Self made Campaigns and how to stay motivated.

[Arc_knight25]

I'm a newish DM. I've played for many years as a player and DMed a few times with very small groups that more winded up being one offs for low level toons. I find myself intimidated by how much i really need readied for my players. I try to have every possibility down, but of course that doesn't always pan out.

So my questions are:
1) Where does one normally begin when creating a self made campaign? (ie cities? NPC's? World Map?)
2) How does one stay motivated while creating such a world? (I find it alot of work to keep fresh content ready to continue the story)
3) Any other advise or tips?

[Rhynn]

Never do more work than you have to.

Start with one adventure location (like a dungeon) and a nearby settlement. When the PCs are done there (a good dungeon should last a couple of sessions, and a great one can last multiple campaigns, like Castle Greyhawk and the Undermountain), expand to the next city over. Create a wilderness map of the area, put in adventure locations here and there. Start shallow - one-paragraph descriptions - and expand as you have time. When you have a place prepped, either connect it into the ongoing story somehow, or just drop an adventure hook (usually a rumor about treasure) for the PCs.

After every session, make sure you know what the players are doing and where they're going next time. Try to look even further into the future - the farther off you prepare something, the better you can adapt if things change a bit. If you do a lot of work on something and then don't need it, use it for something else - change the location of the place, or put a different MacGuffin or villain there.

Steal liberally. Use and adapt existing modules and adventures and other people's material. Steal maps, especially.

These blog posts (http://batintheattic.blogspot.fi/2009/08/how-to-make-fantasy-sandbox.html) are specifically about fantasy sandboxes, but more than applicable here.

[SciChronic]

The hardest part is building the world. Think of it as creating your own campaign setting book like that of Ghostwalk. Personally i find it best to build the world first, then make a campaign in it, rather than make the campaign, and create the world as i go along. The former takes much more time, but the world you create can be re-used in later adventures. Create one to three worlds for your group, and you will be set for the next decade, as you can simply place your party at different places and times than that of the last group. If they are in the same era, maybe have a bard tell a tale of the grand heroes who slew an evil necromancer over in X region. In reality it was your player's who did that 3 campaigns ago.

As for your questions, personally, I would do the world map first. Take the broad strokes first, then worry about the smaller details. As for motivations, you should create this world lang before you actually will be DMing within it, that way you won't feel pressured into completing such a large project in such a short time. Do it at your own pace. The world you are creating is completely from your imagination, it is entirely your motivation that creates it.

As for other advice, keep a small notepad with you, and write down any ideas you get. That way if you are at work, or school and not at a place where you can actually work on the setting, you can write down the ideas before you lose them.

and for those who arent quite up for all the work, there are always pre-made campaings and settings that you can use, and put your own flavor into.

[BowStreetRunner]

Outlines, outlines, and more outlines.

Outline the entire campaign from beginning to end before you start to fill in the details - you can always change it later but should begin with your ultimate goals firmly in mind.
Outline each encounter the same way you do the campaign as a whole.
Outline each major NPC or monster before fleshing them out.
Even start your maps with rough, high-level sketches that outline the major features without filling in the rest.


As the campaign progresses, you can fill in details in your outline where needed, but leave vague anything that doesn't come directly into play. So for instance, if you planned a battle at Gondor, but the PCs all went with Frodo into Mordor instead, just leave the battle as a rough sketch and concentrate on filling in the encounters with Shelob and the orcs at Cirith Ungol. You can mention later how the battle was won and the army went on to win the battle of the Morannon, thereby distracting Sauron and aiding the PCs, but you don't have to actually put any real effort into designing an encounter that won't be used.

Working from outlines and filling in details as you go saves you from spending enormous efforts on designing encounters that are never needed.

[Arc_knight25]

I have the Tome of Adventure design made by Frog God games. Which is awesome. Kinda began a few months back when i got really motivated and just randomly rolled a bunch of cities. Gave them each a little back story with a event or wonder that was there.

