Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Mean_DM 07-29-07, 11:35 PM	Hello all! I've dmed a few times, but I've never done it right. I want to start off a campaign outside of thrusting the characters into something right off the bat. Sooooo... I was wondering how I would go about making a world to use in a new campaign...I get the gist of it, maps and all, but what should I do first? Second? Third? ect. ect.
d24478667 07-29-07, 11:40 PM	Actually, you could use a player created world, but not a published one. There is a compendium I believe.
Mean_DM 07-29-07, 11:48 PM	I thought about that to save time, but I really want to do it to where it's "my own" if you know what I mean. =(
d24478667 07-29-07, 11:56 PM	Yeah. If your willing to wait a few months, Lords of Creation will be usable, and you can join and help make the world. This way it is a much more cooperative world, and more comprehensive; different people want different things, so it gets pretty odd.
Talisman 07-30-07, 12:10 AM	I suggest a brainstorming session with your players. It takes some of the work off your shoulders, and gives the players a feeling of satisfaction. Find out what style of play they like: horror? Grand adventure? Pirates? Swashbuckling? Find out what monsters they think are cool: gints? Drgons? Aberrations? You get the idea. Design your world around this, being sure to include a healthy does of whatever you like. By now you should have (1) a basic idea of the world, and (2) a handful of adventure ideas. Figure out a geographical region and a few kingdoms. You don't need a whole continent right at first, and you don't need to map out your starting points in minute detail. Never create more than you have to (unless, of course, youre muse is with you and you're ona roll). Now that you know what kind of adventures your players want, start weaking your plotlines. Come up with a handful of starting-level adventure ideas, along with ways one can lead to another. Make a couple of high-lvel NPCs to throw in for foreshadowing purposes. You don't need to stat them out--just refer to them. If the PCs hear legends of Sir Whiteraven the Paladin at 1st level, and actually meet him at 5th level...the impact of Sir Whiteraven the Blackguard/Fallen Paladin will be much greater at 10th level. It's good to have a plan--an "overarching storyline", as my group calls it--as to where you want the campaign to go. Keep the details nebulous, though--your players will do unexpected things and warp perfectly normal events until they're unrecognizeable. Roll with it, and if necessary, relocate the Caves of Ultimate Badness so the adventue ends up where the adventurers are. Finally, remember that, no matter how cool the storyline in your head is, the focus of the adventure is the PCs. Don't railroad your PCs into doing what they "should" do; instead, adapt the storyline to what they actually do.
d24478667 07-30-07, 12:36 AM	Scrap everything I've said and follow the instructions of above post.
Talisman 07-30-07, 12:39 AM	:D
d24478667 07-30-07, 12:41 AM	You can put that in "Proof that I'm great". Then again, perhaps you shouldn't; I have barely any name on these boards.