Madlands Campaign: Thoughts On Tonight's Game...

Good Afternoon, All:

As it seems that, in the course of events, my players have reached the point where they can pursue three simple adventures that will lead to their performance of the Rite of Worldly Transformation, I actually foresee them not taking the straight and narrow path I've laid out for that particular campaign arc. Instead, I imagine that they will find another goal to chase for a while.

With that in mind, I begin to prepare for my campaign this evening. Since I typically run by the seat of my pants, err, I mean, off the cuff, I have to give consideration to the fact that the player-characters may pursue any of a number of possible plot threads. Each plot thread I've laid out could take them through a series of scenes, based on their choices. However, the significant scenes and potential end results are worth considering, as they make it easier to run games that are more sandbox-style and thus player-reactive.

Several of the PCs are seeking to retrieve magical equipment that they've ordered a few weeks back, and so must travel to a city about four days or so away. Random encounters can add a little bit of suspense, but honestly, they are likely to make it without any issues. Once they arrive, I could introduce a bit of an adventure to let them test out their new gear. To do so, though, I'd have to think about their friends, allies, contacts and acquaintances in the city. One of them may be having trouble, and request their aid for a short adventure (two-four scenes, tops, but enough to let them feel the promise of their newly acquired magical power.)

Alternately, I could step through each of the player-character's sheets, looking at their Hindrances for ideas. One has Heroic, so perhaps a scene with children in distress may be an interesting element that lets him explore that aspect of his character. Another has Curiosity, so any kind of mystery might be enough to give him something to do. They all have Enemies that they've made, and a reunion adventure might give them focus if they drift around too much without direction on their part.

And then again, I could simply wait for inspiration to strike. These guys are always asking questions, going places and looking for trouble, so coming up with adventures on the fly usually isn't difficult. Being prepared for them is another matter entirely. Still, they seem to enjoy themselves, and that's the most important thing to me.

More Later,
Flynn

100 Random Plot Seeds...

Good Evening:

I don't have much to write about tonight, so instead I'll post One Hundred Random Plot Seeds. Whenever you find yourself with a bizarre need for a plot, perhaps one of these might spark your imagination enough to inspire your next adventure. If need be, you can always treat this as a random chart, rolling percentile dice to choose your next challenging plot seed. Should these plot seeds help you, please feel free to comment on how.

