Advance Preparation

Whizbang1963

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Given the lack of a single really good "official" computer program to assist with the chores of running a campaign, how much do you prepare in advance?

Do you pre-roll encounters and monsters and treasures and so forth?

Do you ave prepared alternates should the quest/campaign begin to take a direction different from what you were planning?
 

Palantir

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Before the game I have each player give me 10 pre-rolls (in this case 1-100).
Then as the game moves along anytime I need a roll for their character that they might not know about or the exact outcome of the roll (ex, save vs a spell, finding traps etc) I can know the outcome just a bit ahead of time & RP their character "properly" for them.

Such as: They say they are "Detecting Traps" I reply (checking a random pre-roll they made) "none found." Now did they really not detect any, did they simply fail to detect the trap or, did they "fumble" and now the trap is activated & about to go off? Players are much more caustious when they don't know for sure.

I have 1-2 alternatives planned based on a few common directions I think they might take off the main path. But they know that they can turn any direction at any time and I'm fine with it. A couple of my players don't like the "open-ended" style I run. They are used to the linier story lines of say Diablo2 "follow the beaten path."

There have been times that my players have had weeks of R&R because of the open style I run. Adventures just don't "pop up" out of thin air where they just happen to be laying over. I don't create a sudden invasion on that town just because they are there or some graveyard is erupting with undead. Some areas are "active" while others are very peaceful (which you have to have for stability & crop growing raising families etc). My groups have to usually "go" to the adventure they don't just showup on their doorstep.

I'm not sure what you mean by "pre-rolled" encounters/treasure here?

For the "adventure" they are on then yes, I have the entire thing planned out since it is a set deal for them. The dungeon is probably not going to change all that much in a weeks time. However if they change directions and come back to it say a months game time later then I may alter things if outside events have forced the changes on the dungeon inhabitants.

Random encounters are a bit different- say they suddenly decide to travel to a distant city that will require a month long journey across the country. I will randomize any encounter just before it happens including treasure etc.

However- preplanned is a tricky deal. One "simple" early adventure involved entering a Mt lair to defeat some creatures. It was pretty straight forward go through the cavern opening... but the players decided they wanted to find a back entrance if there was one. Well it so happens I had a small hole drawn on the map for the creatures emergency escape. They players decided out of the blue to allot 2 days in this crazy search, which they did eventually find. So they ended up running through the adventure backwards of the way I had "pre-planned" it. It was fun and they accomplished the mission but nothing like they way I had planned on it happening.
 
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Maedhros

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Whizbang1963 said:
Given the lack of a single really good "official" computer program to assist with the chores of running a campaign, how much do you prepare in advance?
I'm thinking of creating an Access 2000 db with all of my campaign specifics - locations, individuals, organization, geographical features, events, etc - all cross-linked...

Do you pre-roll encounters and monsters and treasures and so forth?
My game style is very literary - the goal is to have the events in the game play out (in pacing, flavor, etc) in the same way as a good fantasy novel. Therefore, every encounter fits into the story, even if it's just a random diversion. I try to use the "play in three acts" (e.g. introduction, confrontation, resolution) structure to designing an adventure, with a main plot and a number of side plots (ideally playing off of the characters' motivations and backgrounds). Important opponents are quite detailed - methods, motivations, plans, allies, etc. Minions are not so detailed unless by their nature more detail is required (e.g. a squad of soldiers pretty much describes itself; a hunting party of shapechanging lizardmen needs a bit more explanation).

I like making maps, so I will often use the map-making process as inspiration for the adventure design. For example, I am currently making a map of a large Imperial Provincial Capital City. As I created the city, I decided that the Temple of Apollo should be burned out and gutted - indeed, the entire Imperial quarter of the city is razed to the ground. I decided to surround the city with bocage ("hedgerow") country, and sited a large cemetery on the hill outside the southern gate. Owing to the proximity of the cemetery and the gutted Imperial quarter, I decided then that the cemetery hill was riddled with ghoul warrens underneath, and that the ghouls had infiltrated the city sewers and were now roaming about the gutted Imperial quarter. The ghouls are working with the de-facto ruler of the city to vanquish his rivals, and are looking for something in the vaults below the ruined Temple that would be useful...and so on.

Treasure is not so important, since most good fantasy novels aren't centered around a band of brigands hunting for wealth. Incidental spoils are generally not detailed and have little impact on the story. If treasure is included in an adventure, it is because it is integral to the story - a hoard of riches needed to finance a revolt, a suit of armor crafted from the scales of the Gold Dragon, a chest being smuggled through customs, etc.

Do you ave prepared alternates should the quest/campaign begin to take a direction different from what you were planning?
My adventures are "curvilinear" - there are always different options open to the players (investigate the Purple Lotus smugglers, join up to fight the goblin incursions, accept the offer to guard a caravan over the mountains, help hunt down the insurrectionists, etc.), but "all roads lead to Rome": each option will lead them back to the main story (a Dark Power has insinuated agents into every corner of the Empire and plots it's downfall).
 
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