The campagn-adventure design checklist

[Psion]

For me its not about giving each a specific secret, but knowing which has knowledge on certain campaign only secrets. But some of the secrets can be like "vheating on wife with baker" or something more simplistic like that. Not all secrets need to be campaign huge, just personal huge.

"Cheating", perhaps? Either that, or I am intrigued on what this "vheating" is that a woman is doing on her husband...

Anyway, yeah, those are the sorts of secrets my little secret generator will churn out.

 

[Ethernaut]

To address this, I was thinking that I need an adventure checklist, of things to strive to include in every adventure.

I do something very similar in my ongoing Buffy game. Instead of hitting the things you listed, I tend to start with a list of the player characters. For each player character, I make a list of ongoing plot threads, player/gm goals for that character, and interesting character-focused events/encounters. Then I look at the ongoing metaplot and see how I can tie in as many things from each character's list into the main storyline. I give the PC treatment to one or two recurring NPCs if I get a chance.

Not every character gets equal amounts of attention in each session, but I do try to balance things out from session to session. This is kind of cool since it results in each character getting the "star" treatment every once in a while.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I just ask a simple question:

Does the actions of the players/event result in something I can use? If, yes, how?

That is where I sometimes run into a block, where to take the event, which is why I will scan my newspapers and internet to thoughts and ideas.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Here's my preliminary take:

1. Feature or introduce an "anchor" NPC (sympathetic/familiar NPC)
2. Feature or introduce a recurring rival or villain NPC
3. Feature a campaign backstory element or clue.
4. Feature a world element
5. Feature monster of interest (i.e. a monster in a book that you just gotta use)
6. Feature campaign organization
7. Feature "theme" element if your setting has a certain theme you wish to emphasize

The idea here to hit as many elements as practical in a given session when planning.

Thoughts?

1. I don't use a single anchor NPC. Rather I use a wide variety of patrons, allies, and professional rivals to keep the PCs in the know. Guilds are an excellent method of doing this and anchoring the characters.

Rivals and nemesis are generally different things for me. I tend to play the 'friendly' rival more than the do anything to win rival.

Featuring a world element... to a point that's difficult in some of the more generic settings unless you're using the dangerous areas liek Sea of Dust or Anaroch Desert but I try to do this with specific elements as opposed to world elements like an ice based adventure, desert based adventure ,etc...

Campaign backelements and clues are usually tied into theme elements for me. Shackled City does a good job of this in many areas with players fighting aristocrat's children early on and having to deal with shackle born characters early.

Monsters of interest... yeah, I tend to break out the sticky pads and pop 'em down genersouly in books that I don't normally use like Monster Manual II, Tome of Horrors 2, Monsternomicon 3.5, etc...

 

[Psion]

1. I don't use a single anchor NPC. Rather I use a wide variety of patrons, allies, and professional rivals to keep the PCs in the know.

I think you misunderstand what I am talking about, because that's what I do too.

Over the course of a campaign, I try to involve the players with a variety of "familar face" NPCs to help ground them in the campaign. However, this particular checklist concerns the scope of a singe adventure or possibly a single session. I don't have time to introduce more than one NPC I hope to make significant to the players and have it stick in their memories.

 

[The Edge]

Guilds are an excellent method of doing this and anchoring the characters.

One Ive used that works nicely is the 'Guild For Hire', its basicly an adventures guild; buy special stuff, sell special stuff, travel aids, local news, put up help requests jobs missions opertunitys etc, and more importantly look through and take them.

I dont often put the major stuff in there, but when theres time the PC's can often count on finding something they can do. Its where I put loads of side storys and misc activitys. I once even had a player choose to sweep the streets for a day to earn 1sp.