dmjonny
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Post by dmjonny on Nov 14, 2013 14:49:54 GMT
Hi guys id love to hear or see how other dms plan their adventure. What steps they take or even post a video on a step by step guide and build the adventure in the video etc what to thunk of what not to think of and so on
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Post by DMScotty on Nov 14, 2013 14:57:46 GMT
Great idea
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Post by ashrothedm on Nov 14, 2013 16:36:52 GMT
Firstly, my group's adventures have been set to be episodic, fully resolved in 3-4 hours of game play. This has worked very well, and resolved numerous issues of people missing sessions, and we have never had a situation where we needed to NPC a character along for an adventure. To do that, I know with each module how much XP and GP to award to keep the group on track.
Since we meet 6-10 times per year, and want to be able to level, we decided how many sessions it should take, and I put the appropriate amount of XP in the module. The same for treasure to keep them on track. Some may think this could be limiting, but I can say that I have never been unable to get the right encounter for the story into the adventure. The available treasure is fixed, the amount of xp is fixed, but they don't always get it all.
We have just transitioned from 3.5 to Pathfinder, but we're still working out some of the details of the transition. The game is set in a homebrew setting.
Anyway: here's the prep, and more on that to follow.
Pre-writing preparation: Break the Story into 4-5 encounters - A single line of what is happening in each encounter. "The mob grows angry" That's all, just lay it out to a cohesive conclusion.
Mechanical Preparation Determine Encounter Type - In short, what type of encounter will it be? Skill checks, combat, puzzle, trap or hazard, or story. They like to end the night with a dramatic combat, so at least one combat encounter planned for the end. Jot a note: what are they doing? Determine the level of the adventure - The level determines the max xp and treasure for the adventure. Choosing Encounters - From the level chosen, I know how much XP max will be awarded, so I treat that like currency for my encounters. Determine the combat encounters - In order to complete the encounter in the listed time, there can be no more than 2 challenging combats in each module. 1 if it is complex. Set a maximum encounter challenge of the average party level + 2. These are the "intended" combats. Determine the trap encounters - I call it a trap, but it can be anything. I tend to use trap effects, but surround story around them, or change the skills required. It is an urban-ish campaign, and the group was in the middle of an escalating situation. Failing diplomacy and imtimidates led to a "rock fall trap". The rioting mob did an appropriate amount of bludgeoning damage for a "rock fall trap" and forced the group indoors. Determine the Skill Check Encounters - A skill challenge from 4e basically, but really, just modified to something that makes more sense to me. There is a goal, and excessive failures getting there mean that some hazard will go off, some enemy will be buffed, some enemy will be weakened, etc. Jot down the skill checks that I think might apply, and ensure that there is at least one skill for every character stat. Str, Dex, Con, etc. Also, since I know the character level, I have a DC for easy, normal, and hard skill checks, and use that number where I think they should be used. Determine the Mundane Mechanics - What is the break DC of the doors, what type of lock is on the ancient chest, etc. There is not a lot of story yet, but if I know they will be in the wild, what is the DC for getting lost? etc. Simple things. There may be more added later, but I want to have some mechanic for each story point. Determine Treasure - Over the years, I have gotten slightly more sophisticated, but basically I reference my spreadsheet and ensure that the treasure stays inline with character level/power. I do this by first of all, knowing my total amount of available GP. I'll talk about this more later, but I ensure that no more than 1/2 of the treasure is in items, and that the treasure is somewhat equally distributed among the encounters. This ensures that if they miss, or skip an encounter, they don't lose out on 90% of the treasure. With the tools and spreadsheets I have, this takes less than 15 minutes. Allocate the treasure to the encounter.
Intermission At this point, we have a fully playable adventure with mechanics, but all of the flavor is still just in my head.
