While Threading Character Backstory was my topic yesterday, Day 4 of #RPGaDAY brings up "Vision." Creating a vision for your campaign, and to be able to keep the view among all the character machinations, reality-altering die rolls, and, if it deems itself necessary, the demand to execute that plot line, even if the PCs are miles away.
All campaigns have a general direction, even if the final destination is unknown. Sandbox, Plot Point, and most certainly the "DM-Novel" styles develop some overarching plot just from the actions of the characters.
Vision can easily be confused with railroading. The tracks of any story need to disappear, still allowing a wide open berth for the party. But most parties like comfort and stability, so that old rail bed is now a scenic campaign trail. It's only straight in unimaginative hands
And even if we are dealing with railroads, most local runs are full of trunk lines, short lines, and side yards. The journey is never as straightforward as the normal accusers say it is.
I was once invited to a group that was re-launching a campaign that they had sandboxed for almost 10 years. Problem was, hearing the story, while there was a lot of the DM reaction to their actions and travels, The minor and major plots arcs were always ingrained.
The longer I played, the longer the GM shared more details from the previous game? All that traveling? All that developing the wilderness? Very little mattered as the final boss fight had been conceived a decade earlier, and it was a simple process of the hero's journey for the party.
My own campaigns might not have the ending written in stone, but I always have some idea where the campaign is going even if the players aren't following the same direction.
Using my current Star Wars d6 campaign, we're just wrapping up the first big story arc. I don't know where the campaign will end, but I do know that they will encounter beneficial Imperial contacts in a big, dramatic way. With limited rebel contacts, this could wildly change the game from the traditional d6 start. They have a lot of options to resolve all this, but the looming "specter" and happy non-murdery Imperials is going to skew there neutral campaign. Portions of this plotline will become visible if they say yes, and if they accept none or partial obligations, the story continues in the background.
All campaigns have a general direction, even if the final destination is unknown. Sandbox, Plot Point, and most certainly the "DM-Novel" styles develop some overarching plot just from the actions of the characters.
Vision can easily be confused with railroading. The tracks of any story need to disappear, still allowing a wide open berth for the party. But most parties like comfort and stability, so that old rail bed is now a scenic campaign trail. It's only straight in unimaginative hands
I was once invited to a group that was re-launching a campaign that they had sandboxed for almost 10 years. Problem was, hearing the story, while there was a lot of the DM reaction to their actions and travels, The minor and major plots arcs were always ingrained.
The longer I played, the longer the GM shared more details from the previous game? All that traveling? All that developing the wilderness? Very little mattered as the final boss fight had been conceived a decade earlier, and it was a simple process of the hero's journey for the party.
My own campaigns might not have the ending written in stone, but I always have some idea where the campaign is going even if the players aren't following the same direction.
Using my current Star Wars d6 campaign, we're just wrapping up the first big story arc. I don't know where the campaign will end, but I do know that they will encounter beneficial Imperial contacts in a big, dramatic way. With limited rebel contacts, this could wildly change the game from the traditional d6 start. They have a lot of options to resolve all this, but the looming "specter" and happy non-murdery Imperials is going to skew there neutral campaign. Portions of this plotline will become visible if they say yes, and if they accept none or partial obligations, the story continues in the background.
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