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
|
Links:
+-My Software Gallery
+-Aiee!: "An Interactive Environment Engine" text adventure system.
+-Delver: A computer RPG construction kit, very old and incomplete, but open source.
+-GameScroll: Simple interactive fiction authoring.
+-Halon Escape: A Bitter Game of Gasping and Dying in Mazes of Cubicles.
+-Hephaestus: Computer RPG construction kit.
+-JICB: Portable ICB client written in Java.
+-Perilar: Adventures in the Dragon Kingdoms.
+-ThoughtPad: A tiny note-taking utility.
+-Umbra: Post-apocalpytic computer RPG.
+-My Bloglines Feeds
Site Pages:
+-Audio
+-Blank page
+-Camera
+-Cyberpunk
+-Game Design
+-Hacker
+-Java
+-NetRexx
+-Python
+-Hello Kitty
+-Quotes
+-Religion
+-RPG
+-The Bomb
+-DUDE
+-G.P.A.
+-Phobos
+-SIX WORD RPG!
+-Weapons
+-What's Wrong With AD&D?
+-Text
+-H.Beam Piper
+-Snow Crash
+-Universal Search
+-Video
+-Videogames
+-Virus Warning
Blog Topics:
+-News
+-Mac
+-Media
+-Personal
+-Religion
+-Roleplaying
+-Science
+-SecondLife
+-Society
+-Software
+-Toys
+-Web
Blog Archive:
The GNUtards Must Be Crazy in Software on Mon, 2007Aug06 02:06:29 PDT The NetBeans Masochism Tango in Software on Fri, 2007Jul20 19:37:35 PDT Stuck in the IDEA Quagmire in Software on Fri, 2007Jul13 10:24:21 PDT Trying IDEA out of desperation in Software on Wed, 2007Jul11 19:38:40 PDT An Eclipse by any other name would be as dark. in Software on Wed, 2007Jul11 19:34:26 PDT All these worlds are yours except Europa. Attempt no landings there. in Software on Wed, 2007Jul11 14:45:27 PDT Karl Fant Reconsidered in Software on Sun, 2007Jul08 07:21:25 PDT Live Earth in Media on Sat, 2007Jul07 02:30:11 PDT Hephaestus 3 Wish List in Software on Mon, 2007Jul02 09:55:10 PDT Software Gallery in Software on Mon, 2007Jul02 09:50:04 PDT Safari for Windows in Web on Mon, 2007Jun18 15:02:04 PDT WWDC 2007, Part 2 in Mac on Sun, 2007Jun17 13:45:48 PDT WWDC 2007, Part 1 in Mac on Sat, 2007Jun16 22:15:34 PDT Review: Dario Argento's Opera in Media on Wed, 2007Jun06 11:45:05 PDT Java Code Style in Software on Wed, 2007Jun06 10:38:49 PDT Checked Exceptions in Java in Software on Fri, 2007Jun01 13:37:15 PDT Very Special Episode of Studio 60 in Media on Fri, 2007Jun01 01:15:01 PDT RSS feed in Web on Mon, 2007May28 19:27:24 PDT The Vicious Cycle of Game Development in Software on Mon, 2007May28 00:49:21 PDT NULL, nil, None in Software on Sun, 2007May27 09:37:34 PDT Chaucerian fraud Jerry Falwell is dead and rotting in the ground. in Religion on Thu, 2007May17 17:11:13 PDT Grindhouse Movie Reviews: Vanishing Point, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry in Media on Mon, 2007May14 02:42:34 PDT 7 Habits Of Effective Text Editing 2.0 in Software on Fri, 2007May04 10:44:58 PDT Hephaestus 3 is Coming in Software on Wed, 2007May02 09:55:10 PDT