Writing the Story Part of the fun for me is putting all of these puzzle pieces into one cohesive idea. Connecting the dots. You can truly start with a random list of items, names, places, nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc, and connect them into any believable story. This part is my part of the fun. Expand the one Liners to a list of one liners - Now I go through and as an example, expand the "The mob is angry." This explodes into "Describe the crowd", "Successful diplomacy", "Failed Encounter, the mob riots", "Talk to the captain of the guard", etc. Several things that I think the group may do, I create a single line for. In the end, reading the one liners, you could see an entire story opening up. Write the Adventure Background - I write a few paragraphs about how the stage got set for this adventure. I connect the dots, choose the characters, give them motivations, etc. I'm not writing how this will play out at this point, but just creating reasons for everything to be the way that it is. All of the random items are given purpose. This helps determine the context for the adventure. Write the Adventure Summary - Based on the story, and the encounters set up: how do I think it will go? This is really just a sanity check. What do I think the progression will be from encounter to encounter. In the end, the players constantly upset this, but this is the "according to plan" version of the story that the players wreck. This is what helps determine the content for the next part. Create the "Read Aloud" Text - I like to have read aloud text. It's like preparing a speech. I don't want to accidentally give things away if I ramble, so I methodically tell them what they are experiencing. "A strong smell of the imported coffee catches your attention as the merchant from the Westlands passes into the market. The Tradeway is full of bustling shoppers and boisterous merchants when a deafening boom is heard off in the distance. You hear screams as the people begin to panic and push past you. To the north, you see the smoke billowing from Highwall when the city guard sounds the alarm." It's not that I can't improvise something like that, but I'm keying in on a few bits of information that I want the players to have. First: Remind them where they are - familiar scents, sights, or sounds keep the area consistent. It gives you something to threaten later. Remind them that the town is a merchant/trade town. Remind them that there is a city of innocent and helpless people. Threaten those people with an explosion. Sounding the alarm lets them know that there is something calling on protectors of the city to actively do something. This is just something I do with each thing that I write in order to ensure that certain key points are hit. Familiarity, setting, and context all delivered up front. I do the same for each successful search, at least for the initial reveal, especially when it is a clue. The players key in to my carefully chosen words, because they know that it leads somewhere. It becomes the cornerstone of each interaction. It reminds me of what they are experiencing, which in turn helps me to put their actions into perspective. Without beating a dead horse here, this is where the story shapes up. Revisit Mechanics - Now that I have a full story, what additional mechanics need to be revisited? Is there now ice on the ground and I need a DC for that? I need an NPC for the guard that they may combat. What perception checks, or sense motive checks, or any skill check may be needed as a result of the read aloud text? How hard is it to break down the wall that I added? Where is each item/reward that was selected earlier? etc. All of those things and more. Now that there is a story, these are the supporting mechanics that make it work.
Table Preparation Now that all of the work has been done, and I have in my hand, a fully written and complete adventure. I could hand this off to another DM, and they could run it. Sure, it doesn't have all of the polish of a published adventure, but it's in the ballpark. At any point along the way, some of the things above may be incomplete. It's written and it's playable, and that's really what matters. Crafting! - Now that I have an adventure, is there anything that I need, or have not already crafted, to tell this story? If I need something, now is the time to make it. Sometimes, the adventure is written around something crafted, but that is certainly not always the case.
The End? That's basically my process. It takes around 8 hours to have a fully thought out and complete short adventure. Sometimes much longer. I don't usually do it all in one sitting, but I can say for sure, that I have achieved a fully realized adventure the same day that it was played, with 10 minutes to spare for a shower. Just a few points to toss in at the end of this exhaustive post, I mentioned spreadsheets and tools that I use for making the adventures:
Spreadsheets: Since the group only gets to meet 6-10 times per year, we just picked how quickly per adventure we wanted to level. Using math and some spreadsheets, determined the XP needed per session to meet that goal. That math then led to gp, and how much treasure should be allocated per adventure, and that leaves me with a framework within which to balance the rewards. It's something that took very little time, and only needed to be done once. (although we have audited and verified that we were on track, and it was very close to predicted.) We also ensure that an overpowered item is not placed in the world, so there is a maximum single item value per level as well.
Treasure Allocation Spreadsheet - With some guidelines, we determined how much treasure should be obtained. In an adventure, no more than 1/2 is in magic items. I have somewhat scrapped the mundane item reward specifics, and assign a value to it all. For example, there is a coin reward, and a loot reward for a combat encounter. If you just take the coins, that's all you get. If you loot and sell their armor, mundane items, etc. there is another value. I don't add it all up, I just make the assumption that they get what they get, and there is no need to determine the exact value of each suit of armor and horse, and rope, and 10 foot pole. On the adventure, I don't put the total, I put the per-player total. they can pool money all they want, but to keep it balanced, I assign it to each and we assume no backstabing. If you don't take and sell the armor and mundane junk, no loot reward for that encounter. Now, magic item value I allocate based on the sold per-player amount, which means the value of the sold items is 1/2 of the total, so in essence, they get more by keeping more.
Once I have the amount to obtain total, I split that up per encounter. Each encounter has an appropriate coin, loot, and magic item reward. The items are spread around, as is the loot and coin. The spreadsheet tells me, after magic items, how much more loot and coin to go around. I fill in some boxes and I'm rewarded with a loot line that I can copy and paste at the end of my encounter.
Treasure Generation - Because of the way that I "shop" for items on a budget, I decided to make a web page that does the shopping, randomly, for me. I put a minimum item value, a maximum item value, and a total treasure value, and click a button. The web page randomly generates items that fit those constraints and spits out a list until all of the money, or at least a reasonable amount of it, has been spent. I tend to work in somewhere around 12 items per adventure, but it can be anything. I keep clicking random until I either get a random item that fits my key story point, or I get a treasure hoard that can be spread among the group. I put the items into my handy spreadsheet, and with some spreadsheet wizardry, i end up with the line, including all of the sale values of items, that the adventure needs. I know that I could put specific things in if I wanted to or needed to, but again, part of the fun is making sense of the random, and by randomizing, I end up with treasures that I did not expect, and may not have given otherwise.
