How to Plot THE FIRST ACT of a D&D Campaign

If you are planning a story or D&D campaign, it can feel like taking the first of 1000 steps. Act 1 of your story is crucial to setting the tone and mood, so let's talk about how to get that going...
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[@gabrieldavi949]

Rollercoasters are on railroads and still people have fun on them. (Some famous dm said it I dunno who tho )

[@TheFantasyForge]

lol I love this!

[@goshjosh3337]

I believe it’s Matt Colville but I could be mistaken

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@goshjosh3337 haha sounds right, I love that.

[@ghostkill221]

Part of a good dms job is keeping all the groups shit on the rails instead of in 6 directions lol

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@ghostkill221 Awesome way to put it lol

[@thericemenace]

Usually the first few sessions include things that force the party together one way or the other. Then, I introduce a bigger problem that forces them to work together (a kid gets kidnapped and they have to travel together) and then I add snippets of a bugger issue (the kid is important to the cult somehow) so that after they complete the first mission, they take steps to figure out how to take on the bigger issue. After that, I usually pick a character to delve into their character arc, confronting their past, and setting them up for a grander destiny that lies before them, and then I'll do that for each character, throw in some magic items, and then they will be facing the bigger issue.

[@TheFantasyForge]

This is a great way to do it and honestly sounds similar to my method too

[@tomsautocadstudio6446]

Or put 1 player in a slow instant kill trap and have the solution in the room with the other party members it could also be a test of leadership if they know they have to put one person in it.

[@glowface6027]

I like this. Many say dont railroad the party, but to some degree, it can really help a party struggling to roleplay and have their own motivations, it can make for amazing stories, and make it more fun for the players. That doeant mean you fully ignore their choices, but rather having these big trials and acts can be big parts of the story woven together by all the in between choices of the players.

[@TheFantasyForge]

yeah it really is just knowing as a storyteller where you're going. You might plan it for session 5 and end up getting there in session 20, but you always knew you would get there

[@EmOffline]

Players like railroads, they just don't like seeing the rails

[@TheFantasyForge]

@@EmOffline Oh that's good, love that😎

[@ronaldwatson3862]

Pretty solid info here on plotting fantasy adventures, with plenty of starter ideas to boot. Subscribed.

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw thanks for the sub! Appreciate the love

[@Chadventure_Animated]

This came at the right time. I feel like I have mechanics down and can run encounters in my sleep, but narratively I struggle with pacing, foreshadowing and working backwards from an arc. I can't wait to see more from you on this

[@TheFantasyForge]

yay! Glad to help!

[@steven3394]

Wait a minute, did i get rickrolled

[@peppermintsnake6052]

Yes. We all did lmao

[@rawrrio8741]

I rarely comment, but I am a very new player to DnD (voted into becoming DM) and just ran the first part of my own custom one-shot for 6 players last week (group of close friends, also all new). Seems like a majority of them may continue with me into a campaign given how much they like the game. Coming across your video has really helped me out in tying all backstories into Act 1, hopefully rivalling the epicness of Baldur’s Gate. Thank you so very much for such an informative video!!

[@TheFantasyForge]

I'm glad it helped! Hope your games are epic and never have scheduling issues 😁

[@an8strengthkobold360]

"Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels" has the concept of making a couple "stick" after their first meeting , that I really like to apply to DnD. It's good to think sbour how do you are gonna make the party stick togther believably after the first job/immediate threat is dealt with. I find the easiest is just giving them something to share (like troll skull manor in WD:DH) or just making the initial unifying something drawn out enough that it makes more sense to stick together.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yes! I'm in a game as a player where we're getting to this part. A reason to stick together is super important

[@kfauzi109]

could you share with us a handful of tactics provided by the video? I'm very interested in the two you've already shared.

[@Kiefernemeth]

My next campaign's act 1 was already mostly plotted out, but this really helped flesh out the connections between points. Thanks so much. I appreciate the super in-depth example, that's a rare resource. Great editing, too.

[@AnarchyintheUK1]

Very good advice! I'm a big supporter of the idea of: smaller version of big thing later. In one of my campaigns, one of the end game bosses was a creature that could use Anti-Magic fields (Sul Khatesh) to their advantage. So I designed a few encounters with other creatures that could use similar abilities (Aeroian Nullifier or Flail Snail) without being as game breaking. This way they don't feel blindsided by broken abilities, but also it's amping up in terms of power and threats.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Great idea! It's also a great way to hint at what's to come later

[@ssteele1812]

Ooooh, I hadn't thought of something like this for my story but it would be a great addition. My story revolves around magic being a bit broken, in the normal sense, not the OP sense. One way to "combat" an area where magic is going haywire is to have someone create anti-magic fields. Great side plot in a world where magic has become mundane and it would make everyone try to figure out how to live without it.

