Getting Started
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Guts and Iron Adventure Guide
While the Guts and Iron Sandbox Adventure Guide is designed primarily for the Guts and Iron RPG, it can also be used with nearly any medieval, dark ages, fantasy style rpg.
The Goal of the Adventure Guide
The real goal in creating Sandbox Adventures is to create complex and involved adventures on the fly with very little (or no) preparation. This means that instead of in-depth planning and linear story lines that have a beginning and an end, you instead create an open world allowing the players to participate in any way they see fit. For the players, sandbox style adventures are about doing what they want, whenever they want. For you as the GM, sandbox style adventures are a way to test your metal when it comes to imagination and on the fly GMing.
Building an Adventure
Getting Started
Before you begin drawing out maps, selecting monsters for battle, and creating lavish rewards, you have to ask a few questions that pertain to the PCs that will be involved in the adventures you are creating.
How powerful are the PCs?
As GM, you are going to have to build adventures that suit the needs of the PCs. Monsters that are too weak will be easily defeated by the PCs while monsters which are too strong may easily defeat the PCs…
Where are the PCs?
The location of the PCs will have a great deal to do with the adventure that the PCs are facing. Adventures within a town or city vary greatly from those experienced in the wilderness. AS GM, it is your duty to mesh the adventure with the world around the PCs. Adventures should take place within the living, breathing world. Time does not stop while PCs go on a hunt nor does the world around them cease to continue on its own path.
What is happening around the PCs?
The goings on of a particular place are as relevant to an adventure as the location. What is taking place where the PCs are located? Are their wars? Are their issues of race or slavery? Are the PCs feared or hated? Questions like these can lead to answers that are much needed in order to build an adventure. PCs who are angry
What is the purpose of the adventure?
How will everything fit into a bigger scenario or a bigger picture? Does what is happening even need to be encompassed in something that is larger? Perhaps the adventure can stand on its own and need not be tethered to anything else. Perhaps the adventure is a smaller portion of something larger that is accumulating or getting ready to take place. Perhaps the adventure is simply a free for all romp through the world without rules or guidelines. All of these are options and questions to consider when yu begin to plan your adventure.
Remember to always think ahead as much as possible!
Coming Up with an Idea
The idea is the first thing you are going to need when setting up your adventure. Your going to need an idea of what the players want as well as how powerful their characters are and what they can handle. Ideas can be found anywhere and everywhere; in movies, books, old radio shows, the internet. If you have difficulty coming up with your own ideas, take someone else ideas and put a new face on them.
If you are planning a treasure hunt adventure, think of recent movies that involved treasure hunting. What was it that the protagonists faced in the movie; time, rival hunters, traps, their own inner demons? Thinking of another story and using it to encompass your adventure can lead to ease of adventure creation. Think of the treasure hunting moving as the skeleton, a literary framework on which you can build your own adventure.
Back-story
While you may truly enjoy writing out a lengthy and involved back-story for your adventure, you should realize that most of the players involved don’t care about back-story and don’t care about details that happened 200 years ago. While those details about the past may be intriguing on some level, unless they pertain directly to the adventure, it’s probably best to leave them out. Remember, we are talking about sandbox adventures here, that means fast and on the fly. There is little chance that you can come up with a lengthy and involved history that pertains to your PCs in a matter of minutes.
The back-story should pertain directly to what is taking place at the time of the adventure. This may include any wars going on and why they started, any personal conflicts in an area that are worthy of noting, any type of transportation or movement of troops or goods etc. Back-stories are best when they encompass a broad scope which leaves them open and flexible. As the story progresses and the PCs interact, you can always add details and tidbits of information that are pertinent to what is taking place in the campaign.
The Map
The Map is the GMs guide to where the PCs are and serves as a reference for what has been done and what is coming up. As a GM, it is your responsibility to provide the maps, descriptions and atmosphere that your players will be journeying through and participating in. A good map can not only help the GM organize the gaming session but it can also be a valuable asset for the players. As such, we have included an entire atlas within the pages of this book. Ready made dungeons, towns and castles are yours to fill with monsters, treasures, traps etc.
