This article is part 7 of the Instant World Builder series. Superstar factor I already wrote about making your players feel like superstars in the Instant Campaign Builder series. There’s not much more to say about the concept itself: your players will enjoy seeing the characters grow, have success, and achieve greatness in highlight reel…
This article is part 6 of the Instant World Builder series. Working with paths Most quests require the PCs to travel. Sometimes the journey from point A to point B is an integral part of the adventure. Sometimes it’s just an uneventful journey. Some journeys have to be completed many times: traveling from one city…
This article is part 5 of the Instant World Builder series. Starting small. Thinking big. In the previous Instant World Builder article – Starting small – I mentioned that designing a small area to start a campaign is a great way to save time, but the campaign still needs a grand plan. So what’s the…
How to run a heist adventure Heist movies are the essence of cool. Cool characters, intriguing situations, mind-boggling puzzles. A D&D heist adventure has tremendous potential since the campaign already has cool characters and a unique and rich setting – especially if you read the Instant World Builder and Instant Campaign Builder. Tim, a Dungeon…
Prepare a better campaign in less time This is a quick read that will help you shave dozens of hours in campaign planning. A lot of work went into this document and the content was edited and updated since it was first written. Have fun. Dowload the Instant Campaign Builder (.pdf file) (right-click and “save…
Random thoughts This morning a rooster decided it was a good idea to start crowing right next to my bedroom window. It’s 8am right now and he’s been going for 3 hours straight. A wizard NPC looking to play mind games with his enemies should just summon roosters when they’re trying to sleep. Running an…
Running a chase scene – Part 1 Robert sent me an e-mail when I was in L.A. to get some tips on running a chase scene. I did not get to write down my thought at the time because I was hanging out with Merlin. Lucky for him and I, Robert also asked a few…
Boredom alert! There’s nothing wrong with a game that’s slowing down. Dungeon masters are only human and can’t possibly plan for everything. Dungeons & Dragons players also often have A.D.D. – which is the main reason TSR called the old version of the game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. (A.D.D.) So what’s a DM to do…
Instant Campaign Builder Part X: D&D superstars This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. It’s tweaking time All the hard work is done. The campaign is almost ready to be unveiled. Almost! There’s still a few things you can do to make it better. In no particular order here are 4 things…
Instant Campaign Builder Part VIII: The First Scene This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. The first scene This is the first impression the players will get. Blow your players minds and they’ll be much more involved in their characters and your campaign. That should make your game easier to prepare –…
Instant Campaign Builder Part VII: Planting This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project.
Instant Campaign Builder Part V: LOCKing scenes This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. The LOCK technique I read about the LOCK system in a fiction writing book and quickly figured that it would be useful for my D&D game planning. According to this system here are the 4 elements of a…
Instant Campaign Builder Part IV: Campaign Outline This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. Railroad vs. Outline I always want to plan badass campaigns and memorable scenes but I don’t want to force the players into a linear storyline. That’s where a good outline comes into play.
Instant Campaign Builder Part III: Improvisation This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. Trust your improvisation skills The tools and tips described in the Instant Campaign Builder Project can only be used successfully by a dungeon master willing to improvise. A lot!
Instant Campaign Builder Part II: Props This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project.Impress your players Your players don’t need to know that you only spend 1 hour or less preparing for each game. They just want to be entertained. They want something different.
I like to keep my NPC descriptions simple. I think that less is more when it comes to introducing an NPC in a campaign. Whether the character will never be seen again or is the uber-villain you should settle for one – only one – role-playable characteristic. Nothing else matters. The NPC’s motivations or stats…
It is impossible to defeat an army of goblins in 5 rounds. It takes at least 6 rounds. Role-playing sucks? They’re called role-playing games but for most of us the fun part is killing stuff. Why else would computer games like World of Warcraft get millions of players? Because they got rid of most of…
I can already picture my players as they’re reading this! Relax, I don’t intend to wipe out my party and I don’t suggest that anyone should plan to kill all the PCs in their game. But…
They’re famous because they’re real I was looking for a new concept for a D&D campaign this morning. I haven’t played D&D in 4 months because I’ve been away from home and I’m getting really pumped up to plan a ridiculously good campaign. After weighing all my options I decided to base my next campaign…
This article is part 1 of the “Start A Campaign… Now!“ series. Start A Campaign – Part 1: The first game Start A Campaign – Part 2: Before the second game Start A Campaign – Part 3: The second game Start A Campaign – Part 4: How to prepare a great game in 30 minutes…
I was browsing the D&D forums recently and someone was looking for hints on how to start a horror campaign. How I would plan for the first game of a horror campaign