Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 PhillPowell Jun 17, 2015 9:26:55	Hello most excellent DM's    I am as new DM and I am running a bi weekly all day Sunday game for some of my friends.  I have (what I think are) some very cool ideas for a story arch that is a high or epic fantasy type game but I am having an issue of pacing.   Example.   As part of their campaign they need to help some Dwarves reclaim their mine in the Sunset Mountains, this will involve a huge clash of armies and them sneeking into the mine (and stealing an idea from Table titans) they will set off an old defence that will drop two huge mountain sized statues onto the orc forces outside the mine.  All very grandiose but how would you pace this?   I mean...they will have to travel there so would you add encounters along the way, once they are there is it just about how they get into the mine and who/what they find blocking their way?   I guess what I am asking is....the only 'stop and do some thing' parts of the story are when they will have to fight something.  So how would you roleplay this 'adventure' so it takes them longer than an hour or two of dice rolling to complete such an epic task.  I feel like for it to have an impact on the players....it needs something more than that.   I really hope I have explained that well enough.   Thanks   Phill
#2 Ralif_Redhammer Jun 17, 2015 11:14:55	Sounds like a cool adventure!   I would add one encounter on the way there, with some choices as to which path they take. Maybe they take the perilous mountain road, or the tunnel through the underdark. Each one has its own different set of challenges.    I’d also make activating the trap more difficult than just pressing a button. Maybe they need to go fix some mechanical damage in one section of the old fortress, then power up the magical batteries somehow.    And I definitely add a challenge in that cannot just be solved with rolling dice – something that requires a degree of player smarts (though there should also be a backup plan in case they just can’t figure it out). Something like a riddle or puzzle. I like to throw in challenges (but not impossible ones) that I’ve no idea how they can get past, so that they can get creative and surprise me with the solution.
#3 iserith Jun 17, 2015 11:36:56	PhillPowell wrote:
#4 CCS Jun 17, 2015 11:54:13	You say "all day", but how many hrs is that? And how many of those hours are actually spent playing? Because that's the amount of time you need to fill.... When I'm plotting a session I try and aim for about 45 minutes of content per hour. For my own group that typically translates to about a 30m encounter & a 15m one with 15minutes of time that I expect to be spent BSing, discussing misc stuff, etc. Anyways, there's as many "Stop & do things" points in your story as you desire. And they dont all have to have anything to do with the actual quest in progress. Some might not even be challenging.... But they DO have to be interesting. Start by considering how far away from the mine the party starts. Is it hours? Days? What lies in-between the party & the mines? How many ways into the mines are there? How much of the dungeon do they have to explore to activate the trap? What traps/hazards/monsters are to be found in these abandoned dwarf mines??? How many sessions do you want to spend exploring the mines?
#5 Barky Jun 17, 2015 15:39:01	Set up a part of the adventure where the PCs have to figure out that the dwarf statues are the key to protecting the dwarven mine. Let them explore the abandoned defenses, including encounters with any monsters that may have set up lairs there. Include a spectre of a former officer, if they handle the encounter right, he teaches them how to drop the statues.   I'm thinking it would be more interesting for the players to figure out that they have to do it, instead of an NPC telling them they have to do it.   Your idea sounds pretty cool, good luck!
#6 PhillPowell Jun 19, 2015 10:09:12	Man I love this forum,  thanks so much for the help guys   Awesome replies
#7 99typhoons Jun 19, 2015 21:29:46	Make the use of the statues a bad thing. the dwarves want the mine back, but at what cost? it will be overrun and thousands of years of history will be lost, or you can ruin these massive statues that are the Landmark for this place. Uncover some secret about the construction of the mine unto the mountainside that these massive pillars of dwarven craftmenship represent and see if the players can figure out that they can be knocked over. maybe have someone try to coerce the party to destroy it for their own gain later. i just like to make my sessions have a few options of how they can play out and let the people playing dictate how far an idea goes. Maybe reclaiming the mine will give one army the ability to create better weapons in this ongoing battle. maybe knocking one statue over will devastate one of the armies and the other statue will crush the other. or both will fall and inflict heavy losses on both parties for a third army waiting in the wings to swoop in and mop up. i think its a good idea tho. lots of room for creativity.
#8 Noon Jun 20, 2015 23:42:25	More than one trap to set up/set off? Slowly escalating in size until the big one.
#9 Imaculata Jun 21, 2015 4:27:50	iserith wrote:
#10 the_wandering_alchemist Jun 21, 2015 11:32:29	I would definitely give them choices and allow them to come up with their own ideas.  I've found that the planning and going over of choices and what may or may not happen is the most exciting part and what really makes the decision and enacting meaningful in the end.  Those "It worked! It worked!" moments.