Toggle Theme

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen
GameMastery Guide / Getting Started / Preparing to Run a Game

Essentials of Good Campaigns

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 19
Your campaign need not have an overarching storyline, but having one (or more) continuing plots can help tie your adventures together into a continuous narrative, and inspire new ones.

Don’t overdo this element. Your goal isn’t to script your campaign, but rather to explain how and why things happen. Keep the story general, with an eye toward details your characters can notice and perhaps change through their actions. Choose something that can unfold slowly so that the story can move along even when your player characters aren’t actively involved in it. Consider how the player characters might shape or redirect the story, but also establish what happens if they don’t get involved.

Setting and Scope

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 19
Decide who’s who in your world. This includes not only the beings that hold the reins of power, but also everyone who’s involved in driving the campaign forward. If you’ve laid out a story for your campaign, identify the entities behind the major threads. Ask yourself who’s pulling the strings and who stands to gain and lose with each twist and turn.

Not every important character in your world need be terribly influential. Every locale with people has a few memorable characters, so sprinkle the neighborhood where your PCs live with a few of those. Some of these might become valuable assets to the characters, providing them with information, introductions to more influential people, or protection in times of need. Others might simply offer the occasional bit of comic relief.

Story

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 19
Many campaigns run on indefinitely until the group breaks up due to changing lives and priorities. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as running the campaign—and playing in it— don’t become chores. Still, it’s pleasant when a campaign comes to a natural end that allows you and your players to leave with a sense of completion.

You might plan a campaign with an ending in mind—a fairly easy task if you’ve laid out a story. Or you might decide to end the campaign when player interest (or your own) starts to flag. In either case, consider what elements in the campaign have struck a chord with the group. Perhaps they’ve grown fond of a particular town or character. Perhaps they really despise some villain or have a burning desire to obtain a certain item. Craft your ending so things end on a high note, with main conflicts resolved and the loose ends tied up. It’s often fun to create an epilogue that lays out each character’s later career and retirement and looks ahead to the general state of your game world during the surviving characters’ sunset years.

Movers and Shakers

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 19
Preparation is great, but sometimes you just want to play. Published adventures are perfect for this, but even those require a bit of reading ahead of time. If you want to truly wing it, with nothing more than a few notes and some dice, try flipping through some completed adventures for stat blocks you can use—at the very least, you’re going to need to know things like hit points, AC, and saves—or tag some creatures in a monster book. Sketch out as much of the plot as you feel you need; it could be a whole adventure, or just the first scene. Consider throwing in a big decision requiring party deliberation whenever you need a minute to figure out the next encounter, and remember that a fun roleplaying encounter with an oddball NPC can provide extensive entertainment without any math involved. For more tips on emergency game prep, see pages 48–49. And when in doubt—roll initiative!

Campaign Endings

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 19
Published adventures can be a great investment. Reading through such a scenario can give you an idea of how an adventure is put together, what challenges are suitable for your group’s power level, and what sorts of rewards are appropriate. The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook deals with these subjects, but there’s nothing like seeing all the elements put together. More importantly, a close look at adventures someone else has thought through can give you new ideas for constructing your own. It’s easy to fall into a rut, especially when you’re running games regularly, and adventures like Paizo’s Pathfinder Adventure Paths and Pathfinder Modules can help dig you out.

Similarly, there’s a wealth of prepackaged campaign settings available, including Paizo’s own Pathfinder Campaign Setting. Consider mining concepts from them for your own world, or adopting locations from them that inspire adventure concepts.

No matter how many published adventures or settings you own, it’s up to you to decide whether you’ll use them. If you merely lift an idea from them now and then, you’re still getting your money’s worth, but using them to a greater extent allows GMs to run sweeping, intricate campaigns with minimal preparation.