Guest taxboy4 Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Hello all I could do with some suggestions. We are 13 (or is it 14??) sessions into my current Fantasy Hero game and the characters are doing well have a nice history and have all actually survived so far. Its set on an Island (see posts below) http://central.rpg.net.nz/cgi-bin/cutecast/cutecast.pl?session=QxWqCjLPAdovFPSREk7dwiZfPy&forum=12&thread=835 with the one main city and I am finding it hard to set a new fresh approach for 2005. Have thought of the PC's chasing (by sea) the main Villian whom they love to hate (and would love to kill, roast and eat I suspect) but any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reneshat Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale If you could give us an idea about the world we might be able to help more. Sorry I don't have the time to read all the posts. If it was champions, that would be easy, but Fantasy Hero is more diverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barwickian Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale There's also not very much information about the PCs in question. What I've read of the thread (and I didn't have time to read all of the posts either) seems a rather dry recounting of events, with not much indication of why the PCs get involved. Do any of them have a disadvantage you can use to hook an adventure on? Watched, hunted, a dependent NPC who can be kidnapped or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale A sea chase would be a good way to get them off the island if that is your aim. After that you have the options of Gilligan's storm, actually catching the guy and going home, having the guy get away AGAIN but on a new island/continent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevenall Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale What was it that Raymond Chandler said? "When things start to get dull, have some guy with a gun burst in and shoot some one." Then you are engaged in trying to figure out why this happened. Anyway, what if something terrible were to happen? Maybe your villian destroys a major city. To distract the players from chasing him as he escapes? Then your players are stuck with the choice of chasing, or doing what they can to help. Maybe it was a natural disaster. Maybe some tensions finally crack somewhere and a major conflict breaks out on your island. Will the PC's choose a side? Some off the cuff suggestions, but maybe what you need is something drastic to open up new avenues of adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Request for more information. Character Names? Player Identifier, Type of Player, and Character Name Character Backgrounds? Why do they do what they do? Character Abilities? Fighter, Ranger, Magician, etc... Character Goals? Reclaim Noble Status, Stop a Conspiracy against the King, etc... The biggest challenge has always been to tailor the capaign to suit the players expectations. You may never get it exactly right, but you might get close enough to have the campaign last for years(at least 14yrs for our GM). You group reads like young gamers And power Gamers at that. If they are enjoying the campaign then your doing it right. As to a way to liven u the game for you. I would suggest working out an adventure you would want to play in and finding a way tying it into the current game. Another way is to have the PCs see a NPC they thought they had killed show up and attack them. Then flees into the new adventure. Do some reading, see a movie, go for a walk/ride/work out and relax. Take a break, let one of the players GM, create a character and play a little. Start a new game. Or alternate between running different campaigns. It's all a matter of what you want? Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taxboy4 Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Thanks guys Good stuff so far. A breif summary of our circumstancers - The Group Aged 20 to 33 - most been playing for years - some off and on. Mix of students and professionals, enjoy a base sense of humour, and gritty, selfish characters. Low magic world - element of power gaming, old fashioned Fantasy Game with some roleplaying thrown in. PC's are a thief, barbarian and elvish archer. Barbarian is half orc and seeks acceptance by the others, theif seeks revenge of the death of his mmentor, elf is banished from his race lands - very cold character. The Game Essentially it is a bit of old fashioned travelling, solving puzzles, some treasure and killing NPC's with stupid names. It is not overly serious and there are quite absurb things / people that happen in it. Its low fantasy in that a gold peice in worth a lot and a steel weapon is a great find. Actually maybe what I need to do is to go back through the episode summaries and pull together character related events and try to stitch that into a story. I like Nevenall's quote from Raymond Chandler and actually the idea of the Island being destroyed and the pc's fleeing it or chasing the big bad guy appeals... Any other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eodin Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Hmmm.... low fantasy, selfish characters... I'd read some of the Conan stories and pull some plots from there. However, some ideas... A ship carrying some kind of treasure (gold for paying soldiers, spices bound for the mainland, a powerful magical/religious relic, etc.) is rumored to be coming into port. Naturally the characters will want to sneak on board to sample the riches. Once on