DM's block?

[GeekGirl]

I have a game to run this weekend, and have found myself with a horrible case of writers block. My players tracking a wizard in an attempt to foil his evil plans :P. They found a way to track him, and are doing so. I can't come up with anything between were they are, and the next major entanglement.

What do the rest of you do to overcome writers DM's block?

[Fiery Diamond]

Honest answer? Make crap up on the spot and try to seem like it was planned all along. Seems to work fairly well, and sometimes I invent major plot points that way. You have to be fairly good at improvisation to pull it off, though. Improvisation is what I feel like my strong point is. I'm ... not terribly good at battlefield tactics. This sometimes makes things interesting.

[DabblerWizard]

Sometimes I go over the story details with someone who isn't playing. They end up asking me questions that help me expand my understanding of the story, which gives me a chance to move things ahead.

Otherwise, I try to figure out the NPC's motivations. What are the wizard's evil plans? How close is he to accomplishing them? etc.

[Flame of Anor]

If you give the Playground details, maybe we could help think of some hooks.

[Antonok]

I usually make sidequests loosely based of old movies if I have nothing else to fill in with lol.

[Welknair]

Honest answer? Make crap up on the spot and try to seem like it was planned all along.

This is my Plan A.

[valadil]

Does the wizard know he's being tracked? If so, he can try and evade them, playing magical cat and mouse while they catch up.

Could a side plot catch up with them?

[The-Mage-King]

This is my Plan A.

Wait... You plan? I sure as hell don't.

[Sillycomic]

Watching good movies and reading good books usually helps. I always enjoy looking at someone else's storyline to see what they did that really impressed me and what they did that I thought could be done differently or better.

Oh, also really good video games. Their plots can also be mined for juicy ideas. Max Payne alone will probably be enough for a whole campaign.

And reading other people's journals here works too. I got filled with numerous ideas when I read SilverClawShift's journals. Here they are in case you haven't seen the awesome.

SilverClawShift Campaign Archives:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116836

Oh, and also posting here with some more detail will always get you tons of ideas flooding in from other GM's who are always willing to help set something up.

[Garwain]

random encounter

[SamBurke]

Honest answer? Make crap up on the spot and try to seem like it was planned all along. Seems to work fairly well, and sometimes I invent major plot points that way. You have to be fairly good at improvisation to pull it off, though. Improvisation is what I feel like my strong point is. I'm ... not terribly good at battlefield tactics. This sometimes makes things interesting.

+1. I do one game that's almost all improv. Actually, I DM 4 games that are mostly improv, but, whatever.

[Kol Korran]

i tend to go for the planned approach (seems likei'm in the minority). when i play a campaign i keep writing myself pieces of ideas for encounters. some i use to flesh out "plot relevant" material, some i use for random/ in between stuff.

i also like to challenge old ideas by changing sides/ opponents, time premise/ locations and more.

another important factor is to look at the PCs and try and build an encounter related to their goals/ motivations/ past/ fears/ mechanical aspects.

some things that might work between the party and the wizard:
-what territory are they traversing? any special locations? (if not you can make some- through the wood of darkness, the devil mountains and so on) any special populations? (it's known for a nest of fiendish wyverns, the blood claw gnolls roam these plains. beware the traveling stone giants)

-are they traveling in the wizard's footsteps? if so you can make encounters that give clues to his plan, or that amplify his character. also, he might leave guardians/ traps/ nasty surprises to make sure he is not followed.

- something about the characters themselves (as i mentioned) can't help without knowing them.

- when all else fails, some fun battle encounter. what level are the characters, we might be able to help :smallsmile:

[Jay R]

1. Go read an adventure book or watch an adventure movie. Consider the Lord of the Rings. They are out after Sauron, but they meet with Nazgul, wolves, ravens, a snowstorm, a water-creature, orcs, a Balrog, a troll, long before they reach Moria. It does not have to be a good book or movie, by the way. An old movie serial has a life-threatening cliffhanger every 15 minutes.

2. Go back and read the information the players gave you on their character's backgrounds. Bringing back some detail from their past always feels like you have a deep, carefully worked out plan, even if you just threw it in at the last moment.

3. Go back and read the adventures they've already had. Who hates them (or loves them) enough to have come looking for them? What rivals might be trying to get the treasure before the PCs?

