Running DnD with No Plot (Emergent Storytelling)

0:00 Intro
3:38 Emergent Storytelling
4:22 Prep Situations
7:33 Factions, NPCs & Goals
10:29 Create Conflict
11:47 As the World Turns
14:32 Tools for Emergent Storytelling
Thumbnail Artist: Matthew Sellers
______________________________________________
Don't Prep Plots (The Alexandrian): tinyurl.com/59byxvkm
Mausritter PDF Itch.io (Pay What You Want): tinyurl.com/mr3becmh
Mausritter PDF DriveThruRPG (Pay What You Want): tinyurl.com/cvx54xtx
Mausritter Box Set Exalted Funeral: tinyurl.com/3u3a4u9v
Worlds Without Number FREE PDF: tinyurl.com/43nxtwna
Worlds Without Number Deluxe PDF/Print: tinyurl.com/4rye49jw
Halls of the Blood King (Print): tinyurl.com/2pxvwamx
Halls of the Blood King (PDF): tinyurl.com/5xhpjryr
Dungeon World (PDF): tinyurl.com/2s45urur
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#dnd #osr #sandbox #ttrpg #dungeonsanddragons
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Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statue that might otherwise be infringing.

[@Earthmote]

Links to References in the Video: Don't Prep Plots (The Alexandrian): tinyurl.com/59byxvkm Mausritter PDF Itch.io (Pay What You Want): tinyurl.com/mr3becmh Mausritter PDF DriveThruRPG (Pay What You Want): tinyurl.com/cvx54xtx Mausritter Box Set Exalted Funeral: tinyurl.com/3u3a4u9v Worlds Without Number FREE PDF: tinyurl.com/43nxtwna Worlds Without Number Deluxe PDF/Print: tinyurl.com/4rye49jw Halls of the Blood King (Print): tinyurl.com/2pxvwamx Halls of the Blood King (PDF): tinyurl.com/5xhpjryr Dungeon World (PDF): tinyurl.com/2s45urur

[@AshersAesera]

Thankya very much! ^^

[@emanuelseibert3790]

Man, i'm about to start my own campaign in two weeks. And the premise of this video literally saved me from being burnt out before starting. I was planning a long story to fight invading goblings on the frontier with themes of corruption and war mongering behind the scenes and was already getting frustrated with shit that my players probably wouldn't ever find or interact with. On top of the fact that i have almost no experience as a DM and don't know how to run exploration, long travels, supplies gathering, time events, etc etc. It was doomed. So i'm literally ditching all that, and instead i'll approach it similar to FInal Fantasy Tactics Advance. I'll make my players the founders of an adventurer's guild, i'll give them some quests to choose from each time they're on downtime, and we'll run whatever they chose for some sessions. Rinse and repeat. Somewhat sandboxy, with videogame-esque features, for my pcs to get familiar with the system (they're all new), and for me to try out rules and different ways to do stuff. And when the time comes, i might send them into a small quest with an overarching plot. But not now. TL:DR: I wasn't up to the challenge i was about to put myself into and your video saved my campaign from being born dead, so thank you very much for your insight :)

[@neepers]

The author of the article on the Alexandrian said his opening and title on 'no plot', was 'tongue in cheek', in his own essay. And openly states that the things DM's plan is "usually a lot more awesome than when PC's chart their own course". And in his own article, he describes railroading a plot. Then he describes uses exactly the same scenario, and just removes the railroading. There is definitely a NARRATIVE, it's just not a scripted narrative. You're misrepresenting this article. He says "A plot is the sequence of events in a story." What he's saying in this article is not to SCRIPT the outcomes, not to not prepare a story.

[@neepers]

@@emanuelseibert3790 bruh. What you were PLANNING sounds amazing. A pointless world of random quests sounds awful. D&D is narratively driven, not narratively documented. The story is what drives your players forward, motivates and inspires them. What's their motivation with a bunch of random adventure hunts? There is no purpose to their existence. Yeah, the giant world story sounds like a lot of work to plan, because it is! It's sad to me that this video caused people who were creating amazing campaigns to just give up, mid-struggle and claim that this terrible advice 'saved them'. What you were planning before sounds amazing. I hope you go back to it instead of bookending random adventures without purposes or cohesion.

