I would also advise you to let things grow naturally within the game.
Sometimes, players do not go for your plot hooks or ideas (hard to believe, I know) – the “cool” NPC you spent time thinking of a good backstory for falls flat at the table. Or, vice versa, a minor NPC that you only had a name for makes a sudden turn at the table due to an unforeseen circumstance and can become a major player.
Example – the DM of my old group (probably the best DM I’ve ever played with) told me
later that the two Halfling bartenders that played a major role early in the campaign were just afterthoughts until the players kind of took to them in game. It was only after that happened that he developed some connections to some other important NPCs.
A second example would be when I was a DM. To start the campaign, the players had been hired by a merchant to find his kidnapped daughter. I had some elaborate plans for this NPC, and the evil organization he belonged to, to play a major role in the campaign – think of them like the trade federation in Star Wars episode 1, and this organization was also involved in slavery and dealing with an evil theocracy nearby. However, while the players fought the slavers, they were so focused on finding the kidnapped daughter that they did not follow-up with the merchant until months later in game.
So, don’t plot out all these multi-layered plots ahead of time. I would come up with a few ideas and see if you can loosely tie them to your campaign to start.
Secondly, the players will not be able to attend to every plot all the time – make sure you know what each faction/organization will do while the PCs’ attention is turned elsewhere – if the players disrupt the slaver’s raid outside of town, the local thief’s guild in town might take advantage of the players’ absence.
Good luck!
Sometimes, players do not go for your plot hooks or ideas (hard to believe, I know) – the “cool” NPC you spent time thinking of a good backstory for falls flat at the table. Or, vice versa, a minor NPC that you only had a name for makes a sudden turn at the table due to an unforeseen circumstance and can become a major player.
Example – the DM of my old group (probably the best DM I’ve ever played with) told me
later that the two Halfling bartenders that played a major role early in the campaign were just afterthoughts until the players kind of took to them in game. It was only after that happened that he developed some connections to some other important NPCs.
A second example would be when I was a DM. To start the campaign, the players had been hired by a merchant to find his kidnapped daughter. I had some elaborate plans for this NPC, and the evil organization he belonged to, to play a major role in the campaign – think of them like the trade federation in Star Wars episode 1, and this organization was also involved in slavery and dealing with an evil theocracy nearby. However, while the players fought the slavers, they were so focused on finding the kidnapped daughter that they did not follow-up with the merchant until months later in game.
So, don’t plot out all these multi-layered plots ahead of time. I would come up with a few ideas and see if you can loosely tie them to your campaign to start.
Secondly, the players will not be able to attend to every plot all the time – make sure you know what each faction/organization will do while the PCs’ attention is turned elsewhere – if the players disrupt the slaver’s raid outside of town, the local thief’s guild in town might take advantage of the players’ absence.
Good luck!
