/tg/, I'm designing a campaign for my group.The campaign consists from three acts. As a whole, they cover levels from 1 to 20.What happens in the first act is immaterial for this thread.In the very beginning of the second act, however, they will meet the big villain of the campaign, who decides that they're going to be a threat to his master plan and immediately kills them all right at the end of a gruelling dungeon. The player characters then go to Valhalla, meet not!Odin and then return to life with a divine quest. Half of the second act will involve fulfilling this quest to pay not!Odin back for their resurrection. The other half involves revenge against the villain.Now, obviously if they just reveal themselves, they'd just be killed again. So they'll be gently suggested to assume false identities and infiltrate the villain's massive army of mercenaries in order to foil his plan from the inside. By the end of the act, the villain's army will be gone, his personal power extinguished, and then he'll die as the final boss of the act.That's the idea. However, I keep thinking about how it'll actually go. I have 7-9 dungeons in mind for the second act. That is a lot of sessions spent under secret identities, while everyone believes that they're dead. While the undercover arc could potentially be interesting, I'm also seeing the potential for it to be very exhausting to actually go through.Should I just pre-emptively cut the "undercover" part to just 1 or 2 dungeons? It's going to be pretty difficult to change them on the fly, if I see that this story is not working.
In 1916 Russian civic engineers finished multi-stage construction project connecting Moscow with Vladivostok, which is generally considered mankind's longest and most ambitious railroad. But damn, you're getting close second.
>>96484029fpbp
>>96483949do you have enough locations from act 1 to revisit while incognito? plus act 2 starts with the dungeon they die in, then valhalla, then at least two odin dungeons, and most of those arent undercover.
>>96483949>In the very beginning of the second act, however, they will meet the big villain of the campaignCHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGACHOO CHOOALL ABOARD!
>>96483949You can just do the secret identities but not make a big deal out of them. Also, like, they can let down their secret identity during the dungeon run, can't they?Just don't be a douche when they keep forgetting when they have to transit to the secret identities.But also>>96484029fpbpBut also railroading isn't necessarily bad if your players are fine with it. Some people like a GM who keeps tight control of the story.
>>96483949>/tg/, I'm designing a campaign for my group.no, you are writing a gay novel>>96484279>But also railroading isn't necessarily bad if your players are fine with it. Some people like a GM who keeps tight control of the story.cope. people only "like" this bullshit because they don't know there is an alternative.
>>96484289>people are only allowed to like what I likeSome people like basically watching a TV show that's slightly interactive.
>>96484340No, they're there to socialize exclusively. They're merely tolerating your "TV show" (It's a hundred times worse than even a shitty TV show, let's just be honest).But the same people would be fine, if not more amused by a real game being run properly.
>>96483949Consider not railroading your players. Like what you said can still be a valid campaign, just maybe don't give them a full act, gank them with your villain, force them on a resurrection quest, force them to play a subterfuge campaign after several apparent sessions of not doing that, force them to play into the villain's weaknesses in one specific way, and then force them into your cinematic confrontation to capstone the experience.I genuinely don't get running a campaign where player input is irrelevant to the experience. I like running games to see what my friends do when I put X, Y, or Z in front of them; this just seems like you want to tell a very specific story, and the players being there is essentially immaterial to what you're doing.
>>96484367So just how high are you from smoking all that copium?Cause I'll bet the view is great
>>96484340dont take the bait, its just the same well-poisoning retard samefagging
>>96484442>It's cope to say the same people who don't care about the game wouldn't be bothered if you made it more like a gameKek, nogames.
>>96483949>/tg/, I'm designing a campaign for my group.Okay, cool.>The campaign consists from three acts. As a whole, they cover levels from 1 to 20.I mean, that's a fair starting point, but you should be open to some malleability. The last campaign I ran was supposed to be a three-act Campebellian monomyth, but the way events played out ended up resulting in a fourth part.>What happens in the first act is immaterial for this thread.Stop. Go back. You're planning wrong.>In the very beginning of the second act, however, they willYou don't know what they'll do at the beginning of the second act because you've declared that you're ignoring the first act entirely. That means you don't know where they'll be, what they'll be doing, or what sides they'll be taking.
>>96484528>ou don't know what they'll do at the beginning of the second act because you've declared that you're ignoring the first act entirely.I haven't ignored it. I'm not going to elaborate on it for the purposes of this thread because I already have the details finished for it and don't intend to revise it at this stage of my preparations.
This unironically reads like the tabletop equivalent of those video games that are just a series of quick time events.
>>96484543So what do you do if they do something different? Like, what if they decide to sign on with the villain?
>>96484029Holy shit dude.
>>96484550>Like, what if they decide to sign on with the villain?The villain has no reason to accept them, especially at that point when they'll have been a thorn in his side for a time already, even if they didn't know it.
why are people here always so negative and retarded?
>>96484597I don't know. I wish I had some other place to go to for ideas but everywhere else sucks.
>>96484597I'm telling you now before you make the same mistake every game master in our group has made at some point or another:>DO NOT FORCE-KILL AND REVIVE YOUR PLAYERS TO DEMONSTRATE THREAT, PUT THEM IN DEBT, OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON THAT YOU'RE THINKING OFPlease learn from our mistakes. It's not worth it.I respect the Banner Saga OP image for what it's worth.
>>96484597Calling OP out on his faggotry doesn't happen because /tg/ is negative it happens because OP is a faggot.
>>96483949but what happens if the players at any point across what I can only imagine must be several dozens of sessions at least decide to do something else?
>>96484587>kill someone>they come back to life>but they're willing to overlook it and work with you anywaySo, what, he kills them again because it worked so well the first time?
>>96484877>>but they're willing to overlook it and work with you anywayMy players won't do that. Maybe this mystifies you but I've played with these people enough times to not be totally in the dark as to what they'll do in a given situation.
>>96483949Why have them revived by Odin? How about having them animated as minor undead by the Evil One (Ghouls, Wights, etc), ecperience first hand the horror the Evil One is going to inflict on everyone, and then strive to break free from their undead slavery?
>>96483949How will you handle it if they accept their new roles in the army of darkness and instead strive to advance in the ranks of the Villian's forces, furthering his aims? Players sometimes go off the rails you plan for them.I often find it's best just to set up a situation, forces, locations, the various faction aims, etc and see what the players do with it. If you are planning the entire story to go a certain way no matter what they decide to do, the players will soon lose interest due to their lack of autonomy. Most play this game for the freedom it gives them, not to feel they are wearing a straightjacket.
>>96485009So you're writing a story you've already planned out, in such a way that they will do exactly what you want them to do? Why play a game at all? Why not just run something like Gloomhaven? You sound tedious.
>>96485071>ExactlyWhere did I say that?
>>96485093why are you taking the bait?
>>96485093>>96483949
>>96484029Ebin
>>96483949Things will not go to plan. They never do.If you want to railroad properly, the secret is there's no rail, just stations.>At some point, they are killed by the villain, and given the divine quest.This already needs a contingency.>If someone survives, they see not!odin in a dream instead while their friends return.And that's as much as you should be planning. Anything more will result in hubris. Though, of course, you can plan out what your villain is actually doing over time.
>>96483949>>>/lit/
>>96483949>return to life with a divine quest>"we don't want to do his quest"your move?
>>96484029