Giant Stack of Grindhouse, and Theatre Etiquette in Media on Fri, 2007Apr27 15:23:22 PDT The Grindhouse Brain in Media on Wed, 2007Apr18 11:48:39 PDT Grindhouse Review in Media on Mon, 2007Apr16 09:55:28 PDT The God Delusion in Science on Fri, 2007Mar16 18:52:45 PDT Disable Gimp splash screen in Mac on Sun, 2007Mar04 10:18:57 PST Closures in Groovy and Java in Software on Thu, 2007Feb15 11:33:12 PST ed is the standard editor! in Software on Wed, 2007Jan31 11:13:19 PST Music to Love Your Mac To in Mac on Mon, 2007Jan29 19:22:43 PST Seattle Slogans in Society on Wed, 2006Oct25 09:15:34 PDT Review: The Prestige in Media on Tue, 2006Oct24 14:09:18 PDT Charles Darwin Online in Science on Thu, 2006Oct19 11:04:30 PDT The Futility of Mixing Binary Liquid Explosives in the Airplane Bathroom in Society on Thu, 2006Aug24 11:58:40 PDT People Also Buy Lottery Tickets in Society on Thu, 2006Aug17 09:45:19 PDT More Sun Lies About NetBeans in Software on Wed, 2006Aug02 15:22:01 PDT GameScroll 0.7.1 in Software on Sat, 2006Jul29 18:31:04 PDT Mac to Linux? Are you mad? in Mac on Thu, 2006Jul27 11:15:09 PDT Intelligent DeSign in Toys on Fri, 2006Jul14 09:34:36 PDT markdamonhughes.com in Software on Mon, 2006Jun05 19:29:53 PDT About Book Reviews in Media on Sun, 2006Jun04 18:57:37 PDT Book Review: "JPod", by Douglas Coupland in Media on Sun, 2006Jun04 18:20:20 PDT iPhoto Annoys Me in Mac on Sun, 2006Jun04 11:24:11 PDT Book Reviews: iLounge Free iPod Book 2.0, Vernor Vinge's "Rainbows End" in Media on Sat, 2006Jun03 14:25:51 PDT The Smoking Ban or Lack Thereof in Society on Thu, 2006Jun01 08:38:59 PDT Tim O'Reilly Does Not Apologize in Web on Wed, 2006May31 01:42:53 PDT Isn't Bracing Truth Better Than False Hope? in Science on Tue, 2006May30 12:00:42 PDT A Man Walks Into a Bar With a Duck... in Personal on Mon, 2006May29 23:12:05 PDT s/Mark Hughes/Mark Damon Hughes/g in Personal on Sat, 2006May27 02:55:46 PDT O'Reilly(TM) 2.0(TM) Annoyances(TM) in Web on Fri, 2006May26 23:36:58 PDT Web 2.0 (tm) is over, Tim O'Reilly commits corporate seppuku. in Web on Fri, 2006May26 23:20:45 PDT What's Your Anti-Virus? in Mac on Fri, 2006May26 00:56:30 PDT iDroid in Toys on Tue, 2006May23 16:16:04 PDT About This Blog in Personal on Fri, 2006May19 17:17:48 PDT Animal Crossing: Wild World in Toys on Tue, 2006May16 13:59:38 PDT Socially Acceptable Gamers in Roleplaying on Mon, 2006May15 02:30:14 PDT Political Scum Come To Gaming in Toys on Sat, 2006May13 17:20:22 PDT Nintendo Wii in Toys on Sat, 2006Apr29 23:41:13 PDT The Past Sucked in Society on Wed, 2006Apr26 14:52:52 PDT Please Help Save Palladium from Going Under in Roleplaying on Mon, 2006Apr24 04:09:39 PDT Zombie Jesus Day in Religion on Sun, 2006Apr16 21:30:07 PDT The Day I Killed Angel and Buffy in Roleplaying on Sun, 2006Apr16 20:12:00 PDT Comedy Central