Bringing the World to Life - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Bringing the World to Life

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
goricexii
May 04, 2009 12:05:34 This is thread I thought I'd put together about how to flesh out encounters and events in your campaign.

One of the things I like to do is have encounters blend together. For example:

1. The pcs come across a local patrol. It isn't necessarily going to ride up and question the pcs--they might encounter them at a crossroads inn, having their horses fed and watered. Their reaction to the pcs depends very much on how they approach the inn, but the pcs may get questioned anyway.

2. The pcs encounter orcs. The orcs are returning from a raid and are heavily laden with stolen goods.

3. The pcs encounter a pair of griffons, who are eating the carcass of a deer. Scavengers and carrion birds lurk nearby; one of these might alert the griffons to the presence of the pcs.

What do others do to bring their world to life?
#2
roninfrosty
May 04, 2009 17:50:45 I'm not really sure what you're getting at...are these three encounters supposed to be related?

I like the idea that the world exists outside of the influence of the PCs...for instance, let's say that there's a wizard that they're attempting to defeat. He knows about them, and is researching a spell that will help him defeat them (say it summons some infernals or something). I give it an arbitrary timeline (say it takes him two weeks to research and gather the components), and if they get there BEFORE that, then not only will they catch the wizard off guard, but they won't have to deal with the infernals. That kind of thing.

I also intend to do this in my next campaign set in my new world (some of you may remember me asking about increasing the length of daylight and night to 200 hours apiece...fleshed it out a bit since then) with regards to festivals and stuff, like out of combat experiences.
#3
descrii
May 05, 2009 3:08:37 I try as much as possible to have NPCs doing something when the PCs arrive and not just standing in the middle of the room waiting. I admit, I'm not always successful with it, and often the NPCs are doing the same sorts of things during multiple PC visits. There are a few I've been fond of, though, especially for more eccentric characters.

I'm running Keep on the Shadowfell now and I've decided to run Lord Padraig as an aging provincial nobleman unhappy with his borderland isolation from the heart of the empire. He worries that his fashion, his accent, his knowledge, etc. is out of date and he'll be laughed at by others of his class. When the players first encountered him he was playing croquet, which he pronounced "crockett," with his sons and had the wickets arranged wrong. He was deeply grateful when the knight in the group showed him how to play the latest version of crockett, called crotches.

In another game the classic aging archmage was paranoid and wouldn't leave his tower for fear of his enemies (rightly so), but was lustful and eccentric, often having young women over, reading in the nude, getting drunk and high, etc.

The same applies for monsters. If they're intelligent monsters I try to have them doing something when the PCs burst in. The classic thing for monster sentries to do is play cards, of course, but they can also torture rats, draw a circle on the floor and force "giant" insects to battle each other in it, practice throwing axes at target dummies (or corpses, or frightened prisoners), stack small objects to see how high they can make them, take turns telling stories, make love, sing songs, paint the walls, etc...
#4
gregt_314
May 05, 2009 3:20:04 Each NPC has a single quirk or eccentricity. It comes up front and centre the first time the PCs meet the NPC. If they respond favourably, the NPC keeps coming back. If they don't bite, the character never comes back and next time a similar character is needed I try something else.

Thus over time the world becomes filled with NPCs who the PCs have enjoyed.

Same process for villages, inns, villains, traps, whatever. Your game's a sifter, and over each successive session you're sifting out the non-fun to be left with pure enjoyment.
#5
shiftystylin
May 18, 2009 9:32:28 Our current DM is the complete opposite. He makes npc's that he knows we'll despise and gives them ridiculous stats. its good in a way that we are not experiencing a world where everyone regards us as good or treats us like friends but we are often bribed or forced into a situation by people with power.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 goricexii May 04, 2009 12:05:34	This is thread I thought I'd put together about how to flesh out encounters and events in your campaign. One of the things I like to do is have encounters blend together. For example: 1. The pcs come across a local patrol. It isn't necessarily going to ride up and question the pcs--they might encounter them at a crossroads inn, having their horses fed and watered. Their reaction to the pcs depends very much on how they approach the inn, but the pcs may get questioned anyway. 2. The pcs encounter orcs. The orcs are returning from a raid and are heavily laden with stolen goods. 3. The pcs encounter a pair of griffons, who are eating the carcass of a deer. Scavengers and carrion birds lurk nearby; one of these might alert the griffons to the presence of the pcs. What do others do to bring their world to life?
#2 roninfrosty May 04, 2009 17:50:45	I'm not really sure what you're getting at...are these three encounters supposed to be related? I like the idea that the world exists outside of the influence of the PCs...for instance, let's say that there's a wizard that they're attempting to defeat. He knows about them, and is researching a spell that will help him defeat them (say it summons some infernals or something). I give it an arbitrary timeline (say it takes him two weeks to research and gather the components), and if they get there BEFORE that, then not only will they catch the wizard off guard, but they won't have to deal with the infernals. That kind of thing. I also intend to do this in my next campaign set in my new world (some of you may remember me asking about increasing the length of daylight and night to 200 hours apiece...fleshed it out a bit since then) with regards to festivals and stuff, like out of combat experiences.
#3 descrii May 05, 2009 3:08:37	I try as much as possible to have NPCs doing something when the PCs arrive and not just standing in the middle of the room waiting. I admit, I'm not always successful with it, and often the NPCs are doing the same sorts of things during multiple PC visits. There are a few I've been fond of, though, especially for more eccentric characters. I'm running Keep on the Shadowfell now and I've decided to run Lord Padraig as an aging provincial nobleman unhappy with his borderland isolation from the heart of the empire. He worries that his fashion, his accent, his knowledge, etc. is out of date and he'll be laughed at by others of his class. When the players first encountered him he was playing croquet, which he pronounced "crockett," with his sons and had the wickets arranged wrong. He was deeply grateful when the knight in the group showed him how to play the latest version of crockett, called crotches. In another game the classic aging archmage was paranoid and wouldn't leave his tower for fear of his enemies (rightly so), but was lustful and eccentric, often having young women over, reading in the nude, getting drunk and high, etc. The same applies for monsters. If they're intelligent monsters I try to have them doing something when the PCs burst in. The classic thing for monster sentries to do is play cards, of course, but they can also torture rats, draw a circle on the floor and force "giant" insects to battle each other in it, practice throwing axes at target dummies (or corpses, or frightened prisoners), stack small objects to see how high they can make them, take turns telling stories, make love, sing songs, paint the walls, etc...
#4 gregt_314 May 05, 2009 3:20:04	Each NPC has a single quirk or eccentricity. It comes up front and centre the first time the PCs meet the NPC. If they respond favourably, the NPC keeps coming back. If they don't bite, the character never comes back and next time a similar character is needed I try something else. Thus over time the world becomes filled with NPCs who the PCs have enjoyed. Same process for villages, inns, villains, traps, whatever. Your game's a sifter, and over each successive session you're sifting out the non-fun to be left with pure enjoyment.
#5 shiftystylin May 18, 2009 9:32:28	Our current DM is the complete opposite. He makes npc's that he knows we'll despise and gives them ridiculous stats. its good in a way that we are not experiencing a world where everyone regards us as good or treats us like friends but we are often bribed or forced into a situation by people with power.