[@Silverstar-wt5rj]

a fellow eberron dm i see excellent taste good sir

[@someonewithsomename]

I find this video so interesting and well thought out, every minute you make a solid point, so that my ADHD just absolutely side tracks the train of thought with that new exciting information, and I have to rewind this video 4 minutes back every 5 minutes.

[@Silthus257]

Just found a game specifically using the word "scene" to describe what is narrated by the group, and making the game look like a kind of theater. And now I found your video while preparing a campaign for said game ? Perfect ! (btw, the game I am talking about is Fabula Ultima)

[@noahhan5062]

This video will blow up in no time! You put a lot into this and it really shows. Just subscribed and looking forward to binging the rest of your videos. Keep up the amazing work!

[@TheFantasyForge]

I really appreciate that 🥰 thanks for the love

[@PotatoForce42]

Your style matches my DM style exactly and I am super stoked to finally see a D&D video about a movie-type campaign and not a freeform sandbox. Loved it!

[@TheFantasyForge]

appreciate the love! :D

[@ProbablyCarl]

Excellent video, puts some concepts I've heard of but never been able to put together into a step by step, easy to understand method.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thanks! I have a passion for writing so I’m glad it helps

[@thomasgolds4585]

Stellar video! Excited for part 2

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw thank you! Hoping to have that for this next week!

[@connors7078]

Cool video. I run mostly sandboxes but like to set up several stories. This is fantastic for setting those stories up. Really well done.

[@Nevlogeos]

This is a v good video on plotting! Taking note from story structure in film and TV has super helped me figure out the beats for a campaign, and I like the way you broke the main points of conflict before the point of no return as trials! Is all giving the players a chance to get to know each other and themselves, trials is a brilliant describer of this part of the story! Excited to watch on!! Thanks for making such a useful resource for GMs!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Appreciate the kind words! Let me know if there's any videos you'd like to see!

[@sleepinggiant4062]

Great video, love it. I always start off my games by giving the party a very solid reason to work together by building trust. I need to work harder on incorporating backstories.

[@trappedowl67]

My current game is an extension of the previous one with mostly the same characters so that made it really easy to plot the major story beats. I had it open with an assassination attempt on one of the players and on investigation they found that it was tied to one of the players backstories

[@pugglesmchuggles]

Funny thing about this video, I actually needed this!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Glad I could help!!

[@MadAdamStudio]

I appreciate your pride in craft, friend. This is a really excellent and comprehensive video, well and painstakingly made. Nice job. Typically, I like to draw connections between characters in session zero; the more the better. I like there to be a reason for the characters to be together and to stay together, established before we start, which is usually In Media Rez (sp?). A good, deep backstory with connections to the other characters always makes for a better game.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I LOVE a good backstory. One that fits my world especially. It's just so refreshing. What's the best back story you've heard at your table?

[@MadAdamStudio]

​@@TheFantasyForge It's so hard to pick just one! My players are aces, and really make my job easy. Because it's a sad truth that nobody cares as much about the worldbuilding as the worldbuilder, our table plays worldbuilding games to avoid the dreaded exposition dump part of starting a new game. Once we've fleshed out a bit of history, we decide which part of it we'd like to explore with a story, and write our character backstories to pose questions that are, if not complimentary to the one posed by the main arc, then at least not opposed to it. If I had to pick favourites, of my recent games I'd say I liked the party consisting of the reincarnated souls of ancient heroes of legend who are reborn in new bodies to face an ancient evil, who discover that the stories about their past lives may not necessarily have happened as history says they did. The process we use works pretty well so far. Thanks for taking the time to respond, it's much appreciated. Looking forward to your treatment of Acts 2 and 3, as they're available. Good work.. keep it up!

[@TheFantasyForge]

That sounds like an amazing party! I would love to play with a group that cares about the history of the world like that@@MadAdamStudio

[@MadAdamStudio]

@@TheFantasyForge I'll keep that in mind and reach out next time we put a table together.

[@hawkname1234]

This is great! I love that you're pulling images from all of the best fantasy content. Subscribed.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love!

[@goldkomodo26]

This video came at the right time, as I'm planning a mini campaign for some friends soon. The only thing I think also should be included by the end Act 1 of a (mostly) linear campaign is making the time limit known. The players should understand when the deadline is, so that there's pressure to act sooner rather than later. For example, they learn that the world-ending prophecy lands on a date a month away, or the necromancer is already a quarter of the way building their army, etc.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Glad it helped. I like the timeline tip!

[@deightonl2114]

This is the first video of yours that I'm watching and you explained what I've been struggling with for so long, so well.

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw I'm glad! Thanks for the comment :D

[@thescoundrels1329]

Awesome video, helped me expand an opening session to a world I'm working on now. Cheers!