Being Prepared
As GM you will want a map that details the overall area where the PCs are located. This map should encompass the surrounding areas and highlight any important structures, landmarks, towns, natural features etc. This map may never be used in the gaming session, but it can serve as a tie in to move the story along at some point and allow the world to seem much bigger for the players. This map is known as the Master Map. (This is the idea that the world is huge and not merely just a single town but that there are things which exist outside of the town.)
As GM you will also want to have several maps of important areas which are ready in a moments notice. The PCs may be in the mood for dungeon crawling. If this is the case, you should probably have a dungeon map ready to go (the area of the dungeon should also be marked on the Master Map).
Don’t worry about having all your encounters in place at the beginning of the session. Don’t worry about having every building in town allocated for a specific purpose, its not necessary. As the PCs move about the dungeon, as they move about the town, keep track of where they have been by marking areas on the map. When they enter into a location they have yet to explore decide what is found in the location and then mark it on your map. If they want to look for something specific, decide the location of the area and mark it on the map.
Random lists and descriptions of rooms, buildings, and natural areas have been included in this book to make your job as GM a bit easier. If you are ever lost as to what comes next, you can always look up a random location to save time.
Four Parts of an Adventure
1. The Hook
2. The Plot
3. The Reward
4. The Cliffhanger
The Hook
The Hook is the device which is used to lure the PCs into some type of adventure. The Hook should be personal and somehow connect the PCs to the world. Hooks are designed to lure or hook the PCs in undertaking a quest, staring a journey, investigating a crime etc. Hooks often work well when they deliver something that the PCs need, such as money, power, weapons, etc. In most circumstances, the PCs will only go for the Hook if there is some incentive. The incentive could be anything from the adventure itself to the reward at the end or anything in between. The main things is to be aware of what type of game the players are looking for. (You don’t want to run a court room campaign when everyone is intent on hacking and slashing, do you?)
When creating the Hook be sure to blend it with the rest of the scenes and action taking place so that it does not stand out as a Hook. Offering several Hooks may confuse the PCs on what they should do, (this occurs daily ion the real world, we call it decision making). The offering of multiple Hooks which are well placed in descriptions and encounters allows for the creation of a realistic environment that doesn’t feel contrived or store bought. The Players should always feel that the future is unknown, that anything can happen. If they are unable to identify the Hook as a Hook, the adventure will feel that much more real and less scripted. The idea is to get away from the feeling that everything is planned.
Often times, especially in sandbox style adventures, the Hooks can create themselves as the PCs interact in the world. The PCs may go into a tavern and start a fight, perhaps they actively seek work or wish to rob or murder someone. In these type cases, the Hooks will manifest naturally. For example, lets say that a member of the party picks someone’s pocket and is caught. A fight ensues and the PCs murder someone during the brawl. The stage is set. Whatever adventure was planned is probably out the window as the PCs have to battle for their freedom. This could mean trying to escape the townsfolk or the authorities or perhaps the PCs are caught and sent to jail. Allowing the world to act naturally on the actions of the PCs can determine what takes place in a gaming session and what does not.
The Plot
In prose literature, a Plot consists of several things which can also be applied to the running of an adventure. These Plot pieces are; the exposition, the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution. When getting started laying out an adventure only a general Plot idea is really necessary. The story is not pre-written but rather it is yet to be determined by the choices and actions the PCs take.
This section of information is designed to give you, the GM, a brief overview of the course an adventure can take. Most adventures will not be linear and may have several of each of the following elements. After all, we aren’t reading a book during the adventure, rather, the world is wide open. Also, there is no reason to adhere to these Plot pieces as if they are laws, that at 15 minutes into the game, the PCs must be on the Rising Action and at 45 minutes into the game, they need to be starting the Climax. Simply use the pieces of the Plot as a guide. Most adventures naturally fall into these categories anyway.
The Exposition
The Exposition contains the characters to be involved in the adventure. This includes the PCs and the NPCs (humans and monsters). The Exposition also contains the setting, which for you the GM should include; maps, descriptions (or ideas of descriptions) of locations and attitudes.
The most important part of the Exposition is the introduction of the PCs to the problem to be overcome during the adventure. This presents the PCs with options and choices that will have to be made.
Although Sandbox Adventures are not pre-built but rather operate “off the top of the head” the Exposition still plays a key role as it leads toward Plot progression by acting as a beginning for the adventure.
