Ideas for allowing my PCs to explore the setting a bit? In a guided sort of way.

[AnonymousPepper]

Ayo, GitP. First time as a full-time DM here.

Running a 3.PF campaign wherein via the wonders of Sigil free travel is possible between several of the - potentially all of the - major 3.5 settings as well as Golarion, though the specifically relevant ones for the campaign are Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Golarion as of now. The idea is that everybody's favorite evil wizards of the Forgotten Realms, the Red Wizards, took one good look at some of the bewildering applications of magic on the other planes and decided to sneakily start building up using pilfered technology and techniques from the other settings to make a move on their neighbors (and potentially elsewhere), and the PCs are being tasked with stymieing their plans.

After my last session and beating the first boss fight of the campaign (a Red Wizard-affiliated enchanter on a bit of an influence mission to spread chaos a la Grima Wormtongue), in Almas, Andoran, Golarion, the PCs expressed interest in being able to explore the world around them for a little bit.

And I'd love to allow them to.

I'm just not sure how to get it done in a nice, relatively orderly fashion (don't read that as "railroady" because I'm definitely trying to avoid that) that allows me to maybe get some of my plot development done and justify throwing them some XP and goaldz while they're at it while still giving them their fill of their environment.

How do?

This'll help me in the future, too, when I sent them to new places and new worlds.

In this case, if it helps with ideas, the party comp is a Wizard (Elven Generalist), Paladin (LG Pally of Asmodeus [he has 7INT, 7WIS, and Heretic of the Faith, he's so dumb he actually thinks Asmodeus is LG; it doesn't fit RAW but I loved it and let him go with it and it has not disappointed]), Alchemist (standard fare, really), and joining next week an Archaeologist and a Cleric (no idea what deity as yet, although Mystra would make me really happy).

[RegalKain]

I did something similliar with my players not to long ago in a D&D 3.5 campaign that was supposed to go Epic, this is where I'll say it worked well for my players but YMMV, do it up standard RPG style, especially with a lawful stupid good paladin in the group, it's easy to do. As they explore the world and towns etc, have them run into people in strife, famines, and plagues, gnolls terrorizing villages, undead being where they shouldn't and rising from the cemetary, and always have subtle, and I do mean subtle hints, that it's the doing of the Red Wizards, this keeps it in the party's head, and it let's the party see and think "Damn these guys have a longer reach then we thought" depending on how into their characters your players get, it will give them a sense of urgency as well, have the events get more and more severe, and more and more tragic, entire towns laid to waste etc.

If your party starts getting to far off key, throw them the ultimate in party-rage. They accept a quest from a village elder, do said quest, get back to see the town has been ransacked and burned to the ground, with the village elder burned at the stake, obvious signs of it being the Red Wizards, suddenly not only are they hurting innocent people, but they stole what the party saw as their loot/reward etc, that can also motivate them to get back onto the main story, the "open-world" thing works if you play it right. Goodluck and I hope this helps! :)

[AnonymousPepper]

Noted.

Anything else, anyone?