opened my current campaign with the PCs wanting to join the Delver's Guild, but too broke to do so. They read a message board and found three leads; they could hunt rat tails in the sewers, follow up on a note asking for help locating a missing girl, or investigate the supposed sighting of a ghost at the Inn. They chose the missing girl. Rats in the sewers remains a viable adventure choice right up until now (and they actually almost did go there, once), but the ghost has dropped off their radar. I may bring it back later... I rarely have plots that advance MUCH while the PCs are distracted. This isn't because I think it's a bad idea, but I have only so much time to devote to the game. The rats in the sewers may get a bit more powerful as time goes by; maybe a sorcerer will join them and learn how to make dire rats, or the were-rats will start kidnapping people. But that's as far as I'll take that thread. On the other hand, the PCs may run into a bunch of other adventurers boasting about how they "solved" the ghost mystery, and got some cool treasure. Or not. Maybe in a few months when they return to the Inn, they'll hear about how the Innkeeper died of a heart attack upstairs last week; and everyone is blaming the ghost. Then the new owner arrives, and he's a louse. Was that heart attack really the ghost? Who knows? Until/unless the PCs investigate, there may be no answer. [/QUOTE]

Verification