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IlexGarodan
Acolyte
Canada
26 Posts |
 Posted - 17 May 2006 : 19:03:05
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Hey, all! IlexGarodan here!
I'm currently learning how to DM (got the DM's guide earlier today), and I am enjoying it. I have one small problem, though..
I want to create a custom campaign in the Realms, but I don't know where to start! I give an outline of my campaign to another DM, and he says it reads more like a short story than a campaign module. What am I to do?!
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4689 Posts |
Posted - 17 May 2006 : 19:46:12
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Hmm a short story? Odds are you wrote it out how you expect play to go. Players do not often follow your plans however.
What you need is a map that offers options, NPCs that might aid the quest and some that will tr to pervent it, as well as people that do not care about it at all. There also could be included side trips, the players might not be interested in the quest, but should be able to find somekind of adventure, even if just a bar fight. There should be some planing for things going in a different direction then you plan. You should also hve something in place should the players have their characters go off your map. A quick way to handle going off the map is having them get lost (in woods, swamp, darkness [magical if needed], twisting paths or other device) until they end up back on the map maybe miles away from where they left the map (they still will be lost, but happy to be out of that maze, etc.).
You should plan for different endings being posible, the treasure might not be found, the pricess not saved, or whatever the main quest is.
Oh as you build your campaign world if you continue to DM, your map can be expanded. A safe way though the swamp might be found, the darkness might be dispell, a moutain pass found.
Without reading the "more like a short story" I can not know for sure what details the other DM believes is missing. Did not he offer any advice of what he believed was missing? |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Snotlord
Senior Scribe
Norway
476 Posts |
Posted - 17 May 2006 : 19:48:11
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I'm not sure writing adventures in the style of the published material is the best way to get started, but if you want to look at free professional stuff, check out the adventure archive at the Wizards site:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b
Most of them are easy to use, and should help you get started.
My advice to beginning DMs is to start small. Pick a small community in the setting of your choice (like Shadowdale), figure out what people talk about at the local inn, generate a small dungeon with some monsters, and figure out how to get the adventurers into that dungeon.
Any questions?
Good luck! |
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Custom campaign
