Plotting ACT 3 of Your D&D Campaign in 7 STEPS

[@GregMcNeish]

When the Act 2 video came out, I rewatched Act 1 so I could get them back-to-back. When this one came out, I did them back-to-back-to-back. I have no doubt I'll return to them again and again whenever I'm preparing a campaign, adventure, or even my writing. Cheers!

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL dang look at you go. Appreciate the love :D

[@rikidog2682]

As a player going through an act 3 right now, I'd like to warn that if things are too discouraging for too long, your players may eventually stop having a good time. Sometimes what works in a movie or book doesn't directly translate to TTRPGs. Act 3 of a movie might be half an hour long. Losing over and over again for 5 hours a week for 3 months hits very differently. Please give your players some bright spots. If they lose hope, your going to end up with a very disfunctional party at the final battle- if they even make it that far.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Totally agree. That's why I have reset periods and rest periods, and leave room for down time and side encounters and pulling on back stories. This is a big picture view of the overarching story. This isn't all-encompassing and I think I mention in the other 2 videos that there needs to be an up and down for that same reason

[@dragbot73]

I have to say I love your style, your motto, and your skill. Damn would it be fun to spend an afternoon talking with ya, on Discord, or anything really

[@TheFantasyForge]

I've been thinking about making a discord! Stay tuned lol

[@EbonyMcKickass]

@@TheFantasyForgeA discord would be great! We could share info between everyone!

[@eyeof3ndr364]

13:08 there's the lil cutie! I hope he gets a medal.

[@IridescentPheasant]

YES, I love this series so much. Its so well done! Its definitely helped beef up a TON of my plotline for my campaign. Really appreciate the effort, time, and thought that went into making these.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thanks for that, this series took a while to make but I think it was worth it haha

[@mnmnrt]

You must really enjoy your players staring at their phones while you monologue at them.

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@mnmnrt You okay? Lmao

[@mnmnrt]

@@TheFantasyForge Are you?

[@TheFantasyForge]

​@@mnmnrt lol alright then, thanks for the engagement! Appreciate all the comments. Clearly not unhinged at all.

[@AtomicBrows]

I subscribed halfway into the act 1 video, and I just want to say, these videos have been HUGE in helping me prepare for my first run as DM. I’ve been too fearful to try it before, but these tools have given me some much needed confidence. So thank you!

[@TheNpatry]

I have never anticipated a video more than this!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Lol awww shucks, thank you for the kind words

[@assassincharizard]

13:08 Tobias is there in "time for rewards"

[@noahrice3362]

13:08, I wonder if he's thinking that Chewbacca should get a medal too... Quite the conclusion! I wish I could actually get a campaign to finish, sadly my luck has been pretty poor with that, this is definitely helpful. Thanks for making this! I found this one on the bus home from school, it brightened up my day even more.

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL I think he's thinking HE should get a medal. Glad it helped! I've been there, eventually you'll find a group that just CLICKS. Keep trying

[@itsturtlefacemydudes]

This series has been really helpful for putting some stuff in perspective, both of my campaigns were of the 'I have a world and a big bad and each arc is them going to each new kingdom/location and the big bad getting revealed slowly over time until it's no longer subtle and they have to do something about it' variety, I think that the planned ending for my first campaign is the closest I've gotten to what you described for a final act, said campaign was them trying to restore a broken pantheon from an evil old god, and at the very end the god sends out a pall of inky tar-like corruption throughout the lands themselves and two or three of the lesser gods they party had befriended were to succumb to that corruption in a last ditch effort to get them to safety, leaving them with half of their allies completely incapacitated... And a final battle on the horizon that just got a lot harder, and a ticking timebomb of that corruption spreading outwards from the final kingdom they visit and out into the world at large. Very sad that neither of my campaigns made it that far thanks to scheduling issues, I really hope I can do that some day...

[@TheFantasyForge]

I mean that sounds EPIC

[@itsturtlefacemydudes]

@@TheFantasyForge Thanks! And thanks for this video series, I definitely think these'll help out with pacing my DND adventures in the future, plus they're all super interesting!