[@emanuelseibert3790]

@@neepers Yes, of course. Is not that this is terrible advice in itself. Is just that is like a starting point. Is not like i just won't ever run grand scale adventures. Is just that I'm still green. Thanks for the compliments, tho :)

[@seanfsmith]

Frodo, Sam, and Gandalf were following an adventure path Merry, Pippin, Gimli, and Legolas were in a sandbox game

[@DeSalvoLaw]

Yet, there was a story, a plot, an anatagonist, things which needed done. Most creative writing is dog shit for this reason.

[@seanfsmith]

@@DeSalvoLaw sure jan

[@SunBane67]

Matt colville sandbox game video lol I miss old matt's content

[@orom6581]

@DeSalvoLaw what even is this take

[@printandplaygamer7134]

@@SunBane67 Matt's Sandbox vs Railroad video is absolutely a classic.

[@dinodm4083]

The best advice I’ve ever ready that sums up this video is this: “prep the world, not the session”

[@BigmanDogs]

I think another reason why people feel the pressure to have this big storyline is that many younger people got into D&D from broadcasted online. And we tend to forget that those people are youtubers, livestreamers, people in the entertainment business etc. They are professional entertainers producing content for us to enjoy. You cant put those expectations on yourself and your fellow players without inevitably being dissappinted.

[@Earthmote]

Well said! It probably prevents a lot of people from ever trying to run games from the fear of inadequacy. And I think that's a real shame.

[@davidbeppler3032]

GM's are entertainers. In an interactive story.

[@BigmanDogs]

@davidbeppler3032 They are playing the game just like the players, they just have a different role.

[@SteveBonario]

"The story happens at the table." you nailed it -- that's it in a nutshell! Thanks for calling out the "situations" model. As a DM, it can be fun to be as surprised as your players to see how things unfold!

[@Earthmote]

It makes the game more exciting for me as a GM too. Cause I don't know what will happen.

[@mnmnrt]

that's just called running a game. it's the default.

[@xoutlawxgaming8082]

I'm running a session if anyone wants to join me I'll send everyone a link to discord

[@Ephilias]

To find balance between prep and improv is difficult, but with experience, it creates something magical every week :)

[@neepers]

No, that's just a diary. It's like teachers who keep records of what happened in their classes without planning lessons.

[@2ClutchGamers]

I have always been a proponent of having places, people, and things to do, and then letting the players decide where and what they interact with.

[@LetsEatSomethingNew]

Great way to put that! I think I've naturally done that but never put it quite so succinctly. I just have a basic town, a list of buildings, a few npcs in them, and a few npcs out and about, a list of items they can find somewhere and a few loose plot points they can't find ...or not. Takes all the work away from me and allows me to just tell them about the story they are discovering along with me

[@mushmushmush]

it can be great, but it requires very proactive players. In my experience new players especially end up completely stumped when presented with an open world.

[@2ClutchGamers]

@@mushmushmush Good point. Not every group will respond to every DM style. Your lead should match the table.

[@carlosamado7606]

​@@mushmushmush Exactly. My group saw that I had very interesting "plots" and while I tried to give freedom, they would follow it somewhat closely without me forcing railroad. Sure they made choices I didn't anticipate sometimes or some minor characters became more relevant cause they interacted more with them, etc. But in my world character creation started with a common goal that defined why all characters got together. Therefore when playing they would end up doing the thing that would further that goal so was easy to predict in general what path they would take.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

​@@mushmushmush me and my group were all new to this. I presented a starting town, a central tavern ruled by my main NPC Mungeon Faster, a short history of the continent and why food became the religion (making chefs and innkeepers into priests and kings), then showed them a map of the area surrounding the town and asked them, as the innkeeper, if they wanted to do a job for me. After that, I asked them to do a harder job, and they found three plotting Liches, so now they are on a quest to find a phylactery but went completely off the rails, so I am drawing new maps like crazy and just giving them new things to explore, sometimes just rolling in a random encounter chart to see what happens on a sea trip Luckily by now I have drawn a world map so any time they jump into a new direction I have a framework to work with, but often I'm still winging it as we go😂

[@phillipheaton9832]