[@TheFantasyForge]

happy to help!

[@alonshavitt3984]

This was an amazing video, your channel is criminaly undiscovered and I really liked all your other content. This video helped me pace my inspiration into an actually decently writen story and I hope you can come around to making an act two and three (PLEASE!)

[@TheFantasyForge]

Working on Act 2 right now! And thanks for the kind words :D

[@chaoscleric11]

Wonderful video! I am currently aiming to start a new campaign with a group of friends I've known for years, and sometimes it helps to look back at the basics of storytelling and organization of campaigns. I am so looking forward to new videos; this one was wonderful and genuinely helped with some structure for the exposition and the future of the campaign

[@TheFantasyForge]

thank you for the love! Appreciate that so much. Would love to know if you have any specific questions you want answered!

[@dharmeshmistry342]

There is a fine art to just “winging it” as a DM. If you’re concerned with creating complex plot arcs and narrative connections, you can technically also write them backwards. While your players are struggling to figure out information on a character, there may be nothing there in reality, but they don’t know that. You could take pieces of their theories and make an actual connection to a narrative element later on, then start dropping breadcrumbs. This makes it APPEAR as though you planned something all along!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yep! I do this all the time! It's a great skill to have

[@spinesauce2687]

Tobias! He's playing the game at abour 4:23. Also, love the video, they're always great! I can't wait to see more! Also super random, but your avatar is so cool, the design and vibe are just right

[@spinesauce2687]

also, 15:28. they may have seen the mom and thought, "what if i could make a cloak from its pelt with that effect? Sadly, they do not know where the baby is cause the island exploded :(

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love! Working on Act 2 now!

[@leviruzene]

Oh boy this video is amazing, it just helped me desing my ACT 1for my campaing, thank you SO much! I was really strugglying to start writing it, now I know exactly what I want and have all visualized. Great Video!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Hey glad I could help even a little! Thanks for the love :D

[@leviruzene]

@@TheFantasyForge Do you have further videos for other actes of the campaing? I1d love to see those!

[@TheFantasyForge]

working on them as we speak!@@leviruzene

[@Major_Melo]

This video was sooooo good and helpful. Thank you! Subbed

[@TheFantasyForge]

Aw thank you! Glad it helped and thanks for the sub!

[@swahnberg77]

This series is awesome!

[@phoeberia2734]

I love to plan the first session regularly with quick 15min run ins with each character. My last one the party had all been summoned from different spots in town to participate in a protection program for the settlement to test their iron as reliable ppl. My favorite one was everyone was at a job site outside a once spell plagued capital, the magic chaos having vanished leaving it open for treasure seekers, they joined together and jumped right inside! Having their first battle when they met a player who was actually a sword for the whole game 😂

[@TheFantasyForge]

a SWORD? Lmao that's just too good.

[@YanoshSquarepants]

First one of your videos I've ever seen - awesome content man, easily gained my sub. Looking forward to seeing more 🥰

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw shucks, thanks for the love!

[@YanoshSquarepants]

@@TheFantasyForge You're welcome! I've been binge watching your videos all morning 😅❤️

[@DJ404GT]

Thanks for this, it was all in my brain i just needed somone to lay it out for me step by step :D

[@TheFantasyForge]

Sometimes you just need that checklist lol, glad it helped!

[@rossrichards7386]

Great video! Great content. Keep up the good work.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love! :D

[@hope_oren]

Very interesting topic! (Sorry for the mistakes, since English is not my first language!) I started my very own first d&d campaign on a world I create last July. Since the players (and myself) were mostly discovering the rules, I didn't get the opportunity to dive deep into theirs stories and find a way to link it to the campaign. Though, regarding your differents points, I think I still managed to plot the rest of the story pretty well. They got to meet the final boss at the end of the first act: it's was humanoid, but not something they've seen before. While they were suffocating in the dense and purple mist, a beam of light came from the top of the cave, and exploded the ancient and enormous throne in the back of the room. The final boss had to leave, because the cave was collapsing on itself, leaving the paralysed adventurers on the ground. This encounter confirmed them the ancient sorcery was back. Despite the legends telling events, explaining some type of spells and much more, it looks like this is something way bigger than they might've expected. Maybe linked to some forgotten deities.

[@TheFantasyForge]

This sounds awesome! And then they had an idea of what was out there and coming to get them later.

