The Macro-Adventure: Part 2
Workshop 5
Adventures Within the Campaign
Campaign Play
Campaign play should go as follows:
1. Campaign introduction
Get your characters together. It should be like the
starting shows of a television series or the beginning
of a movie. You need to present the “Campaign
Characteristics.”
Ideally, you will be able to play out the way the
characters meet. They need to be tied in early to
the campaign theme.
Some will be made when you create the characters’
backgrounds and they are part of “History.” They
will already be tied in. Some will be dragged in.
Some will be swept in. They don’t know why they
are dragged in at first. Let them discover it.
Example: Princess Leia is part of being “part of
history.” Luke and Hans are dragged in. New
characters, such as Lando, will also be dragged in.
Build the idea that things are changing. Let them
know that there are things happening that they
have no control over when they start. The player
characters should know they have to choose
between going with the flow, try to change it,
or even try to stop it.
Game Master Workshop Series
2. Setting
Go through the areas they are going to frequent
so they are established in the players’ minds. Get
them involved by taking the characters there. Invest
a lot of time and effort now in description. You’ll
know a lot more than they will. You’ll have it later.
You then give them a reason to get there. And
return. Plant the seeds of adventures here — early.
If you have a fireplace in the tavern and there’s
something special about it later, they need to have
it planted early — so they can have “clues” of what
will happen to them.
3. Introduce characters
Begin introducing your major characters. Your
characters will then have access to people who know
what is going on instead of you, as the Game Master,
having to hand pieces of paper to them. Who wants
to stop playing to “read” information? Bars, town
squares, libraries, guilds, and even marketplaces are
good places to meet major characters.
Don’t go overboard on descriptions of major NPCs
and skimpy on lesser NPCs. Your players will notice.
Don’t give them big clues. Give lush enough
description to give them flavor, but not so much
that the players are hit over the head.
Manipulate your player characters through your
non-player characters by emotion. Let them think
the actions taken are entirely their idea. If you try
to push your player characters, they will always go
the other way just because you are trying to force
them to do something.
 Don’t bring in major allies / villains at this stage.
Let them deal with each one’s lackeys — distant
non-player characters make the player characters
feel like they are not important enough to know
the major allies and villains. The minor players work
as links to the major boys. Later, they will meet the
major allies and villains face-to-face. Now is not the
time. It will ruin the campaign because . . . where do
you go up from there? Let them slowly work their
way up to the attention of the big boys through
the lower channels. Let lesser non-player characters
bring the player characters to the notice of the more
important non-player characters and build
experience before meeting the big boys.
Build adventures around lesser non-player
characters. If the player characters get an emotional
tie to a non-player character, use him. Don’t discard
him. Give them non-player characters early. The
main goal at this point is to let the player characters
create a niche for themselves. At first, give them
different locations at different locals and describe
the setting. Create people, places and things the
characters will care about and want to defend.
Give them reasons to care.
4. Major conflicts
Major conflicts should loom on the horizon.
Give them changes and ability to ask “why” these
changes are occurring. Let their surroundings / life
begin to be changed by the major conflicts around
them.
Early Campaign
(4-5 months after starting game)
After establishing characters, relationships and
getting your players interested let the characters
build — financial base and experience base. Get
friends. Build a power base.
● Locate and obtain magic, spells, and allies.
● Build a sense that there is more to obtain
than what they have.
● Side adventures / sub-themes. Get a feel for the
players (or for the Game Master).
Middle Campaign
(1 year or less)
By this time, you have a mature group of player
characters that are ready to face mature challenges.
Characters tend to grow slower as they mature.
Power level for characters isn’t as important as being
integrated as part of the group (new non-player
characters or player characters). You may need to
focus on the new member for a while to bring him
up in level that is somewhat equal to the established
player characters. Make this person and experience
the most important in a few adventures. Same as a
new character as an old player.
Build on what you’ve done before. Items you’ve
developed before start having meaning here.
Non-player characters seeking revenge should start