The Book has random roll tables for everything. What kind of quests PC's can do, what villians plans are and intentions. A never ending source for plot really.

I'm finding that Map making is a hard thing to do. I don't know how to set distances. I attempted to make a map almost a year ago and it didn't pan out.

Writing down my ideas is something i should get in the habit of doing. And that Blog post looks interesting. Maybe when i get some down time I'll begin to start furthering this world.

please if any one else has any more tips/tricks or advice i would love to hear it.

[Rhynn]

For mapping, Hexographer (http://www.hexographer.com/). For dungeons, Dungeonographer (http://www.dungeonographer.com/).

The Bat in the Attic posts (and the PDF of them) covers mapping in a lot of detail.

[Gerrtt]

I in the past have tried the whole "map out the whole campaign in advance thing" but usually find myself getting frustrated with it. Too much for me to deal with all at once, starts feeling like I'm writing a book instead of playing a game.

I recently started with a new group and instead tried to build from the ground up on a small scale. I started rolling dice and made a village using the tables in the DMG. I came up with a lot of stats for villagers and NPCs, came up with 10 adventure hooks and a sequence with which they can occur, and built those hooks out so that if the players decided to go to the sea caves instead of the mountain pass today I could be prepared for it. I ended up with something that is less detailed, but more complete, and I like that a lot more.

If we ever get through the adventure hooks I have planned there are a number of broader arcs I've laid out for them, and I'll tell them that they need to decide what they want to do next and give me some time to work on them (we're only meeting about once a month as it is, so I've got time to write).

[hymer]

I'm finding that Map making is a hard thing to do. I don't know how to set distances. I attempted to make a map almost a year ago and it didn't pan out.

'How far is Rivendell?' asked Merry, gazing round wearily. The world looked wild and wide from Weathertop.
'I don't know if the Road has ever been measured in miles beyond the Forsaken Inn, a day's journey east of Bree,' answered Strider. 'Some say it is so far, and some say otherwise.'

If you don't want to do hexes, just make a map that shows relative positions. Rivendell is east from Bree, who knows how long. The Shire is west of Bree, not too far, but the time it takes differs. Just don't put a scale on the map, or an indication how far is ten miles. Don't even bother about how far people can go in a day if your players don't.

[CaladanMoonblad]

I've been worldbuilding for the last twenty years as a GM, and GMed dozens of players in several groups in a wide variety of genres and systems. Based on what works best for me, I do "the broad strokes" approach.

Here is how;
Step 1& 2)
Create a generic world history that fits under one page. Decide how many epochs/ages have already come before the current one (example, in Gygax's Torn World series, his game world starts 200 years after the New Gods fought the Titans; this means his system still retains geographical wounds from that war, and many monsters still roam the lands as humanity and other races deal with the clean up; contrast that with the Greyhawk setting or Conan's Hyboria, which is several thousand years of recorded history of tribal invasions, lost empires, and the like as barbarism and civilization grapple).

Sometime during this process, create a generic world map. This can be done quickly with Donjon's Fantasy World Generator (http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/world/) (complete with hexes) and a variety of options (like place names, etc.). Another way is to simply draw it, and scan it if you have applications like Photoshop already. I have also used Campaign Cartographer, but Windows 7 doesn't like my older copy, so I have a machine dedicated to a Windows XP setup for these older programs. Seriously though, my next campaign world will be using Donjon and Photoshop or InDesign for my world map. I found the computer generated maps easy to use, since my group also has a dedicated PC hooked into our large TV for use during games (I just open images and PDFs so everyone can see things- we opted for this system over an overhead projector due to monetary constraints).

Step 3) After the broad strokes, select a little corner of the world for each campaign. Each nation or wilderness area should have at least a couple paragraphs. For example, this is the entry I have for Stormharbor, a city in the western colonies.