4. A small, totally unrelated encounter - bandits, raiders, a minor battle between two villages, an angry mob who think the PCs are the ones who've been torching houses, etc. A simple battle occupying the field they need to walk through can be quite an annoyance, and anything they have no right to blow up automatically slows them down. If they try to avoid the battle entirely, then have them see a small child looking for her parents. Good characters can't just walk away. (For real fun, the parent the child names is somebody the party slew yesterday.)

5. Consider introducing an important NPC two or three episodes early, as a minor character in an unrelated encounter. (The BBEG's unwilling servant is under attack by bandits, or the leader of one side in the minor battle is the daughter of the nobleman you are out to rescue, for instance.) This creates an easier way to get them to talk to her when they really need to.

6. Another band of PCs, on either the same quest or a related one - maybe even on the opposite side. They might be trying to enflame the war the PCs are trying to prevent, for example. Or they may also need the Sword of Mystical Plothook for a totally unrelated purpose. Depending on how the encounter goes, they may be friends, foes, rivals, or just at cross purposes to the players.

[Doktor Per]

They are not the only one hot on his trails, though the other party's motives may be less than noble. Make it so that heir interests clash, even if it's just the other guys thinking "we don't need them, we shouldn't have to split the money with them. They are a liability." It's a genre stable. Maybe even have them got caught up in the crossfire between two tribes of orcs.

Maybe the party rescues them. I wouldn't really roll their combat though, but rather describe what they are doing. So both sides have seen each other in combat.

[Undercroft]

When i was a little stumped I threw a changling assassin at my players.
no death attacks (did the stunning version instead) and lots of poison.

I then made up crap about how he was hired to weaken them for the main villian. Most of my sessions involve makign it up as I go along. Of course he did have a convenient method of escape (diving out of the airship window plus using feather fall).

[Morghen]

I'm kind of surprised at the number of people advising you to make things up as you go.

My current GM is definitely a "plan in advance" kind of guy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I know all of the people above are going to come back with "But my players tell me that they love the way I GM!" but I just kind of cringe at the thought of an entire campaign where there's no overarching plot. The campaign I was in before my current campaign was a sandbox game and for the last five months or so before I left it, the order of business every night was basically "I wonder what random encounter we're going to get".

Short Answer to your question:
Steal from other sources. Everything is stolen from somewhere. If your players say, "Hey, have you read [Book X]?", lie to them. Or tell them that you've always wanted to see how a group would play through That Cool Scene.

[Knaight]

...I just kind of cringe at the thought of an entire campaign where there's no overarching plot. The campaign I was in before my current campaign was a sandbox game and for the last five months or so before I left it, the order of business every night was basically "I wonder what random encounter we're going to get".

This sounds like crappy improvisation. If you can't get an emergent plot, and random encounters are normal, then something has gone horribly wrong somewhere.

As for tracking the wizard, what you need to do depends on the tone that needs to be emphasized. If its a tone of struggle and heroism and such, which seems to be the default, a lot could be done with weather. Nasty rain, mud slides, and struggling to keep tracking the wizard when it would be much easier to just hide in a cave could emphasize this, and be a lot of fun.

[Choco]

I know all of the people above are going to come back with "But my players tell me that they love the way I GM!" but I just kind of cringe at the thought of an entire campaign where there's no overarching plot.

Just because you make everything up on the spot doesn't mean there is no plot. You just gotta keep what you make up CONSISTENT. In the mostly improv game I am running, there are established villains with known goals and the like. Even in sandbox games you get those if done right. I have always viewed sandbox as when the DM creates the world (and all the factions and power struggles that go with it) and then dumps the PC's in to do as they choose. Whether or not the PC's CHOOSE to confront (or side with) him, Evildude McBadguy is still out there trying to advance his goals, and same goes for the factions opposing him.

[GeekGirl]

Thanks for all the advice so far, A few asked for more info, so here's the basics.
The party consists of:
1. Rogue (very generic build)
2. TWF barbarian charger build (much more optimized than the rest of the group)
3. Paladin focused on mounted combat
4. Melee "battle" Cleric build (new player, so not as strong as he could be, but getting better)
They are all around level 10. Other than the barbarian, they are all lawful good, and play it very well.
They don't know exactly what the wizards plan is, but are trying to stop it. The wizard is quite far way still, and they have a long travel ahead. I'm more looking for things to happen while they are traveling.

Also, most of the group are very new to the game.

I'm fine with making things up as we go along, but I like to have a few rough outlines of events. I couldn't imagine going in completely blind to a night.

