Post/Author/DateTime	Post
UltimateReality 05-22-07, 07:12 PM	Status Quo DMs: How precisely do you define "status quo"? How far do you take it? How much advance prep do you do? Do you stat the level 1 commoner (human, elf, gnome, etc. etc.) in the village ahead of time, or is the fact that it's a level 1 commoner enough to make it "status quo"? How do you decide what CR to make stuff? Do you design adventures, or worlds, or hooks, or some combination of them? Do any of you have campaign websites? Have you ever run a tailored campaign, and if so, how would you compare the two methods? The idea of a status quo world intrigues me, but the level of prep-work involved seems prohibitive. Also, the description of status quo given in the DMG seems pretty vague...I mean, it basically says "populate your world with stuff other than the immediate adventure", which I already do. I've seen people use the term to refer to something much more involved. Status Quo players: how do you like this style? Have you ever played in a tailored campaign, and if so, how would you compare the experiences?
n3ro 05-22-07, 07:31 PM	:teach: Personally I take 'Status Quo' to mean that when you design your adventure it could be for any party. Basically you make an adventure without knowing (or ignoring) the skills and weaknesses of the party. Most ready-mades would be status quo for example. On the other hand right now I'm trying to design an adventure for a skill-heavy group (bard, rogue, rogue/ninja, monk) so I have to put in lots of skill checks and leave out a good chunk of hack and slash (I'm going for more of a Sherlock Holms/Scooby-Doo mystery thing). :plotting:
Onikani 05-22-07, 07:40 PM	I have about 20 cities in my game. For every city i know its population, pop breakdown, a few important npc's, and a few key places. I also have a little bit on that city's main source of trade/income, and some history, and maybe some plot hooks i can throw in at any time based on its geography. I also have a calendar that i wrote up that has the dates of all major events (festivals, etc) in each city. It sounds like a lot, but it took about 3 hours. :) I also have a bunch of mini quests, and roleplaying things in my head all the time. So they may walk into a bar and see some guys playing cards. These cardplayers aren't statted npc's, just a few guys gambling. If the pc's decide to try to join in, i'll suddenly pick a few personalities from movies and rp them, while talking about stuff from the calendar, or random mini quests in my head. Lastly, i have a few dozen BBEG's that don't own their own stroy arcs. So if the players do something unexpected, or i want to throw something random at them, i'll pull a bbeg, and work him into the story doing whatever he needs ot be doing... These take a lot of time, i make them up when i get bored, or get a new concept, i jsut stat them out and tuck them into my folder. They all get used eventually. Anyway when the pc's decide they want to randomly pull out and go to random city X, i simply flip to that page in my notebook, read it for a sec to refresh myself, and we're off. If they ask for upcoming events (gather information), i can look at the calendar and say: The festival of trokin is in 9 days, and then the week after that there is a parade and blah blah blah. If the pc's decide to stick around for the week, well maybe one of my bad guy npc's decides to sabotage the festval, or commit a crime or whatever depending on my mood. My players love it. One of my players posted online that he feels that mine is the only game he's ever been in where he has complete choice of actions and it realy feels like the players are in control of their pc's. And they are, in the first 6 months of the game, they went city hopping, went on minor hooks and side quests, and didn't confront any of the bbeg's along the way. They learned about them, then said, naah, we want to see what's in this other city instead. So essentially it works like this for me: I never plan an adventure. But as i think of things i jot them down. When the pc's look for something to do, i think of where they are, what's going on, and then pull a random npc, bbeg, or map out of my folder of tricks. Lots of prep up front (a few hours) and 'idea prep' whenever they come to me, but i never actually plan a session in advance unless they tell me they want me to make a specific thing for them, "we haven't been on a delve in a while! Are there any crypts or tombs near here?" a few gather information checks and roleplaying later..."yeah, there is one, its about 2 days travel away." They buy some gear, and hit some encounters on the road there. Then just as the session is about to end: "in the distance you see the tower, cave, ruined city, etc, See ya next week!" :D
temparus2000 05-22-07, 07:55 PM	The key, I find, to making a highly detailed world without either railroading the PC's or driving yourself insane with endless hours of prep work is outlining. Just have a basic IDEA of where places are, what is in them, and who is who. Drawing a to-scale world map helps a lot. You are then free to adapt to whatever it is the PC's want to do. You don't have to "stat-out" every farmer, blacksmith, butcher, baker, and candlestick maker in every town. Just have an IDEA of what the general temperment of the citizens are. Was there a recent war? Then they are probably proud or gloomy. A famine? meek and desperate. Do they predominately worship Kord? then they should all be a bit more buff than one would otherwise expect of commoners. Assigning a general temperment to each place also helps the PC's remember what is where.
roir1k 05-22-07, 09:26 PM	Status Quo DMs: How precisely do you define "status quo"? How far do you take it? How much advance prep do you do? Do you stat the level 1 commoner (human, elf, gnome, etc. etc.) in the village ahead of time, or is the fact that it's a level 1 commoner enough to make it "status quo"? How do you decide what CR to make stuff? Do you design adventures, or worlds, or hooks, or some combination of them? Do any of you have campaign websites? Have you ever run a tailored campaign, and if so, how would you compare the two methods? I create a storyline with a timeline that will occur without interference from the characters. I outline events, give a few important NPCs a blurb and traits, and then establish the mood and the environment with a couple of adventures meant to set the scene and give the hooks out there for the players. I let them chase what they want, follow the adventures they want, if they want, and if they don't, I try to keep a backup. Is it prep-intensive? I guess? But then I don't start a campaign without having it fairly well laid out in advance, anyway... and once you've done that, it's a heck of a lot easier to improvise, because you know what's where, who wants what, where is the adventure... -Ben.
