NO ONE Knows How To Use Thou/thee/thy/thine And I Need To See That Change If Ur Going To Keep Making

Background: Chosen One by ezfi on reddit

Writing Realistic Characters - part 2

- Journal from their perspective. It can be hard to write compelling, realistic motivation for characters if you don’t understand them yourself. By journalling from their perspective, even if the content of the journal isn’t included in your story, you’ll essentially be thinking as the character. This should help you understand who they are and how they make choices and react to things, like a real person would.

- Answer “character questions”, but be careful when using lists found online. The internet is full of lists of questions for writers to answer when building characters, but not all of them are actually that important or useful. The fact is, it really doesn’t matter what a character’s favourite colour, animal or day of the week is (unless it’s relevant to your story… but it usually isn’t). When looking for question lists online, or making your own, focus on questions that have to do with your character’s personality, such as how they’d react to a situation or which values matter more to them.

- Make character charts! I can’t stress this enough — character charts are incredibly useful tools for writers and I don’t know what I’d do without them. They’re a great way to keep track of important information about your characters in an organized way that’s easy to access when you need to quickly check a detail. I’d also strongly recommend making your own charts, not using templates online (I find it a lot easier to stay organized when I’m using my own organizational system). If you need a place to start, though, I normally create charts with 4 categories: role (protagonist, antagonist, etc.), name, identities (gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.), and description (just a brief few sentences about them). You can also make personality charts with things like their greatest flaw, greatest strength, story goals, etc.

- Come up with a few detailed memories/anecdotes from their past. Think of them as mini-stories you can drop into your main story to build a more realistic life around the character. These don’t have to be crucial to the plot, and should be brought up in a natural way, such as in conversation with another character or in the main character’s thoughts. For example, your MC’s best friend might compliment her necklace, and she tells them how her sister gave it to her as a birthday present before moving away. You can also use these anecdotes to drop in important information in a non-obvious way. Continuing the example above, the MC could mention that her sister has the same design necklace, but in green. Later, this becomes a clue, when she finds the green necklace outside the villain’s lair.

- Keep a record of their backstory. This one doesn’t really need much explaining… Just keep notes of your character’s backstory as you come up with it so you don’t risk inconsistencies, which tend to break down realism. 

- Remember that the reader can’t see what’s in your head. Your characters may be fully developed, realistic people in your head, but that makes it easy to forget that your readers don’t automatically understand them the way you do — they only know what’s on the page. Asking other people to read your work can help you understand how your characters come through to an audience, but if you don’t want to do that, just re-reading it yourself is also helpful. If you do the latter, though, go through an entire chapter at a time, the way a reader would, not small sections.

As war grips the land, a group of warriors band together to protect a population of displaced peasants and towsnfolk as they winter in an ancient mountain fortress.  

Led by the veteran warleader Voadicia, the warriors have amassed a sizeable force of skilled fighters and eager recruits to their cause. Little interested in the goings on of the wider war, their group of holdouts has none the less attracted the attention of the embattled monarchs of the region, who see this rogue warband as a needless complication in their plans of conquest. 

Quest hooks: 

The party is made up of the initiate members of the warband, tossed together from deserters and aspiring peasants who wish to put themselves between the innocents in their charge and the horrors of the war. Their tasks are endless, scouting, exploring the reaches of the ruins, searching for more supplies. Should they cultivate a reputation as trustworthy and capable warriors, they will be brought into Voadicia’s councils about how best to defend their crumbling fortress, and what to do AFTER the war has passed. 

Allied with one faction in the war, the party is sent to negotiate with Voadicia’s warriors after several raids are made on their patron’s supply train. With careful persuasion the warband could be turned from a liability into a powerful ally, if only the party can mind their manners against a disillusioned band of brigands, or get past the fact that their patron is Voadicia’s former leige lord, who would more than happily see her in irons or with her head on a pike as an ally. 

Though the ruins the warband has taken as their home are said to have belonged to a line of forgotten kings, they are infact the last edifices of an ancient empire that spanned the continent and far eclipsed the development of the barbaric present. Vast treasures still remain undiscovered within its vaults, as do powerful artifacts of a forgotten age. Should they be discovered and put to use, it might just be enough to turn the enclave of warriors and refugees into a kingdom of their own, and Voadicia into a reluctant queen. 