[Silus]

I'm gonna have to agree with the others that have said throw a little improv in there if you're having trouble coming up with stuff. Also works really well if you have that one player that either does or tries to out-guess the DM.

If you don't know what's around the next corner, chances are they don't know either.

[Morghen]

Escaped prisoners?
-Could be a good way to introduce higher-level NPCs (the Duke needs your help!).

What's the terrain/world like where the chase is happening?
High population area is going to have different stuff in it than low population area. A mountainous area is going to have different stuff in it than plains.

I know those are obvious, but letting US know them means that we're going to be much more concrete in our suggestions.

[Doktor Per]

I disagree with everyone who is telling you to rely on improv. They are also not contributing to the discussion when asking for advice on planning.

Send something that can fly and has ranged combat after them. Not even something to match their CR. It's just very possible they won't have a good solution to that. Or just send a swarm of little creatures with a single level in Warlock pointing their fingers going pew pew pew! The idea is not so much to kill, rather than harass. It's a problem that needs to be solved. If they fight back and it's gotten boring, have the surviving buggers flee. If your players look for cover from this, the problem will have been solved, when the creatures get bored.

If this was a hole in their tactics, they've learned something, if not, they get to kill mosquitoes in the jungle :V.

[GeekGirl]

Escaped prisoners?
-Could be a good way to introduce higher-level NPCs (the Duke needs your help!).

What's the terrain/world like where the chase is happening?
High population area is going to have different stuff in it than low population area. A mountainous area is going to have different stuff in it than plains.

I know those are obvious, but letting US know them means that we're going to be much more concrete in our suggestions.

They are leaving mountains, heading into the plains, and will end in a desert

[Morghen]

Mountains: Abandoned manor house. Big clan of goblins/orcs/whatever have tunneled beneath it as a base and are threatening a nearby town. Fairly straightforward, but lets them balance which Good they want to do. Mention a storm on the horizon or firey glow out on the plains.
Manor (http://www.thehousedesigners.com/images/plans/HDS/floorplans/6814-f1.gif)
Tunnels (http://rpgmapshare.com/v/Maps/fantasy/xaman-cave-variation-2.jpg.html)

Plain: A tornado (or wildfire) came through a day or so ago and wrecked a town (or farmland). What assistance can the PCs provide? If the town is too big, four people (and only one of them is really a legit caster) showing up to help won't make much difference. I suggest some little town where the people will remember them.

Plain 2: That escaped prisoners thing. The Duke (or druids watching over the area) needs some bad guys tracked down. They're not the "Capture them and return them to justice" kind of bad guys, but the "mad dog that needs put down" kind of bad guys. Or the Duke's forces can go along and return the escapees to prison if you want them to try a "fight to subdue" encounter.

Whoa. Maybe they're wrongfully imprisoned. Or just try to convince the PCs that they are.

Desert: The wizard can hear their footsteps. The wizard (polymorphed/shapechanged) shows up pretending to be an emissary of the Duke/druids and tells them about how their help is needed with those bad guys from Plain 2. They got loose again and killed the [Important Guy]. Four 10th-level PCs is nothing to sneeze at, and distracting them for enough time to put his plan in action will be easier than killing them.

[Morghen]

Whoops. Forgot the last bit.
Desert 2: If they don't bite, he tries again the next day, but brings some mook along to act as the [Important Guy]'s daughter/mom/sister. The barbarian and paladin oughta lap that up. Especially when she starts crying. (Can bards be evil? They can, right? If not, she's just in it for the money.)

Desert 3: The wizard waits a day or so to see if they bite on Desert 2. If not, he waits until about 3 am, Teleports to about 100' away from them, Summons a bunch of baddies (elementals?), Teleports out.

[KineticDiplomat]

I've found the surest way to balance between complete pants flying and carefully laid plans that will inevitably meet a grisly fate is to lay out the factions involved in the surrounding environment. Then have each faction act towards its goals in accordance with its resources.

If you have no clue whats going on next session, just take a look at what forces are at play, what they're trying to do, and how your PCs will trip over that.