[@piorouvintedovaldir]

Now you have an animated head, cool!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yeah! Took some time to figure it out haha

[@gorgit]

I was waiting weeks for this and Im so glad I found this channel. Such a simply AMAZING arc structure, I have so many ideas on what Ill do in the world Im creating for the next 2 years. From all my heart, thank you. You really showed me how nuanced and structured a story can be!

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw shucks it's nothing. Just happy to help someone :D

[@mnmnrt]

No ideas on how the players will affect the "story", of course.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the comment!@@mnmnrt

[@witchyboyy]

I was so excited when I saw this upload!! This was awesome dude, thanks so much!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thank you for the love! Makes all the hours I put into this worth it haha

[@MauriceBorchers]

Thank you so much for this. I have always longed for a more principled way to structure D&D stories without getting myself into a burnout. I want to play the game like it is a well-written movie, but it has never felt that way in my games because I got overwhelmed by the possibilities. This 3-act structure seems to fit very well with the stories I want to run while also giving me enough to hold onto :)

[@TheFantasyForge]

appreciate the love! Don't be afraid to roll with the chaos a little too and change up the outline as the game goes on

[@ingoknito4626]

I started my current, first campaign as a one-shot. I had no plans laid out to develop it further. Now, for many sessions, I´m winging it. Somehow I managed to get to a point with the following adventures, where I could connect them to a unit with a BBEG and a threat to the world. That said - this series helped me a lot to understand where I have to lead them next to further bring it all together. I got many ideas from these 3 videos that will turn my "happend-to-turn-into-a-campaign-mess " storyline into something, that my players will enjoy even more and remember. Thanks a lot for your knowledge, tips and detailed advice!

[@Tacodilesupreme88]

13:09 Tobias is getting the medal he deserves.

[@TheFantasyForge]

About time amiright

[@Onyxian92]

I just finished watching all three parts and that was very helpful, thank you!

[@Tacodilesupreme88]

Would love a story arc worksheet that has prompts for acts 1-3, I might make one myself if I have time.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Actually already working on it! Thought about that right after I submitted

[@mnmnrt]

Act 1: Ask the players what they want to do. Build interesting places for them to explore. Determine what happens as a result of their actions in the world. Act 2: Ask the players what they want to do. Build interesting places for them to explore. Determine what happens as a result of their actions in the world. Act 3: Ask the players what they want to do. Build interesting places for them to explore. Determine what happens as a result of their actions in the world.

[@geoffhead111]

nice work. just watched and noted all three of your tutes and you certainly got screenwriting chops

[@TheFantasyForge]

appreciate the love!

[@natashatuskovichcoworking]

Thank you! These videos are so helpful!

[@TheFantasyForge]

glad it helped! Thank you for the kind words

[@drewBossman]

13:08 the force is strong with this one!

[@20hermanator10]

Awesome awesome content sir! Can totally see the effort you’ve put into these videos!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thank you! Yeah, definitely quite a few hours in this video alone lol. Appreciate the love

[@EksaStelmere]

I do kind of like how, even though I put my "you just plain f*cking lose" moment near the start of Act II, rather than at the end, it still kinda works with "the road home" and "the rescue" described here. What with the party having been adventuring for one, maybe two acts (I run a four- or five-act stucture, preferably), before finally feeling ready to run back into the Balhannoth hole. It's not quite as compatible given my parties tend to start the third act on a high note, rather than a low note. Everyone's in a good mood, very confident, and sometimes they might even think there' going into the final battle. The benefit here for me is that, if I feel like the party is doing well enough that I like how the happy ending that would follow feels, I can just end it there without smashing the Act II setup and the Act III ~ IV twists together to make it all come together. It's perfect sequel bait (for me).

[@TheFantasyForge]

I love that! Yeah there's plenty of times that the heroes journey is fudged with or loosely used. Totally fine! If it works for your story, it works for your story! All that matters is that it makes sense narratively and doesn't break the immersion. I would argue it's possible to follow the structure and do it all wrong lol

[@TheRPGAtmosphere]

Awesome little series you’ve put together. It’s been super helpful for me planning out my homebrew campaign. Quick question though, how do you do the animated avatar with the gestures and everything? I wouldn’t want to steal your idea, but it’s definitely been an inspiration for me to find something similar for my channel.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thank you! And no worries! I hired an amazing animator for the fire and the art. Brought the files into the editing program, looped the fire, and just change the body. It's basically a headless body with the gestures, and the fire goes on top and I just swap them out as the video goes on. Pretty basic but goes a long way to bringing the video to life :D

[@mnmnrt]

Why are you planning what happens in advance? How are the players' decisions going to matter?

