tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post3631745106602090648..comments2024-03-27T11:04:31.390-04:00Comments on From the Sorcerer's Skull: The Cultivating and Care of Campaign MysteriesTreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-67304059427956122672018-10-16T10:05:55.422-04:002018-10-16T10:05:55.422-04:00@Billy - Definitely. Without giving too much away ...@Billy - Definitely. Without giving too much away in a place where they might read it, their are definitely places where they've jumped to conclusions or were suspicious of links that weren't necessarily there.<br /><br />@Chris C. - I think that's a nice minimalist approach.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-29903051692123185022018-10-16T06:28:58.041-04:002018-10-16T06:28:58.041-04:00Very nice ideas. I always dig campaign world myste...Very nice ideas. I always dig campaign world mysteries.<br /><br />The thoughts on backstory here in the comments are interesting too. Since I tend toward OD&D with its low hit points, I hesitate to ask players for any real backstory. But one thing I have found that works nicely (as a compromise in a high-mortality-rate game) is to just ask for three or four bullet points, like "where are you from?" and "list two people your character is intensely connected to" (people s/he loves or hates). Simple list, little time investment (so no great loss of effort if the character dies), but enough to engage each character personally in the world and serve as the basis for adventures.Chris C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08655640273250716377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-5788630816232789882018-10-15T23:47:27.054-04:002018-10-15T23:47:27.054-04:00What I found interesting here was the way you plan...What I found interesting here was the way you planted the seeds early on but seemed to allow the players to cultivate the mystery themselves over the course of the campaign. Did you find that you often had players drawing connections between seemingly unconnected situations/NPCs/locations and these mysteries, or at least their understanding of the mysteries? That's been my favorite part of running my Spear! Fang! Raygun! campaign, which it seems I'm running similar to Azurth in that it's not a sandbox but a series of open-ended scenarios presented to the PCs to approach how they will.Billy Longinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07544023934311537486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-50030754500676031092018-10-15T12:00:00.180-04:002018-10-15T12:00:00.180-04:00Thank guys!
@CJK and Aos - I think a lot of the n...Thank guys!<br /><br />@CJK and Aos - I think a lot of the negative attitude of character backstory comes from our adolescent gaming experiences, where I think it was probably most bad. In my adult gaming, I feel like it's mostly good, but you do occasionally run into the players Aos mentions.<br /><br />@Anne - Yeah, it really just depends on what you want out of the game. If the lethal dungeoneering is the primary focus, it probably takes a little more outside the box thinking to work the things I'm talking about here. Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-12013757254933669522018-10-15T11:24:40.153-04:002018-10-15T11:24:40.153-04:00These are some really great, practical ideas. Than...These are some really great, practical ideas. Thank you for writing this!<br /><br />I think character backstory is one thing I miss out on playing DCC. When you're generating and killing off characters by the half-dozen, you can't necessarily know what kind of person your character is until they've survived a few scrapes. 5e seems like it has more potential to include it from the start, and to develop it over time.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15493700749333105771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-55296363332585433892018-10-15T09:18:28.865-04:002018-10-15T09:18:28.865-04:00Nioce write up, as far as the back story goes, it ...Nioce write up, as far as the back story goes, it can be the best or worst thing, depending onthe player and their level of self-awareness and restraint. Aoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00145284080419502886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-59354090383880524062018-10-15T08:47:34.381-04:002018-10-15T08:47:34.381-04:00Player backstory gets a bad rap in some circles. L...Player backstory gets a bad rap in some circles. Like you, I've more often found it to be a good source of adventure seeds and additional setting flavor.Jack Guignolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05226738666709754348noreply@blogger.com