For instance, the wizard is interested in:

1. preserving the golden macguffin and his hide
2. furthering his plot to rule/destroy the world
3. building resources which would assist with 1 & 2

The random tribe of desert nomads your players are about to chase him through are interested in:

1. ensuring the survival of the tribe
2. honoring their obligations in accordance with their warrior codes
3. showing hospitality to strangers

So, the wizard runs into the tribe (which, as we know, you players will stumble across somehow). Is it in his best interests to kill/enslave them? Bypass them? Win them over as friends? Lie to them that he is a poor old man chased bye evil slavers (the players)? Use illusions to have it look like your party butchered one of their hunters while in fact he did it?

Now have the tribe act in what they percieve to be their best interests. Allow the players to stumble into the result.

[RandomNPC]

When in doubt steal the plot of Final Fantasy Tactics.

My gamers didn't realize it until they had three stones, and they loved every second of it.

[Morghen]

When in doubt steal the plot of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Best. Game. Ever.

[Acanous]

The Players don't know the wizard's plot, but do you?
He's off doing.. something that the party wants to stop, but what is he trying to pull off and why?

This is almost the perfect situation for a Xanatos gambit, where The Dragon is actually someone other than the wizard, and the plot pits the party against him to stop the wizard from actually getting in the big bad's way.

Aside from that thought experiment, forested area, small town, demonic cult that sacrifices travellers.

[Anderlith]

Displacer beasts with a magpie complex

[Fiery Diamond]

I'm kind of surprised at the number of people advising you to make things up as you go.

My current GM is definitely a "plan in advance" kind of guy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I know all of the people above are going to come back with "But my players tell me that they love the way I GM!" but I just kind of cringe at the thought of an entire campaign where there's no overarching plot. The campaign I was in before my current campaign was a sandbox game and for the last five months or so before I left it, the order of business every night was basically "I wonder what random encounter we're going to get".

In response to this, these guys said it better than I could.


This sounds like crappy improvisation. If you can't get an emergent plot, and random encounters are normal, then something has gone horribly wrong somewhere.


Just because you make everything up on the spot doesn't mean there is no plot. You just gotta keep what you make up CONSISTENT. In the mostly improv game I am running, there are established villains with known goals and the like. Even in sandbox games you get those if done right. I have always viewed sandbox as when the DM creates the world (and all the factions and power struggles that go with it) and then dumps the PC's in to do as they choose. Whether or not the PC's CHOOSE to confront (or side with) him, Evildude McBadguy is still out there trying to advance his goals, and same goes for the factions opposing him.

I put emphasis on the first sentence there because it's really important. A good improvisor can be consistent and build on what he's created in the past, weaving things together to make an interesting plot, interesting characters, and interesting inter-connected challenges. You don't have to plan everything out completely beforehand to do that; you can actually improv a lot of that. Which is why I said you need to be fairly decent at improv to pull it off.


I disagree with everyone who is telling you to rely on improv. They are also not contributing to the discussion when asking for advice on planning.

To be fair, the OP didn't ask what to do and what to plan in the OP. He asked what we did to overcome DM's block. I answered first, and I answered honestly. It wasn't even necessarily a suggestion! It just turned out that a bunch of other people felt similarly, and many of them actually did cement it as a suggestion. Admittedly, the topic has since changed to something slightly different, and saying nothing more than, "Do some improv, yeah!" is no longer appropriate. But your post comes across as unfair to those who posted hailing improv as something they had good experiences with and those suggesting that improv was potentially very useful.

[Doktor Per]

You're right, my post was rather crap I must admit.

I think improv is an essential tool in the DM's arsenal. I plan like a crazy person for most sessions (for a variety of reasons) but still I never know what's actually going to happen. I have vague ideas, yes. I don't have encounters, I have sheets of NPCs and creatures that have varying motives, locations and alliances. But knowing my world, and the characters inside out, lets me improv quite well. The blank holes on the maps become really easy to fill when you have some foundation.


As for inspiration... Watch a road trip movie, one where the protagonist is fighting against the clock and getting wrapped up in things. That is essentially what the players will be experiencing anyway. Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Road Trip, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle and Due Date all come to mind. They all have the same thing in common. They are trying to get to the fabled place before it's too late. And they generally do so after crazy mayhem just when the sun is rising.

[shadow_archmagi]

Well, very few DMs will improv 100%, and very few DMs will plan 100%

It's a matter of degree.

I generally write myself about a paragraph of notes that says something like:

Monday: Players will go to a dungeon (Probably fire themed? I'd like to use that Balrog I found) and find a magic sword (Note to self: get players to mention their favorite minor character from season 1 of the campaign, make sword be from him. Pretend it was plan all along.) along with randomized loot.