Ley Strider By WillOBrien

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I've had a campaign idea for a while where the party chases after a monster/demon that's taken the appearance of a giant fox and they have to hunt it down or trap it, I'm unsure of how to run it as of now, but any ideas are appreciated!

Monster Hunt: The Smoke-Tailed Fox 

“Listen, the magistrates are already at eachother’s throats as how to classify this mess....  Is it grave robbing if the victim wasn’t buried yet? Is it attempted regicide if she was already dead?  All I know is that the court’s willing to pay extra to see this over and done with as soon as possible”

-Roderik Tull, Bounty Officer. 

Adventure Hooks: 

The Funeral procession of the recently departed queen was attacked while on its way to the royal sepulcher for last rites and entombment. While not even the most desperate bandits would attempt this daring feat, the honor guard present were unprepared to deal with the appearance of a tremendous white fox that emerged from the forest to strike their caravan with lightning-quick speed.  Throwing the defenders aside, the fox beast sundered the wagon carrying the queen’s body and savagely mauled the body with one of its claws. Witnesses report seeing the fox “drinking” an unearthly light from the royal remains before taking off once again into the woods. Everyone is pretty sure this is a bad omen, but few can agree exactly what it portends. 

Burial rights within the kingdom involve the priests invoking various rituals in order to “sign” which deity has taken up the departed soul, usually this is a chance for the gods to speak, and provide veiled commentary on the life of the lost, but upon the attempted buriel of the queen, it appears as if none of the gods have claimed her. People have begun to whisper that the Fox-beast stole their monarch’s soul, which again.. can’t mean anything good for the fate of the kingdom. 

Hunters going after the fox have reported that the woods it fled into have become a haze choked labrynth, with even the most well trod paths suddenly becoming winding meandering things that don’t lead you to their customary exits. A trapper fears for her partner who’s been lost out there for a few days, caught out in the woods when the Fox decided to lay down it’s curse.. or whatever type of spell it’s woven over the landscape. 

Setup:  Though Psychopomps come in many forms, they are all spirits preoccupied with shepherding mortal souls to the afterlife, ensuring that they do not tarry on among the living become ghosts. While some peruse this task with a solemn determination,  and others with a warmhearted cheer,  these entities help to maintain the balance of the cosmos, and ensure that the shades of the departed do not overwhelm their descendants. 

What happens then, when a Psychopomp abandons their duty? This is what happened to Ruvo, a vulpine steward of the dead who was sent to watch over the ailing health of the queen. Taking the form of a simple grey fox or unremarkable house servent, Ruvo watched over the queen as she spent her last remaining months tending to her gardens, never tarrying to far from her side lest her frail old body finally give out.  Newly appointed to this grim task, and not yet assigned to watch over the soul of one yet to perish, Ruvo developed a fondness for the resilient monarch,  which over time grew to a protective attachment as he cared for the woman who he was eventually supposed to escort off the mortal coil. 

The fox-spirit has made off with the queen’s soul, emotionally paralyzed at the thought of his “ friend” leaving him and perhaps fading away forever. Now perused by hunters, royal guard, and agents of whatever death deity he shirked in the queen’s favor, Ruvo has hidden the two of them away in an isolated spot in the forest, shrouding the surroundings in magic and hoping the whole mess will blow over if he just stays hiding long enough. 

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why are yt to mp3 websites always the shadiest fuckin sites I feel like I’m going down a dark alleyway risking the chance of getting drugged and/or stabbed just bc its the only place where I can find a guy to deal me some decent fart with extra reverb dot mp3s

i think reframing 'writing a campaign' or 'writing a plot' as writing beats has dramatically changed the quality of my dming. for me personally, i work best when i have a world with pieces that would be moving (regardless of whether the players would be there but obviously, you put the players in the crosshairs to effect change) and plan each 2-4 sessions as its own small story and i've developed a method that really works for me that i use for oneshots, mini campaigns, and in arcs for longer games.

[ID: a screenshot of a bullet point list with template headers: Location, Framing Plot (subheaders Social, Exploration, and Combat), Key NPCS, World Plot Progression, Player Hooks (subheaders repeating Player to be replaced with a PC's name)]

to further explain:

Location(s) — where the sessions will likely take place, so I have a manageable list of places to develop further in terms of worldbuilding.