vs. South Park in Media on Sat, 2006Apr15 01:56:54 PDT What I'm Reading (Future division) in Media on Mon, 2006Apr03 13:26:44 PDT What I'm Reading (Technical division) in Software on Mon, 2006Apr03 12:12:41 PDT Atom vs. RSS 2.0 Ultimate Cage Deathmatch in Thunderdome! in Software on Wed, 2006Mar29 01:02:35 PST What's that horrible stench? Java 5.0 Generics! in Software on Fri, 2006Mar24 12:46:55 PST Shiny LEGO Robots in Toys on Sun, 2006Mar19 14:44:03 PST The Daily Show on iTunes in Mac on Wed, 2006Mar15 08:46:09 PST Walter Cronkite in Society on Tue, 2006Mar14 12:02:34 PST Utility.py 1.1 in Software on Mon, 2006Mar06 11:24:32 PST Perilar 0.4 in Software on Mon, 2006Feb27 00:05:02 PST President's Day in Society on Mon, 2006Feb20 14:45:18 PST Why Are You Uninstalling NetBeans? in Software on Tue, 2006Feb14 15:32:56 PST V.D. in Society on Tue, 2006Feb14 00:16:46 PST ThoughtPad 0.2 in Software on Fri, 2006Feb10 08:26:50 PST My Debugging Prowess is Mighty! in Software on Mon, 2006Feb06 17:10:04 PST Progamming Language Winners, Losers, and Farm Animals in Software on Tue, 2006Jan31 05:07:06 PST Poetic Justice in Mac on Mon, 2006Jan23 21:50:18 PST iTunes Video Store in Mac on Mon, 2006Jan23 07:33:54 PST Why Are TV Shows Not Listed in iPod's TV Shows? in Mac on Mon, 2006Jan23 07:10:19 PST What's wrong with the Internet? in Web on Sun, 2006Jan15 02:12:28 PST Filthy Fucking Republican Scumbag SPAMMERS. in Society on Thu, 2006Jan12 17:44:26 PST Fluorescent Lights in Personal on Thu, 2006Jan12 14:42:09 PST Perilar! in Software on Wed, 2006Jan11 03:45:05 PST The Perils of Old SchemeFogies in Software on Fri, 2005Dec30 11:55:21 PST Post-Postscript in Software on Mon, 2005Dec12 11:30:34 PST Microsoft Live. Follow the Money. in Media on Fri, 2005Nov11 11:30:14 PST Don't Let Anyone Lick Your Keyboard in Web on Wed, 2005Nov09 11:43:40 PST Improbable Advertising in Web on Mon, 2005Nov07 10:54:38 PST Darwin Fanboy in Science on Mon, 2005Oct31 16:02:25 PST Help Buy KUOI Mugs! in Personal on Fri, 2005Oct21 09:49:16 PDT This is my second life, better than my first life. in SecondLife on Thu, 2005Oct20 05:33:32 PDT "EPIC" 2014 in Media on Fri, 2005Sep30 11:12:40 PDT The Posse in Science on Thu, 2005Sep08 13:46:43 PDT The Perfect Serenity of Firefly in Media on Fri, 2005Sep02 08:11:38 PDT The Curse of Knowing Too Much in Software on Thu, 2005Sep01 15:06:35 PDT On Java and Python in Software on Fri, 2005Aug26 12:38:54 PDT Back from GenCon in Roleplaying on Tue, 2005Aug23 13:09:42 PDT Indiana Has Taught Me How To Hate in Personal on Sun, 2005Aug21 09:40:22 PDT Single People Are Selfish, And Proud Of It in Society on Sat, 2005Aug13 12:49:06 PDT Links are underlined. in Web on Mon, 2005Aug08 09:46:38 PDT Stupid, stupid iCal. in Mac on Fri, 2005Aug05 19:56:09 PDT Things I've Learned About The