>TFW You're running a game in 2 days and you have no idea where you want to go with your story
>>47677264
That's the best possible state.
Just make it up as you go along and after one or two sessions something will click and you'll get inspired.
>>47677264
Sounds like most of my games that haven't been prepubs. What system? Talk to your players and pay attention to what their characters are like, what they might be aspiring to do (both player and character) and what bits of background information you can twist into plotlines.
Im running on sunday and instead of making a plot, I got really anal and detailed with making the setting. So I don't actually have a clue what to do, but if the party does anything Ill be ready for them. You'd think it would be easy to make an adventure out of conquering a trade route through the not!Underdark
>>47677264
You got this, OP. You need only invoke the time-tested method all GMs use.
WING THAT SHIT.
>>47677313
I winged last session though
>>47677298
Gurps. So far I've had the players fight Not!JOJO vampires who also can turn into Not!Apostles from Berserk. It's hard to keep that pace up.
Wing it son! I'm starting a campaign in a week and I have two paragraphs of text for the whole thing, everything else is improv.
>>47677264
Construct the session so that they have x obvious choices, where each choice takes the story down one of the directions you are considering. Then watch them take an option you didn't think of, taking the story down a completely different route.
>>47677852
Best outcome right here.
>>47677264
The way I DM is just through assets. I have a couple plot hooks, NPCs, and locations that I use as I see fit. I don't write past the start of it too much anymore, or at least not into a whole lot of detail. Keep it light, and let the players drive.
you have the NPCs. Have their motivations and what they want. This works best with a couple bulletpoints. Have their attitudes and anything that effects how they interact with people.
Example:
Velril, only town blacksmith.
>Wants Goblins dead so he can go back to business selling axeheads to the Lumberjacks
>doesn't like magic, very fearful of it
>wants to know what happened to his father, but doesn't trust to ask anyone.
And this is just a minor NPC. But maybe the party takes a liking to him, eventually asking why he doesn't like magic. If he likes the party enough, he tells them his father was killed by a magical source in his lab.
Make the rest up as you go, with light ideas that can be explored by the PCs if they so choose.
>>47677876
Best part is that it will happen even if you've narrowed where you want the story to go down to a single path.
>>47677951
What do you do for NPC'S that really don't know what they want or are conflicted?
>>47678070
That becomes a bullet point on its own.
Say for example a knight that knows the rebels are just and the king is evil, but is conflicted about who to join. That comes down to PC action/interaction with the Knight. The right argument or example or such could flip him to the rebels.
Though if the rebels end up being savage and brutal, maybe he convinces himself he is on the right side. He doesn't even have to meet the PCs for that to happen. Maybe the PCs killed a captain of the guard who surrendered. So the knight says "if I meet them I'll show them justice".
It comes down to how the PCs act. This also helps curb murderhoboing.
>>47677264
> your story
Niggawhat?
>>47678760
The story of the campaign anon.
>>47677264
>>47678878
The first thing I would do is to ask players whether they want to bring their character's story somewhere. Keep it cooperative.
Campaigns that are successful are organic, they have the PCs planning their moves and the DM throwing curve balls at them.
DMs/GMs/Storytellers are already in charge of every extra, of rules, of scenery and of challenges. Have players collaborate a bit.
Make generic stuff you can use in a jiffy, have your PCs set objectives, throw curve balls, enjoy.
>>47678939 here
>>47678923 have bested me. He was both quicker and more detailed. Pic related.
>>47677264
>he doesn't just make shit up
Might as well burn your DM screen and cut everyone's losses now
>>47679033
I do, but I did that all last session.
>>47679049
Then do it again.
Random tables are your best friend
Place:
1 A classic dungeon
2 Old tomb
3 Abandoned fortress
4 Caves
5 Temple
6 Forest
7 Plains or steppes
8 Desert
9 Jungle
10 Frozen snowland
11 Sea/Ocean
12 The capital city
13 Local town
14 God-forsaken village
15 Currently functioning fortress
16 Other plane
17 Hell
18 Alien/Precursor hi-tek bunker
19 Roll twice and combine
20 GM's magical realm
Party's goal:
1 They are free to determine, aka "Lol wat do we do nao"
2 Loot everything, especially things that are nailed down
3 Genocide things dwelling in here
4 Assasinate a leader/important figure
5 Steal an item/artefact/cure for important figure
6 Solve some kind of mystery
7 Get out alive
8 Rescue a kidnapped person
9 Sneak through and get to the next location
10 Explore and map the place
11 Establish good relations with locals
12 Help this place recover and become great again
13 Defend the place from invaders
14 Take the place over and rule it
15 Roll twice and combine
What's the motivation? Why are players doing it?
1 Altruism (Good-aligned)
2 Money
3 Power
4 Friendship (THEY KILLED/CAPTURED MY BROS)
5 Duty
6 Pleasure
7 Tradition
8 Bloodlust
9 Hope
10 Religion
11 Freedom
12 Fear
13 Survival
14 Because why not
>>47679033
Also that was rude anon
>>47678939
>>47679006
I will add a practice that have become a staple of my GMing style. If a character would die through little to no fault of his own, especially if it's from another player's actions, give them a traumatic experience that yields a mixed blessing.
For example, Star Wars Saga. Group wants to avoid a sniper and get to a control room (full of angry droids). Uses fold space and brings the Tech specialist.
Droids swarm the Jedi and Tech Specialist. Jedi use a power that makes himself undetectable. Tech specialist would die from being splitted apart.
Tech specialist would be dead. Instead, she lost an arm and in the shock / panic, the Force awakens in a strange way. Now she can droidspeak ("speak"/understand binary at droid speed) and have either a Light-side or Dark-side power that either pacify or mind-control a droid.
Her "Use the Force" skill takes a -5 penalty when she gets an implant, or she can't fight the way she usually do (2 pistols), but she gets a power that makes the Jedi envious.
She's also barely conscious for the next encounter and requires medical aid.
>>47679075
Place: Temple
Goal: To solve a mystery
Motivation: Freedom
I thought of some sort of generic "you're in prison duur huur" setting but the prison is more like Superjail.
>>47677264
There's been some great advice in this thread. One thing that helps me is writing out at least 3 different ways things can go and if player actions don't favor any of them, and don't point to any new plot point, use the one you end up liking the most.
This usually ends up with the players going a different direction than I though, but pointing to new plans for next game. I honestly believe players can sense preparedness and move against it on instinct, so you might as well try and use it to your advantage.
>>47679135
>Her "Use the Force" skill takes a -5 penalty when she gets an implant
That's five times as harsh as the actual rules, though.
>>47679192
Why do people thing a setup used often is automatically bad? There are literally an infinite amount of scenarios that begin with the protag in a prison. But you added your own "herp derp" effect on it, so I guess that trumps that. Well done, anon.
>>47677264
Good.
Focus on making interesting NPCs and engaging environments. You never want to start with a BBEG out the gate.
>>47680334
beats dying
Maybe these books might help
>>47681297
>>47680334
>>47680387
Huh, it appears so. There have been developments that reduced the penalty to -2 since (by using a metal produced by Rakatan means that is force-friendly).
I could've have sworn it was -5 right away.
Oh well, pobody's nerfect.
>>47678923
I've been really wanting to DM with a group for a while now, but had cold feet about it. This genuinely makes it feel a lot more approachable. Thanks anon.
>>47677264
Read apocalypse world's GM advice, apply it.
>>47677264
Just do the movie Predator, OP.