[@20hermanator10]

@@mnmnrtmy big bad has plans that the party will react to. Maybe I’m planning a natural disaster that I want to see how the players respond.

[@mnmnrt]

@@20hermanator10 >big bad discarded.

[@Ellinon_Vasileus]

It's not just put our characters out of the tree. We also usually want to put the fire out and save the tree also.... (Ergo not just save the world but also make the world better than before)

[@TheFantasyForge]

Definitely! Totally agree, good catch

[@Ellinon_Vasileus]

@@TheFantasyForge I loved those 3 parts. For years I am planning to write a book/story but using dnd perspective/mechanics. So I believe those 3 episodes could help not only dnd players but a wider cast of people. Really satisfied to find your channel due to those vids. Really good job.

[@TheFantasyForge]

@@Ellinon_Vasileus glad to help! Would love learn about your world

[@mnmnrt]

Whether the players get out of the tree depends on the decisions they make. What happens to the world depends on the decisions the players make.

[@Ellinon_Vasileus]

@@mnmnrt You are talking about agency, we (i) talking about creation. As a DM,writer,screenwriter etc etc, you have the obligation to create possible paths/choices for your players/party/protagonist yo take. You have to create options (and if possible multiple options that lead to same outcomes / but the outcomes must me different and divergent)... After that yes, what you said is valid, it's their obligation or choice to do it... But as I said, I think we are talking about different things here...

[@geckocave]

him in the star war 13:07

[@torbenverhasselt9670]

13:10, first time i find the displacer kitten ghahga

[@AnnihilatorCZ]

kekw an elf of the woodland realm at 0:48

[@samuelG4815]

A question, how much detail do you plot and at what point do you add more detail? I want to leave room for the players to guide the story in ways that are cooler than I might have thought of.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I lay out my story in a bare bones style. So I'll plot out where I think it will go, and then after every session I ask myself, "does this still make sense?". Usually the players do something that now changes the story. For example, they might be trying to defeat a bad guy and I have that encounter as the middle of the story arc - the "midpoint" in my story, but maybe early on they do something like blow up his HQ. Well, he's now gone or dead and I don't have a midpoint anymore, so I adjust accordingly and find a new midpoint and do it all over. I like how you put it, they might come up with something cooler, and that's so true! I always leave room for that, and I only include any details on a session to session basis.

[@samuelG4815]

@@TheFantasyForge i look forward to trying this out. Thanks!

[@andrewross6081]

Fantastic. Very inspiring.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love! :D

[@Zweiecke]

Wait a second. Who is Tobias?

[@TheFantasyForge]

Old channel mascot! They're in every one of the videos

[@Miranda17137]

12:02 "Or even divine intervention" you don't see the problem with using a deus ex machina to resolve the plot?... I've been on the other end of this as a player when something gets pulled out in a fight to 'save' the party. It's not 'epic'; it deflates the scene and makes the players question whether anything they did as part of the adventure actually had any impact on the course of the story. I suppose that's the issue that I have with any kind of narrative that a DM superimposes over a campaign; this shell game DOES mean that the players ultimately have no agency. So why play? Just write a book.

[@TheFantasyForge]

If it works for the story, do it. If it doesn't, then don't do it. I've had situations where it was helpful and others where it wasn't. I think the obvious thing is to not take anything away from your players

[@helixxharpell]

Followed your channel for awhile starting last year. For some reason youtube canceled my follow! Why??

[@TheFantasyForge]

You know what you did! Jk that's super weird :( Glad you're back!

[@mnmnrt]

Story emerges from gameplay. If you already know what's going to happen, there's no reason for your players to show up.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the comment!

[@mnmnrt]

@@TheFantasyForge Thanks for ruining another generation of DMs, jackass.

[@TheFantasyForge]

LMAO oh man, so much to unpack with your comments. Thanks for stopping by

[@mnmnrt]

​@@TheFantasyForge Not really. Stop giving people bad advice.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the comment!