tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post3783699746170932748..comments2024-03-19T04:29:47.922-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Behind the ScenesJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87839216491573144792010-10-12T05:59:17.475-04:002010-10-12T05:59:17.475-04:00Great post. I mostly make things up as I go along...Great post. I mostly make things up as I go along and I've often wondered if it's a common DMing style.<br /><br />I have a huge downfall, though: urban campaigns.<br /><br />Adventuring in a city means lots of NPCs and intertwining storylines, which catches me up in contradictions and misrememberances, which is frustrating for the players.<br /><br />For that reason I try to keep the adventures small town and wilderness now, with only brief stops in large settlements.Lukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16954668441890290863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11862370118035397952010-10-10T09:54:45.791-04:002010-10-10T09:54:45.791-04:00Love to hear that I'm not the only one that...Love to hear that I'm not the only one that's winging entire campaigns. Or is it really channeling something that's already there - in another dimension ;-)?<br /><br />Agree that you need quite a good memory to keep it up. I guess documenting the campaign in your blog also helps - to have some sort of document to fall back on and keep the world consistent.<br /><br />Cool that you also dare publish it online. I'll also give that a try :-)Jaap de Goedehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08554247766752846375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-29820829490445048972010-10-09T11:15:30.121-04:002010-10-09T11:15:30.121-04:00...and then I slowly built the world to accommodat...<i>...and then I slowly built the world to accommodate their decisions and provide additional context.</i><br /><br />That's my preferred method as well.<br /><br />As with James' campaign, my players defined the nature of the elves and dwarves, simply because the elven player was a big fan of Tolkien (and played his elf that way) and the dwarven player wanted to play a dwarf sorceror (a combination that I hadn't thought about in the campaign before).<br /><br /><i>how do you handle conflicting views with this method? what if you simply don't like what the players give you to work with?</i><br /><br />The problem with this method is that it works best in the beginning of a campaign. A few years into the campaign the setting can be as defined as one that was completely prepared by a DM - at least from the viewpoint of a new player, or an old player needing to roll a new character.<br /><br />I only remember one instance where my interpretation was in conflict with the wishes of a player - when that player explained his setting addition too loosely and left out details that he saw in his mind (like the physical description of a creature he invented), so that when I had that creature appear in an adventure he didn't acknowledge it as <i>this</i> creature. I couldn't retrofit the description because it was part of the setting already - happenings that lead to this encounter depended on this physical form.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62568605324802013782010-10-07T19:59:00.258-04:002010-10-07T19:59:00.258-04:00how do you handle conflicting views with this meth...<i>how do you handle conflicting views with this method? what if you simply don't like what the players give you to work with?</i><br /><br>I'll let you know when it happens :)<br /><br />More seriously, I guess I've just been blessed with players who don't come up with unworkable or uninteresting ideas.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73487344331670513002010-10-07T19:56:14.822-04:002010-10-07T19:56:14.822-04:00Martin, a big part of the secret here is not to wo...<i>Martin, a big part of the secret here is not to worry about remembering to work something in. Sure, you can have a bunch of ideas for things ready to go but if something else comes to you at the table, or you don't remember an idea until later, don't sweat it. Just do what seems to work at the time.</i><br /><br>Exactly so.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54753295067856649952010-10-07T18:03:10.497-04:002010-10-07T18:03:10.497-04:00...I then slowly built the world to accommodate th...<i>...I then slowly built the world to accommodate their decisions and provide additional context.</i><br /><br />which is quite awesome indeed!<br /><br />how do you handle conflicting views with this method? what if you simply don't like what the players give you to work with?<br /><br />obviously, the way you do it every character "fits in". i guess for me that would take away a challenge i enjoy a lot. i wonder how i would react to that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73212930514035727912010-10-07T17:43:34.632-04:002010-10-07T17:43:34.632-04:00I'm kind of a maps freak. I like drawing the ...I'm kind of a maps freak. I like drawing the entire world, countries, cities, dungeons but I keep my notes to a minimum as I'm always getting new ideas. That's why I always have a comp book anytime I GM.crowkinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03066821931343968827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8431987733989230602010-10-07T17:18:12.334-04:002010-10-07T17:18:12.334-04:00Do you "add encounters or items to some of th...<i>Do you "add encounters or items to some of these empty or undescribed rooms" based on "how the session is unfolding at that time" such as a room marked empty suddenly contains a monster? Maybe because earlier that session the party easily defeated a creature you thought they'd have trouble with and they need another challenge?<br /><br />Or is it more big-picture adjustments to areas not yet explored based on overall campaign developments? Maybe something like a sudden new idea of a magic sword or kidnapped princess in the campaign means that now you've got to put the sword or princess *somewhere.*</i><br /><br>Both. :)<br /><br />I should probably expand on this in a future post, so expect one on this topic in the next few days.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43085080023939331672010-10-07T17:17:12.834-04:002010-10-07T17:17:12.834-04:00this is something i personally would have problems...<i>this is something i personally would have problems with, because as a player what i like to do is "fit" my character into a campaign world. to do this i need as much specific info as possible, which would be next to impossible with your method.</i><br /><br>I guess it depends on what you mean by "fit." When I started the campaign, I gave the players free rein to make their characters as they wished and I then slowly built the world to accommodate their decisions and provide additional context. So, the way Dordagdonar and Vladimir were portrayed, for example, gave me cues on how to describe the elves and dwarves of the setting and the church of Tyche is similarly a result of the way Brother Candor's player has been presenting it through play.