Hey guys! I’m a newer dm (not a new player, been playing for a few years) and I just want to ask what a dm should consider when it comes to planning and worldbuilding. I would also like to ask if you have any tips for when a player goes wildly off course in a direction you have zero ideas for. You guys got tips?
I can tell you something that is working remarkably well for me, and entirely by accident: I had a sketch of a campaign world I wanted to build, but only 1 small area that was solid. It languished for a couple of years.
Then I got introduced to a website where people publish serial novels (Royal Road).
A few months later I had a bunch of story ideas bouncing around in my head, and a particular combination was demanding most of my attention, so I started writing it. I’m a bit of a ‘panster’, so I just started with my opening scenario and wrote.
But I found myself needing information for the world around them really fast, and then realized I had a solution: It fit perfectly in the campaign world I had started. This means that to keep writing the story, I had to keep filling out details that could be added to my campaign website. I also have two other story ideas I have started to sketch out that help fill details on other continents.
In short: If you can write a story in your campaign world, then answering questions around that story will give you campaign details.
Important note: The story you write IS NOT and WILL NOT be the adventure your players go through. Ditch that idea immediately. The story is its own thing.
@Zagaroth @LilGuyPlasmoidDruid Wait…are you me?
@Zagaroth@ttrpg.network Expanding on my earlier reply - my situation has a lot of parallels with yours, including eyeing Royal Road as a possible place to publish the serial.
I started up a prose fantasy-adventure serial as a medium to build a setting that’s not encumbered by other people’s Intellectual Precious, and try out some DMing ideas and scenario concepts in a controlled environment. Started with an ensemble of three “competent misfit” characters in (as is tradition) a small-town tavern and gave them a lead on potentially recruiting a fourth member to round out their group, and a selection of requests for help to start their “adventuring” career on. Now I’ve got several villages, a collection of Non-Protagonist-Characters, various businesses, and about three “big” sources of potential antagonism so far. Had an idea for a whole campaign idea (from another Fediverse conversation elsewhere) that I may test out in this medium, too, which should be fun.
How are you liking Royal Road as a hosting/publishing platform so far?