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Levi Kornelsen
2007-10-22, 04:30 PM
What follows is one way of getting ready "the stuff you need" for a game. This is crossposted from over here. (http://gamecraft.7.forumer.com/index.php)

A Network.
To start, draw a bunch of circles (or squares, or whatever) on a blank piece of paper. Put the name of an NPC, organization, or similar such thing in each - ones that you want to use in your situation.

I've got three circles on my sheet, here, and I'm going to put in "Baron Thurmond", "Goodman Randal", and "Outlaw Peasant Mob". I'm thinking of something vaguely Robin-Hood-esque.

Now, draw arrows from each to the others, and fill in what their relationships are to each other along the arrows. Use words loaded with conflict - hate, love, fear, jealousy, blackmail, stuff like that. Keep a list of 'em handy if you need one.

Goodman Randal leads the outlaw peasant mob.
The outlaw peasant mob follows Goodman Randal.
Baron Thurmond scorns the outlaw mob.
The outlaw mob fears Baron Thurmond.
Goodman Randal hates the Baron.
The Baron fears Goodman Randal.

Okay, done.


Next, the chain of events
This is the 'history' of how the situation came to be. To build this, think up a critical moment, and then work backwards (and forwards, if needed) from there, cause-and-effect style. I've already got "Goodman Randal leads the oulaws into the woods and begins raiding Baron Thurmond". Hmm....

1. The King, away at war, demands greater levies from his lords.
2. Baron Thurmond raises taxes to punitive levels.
3. The peasants begin muttering.
4. Goodman Randal loses his business.
5. Goodman Randal attempts to see the Baron in an outrage.
6. Goodman Randal is arrested, but escapes, killing three guards, and hides with friends.
7. The Baron puts a price on the head of Randal and anyone helping him.
8. Randal and his friends steal several carts heading to the Baron, and take them into the woods, setting up an outlaw camp.

And I'm done. Hm. Okay, note how most of that is "nasty things people did to each other"? Yeah, that's common when I do this.


Now, to hook us some heroes.
We've got a fine mess on our hands, which is just what we want. Time to figure how to drag the players into it. We need some hooks. Now, to me, a hook is firstly "what does this character want?" and second "how are they going to try and get the heroes to do it?"

The Baron wants Randal killed and the mob dispersed. He will send someone to the characters, and offer them money to help him. If they refuse, he'll assume that they're on Randal's side.

Randal wants help bringing down the Baron. He is appealing to everyone that can operate strongly and in small numbers - player characters are good. He'll try to meet with them and do this personally, but he'll try to make sure that the meeting is safe for him. It'll look like an ambush.

The peasant mob wants Randal pardoned, and the Baron's fangs pulled. They're trying to get a message to the Chamberlain of the King, and will try to enlist the help of the characters. They've got no money and no pride, so it's a good bet that they'll try pity. Or maybe one of them will aim for a seduction, if the game has the tone for it.

Okay. The player characters are going to be in this. I don't know how, or on what side, and I'm not worried about it, either. It'll be fun regardless.


Finally, a few bits to spur on the action.
I'm a big fans of "**** it, Ninjas attack". But, well, with bits that are appropriate to the moment and the game. Stuff to shake things up and get it going - little moments you can throw at the game when it starts to slow down. They can be keyed to specific characters, or just to the general mass of events.

So, I make them up ahead of time, and use whichever ones I need - not all of them, but hey.

(Now, my original example spurs were pretty much junk. But Aesthete on RPGnet had some pretty good ones, so let's just use those...)


Randal's minions attempt to kidnap one or more of the PCs to question them, thinking they know something (like the chamberlain's location).
The mob turns on the PCs thinking they are tax collectors. Escape, fight or reason with them?
The PCs come across a couple of tax collectors in the process of being murdered by the mob and/ or Randal. Either party appeals for help from the PCs.
The PCs come across some tax collectors brutally gathering taxes from helpless members of the mob. The mob appeals for help from the PCs.
The PCs are in the forest when it starts burning (due to the actions of the Baron's tax collectors).
One of Randal's compatriots is fleeing the howling agents of the Baron. He appeals to the PCs to hide him and quickly too. The agents closely scrutinize the the PCs.
A scoundrel tries to convince the PCs to pose with him to mug a tax collector for his money and credentials, and then pose as tax collectors to steal from the mob for their own benefit.
The PCs come across a stash of tax money hidden by a now murdered collector. Randal, the mob and the Baron are all out to get their hands on the money by various means, to use as they best see fit.


...So. That's one way.

What do you do?

kjones
2007-10-22, 04:39 PM
Make stuff up as I go along.

It's like the aforementioned method, but much, much easier. My players have just as much fun - in fact, when I prepare a big plotline like the above, my players just ignore it.

Levi Kornelsen
2007-10-22, 04:47 PM
Make stuff up as I go along.

It's like the aforementioned method, but much, much easier. My players have just as much fun - in fact, when I prepare a big plotline like the above, my players just ignore it.

For myself, I find it easier to make stuff up when I have something like this prepared.

They go the tavern? Okay, I already know what "the buzz" at the tavern is, 'cuz I've got this stuff. Now I can focus on making up other stuff that might be of interest.

But, hey, that's me.

....
2007-10-22, 04:56 PM
I usually have a general idea of what I want to happen, but let the PCs do what they want and make it up as we go along.

I find the best way to get PCs to do what you want is to introduce a main antagonist early on that is much more powerful than the PCs and have him stomp them into the dirt a few times while laughing at them. Make sure the PCs really hate him.

Then they'll dance like puppets as you lead them along after the antagonist, just because they want to kill him so bad.

Levi Kornelsen
2007-10-22, 05:00 PM
I find the best way to get PCs to do what you want is to introduce a main antagonist early on that is much more powerful than the PCs and have him stomp them into the dirt a few times while laughing at them. Make sure the PCs really hate him.

:smallsmile:

Okay, I've done this too.

And it can be awesome.

....
2007-10-22, 05:06 PM
:smallsmile:

Okay, I've done this too.

And it can be awesome.

Yeah, I remember we had a year-and-a-half long game. First 'boss' of the game was a master swordsman named "Ashley" (because I wanted him to be badass with a girls name).

He took on the whole four-man party and beat them all. The next year or so they spent chasing him across the continent and trying to figure out what he was doing. The final showdown between him (now with warblade levels) and the party's sorcerer was truly epic.