The Rising Action
The Rising Action is where the story begins to unfold, where complications and other problem start to rise and when a degree of suspense builds.
The Climax
The Climax is the peak of the story, when tension and turmoil boil to a point that forces the story to take a turn. The Climax can be considered the point at which things take a change for the better or for the worse. During an adventure, there may be multiple climaxes depending on the type and complexity of the adventure.
The Falling Action
The Falling Action tales place after the Climax. Naturally the adventure will tend to slow down here as it moves towards the Resolution. During the Falling Action, events and outcomes should fall into place. Unanswered questions and actions can still exist here which can help to create a continuation of the story in future sessions.
The Resolution
The Resolution is basically the end of the story, the place where the loose ends (at least the ones that are supposed to be) are tied together. The Resolution of the adventure should a time when things fall into place or come to a significant close. The Resolution does not infer that the end is good or bad, rather, it is the culmination of events that lead to a stopping point.
The Reward
Once the gaming session comes to an end the PCs will most likely be rewarded in some way. The reward can be anything from the thanks of a town whom the PCs helped to save to a large cache of treasure to a boatload ox XP. Many times the Reward will be dependent on the length of the session or the campaign. (The PCs are most likely not going to find the great horde of treasure in the middle of the campaign.)
The Reward is important because it creates a sense of purpose. Sure, playing the game can be lots of fun but everyone wants a reward. Lets face it, if the PCs battled through the dungeon, saved the princess from the evil witch and returned her safely to town, they most likely deserve a reward worthy of their efforts. To short the exploits of the adventurers is to short the players. A well deserved and balanced reward is only fair and just.
The Cliffhanger
After an adventure has come to an end, it’s a good idea to throw something in that the players can look forward to next time. You can easily create Cliffhangers by adding something at the end of the adventure that piques the interest of the players. Not only does a Cliffhanger give the players something to look forward to in the next session, it also creates a continuance of the story adding a sense of realism, a sense that the world is still moving and what the PCs just experienced was merely a part of a much larger story.
Gaming Components
Threats
As the PCs delve out into the world they will sooner or later come upon some sort of threat, something that presents a hazard toward their well-being somehow. As GM, it is your responsibility to create and handle threats.
Before we get carried away, perhaps we should define a threat as it pertains to the PCs. Basically, a threat is anything that intends to negatively affect the PCs in some way. This may be something physical, emotional, mental, financial, etc. The biggest threat the PCs will face will most undoubtedly be the great equalizer, death. Although death is not irreversible, for the most part it is the end.
As GM it is imperative that situations that have the potential to bring about the death of a PC(s) be handled with a degree of previous thought and attention paid to the possible outcome. During campaigns, PCs may often be confronted with enemies and obstacles that lie outside of their abilities to defeat or solve in the present time. As such, these threats will present PCs with certain additional obstacles that must be overcome.
The bottom line is; PCs should not be able to kill everything they come across nor should PCs have the power to defeat every obstacle and situation in the present time. As GM, it is up to you to create a balance between threats that can be defeated or overcome and those that cannot. The PCs should be made aware of this concept and as your sessions continue, as you build your world, the players who participate in your game will become aware as to how you run your world and your adventures.
Death
Death is one of those subjects in the world of Role Playing Games that has no clear cut answers. GMs all handle death in their own way. As GM, you will have to decide how you will handle the death of PCs in your campaigns.
Bitchmade
Some GMs prefer to remove the threat of death from the adventure completely allowing the PCs to live and play as near gods. Bitchmade means the PCs cant die and should probably be playing something else.
Death Lite
Often times, GMs will fudge dice rolls in order to keep PCs alive. A lucky dice roll can mean the difference between life and some GMs see that as just too chancy.
Death for Real
Many GMs prefer to allow the dice, the situation and the choices made to rule the outcome. GMs who do death for real rarely (if ever) fudge dice rolls. When the dice are poorly rolled, even if the PC is an integral part of the story, the GM may allow him/her to die saying that “that’s just the way it is.” While this may seem cold and callous, it does lend a sense of realism that enhances the feeling of threat. Knowing that one can lose everything can drastically alter ones approach to any given situation.
While there is no one way to regulate and handle death perfectly a balance between the three before mentioned styles can be reached and used in any gaming session. The main thing to consider in death is showing equal fairness to all of the PCs.
