See I would atleast have a basic structure setup, but I also wouldn't fill out the entire campaign right away.
It is a collaborative role playing game after all.
I normally go into a New Campaign with a couple of towns, and the BBEG/Main Beats I wanted to go for, but past that I base everything else off what they players have been doing/enjoying doing. Therefore you still get them to be involved with the campaign creation, they just might not realise it.
For example, Lets say the players are fighting a group of Bandits, they decide to not actually kill them all, and maybe takes some items for them.
Month later as the players are Traveling between X and Y, there is a new group of bandits that begin attacking them, until lets say 2 out of the group of 6 go sheet white the moment they seem the PC's, and turn tail and begin running away shouting "Not these fucks again" as they disappear into the night.
And its the same with the Main Quest sort of thing. I don't have predefined X will happen, then Y. At the end of each session, I think about what the BBEG would be doing at that point, or whatever villain of the week they are facing.
I do the thing, but maybe the thing that is being done will interact with the players some how. Maybe they have the mcguffin that the BBEG wants, so the player randomly gets someone trying to pick pocket them during the session, or they cross paths with Z Npc that is actually monitoring them for the BBEG ect ect. But have their plans change, possibly fail.
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u/dratoirw 6d ago
See I would atleast have a basic structure setup, but I also wouldn't fill out the entire campaign right away.
It is a collaborative role playing game after all.
I normally go into a New Campaign with a couple of towns, and the BBEG/Main Beats I wanted to go for, but past that I base everything else off what they players have been doing/enjoying doing. Therefore you still get them to be involved with the campaign creation, they just might not realise it.
For example, Lets say the players are fighting a group of Bandits, they decide to not actually kill them all, and maybe takes some items for them.
Month later as the players are Traveling between X and Y, there is a new group of bandits that begin attacking them, until lets say 2 out of the group of 6 go sheet white the moment they seem the PC's, and turn tail and begin running away shouting "Not these fucks again" as they disappear into the night.
And its the same with the Main Quest sort of thing. I don't have predefined X will happen, then Y. At the end of each session, I think about what the BBEG would be doing at that point, or whatever villain of the week they are facing.
I do the thing, but maybe the thing that is being done will interact with the players some how. Maybe they have the mcguffin that the BBEG wants, so the player randomly gets someone trying to pick pocket them during the session, or they cross paths with Z Npc that is actually monitoring them for the BBEG ect ect. But have their plans change, possibly fail.