Summary I know this is a bit of a long post, but for those that kept up with it, thank you! I know there are a ton of things that I did not mention, and plenty of times that I have not done all of this, but this has been the system for the last 6 years and it is going strong. I also know that there are a lot of DMs who dislike the mechanical part and put most of their effort into the story. For me, I spend an equal amount of time on each. That allows the mechanical players to enjoy mechanics, and the story players to have an equally rich story. I like the constraints that a system like this puts on me, and it has led to some very enjoyable gaming in both story and player challenge/reward.
I know there are plenty of instances where I have not "finished" an adventure, but that has not slowed down the game at all. There is no shortage of improv at the table, and even though the players don't always catch all of the extra bits that go into an adventure, there is life breathed into the world nonetheless. I have fun before I get to the table with the mechanics and the story, and at the table, I have (hopefully) something that players with different interests can enjoy.
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Post by DMScotty on Nov 14, 2013 16:43:49 GMT
ashrothedm thanks for all the detail. This will help many people.
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Post by ashrothedm on Nov 14, 2013 17:04:21 GMT
You would think that I had it all in that post, but I forgot one thing:
I don't write specifically for the players in the group. I make challenges, and then they figure out how to overcome them. I also don't put things in to specifically address a character, i.e family ties. If they had a family tie or relationship with an NPC, that's something we improv. I write the mechanics of the situation, and the rest is handled at the table.
If I write something that requires a single player to be called out, I make a sort of decision tree to make that happen. i.e. "a divine spellcaster, if there is not one, a good character, or if there are no good characters, the character with the highest charisma." I know that the group has a priest, but what happens to the story if he doesn't show up that night?
Lastly: (for real this time) I like to ensure that there is something at the table for everyone. Dungeon crawlers, hack and slash, RP, lore, etc. It's all in every adventure, and an equal amount. There is something for everyone, and everyone gets a chance to be in the spotlight with their skills, or their lack of skills. Sometimes, what the players do in a given game will change, when they are more in a hack and slash mood, or when they decide that they may actually want to talk to an NPC. In either case, it's there, and they can handle the situation as they see fit. I try to keep each encounter moving so that they all take the same amount of time, no more than 1h per encounter in the adventure.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope the wall of text helps someone! I can elaborate if anyone had any questions.
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dmjonny
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Post by dmjonny on Nov 14, 2013 21:44:31 GMT
Amazing dude thank you. I shall apply this to my adventures. This is brilliant and very very helpful. Thank you :-))
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markd1733
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"Toss me!"
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Post by markd1733 on Nov 15, 2013 3:37:35 GMT
Great input.
I like trying to get variety with encounters and monsters. I start with the minis I have, and work from there looking for unique, but logical combinations. I think it's fun to take 5-10 monsters (not thinking of number of each kind) and random, toss them in the air to see which ones land near each other and improvise encounters and stories to intertwine them all. We all have our favorites--so I don't work with anything I don't like. Some of the crazy monsters in the MM2, FF, etc, I just ignore. I like classic monsters, try to keep things simple.
I do select magic treasures that are tailored to specific characters...so as to make them feel even more special. For example, I made a kobold dagger that glows green (like a candle) in the presence of gnomes (like Sting with orcs). This was for the gnome illusionist, so that he always has light by which he can read, do alchemy, etc. The rogue certainly doesn't want that near him when he's trying to hide all the time.
I do like to know when my session should end...hopefully, its at the end of an encounter or maybe at the beginner with a cliff hanger.
I also play my games rather loose...sometimes the players come up with scenarios that I couldn't dream of...they are intended to "write" the story afterall. And these choices can be perfect inspirations and better ideas on which to build. Sometimes their suspicions that they verbalize are better than anything I have written, and I just take that and run with it.
Good luck!
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Post by brokentoy on Nov 15, 2013 5:20:47 GMT
Step by step:
1- Get a general idea of where I want to take the characters At the very start of the campaign, this involves defining the setting. Prep time varies. At the start of a session, it might involve the procedural creation of an adventure from a random table, used as broad guideline. (I draw 'random' from the standard playing card deck we use for initiative, it goes much faster).
2- Wing it As soon as the game starts, it has to be ready to react to the players' actions (and inactions). I found that getting good at improvization gave the best (and funniest!) results so far, with the highest return on investment relative to preparation time. Also, it forces me to take the player input a LOT more in consideration, rather than railroad them down a prepared script, which I find to be better. Roleplay is -collaborative- storytelling, after all.
Your mileage may vary.
