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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DMZ2112" data-source="post: 6320914" data-attributes="member: 78752">Well, that's the problem with planar campaigns for prime characters.  They don't understand anything that's happening around them.  You can describe it, but unless you take the time to explain to the /players/ what their characters /aren't/ seeing, meaning will be lost on them.  This is a subject for another (much longer) thread, but one of Planescape's greatest weaknesses is that it seems designed to drag clueless (or worse, actively misinformed) primes into the planes, but if you do so its volumes of fluff are completely wasted.  It's just a place with funny architecture and sharp weeds.Put simply: if this NPC manipulates your PCs, they'll probably understand that they've been manipulated.  But will they understand how?  Or why?So after the first five levels of the campaign, your Revolutionary Guard NPC whips off his Guvner disguise and announces that he's actually Revolutionary League.Do your players know who the Guvners are?  Probably, the Fraternity of Order is pretty ubiquitous and dominant in Sigil, so they'll at least have a sense that this guy was impersonating a city official.Do your players know who the Revolutionary League are?  Far less likely, particularly since, as a Revolutionary League member, the NPC would be inclined not to dish on his highly secretive faction.  But still possible.Most importantly, do your players understand the political significance of a Revolutionary League sleeper impersonating a Guvner namer?  This is what /you/ like about the scenario, but unless your campaign has already delved pretty deep into Sigillian politics, it's not going to register with your players.  The best reaction you're going to get is, "Okay, this guy's a spy."It's not that these problems aren't surmountable -- they are.  The trick to a great Planescape campaign is in bringing the PCs along for the ride. You have to design the campaign pretty carefully to make sure that all the necessary exposition is relevant to the plot, so they earn the understanding they need, but it doesn't come across as lecturing.  Otherwise you're just running a game in Weird Waterdeep and that's all your players are going to feel.And in my experience, PCs can't wait to leave Weird Waterdeep.  If you want them to stick around, you need to help them become part of their new home.</blockquote>

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