[@hope_oren]

@@TheFantasyForge exactly! Even though they didn't catch every meaning in the speech the vilain gave them, I think they start to realize! :D

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@hope_oren best feeling ever

[@ssteele1812]

I am elbows deep in trying to turn an idea into a fully fleshed out campaign. I am slowly remembering why i never wrote anything longer than a short story when I was growing up. I'm no very good at creating. Throughout my life I nave found that I cam really good at copying other peoples work and even improving on it in some rare occasions but creating something from scratch has always been really tough for me. I wish I could say that this video has been the breakthrough I needed but it has shown me some more ways that I can try to get thru this process. I really want to finish this campaign. I'm not even world building as I am adapting my campaign to an established setting in DnD. I already decided that my campaign was going to be three acts, each having five chapters and the characters will reach lv15 at the beginning of the 15th chapter to decide the fate of the world. I have also decided that I don't want a cliché plot of some prophecy or anything like that. The plot of this story is a catastrophe that is entirely "man made". I haven't fleshed out all of the motivations for the people involved in the catastrophe or even decided if there is even a singular BBEG but I want several twists in the form of the characters thinking one thing only to realize that they were wrong. I want those realizations to be the final chapters in each of the acts. Wish me luck. You will probably get several views from me for each of your videos in this series.

[@s.f.nightingale1735]

All good points. I adopted a similar style recently. It's more for me to take notes, then my party to follow. Noone but me has played before, and I barely have experience as a qm so my forst session for them is very this is how the mechanics work(and some world building). So Act 1, setting is a tavern, it's a full blue moon(a natural, divine, monsoon/hurricane is happening outside), and so all these people have holed up in this rowdy tavern. Scene 1: A dweller(think giant squid, but not) knocks in the door and starts trying to grab patrons, while the room is flooding. Way out of their skill level, so the caretaker of the tavern sends them through the basement to get help, while they stay to play with the big monster. Scene 2: is a trip through the sewers with rushing water, nareow pathways, and a slime blocking the path. So there was jumping, shoving(the slime), and the slime was swept away by the current. Scene 3, we haven't gotten to yet. But it will include introducing another area, and possible trying to improve my poker face(which is terrible, and one of my players taught me poker, so they are very much aware of my lies). I already know where they're going after this, but I consider that Act 2 which is going to have more of a focus on talking.

[@Spungle15]

Rarely do this, but instant subscribe. Fantastic video.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Hey there! Happy to hear that, thanks for showing some love :D

[@scrubslayer678]

This guy has the prisoner from Dead Cells as his mascot, awesome sauce.

[@SSoulDiamond]

This was actually really helpful. I'm running a low magic game with the BBEG being a magic user who can control dragons. Magic users are rare and actively hunted. So I ran into the issue of how to allow players to be magic users. The light beam trick did it for me. Some henchmen of the BBEG are messing around with one of the magical devices that allows them to control dragons. They mess up the calibration and the source of magic energy goes boom, this grants the casters nearby the ability to learn and hone their magics.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Glad it helped! Sometimes you just need that little spark from some random video haha

[@The-Swift-Kobold]

Wow this is exactly what I was looking for.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I'm glad it helped! Hope the Act 2 and Act 3 help too

[@jessicamirror4161]

What Im doing in my house game rn is using a town NPC to be a minor quest giver that will get the players working out character stuff and giving some opportunity to learn the characters. Of course (And I will know if one of my players reads this!) these jobs are going to be brushing against the operations of the BBEG's group. That allows me to make sure everyone (including me!) has understanding of the mechanics in use for this game and at least a working knowledge of the characters. Mind you, this is much easier to handle with only 2 players, but the concepts still apply to larger groups, just with a higher difficulty curve.

[@tianamoe]

Brand new DM running my first game in a few days. Thank you for helping me get some structure into my budding campaign so it DOESN'T turn into a wild sandbox event! Also I have no idea who Tobias is but he sounds cute.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Aw yay! Glad it could help! And Tobias is the old mascot for the channel, he pops up in most videos and if you leave a time stamp, I might shout you out in the next video I do, that's all haha. He's very popular

[@Desert-duo-enjoyer]

Despite not being a DM, This actually helps a lot since I'm writing a fantasy story! FOR YEARS I've been daydreaming about it when its done, and only now do I have the motivation to actually work on the story, since it's gone thru massive revamps throughout the years- Thanks for this!

[@TheFantasyForge]

I'm working on more storytelling stuff, probably a whole new channel at some point, but I made this video because I'm a writer too haha.

[@neliadss]

This is the most useful video I've ever found on KZbin

[@TheFantasyForge]

Lol dang big compliment! Appreciate the love

[@darius_cummins-thorne1997]

Another great video!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Appreciate the love

[@roberthsucre9837]

Was a little confusing at the beginning, but the example was all i needed to understand. Thank you for the video.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I knew it would need a chart and an example haha

[@tenma8797]

I can’t believe I got Rick Roll’d today…

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL you're welcome

[@aidanthepanda1473]

amazing video please make one about an act 2 🙏

[@TheFantasyForge]

already working on it!