I have been a GM for almost fifty years now and I've developed a system that works for me. Start off with a session zero. Let your players know what you expect to come out of the session zero beforehand. On the day of the session zero, find out what kind of adventures your players want. How did they meet/why do they want to adventure with each other? What are their individual motivations to adventure? What does everyone want to play and how well will that work (don't try and change their minds). What level does everyone want to start at? You now have the bare bones to prepare the initial rumors/problems that they can choose from. Provide them with 3-5 situations that need dealing with and let them decide what they want to do. There might be a job to escort a merchant to his next destination. A criminal has escaped and there is a reward for his capture. You overhear a drunken teamster talking about the heavy chests he just delivered. Rats have been attacking residents and there is a 1 GP per tail bounty. A caravan is forming up to go to the next kingdom and can use more guards. The beautiful thing with this is that some of the hooks will go away by the time that the party finishes the one they chose, another party could have done it. Some of them could have gotten worse, the rats are getting bolder and have snatched a baby from a crib. There will always be new ones and some old ones the seemed to have gone away may resurface later as an even bigger problem (the haunting of the cemetery calmed down, only to turn into a plague of ghouls three months later). Most adventures will follow standard tropes, so you can improvise them with ease. Don't forget to throw in a curveball or two so that there is some spice in the stew, something they didn't expect (the merchant's apprentice running off with some gold, a sick child in a village they are passing through, an unwilling bride that has been promised to a bad man, etc, etc). I have been able to keep my adventurers on their toes for adventure after adventure by doing this. If they want a more focused campaign, give it to them. The Lord's seneschal may need trouble shooters. The local Thieves guide (with a heart of gold) needs help fending off rivals. A merchant captain may need their help to explore a new land he has found.

[@davidbeppler3032]

I do the same thing. I handle economy and ecology. The players build the story. I just watch to see what happens.

[@obrien92]

i’m a new dm, the campaign i’m running now started as a horror one-shot. everyone barely survived and wanted to continue on with their beloved characters. i have been struggling a lot with where to take the story next, and hearing “the story happens at the table” felt like a weight lifted off my chest. i love the idea of looking at your map and going “okay what’s happening over here” and letting that guide the world rather than trying to force everybody into what i THINK could be a good story. long story short, thank you thank you thank you, i’ve been struggling a lot with this !!!

[@trequor]

Curse of Strahd is the best example I know for demoing a sandbox game. It takes place in a limited sandbox, but it still very open ended. It gives you lots of NPCs and locations, but no overarching story

[@Earthmote]

You're welcome! Focus on designing some interesting open-ended situations and let your players figure out the solutions. You'll do great!

[@neepers]

don't listen to them. Episodic play masqueraded as a narrative is just lower standard play. If session 0 states this, then no issue. If you want to be sub-par, then by all means--have no plan. It's an easy escape for those who don't want to or enjoy the work of creating a narrative. Which is fine, so long as that expectation is set at session zero. And dont' think that they're mutually exclusive. Having a story arch is an OPTION for the players, its one of many roads. Those with a central narrative have all of the agency but also with the option of a rich narrative component. They still guide everything--maybe they don't want to pursue the narrative, or want to do side-things, or explore---all which is fine, but at least there is something binding them together with a central narrative.

[@ThaliaAndrea]

​@neepers I have been DMing for over 30 years. I have never made large, detailed stories or done any major planning. I use player backstories to design characters and use elements to build character arcs as the game progresses. As for the main campaign, I make the BBE and an overall theme. I let my players do what they want. They complete some quest for local npcs or by accident stable into an area they shouldn't have. I throw in clues hinting to the BBE. I sometimes even let a minor npc escape from the players, if said npc pissed off a player or 2, during an encounter. Will get the players to search for them or get involved in a future quest if it involves the npc. I enjoy running my games like this. Player have fun doing stuff their characters are designed to do. I enjoy telling these stories.