Stormharbor
Capital: Stormharbor
Population: 85,650 (Human 95%, Dwarves 3%, Half-Elf 1%, Other 1%)
Government: Monarchy/Guilds
Religions: Heironeous, St Cuthbert, Fharlaghn
Imports: Grains
Exports: Clearinghouse, Sheep/Wool
Alignment: LN, N, NG

This peninsular duchy is about twenty miles by eighty miles, and is neighbored by Ironspar to the northwest, Magus Tor to the north, Amleria and Caer Myrna to the southwest and is a hub of trade all along the Westfall’s eastern coast. Much of Stormharbor’s wealth is based on its longstanding alliance with Ironspar, a dwarven community upriver that ships finished goods in exchange for foodstuffs. The duchy itself is over a millennia old, but there have been numerous noble and mercantile families to claim custody of the realm.
The city itself is impressive, built on the ancient site of Caer Alor, a fortress from the Age of Legends with impossibly tall towers, wide walls and deep dungeons. Most of the city grew around the castle, and smaller villages dot the rest of the peninsula following the river to Ironspar. Stormharbor fishes enough from the sea to feed itself, and raises sheep in the hills for wool export. Its main import is grain, as Stormharbor would starve without trade. It keeps a professional army, although small, but does depend heavily on adventurers and mercenaries in times of need.
The sign of Stormharbor is of a great lighthouse.

Life & Society
Stormharbor’s navy is its greatest asset, serving as both warships and trading vessels. Most of the merchant princes in the city own at least a half-dozen ships, and most citizens aspire to ship ownership.

Major Geographical Features
The Peninsular Villages: There are a dozen inland villages and towns strewn across the peninsula because Stormharbor is the only natural harbor along the sheer cliffs of the peninsula for a hundred miles in any direction. Most of these communities are the result of extensive herding, mostly sheep and goats, as part of the compact between Ironspar and Stormharbor.
The Iron River: This river is one of several that flows from the Iron Mountains, a small range to the northwest, and is the primary source of trade between the dwarven community and the capital. The land is carved by this river, which created the harbor upon which the capital is built. Most of the land along the Iron River is used for terraced farming, although Stormharbor imports most of its grain from other nations.

Important Sites
The Castle: Once the seat of power for a powerful lich, this structure dates from the Age of Legends. Most areas are barred from public scrutiny, and a full garrison is always stationed in the castle itself. The Wall, which surrounds half the city is more of a huge fortress itself than a traditional defensive wall. The entire structure was created with great magics, and the impossibly tall towers (over twenty stories) serve as reminder of the glories that can once more be achieved.

Regional History
Founded five centuries ago by a band of adventurers who slew the previous inhabitants of the castle (a lich with an army of monsters), Stormharbor became a beacon of trade. There are many noble houses across the land, almost all claiming ancestry with the original “Band of Brothers.”

Plots and Rumors
Blank: Blank


After these broad strokes, medium strokes (such as the above spoiler) should be done for the specific region your campaign is heading, and work on each individual adventure which can use the region and politics and history to make each story rich and vibrant.

When you buy a campaign book, like Faerun or Greyhawk or Eberron, the setting is complete. For your purposes of a new game world, broad strokes should be enough to make the world seem consistent, and medium strokes give it character and depth. After several campaigns over the years, your world will resemble a Greyhawk campaign setting book. : )

[malmblad]

Start small or start big that's an individual choice. I personally like to start small. The world builds and evolves with the players. It may be my world, but its our game.

I've found that GMs that prepare too much don't like players intruding on their creation. This isn't every GM, but I've encountered it enough to want to avoid the pitfall, so in the interest of group fun (and laziness) I prefer starting small.

For my style I've boiled it down to 3 basic rules to keep me from going insane:

1. Be prepared to wing it.
You can turn 1 roll on a random encounter chart into an entire side adventure or multiple if the players liked it. Easily accessible tables and charts and a good nights sleep will help you stay on your toes.