[@jeffhartmann6145]

Subbed. This is good stuff.

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw shucks thank you

[@paulsavas2394]

Great vid

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love! :D

[@theoldjesterisdead9434]

I personally love opening monologue and so do my players. I know this is specific to my table but I try to open every of our (usually 4-6 hour) sessions with a 3-5 minute opening monologue, it's usually not 100% related to the current scene but moreso providing a bit of context for someone or something in the following session, I feel it helps my players with getting emersed and Kick-starting the movie if our story in their head

[@TheFantasyForge]

I love monologues too haha! I think it depends on the party but I think you're right, it feels like kick starting a movie. Gets everyone excited

[@antonychames3327]

Can't wait for second act

[@TheFantasyForge]

already on it!

[@TheShepherdFilms]

100% agreed on the process...

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love!

[@ElHipokondriako]

I am experimenting with setting up several threats in a map, and prepare "random" events that are related to the closest threat. It provides some structure, while leaving room for exploration.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Great way to give the players threads to pull on and lead them to big thing

[@A7Xet]

I turned to Dm:ing due to my aphantasia which means that I don't have an internal movie, but I improvise dialogue and write stories, which does not need that.

[@TheFantasyForge]

You're the second person in the comments to mention that! Handouts and visuals help with this too!

[@noahrice3362]

4:21, and Gravity Falls, let's go! Okay, now my wheels are spinning, definitely needed this, I've had a case of creator's block all week, I think some story ideas are starting to pop up. Thanks for getting me back on track.

[@TheFantasyForge]

hey I'm glad it helped! Creators block sucks. Been there lol

[@Lostflightwarriorcats]

This is a good video. My campaign coming up is going to be a bit more player-dependent than this, but I may use these ideas in the future.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I love leaning on my players, sometimes they come up with better ideas or try to solve a mystery and turns out they have a better idea of what it is then what I planned and end up switching haha

[@thiccboicory9964]

I use this format alot let the party have as much freedom but also they know the story still moves in the background plot still moves even if they messed around in town they know the enemy's are still on the move. I try to let them have there fun but in each session the story opens up more and more. I also like to give a cut screen of what the enemys are doing from time to time just a glimpse into the enemy's point of view. Last session they was given the task to warn the capital city where the royal summit is being held of a dragon invasion. They failed the roll so now the guards and the royal officers are at a stand still not trusting the party as the city starts getting attacked now they have multiple outcomes and story paths that can unfold. Its always a good idea to end the session with a stressful events about to unfold. The players will be thinking all week whats going to happen next

[@TheFantasyForge]

I love ending sessions like this! And yeah, definitely how I do it too. Give them freedom, but I still know where things are going. Thanks for the comment!

[@saezero1221]

Been DMing a campaign for a year. Just played Baldur’s Gate 3. Now I am realizing that I somehow made my BBEG essentially the Absolute 😀

[@TheFantasyForge]

I put mindflayers in mine too, same thing haha. Luckily my game wrapped before BG3 came out

[@olafforkbeard4782]

Great video!! I’m running a game starting as a heist, with the twist leading into two that they’ve been working for an even bigger threat to the world. Still trying to figure out how to make it so at the end of the twist they want to go after them into act two tho 🤔 This is why I love dming!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Like they are actually accidentally helping the big bad? I love it haha

[@olafforkbeard4782]

@@TheFantasyForge Yeah, if this was Oceans 11 George Clooney is trying to collect enough powerful artifacts to make the world a hive mind! They just so happen to all be Matt Damon 😅

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@olafforkbeard4782 LMAO I love the reference 🤣

[@PerrinPang]

Now do the second and third act :)

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL you got it 😏

[@edwardg8912]

Solid. This tends to be how I’ve run games in the past.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thanks for the love!

[@behzadvasegh5844]

New dm here. starting my first session tonight. Hoping it goes well. Wish me luck.

[@TheFantasyForge]

You were born lucky

[@ChazzKaskes]

Tasty info

[@TheFantasyForge]

thank you! Appreciate the love haha

[@itsturtlefacemydudes]

I guess I could split my initial one session opening into a few sessions... Said set up being everyone meets in the bar cause it's free rootbeer float and appetizer night so they all have a decent enough reason to be there regardless of background, frostbitten skeleton busts through the wall halfway through which leads to them getting the quest to go figure out where the hell all of the ice monsters are coming from, there's an ancient temple with trials and riddles they gotta go through, at the end of it is a fucked up elf-dragon creature that seems to be the source of all of this, they don't remember much of how they got to that point if the party decides to let them live but it's from the BBEG's corruption, there's the hook to go to the kingdom nearby to inform the crown of what happened, but not before a festival in the small town for some breathing room.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Free root beer floats? Count me in! Also elf-dragon sounds horrifying

[@itsturtlefacemydudes]

@@TheFantasyForge It absolutely is, I drew it myself as well, it's an ice dragon so there's sharp teeth so big that they can't close their mouth fully, scales covering their emaciated body in patches, ice crystals coming out of one of its eyes, humanoid hands and feet halfway between, well, humanoid and dragon claws, and its skin pale as snow, all whilst still being humanoid looking shape-wise. It absolutely terrified the last two party's I threw it at so I think it worked as intended akjwdnawjkdn

[@intirp]

Gracias.

