Encounters

You’ll notice that it has been a very long time since I’ve made a post. That would be because this blog got moved to the back burner, and, as things go, my back burner is filled beyond capacity. But, today I move this back up to the front.

Why the sudden change, you ask? I have found a new driving force; a muse, if you will. When your game has become boring or stagnated, you need something exciting, you need to insert a dangerous element. What could that be..? The ninja.

Oh, come on… Ninjas are sooooo overused. They’re all over the place. There’s still the pirates vs. ninjas debate raging in some areas, and, even after nearly thirty years, you can’t turn on Saturday morning cartoons without seeing some mutant turtles flipping around kicking butt. Bodacious dude…

But muses can be strange things, so I’m going to stick with mine – the ninja.

Now, onto the purpose of the post – Encounters. You’re preparing to create an encounter, or, better yet, a series of encounters. The first question you have to ask is – how does this incorporate into the overall story of the campaign?

This fits perfectly into the story because:
The primary target is the orc horde guarding the mountain pass… It’s an aside to assist with increasing the levels of your characters; it basically fits but doesn’t drive the main story forward… It’s a complete and total distraction that has nothing to do with the main story…

This last is what I’m going to be creating. While a ninja can easily be put into any setting, they have yet to make their first appearance in mine. This makes it perfect for this purpose. There is something mysterious and alluring about the ninja, and I plan to use that to full advantage to spice things up.

There is a warning label that comes with this type of encounter, however. If you’re creating one, or a series, centered on your primary story arc there isn’t an issue, just follow your outline or guidelines. Even the aside is still fairly safe; instead of fighting orcs on the mountains your players are working their way through the goblin mercenaries the orcs have hired to patrol the trails leading to their main fortress. The danger is with the distraction.

It’s obviously a very cool idea, otherwise you wouldn’t have the temptation to use it. In the case of the ninja for my game, there is a certain seductive quality surrounding it; teasing me. Which is where the danger lies. At this instant the players are on a mission – to clear the mountain pass. Things have stagnated, so I’m going to throw some spice in the pan and have them get attacked by ninjas in the middle of the night. Seems simple enough, right? Not with my mind. I have the propensity to let things run wild once I latch onto a new idea. Who are the ninjas? Where do they come from? Why are they there? Are they helping the orcs or an as yet unknown third party? Those questions, and the excitement that comes with them, creates the urge to just run with it.

But… This is a distraction, not a primary plot point – a very important distinction. You might point out that the ninja could just be written in, and that is a valid one, but at this stage my overall goals are pretty set, and this one thing could completely unravel everything else if it were allowed to.

Therefore, there is a line in the sand, something you have to be wary of crossing. On one side is the exciting encounter ripe with potential, on the other is the dark side where the distraction has gone too far. My sage advice is to toe that line. If you enjoy formulating the encounter then odds are your players will too, but don’t allow things to get swallowed up. Ride it to the nth degree, but watch your boundaries so you know when to tighten the reigns. The story is everything, remember.

But, you’ll say, if the encounter is that much fun… You know we’ll eventually cross that line. That is a strong possibility. With a good series of encounters, if they turn out well, illicit strong responses in your players, then you might blow right over that line before you realize what happened. For that reason you have to be ever vigilant to watch what you’re doing while you plan and execute. The overall story is paramount, and, while it can be changed to suit what transpires while you’re playing, maintaining control is the far better in the long run.

Have all the fun you want with this new idea, that’s the whole point. If you have fun, the players will have fun, but keep your eyes on the prize while you do it. If you do that, everyone involved will enjoy themselves, and your game will gain back that spark it might have been missing. In my case it’s a ninja, but in yours it could be anything. Find what it is and run with it.