Beloved fa/tg/uys,
A question for experienced DMs.
I've devised a setting and a campaign to take place in 1920's Kansas City. This will be something like my second time running a campaign anomy first time doing so with so much of my own material.
I've heard it said that you should use a game system you know very well when you DM. For me that means, either D&D 3.5 or Vampire the Masquerade. Of the two I think the latter is most transferable to the setting I'm imagining. Since I'm not certain that I want to do a vampire yet, I was going to use the World of Darkness rules that I've found here: http://www.bearsinlove.net/temp/WoD/World%20of%20Darkness%20-%20Core%20Rulebook.pdf
The climax of the first part of the campaign might be to discover that the boss of Kansas City is in fact a vampire and via him they might be presented the choice of vampirism. But I think there would be little in the way of supernaturals until then.
What do you think of this plan /tg/? I've never actually used the World of Darkness with no or almost no supernaturals and I wonder if it will hold up in this circumstance.
Have some inspirational images and maps
It isn't a bad idea, though your player characters are going to be relatively weak and squishy since they don't have any supernatural abilities. A campaign that ramps up the weirdness as it goes sounds fun.
Just make sure you take into account that these are mere mortals and you should be okay.
>>46275178
Yes, the one other person I consulted also warned me to be careful of squishiness. On one hand the realism of that is kind of attractive, but I'm afraid that their characters will get accidentally killed off to easily or that it will lead to a boring style of play.
I'm thinking of maybe inventing some sort of system to make them a bit more action-oriented. I'm hoping for some cool, the untouchables-style gunfights.
>>46274948
Might help
>>46275303
Also might be cool
>>46275303
Holy cow that's an incredible resource! Thanks so much!!!
I'll raise you a street shot from a neighborhood that no longer looks anything like it does in this photo.
>>46275243
Then players are going to need to use tactics and cover to make it out alive. The 1920s setting makes modern body armor unavailable which could have helped. Ambushes and traps will be their friend, and I would emphasize some investigation and social encounters to augment the challenge of combat somehow (blackmailing or recruiting a double agent or something). This sets up opportunities for smaller encounters and gives non combat characters a chance to make a contribution.
>>46275243
You can add in a simple 'Fate points' type system if you want to be able to make squishiness less lethal. Characters get a small pool of points, they can spend them to avoid death or crippling injury.
>>46275401
Might be a cool prop
>>46275457
This is true. The games I've played have always had a steady staple of combat encounters. But I would really like to create something exciting which doesn't revolve fighting, dungeons and loot.
I'm hoping to develop a sort of noir mystery aspect to it. I'm just not sure if my adventure-writing chops are up to snuff. I'm trying to under promise and over-deliver so to speak so I'm trying to keep my story simple
>>46275476
True! That was in vampire the masquerade, wasn't it? Or did it have a different name? Or am I thinking of the this rulebook I downloaded once that used "fudge" dice. It sounds very familiar.
>>46275401
That looks so killer. I'll be playing with some non-americans who have a high level english, I think they'll be highly amused.
Language is one of the themes of the story. I'm planning on asking them to create characters from their home country of argentina and we'll conduct the game in english and in spanish. I assume their characters will speak amongst themselves in Spanish and that almost nobody in Kansas at that time will speak it. They'll need to put some dots in language to be able to communicate with NPCs. I'm hoping that there will be some immersion that will arise from language use crossing the borders of play.
>>46275598
Okay this took longer than expected, but this is my theory on running a game in general.
A good DM, apart from having a good handle on the rules (which includes knowing which ones to ignore), is one part preparation and one part improvisation. During the course of the campaign there are going to be many instances where the players think of a solution you didn't consider or something that might cut through your challenges. I've had three straight no combat sessions because my players were suitably inclined to avoid it and managed to make some lucky rolls. This should be encouraged, as it promotes player engagement. Combat isn't fundamentally necessary, but it should be an ever present danger because someone is inevitably going to spend their xp to become a human wrecking ball.
As far as your concern over being able to write a campaign - just flesh out the general outline. If your players speculate on something and you like the idea, don't be afraid to steal it, especially if it has natural complications that stem from the situation. Your characters will leave behind a cast of NPCs and events that should shape how the game progresses, and they should always have some sort of ramification long term.
As far as your concern on your writing chops there is technique I read that I liked. Basically for each encounter or quest, generate four secrets that the players can encounter.
Fat Tony hires the players to wack Jimmy the Fish. He's hiding in a apartment downtown. The secrets, which could really be whatever you want, are as follows:
1. Jimmy has a secret safe hidden somewhere (containing either loot or something mysterious which you can flesh out later if you need another plot hook).
2. Jimmy has a sweet spot for his elderly mother and visits her often.
3. The reason Fat Tony wants to kill Jimmy was actually a set up by his business partner, Moderately Obese Carl.
4. Jimmy has planned a secret escape route from his apartment that leads into the sewers.
>>46276176
continued.
So that took like 5 minutes, and now the encounter is fleshed out more than just a simple hit. There are additional rewards, complications, possible routes of investigation, and avenues for further plot development for either a side quest or the main story. Adjust as need be.
>>46276176
>>46276228
A lot of what you are saying is echoed by this youtube series I watched on DMing. This guy, dawnforgedcast, relies heavily on improvisation. It's more than a the paint on the narrative vehicle, it's also the part of the chassis. You both seem to first try to create a rich text, full of details which can later be wrangled into meaningfulness later if the need arises.
In your example, at first it might just seem like fluff concerning Jimmy's mother and indeed at the moment of it's creation, it may be. But, if I need to, I can later say that Jimmy was visiting mom to smuggle bags of cash under her floor boards or something.
>>46274948
Take a look at some Call of Cthulhu rulebooks. They have pretty extensive research and advice on running games set during the 1920s that's useful even if you're not adding anything supernatural to the game.
>>46275514
Some stuff here might help with the setting
>>46277764
>>46276964
I haven't seen the podcast but it sounds like we agree. However, to use the car analogy - it isn't that you're relying on it to fill in pieces, you're using it to fill in pieces you didn't know were necessary.
Prep is still crucial. You can improvise an entire seasion, but that really depends on skill level. But prep gives you time to create your NPCs and the general outlay. The more details you have planned and running around in your head the better - it informs your improve 's cohesiveness. At the very least you should create your key NPCs and their motivations and demeanor.
>>46278221
