Reader Poll: Challenges in Campaign Execution...

Good Afternoon:

My apologies for the lack of entries lately. I am still working on the new website, getting the design to look the way I want it to. In the end, I think I'll end up going with a minimalistic design, because anything else I've tried simply looks too busy. When all else fails, going back to the basics is generally considered a good thing.

Once I get the blog moved over to the new site, Fridays will become the day that I discuss the current project I'm working on for Samardan Press. Do you think that Mondays and Wednesdays also need their own theme?

When I think about the kinds of challenges that all Referees, GMs and DMs face when running a campaign, I come up with a short list of different things I could address as the next series for In Like Flynn. Here are some of my thoughts:

• Adventure Creation
• Challenges of Running a Long-Term Campaign
• Encounters or Scenario Creation
• Finding New Players
• Handling Different Player Types
• Locations
• Making Combat Fun and Entertaining
• Map Creation
• Monster Creation
• Organizing Campaign Data
• Role of Organizations
• Running a Focused Campaign (Political, Military, Mercantile, Exploration, etc.)
• Running a Prep Lite Campaign (aka Winging It)
• Setting Creation (Campaign or Mini-Settings)
• Stock NPCs
• Story Arcs
• Unique NPC Creation

What sounds like fun to you? What would you be most interested in reading about? What aspects of running a campaign cause you problems? Please let me know in the Comments section. Remember that your words will help determine the direction of my next series of posts.

With Regards,
Flynn

GM Mentoring: Want Some Advice On Running Convention Games?

Good Afternoon, All:

This past weekend, I attend a great regional gaming convention called Owl Con. Hosted by a gaming club at Rice University in Houston, TX, Owl Con is one of my favorite conventions. With very few exceptions, I have always had a great time roleplaying in the scenarios I've encountered there. This time around, I had one session being run by a GM who viewed the session as no different that what he'd run for his gaming group on their usual game night, and because of that, we didn't get much accomplished. I found it frustrating, as I walked away from the experience almost wishing I'd played something else instead. This is a pretty rare occurrence, as I'd mentioned before. I could tell he was a good GM, possibly even a great one. However, since he didn't plan for the time constraints and rigid structure inherent in a convention gaming session, I didn't get to see his abilities showcased as I would have liked.

I've been running convention games now for almost a decade, and have a fairly decent reputation for providing a satisfying gaming experience whether I'm running Traveller, Savage Worlds or D20. I'd like to think it is because I'm good at running games, but honestly, I'm sure a lot of my success in this endeavor is due to my decision to research how to run a successful convention game before I designed my first adventure for that environment.

Should I consider a short series of posts on how to design and run Convention scenarios? What do you think?

With Regards,
Flynn

Adventures In Rodan: Seeking Your Thoughts...

Good Afternoon, All:

In Flynn's Guide to Azri Drakara: Rodan Subsector, I introduced the second of sixteen subsectors for the Azri Drakara campaign setting. (The first subsector that I released for Azri Drakara, Cepheus Subsector, can be found in One-Act Adventure: Vengeance by Proxy.) With Rodan being a frontier subsector, I sought to provide a location for Referees and players alike to begin exploring this campaign setting without having to absorb a lot of background material. Over time, of course, future supplements will expand on the setting, but the goal remains that Azri Drakara is intended to be accessible and usable, particularly with the core Traveller rules.

Although I provided several patron encounters in the introductory book, I know that every campaign can benefit from more adventure ideas. Even if a Referee decides not to use the Azri Drakara setting, he can always adapt the ideas for use in his own Traveller campaign. As I'd mentioned earlier this month, adventures don't sell well, but I'm still going to give it one more try and see where things go from there.

I imagine that, in addition to the core adventure, I will probably add a few patron encounters, and perhaps a few more things along the same vein of adventure inspiration. Ultimately, though, the core adventure will be the heart of that product. With that said, what kind of adventure or story would you like to see published for Azri Drakara and Rodan Subsector?

I already have a few ideas, but haven't settled on any of them as yet. Perhaps you as readers of this blog can share your thoughts on what would make an interesting topic to explore within the setting. My first thoughts are as follows:

The Deadly Secret of Sakri: This adventure idea would explain the secret behind Sakri's unusual history.

The Mines of Theon: This adventure idea explores the mining world of Theon, and introduces more detail into Merchant Houses, particularly House Garrett.

The Port Rhom Incident: This adventure idea develops the concept of Rhom as a haven for smugglers and pirates, and introduces the psionic humans known as the Disciplined.

The Ruins of Hipparch: This adventure idea focuses on the exploration of a Progenitor site on the world of Hipparch.

Search For The Star Crystal: This adventure idea centers around an encounter or series of encounters involving the Star Crystal.

So, what do you think of these ideas? What other ideas would you like to see explored in an adventure set in the Rodan Subsector of the Azri Drakara campaign setting? Here's your chance to help set the course and direction of future products for Samardan Press.

With Regards,
Flynn

Informal Poll: On the Future of the Blog...

Good Morning, All:

I've scheduled the last six posts for the coming week, rounding out my participation in the A-Z Challenge, and in the process designing a consolidated pantheon to use in my future campaigns. It was a lot of fun from my perspective, but the number of comments dropped considerably. Therefore, I thought I'd check with you guys and see what your thoughts were on the future of the blog.

Do you like the focus on a specific topic on a monthly basis? Or do you prefer a variety of topics covered on an as-inspired basis?

Do you prefer campaign background pieces or rules discussions? Or a healthy mix of each?

Do you like smaller posts made more frequently or larger posts made less frequently?

Now's your chance to have some input on the future direction of "In Like Flynn." I'm eager to hear what you guys are looking for, so I can make this blog more suited to your needs.

With Regards,
Flynn

Hollow Earth: Should I Develop It For Publication?

Good Morning, All:

I have a quick question for the readers, given my recent fascination with the concept of the Hollow Earth campaign idea. I like this concept enough that I'll likely run it as my next campaign setting, so I know that I'll be doing further development on this as time permits. However, I've noticed that there's been a lot of comments on those posts, and so now I thought I would ask the readers: Should I develop the setting for publication? Is there enough interest to warrant that extra work? If I did this, it would likely be in the first three months of next year before I'd be ready to release such a book, given the other projects that are in line before it. This is your chance to impact my production schedule. Every vote counts.

What are your thoughts?

With Regards,
Flynn