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13932262515237765082010-10-07T15:51:38.011-04:002010-10-07T15:51:38.011-04:00Martin, a big part of the secret here is not to wo...Martin, a big part of the secret here is not to worry about remembering to work something in. Sure, you can have a bunch of ideas for things ready to go but if something else comes to you at the table, or you don't remember an idea until later, don't sweat it. Just do what seems to work at the time.Kevin Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963383059386077519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75665309569366386662010-10-07T13:27:34.486-04:002010-10-07T13:27:34.486-04:00Thanks for commenting on this, James. This does h...Thanks for commenting on this, James. This does help a lot toward further explaining your process. <br /><br />As it turns out, it's really not too different than what I do, but I feel like, based on your recaps and your explanation above, you probably just do it better. Your memory seems to be a lot better than mine. That's one of my big downfalls - like you, I think a lot about my campaign while driving around town or doing menial chores like dishes or whatever. And, I even write them down and intend to bring them up "in-game" but when it comes around to it, I often forget. Then on the way home after the session, I'm usually saying to myself, "Dang it! I forgot to work that in!"<br /><br />I think part of it has to do with our frequency of play. We're supposed to play every other week, but over the course of our 10+ year campaign it's gradually gone down to about once every 3-4 weeks, and that makes it difficult to remember what's going on. <br /><br />Anyway, thanks again. I'm already thinking of my "next" campaign and would definitely like to try a more sand-box style. Your session recaps have been a great inspiration in that regard.Martin R. Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11672657745232101753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87225590105983946882010-10-07T13:23:16.557-04:002010-10-07T13:23:16.557-04:00My GMing style, more or less. It's just "...My GMing style, more or less. It's just "fair" to the players, I think.<br /><br />Sadly, some people in these last years get surprised this can be done, instead of shoehorning players inside a pre-generated fixed script (I won't call that a game). At least around here, of course.SAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10145507030952525432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11273090020898951652010-10-07T11:29:32.781-04:002010-10-07T11:29:32.781-04:00I don't mind a bit of "winging it", ...I don't mind a bit of "winging it", but I do try to pre-populate my dungeon levels. If I don't, I'm worried I may take it too easy on my players, accounting for their current party strength. Having a lot of stuff pre-keyed means that I won't be tempted to pull my punches. I'd rather have them be on their toes and get the full old-school experience, with nothing watered down.<br /><br />For any in-town non-combat type encounters, I totally wing it. I've got an excellent memory, and take notes, so tossing things in on the fly is no issue.<br /><br />I do however let the players' plans succeed as much as possible, if they are being clever.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381628150285913370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-72119477714262538612010-10-07T11:21:12.308-04:002010-10-07T11:21:12.308-04:00Request for clarification:
Do you "add encou...Request for clarification:<br /><br />Do you "add encounters or items to some of these empty or undescribed rooms" based on "how the session is unfolding at that time" such as a room marked empty suddenly contains a monster? Maybe because earlier that session the party easily defeated a creature you thought they'd have trouble with and they need another challenge?<br /><br />Or is it more big-picture adjustments to areas not yet explored based on overall campaign developments? Maybe something like a sudden new idea of a magic sword or kidnapped princess in the campaign means that now you've got to put the sword or princess *somewhere.*Lord Kilgorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100447170529010062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46781549550157794712010-10-07T11:07:25.521-04:002010-10-07T11:07:25.521-04:00Though I had a pretty good idea this is what you w...Though I had a pretty good idea this is what you were doing based on previous entries, it is good to finally have confirmation that my hunch was correct.<br /><br />I'm thinking of trying this method with my upcoming campaign, but I'm worried that if I'm unable to do it it'll be too hard for me to rebound and keep my players interest.<br /><br />I'm generally good at ad libbing, but I'm still a tad worried.Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10745062840676790649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87778644301412444632010-10-07T10:36:50.158-04:002010-10-07T10:36:50.158-04:00unless you're very quick on your feet and have...<i>unless you're <b>very</b> quick on your feet and have a <b>great</b> memory</i><br /><br />i consider myself quick on my feet and my memory is not that bad, but i know my campaigns would become <i>muddled and inconsistent</i> very fast if i adopted your playstyle. i envy anyone who is able to work like that. i doubt there are many dm's who can really pull it off successfully. i haven't met many (any?).<br /><br /><i>Until I absolutely need to establish something about the campaign, I don't, preferring instead to keep things vague and/or contradictory</i><br /><br />this is something i personally would have problems with, because as a player what i like to do is "fit" my character into a campaign world. to do this i need as much specific info as possible, which would be next to impossible with your method.<br /><br />this would result in frustration for the dm as i would ask about stuff all the time and for myself as your answers probably wouldn't satisfy my. :)<br /><br /><i>I can bend and shape the nature of things to suit both the players' tastes and interests and those unexpected "in the moment" events that good gaming often generates.</i><br /><br />do you do this completely spontaneous or do you have a few encounters prepared and spring them when you think the time is right? i always try to have a few encounter aces up my sleeve to spring on players when i consider the moment appropriate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51427165235633298462010-10-07T10:31:24.465-04:002010-10-07T10:31:24.465-04:00Not to toot my own horn, but that sounds startling...Not to toot my own horn, but that sounds startlingly like what I do. Very little of what I do is planned out anywhere near in advance; instead, I tend to stick in elements I'd been thinking about beforehand whenever I get around to playing them. Even a very good idea might take a couple of months before its "time to shine" gets used.<br /><br />As a recent example, in my last session (which I wrote about on my blog) I'd had ideas for a desert tomb for a while, as well as mummy-zombies and a statue made of scarabs. <br /><br />As we all know, however, no plan survives contact with the enemy, so there's no real sense in trying to plan out every single thing the players will try to do. So why bother? Vague details are worth their weight in gold, and concrete plans are leaden chains.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08596442998967851832noreply@blogger.com