2. Take copious notes while you're winging it.
If you say something exists or doesn't and then go back on it you're players will notice and call you on it. Better yet, get your players to take notes for you. The way they filter the information you present them is invaluable feedback

3. Read your notes and elaborate on them so you don't have to wing it.
Every campaign/world a GM runs should be a balance of preparing and working off the cuff. Sometimes players don't like what you've prepared. Find ythe balance that works for you and your group.

To answer how I stay motivated, it's all about the players having fun. When they would rather play in my campaign than go out for a night of carousing, it gets me excited about my game. It's that satisfaction that keeps me in the GM seat not creating worlds or stories.

Hope this helps.

[shadow_archmagi]

My rules of thumb:

1. Plan from both ends, slowly working inward. "My players will save the world by defeating an evil ice lich!" and "My players will start in a village plagued by goblins." Don't really worry about how they'll link up, you've got plenty of time for that.

2. Don't be afraid to pile on plot after plot. "We need to kill the necromancer king" is a good start, but "We need to kill the necromancer king, stop the goblin invasion, find the holy grail, earn the respect of Steve's father, and win the world Mahjong tournament!" is better. (Particularly because often, your players will combine them in amusing ways: "What if we bribed the Goblins with the holy grail to invade the necromancer's lands instead? That'd be some pretty smooth operating, which would impress Steve's dad, and then he could train us in Mahjong!") It also has the advantage that your players are allowed to fail utterly in a quest without becoming particularly upset- It was just one of many goals, after all.

3. Always give your players the impression that everything is set in stone. (When a player asks a question, and you make up an answer based on your best guess, go ahead and scrutinize your notes like you prepared that ahead of time. That sort of thing.)

3A. Re-use things your players bypass. If you make a room with three doors, two of which are contain magical crossbreeds, but your players open the right door on the first try and never investigate, just throw those magical crossbreeds into the NEXT dungeon. Or the next campaign, even. Time spent preparing is never truly wasted.

3B. Feel free to change your plans, especially if a party member has a better idea. If they ask themselves "Why would Prince Average betray us? He's not cunning enough to pull off a ruse like this on his own. The Necromancer King's influence must be at work here!" then you should feel free to have it be the work of the necromancer king after all, because their explanation made more sense than yours and they never need to know about the bad explanation.

4. Always know the rules. Always know the rules a lot. Whether Baron Blade is the murderer is something you can improvise- Whether Baron Blade will be a cakewalk or a TPK is something you should know. Likewise, if the party wizard asks "Can I use my third eye to read two spellbooks at once, and prepare double spells for today?" you should know whether that's a big deal or not.


5. RE: Worldbuilding Specifically:

Write whatever you want to. Don't worry about making a huge, coherent world that subverts a lot of fantasy tropes if you don't want to. Recognize that like, 90% of the fun in D&D comes from interactions between characters and interactions between players. You could totally run an adventure in the town of Small Village, in the great Kingdom of Republic, and your players would still have plenty of fun. Write setting information based on whatever seems most pleasant to you. If you want to write about a hunter-gatherer society of elves who never touch the ground, cool. If that ends up being the only original part of your world, cool.

[Arc_knight25]

This is all great stuff guys. This thread will become a permanent bookmark in my browser when i get home.

Just motivation. How can you stay in such a creative mind set for so long?

When working on a campaign how much down time do you put into it?

I remember doing a good 4-5hrs on a weekend just planning and getting ready. But that was getting everything ready from scratch essentaily. Had a good headache from all the concentrating.

[shadow_archmagi]

This is all great stuff guys. This thread will become a permanent bookmark in my browser when i get home.

Just motivation. How can you stay in such a creative mind set for so long?

When working on a campaign how much down time do you put into it?

I remember doing a good 4-5hrs on a weekend just planning and getting ready. But that was getting everything ready from scratch essentaily. Had a good headache from all the concentrating.

It's difficult to measure how much time I put into a campaign, because most of the creative stuff is spaced out throughout the week- Five minutes musing on the bus here, two minutes spent staring out the window in the middle of class there, etc.