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Post by onethatwas on Nov 15, 2013 8:57:35 GMT
My method is pretty similar to brokentoy's. I have a hard time ritually planning, organizing, and developing plots, and the most I will ever do is come up with a general idea, maybe draw up a map, and go. Most of my best games were improvs and had little to no planning.
That being said, I think that shortcut tools (Paizo's Character Cards, premade dungeon tiles ala DM Scotty's awesomeness, and a really neat dungeon idea deck made by a small third party company I happened to come across) are awesomeness. While having an extensive plan is really useful for some players, most of the time my players notice when I am trying too hard by planning out, and don't notice as much when I fly by the seat of my pants.
So I guess it's a matter of preference for each DM/Player. I will say, however, that even though I myself don't use the same process or routine for developing a game session, I think ashrothedm's suggestions are good ideas to go off of.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2013 11:08:17 GMT
I plan adventures using a few tried and true guidelines I have picked up the hard way.. 1. If you have a good idea, use it immediately.Saving a great gimmick, trick or location for later is a bad idea, because your players will steer the adventure right out of your carefully prepared plan and right into something unexpected. 2. DM like the Swan.On the surface, you are calm, unfazed and prepared for any situation, you rarely reach for a rule book, you have everything already printed out, terrain is at hand, you are the Zen master.. under the surface, you are frantically paddling, modifying monster stats with a pencil, grabbing random terrain bits and throwing them down, throwing out ideas and plots as you run with the lead the players are giving you, stirring up the action when all the players are focused, nerfing battles and giving the players easy wins when they are flagging and tired, giving them moments to chatter, gently steering them back into the narrative, rolling on random tables and then picking what you prefer... The Art of DMing is to put in a bit of planning, have resources at hand, but really learning how to throttle and stoke the engine, but let the game steer itself. 3. Frequently change tactics.One game is masses of minions and a brute who is charging after the spell caster, the next is a bunch of medium difficulty skirmishing monsters with a ranged attack element built into the terrain.. never feed the players the same situation again and again, but do take notes, go back to elements they enjoy, make your game a roller coaster, a fair ground, a circus of different sights and experiences, and always keep them guessing by altering your material, game after game.. if you find that there is something you do quite often, deliberately avoid it, challenge yourself and break out of your comfort zone. 4. Action movies are scripted like they are for a reason, and you can learn how to pace your game exactly the same way.I even say to the players "This is the chase scene" or "Time for the training montage, then you know what's next?" and they say "BOSS FIGHT!"... its about giving an expectation, and allowing them to navigate the chaos by giving a road map of where they can expect the story to be heading.. even if you don't point it out, the players have watched TV and Movies, they know how the stories work, and how the pace feels. 5. Let each player shine.No matter what sort of character they have, give them an adventure encounter where that character is the clear winner.. give the cleric a bunch of skeletons to Turn, give the assassin a boss to execute, give the mage an arcane trap to subvert or disarm, give the warrior some minions to beat up.. everyone wants to hog the spotlight from time to time, and that is OK. 6. Know the mechanics.Have at your fingertips the numbers for easy, hard and really hard rolls for the characters at their current level, and build everything around that.. everything else is gloss, but that set of numbers is the meat and potatoes of your game.. get it wrong and you have a unfair or cake walk situation. So get to know those numbers, and have them on hand at all times. So, how do I plan adventures? I get an idea (I get a lot of them), I give the players a corner of the world, and say "What are you doing?" and from there, I run with it.. as soon as the players start to act in ways that could lead to adventure, I start to build and plan and react.. I don't rail road them into the adventure I want them to play, I facilitate the adventure that they want to lead. Of course, no matter what you do.. this is a face that every DM makes from time to time.. its the "You are doing what?" face.
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dmjonny
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Post by dmjonny on Nov 15, 2013 12:55:18 GMT
Thank you so much guys. Me and my players are planning a 4 day break away in a log cabin. It will be a 4 day dnd marathon of adventure! I shall apply and take note of everything you guys have said. You guys are epic!
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Post by ashrothedm on Nov 15, 2013 15:51:36 GMT
I'll add that I completely agree that players write the story, and that railroading is not how I prefer to operate. Improv is incredibly fun, and I agree, that improv tends to lead to the most fun. When I set up an encounter, it is something that is happening, or has happened, and it's sort of a scene that they find themselves in.
The way that I write things is entirely dependent on the needs of the group that I am playing with. They need episodic and they need direction. We've tried to play sandbox, and they tend, well, not to actually play. It's a train wreck. So, I've gone to writing encounters. Brief blocks of content, somewhere in the adventure, that they may or may not uncover. My group gets the "get the lock, then open the door" approach to many adventures because the group meeting frequency and time constraints demand that they stay on task. Not every group needs that, but my players demand a light degree of railroading. They have, as a group, expressed that they need less freedom in some cases. Knowing the audience is critical to the way that adventures are presented.