1. The party must protect a dark, deceitful shaman from the actions of a swift, honorable courtier, who is motivated by love.
2. The party must help a weatherbeaten, over-confident cultist locate a shipment of illegal goods to further his ambition against a wild-eyed, honorable adventurer.
3. The party must hunt down a clumsy, deceitful druid for punishment by a wild-eyed, boisterous ritualist.
4. The party must help an elderly, angry gladiator locate an an oil enchanted with a moderately powerful arcane spell to further his ambition against a clumsy, traitorous necromancer.
5. The party must retrieve an elderly, generous necromancer, or a collection of secret missives, despite interference from an ongoing military action or natural disaster.
6. The party must deliver an an a magical battle axe to a branded, pacifistic illusionist, despite interference from a hirsute, heroic ritualist.
7. The party must retrieve a hirsute, generous ritualist, or a collection of secret missives, despite interference from an ongoing military action or natural disaster.
8. The party must help a weatherbeaten, envious weaponmaster locate a collection of lost lore to further his ambition against an attractive, pious tribesman.
9. The party must rescue an alert, pacifistic sorcerer from the cruel maneuvers of a deformed, moderate assassin.
10. The party must protect a nimble, delusional acrobat against a bald, angry mercenary who has gone insane.
11. The party must hunt down an ugly, stoic crusader for punishment by a nimble, over-confident acrobat.
12. The party must retrieve a lame, insecure mercenary, or a shipment of illegal goods, despite interference from an ongoing military action or natural disaster.
13. The party must become involved in a love triangle involving a weatherbeaten, vengeful martial artist and a crusty, kind explorer.
14. The party must help a hirsute, proud sorcerer locate a collection of lost lore to further his ambition against a weatherbeaten, moderate trader.
15. The party must help two lovers overcome interference created by an enormous, meticulous cultist.
16. The party must help a weatherbeaten, curious gladiator, who is being forced by an obese, stubborn spy to choose between two loved ones.
17. The party must assist a blind, generous serf, who is fleeing punishment from an obese, prudish outlander.
18. The party must rescue an ugly, moderate magus from the cruel maneuvers of a bumbling, delusional bodyguard.
19. The party must rescue an elegant, pious crusader from the cruel maneuvers of a robust, cowardly cultist.
20. The party must secretly consult with an obese, ravenous crusader on a delicate matter, while avoiding the attentions of an agile, prudish scholar.
21. The party must hunt down an one-eyed, honest mercenary for punishment by a hirsute, stoic woodsman.
22. The party must secretly consult with a deaf, flirtacious necromancer on a delicate matter, while avoiding the attentions of a dark, loyal sorcerer.
23. The party must help a branded, flirtacious slave track down a long-lost love.
24. The party must deliver an an a powerfully enchanted suit of hide armor to a wild-eyed, cowardly knight, despite interference from an agile, cautious priest.
25. The party must assist a deformed, cautious knight, who is fleeing punishment from a small, proud cultist.
26. The party must intervene in a family squabble between an one-armed, proud gladiator and an enormous, curious spy.
27. The party must aid a pallid, flirtacious woodsman in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his ideals.
28. The party must aid a swift, boisterous knight in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his ideals.
29. The party must map an unexplored area, despite interference from a sickly, honorable commoner.
30. The party must aid a blind, curious mercenary in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his family.
31. The party must aid an agile, prudish explorer in rebellion against a bumbling, determined priest.
32. The party must help a bumbling, slovenly thief, who is being forced by a weatherbeaten, proud mercenary to choose between two loved ones.
33. The party must help two lovers overcome interference created by an one-armed, arrogant crusader.
34. The party must hinder a courtship between a scrawny, insecure woodsman and a robust, angry adventurer, who are unknowingly related.
35. The party must help a scrawny, boisterous knight locate a collection of lost lore to further his ambition against a lame, proud druid.
36. The party must protect an agile, proud martial artist against a bumbling, arrogant serf who has gone insane.
37. The party must help a deformed, proud trader atone to a wild-eyed, kind outlander for illicit or immoral past actions.
38. The party must help a nimble, angry monk, who is being forced by an one-eyed, loyal priest to choose between two loved ones.
39. The party must help a blind, heroic serf atone to a skinny, humble monk for illicit or immoral past actions.
40. The party must deliver an an a magical suit of breast plate to an elderly, prudish spy, despite interference from an obese, kind outlander.
41. The party must help a wild-eyed, insecure scholar track down a long-lost love.
42. The party must assist a wild-eyed, delusional weaponmaster in a daring enterprise, despite the efforts of an elegant, heroic trader.
43. The party must secretly consult with a scrawny, immoral necromancer on a delicate matter, while avoiding the attentions of a branded, greedy assassin.
44. The party must help an alert, delusional gladiator who has been falsely accused by a pallid, traitorous shaman of illicit or immoral actions.
45. The party must aid an one-legged, prudish crusader, who has fallen on hard times.
46. The party must assist a blind, envious spellsword, who is fleeing punishment from a swift, honest explorer.
47. The party must assist a hirsute, proud weaponmaster, who is fleeing punishment from a deaf, prudish woodsman.
48. The party must deliver a pallid, envious bodyguard to an one-eyed, stoic martial artist, despite interference from a bald, arrogant priest.
49. The party must aid a hirsute, delusional woodsman who has, out of jealousy, falsely accused a robust, cowardly gladiator of actions against a loved one.
50. The party must help two lovers overcome interference created by a robust, honorable bodyguard.
51. The party must seek out a pallid, heroic mercenary, who unknowingly killed a relative.
52. The party must retrieve an alert, boisterous slave, or the personal effects of a fallen hero, despite interference from an ongoing military action or natural disaster.
53. The party must aid a hirsute, stoic knight in giving up everything for his beloved.
54. The party must exact revenge upon a nimble, honest scout for crimes against a bumbling, proud priest.
55. The party must map an unexplored area, despite interference from an elderly, determined illusionist.
56. The party must present a request for assistance before a swift, heroic illusionist against the schemes of a clumsy, stubborn spy.
57. The party must help a lame, flirtacious sorcerer atone to a deformed, curious bodyguard for illicit or immoral past actions.
58. The party must hunt down a wild-eyed, moderate spellsword for punishment by an elderly, honorable tribesman.
59. The party must recover a lost work of art lost through the naivete of an ugly, loyal scholar to a small, immoral weaponmaster with a conniving nature.
60. The party must protect a brawny, determined scholar as they request assistance from a branded, honest adventurer for actions against loved one by a swift, angry explorer.
61. The party must exact revenge upon an one-legged, traitorous illusionist for crimes against a robust, cowardly noble.
62. The party must deliver an elderly, stoic spellsword to a blind, delusional martial artist, despite interference from a youthful, insecure spy.
63. The party must help a clumsy, immoral illusionist track down a long-lost love.
64. The party must hunt down an elderly, envious priest for punishment by an agile, honorable gladiator.
65. The party must help a small, honest knight, who is being forced by a brawny, vengeful necromancer to choose between two loved ones.
66. The party must rescue an enormous, flirtacious sorcerer from the cruel maneuvers of a skinny, pacifistic assassin.
67. The party must help a branded, pacifistic woodsman, who is being forced by a bumbling, arrogant tribesman to choose between two loved ones.
68. The party must aid an attractive, boisterous spy in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his ideals.
69. The party must help a swift, generous scholar atone to an agile, ravenous trader for illicit or immoral past actions.
70. The party must hunt down an attractive, stoic outlander for punishment by a wild-eyed, greedy weaponmaster.
71. The party must recover a lost work of art lost through the naivete of an obese, greedy slave to an attractive, heroic trader with a conniving nature.
72. The party must help a skinny, cowardly adventurer who has been falsely accused by a lame, stoic martial artist of illicit or immoral actions.
73. The party must help an alert, envious scout locate a collection of secret missives to further his ambition against an elegant, greedy assassin.
74. The party must retrieve a lost work of art from a remote location, in competition with a weatherbeaten, cautious mercenary.
75. The party must help a swift, humble mercenary, who is being forced by an obese, ravenous acrobat to choose between two loved ones.
76. The party must provide disaster relief/humanitarian aid to a hirsute, meticulous martial artist, despite interference from a branded, prudish knight.
77. The party must protect a deaf, pacifistic mercenary from the actions of an obese, greedy monk, who is motivated by love.
78. The party must intervene in a family squabble between a robust, cautious ritualist and a deaf, angry scholar.
79. The party must assist an obese, honest knight in a daring enterprise, despite the efforts of a crusty, pious trader.
80. The party must abduct a bald, angry cultist from a deformed, greedy magus.
81. The party must aid an obese, flirtacious weaponmaster in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his ideals.
82. The party must aid a scarred, honest scout in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his ideals.
83. The party must exact revenge upon an enormous, arrogant noble for crimes against a hirsute, envious bodyguard.
84. The party must hunt down an elegant, honorable ritualist for punishment by an agile, meticulous slave.
85. The party must seek out a bald, cowardly acrobat, who unknowingly killed a relative.
86. The party must exact revenge upon a wild-eyed, vengeful gladiator for crimes against an one-legged, angry priest.
87. The party must reveal the dishonor performed by a deformed, moderate spy against a dark, insecure necromancer.
88. The party must protect a scarred, envious scholar against a branded, clueless noble who has gone insane.
89. The party must assist an one-legged, slovenly serf in a daring enterprise, despite the efforts of a swift, flirtacious ritualist.
90. The party must help an attractive, arrogant monk track down a long-lost love.
91. The party must provide disaster relief/humanitarian aid to an agile, insecure sorcerer, despite interference from an attractive, delusional monk.
92. The party must help a clumsy, humble mercenary who has been falsely accused by an one-eyed, pacifistic noble of illicit or immoral actions.
93. The party must help two lovers overcome interference created by an one-eyed, envious explorer.
94. The party must aid an enormous, cowardly crusader in performing an act of self-sacrifice for his ideals.
95. The party must present a request for assistance before an one-eyed, curious scout against the schemes of an one-legged, over-confident sorcerer.
96. The party must abduct an ugly, stubborn ritualist from a crusty, pacifistic illusionist.
97. The party must intervene in a family squabble between an alert, traitorous adventurer and an attractive, delusional outlander.
98. The party must map an unexplored area, despite interference from a lame, prudish magus.
99. The party must map an unexplored area, despite interference from a scarred, slovenly serf.
100. The party must help a dark, stoic serf atone to a pallid, curious explorer for illicit or immoral past actions.

