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Winterwind
2007-08-07, 12:29 PM
Recently, I've made a strange observation: whenever I am the GM for an adventure, both my players and myself are generally much more satisfied with the adventure afterwards if it was an adventure taking place at some specific location, rather than an adventure involving travelling around.

I think I know the reason for this, too: when in some village, town, castle, whatever, the players have much more freedom. They can chose they want to meet this person or the other, talk with strangers on the street or in the tavern, do this, go there - it's all up to their choice. On the other hand, while travelling, they have pretty much no freedom at all. There are only so many things to discuss with NPCs accompanying the group or with the other PCs (including backstories, plans for the future, hobbies and everything), and beyond that the PCs have little choice but just to say "we travel on" and wait for something to happen, or to reach their destination.

I usually counter this problem by structuring my campaigns in such a way, that every session involves reaching some distinct location, the adventure happening there (possibly shifting the location, but the focus of the session always lying on what the players make happen at the locations, never on what happens to the players while in transit), and the transition from one location to the other happening mostly in between sessions and being handled in a few sentences of description.

However, right now I'm DMing a campaign in which travel is a major element. The PCs are travelling through a huge barren land, and what the characters will experience mostly will be travel. Since what the characters and their players experience should coincide, it would seem strange if the travelling got so little focus. Which leads me back to my initial problem: how can I consistently and continually give the players opportunities for major decisions while travelling? Our group is about character decisions, not about overcoming challenges, so this is a major issue.

Matter of fact, I'm not even sure whether this is truly the reason why "on location" adventures generally seem to work so much better for us that travelling adventures.

So. Your experiences, tips, thoughts?

BardicDuelist
2007-08-07, 12:50 PM
Perhaps they work better because in a smaller location, characters can make more choices. When players say "I want to go through to barren land" they can go through the barren land, but it is generally up to you to direct them (since it is better than every step saying "I go forward, then veer slightly to the left, etc"). In a town, they can choose which street, etc. because there are more landmarks. Also, in a town, there are more people to interact with, where as while traveling you only have those whith whom you travel.

It would seem that you will have to create events that happen while you travel (such as meeting two groups of travelers who are feuding but that the party may have to travel with to share resources and survive), or other scenarios that involve interaction or even challenges (while I know that isn't the focus, it can break the pace while on a boring hike). If you put NPCs with the party, you can have some control over the situations that arise and give the characters choices to make.

crimson77
2007-08-07, 01:03 PM
However, right now I'm DMing a campaign in which travel is a major element. The PCs are travelling through a huge barren land, and what the characters will experience mostly will be travel. Since what the characters and their players experience should coincide, it would seem strange if the travelling got so little focus. Which leads me back to my initial problem: how can I consistently and continually give the players opportunities for major decisions while travelling? Our group is about character decisions, not about overcoming challenges, so this is a major issue.

Traveling, in my experience, can be a pace issue. Thus, shifting from location to location can speed things up a bit. For instance, in a dungeon moving from room to room is the same idea. It sounds like this is an option that you already use but your campaign focuses upon the journey.

In experience, a journey can be a great quest, as long as you do not focus on the irrelevant issues, thus slowing down the pace of the game. You can still use the idea of shifting from location to location, but instead scene to scene. Think of a play. In a play, one shifts from scene to scene quickly capturing the interesting moments, situations in which character develop, places where decisions are made, and battles that are fought. In the same way, your campaign could look this very way.

Here would be away to plan it out.

Pregame:
- Make a table of random encounters for the region along with the chances of encountering a encounter per day/night. This should include monsters, npc (other travelers, merchants, etc), and animals.
- Map out the journey on a pad of paper including other paths that the PCs could travel. On this map include encounters (NPCs, monsters, interesting puzzles, and decisions that need to be made) and other side quests that could be accomplished. (For instance the PCs come to a fork in the road, both paths seem to go to the west and they know their destination is in the west.)
- It is important to remember that when you map out the journey that you do it with the idea of scenes in mind. You need to keep the pace moving.

Game:
- Hook the PCs (and the players) into the traveling quest.
- Move from scene to scene. For instance, in the example above, the PCs have to made a decision on what path to follow. In your notes, the one to the right will be quicker but they have to cross through a swamp that has a hungry adult black dragon. The one to the left is uneventful but longer it takes 2 days to reach back to the main trail.
- The PCs can role play their character during the scene or if they have a question to talk about they can do so while walking.
-Keep the pace moving, not too fast as to cut off players but keep it moving.

Postgame:
-Check in on the pace, was it too fast, too slow.