[@neepers]

​@@ThaliaAndrea Because you've had a bad habit for 30 years doesn't make it a good habit. It's like saying "I've been teaching 30 years and never make a lesson plan". Yeah, I can do something half-assed for 30 years too--that's not an achievement, it's an embarrassingly low standard that to operate at. There is a normalized curve for DM's like everything else, a small percentage are good, a large percentage are completely mediocre to bad, and a small percentage are awful. Where you do think you are? The DM that for 30 years has 'never made large detailed stories or done any major planning'. That's the bottom third. "I've been married 30 years and I never gave my wife flowers once, and I'm still married!" sound familiar? I'll repeat this again-- to all you players: try to find a DM who is amazing. Not the one that has the lowest operating standards and a big ego. This 'no plot' is to lure in people who lack the creativity, desire, or skill to craft amazing narratives and convince them that it's 'good practice'. It's not. To all the new DM's, if you want to have a low standards, here's what you should do: don't do any planning and don't have a central narrative--just wing it! If being low quality is your high bar, by all means, listen to these guys. But if you want to be the best you can be, don't listen to the guy who can't write a narrative for advice on making an interesting campaign.

[@paulsavas2394]

I have multiple loose adventure plot ideas…then players choose…then I make it up as I go…usually taking player conversation as my guiding light!

[@Earthmote]

Seems like a good structure!

[@firstimpression7529]

This is the way.

[@jaybugo]

I guess it helps that i've built an enormous world with dozens of factions, planes of existence, and wild areas. This type of spontaneous story telling is perfect for me.

[@robertbloom4424]

Creative Writing is a huge part of my career and I can say that, hands down, I enjoy GMing and playing non-narrative-shackled games. Emergent storytelling is where I have the most fun in roleplaying.

[@ericpeirce5598]

I have always preferred the emergent storytelling in a sandbox style game. I usually start with a detailed city, that has a lot of detailed NPCs and things happening that the players can interact with. Ultimately I want the party to feel like they have a "home base" to go back to once they start adventuring. I will have some possible storylines that may take them out of the city for short periods of time if they choose to follow and one or two major world affecting events that will begin to unfold even if the players do not make choices to go in that direction. The campaign I am currently running is the first time I used a list of rumors that the players have all heard before the game started, with a few of them being ones that will be revealed as true during the unfolding of a few events as the story unfolds. I have always been lucky and had a couple of very proactive players that are always looking for something for their characters to do, so it is easy for me to put those hooks in front of them. It may take a year for them to eventually interact with the main world affecting events, but I want the pace of the game to be determined by the actions of the players. I only use hard timelines in games that are meant to have a set ending and/or are only going to last a handful of sessions.

[@Earthmote]

Sounds like a good process, thanks for sharing!

[@mbg4681]

As someone who craves agency as a player, I'm mystified that this isn't the default approach to TTRPGs. Thanks for expressing it so clearly!

[@captcorajus]

Great advice. Emergent storytelling can, in the end, resemble an 'over arching' story after all is said and done. The advantage to emergent storytelling is that it is organic. It 'emerges' through many player choices in the campaign and thus is more engaging to the players. This is THEIR story, not some contrived plot created outside their purview in which they are merely non descript participants. Like you said, I create several 'hooks' and the players choose which one to pursue. The other thing important to remember is that it takes a LOT of stress off the DM... they don't have to worry about 'keeping the players on track'.. and its never boring. It exciting because even the DM has no idea where things will ultimately go. I feel like I am the chronicler of the events. I'm not a storyteller, I am a story enabler.

[@peanutbutter9687]

I love RPG Retro Reviews

[@Earthmote]

Well said! Cheers

[@sleepinggiant4062]

You are collaborating on telling the story, which makes you one of the storytellers. You tell the players what happens and control everything outside their actions. You are by far the most important story teller in the collaboration.

[@thepuzzlesphinx]

"story enabler" is genius. love your vids btw

[@wh2568]

Highly recommend also using random treasure tables, especially for treasure. Introducing odd magical items or limited use ones change the powers of the party in an unpredictable way, and can create really interesting stories as the players engage with the world in new ways.

[@Audey]

I recently started my first ever sandbox (running a Stars Without Number campaign). Session 1 that was fairly scripted, just to give the PCs a reason for why they met, where they got their space, and push them out into the wider galaxy. Session 2 things opened up, and I told my players: "I've made the nouns, you make the verbs". And honestly that mindset makes all the difference. Both sides of the table are having a blast.

[@EpicoLirico]

I love emergent storytelling, is the perfect way to narrate a world in which the players and the GM contribute almost the same to the worldbuilding, and also a great way to promote player agency in a pretty much plot-forced landscape.

