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HMS Invincible
2009-10-10, 12:18 PM
I ended up really lost in a character driven campaign because I've never played in one before. How do you advance plots or get things to happen? An example would be nice.

Background: We grew up on a tropical island with occasional visitors with our mentor. Our sole plot hook is that our mentor says it's time to be on our own.

Toliudar
2009-10-10, 12:26 PM
Sandbox games are hard to hold together, from what I've seen. Story really does help galvanize character - otherwise, it tends to devolve into bickering over lunch. Any chance you and the other players can, in or out of character, agree on your own objective? Building a boat to get off the island, exploring the old caves in the extinct volcano, going diving in the coral reef offshore? Could be just about anything, as long as it prompts forward motion.

jiriku
2009-10-10, 01:59 PM
A common misconception is that there is a plot to advance. In a character-driven campaign, you create the plot, almost as if you were the DM.

The easiest way to do this is to have a good idea of what's important to your character. If your character has a well-defined personality and set of goals, generally you know what you want to do.

Try this link to the game of 20 questions for Legend of the Five Rings. You'll need to adapt the questions for your own game, since they're intended for a samurai adventuring in an oriental empire, but it should be easy to get the concept.

http://l5rmisty.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/the-20-questions-of-l5r/

Once you've answered the 20 questions for your character, you should know what you want to do. If not, decide? Do you like being on the island? Do you have any unresolved issues with rivals or family members to deal with. Do you have any friends who are in trouble and need your help? Is there a particular magic item or artifact you're hunting for, or do you have a standing goal to acquire wealth, military power, or political influence?

shadow_archmagi
2009-10-10, 02:01 PM
I ended up really lost in a character driven campaign because I've never played in one before. How do you advance plots or get things to happen? An example would be nice.

Background: We grew up on a tropical island with occasional visitors with our mentor. Our sole plot hook is that our mentor says it's time to be on our own.

Your goal is to build a portal to the shadow-plane, and then found a colony there to mine the shadow-metal to make an army of shadesteel golems.