Role-Playing Games | 

Freeform Campaigns

   Are you having problems starting a new campaign? Time to reach into my Black Bag of Evil Bastard GM Tricks (pat.pending).

   Children, women (except women GMs), and players should not read on.

I mean it.

   Tell the players that you're starting a brand-new campaign, but don't plan for it.

   Make sure you have a bunch of notes that you never let the players anywhere near. It could be your shopping list, notes for another game, whatever.

   Run a one-shot, no matter how cheesy; use a module if you like, you don't even need to prepare for it beyond just reading the text so you won't be shocked.

   Note anything the players thought was interesting or any NPCs who escaped.

   Next adventure, you have to think a bit more, but not much. Use the escaped NPCs from last time as the masterminds of the new adventure, as "level bosses" to use videogame terms. Leave even more plothooks and red herrings in, and see which ones the players bite into.

   Lather, rinse, repeat. Eventually the players will have vast conspiracy theories figured out, interaction webs drawn in overlapping lines on a big whiteboard, and they'll never know you knew *nothing* at the start.

   When you get tired of the chase, leave blatant clues or prophecies that the next "level boss" is the Big Bad. Kill him and save the world! Hooray!

   See also GMing With Nothing, for the one-session version of this.

   If your players catch you, deny everything. You never heard of me. You never read this post. It was dark, I coulda been anybody.

Last modified: 2002Jan27
Created