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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 19 2007, 12:24 AM (216 Views) | |
| kismetrose | Oct 19 2007, 12:24 AM Post #1 |
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Lately, I've been having a little dilemma. I'm not currently running D&D but I've been getting D&D ideas - in and of itself not a bad thing, because I'm looking forward to running again in the foreseeable future. But the ideas I've been getting have been big. I mean, I've been coming to realizations that have helped me to better flesh out and complete different story arcs, some of which I've been trying to finish for (literally) years. It's really great and exciting, and I've had a fun time writing furiously in my notebook and checking details. The only problem is that I need to generate ideas on a smaller scale to weave into the larger arcs. You can't follow the huge arcs all the time - most television shows have episodes dedicated to other things to give folks a break, and then they get back to any larger threads. I've been having trouble coming up with NPCs and small, quick things to run into on the road to Myth Drannor, which will be a part of a HUGE story arc. For the most part I'm just grateful to be getting inspiration. I'm just hoping I can direct it toward the small as well as the large concerns. |
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| Redisbest | Oct 25 2007, 03:27 AM Post #2 |
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Habitual Offender
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Do you mean major npc's or ones that you only need for a couple of sessions tops? Maybe it's because I'm a lazy student who hates homework, but unless it's a key player in the story, I try not to plan to far ahead anyway. It feels stifling to me to know everything walking into a session- it's easier to adjust plans if they're vague, you know? My advice is to come up with 2-3 important points for the npc's that are going to stick around for a little while, fewer for those who'll be fading out faster. The rest can be decided when the characters meet them. There's something thrilling about being completely on your toes, and also it's nice to feel completely free to adjust to what seems like it will help the story most at the time. I don't know if that makes any sense or if it's even what you're talking about, but there you go. |
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| kismetrose | Oct 25 2007, 12:13 PM Post #3 |
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Thanks for the advice! The thing is, I'm at my best when I've been able to prepare stuff. I can come up with some NPCs on the fly but my best ones have had some forethought. It's not that I prepare everything they think or do but that I have a personality in mind, and I can work from there. It's important to me for my players to understand that the world is full of other people, each with their own lives and troubles. I'm just being inspired with the big stuff and not very inspired with the small stuff, like NPCs and quick, along-the-road adventures. It's okay, though; they'll come, and I've got time since Valefor's currently running.
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| Fenris Wulf | Oct 25 2007, 05:30 PM Post #4 |
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Ritual Partaker
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As crazy as this sounds, how about stealing characters? Specifically, taking stories you've read from other books and using them as backstories for your own NPCs. Obviously, you'd want to avoid books that Valefor or other people in your group have read... which is why I didn't suggest movies or t.v. shows. Nothing says that you have to steal your characters strictly from fantasy books, either. Anything you've read can be re-dressed as fantasy and borrowed liberally, both for plots and characters (hey, it worked for Lucas). With enough twisting and turning, even well-known characters might be unrecognizable. Of course, sourcebooks designed for gaming will have pre-created characters. Mine those (I'm sure you already have some!) for inspiration, use them exactly as written, or mix and match elements to create a new character from several others. Or, just use the backstory in the pre-gen, but toss the character. The Drow of the Underdark that I mentioned sometime back has stuff like that... even if I choose to use them as a Human cult in a Human world, or, another idea, I like the idea of making Drow look just like Elves (no coloration difference)... making them able to infiltrate Elven and Human societies (in either case, the kernel idea is that my "Drow" have no physical differences from other cultures, so that interaction is easier), the idea is, the book is loaded with characters, event, and situations I can twist and make something "new." On a side note, can your group do "monster of the week" stories, by that I mean, short games away from the main game? 'Cos I've never been able to do that... for one thing, it takes too long! (My groups have always only gotten together once every week or two... straying from the main story would cause a storyline to last basically forever). For another, everyone has always wanted to "stay with the main plot" and have always tried to get back into the main storyline, regardless of what I wanted. Bastards.
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| kismetrose | Oct 26 2007, 12:21 AM Post #5 |
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I suppose having a look around at books and movies and such might not be a bad idea. I tend to get associations and follow those rather than taking the character whole cloth, but still. It's worth a look. Thanks for reminding me! I have used some characters from gaming books in a pinch. There really isn't a book for the area in which they'll be traveling, but I can have a look at the characters in different gaming books and see if any of them help.
The thing is, they'll be traveling over a wide expanse of territory. Some things are going to happen that they're not going to be able to really avoid because the world is full of folks and creatures. They're going to be noticed. And they could end up noticing things as they pass. Either way, I did get a small idea about that today that I think might work. It's not that I want to necessarily send them off on side quests or such. I know they really want to get where they're going. But they are going to have to contend with shit along the way.
Our group gets together once a week and stories take as long as they're going to take. We have some big story arcs hanging around that have been up and running for about four years now.
I try my best to weave many different things together, to give the impression that the world is a many layered place in which more than one thing is happening at a time. I hope very much that my players understand by now that side plots and such are usually worth going with; they are usually very good about checking things out. But I should ask Valefor. |
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