As we begin to build a head of steam through the second half of #RPGaDay, Day 17 is another easy one for me:
"The Best Compliment I Had While Gaming."
Sure, the easiest one, would be "Thanks for being the guy who actually runs games." Everybody's hungry, but someone needs to be willing to cook the stuff.
No, the best compliment was wisely surmised by my friend, Hoyce (and paraphrased by me):
"You're able to keep everything connected in your campaign... even if it never affects the PCs."
I'm near obsessive/compulsive when it comes to the events of the campaign, large and small. Now, this doesn't mean that if the PCs stiff a waitress for the bill that the waitress becomes the big evil at the end of the campaign, but I will try to work through the repercussions of the actions until the ripples fade away.
Helped NPCs hopefully improve themselves or others, empty dungeons usually abhor a vacuum, Kings and Queens get older and either get wiser or senile.
When the party returns from their adventure/journey/shenanigans I always have them come back to the inn or tavern and catch up on the world's events. Just because there nowhere near the Grand Duchy of Celsior, it doesn't mean that news of his wife having twins, or him barring the Riffalin Elves from entering the city, won't eventually affect them. But as the campaign progresses, the erratic behavior of the Duke could be chalked up to sleepless night (even with paid help), or perhaps the elf ban spreads to other towns. I would hope that all of us in our real lives pick up bits and pieces from around the globe
One of my dream campaigns is "getting the Hackmaster band together again," and continuing their storylines roughly 15 years later. For my addiction to continuity, it's a gleeful blessing and a painful curse at the same time.
If we ever begin play, I will eventually have some player go over their ancient notes and inquire "Why didn't the Senate of Danaan help us with the endeavor years ago?" and I'm going to need to either have the answer right there in black and white, or rattle my brain for the why, when, and how of the action and the effect of such an action within the sphere of influence.
... and to be honest, if it doesn't involve bribes or getting the plutocrats rich, the Senate of Danaan couldn't help themselves to an all-you-can-eat buffet, much less pressing lawmaking. That was an easy one.
"The Best Compliment I Had While Gaming."
Sure, the easiest one, would be "Thanks for being the guy who actually runs games." Everybody's hungry, but someone needs to be willing to cook the stuff.
No, the best compliment was wisely surmised by my friend, Hoyce (and paraphrased by me):
"You're able to keep everything connected in your campaign... even if it never affects the PCs."
I'm near obsessive/compulsive when it comes to the events of the campaign, large and small. Now, this doesn't mean that if the PCs stiff a waitress for the bill that the waitress becomes the big evil at the end of the campaign, but I will try to work through the repercussions of the actions until the ripples fade away.
Helped NPCs hopefully improve themselves or others, empty dungeons usually abhor a vacuum, Kings and Queens get older and either get wiser or senile.
When the party returns from their adventure/journey/shenanigans I always have them come back to the inn or tavern and catch up on the world's events. Just because there nowhere near the Grand Duchy of Celsior, it doesn't mean that news of his wife having twins, or him barring the Riffalin Elves from entering the city, won't eventually affect them. But as the campaign progresses, the erratic behavior of the Duke could be chalked up to sleepless night (even with paid help), or perhaps the elf ban spreads to other towns. I would hope that all of us in our real lives pick up bits and pieces from around the globe
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| Remember the Buddhas of Bamiyan? They were destroyed in March 2001 by a little-known, ruthless theocracy known as the Taliban. Outside of some awesome intelligence analysts, no one's characters in a modern game could possibly imagine acknowledged US forces in the country less than a year later. This is what I do on a smaller, and hopefully, less heinous scale in my own campaigns.. the constant cause and effect, not helping start a War on Terror. |
If we ever begin play, I will eventually have some player go over their ancient notes and inquire "Why didn't the Senate of Danaan help us with the endeavor years ago?" and I'm going to need to either have the answer right there in black and white, or rattle my brain for the why, when, and how of the action and the effect of such an action within the sphere of influence.
... and to be honest, if it doesn't involve bribes or getting the plutocrats rich, the Senate of Danaan couldn't help themselves to an all-you-can-eat buffet, much less pressing lawmaking. That was an easy one.
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