When I write read aloud information, or write the content, it is intentionally vague. Sometimes, depending on the unpredictability of the session, the read aloud information needs to be altered on the spot. Did they surprise someone that was going to walk up to them? Did they kill someone unexpectedly that should have been alive for a later plot point? It happens. They once killed a bunch of (good) temple guard, drastically changing the encounters, as they fought off both vampires and temple guards.
Below are two encounters from a module that we ran in July as an example. Even with what is listed within them, you don't get the full picture, or what the group did prior to this, but you can (hopefully) see that the stage is set, but the party will eventually uncover the situation. I'll plop down a little backstory to make the encounters make a little more sense.
I wish I had the time to make some walls of fire for this adventure, they would have been awesome.
Encounter Context
There is a bit too much happening to briefly put the following into proper context, but the points here that were uncovered were: The summoner Salar does not feel responsible for the efreeti, even though he did summon it for someone else, the efreeti was not appeased by Salar's benefactor, resulting in an efreeti running rampant through the forests (as the benefactor intended.) The treants were defending the forest, and the group was pursuing an "arsonist" of some kind. Investigating one of the fires, the group met treants, negotiated with them and met Old Bristlecone, and with his blessing chased down the efreeti. They also managed to secure the release of Salar. And all of this is after a fire had broken out in a meeting of nobles about looming tensions between the realm and the barbarian clans, the group saved them from a burning building. With all of these balls in the air, having snapshots of certain points along the way is really helpful to me in order to keep things straight.
There is even another historical and a plot point, when Old Bristlecone referenced "wayward fey", that the group did not chase down. The context of that statement is in the adventure background, but it is a reference to another human being involved, which hints at the benefactor. Additional information tied to the larger plot was not pursued, but could have been. Of course, the efreeti was a missed opportunity as well. The efreeti was summoned, lost in the wilderness, and could have been handled without (or by ending) combat. (He was trying to get somewhere, so planar travel was not an option.) This is again, one of those things in the backstory that sets up the context of an encounter, but is not specifically called out in the encounter text. In the encounter, the effreeti starts out hostile. Resolution, in my encounters at least, does not always mean "kill". In many cases I would include that option in the encounter if I expected it, but in this case, I know I was short on time to work out the details of that alternative. It's easy enough to do on the fly, and the background reminded me that it was a plausible option.
Anyway: How the group encountered these things is really up in the air. For the Old Bristlecone encounter, they could have tracked the summoner salar, met with the treants, or wandered into his forest. Getting there is up to the players. In this case, prior to their involvement, the summoner Salar was captured, and held by the elder treant. They didn't need to find him to stop the efreeti, but they did. And on to the efreeti, their goal was to catch the person currently running rampant in the forests. There is nothing they can do about it prior to the point that it is currently at In order to successfully stop it, however, they need to find him. When they did, encounter 5 would start. I usually write the condition that things are in to start, which can be influenced by other encounters, but usually, it's the status quo. The group can encounter them in any order, so 5 does not always follow 4, and they may skip from 3 to 5 to 4, or they may just do 3 and 5 while never visiting 4. It's just a snapshot.
This is not my most compelling work, or a masterpiece by any stretch, but it is just a random sample of what I was writing about.
Short Example Encounters
4: OLD BRISTLECONE
Old Bristlecone is an ancient treeant who has been alive since the titans walked the earth. He is the warden of the forests, and son of the earth titan who has been imprisoned below Kharadin.
When the group meets Old Bristlecone, read the following section aloud to the group.
A collossal and ancient treant begins to shift and lumber in your direction. With a booming voice it calls out: “More wayward fey, in the forests of Old Bristlecone. In my day, none would dare be so bold as to ignite my domain.”
“Before your last breath, you should know who brings your demise.” “I,” the ancient treant says slowly and with pause, “am the ancient Old Bristlecone.
Old Bristlecone will direct the group toward the efreeti, so that he can tend to the damage that has been caused. He does not know that the creature was an efreeti, but he knows that the plants are being turned against him, and that the creature continues to move to the south.
Old Bristlecone may show them a clue, or the group may find it with a Search (DC 12) in the grove. A fire elemental will be attracted to it if the party lingers. Old Bristlecone will want them to follow the efreeti to the south if he witnesses them deal with the fire elemental.
Salar has been captured by the treants,and he has convinced Old Bristlecone that he is not responsible for the creature running rampant. If the group is able to pass a Diplomacy (DC 24) or Sense Motive (DC 16) check, he will explain how the efreeti began running loose. When they meet Salar under Old Bristlecone's guard, read the following:
A man wearing clothing that is not familiar among the six realms, is being held and bound by several tree branches and roots. “This one is named Salar,” Old Bristlecone says to you, “and I believe him when he says he did not set fire to the forest. That...” Old Bristlecone begins slowly, “is not all of the truth. Until it is all made clear to me, I will keep him under the watchful eyes of the forest.”