Framing Plot — What is happening, what is the inciting the incident and what are the things the players cannot control. Then the subheaders are the three tiers of play. I think it's important to have an idea to tap into all of them or lean heavier into what your party is interested in but consider all of them for fun and exciting Mechanical gameplay as well as story and roleplay.

Key NPCS — Who are the NPCS that are going to be important to the framing and to the players. This is usually just a handful.

World Plot Progression — How does / how will the events of this scenario push forward what your players are working towards?

Player Hooks — Specific thoughts for how to connect the framing plot to each player character and make each player feel invested and like their choices matter.

and that's what I do to plot out my games. It's never "this is how things will resolve" it is, "this is what the situation is and this is how i want to connect my players to it and see what they do"

Adventure:  Rebels in the Rimebough 

No matter how cold the north wind blows, the pain of old injustice burns hotter. 

Setup: The Frontier kingdom of Volskolt sits on the edge of a vast wilderness, the last bastion of so called civilization against the vast territories where no sovereign save winter can rule. Given that the kingdom was only established and its populace converted to the dominant faith less than two centuries ago most on the continent regard the Volskoltans to be little more than backwater heathens, feigning piety in polite company while practicing barbaric rituals while at home. This attitude is reflected by the urban Volskoltan population towards their rural neighbors, and by those rural neighbors towards the migratory tribes that live in the hinterlands. 

It is this tension that sits at the heart of the kigndom’s current troubles, as the elders among their people remember that their now sedate nobles came to their land as militant holy orders seeking to crusade against their heathen neighbors, burning what villages they did not take for their own and building stout stone walls as a sign of their dominance. While the elites now consider themselves one people with the “common Volskoltan”, few who keep to the old ways have forgiven them for the bloodshed, or the merciless suppression of their ancestral rites in favor of the continental faith. 

And so we come to the crossroads of fate, nearly two hundred years of injustice and resentment reaching a boiling point during the coldest winter in generations. Rebels gather their power, giants stir in the mountains, and the destiny of a kingdom may hinge on a single life. 

Adventure Hooks: 

After rescuing a waylaid caravan of holyfolk out in the hinterlands, the party arrives in a village just in time to interupt a group of villagers being burned alive in their home by a priest and his mob. Though there is no secular law against worshiping other gods in the kingdom, the church takes folk worshiping both the new and ancesteral ways as the greatest affront. Now the party must decide between preserving their in with the church and doing the right thing and saving the townsfolk from a mob that could just as easily turn on them.  

The party is called together by noble allies who have become aware of a grim secret. The young heir to the throne of Volskolt has been kidnapped while hunting near the Rimebough forest. Some ready themselves for ransom, while others cultists are behind the dead, others are worried that political dissidents are behind these actions and expect him to be used against the royal family some time soon. All that matters now is that the boy be returned home unharmed, a deed that will require the party to brave the harshest wilderness, but will see them royally rewarded. 

While everything else is happening, a normally sedate clan of giants have decided to start marauding down into civilized lands.  Is this mere chance? A plot by a faction of the Rimebough rebels? or do these giants answer the call of something even more ancient? 

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Hiya!

Im prepping a ball for my players to go to (its hosted by the mob, half of the PCs are the children of the leaders), and I'm wondering if you had any suggestions on stuff that could happen there! I have a couple of events and bits of gossip and stuff, but I'm running out of ideas (most of the ones i have are expanded on thanks to forums and friends). Thanks!

Drafting the Adventure: Throwing a Party

There comes a time in every adventuring party’s career where they must attend some kind of celebration, whether it be in their own honor or as part of a larger adventure. Ranging from peasant festivals to the indulgent fetes of the upper class, celebrations are to regular social encounters what dungeons are to a random skirmish. Just like dungeons, celebrations are at their best when the group is attempting to explore and navigate a larger structure, looking to discover a way to their goal while fighting a time pressure while fighting against the clock, all the while attempting to dodge various hazards that will slow them down or eject them from the premises. While not every bash the party attends has to be run like this, having an idea how to run a celebration-as-encounter gives you access to a framework that can support important dramatic beats for your campaign, or launch unexpected new ones. 