[@suzandouglass5241]

Ran a campaign for decades with my kids and their friends. As the grew up, the game matured as well. Created a world with more than one storyline, and LOTS of random encounters. Using random encounters also keeps the players attention on the game.

[@danweighall2688]

I do a bit of both. Me and my group enjoy an overarching story and I as the DM, enjoy coming up with a creative story. However I also really enjoy when the players take the story in their own hands and we create something together. Great video! Gave me a lot of inspiration!

[@Fawstah]

I appreciate that you're not saying don't prep. I mostly prep situations and moments I know are coming. Most of my prep is unknown backstory and paying off threads from the backstory and paying off threads the game set up.

[@Shroom-Mage]

"Fronts" are essentially how I ran Dragon Heist. So many people recommend dropping Chapter 2 because it doesn't advance the plot, but that's exactly why I kept it. I expanded the faction quests and let the players decide which factions to ally with and which ones to investigate. Though I chose summer as the season, the players showed much greater interest in pursuing the Zhentarim and Xanathar's Guild. I ended up dropping Jaraxle entirely because keeping up with four enemy groups would become confusing. While they loved some of the cultist quests, they didn't follow up on them much, and I didn't want the cult to become a main villain that sprung up out of seemingly nowhere. I let the players choose their enemies, and their actions decided which ones gained and lost power. In the end, they took extra steps to sabatoge the activities of the Zhentarim "splinter faction" (as they believed it to be), and because they chose to keep one of Xanathar's gazers as a pet, Nihiloor ambushed them at the Vault of Dragons instead of the villain I had at one point imagined. I ended the entire adventure at the Trollskull Tavern's Grand Opening, with all of the most memorable NPC's they befriended showing up for a celebration at the end, and Laerel herself showed up to thank them for retrieving the gold for the city.

[@user-kb4vi7sf7w]

My advice for those unsure about running a game. 1. Nothing in your world is static. Everything can be moved to where it is needed. 2. Draw out the map as the players progress. This is typically how West March Campaigns are done. 3. Collaborate story telling. Get your players involved. 4. Be clear and communicate with one another. Boundaries should be discussed and if none come up, the game doesn't go forward. This is important so a session doesn't come to an abrupt halt do to some line being crossed that shouldn't have been. The third and fourth ones will be the more daunting because, and I'll catch flak, a lot of players are lazy and don't even bring a bare minimum of anything to the table. This is a game that requires communication, if you barely can have a conversation, how are you going to play?

[@eroki2946]

This is what I've been doing, I recently felt the need to lean more towards the adventure path style due to some tip videos I watched lately. This video was great for reminding me that I don't actually need to do that, and my way (incidentally similar to your way) works as well

[@Mammothbronco]

I like this. Recently ran dnd for a group and we developed the worlds history with microscope. This created interesting factions that the players were familiar with and gave me ideas for scenarios.

[@Naeturveidimadur]

This is a very nice advice video. It's clean, direct and refreshing. Also, your diction helps a lot to follow through. Thanks for having and dedicating your time to help others.

[@nullpoint3346]

The bloodking module storyline screams Castlevania to me.

[@austincraig6743]

Great stuff as always. That Mausritter faction system looks super lightweight and simple to run, thanks for mentioning that!

[@Earthmote]

Yep, simple but effective system!

[@VinterNacht_]

You basically described what I try to achieve. It originally started as something of a hybrid, I wanted the players to have a single storyline that was "the" storyline. But I realized that players go off the rails with impunity. So I wanted there to be other things going on that they could engage with, other things happening that would happen whether they engaged or not, and other plotlines for them to pursue. It helped the world feel alive when they noticed hints of some "side quest" and then saw later hints and realized that things had developed. I've never had as much fun as I have running these games where the world exists, the characters exist in it, and we write stories there together. It can be a LOT more work than a non-emergent setting, IMO. You have to know the world, the characters, the things that are happening, and you have to move them forward as the game progresses. However, the end result is that I spend an immense amount of time preparing my world, and less worrying about cultivating storylines specifically intended for players to engage with. After all, they end up engaging with them anyway, now don't they? And if they don't... well... That's one more kind of story too.