APL 8 (EL 7)
Large Fire Elementals hp 60, 60 Appendix 1
Treasure: If the group is able to befriend Old Bristlecone, he will impart these gifts to them:
APL 8: Coin (92) gp; Arcane scroll of confusion (L4, CL7) (58), Cloak of resistance +1 (83) Magic (141) gp; Loot (58) gp; Total (291) gp.
Development: With the blessing of Old Bristlecone, or if the players escape from him, they will close the gap on the rampant efreeti.
5: UNLEASHED WRATH
The group will easily close the gap on the efreeti, and first encounter his servants the shambling mounds. The mounds will attack the group as they continue to follow the trail.
A large clearing shows small evidence of charring, and there are still glowing embers in some areas. You notice a strong smell of rot and earth.
Read the following when the shambling mounds reveal themselves.
A mass of tangled vines and dripping slime rises on two trunk-like legs, reeking of rot and freshly turned earth, begins to move in your direction.
The efreeti will join the fight in 1d3 rounds, and when he does, read the following:
A booming voice shouts out: “How dare you insolent fey challenge a citizen of the Brass City? A muscular giant with crimson skin, smoldering eyes, and small black horns says as it appears in a nearby clearing. You can see smoke rising in curls from its flesh.
The efreeti will flee if he is able, and if he does, he will indicate that he will not return, no matter who requests him to the next time.
APL 8 (EL 10)
Efreeti hp 95 Appendix 1.
Shambling Mound hp 67, 67 Appendix 1
Treasure: The efreeti will flee if he is able, but he will leave the following treasure behind in order to slow the group's pursuit.
APL 8: Coin (82) gp; +1 Scimitar (191), Arcane scroll of symbol of pain (L5, CL9) (177) Magic (368) gp; Loot (89) gp; Total (539) gp.
Development: With the efreeti no longer setting fire to the forest, Old Bristlecone, the nobles, and the tribes can all be at rest. If he escapes, however, he may return to continue the destruction just to spite those who thwarted him. If the group is not successful, a war may erupt between the barbarian tribes and the six realms.
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Post by thedmg on Nov 15, 2013 19:49:00 GMT
The key to sandbox freeform DM style is to never allow character downtime. Stuff never stops happening. There is always a knock at the door, a monster around the corner, a flood, a person with information who wants to leave, your money gets stolen, the head of the thieves' guild wants a chat... It all helps move things along, just like real life, the world does not stop just because you want to craft a wand of magic missile...
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Post by gnomezrule on Nov 16, 2013 1:21:02 GMT
Wow lots of really great tips . . .
but how in the world Ashrothedm do you get 4-5 encounters in a single 3-4 hour session. Seriously we play 6-7 hours every other week. There have been sessions where we have two encounters. I think maybe we hit four encounters but that was an undead castle. This is not because we are all RPers. I and one other are real back and forth talkers. A complex fight with a few enemies will take four hours easy.
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Post by ashrothedm on Nov 16, 2013 17:03:48 GMT
To keep encounters short, I use fewer monsters and advance them. Rarely a single monster, but typically 2-4. The more A DM has to run, the more the turns can lag. I keep it smaller, but not so much that the group has an efficiency advantage.
The encounters are not all combat encounters. Dealing with a critical NPC, searching for clues, navigating a treacherous cliff, those are all encounters. They are scenes with some obstacle that needs to be navigated with skills or combat, much like the Old Bristlecone Encounter. They spent about 30-45 minutes on that one engagement.
With long or complex combat, we institute a simple system. There is a 1 minute hourglass, and if they finish the turn before that is done, they get a poker chip that can be exchanged for a +1 roll, three can be turned in for +2. If they take too long, they pay them back. It gives incentive to be quick with actions, and lets them bank time for when they were quick. A PC has 6 seconds to react, and giving them players a minute keeps the fast paced, high pressure decision making going.
As far as downtime goes, that's where the Pathfinder downtime rules get a chance to shine, and downtime is not waiting. It's active junk that the PCs can be doing. The group's issue is not the downtime portion, but more of a "what next" kind of a thing, where they don't really engage with something that is not thrown at them. It's just not their style. My group prefers less of a bread crumb system, and more of a drag-me-by-my-nose-to-the-next-interesting-engagement system. I'm not bashing them here, or saying that they never follow breadcrumbs, but in the years we've been playing, that's the way it rolls. Sandbox was no good.