The Timeline

Think of your celebration as being divided up into acts or phases, depending on the general temperament/activity of the guests and the major events you’d like to see take place. When building your acts it’s important to have a goal in mind, something the celebration is building towards regardless of whether the guests or the heroes know about it. This goal often intersects or contrasts in some way with the party’s own objective, forcing them to jam themselves into the sharped toothed gears of polite society in order to get what they want. Here’s a brief example below, where the group’s goal is to ingratiate themselves with the influential duchess. 

1 The guests arrive: general meet and greet, folk are a bit tentative

Party meets their intermediary and gets introduced to a few people before getting to split off. Their quarry is nowhere in sight

2 Full Swing: guests loosened up by good drinks and good company

the Influential Duchess finishes up with social niceties and begins talking with friends, the party might have an in, but they need to figure out who the duchess will open her conversational circle for. 

The Long Awaited Viscount arrives fashionably late making a spectacular entrance, all but announcing his attempt to woo the Duchess’s daughter

3 First Dance:  The party, their new acquaintances, and the duchess are all swept up into the dance, with only the most stubborn of wallflowers being spared from participation. 

Atleast one of the party members has a chance to talk to the Duchess, but she is distracted worrying about the Viscount's intentions for her daughter. 

Briefly introduce the party to the Viscount and the Daughter, let the party know they’re on some kind of collision course. 

4 Refreshments: guests are in very good spirits but the Duchess is on war footing, walling her and her daughter off behind a circle of close acquaintances and trusted social allies. Any forays the party makes is likely to be seen as a ploy of the Viscount's to gain access to her daughter.

Cut out of the loop, the party must contend with all those who don’t pass the Duchess’s muster, but if they made friends with the shy handmaiden earlier, they have an in.  

5 Second Dance: The duchess’s wall temporarily breaks for social propriety, letting the party begin to close in once again. 

During this dance, the Viscount covertly releases a monster he had polymorphed and secreted onto his person. In the rampage, he and the daughter run off. 

The party is forced to decide between battling the monster with improvised weapons, or pursue the Viscount, trusting that the guards will take care of it. 

6 Here’s where the story turns: Do they duel the viscount and the daughter preventing them from leaving, or let them slip away? Do they battle the unleashed monster, proving their bravery before the assembled guests, or are their casualties among the attendants? 

This example celebration obviously has an unexpected and violent twist at the end, but it’s possible to run one completely straight and have just as meaningful story affecting consequences. 

Below the cut, I’m going to give a few different archetypes of the sort of encounters one can have during a celebration, and how to run them in a way that will save you time both during your planning and at the table. 

The Opportunities

Less than an encounter, an opportunity represents a narrative thread available to the party during a particular phase of the celebration’s timeline. Ideally there should be more opportunities than the party can capitalize on at once, through some may be hidden unless the party is adventurous or perceptive. Don’t feel a need to be too rigid on how an opportunity “triggers”, as you want to give the heroes an excuse to enjoy all the delightful content you’ve made for them.  Lastly, some phases are going to have less opportunities, so once these are exhausted, feel free to move ahead. 

Here’s some examples to consider: 

Fleeting: Directly related to events that are going to occur in later pheses of the celebration, these opportunities represent a way for the heroes to get ahead of the challenges to come. Think of them as keys to doors that the party have not yet encountered, with the challenge of a celebration-as-encounter being figuring out which opportunities are going to pay off in future phases. 

Reoccurring: These stick around for most of the celebration, filling out your list of available opportunities. If a party member doesn't’ know what to do in a particular phase, have one of your Reoccurring opportunities seek them out. Gossips are likely to want new people to chat to, and someone seeking aid will likely grow more bold as the situation gets worse.  

Stray threads: Unrelated to the celebration itself, a stray thread is a bit of worldbuilding, rumor, or quest hook that draws the player’s attention away from the mission at hand. These can be great ways to foreshadow upcoming events, or present options for the party for after their current adventure resolves. 

Wallflowers: If one of your players feels like they’re not the party type, don’t worry, there’s likely some NPCs that don’t want to be there either. Staying as far away from the social battlefield as decorum will allow them, they’re likely to have wound ways to amuse themselves and be glad of some company. Wallflowers might need to be generated on the fly, but try to match them to the introverted character’s interest. A groundskeeper shares a flask with the uncivil barbarian, the awkward wizard stumbles across a great aunt playing chess against herself on two different boards. The troublemaker stumbles into a couple of bastard cousins playing cards in the smoking room. 

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