Hope These Help,
Flynn

GM Mentoring: New Campaigns Demand New Stories...

Good Evening:

Sometimes, when you want to come up with a new idea for an adventure or a campaign story arc, you find yourself locked into the same story lines you've been repeating for the last few years (or even decades). You look back at those scenarios that have effectively become cliches to your gaming group, and want to relive the cherished memories you created or desire to capture some element of a scenario that eluded you every time you implemented that storyline before. Whatever attracted you to a given storyline held some importance to you, and there's a good chance that it still does, if you can't get it out of your head.

However, let's face it, if you've tried it more than once, or if your first run of a given storyline was an outstanding success, the kind that's talked about months and even years afterward, then your players are likely to be ready for this scenario. Chances are, they will not react as openly to a repeat performance. In order to continue to build on your already solid reputation, you have to step up your game, so to speak. There's nothing like an original idea to help keep things fresh.

So, what do you do when the ideas don't come? You can always check out Eureka, the book of plot summaries by the crew from Gnome Stew. You can also read through old Dragon and Dungeon magazines, or review old D&D modules (or even new D&D modules) looking for adventure ideas that are new to you but still sound like fun to run. You can read some fantasy fiction (or even better, some non-fantasy fiction) and adopt the plot from the book as an adventure or campaign story arc. Watch the news, and translate each news story into a plot. Think about your two favorite television episodes you watched this last week, and see if you can blend elements of the plots of the two episodes together to come up with something that is new and definitely yours. Think about your favorite movie, or at least a movie you know very well, and translate that into a campaign storyline for your party's future adventures. (I think Star Wars: A New Hope would make a great swashbuckling adventure.) Build a random table or two, and see what comes of that.

There are always means to move beyond the cliches that maintain their grip on you. While the suggestions given above offer a number of options for you, don't be afraid to try other things as well. You never know when the next great adventure idea will come to you, nor how you'll end up getting it. If you have any suggestions on other avenues one could pursue, please feel free to post them in the comments below.

With Regards,
Flynn