KJW 05-23-07, 08:19 AM	I run two types of campaigns: solo and group. The depth of the setting varies upon the type of campaign. With solo campaigns the setting is very detailed, but more limited in scope, such as a city, small kingdom, etc. With the group campaigns the setting is less detailed, but usually broader in scope. I have more detailed story arcs with solo campaigns, but in both settings the surrounding setting is in flux. Things changes - borders shift, kings fall, gods die...often away from the PC(s) this gives the setting depth. I am NPC-happy and typically have dozens of NPCs in my campaigns who have 'speaking parts,' but my focus is always the PC(s). My general strategy though is to give the PC(s) freedom to begin with and see how it goes, if they self-motivate then I led them guide the campaign, if not I will step in and provide some structure. Another thing is I keep what works and drop what doesn't. I have designed dozens of settings for various campaigns and if I get one new god, city, group or something that is good I reuse it in future campaigns. So with time you get a pretty good back of tricks and the biggest advantage now if I can run adventures on autopilot with little prep, I know how to structure adventures and do most of it on the fly, but this is only after 20 years of practice and lots of wasted prep work over the years. Once you figure out what you need (a map is golden) and what you don't (like stats for most NPCs) it can become fairly intuitive.
Alyss 05-23-07, 08:23 AM	The first adventure I did was staus quo, and it sucked. Tailored doesn't just mean looking at what the players are good at, but also at what the players have done in the past and building on it. Status quo is too detached
celtredleg 05-23-07, 10:22 AM	Satus quo is the only way I DM. One thing that helps a lot is I use the same setting just about every game. Well two settings, either Middle earth, or Wilderlands of High Fantasy. Both have extensive backgrounds and maps done, so that is a big burden gone. As I have run both so many times, I have a large stock of NPCs I have used before already in my head. And I even have whole subadventures I have used before. As long as it is a new party, they dont realize it is recycled. Both settings are also huge, so if someone is bored, there is always a different place to go to. Wilder lands has 20 or so map sheets. Sofar, over the last many years, I have only used about 5-6 of them.
Anaxander 05-23-07, 12:52 PM	I stat out the pieces of the game world which interest me, throw in the players and act upon their reactions on the setting. The creation of the game world evolves during the campaign. From session to session, I throw in bits of published adventures, stat out a whole city or improvise everything they encounter. It depends on my mood, time schedule and creativity of the moment.
SillyRobot 05-23-07, 01:35 PM	Status Quo DMs: How precisely do you define "status quo"? Status quo for me means the character exist in the universe rather than the universe existing for the characters. How far do you take it? How much advance prep do you do? Do you stat the level 1 commoner (human, elf, gnome, etc. etc.) in the village ahead of time, or is the fact that it's a level 1 commoner enough to make it "status quo"? Advance prep doesn't have to be extreme. I produce/decide on a high-level contintental map with major kingdoms, regions, and features. Then I create a small area map around the starting location with assigned average Encounter Levels in each region and nearby locales od note or interest. The average Encounter Levels are generally defined first. The type and amount of civilisation is created as a reaction to the environment it finds itself. The more hostile the locale, the less civilisation is apparent. for my current campaign, I decided to use my original maps of Greyhawk as the continental base with my own history and geo-political make-up. I then make a very rough timeline which describes major environmental/political shifts to explain how the current situation came about and projects events into the future assuming no interference from hte characters. The timeline is usually one page in length and goes out a couple of years into the future. Here's a sample of my curent campaign's timeline. I wanted the campaign to have the feel of an empire in decline. The players have an opportunity to affect (speed up, slow down or even reverse the fall of Aerdy) their environment depending upon their personal motivations and choices. 1 Time of rebuilding ends; Kingdom of Aerdy formed 410 Aerdy emperor overthrown, start of the reign of House Gax 412 Kingdom of Celene formed 510 Peak of imperial power 517 The coloured war begins (Civil war) 519 Western colonies abandoned 523 Veluna conquered 524 Furyondy splits from the Great Kingdom, Veluna freed 532 Nyrond forms 533 The coloured war ends 535 Greyhawk is given its independence 543 See of Medegia granted virtual independence 545 Iron League formed 556 Duchy of Urnst granted independence 599 Bandit Kingdoms assert sovereignty 602 Great Kingdom attacks Nyrond in the Harkonnen War 604 Great Kingdom defeated in the Harkonnen War 607 Pomarj overrun by humanoids, Pomarj released by Great Kingdom 616 Campaign start 616 Adventure outcome: group looking for lost manor house finds goblin encroachment 616 Adventure outcome: group helps remove goblin threat 616 Adventure outcome: local landed knight successfully escorted back to his lands; local spy arrested 616 Adventure outcome: assasination of local baron successful, group catches assasin 616 Adventure outcome: group travels to Hardby 616 County of Urnst attacks Duchy of