Comments on: Ask The GMs: PC Choices and Consequences

By: Johnn

Johnn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:42:05 +0000

@Ray – PC who sleep through an invasion should wake up in the goal. :)

@James – nice twist!

By: "James Carter"

"James Carter" — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:02:09 +0000

I remember when I had gotten up to a reasonably high level in one game where the main bad guy up until that point (a Lich) had been defeated, and brought (back) to the side of good… but there was one thing that my character didn’t count on. There was still a shadowy presence (never really found out “who”) controlling things from safety. One of the original party members, a paladin, had a “helm of opposite alignment” slapped on his head and became the new main bad guy. The GM started a new game with him as the new bad guy, so there was a shift in power, but in a sense, not really because the paladin (basically) picked up where the Lich had left off, keeping in effect all the power structures from before. My (old) character was reluctant to fight his former commrade (probably with just cause because he knew how powerful he was — but shortly thereafter the DM ended the game, so I don’t know if my old character would’ve made guest appearances to help the party out or what)

By: Ray Wenderlich

Ray Wenderlich — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:10:30 +0000

Great article. In my campaigns, I like to have consequences if the group decides to take an extended rest in the middle of a story arc… for example, the undead invasion they are battling may take over the rest of the town while they sleep for the night :] It makes them think about conserving their resources and start realizing that life goes on even without the party there!

By: Loz NEWMAN

Loz NEWMAN — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:59:33 +0000

“you and Mike think alike”
Hmm, yes, I read that post and agreed with it a great deal :)

By: Johnn

Johnn — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:24:42 +0000

@Robert – sounds like an awesome campaign and great GM.

@Loz – you and Mike think alike. http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/the-power-to-choose/

Great tip about giving each faction an intro to the players. Sometimes too much fog of war in a campaign is detrimental.

By: Loz

Loz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:13:11 +0000

I’m a big proponent of the “Living World” method of campaign handling. I list all the major factions the PCs should have heard of(and significant NPC groups that player will have major interaction with), and flesh them out just enough detail (I’m also a proponent of “Just-in-time GMing” aka “Don’t do more campaign prep than you expect to need, plus a safety margin”) to be able to assign each one major “Fundamental objective” and three “project” goals. I deliberately set this up so groups and factions have conflicting goals (this makes the generation of rumours and NPCs even easier). Then the PCs start campaigning. They hear about conflicts between groups and factions: their actions, reactions, progress and failure. They hear about (or even get caught up in) events that are local, regional and/or national. This goes on even if they don’t choose to intervene. BUT (and this is the point) some of their actions *will* interfere with factions goals and change their plans (you need to note the change down : what, sho decided, date, what this makes them feel about the PCs…), thus the PCs hear “echos” of the consequences of their actions, which can inspire them to further action. These interactions show the players that they are influencing the world, which they appreciate greatly, and provide the GM with a easy supply of:
– campaign news/rumours and evolutions;
– scenario springboards;
– Ideas for scenarios;
– NPC conversational gambits;
– new rivalries and alliances;
… and so much more that the PCs can interact with!

I repeat : take notes of the changes of faction/group plans, and activities!

N.B. Some factions are never prepared more than a few paragraphs of flavor text, ressource parameters and names of significant members. That’s all it takes to kick this off. Except a coherent vision of your campaign world and a list of the factions in it, of course, but thats something for another day :)

Hmmm… I think I’ll add this one to my blog….

By: Soulnova

Soulnova — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:23:19 +0000

I always try to do this kind of stuff. One time, the sorcerer used a Love Potion with a ship Captain. The man was married and confused, but still tried to follow his “heart” any way. He named a small fort after the Sorcerer and when the Socerer couldn’t get what he wanted (some official permission) from the Captain, he made a dramatic scene. “but… why!?? DON’T YOU LOVE ME!?” (cries and runs).

Following day, they found out that the Captain committed suicide. Since that moment no one let the Sorcerer in charge of the potions.

Soulnova´s last blog ..yoski_soulnova: A very good option for Mars colonization: CAVES http://bit.ly/lgC1J

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:55:29 +0000

Thanks for the kudos, guys, and for the ‘real-game’ example, Robert. Yes, absolutely, drawing the bulk of the enemy fire is contributing; what’s more, it lets you play your character while giving the other PCs the tactical options to show off what they can do.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:46:17 +0000

This is going into my DM binder…

My previous DM was real good at this. I had a sorcerer who was known to be a gigantic pain in the arse with all of his battlefield control spells. So in response to that, the DM painted a target on my back. All the intelligent enemies who encountered the party and had heard of us knew to take me out first, as fast as possible, and by any means necessary. Whenever the enemies thought we might be coming, or even in the area, there were traps EVERYWHERE custom-tailored for me. The last half of that campaign I spent at least as much spell slots trying to survive each day as I did contributing to the fight. Though if you think about it, drawing most of the enemy fire while the rest of the party works is still technically contributing… I must say that this made my experience as a player that much better.

By: Rafe

Rafe — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:51:46 +0000

Wow, no comments yet? Fantastic article, guys. I think Mike hit the nail on the head with “…nothing shows players that their characters are having an impact on the world better than the world having an impact on the PCs.” So very true!

I find that the most fun indications of effects are small ones: An innkeeper remembering my character and waving in acknowledgement; a grateful farmer having named his son after a PC; an article of equipment incorporated into a statue or memorial in a small village; etc.

Those things make it all come together for me. It doesn’t have to be world altering or in my face. It’s the little things that allow me to feel as though I have an impact.
Rafe´s last blog ..Abstract Wealth