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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JamesonCourage" data-source="post: 5808167" data-attributes="member: 6668292">Okay, I'll let you know what works for my group (so take it as just what works for my group, and not everyone).First, when everyone makes characters, they have a theme. Are they adventurers? Warlords? "Good guys" who just go around helping people out? For example, right now my players are adventurers. They can take missions from the adventuring guild, from independent sources on behalf of the guild, or they sometimes "go looking for dangerous supernatural beings to hunt down" in their free time. No matter what, they're in control of what they do.So, let's look at some things that have happened so far. They took a mission to go to the west of the Vertland Forest, where local cults were leaving the forest to attack nearby villages. They arrived, cleaved up one cult force attacking the town, and found a lead (through the leader of the force whom they took prisoner) that pointed to a larger threat. They reported in, and completed their contract. They were then offered a new contract: find out more of what's going on, plus a big bonus if they stopped it if it's dangerous. They could either take it (meaning the players are interested in it), or they could say, "we got our mission done, and while we appreciate the offer, we're going to head back to the west coast to look for something else" and leave.They took the mission. They spoke with some NPCs, found some more bad guys, and found some more information. There was someone raising undead through a cult (and claiming to be a god), and so the party reported back, completing the "information" section of the contract. They could now leave, or continue through for the bonus. They took the bonus, and continued to hunt down this "god".They found out (through infiltrating the cult and speaking to his right-hand man) that the leader was some sort of ghost/lich, and that he resided in a local haunted castle. They prepared (talked to a local ally NPC for advice), and set off to the castle. They can always leave, if they want to, but they went through with it. They fought a small army, killed the ghost/lich, and then the right-hand man. Then they left, reported in, and completed the bonus contract.From there, they had options. They didn't have a new lead. So, what now? They knew about some warlords who wanted the castle, but knew it was haunted so they couldn't have it (they could go try to "sell" the castle to them). They knew about a healer who might be able to heal a permanent wound a PC had gained. They knew about a lake monster controlled by some sort of witch that was apparently letting it feed on locals that they could go deal with. They could go check in with the guild, or any one of a half-dozen allies to look for contracts.This is when the party can really decide what they want to do (just like before they got their first mission). What mood are they in? Do they want to explore (Joyant, here we come!)? Do they want to go exterminate dangerous supernatural forces free of charge (lake monster and witch)? Do they want to patch up a PC and get some down time (healer)? Do they want to try to earn some money ("selling" the castle to the warlords)? Do they not know what they want, but know the region they want to work (allies with contracts)? Do they not know what they want, including the region (back to the guild)?In these situations, there isn't always a "next plot point" to go to. I don't map things by plot points. I don't plan plots at all. When they engage with part of the setting, I have a very good idea of what's going on there, and how creatures react to them interacting with the setting. If they want to go do something, I wing it. It's up to the players, as a group, to find something that will intrigue them. I basically have a system that goes:GM: What interests you?Players: That sounds interesting.GM: Go do that, then!That's about all there is to it. Do they want to deal with the skirmishes between warlords? Do they like battles at all? Do they want to engage in politics? Find families? Get better gear, or more money? Go on a quest for a magic item, or hire other people to go on it for them? Do they want to take a mission to scout out and close a crevice to the hells, or go sink ships in the islands? Do they want to retire from adventuring and take up another profession?It's up to them. They decide what to do, and they engage with the setting. The setting evolves, as appropriate (so as a reaction to their actions, and independent of it). And then, together, we see what happens. But, in terms of what the party does next... that's up to them to figure out. I'm not going to change the setting if someone asks ("can my tiefling ancestral house be there?"), but I'll work with them when they make their character ("can I have been raised here, with my family here, even if I don't know?" "Sure.").At any rate, I hope that sheds a little more light on how my group operates. As always, play what you like <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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