tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post1247805328696051324..comments2024-03-26T01:10:28.463-07:00Comments on DMiurgy: Prep for Starting CampaignsWizzzarghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062572480736404210noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post-47886476794396988412022-05-02T07:50:49.374-07:002022-05-02T07:50:49.374-07:00"Then I hand out 3–6 tidbits to each player....."Then I hand out 3–6 tidbits to each player..." - yes, this is close to what I did. As I mentioned, each of them had specific notes that made sense based on their class/career. A Thief would be interested in the penal system, and how the city guard would work. <br />Of course not in enormous detail, but I expect this would be second nature for her, so I provided some details about that (and about the women's role in the society, because both the player and the character are human women).PaMarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531178856693978202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post-78379040730682471892022-04-26T08:28:01.132-07:002022-04-26T08:28:01.132-07:00"there are limits to how much stuff you are w..."there are limits to how much stuff you are willing to read before starting" .. so true.<br /><br />The method I've taken with this is to take the (multi) page lore dump reading homework that I know no one will read, and to slice it up into dozens of lore tidbits. Like, a rumor table on steroids, only it also includes things like information on the local sherrif, the fact that there's a big market in ten days, the blacksmith is always interested in purchasing scrap iron, etc.<br /><br />Then I hand out 3–6 tidbits to each player — it's up to them if they want to share. I've found they work as a conversation starter, especially since I often give only half a story on one card and the rest on another. They start joining the pieces together (and sometimes making completely wrong connections too). I also let them know more will be coming down the line, and more can be sourced by carousing in the tavern (once they get some loot to spend).Garumoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01729693136868673971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post-86144491080407781232022-04-26T08:18:40.621-07:002022-04-26T08:18:40.621-07:00Just by coincidink, I was trawling the archives ov...Just by coincidink, I was trawling the archives over at nagora's corner. This ancient post of his is most useful.<br />https://nagorascorner.blogspot.com/2012/05/pre-launch-prep.html<br />Garumoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01729693136868673971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post-1460681240118439492022-04-21T22:56:47.591-07:002022-04-21T22:56:47.591-07:00I think that the idea "you know something/som...I think that the idea "you know something/someone already about/in this place" has always been a theme in most if not all of my "career" as a DM. <br />For this last campaign it was probably even more prominent because I have been an expat for a few years now, so I have some personal experience in the "well, we are not in Kansas anymore" department.<br /><br />I know that more modern systems (Powered by Apocalypse, etc.) distribute the "burden" more equally between players and DM, but so far I always stuck to older systems so I have no real experience on how this would work for me.<br />I try to be always receptive to inputs from players, but I am not ready (yet?) to relinquish narrative control to them.<br /><br />At the same time, I have the same problems of my players: I do not have huge amounts of time to devote to pregen lots of stuff, so I do tend to improvise a lot and maybe reconnect stuff *after* having introduced it during play.<br />I am also leveraging published adventures much more than before. <br />Again, Fantasy is the easiest genre for this. <br /><br />When we finally switch to Modern/Cyberpunk/SciFi I will try to adopt the "Looking Glass" concept from Gumshoe ( https://pelgranepress.com/tag/looking-glass/ ), but for sure I will also try to give each PC a couple of contacts in the area. <br />PaMarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531178856693978202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post-60120538059210069102022-04-20T12:26:35.555-07:002022-04-20T12:26:35.555-07:00That's a great observation- finding the balanc...That's a great observation- finding the balance between 'no knowledge required, easy to jump in' and 'lots of lore to be interested in, but effort is required' is one that's hard to strike since it's so player-group and even individual player specific. I think those pre-existing ties to NPCs are a good idea to get initial investment without requiring too much exposition.Wizzzarghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275138733482156801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805991960213130257.post-89999484576628036022022-04-19T02:39:05.975-07:002022-04-19T02:39:05.975-07:00Personally, what I consider the main issue in star...Personally, what I consider the main issue in starting a new campaign is "how to deal with the gap between what the Players know and what the Player Characters know about the world where the campaign takes place".<br /><br />This is especially problematic now, because, as you say yourself, "Become a minimalist neet freegan D&D ascetic' isn't really applicable advice for most people", i.e. even if you are a Player and not a DM, there are limits to how much stuff you are willing to read before starting.<br /><br />The current campaign is Fantasy, which lowers the bar somewhat (because in ancient or fake-ancient times, people had no access to lots of knowledge for places far from their own home village), but I still took some extra steps to ensure that "you do not really know much about the place you are in" would fit the theme.<br /><br />I asked my players to create their characters as freely as possible. And *after that* I told them they were part of a commercial expedition to the equivalent of Sinbad "Arabia". <br />They were all part of a selected group of specialists hired by three merchants to try to establish a trading base in a distant land. So the one who created a thief became the "security expert", the vaguely Chinese kung-fu herbalist was hired to provide Medical support and so on.<br /><br />Then I generated a town using https://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/town/ (which also creates interesting places and NPCs), and wrote a concise introduction about local uses and customs.<br />This text had a common base for things like religion, social traditions, taboos, then a part which was more personalized (so the thief had a few more details about laws, and crime).<br />Finally I gave each PC 2-3 notable NPCs they had interacted with (the campaign started 1 month after having arrived in the city).<br /><br />Armed with all of these, the game started with the three merchants calling in the players for an emergency meeting: one of the members of the trade expedition (the one who was the most fluent in the local language, having spent some years in the area before coming back to the Western part of the world) was missing, and his help was crucial to close a deal with locals merchants... in the next three days.<br /><br />So the players, armed with some contacts, limited language proficiency, a general idea of how things work in this place had to try to find/rescue him, and in doing so they learned more about the place, and most importantly started the series of events that would culminate in the actual campaign theme.<br /><br />PaMarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531178856693978202noreply@blogger.com