[@TheFantasyForge]

de nada, amigo!

[@lorenzovas4413]

AMAZING

[@TheFantasyForge]

thank you! 🥰

[@magicoal2201]

Treasure Planet clip? Take my like.

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL it's so good!

[@magicoal2201]

@TheFantasyForge Genuinely my favorite movie of all time. I have so many of the lines memorized!

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@magicoal2201 "...You've got the makins of greatness in ya" SO GOOD

[@thomasraiff3007]

Your “island artifact” example story sounds exactly like the pirate campaign im currently running, like almost to a T 😂 Even with the artifact projecting a map of other locations

[@TheFantasyForge]

Plot twist...I'm one of your players...

[@gamemasterstorytime2645]

As a DM, I get my players to think of how they know each other. For instance, Rick might know Marissa because they killed a Gargoyle terroizing some mountain side town, which then, Marissa introduced Rick to an old companion named John. Together, they helped a caravan deliver spices to a Baron, which now they are currently doinflg a quest for. I find it allows the players to create the inciting incident, which doesnt force a connection or railroad. They feel like part of a group already.

[@TheFantasyForge]

When players connect backstories it's the BEST. Makes it easier for everyone

[@miguelsantos5477]

I am currently preparing for my actual first session as a DM. From what I have prepared the "inciting incident" a plague would actually be already happening with one of the PCs daughter's being infected. Should I actually get something else as the inciting incident? Anyway great video, I have subscribed.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I think that's a great start! It automatically makes at least one character care. And if theres a chance for everyone else to get infected, that means they NEED to care which is a great way to get everyone involved. I would definitely drop hints at what the symptoms are so they know what to be worried about haha

[@Omnipusia]

That was a great video and a cruel rickroll

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL at least it was done quickly right at the start haha

[@Caboose3769]

Yup, that’s a subscribe 🎉

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw thank you! Appreciate the love

[@Nullflare]

Just recently started a new campaign myself, with my DND group. The setup is Frostpunk: a random ice age has overtaken the world. The PC's are hunting someone (friend/family/enemy/lover etc (most pc's picked a revenge type story.)) We just finished session 2, where their hunts have been taken in by a dwarven city as slaves. I was a little lost for where to go next, but thanks to this vid, i have a good idea: BBEG is going to be a summoned entity, imagine Shiva from Final Fantasy, that has corrupted the local environment and made the ice age. I'm looking to make the dwarves hunting for slaves to sacrifice them and 'summon' another entity, as they have an idea what caused the ice age, the PC's find this plot and get drawn in while also finding their hunted targets... So far, it sounds like a good idea in my head, but i'm planning to go from there and see what i come up with

[@TheFantasyForge]

I love this! Also love Frostpunk stuff, and the game is amazing haha

[@kodywilliams7830]

I just got Rick Rolled by a D&D tutorial video. A freaking D&D tutorial video! Okay, fine, have my like and subscribe while I go sit in a corner and evaluate all of my life decisions that lead to this moment. 😅😂

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL yeah that's for the editor to take all the credit

[@alexandercandicedad1355]

I've had some luck with describing what's happening in the game, and asking, "why does your character get involved?" It gets players invested in BOTH the events of the world AND their own backstory! And if someone wants to be an edge lord, "my character doesn't care about anything", the option is open to explain, "this is the game we're all here to play. If you don't want to play, that's fine, go play something else. If you wanna play at this table right now, you gotta play the game we're all playing. "

[@jamestaylor3805]

"Paint in broad strokes" is about the best bit of advice for early DMing. Generic terms for things you haven't pinned down like "that magic school over there" as opposed "Xaviers School for the Arcane" can take some practice with new DMs. My personal addition to the broad strokes... with each broad stroke you add in one innocuous detail. "Its just your normal looking average sized village, but it smells like they have a large tannery here." It is these little throw away details that can give you something to build around. In this way randomness can be your ally. A random bit like 'there are three distinct hillocks behind the town walls' and suddenly you have a source for the town name of Triple Church because each hillock has a small temple or church on top and now a location for the NPC cleric who helped the group two sessions ago to call home. If you say "this town is known for breeding polydactyl cats" you party will have a new favorite town.