It's also invaluable to have a scheming buddy, ideally someone with no contact with the rest of your group. Just saying/writing your plans for another person to imbibe helps work out a lot of the kinks, and more importantly, just hearing suggestions is very inspirational. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that bad suggestions are a critical ingredient in good planning- most of the stuff I'm most proud of came from conversations like this:

"I'm stumped on what the villain should be."
"What if it was like, a giant unstoppable dude? Brick man. I would call him Brick Man."
"No, I don't want it to be a single, centralized threat... I want it to be more nebulous. Like a swarm, a swarm of rats maybe. Yes, I'll make the Rat King!"
"Does he wear fancy clothes and carry a sceptor?"
"No, no, he should be the exact opposite of that. Huddled over, torn clothes, no, grotesque mutations, maybe a giant brain sort of thing. A hive mind, with his gnawing puppets in every alley and tavern in the city."

[BWR]

Lots of books have hints on how to design your own campaign and setting. Perhaps the easiest to find, and my personal favorite, is Pathfinder's GameMastery Guide.

The way I have come to view world-building is this:

1. What is your campaign?
First of all, determine whether your are thinking about a campaign or a setting. The two are not the same. A campaign is a set of smaller adventures with an overarching goal. If you have a basic plot "Evil lichlord raises army of undead and gradually takes over the world. Pc's try to stop it.", this is a campaign.
"A post-apocalyptic world that was the site of a major Blood War campaign. The ruins of mortal races try to rebuild civilization while fighting off remnants of the fiendish hordes" is a setting (an idea I never got to finish detailing).


2. Campaigns: how much setting to ignore?
If you have a campaign in mind, often times existing settings can work for you. Some may need some alterations, some are pretty much plu-and-play. This may not be as fulfilling as creating all your own, but it can save a lot of time and effort.
Sometimes, you like enough of an existing setting to use it, but don't like enough to play it canon. For instance, I played 12 years in a Dragonlance campaign that removed kender and basically rewrote the War of the Lance. None of the major players from the books showed up and some of the history was rewritten, as well as minor changes to details. It was still set in Ansalon on Krynn, with draconians and thanoi and whatnot.

Even if you have players like me in a group, the ones that know the canon better than the GM and continually point out your 'flaws'/deviations, don't get discouraged. Just tell them to shut up and play things your way.

3. Your own setting; why bother?
What is it about your setting that makes it unique? Is it just another D&D world that we've seen a dozen times before with minor variations?
There should be a unique flavor, a unique premise that distinguishes your setting from yet another Greyhawk-clone.

Look at some classic D&D settings: Dark Sun is a desert setting, with little metal, dangerous magic, psionics everywhere and major changes to most races. Halflings are cannibals, elves are shiftless untrustworthy buggers and dwarves are entirely bald.
Birthright has godblooded people with mystic links to their domains, running entire countries instead of traditional murder-hobos.
Spelljammer has ships sailing between stars in flammable ether with beholder nations, mind flayer merchants and spider-beast fuglies.

You should be able to sum up the core of your own setting in a sentence or two. If you can't, ask yourself why not? If it can't be differentiated from other settings in this manner, why will your players prefer yours to a more famours one?

Once you have satisfactory answers to these questions, you can get down to the details of building your campaign and/or setting.

[TuggyNE]

A minor tip: don't be afraid to use random generation to help inspire you, but don't take it as gospel either — I've found that having a specific suggestion from the RNG can help me realize that that's specifically something I don't want!

[Rhynn]

It's also invaluable to have a scheming buddy, ideally someone with no contact with the rest of your group. Just saying/writing your plans for another person to imbibe helps work out a lot of the kinks, and more importantly, just hearing suggestions is very inspirational

This is so true. The amount of ideas and inspirations I get from talking to a buddy of mine who is also creating fantasy worlds is ridiculous. One person comes up with an idea, the other gives a different angle on it, and then it gets developed into something, and one or both use it in some form.