Winterwind
2007-08-07, 01:10 PM
Perhaps they work better because in a smaller location, characters can make more choices. When players say "I want to go through to barren land" they can go through the barren land, but it is generally up to you to direct them (since it is better than every step saying "I go forward, then veer slightly to the left, etc"). In a town, they can choose which street, etc. because there are more landmarks. Also, in a town, there are more people to interact with, where as while traveling you only have those whith whom you travel.Yes, that's what I believe as well.


It would seem that you will have to create events that happen while you travel (such as meeting two groups of travelers who are feuding but that the party may have to travel with to share resources and survive), or other scenarios that involve interaction or even challenges (while I know that isn't the focus, it can break the pace while on a boring hike). If you put NPCs with the party, you can have some control over the situations that arise and give the characters choices to make.The problem with challenges is that they, per definition, make the characters react, instead of acting on their own. They may decide whether they want to talk, run or fight with the barbarians in their path, but there is less choice in this than one might think initially - because the characters, being valiant and not being murdering monsters, would obviously take the talking approach. So while there might appear to be three choices, there actually is just one. For real choice the characters have to get an opportunity to be active all on their own - and acting, instead of re-acting, is difficult to pull off while travelling.
Still, that thing about two feuding groups, which the players could try to play against each other, or ally with one of them, or try to reconcile, seems like a quite good scenario in which they actually could make some choices on their own. So I probably just have to come up with more stuff like that.

EDIT:

Traveling, in my experience, can be a pace issue. Thus, shifting from location to location can speed things up a bit. For instance, in a dungeon moving from room to room is the same idea. It sounds like this is an option that you already use but your campaign focuses upon the journey.

In experience, a journey can be a great quest, as long as you do not focus on the irrelevant issues, thus slowing down the pace of the game. You can still use the idea of shifting from location to location, but instead scene to scene. Think of a play. In a play, one shifts from scene to scene quickly capturing the interesting moments, situations in which character develop, places where decisions are made, and battles that are fought. In the same way, your campaign could look this very way.Yeah, I think pacing could indeed be a problem. I'll try to cut down on the unimportant details. Good tip.


Pregame:
- Make a table of random encounters for the region along with the chances of encountering a encounter per day/night. This should include monsters, npc (other travelers, merchants, etc), and animals.
- Map out the journey on a pad of paper including other paths that the PCs could travel. On this map include encounters (NPCs, monsters, interesting puzzles, and decisions that need to be made) and other side quests that could be accomplished. (For instance the PCs come to a fork in the road, both paths seem to go to the west and they know their destination is in the west.)
- It is important to remember that when you map out the journey that you do it with the idea of scenes in mind. You need to keep the pace moving.That's a somewhat different kind of roleplaying than what we usually do (there is no such thing as random encounters in our plays, for instance), but the idea with the map is awesome. Why didn't I think of that? With a map the characters can actually make choices where they want to go, whenever they spot something of interest on the map, and it would offer such opportunities as the players having to realise they have to change their course to reach a lake when their water supply is running dry, and stuff like that.
Possibly when, at the same time, time is a matter because their enemy is getting away, or something akin to that.


Game:
- Hook the PCs (and the players) into the traveling quest.
- Move from scene to scene. For instance, in the example above, the PCs have to made a decision on what path to follow. In your notes, the one to the right will be quicker but they have to cross through a swamp that has a hungry adult black dragon. The one to the left is uneventful but longer it takes 2 days to reach back to the main trail.
- The PCs can role play their character during the scene or if they have a question to talk about they can do so while walking.
-Keep the pace moving, not too fast as to cut off players but keep it moving.

Postgame:
-Check in on the pace, was it too fast, too slow.I see. I think I'll try to put the basic ideas of your approach to use. Thanks.

Everyman
2007-08-07, 01:11 PM
Random Encounter Table.
...
Seriously, hear me out.

The trick to good adventuring is to have some random events that could be planned for, but aren't always expected. It helps add a bit of interest in the travel and breaks up the monotony. For example, perhaps they are in a paticularly dry section of land and a dust storm picks up. If you've never experienced the joy that a dust storm can bring, let me break it down for you...
1) Low-to-no visibility
2) Hard to breathe
3) Possible blindness if not careful
4) Loss of supplies or landmarks as things get buried.

What I would suggest is setting up a table with a couple natural events that would be hazardous if not taken seriously. You don't need a lot of choices, but it helps perk up a game if EVERYONE has to think on their feet. Just make sure that you have an idea of how all your events would play out, so you're not fumbling over books, trying to verify how to best run the encounter.

PS. Just don't over-do it. This is best used when you're noticing a bit o' gloom around the table.

