Hi! Adventure questions :P - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Hi! Adventure questions :P

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
hlynurt
Mar 30, 2008 7:52:38 Hi hi, my friends asked me to run our next session and I'm working on a small adventure. The thing I'm worried about is that I'm making my adventure too complicated and that I am "leading the players constantly".
I have the base plot planned, I'm just not sure how to lead the players from the beginning to the end :S

Thanks,
Hlynur
#2
emissary666
Mar 30, 2008 7:56:44 Try using hints and clues to make your players feel smart and move on. All you have to do is drop hint and clues that are just vague enough that the players will have to think a bit but easy enough that it won't stop or derail the game.
#3
TheRealOrion
Mar 30, 2008 10:17:40 Here's the thing, instead of writing a story, you really want to create a situation and then let the players run around inside that situation.

A certain amount of linearity is kind of unavoidable with table-top RPGs because you simply can't be expected to design a whole world in which they can genuinely go wherever they want to, but you can create a fairly fixed space, like a building or even a neighbourhood, and let them run around inside that.

If you make your story goals non-linear, it's even better. Don't do causal chains, like A then B then C then BIG FIGHT. Do things that add up. Have several elements in play that could be discovered/challenged in any order.

When you put challenges in a game, story challenges, fights, problem-solving, whatever, don't have just one solution to them. Don't design a puzzle that's only solved in one particular way. I had a GM years ago tell me this, and it's brilliant. For every challenge you put in front of the players, make sure that there are at least two or three possible solutions already embedded in the setting. That way, you know they have options, and they might even come up with something you hadn't anticipated.

An adventure is not a story with a beginning, middle, and end. When you design it that way, that is when players feel rail-roaded. What I do, and it works pretty well, is design NPCs (villains) who have motivations and place them in a fleshed-out setting, and then just let them try to accomplish their goals. I don't, and this is key, I don't write "endings." That's not my job as GM. That's the player's job and it's a mean, nasty thing to take that away from them. They are the heroes. They get to resolve the conflict.

I learned most of these lessons the hard way, so I hope the advice is helpful. Have fun!
#4
backstabbist
Mar 30, 2008 13:37:19 Consider the method of a televison series rather than a movie.
They have story arcs, and throw some stand-alone in the mix without contributing to the story arc. Dont be worried about running 2 or 3 arcs at once, or even have them affect each other. When done well, you will get the players saying how they are trying to get back to plot A but have to take care of 'D' first.

One of the greatest feelings for a GM is when the players realize the clues you have been dropping have nothing to do with PlotA but are a new PlotC that has to be taken care of too. No, the corrupt FireChief has nothing to do with the armsdealer & mysterious buyer... it is a corrupt FireChief arsonist that has to be dealt with regardless of an armsdealer in town.

Use investigative rolls to point toward PC activities to get info rather than giving direct information. Roll to have them find the right guy to talk to about the fires... the HomelessShoeShineGuy is not the APwire, source of all news feeds, players should have a few places to get different types of intel. And then you can play their activity of getting info rather than turningthe TV on & getting fed the clues in HiDef.

Have an opposition, rather than an opponant. Opponants get defeated, opposition you end up battling continuously.

Have more than one Opposition. It is hardly linear if you alternate fighting cityhall and organized crime.... dont shoot guys you need to file forms with.
#5
crwydryny
Mar 30, 2008 14:02:43 personaly i use ideas from games like system shock and deus ex. where you provide hints via the occasional note or computer email in the area. (gives the smart charicters things to do like hacking and such) design maps with multiple redundancies (air vents, lifts, stairs, windows, doors) giving them multiple ways of getting around problems ranging from all out assault to sneaking up the fire escape and through an upstairs window.
and if you need to maybe have an NPC drop intel to the players though a radio link or maybe face to face depending on your campaign.

for example in one game i ran a couple of months back the players were investigating a factory which they believed was being used by the badguys. so they split up with one guy on the roof of a nearby building with a sniper rifle. the others then cut through the fence behind a few skips. the smart/dedicated charicter quickly set about disabling the alarm while the fast/tough and the strong/fast climbed up onto the roof using a stack of pallets. once up they opened up one of the vents for the extractor fans (which were off as teh factory had been abandoned) then proceeded to climb down inside scout around then return climbed back out and replaced the vent to prevent anyone knowing they were there. afterwards I pointed out they could have just picked the lock on the door but it turned out they went to all that trouble simply becuse none of them thought of buying a lockpick lol

that's the great thing when you design your adventures with a level of redundancy it makes your players think simply becuse they learn the easy way is usually crawling with guards and the harder way is usually booby trapped and the hidden way is usually risky lol so it makes their players think about their charicters strengths and weaknesses. for example is a player is a great shot with a rifle he may opt to pick off the enemy at a range then move in. while if a player is stealthy then he may opt to sneak in and silently take out guards before compleating the objective.