[@TheFantasyForge]

GREAT advice. The little detail tip especially. Pro tip that makes you look more prepared than you actually are

[@SirEliteGrunt]

One tip I have is for introducing the bbeg early. The party will almost definitely attack this person so I find using the dream spell or some way they can taunt them throughout the journey is the best. If combat happens early you run the risk of the party killing the bbeg (removing the threatening nature of the bbeg) or the bbeg being untouchable and giving the party a feeling of powerlessness which isn’t super fun for everyone.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yeah I had a player turn that and use dream on them and their minions, it was pretty great

[@SirEliteGrunt]

@@TheFantasyForge yeah I learned that from my second time being a dm. My first time my players killed the main antagonist of the first half of the campaign in session 3.

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@SirEliteGrunt just makes it more fun in my opinion lol

[@irtehdar2446]

I usually look to connect the PCs before the adventure even begins. Instead of 5 random strangers are here for 5 different reasons the PCs have some prior relationship. So everyone either know eachotheror have a relation to a person or place in common. Ive started afew campaigns with everyone living in the same village so everyone's known eachother their whole lives and this party of 5 people just happens to be the 5 people who volunteered for a particular journey in response to a given threat. So the whatevers are overrunning the countryside we need some volunteers to go to whereever to get help. And after some back and forth 5 people have raised their hand.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yeah I try to do this for at least two players, but honestly it REALLLLY helps. Smart move lol

[@irtehdar2446]

@@TheFantasyForgeIt also help going forward when a member of the party dies/retires/etc or a new player joins the group. Instead of coming up with half a session of "why this new person wants to join" its "OMG thats my cousin over there!"

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@irtehdar2446 Yes! Yeah players dying, especially near the end of a campaign, really makes it hard for them to have a complete arc

[@northvikingman]

I liked this video.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thank you for the love! :D

[@PrometheusEpimetheus]

I always try and use shot design terms when describing a scene

[@TheFantasyForge]

Hey me too! I think it's just helpful to think in ways that are easiest for people to associate with

[@PrometheusEpimetheus]

@@TheFantasyForge Exactly, I think it helps put people into the mindset of trying to make a cool story (intentionally or unintentionally). I also think that using this kind of mindset is more potent when you have the players interests in mind. All my players are big combat nerds (john wick, tekken, dark souls etc.) so in fights I also try to get the fight to feel more cinematic if nothing else. "Does a 15 hit?" "No unfortunately. Your swing grazes by his ear as he tries to deliver a push kick for some space but you manage to withstand it, and remain squared up with him."

[@TheFantasyForge]

@@PrometheusEpimetheus Yes! We have the same mind haha. Totally agree. Instead of just saying "hits, 10 points. Okay next player!"

[@andrewtomlinson5237]

I break my campaigns into "Acts". The first thing I decide for any campaign is the End. The goal, the ultimate point of the campaign quest.. Then I go back to the start and decide what gets them into it. Each end of Act is a major event that they either have to accomplish or prevent. The following act will continue based on their relative success or failure at the end of the previous act. Then, between the acts I have a flow chart of adventures that will give them clues to the End of Act finale, and the larger quest. They can go off book as much as they want, but the more of these adventures they complete, the better prepared they will be for when the shit hits the fan. These adventures begin as nothing more than a few lines on an index card so I can write them in full when they appraoch that thread and make sure they are level appropriate. If you know the goal, you can sow the seeds and drop the clues without much difficulty. I don;t care about a character's backstory. If they want to write one that's fine, but I don;t need to have plot hooks like "Revenge for my dead sister" "Lost family Heirloom" "Become the greatest...whatever..." I'll write the quests/adventures and as long as they know who their character IS... right now... that's all they need. I won't be reading any more than a few lines of "Who they are, where they are from, and maybe a little bit of personality stuff" Players with "Main Character Syndrome" don't last long at our games, they either leave or join the group.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the comment! Love to see this kind of prep, makes for good stories

[@nathancarbo]

I'm thinking of having a mini session zero to get some background on my character to write it in since all my people are new to actually roleplay they normally just do modules or they're new all together

[@alexgorman13]

I typically will run a sandbox game of sorts but the story is occurring in the background. I typically ask myself "What would happen if the party DIDN'T show up" and run with that

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yes! What happens when your party is not around is big.

[@ntwilson312]

I'd actually like some advice for a homebrew ish campaign I have planned, for context it's myself, my partner, and perhaps some extra friends who would be joining the game, but none of us has played together before I'm to be the DM and and very newbie one at that, and some of the players are new to DND as well, so I had thoughts that I could make a blank slate campaign, with the plot being essentially the players are taken from their homes and transported to a new realm far from their own, so that the players dont have to worry so much about creating a backstory and can just play the game, maybe make stuff up as we go. But I have to ask is that wise? They wouldn't really be able TOO have a backstory, and for some additional context it's a pirate/aquatic theme adventure, their taken away by pirates who invaded the town and enslaved them, then they are transported too an unknown part of the world.