board, they succumb to a trap, and the next thing they know they are out to sea in the brig. What to do from there... One of the characters steals a coin which turns out to be a magic coin. The coin is cursed, and can only be gotten rid of if it is stolen by someone else. The coins curse could be bad luck, can never lie, or some suitably inconvenient but nonlethal effect. While chasing prey in the jungle, the characters fall into a hole, and end up face to face with an ancient menace - dinosaurs, elder race, or other pulp-fictionesque menace. The trick won't be defeating the menace (though that should be hard); the trick will be returning to the real world above. A mysterious stranger (mage) appears in port, asking for one of the characters. Seems he believes one of the characters is related to his dying master, who wishes to visit with that character before passing, and if such character does visit they will be in the will. Of course, arriving at the relative's location is a bit of a trip, and once there it can be good or bad. A good ending - the character inherits a bit of land or a magic item whose nature is known and coveted by others. The bad ending - the relative is undead, and seeks to drain the soul of the visitor. Just some ideas off the top of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taxboy4 Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Cheers Ears I like all those ideas...am slowly starting to have plot lines unfold in my mind now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbsousa Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Characters at sea are much more vulnerable than on land. If the main villain leaves the island on short notice (on a quest for the McGuffin to end all McGuffins), the characters would have to find a ship and a crew willing to pursue. Once at sea, pirates, mermen, mysterious floating islands, crewmates with mutiny on their mind, and the weather itself provide all the adventure one party can handle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taxboy4 Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Characters at sea are much more vulnerable than on land. If the main villain leaves the island on short notice (on a quest for the McGuffin to end all McGuffins)' date=' the characters would have to find a ship and a crew willing to pursue. Once at sea, pirates, mermen, mysterious floating islands, crewmates with mutiny on their mind, and the weather itself provide all the adventure one party can handle...[/quote'] Yee Oldee Sea voyage is looking pretty good... ..could be a bit like a series of star trek...an advanture at each new Island... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilFleischmann Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Characters at sea are much more vulnerable than on land. If the main villain leaves the island on short notice (on a quest for the McGuffin to end all McGuffins)' date=' the characters would have to find a ship and a crew willing to pursue. Once at sea, pirates, mermen, mysterious floating islands, crewmates with mutiny on their mind, and the weather itself provide all the adventure one party can handle...[/quote'] And don't forget the giant sea serpents! It doesn't do to leave Scylla and Charybdis out of your plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale I like Nevenall's quote from Raymond Chandler and actually the idea of the Island being destroyed and the pc's fleeing it or chasing the big bad guy appeals... Any other thoughts? Set the island on fire, and let them figure out how to escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Set the island on fire' date=' and let them figure out how to escape. [/quote'] I like that one! oog oog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Re: My Game is Stale Need a Medevil/Fantasy version of "Q" though, hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtFool Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 What is Elfboy's deal? Top 5 Ways To More Compelling Encounters Ten Tips For Stress-Free Gamemastering Adventure Writing Tips: The Goal Reversal & The 9-Act Format 9 Game Master Tips From Valdron Inc. 7 Plot Twisting Tips, Part I It sounds like Elfboy needs some more background. If the player is not giving you one, you give him one. Maybe he is banished because he was mistaken for his evil twin who defiled a sacred temple. His evil twin shows up begging for his brother's help. He wants to go 'straight' but no one will give him a chance. Does he really want to go straight or is this another one of his twisted ploys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taxboy4 Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Re: What is Elfboy's deal? Top 5 Ways To More Compelling Encounters Ten Tips For Stress-Free Gamemastering Adventure Writing Tips: The Goal Reversal & The 9-Act Format 9 Game Master Tips From Valdron Inc. 7 Plot Twisting Tips, Part I It sounds like Elfboy needs some more background. If the player is not giving you one, you give him one. Maybe he is banished because he was mistaken for his evil twin who defiled a sacred temple. His evil twin shows up begging for his brother's help. He wants to go 'straight' but no one will give him a chance. Does he really want to go straight or is this another one of his twisted ploys? Cheers fro all these - this is an awesome site and I forgot i had actually bought the downloadable / searchable version of the tips!! xx Baz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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