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Post by dmdubbledee on Nov 16, 2013 21:37:28 GMT
Interesting to hear of your game constraints, ashrothedm. When I started dming again about 3 years ago, it was with a group of guys (we're a bunch of geek humanities academics) who hadn't played since the hack and slash glory days of early 2nd edition. I tried to have full-day games, but schedules only allowed about 3 or 4 games/ year. I just switched to the shortened game in August (playing a heavily house-ruled 1e)--we're on our 4th session in 12 weeks, and what's amazing is that the players are actually accomplishing as much, if not more, in 3 hours, than they used to in 8--it doesn't take them as long to get back into it now (we once went 6 months between games in a campaign--it was pretty disastrous) and they are having way more fun. In this kind of context, I think you're right--a bit more direction is warranted. They know there's a large campaign narrative arc in the works, and they're glad its there, but they're happy not to have to think too much about that beyond getting the odd clue and talking to the NPC's. Mainly, they just like to kill things in spectacular ways. As long as I get to murder one of them once in a while, it works out great.
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Post by ashrothedm on Nov 16, 2013 22:17:15 GMT
Yeah, the constraints around the game, and the group, really influence what is required of a DM. When I was younger, we played weekly, which means less prep time, and groups were much more prone to take their time. When you play less often, you have more time to prep, and try to pack much more action into the session, which means less ambling around. The effort that it takes to make sense of the experience tables and wealth per level (to keep power in balance) is minimal, and something that really only takes one sitting to wrap your head around. While I would allow a player to have a super-powerful legendary weapon if they found it, the game does make assumptions with level and challenge, so I try to stick to a system to maintain the balance. As I've grown older, and had less and less time to play, the structure of the game has matured so that players get more out of a single session, and my villains and plots have matured in a way that it's difficult for me to write a villain who is evil for the sake of evil. Every character in the encounter examples I have above had some motivation, even if they were flat to begin with. I'm sure that other DMs are in the same boat as I am, and thinking about some of the mechanical issues, or adopting a system to address potential issues, will extend the life of the game and increase the enjoyment of the players. When we first started playing, XP was too slow for the number of times we met, so they felt like it would take years to reach the higher levels. We're 6 years in, and they are level 9 and 10 now. Different DMs will have different interpretations of how slow or fast that is, but where we sit now, based on the number of games, it's working well, and sessions feel rewarding. Given that we play so little in a given year, having a 6 to 8 week break while the PCs are surrounded by an army of ghouls does just not work. Sessions need to resolve the story to the point that a breath can be taken. It's something that my group feels that we need in order to fit our game structure. Now we're working in the Pathfinder downtime rules, mostly over email, to fill in the weeks or month between the adventuring. www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/downtimeWhen it comes to preparation, I would say that it is imperative to spend a solid amount of planning on the mechanics of the game, taking into consideration things like the number of sessions and the attendance of players. Have a system to handle absence. Have a system to handle downtime. Know how long sessions are going to last, and expect to stop where it makes sense. I also, in order to be reminded of rules, copy and paste important rules that I think will come up in a game, like dispel magic or drowning. It helps to keep them on hand, and gives me something to review prior to playing. Since we don't play as often, remembering those specifics becomes a little bit harder for us.
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Post by grym247 on Nov 23, 2013 10:55:50 GMT
I Free Form a lot in my games as we play weekly ,( same group for 10 years) my players are unpredictable so you need to guide alittle but i allow there actions to dictate what happens in the game, Sandbox style. I do Write Modules and and single adventures but to some point i have to Dot Point the game notes instead of in depth as the players will always go right at Albuquerque instead of Left. I spend more time on the World ( mainly NPC's ) then most other things. That being said i have found that John Fours Concept ( www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=156 ) of Five Room Dungeons to be very helpful indeed. The Concept strings forth enough for an evenings play. Five Room Dungeon ConceptRoom 1: Entrance And Guardian Room 2: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge Room 3: Red Herring Room 4: Climax, Big Battle Or Conflict Room 5: Plot Twist A two to four hour dungeon romp quickens flagging campaign and session pacing and can be squeezed into almost any on- going story thread. It also grants a quick success (or failure) to keep the players keen and excited, is quick to plan for, lets GMs "theme" dungeons with greater ease, and can be plopped into most settings with minimal continuity issues. Room 1: Entrance And Guardian There needs to be a reason why your dungeon hasn't been plundered before. A rule of thumb is, the older the dungeon the more difficult room 1 needs to be--else the place would have been discovered and sacked well before the PCs come along. Also, a guardian sets up some early action to capture player interest and energize a session. Room 1 challenge ideas: The entrance is trapped. The entrance is cleverly hidden. The entrance requires a special key, such as a ceremony, command word, or physical object. The guardian was deliberately placed to keep intruders out. The guardian is not indigenous to the dungeon and is a tough creature or force who's made its lair in room 1. Turn room 1 into a puzzle