[@TheFantasyForge]

@ntwilson313 I think it's totally doable to not have a backstory! Lots of players don't know how to or don't want to create backstories so they go with the "my character has amnesia" route and leave it up to the DM! It gives you more freedom for the story. I would say make sure to have a session zero and talk about expectations, how much combat vs RP they want, what themes they like, just get a feel for them as players. Maybe help them make their characters and just let them get a feel for you as a DM in the process and let them ask questions. This will set you up for success in the long run

[@EksaStelmere]

I'm more often a DM than a player, but I never did care if I was being railroaded so long as I was invested.

[@TheFantasyForge]

That's how most players are. Sometimes the direction helps you get more into it anyways. It really only matters when you feel like you have no say at all.

[@TheShepherdFilms]

this is exactly what I do...

[@ryphter7794]

Tobias on the Trail of Trials at 4:22. Is he waiting for his turn at Dungeons Dungeons and more Dungeons?

[@TheFantasyForge]

good eye! I wasn't sure if that one was too hard haha

[@WorldWarWess-pb8iq]

0:51 gosh dang it

[@skidmoda]

Started off with a festival..eh. they seem happy but we haven't gotten to any meat of the story is so far.

[@TheFantasyForge]

That’s a great vibe the start with! I’d be happy as a player.

[@elderforgeling7578]

Loved the vid! I’m a dm who prefers to run a more “dark fantasy” style game where choices have consequences and villains don’t fight fair and there’s no rule that says the bad guys can’t win, buuuuuut my players tend to want to play a little more towards the slap stick comedy side of things. Any advice on how to make a group like this work?

[@TheFantasyForge]

I would approach this a few ways... 1. It sounds like your players might just have a different play style. But if they are down to try taking things more seriously, then just keep the tone there even after a joke, just keep going with the tone and maybe it'll rub off. 2. I would see if there's one player you trust more or know more and just ask them to back you up and play along a little bit. Sometimes all it takes is one more dedicated player to set the mood and get everyone wanting to join in 3. You can try doing a mix of the two. Brennan Lee Mulligan has quite a chaotic crew on Dimension 20 but Unsleeping City does a great job of going from tense to chaos and back. If you can ride the rollercoaster, you can become a conductor instead of a passenger haha. Other than talking to them, if that doesn't work either, it may just be that they want a different play style than what you want to GM and then you have to ask yourself "do I save this story for another table/group? Or continue with this one?". Remember, you should be having fun too and if their chaos pulls you out, just try talking to them. I hope that helps!

[@Qw3rtykid3]

I know it can be dependent on how you want to run your campaign and what naturally happens in a campaign, but how many sessions roughly would this Act One (especially the example) take? Is that like one session? a few? 10??

[@TheFantasyForge]

oh man, you said it, it really depends. My act 1 was like 40-50 sessions haha. This is such a bare bones act structure that is only focused on the "big baddie". You throw in side quests, secondary storylines, backstories, other enemy characters, shopping, roleplaying, battles...it can take a long time. My last campaign was 3 years long and we were meeting every single week.

[@leonmitas]

Nice

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thank you!

[@GVlemio]

@TheFantasyForge, how do you deal with the combination of the story/campaign spanning your three acts, and still giving the players a sandbox to side-quest in? Can you prepare for this? Is there a good source for plug-and-play side-quests?

[@TheFantasyForge]

Dealing with it means being open to changing the arcs. You might have an idea for the bad guy, but how they get there can change, and how the bad guy reacts can change. It's just about adapting! There's lots of side quests! I use chatgpt to come up with some on the fly, but you can also just roll on tables. The DM's guide and other source material has lots of random encounter tables. But there's also lots of free ones out there from other players. Pintererst is a great place to look

[@GVlemio]

@@TheFantasyForge Pinterest? Really? That's a place I didn't expect to stumble across side quests :-o

[@GVlemio]

@@TheFantasyForge Any tips on chatgpt usage though?

[@TheFantasyForge]

@@GVlemio Use it sparingly haha. But the best thing is to give it background. "My world is about X and Y. I want to make it feel like A B and C. Give me a bunch of different versions of 1 2 and 3"

[@duck_entertainment]

“Your pc’s backstories should be tapped into.” My pcs: “He was the best adventurer.”

[@donaldtrumpscat2443]

But then he took an arrow to the knee

[@mouseblackcat5263]

Only thing you forgot was Snacks. 😮

[@TheFantasyForge]

Rookie mistake!

[@BlueScarFire]

IS THAT AN ULTRAKILL REFERENCE!?!?