here. Let the consequences of their past actions
come back to haunt them.
a. Start to have “crisis points.” This happens
in conjunction with the major theme. Decisions
must be made. Characters can no longer be
unaffected by things happening around them.
They have to take a stand.
b. Players begin to see progress and minor
victories against major villains. You need to
move toward their personal goals. The players
must feel their characters are changing /
growing or they will lose emotional attachment
with their player characters and then interest in
their characters.
c. Non-player characters start noticing the things
the player characters have done. Rewards and
recognition come into play. Have villains
working through lackeys to retaliate.
d. Let the details slide once the player characters
have established a routine. These details are not
as important.
e. Give the player characters something to protect
and declare theirs. Now, this causes more
problems. They will work harder to protect it.
f. Player characters need to create new goals that
relate to the main theme. Also, these new goals
should fit in the opportunities that have
originated from the campaign that have
nothing to do with theme. Also, goals will come
from their experiences.
 g. Game Master must handle a cycle of goals
being achieved and made. The player
characters must stretch and work toward their
goals. Then, when accomplished, they make
new ones.
Older Campaign
a. Characters only die heroically or because
of severely bad judgment.
b. Player characters are used to working together.
c. Campaign flow has hit the rapids -- main
theme. Player characters must be challenged
by this conflict. Harder to accomplish and more
consequences to actions. Levels change more
slowly at these levels.
d. They start obtaining major goals. Characters
are established as part of their society. They are
the center of attention.
e. More focus on campaign history. The more
“past” you have, the more “past” you have to
deal with. Also have “upstarts” to deal with.
f. Now, major decisions are made. Things bog
down . . . they are getting tough.
Changing Campaign Directions (Major)
1. Characters fortunes
Changes in the characters’ fortunes is not always
good for them. Fortunes include money, items,
physical damage, etc. It may be a gain of fortune
or a loss in fortune. If a gain, ask yourself who else
might want it? If it is something that can be
exchanged for money, the poor will want their share.
The middle class will want you to act as if you have
gained and are now part of the upper class. The
upper class wants to take it from you and ostracize
you. If a loss, you must have a justification for this.
Work it into the game. For power gain / loss you
can include magical items, technological items,
attributes, physical abilities / disabilities, and
political upheavals (such as an overthrow of
the current government).
2. Landscape
Changes in landscape can result from volcanoes,
raising islands, sinking existing land masses, fire,
floods, etc.
3. Social structure
You can raise / lower the player characters through
their actions and the influences of things not under
their control.
4. Biological
Major fauna / flora changes.
5. Ecological Disasters
If you kill all the dragons, what does that do to the
world around you?
6. Time
Move the player characters 200 years forward or
backward.
7. Technology
You can move up or down on this.
8. People Missing / Arriving
This can be non-player characters or player
characters. This might be one person, a series of
people or even an entire town’s population being
affected.
9. Make the Player Characters Outcasts
This can be done in a variety of ways. Make them
appear as villains / criminals. Perhaps even socially
unacceptable.
10. Romance
Again, this works best between a player character
and a non-player character. If your player characters
are willing to spark the romance between
themselves, let them.
Kill the Campaign
You only want to kill the campaign only if you are sure
the players agree.

Is the campaign worth saving? Ask your players.

Have you done everything you can to save it? You can
always set is aside for a while and come back to it later.
If you are going to take it out . . . do it with a BANG!

1. Tie up ALL plot lines.

2. Kill off ALL main villains. Deal with them

completely and finally.

3. Give ALL characters glorious deaths!

a. Make them feel they have not died in vain.
b. Take them to “Valhalla.” Let them be on the right
hand of their god(s)! Let them attend their own
funerals.
c. A great death is what they can talk about for years.

4. Lay waste to the whole world.

This paper is a written record of the “Game Master Workshop Series” presented by Guy McLimore and Greg K. Poehlein, creators
of Star Trek: The Roleplaying Game. This workshop was held at GenCon in 1993. There are eight pieces to this series.

This account was made by Laura Rajsic-Lanier (lauralanier@comcast.net). She makes no claims to the material presented herein.

Game Master Workshop Series