Urnst: purpose: land grab 616 Great Kingdom ceases patrol of the Wild Coast 617 Adventure outcome: Officials in Hardby become aware of magical fountain 617 County of Urnst defeated; result lost land and prestige 617 Adventurers hear about the war between Couny of Urnst and Duchy of Urnst As the characters explore an area, new average ELs are mapped out. Adventuring consequences get tracked and may affect future events. Events may modify the character of previously assigned areas. NPCs are not created until necessary. A creation can be as simple as assigning name, basic appearance, basic class, and expected level. Detailed creation happens only when necessary for an adventure or planned group interaction. How do you decide what CR to make stuff? Do you design adventures, or worlds, or hooks, or some combination of them? Do any of you have campaign websites? Have you ever run a tailored campaign, and if so, how would you compare the two methods? I build both hooks and adventures. Hooks are interesting tidbits which the group may wish to follow-up on. If they bite, I know I should create an adventure. Adventures are assigned CRs that are appropriate to what is known about the adventure and the surrounding locale. It is entirely possible the group will become embroiled in an adventure outside their level band. It is incumbent on the group to recognise the signs that the adventure is too high/too low and react accordingly. Adventures are constructed without examining the capabilities of the group. The group may fare better or worse because of their makeup and tactics. I like tossing off adventures and tend to build a lot more adventures than the group participates in. Some are static and placed in the world and can be found over time should the group become interested. Others are dynamic and unfold whether or not the group becomes involved. The idea of a status quo world intrigues me, but the level of prep-work involved seems prohibitive. Also, the description of status quo given in the DMG seems pretty vague...I mean, it basically says "populate your world with stuff other than the immediate adventure", which I already do. I've seen people use the term to refer to something much more involved. Upfront prep-work isn't too bad. The work becomes heavier as the characters gain more and more movement powers and can head pretty much anywhere on a whim. Those places in which the characters have an interest have to be tracked. Status Quo players: how do you like this style? Have you ever played in a tailored campaign, and if so, how would you compare the experiences? As a player I find the status quo experience much more rewarding. It is easier for a character to pick a long-term personal goal and feel accomplishment when it is fulfilled. Under tailors campaigns, I always have a nagging feeling I was given the reward rather than earning the reward. Players can also pick the level of danger they want to experience by changing locales. The group in the campaign above started to pick at the edges of an EL 10+ area when they were 7th level. They have since pulled back, but vowed to return as their strength improves.
DM Denubis 05-23-07, 02:15 PM	As a DM, Status Quo is all I know. I think a big part of both suspension of disbelief and immersion is a dynamic world. The only way I know of to create a truly dynamic world is to create the world, or at least a part of it, in advance. Also, my personal DMing weakness is that I'm very uncomfortable "winging" large things. Random encounters, sure, whatever. But my important NPCs and enemies are all statted out far in advance. If my players can ask around town, and find out about different little things that are going on, and actually almost create side quests for themselves within the world, my dream has come true. When they actually care about an NPC's fate, or they can understand where an enemy is coming from, and actually kind of wish a little bit that they didn't have to fight that person, I feel like I've succeeded as a DM.
TwiddleStootch 05-23-07, 03:03 PM	I consider my self a semi-status quo DM, as odd as that sounds. Let me explain. In my world, I know what kind of creatures are common in any given location. Goblins on the Plains of Bob, Orcs in the Mountains of Joe, etc... So, if the PCs go to the Plains of Bob, they will, in all likely hood, meet goblins. If they go to the mountains of Joe, they will meet Orcs. Now here is where I become a semi-status quo DM. So, yes, they will meet Goblins, but just how many and of what level is up in the air. I Have basic guide lines for the range of population size of a Goblin tribe and for the range of common levels. So, depending on how hard I want the challenge to be, I will assign a reasonable number of Goblins. Now don't get me wrong, I do not always throw something doable at the PCs. If they go somewhere where they know there is a whole tribe of 100+ Goblins, that is just what they will find, 100+ Goblins. But if they are just wandering, and they find a smallish tribe of Goblins, it will probably be doable for them. So, in conclusion, I do not have every part of my world pre-designed when it comes to inhabitants, as far as monsters go. I know there are Goblins in the Plains of Bob, but how many and where is not pre-set.
Clawhound 05-23-07, 03:29 PM	I tried a status quo game on my group. They had trouble with it. They couldn't keep track of things, nor could they decide to do things. That doesn't mean that they are bad. That just means that they weren't into that type of game. My group works best with adventures that take 2-3 sessions.
UltimateReality 05-25-07, 02:08 PM	:bump: I'm still seeking input from y'all. :)