[@Earthmote]

Well said! I find that I do a lot of front load prep for my sandboxes, but as the game sessions flow its way less prep work. They tell me what they want to do next session and I check my notes for that area and build anything out that's missing. They can also return to places they've already been, but you've restocked it and its something new this time.

[@PhilipDudley3]

Great video! I've been loving your videos and format!

[@WhiskeyPatriot]

My original Antagonist became an ally, a Mexican stand-off over an artifact, and a backstory for half the world. All thanks to my players. I buy snacks for my players because they deserve it.

[@Myshjak]

Man you resqued me. I just started to adding some new factions (as my players entered the new dungeon) and I had some troubles to make them feel real. Thank you very much!😁

[@WillToNihilsm]

Its almost like writing a choose your own adventure that accounts for every choice is very hard. Only a few video games have done it successfully. I write the next session based on the choices within the last session and then try to also include as many decision paths as i can and try to predict the actions of the characters and account for those.

[@raggarex]

Really great video. One of the rarer kind that, while echoing principles that exist in many other videos, offers a solid alternative angle from which to view and think about them. Emergent storytelling is a term I've heard used rarely, if ever, in other videos about sandbox games. They discuss it in various other forms, but you do a great job of really outlining how that comes together and what kind of storytelling that really is. And I can say that because you've helped me unlock the mental tangle I have over a couple areas of my approach. Thank you!

[@user-tt9jz5ym8h]

Be able to make up small stories on the spot in whatever environment your players choose. Use that as a seed for a larger idea you can expand on later. If you need more time in a session because you don't have something prepared, start a fight. That will eat up an hour and can lead to another seed. Everything is an opportunity for an idea that expands on itself, one event following another. Not every idea has to be good. You don't have to be super clever. Never stop moving. Eventually the little ideas build into a larger campaign, and then into an entire world full of factions and history. None of it has to be pre-planned. Your players will let you know what they are invested in. Let the players do the work, and bring you their snacks and praise. Your players won't feel like they are stuck on the rails of a published campaign going from one fight to another to progress a pre-determined plot that was chosen for them to care about. They will care about the game and their characters because they care about their own choices.

[@Lemmakinen]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@printandplaygamer7134]

Nice overview of emergent storytelling. Looking forward to more from you!

[@MangaMarjan]

This is what made me try out different systems. D&D is "the" tabletop-rpg for a reason but it's far from perfect. I really dig TRPGs that put emergent storytelling to the forefront like Blades in the Dark (also because I love Dishonored), Avatar Legends (not the greatest system but very light and fun to run), or Ten Candles which to me is the best system when it comes to helping you create a well paced story. The rules of TC are all in service of pushing the narrative forward. There is no plotting, planning, minutiae like D&D often breeds. The story happens at the table and the players have a lot of say in that story, even when it comes to the dangers, world and everything else that the GM has a monopoly over in most TRPGs. Your tips are great for making D&D more emergent but it might be worth for to look into different systems If that is the focus of your games.

[@mgakidd]

Thank you. This was extremely helpful.

[@oxbass2672]

This was always my approach when running a game or campaign. It's not my story, it's theirs. I'm just there to help them interact with the game world. The choices, consequences and directions are entirely up to them. Granted, this was mostly in the days of AD&D, which seems to be better suited to a more free-form approach to running a game, but I'm just old school...

[@DungeonMasterQuest]

Dude, can't agree more. I've been wanting to DM a sandbox campaing for quit a while, had the opportunity to pause the ongoing ToA campaign for some sessions and we played a sandbox game using Shadowdark. I had a blast from the start, the players got the spirit of it after the second session and it was awesome. Since then, once I wrap up the ongoing ToA campaign, I'll take a loooong break from 5e and those linear style long games. I'll run a sandbox campaing on Dolmenwood, which have me super hyped to start.

[@Earthmote]

Dolmenwood looks great, can't wait for the print stuff to come out.

[@dominicsantangelo2610]

Great approach!

[@alejandropardo6978]

The only way I like to play DND.

[@mdforbes500]

subscribed - love this content - you do a great job of explaining the system as a whole here - excited to dive into your other videos - i'm a huge fan of DW's Fronts and sandbox gaming in general

[@Earthmote]

Thank you!