Winterwind
2007-08-07, 01:27 PM
What I would suggest is setting up a table with a couple natural events that would be hazardous if not taken seriously. You don't need a lot of choices, but it helps perk up a game if EVERYONE has to think on their feet. Just make sure that you have an idea of how all your events would play out, so you're not fumbling over books, trying to verify how to best run the encounter.Sounds good generally, except I'd fear it would turn into something like the players just stating they are trying to stay on their feet, or staying behind some cover, or something like this, and no more - and when I tried to keep them challenged by throwing more and more details at them, like that the horses are in danger of buried in the dust and have to be saved, or something, it would just turn into a dice-rolling feast of trying to make the appropriate checks.
It's not that I can't come up with proper mechanical challenges. The trouble lies rather in the fact we prefer roleplaying challenges, and those are much more difficult to get on a journey.


I should maybe add, on a general note, that we are not playing D&D, so what I'm seeking is general, not mechanic-specific advise.

Attilargh
2007-08-07, 01:34 PM
Hook the characters on a big caravan that stops at certain places to replenish their supplies, meet other caravans, sell stuff, perform religious rites or something. That way the journey breaks into manageable chunks (that oddly resemble small towns... :smallsigh:) and the characters get lots of opportunities for normal roleplaying stuff.

Or a wacky idea: Have the characters (player or otherwise) tell stories, which are simultaneously played as small adventures. It has little to do with the actual PC's, but might prove a interesting distraction from the boredom that is the act of traveling.

crimson77
2007-08-07, 01:38 PM
...it would just turn into a dice-rolling feast of trying to make the appropriate checks.
It's not that I can't come up with proper mechanical challenges. The trouble lies rather in the fact we prefer roleplaying challenges, and those are much more difficult to get on a journey.

If I may offer a suggestion here. Offer role playing bonuses to dice rolls. For instance if a DC check is 20 and the player has a +2 to their skill. If they role play the event, then give then a hidden +2 by lowering the DC by 2. This rewards the players for good role playing.

Winterwind
2007-08-07, 01:44 PM
Hook the characters on a big caravan that stops at certain places to replenish their supplies, meet other caravans, sell stuff, perform religious rites or something. That way the journey breaks into manageable chunks (that oddly resemble small towns... :smallsigh:) and the characters get lots of opportunities for normal roleplaying stuff.
Good idea; will be slightly difficult for me to pull off in this specific campaign for various setting reasons, but I'll come up with something.


Or a wacky idea: Have the characters (player or otherwise) tell stories, which are simultaneously played as small adventures. It has little to do with the actual PC's, but might prove a interesting distraction from the boredom that is the act of traveling.And that's just pure brilliance. I actually often have experimental stuff like this in my adventures, and there even is one PC in the group who is, besides being a warrior and a few other things, primarily a professional story-teller.
And since there are NPCs in the group who might tell stories as well (two of them being very knowledgeable about the area the group is travelling through), I could have them tell stories which intersect with the actual campaign, tuning in and out of between the story and the "real world".
Thank you for that idea! :smallsmile:


If I may offer a suggestion here. Offer role playing bonuses to dice rolls. For instance if a DC check is 20 and the player has a +2 to their skill. If they role play the event, then give then a hidden +2 by lowering the DC by 2. This rewards the players for good role playing.What exactly do you mean by "roleplaying" in this context? If you mean describing what he does in fair detail in character, that's actually standard in our group. A player just saying he wants to roll a skill check is... no, that's utterly unimaginable. The thing is, though, that this is not what I consider roleplaying. Roleplaying is not about describing things to us, it's about making decisions.

Mike_Lemmer
2007-08-07, 02:00 PM
The caravan idea sounds good. Another idea is to have them go through a friendly nomad nation. After they establish they're "friends" with the first tribe they meet, they can get supplies, shelter, and rumors about other tribes that need help along the way from them. Then they start having choices: do they shoot straight forward to get there as quickly as possible, or do they take a slight detour here to aid this next tribe?

The PCs can pick how many encounters they do and they get a chance to progress from Friends to Allies to Heroes of a nomad nation during a routine trip. My GM pulled a similar thing with a nation of asherati as we were trekking across the desert; my PC was so impressed, he's now spending his off-time helping them migrate to new deserts.

crimson77
2007-08-07, 04:37 PM
What exactly do you mean by "roleplaying" in this context? If you mean describing what he does in fair detail in character, that's actually standard in our group. A player just saying he wants to roll a skill check is... no, that's utterly unimaginable. The thing is, though, that this is not what I consider roleplaying. Roleplaying is not about describing things to us, it's about making decisions.

Roleplaying can by anything from making decisions, to fleshing out actions, to a host of other things. I am glad to hear that in your group simply rolling a check it unimaginable.