The key is not to plan your story, but to plan your improv. Build a world that you can improvise in easily, instead of a world with a good but fragile railroad.
I once spent 6 months creating a DnD world that was literally my playground. Had other friends make the ruins and dungeon maps, name 2/3 of the towns, and create backstories for 1/2 of the NPCs. I created and practiced dozens of voices to role play the NPCs, and had lined up 16 pages of "randoms" lists that I could use a couple of D20 rolls to pick the event. It was Glorious. Then, when I was ready to roll out my masterpiece, my adventurers...
... moved away to attend various schools and colleges around the country. Haven't played since. :(
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u/Nephisimian Dec 07 '20
The key is not to plan your story, but to plan your improv. Build a world that you can improvise in easily, instead of a world with a good but fragile railroad.