by creating a special requirement that lets the PCs pass (i.e. a riddle to solve). Room 1 is also your opportunity to establish mood and/or theme to your dungeon, so dress it up with care. Room 2: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge The PCs are victorious over the challenge of room 1 and are now presented with a trial that cannot be solved with steel. This will keep the problem solvers in your group happy and break the action up a bit for good pacing. Room 2 can be an independent puzzle, or preferably, one that grants approach to rooms 3 and 4. It should allow for multiple solutions and engage more than just the rogue or wizard in the party. Room 2 ideas: Ye old classic death trap. Magic puzzle, such as a chessboard tile floor with special squares. An intelligent entity grants access to the rest of the dungeon but must be befriended, not fought. A being far more powerful than the PCs must be roleplayed/ negotiated with. Once you've figured out what room 2 is, try to plant one or more clues in room 1 about potential solutions. This will tie the adventure together a little tighter, will delight the problem solvers, and can be a back-up for you if the players get stuck. Room 3: Red Herring The purpose of this room is to build tension. The players think they've finally found the treasure, confronted the stage boss, and achieved their goal only to learn they've been tricked. The best red herrings allow the PCs a choice between choosing room 3 or room 4 and then issue a penalty to those who choose room 3. In other words, avoid railroading PCs into taking room 3 because it will dampen the red herring's tension-building effect and puts a GM on thin ice as far as issuing a penalty is concerned. Room 3 ideas: "The passage ends in a 'T'. The right looks well-travelled and the corridor is unremarkable. The left looks untouched, smells faintly of cinnamon, and there's a mysterious orange glow that can barely be seen at the end. Which way to do you go?" The left passage leads to the red herring. A fake sarcophagus that contains another guardian. A collapsed structure blocks part of the area. The debris is dangerous and blocks or hides nothing of importance. Contains a one-way exit (so the PCs must return and deal with rooms 1 and 2 again). i.e. teleport trap, one-way door, 2000 foot water slide trap. Room 3 does contain the PCs' goal but hides the presence of room 4, which contains an even greater reward. Another potential payoff for room 3 is to weaken the PCs to make them more vulnerable for room 4. Perhaps room 3 simply contains a tough combat encounter. If this is the case, try to weaken any strengths that would give the PCs an advantage in room 4. For example, if room 4 contains a mummy monster that is quite susceptible to fire, then make room 3 a troll lair (another creature often susceptible to fire) so the PCs might be tempted to burn off a lot of their fire magic, oil, and other flammable resources. This would turn a plain old troll battle into a gotcha, and thus a red herring, once the PCs hit room 4 and realize their mistake. Don't forget to dress room 3 up with your theme elements to lend it credibility! Room 4: Climax, Big Battle Or Conflict This room is The Big Show. It's the big combat or conflict encounter and is the final challenge before the Big Reward. Try to make the environment interesting, engage all the PCs, and provide opportunities for PC tactical advantage so thinking players will be rewarded. Room 5: Plot Twist Here's your opportunity to change the players' bragging to "we came, we saw, we slipped on a banana peel." Room 5 doesn't always represent a complication or point of failure for the PCs, but it can. Room 5 doesn't always need to be a physical location either--it can be a twist revealed in room 4. Room 5 is where your creativity can shine and is often what will make the dungeon different and memorable from all the other crawls in your campaigns. Room 5 ideas: Another guardian awaits in the treasure container. A trap that resurrects or renews the challenge from room 4. Bonus treasure is discovered that leads to another adventure, such as a piece of a magic item or a map fragment. A rival enters and tries to steal the reward while the PCs are dealing with the big challenge in room 4. The object of the quest/final reward isn't what it seems or has a complication. i.e. the kidnapped King doesn't want to return. Hope this can be of use to some.
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Post by dmdubbledee on Nov 23, 2013 14:14:07 GMT
This is really useful stuff grym247. I often end up flying by the seat of my pants without a clear direction where I'm going, and this will help to routinize even those moments of improvisation. I'm also a big fan of John Four--some great generators on his site too that have come in handy. Still haven't read the 88 5-room dungeon doc. though. It appears I'd better!
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markd1733
Cardboard Collector
"Toss me!"
Posts: 39
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Post by markd1733 on Nov 24, 2013 14:47:30 GMT
That being said i have found that John Fours Concept ( www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=156 ) of Five Room Dungeons to be very helpful indeed. The Concept strings forth enough for an evenings play.
Five Room Dungeon Concept
Room 1: Entrance And Guardian Room 2: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge Room 3: Red Herring Room 4: Climax, Big Battle Or Conflict Room 5: Plot Twist
A two to four hour dungeon romp quickens flagging campaign and session pacing and can be squeezed into almost any on- going story thread. It also grants a quick success (or failure) to keep the players keen and excited, is quick to plan for, lets GMs "theme" dungeons with greater ease, and can be plopped into most settings with minimal continuity issues.
This is a great guide. Obviously some dungeons have many more rooms than 5. So, I would assume that any additional rooms are simply for exploration rather than just encounters or would you think that extra rooms become one of the 5 types described above. Or would you say that taking a large dungeon and trying break it down into manageable areas that more closely fit this guide would be a viable strategy?
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