also films like the die hard films are good for pointers. (die hard 1, there's the cop outside feeding maclain infomation, die hard 3, there's the bad guy giving them riddles and such) it helps you keep the plot going without making it like you're leading the players. just don't discourage "planning" amoung your players. let them work out ways around problems.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 hlynurt Mar 30, 2008 7:52:38	Hi hi, my friends asked me to run our next session and I'm working on a small adventure. The thing I'm worried about is that I'm making my adventure too complicated and that I am "leading the players constantly". I have the base plot planned, I'm just not sure how to lead the players from the beginning to the end :S Thanks, Hlynur
#2 emissary666 Mar 30, 2008 7:56:44	Try using hints and clues to make your players feel smart and move on. All you have to do is drop hint and clues that are just vague enough that the players will have to think a bit but easy enough that it won't stop or derail the game.
#3 TheRealOrion Mar 30, 2008 10:17:40	Here's the thing, instead of writing a story, you really want to create a situation and then let the players run around inside that situation. A certain amount of linearity is kind of unavoidable with table-top RPGs because you simply can't be expected to design a whole world in which they can genuinely go wherever they want to, but you can create a fairly fixed space, like a building or even a neighbourhood, and let them run around inside that. If you make your story goals non-linear, it's even better. Don't do causal chains, like A then B then C then BIG FIGHT. Do things that add up. Have several elements in play that could be discovered/challenged in any order. When you put challenges in a game, story challenges, fights, problem-solving, whatever, don't have just one solution to them. Don't design a puzzle that's only solved in one particular way. I had a GM years ago tell me this, and it's brilliant. For every challenge you put in front of the players, make sure that there are at least two or three possible solutions already embedded in the setting. That way, you know they have options, and they might even come up with something you hadn't anticipated. An adventure is not a story with a beginning, middle, and end. When you design it that way, that is when players feel rail-roaded. What I do, and it works pretty well, is design NPCs (villains) who have motivations and place them in a fleshed-out setting, and then just let them try to accomplish their goals. I don't, and this is key, I don't write "endings." That's not my job as GM. That's the player's job and it's a mean, nasty thing to take that away from them. They are the heroes. They get to resolve the conflict. I learned most of these lessons the hard way, so I hope the advice is helpful. Have fun!
#4 backstabbist Mar 30, 2008 13:37:19	Consider the method of a televison series rather than a movie. They have story arcs, and throw some stand-alone in the mix without contributing to the story arc. Dont be worried about running 2 or 3 arcs at once, or even have them affect each other. When done well, you will get the players saying how they are trying to get back to plot A but have to take care of 'D' first. One of the greatest feelings for a GM is when the players realize the clues you have been dropping have nothing to do with PlotA but are a new PlotC that has to be taken care of too. No, the corrupt FireChief has nothing to do with the armsdealer & mysterious buyer... it is a corrupt FireChief arsonist that has to be dealt with regardless of an armsdealer in town. Use investigative rolls to point toward PC activities to get info rather than giving direct information. Roll to have them find the right guy to talk to about the fires... the HomelessShoeShineGuy is not the APwire, source of all news feeds, players should have a few places to get different types of intel. And then you can play their activity of getting info rather than turningthe TV on & getting fed the clues in HiDef. Have an opposition, rather than an opponant. Opponants get defeated, opposition you end up battling continuously. Have more than one Opposition. It is hardly linear if you alternate fighting cityhall and organized crime.... dont shoot guys you need to file forms with.
#5 crwydryny Mar 30, 2008 14:02:43	personaly i use ideas from games like system shock and deus ex. where you provide hints via the occasional note or computer email in the area. (gives the smart charicters things to do like hacking and such) design maps with multiple redundancies (air vents, lifts, stairs, windows, doors) giving them multiple ways of getting around problems ranging from all out assault to sneaking up the fire escape and through an upstairs window. and if you need to maybe have an NPC drop intel to the players though a radio link or maybe face to face depending on your campaign. for example in one game i ran a couple of months back the players were investigating a factory which they believed was being used by the badguys. so they split up with one guy on the roof of a nearby building with a sniper rifle. the others then cut through the fence behind a few skips. the smart/dedicated charicter quickly set about disabling the alarm while the fast/tough and the strong/fast climbed up onto the roof using a stack of pallets. once up they opened up one of the vents for the extractor fans (which were off as teh factory had been abandoned) then proceeded to climb down inside scout around then return climbed back out and replaced the vent to prevent anyone knowing they were there. afterwards I pointed out they could have just picked the lock on the door but it turned out they went to all that trouble simply becuse none of them thought of buying a lockpick lol that's the great thing when you design your adventures with a level of redundancy it makes your players think simply becuse they learn the easy way is usually crawling with guards and the harder way is usually booby trapped and the hidden way is usually risky lol so it makes their players think about their charicters strengths and weaknesses. for example is a player is a great shot with a rifle he may opt to pick off the enemy at a range then move in. while if a player is stealthy then he may opt to sneak in and silently take out guards before compleating the objective. also films like the die hard films are good for pointers. (die hard 1, there's the cop outside feeding maclain infomation, die hard 3, there's the bad guy giving them riddles and such) it helps you keep the plot going without making it like you're leading the players. just don't discourage "planning" amoung your players. let them work out ways around problems.