Mac, Part 1 in Mac on Thu, 2005Jul28 12:49:21 PDT The Switch in Mac on Thu, 2005Jul28 12:39:59 PDT Don't feed the troll in Web on Fri, 2005Jul22 11:34:32 PDT Randpod, again, only different in Software on Thu, 2005Jul21 15:58:25 PDT Batman in Media on Sun, 2005Jul03 16:02:21 PDT An Offer You Can't Refuse in Web on Sat, 2005Jul02 14:15:44 PDT Browser Statistics, June 2005 in Web on Sat, 2005Jul02 14:09:37 PDT Apple x86 in Mac on Fri, 2005Jun10 08:00:23 PDT Apple and Intel, sitting in a tree, k.i.s.s.i.n.g. in Mac on Sat, 2005Jun04 12:06:55 PDT Browser Statistics, May 2005 in Web on Fri, 2005Jun03 08:41:06 PDT Holding Women To A Lower Standard in Society on Fri, 2005Jun03 08:21:25 PDT Terminal in Software on Sat, 2005May21 11:17:34 PDT $OPPRESSED_GROUP Studies in Media on Tue, 2005May03 09:49:55 PDT GameScroll 0.7 in Software on Tue, 2005May03 06:09:24 PDT Browser Statistics, April 2005 in Web on Tue, 2005May03 05:59:20 PDT GameScroll 0.6 in Software on Mon, 2005Apr25 19:06:04 PDT Trick or treat... in Roleplaying on Thu, 2005Apr21 23:29:34 PDT GameScroll 0.5 in Software on Wed, 2005Apr20 17:51:55 PDT Browser Statisics in Web on Sun, 2005Apr03 20:29:34 PDT XML is driving me insane. in Software on Wed, 2005Mar16 21:55:00 PST Actions speak louder than words. in Web on Mon, 2005Mar14 13:14:41 PST Eclipse vs. NetBeans Celebrity Deathmatch! in Software on Sun, 2005Mar13 00:00:00 PST Browser Statistics in Web on Sun, 2005Mar06 00:00:00 PST R.I.P. Microsoft, Scoble is laying down fertilizer in Web on Tue, 2005Feb15 00:00:00 PST Syndication in Web on Sat, 2005Jan22 00:00:00 PST "Hipster PDA" in Web on Wed, 2005Jan12 00:00:00 PST Copywrong in Software on Tue, 2005Jan11 00:00:00 PST MSIE in Web on Mon, 2005Jan10 00:00:00 PST Doom: The Movie: We're all Doomed! in Media on Wed, 2004Dec22 00:00:00 PST EA: The Human Story in Software on Mon, 2004Nov15 00:00:00 PST Aiee! 0.2 in Software on Wed, 2004Oct13 00:00:00 PDT Shiny new iMac in Mac on Tue, 2004Aug31 00:00:00 PDT Treo 600 Cam in Personal on Sun, 2004Aug29 00:00:00 PDT RandPod in Software on Fri, 2004Aug27 00:00:00 PDT Watch "Ju On", lose 2d6 SAN in Media on Thu, 2004Aug19 00:00:00 PDT Sun in Web on Fri, 2004Jul23 00:00:00 PDT Meat is not murder. Meat is meat. Murder is murder. in Personal on Tue, 2004Jun22 00:00:00 PDT CTHULHU SALVATION PROGRAM in Religion on Thu, 2004Jun03 00:00:00 PDT Why Does Everyone Hate Lisp? in Software on Sun, 2004May30 00:00:00 PDT Final Fantasy XI in Personal on Fri, 2004Jun04 00:00:00 PDT The ultimate political poster. in Web on Fri, 2004Jun04 00:00:00 PDT I don't normally comment on blogs, but... in Web on Fri, 2004Jun04 00:00:00 PDT JICB in Software on Fri, 2004Jun04 00:00:00 PDT Review of Gamma World (Sword & Sorcery) in Roleplaying on Thu, 2004Jun03 00:00:00 PDT Reboot in Web on Wed, 2003Jul30 00:00:00 PDT
|