TinyMushroom
2020-05-09, 05:17 PM
If you know my identity irl, please don't read this post. You know who you are, missy!
Hey everyone. I'm a new DM, and I'm having rather a bit of trouble coming up with plotlines for my Pathfinder campaign. My main problem is that I don't really know how to consistently generate plots out of just "the PCs are travelling towards this one location". I have a collection of interesting location/plot ideas that stem from my setting but I keep getting writer's block when coming up with a way to justify placing it into the setting...
So for my next session, this is the situation:
- The party has been travelling towards a desert trader country (think: Islamic Golden Age Persia, big themes are alchemy, the elements and dream magic)
- They've arrived at a giant monument with lots of statues of angels, many of which are patron deities to the Royal Family. Some party members have personal ties to these angels, and they're probably going to learn some personal lore about them.
- An excavation is going on, carried out by the military of the trader country.
- Under the surface, a giant network of tree roots seems to spring up.
- Their current mission is to find information on a plague (they've discovered a haunted city that has been wiped out by that plague, and they have been instructed to learn more about it). For this purpose they're travelling to a university in the trader country.
- They're travelling with a priestess, the sole survivor of that incident. Unbeknownst to the players she is carrying the souls of the dead of that city in her body, and is seeking revenge against the priesthood that abandoned her city when they needed help the most. They know that she's angry at her religious order, but they don't really know why she's acting strangely. I was planning on having her separate from the party after not too long so she can be a subplot brewing in the background.
So that's a lot of plot, and my players seem to be enjoying it. But I really don't know where to concretely... do next. If anyone has some ideas, that'd be greatly appreciated.
Additionally, if you have more generic advice for a travel/exploration-type campaign, that'd be appreciated too
Hey everyone. I'm a new DM, and I'm having rather a bit of trouble coming up with plotlines for my Pathfinder campaign. My main problem is that I don't really know how to consistently generate plots out of just "the PCs are travelling towards this one location". I have a collection of interesting location/plot ideas that stem from my setting but I keep getting writer's block when coming up with a way to justify placing it into the setting...
So for my next session, this is the situation:
- The party has been travelling towards a desert trader country (think: Islamic Golden Age Persia, big themes are alchemy, the elements and dream magic)
- They've arrived at a giant monument with lots of statues of angels, many of which are patron deities to the Royal Family. Some party members have personal ties to these angels, and they're probably going to learn some personal lore about them.
- An excavation is going on, carried out by the military of the trader country.
- Under the surface, a giant network of tree roots seems to spring up.
- Their current mission is to find information on a plague (they've discovered a haunted city that has been wiped out by that plague, and they have been instructed to learn more about it). For this purpose they're travelling to a university in the trader country.
- They're travelling with a priestess, the sole survivor of that incident. Unbeknownst to the players she is carrying the souls of the dead of that city in her body, and is seeking revenge against the priesthood that abandoned her city when they needed help the most. They know that she's angry at her religious order, but they don't really know why she's acting strangely. I was planning on having her separate from the party after not too long so she can be a subplot brewing in the background.
So that's a lot of plot, and my players seem to be enjoying it. But I really don't know where to concretely... do next. If anyone has some ideas, that'd be greatly appreciated.
Additionally, if you have more generic advice for a travel/exploration-type campaign, that'd be appreciated too