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| Art by Bradley K. McDevitt |
Choices that Matter
RPGs are first and foremost about making choices--choices that matter,not simply mechanical choices during character creation, or whether to attack one bandit or another,. Choices can dramatically alter the events in the story, so these choices need to be informed choices too. It makes no difference to choose between two paths in the forest with absolutely nothing to tell them apart from each other. Give them information, feed their senses. Think about what you can tell them about the choices they have to help them make a judgment call, and let their choices really affect the outcome of the game. Never prepare situations with just one possible solution and choice.
Deadly Challenges
This is a game of sword and sorcery adventure, where PCs face monsters, demons and evil entities that would sunder the minds and souls of any mortals who looked at them. Even though the characters are set apart from the common people, they are still humans. They can bleed and die. The peril of this happening is one of the exciting sensations that will thrill the players as they play the game. But for this to happen, the possibility of character death must be real. This doesn’t mean the Referee is out there killing characters left and right, but that there should be challenges in the adventure that could very well kill them if they don’t play smart and are unlucky with their die rolls. It’s very important to notice that if something is deadly the Referee should also telegraph it’s lethality to players, so they can make informed choices with dealing with it. If entering through a demon mouth tunnel will disintegrate you, let them hear rumors that anyone who has ever entered there was never seem again. Describe how they see body parts around the entrance. Tell them of the blood stain on the lips of the demon mouth.
Possibility of Failure
Remember that a Referee is not in the game to tell a story, but to present a situation from where a story can be created through play. And that story can be about how the PCs fail to accomplish what they set out to do. The fun of the game is in the journey, in the attempt to do those things, not necessarily in the objective. This is very similar to the element Deadly Challenges described above. It’s great to accomplish one’s goal, but if there isn’t really a chance that the characters could fail, then the sense of accomplishment is diminished and the characters’ achievements become meaningless. The secret is to make the journey to their objectives fun and full of possibilities. Offer the players choices and things to interact with and they will feel that the end result doesn’t matter as much as playing the game. After all, they made their choices.
Multiple Factions
Not every NPC the characters meet in the adventure should be out to get them. Of course, some of them are planning to do exactly that, but there also should be opportunities to meet more helpful parties and neutral individuals that might do one thing or the other depending on how they are dealt with. There can also be multiple factions that are opposed to one another, and the PCs should have the option to help one of them, oppose them all, or find another alternative altogether. Adventures should be more than a simple series of combats and die rolls. Make the players have to deal with multiple interests and see how they react to them. This will show them they are not the only interests that matter in the game world.
Varied Challenges
This game offers many different ways to challenge the PCs, but the Referees should also try to challenge the players. Adventures can have combat (as this is one of the simplest way to challenge PCs, give them important choices and threaten their characters), but it should also have social interactions that could complicate their lives, puzzles they could solve to gain some advantage, riddles they could decipher to find out new information or open up new opportunities to explore. Think about how you could challenge all the aspects of the PCs, their different Attributes, their Special Abilities, their Concepts. Make the environment an obstacle to their efforts. Make them have to dig for information. Make them have to resist urges. With a variety of challenges, the game won’t feel repetitive and this will keep your players wondering what will come next.
Interesting Rewards
All this trouble should be worth something for the PCs. Think about that they want and try to insert some of it in the adventure somewhere. Maybe one of the villains has a powerful weapon. Maybe inside the tomb there is a dusty library with dozens of books. Some of them could have powerful spells, others could have information leading to ancient treasures or unexplored regions. Maybe their actions could make them famous. They could earn the gratitude of a whole community which will treat them as heroes for a while (as long as they don’t mess this up). Treasure is always a good option, but try to think about intangible things that might interest the players, like nfluence with some group, reputation, favors with an influential faction. Entice their desire.