Hello and welcome! This is part zero of my first make-a-long: How to Start an RPG Campaign. This is a series overview where we will go over what will be covered in the following parts and why.
Section 1: What is this?
Like the title implies, this is an instructional series on how to start a campaign. When I was first getting into TTRPGs, I desperately wanted a walkthrough on how to be a GM. For someone to show me the exact steps they took, from staring at a blank sheet of paper, to sitting at the table. This is what I want the series to be. Hopefully, it will scratch the same itch I had for any other aspiring GMs.
For the most part, the instructions, and advice will be usable for any genre/setting. Even though, this does rely on a certain type of TTRPG to be run. An adventure game: Dungeons & Dragons, Starfinder, Troika!, Lancer, and the like. To show this, my examples for the series will be a gonzo mix of genre.
Keep in mind that this series will be biased, although I think that is a good thing. It would be too hard and take too long to explain all the ways you could start a campaign. Rather, I can tell you how I do start campaigns all the time. Speaking from experience will also allow me to go into detail I would not be able to otherwise.
That being said, the best way I learned how to GM was not by following someone's "perfect" guide to running TTRPGs. It was by learning from everyone, and through that, I was able to piece together what was perfect for me. After all, TTRPGs are a creative hobby. A GMs style for running the game is an artistic style; an amalgamation of their own influences, and personal preferences. So, while this series is a walkthrough, it is also just another example.
Section 2: Who is it for?
Due to this being my personal formula for starting campaigns, it would definitely help if your ideal game is similar to mine. That would be: relatively low prep, leaving space for improvisation, focusing on a session at a time, and a casual game experience. What does all that mean?
When I prepare for a game I do not seek out to answer every possible question. My goal is to build a good foundation of notes. Something to keep me informed on the setting, and current plot points, while offering ways to build off of it at the table. This is how I improvise. Not by randomly coming up with things on the fly, but by pulling information from my notes, and developing new information based on it. This style of preparation and running the game is what allows me to focus on a session at a time. I do not need every story beat planned out from the beginning. All I need to know is what is happening right now, and what I want to happen in the future.
I also do not set out to tell the perfect story. I work hard to make my stories fun and interesting, and I want there to be satisfying conclusions. Players will not mind if there is a couple plot holes; if they did I would find less stingy players. When it comes down to what stories I actually want to tell, I focus on what is already being told: The party's journey, the character's goals, and the setting's overall plot. With a lot of silly antics, and goofy side quests in between.
If any of that sounds like a style of game you can get behind, are looking to broaden your GM horizon, or want to minimize the prep you bring to the table, then I think you will like the series. If you are an aspiring GM who is looking for an example, or just want to follow along, then this series is made for you.
Section 3: What will be covered?
In this series we'll go from making a map, settlement, dungeon, and even prep the first session. I want to show you everything I would do to start a campaign. Not only will it allow you to follow along, but I will even share some of the tools I use to help. The most important things I will cover in the series though, are the fundamentals I use to prepare and run tabletop roleplaying games. I do not just want to show you how to start a campaign, I want to give you everything you need to keep running it.
Because I run low prep, a session at a time, I like the "start small and zoom out" approach to worldbuilding. That means our map will be a little area surrounding our starting settlement. This will give us just enough space. It is easier filling a small place with lots of detail. You would take much longer, making a larger map seem as jammed full. It is also good practice to focus on what the players are in the middle of, rather than what they will get to in 10 sessions from now.
The settlement is where our adventure starts, and its citizens will offer our players drama to drive the story. Both, will also give us a good view of the setting. Not only will be begin to define their overall civilization, but we will be able to hint at the larger world beyond them. We do not need a map for the settlement, and I will not be making one. Instead, we will craft a basic understanding of the settlement by answering some simple questions. When it comes to the citizens, they are the life of our settlement and will reestablish its aesthetic.
The dungeon is up next, and my "friend" will help us build it. There, we will get into environmental storytelling, and good encounter building. Dungeons, like the map and settlement, offer room to define the setting, but they also allow a lot of space for creativity. They should be fantastically frightening as well as weirdly wondrous. If you are wondering why I am using the word "dungeon", I am using it generally to mean: any multiple consecutive encounter location. A bank heist, a derelict spaceship, a haunted house, and a pocket dimension are all dungeons depending on the genre.
Preparing our first session might seem like a big one, and hard to do as a tutorial. Not at all. As much as you react to the players, they react to the world and its people, and you get to make the first move. What we have done prior, can be pulled in to help us as well. I will be going over how I break down a session using scenes and what goes into prepping them. In our scenes, we will decide on what sets off the call to action, what trouble the party finds along the way, and what they must face at the end of the road.
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