If there is one thing I have learned from both sides of the DM screen it is that the players need to feel that this is their story. I want my players stories to develope in parrallel and overlaping the Kingmaker plot. To do this I will need to let them have the freedom the Kingmaker sandbox allows, but I am afraid that at some point I will let the characters do something that will upset the rest of the story. In preparation I have read the first book and most of the second. Also I has read the summaries and backgrounds for each of the six books. I think I have read enough to tie character back grounds into Kingmaker. At this point I would like to start spending more time in preparation and less in reading the other books. My fear is that a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous. I'm hoping that some of you experienced people can help me avoid these dangers
Here are my general guide lines:
- If they travel out of the area covered in the current book, gentility steer them back.
- Don't introduce plot lines to early. More reason not to read more of the books. I can't divulge what I don't know.
Please help releave the anxiety. I understand no plot survives contact with the players, but a properly prepared DM can navigate the detours.
Second rule of Sandbox - Don't let the kids it any Toostie Rolls they might find incase rule number one is broken.
Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Having played sandbox style adventuring since the early 80s, I can promise you it's not as rough to do as you may think.
I would actually recommend you read all the books. That way, should they ask questions you DO have the answers and will know how to grin mischievously at just the right parts. As a for-instance, someone started a thread about a barbarian character in his group wanting to go check out the local tribes. By having read books four and five, he knows what to introduce to that character and what to hold back. You'll want the same kind of flexibility, otherwise you will run into situations you aren't expecting, and will have to adjust later adventures due to things that you cannot change from the past.
Also, I'd actually recommend letting your players wander wherever they will. The nature of a sandbox is that the stuff close to "home" is safe. I.E., if you only go a few miles from Oleg's Trading Post, you're likely to not run into anything that you can't deal with. If, on the other hand, your group insists on wandering into the territory where the Iron Council was sent (the powerful group that gets sent way to the west with their charter and meets an untimely end), they should very quickly run into things that make them run screaming for "home" again, where it's safer.
By the way, just because they run into it doesn't mean they have to fight it. If they see a massive black dragon roosting on the hill several miles ahead, they may hunker down. Have them roll some stealth rolls. Then, when the beast takes wing and begins flying toward them, one of their horses may bolt (no low level character can make the handle animal check to stop that, but they can try). The beast swoops in, snatches up the running horse and glides away to consume its meal, "unaware" of the party so near by. The party, of course, has just narrowly averted certain death, and decides it is perhaps safer to put some distance between it and the dragon they cannot fight. For now...
The above, of course, counts as "gently guiding them back into the safe zone" but still feels (to them) like they were allowed to go where they want.
As for your prep note: yes. Prepare everything. Be ready with multiple random encounters ready to go. Have lots of wilderness flip maps and map locations so you're not repeatedly fighting on the same blank space. Have a good idea of what kind of environmental flavor you want to introduce. And know your own characters well (the NPCs make this story what it is).
I also strongly recommend reading DM aka Dudemeister's changes to the overall game. They're awesome.
Good luck. This is a fun path.
Having played sandbox style adventuring since the early 80s, I can promise you it's not as rough to do as you may think.
I would actually recommend you read all the books. That way, should they ask questions you DO have the answers and will know how to grin mischievously at just the right parts.
This!
Have fun with it, re-read the different books often, and start making your own links. It's fun, even though they won't know it, you will :)
|
Here is the main piece of advice I can give:
Decide what the boundaries of your sandbox are and stick to them. You may not have to share them with your players, but don't be shy about stopping them if they insist on going past one of them.
The boundaries for my own game were-leaving the Stolen Lands and going somewhere else to form a kingdom. If they did that, we were going with another AP or campaign. I personally would prefer they did not throw away all the hard work we have collectively put into the current group of characters by doing something completely insane like declaring war on Brevoy, but even that I would go along with if required.
So advice in a nutshell:
- Definitely read all the books.
- Decide what you personally want to add to Kingmaker. Mostly people expand the NPCs, politics, change the terrain around, add more set encounters, add sub-plots, etc.
- Look at your PCs characters and decide what additions their backgrounds might require to be added to the game.
- Read in the Kingmaker forums here and see what you might borrow from to help with some of these additions. There is a goldmine in here of great ideas from some fantastic GMs.
- Set the boundaries of your sandbox. IMO the best way to do that is with politics or powerful forces. Don't want your players roaming over into Varn's lands? Make their be political ramifications and consequences that are severe for going there. Or put a dragon, creature or fierce tribe in the way to dissuade them. Then if they insist on going that way, let them. If by some miracle they succeed, you have an unforgettable story about determined players.
- Upfront, tell your players the parameters you want to keep the game in, and let them tell you how they feel about it. Work it out so everyone is happy, and your game will be the better for it
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Redcelt and Drogon have good advice.
The only thing I would add, that is specific to Kingmaker, is to have a good understanding of the political situation in YOUR understanding of Brevoy.
There are lots of different ways to interpret that situation and the way you describe that at the beginning, will almost certainly effect things later in the series.
Some people here have a full 'Game of Thrones' type background with heavy political intrigue that has a timetable all of its own. Those things will affect they game, no matter what the players decide to do.
I use a less political background, but have a series of 'stand-offs' that leave everything simmering - and because everything is well balanced it will stay simmering for as long as I want it to. Sure there are a couple of armies performing 'strategic manoeuvres' along borders between different noble holdings - but nothing will 'kick off' until it suits me - OR the PCs go in there with a specific intent to start something. (Note - if any of my players read this - please make sure you prepare really well - I hate TPKs :P)
Once you have YOUR game's political background sorted, you can use it to give your players a nice consistent world view.