[@iangrey7588]

This is pretty much how I’ve always run games (in a multitude of systems, for many decades), and it works great. Only the term is new for me, so it’s nice to have a definition to help explain what I’m doing to new players. Thanks! 🎉

[@Earthmote]

Cheers, happy gaming!

[@jameshwren]

I run a no plot dungeon delve based on OSE style with 5e rules. It was the best decision I have made to create a long term sustainable dnd group where I wasn’t overly burdened as the dm.

[@jameshwren]

If you guys want more info of how I do it just let me know and I’ll explain it in detail.

[@Earthmote]

Sounds fun, happy gaming!

[@Karmasu_L]

Thanks for the tips.

[@serioussandyshortbreadjr.]

Really appreciate this video! Keep up the good work :)

[@Earthmote]

Thanks!

[@perryshawn]

excellent video! subscribed!

[@Earthmote]

Thank you! and Welcome aboard.

[@santiagovilla666]

Great video. I've been DM'ing since I was 9 years old, with a long hiatus between 20 and 37, and I've only recently realized that this is the best way to DM. Now, at my 40s I've DMed the most memorable campaigns of my life because I've turned to giving the players an initial conflict or two that they will decide how to interact with. According to those interactions I prep session to session. I do a lot of work creating the NPCs, especially, because their interaction with NPCs is what will create the story. I usually DM real world historical settings with no monsters or (obvious) magic. Right now DMing the Great Pendragon Campaign, but starting much earlier, when Romans leave Britain. PCs ended up feuding each other, so the story is revolving around their rivalries. So much fun.

[@BlyatBear]

Ive been constantly running games for the last 5-8 years like this. I dont have the brain cells to write consistent stories, I run Rule of Cool, and let the players place their print on the story.

[@uwo7130]

Excellent video!

[@benbattersby2837]

Yea this hobby is for story tellers. That's just the reality pf it, if you aren't a story teller (not professional tier per say, just someone who loves stories and has the skill to help craft one) then you aren't gonna be as good of a DM. There are skills required to be good at this thing we do.

[@ordinarytree4678]

have you burned out yet?

[@benbattersby2837]

@@ordinarytree4678 Nope, and my current campaign has been going for over 5 years, meeting almost every single week, to play for 7 hours at a time.

[@kidcthulhufortney1320]

You've done a great job articulating what I used to do when I DM'd, although I was a lot more "seat of my pants" than "tables written down." I was real big on a mostly sandbox system with lots of factions and letting the players decide what gets the focus. A big thing that goes without saying is that a lot depends on your players. Some of my best games were with players who were almost random and they added a lot of delightful chaos to the proceedings without ruining it. I've also seen players who have more video game experience than tabletop experience require that overarching linear plot or they feel completely lost.

[@arms456456]

love how thouhgt out this vid is man!

[@Earthmote]

Thank you!

[@dunmwarupreachan4567]

This has been helpful. Ive been very plot driven and its been unsuccessful. Im gonna try this now.

[@matthewmcguigan4293]

I'm looking to implement this kind of stuff into my plans. Thanks for the ideas!

[@Earthmote]

Glad it was helpful!

[@uwtartarus]

Dungeon World's fronts are so useful in my campaign prep.

[@charliesimonsson9303]

We have been playing sandbox or emerhent storytelling from day 1 it is nice to hear about more groups doing it.

[@paavohirn3728]

Excellent points! There's a real magic also in using randomization tools like Worlds Without Number has to create an interconnected world without getting too much attached to any of the situations and locations this created.

[@Earthmote]

Yep, the GM has this interesting position where we can be invested in worldbuilding for the campaign but also have to be distant from it cause who knows what the players are going to do to it lol

[@paavohirn3728]

@@Earthmote Yeah. And it helps with that relative detachment if the stuff you come up with is at least I'm part randomly generated. Random but in the context of the situation and setting.

[@user-ux1wi8bs6r]

Useful video thank you.

[@PyrrhicPax]

All of the things you described as exhausting, sounded absolutely thrilling to me. Maybe I should become a GM lol

[@sharpmountaingames9303]

I really liked this one. For the last few years I've rarely had anything planned beyond the next session or two. Often the players tell me what they want to do next through there characters. Now, that's not 100%. Sometimes I have to place some deep hooks to get them moving, but I enjoy running something THEY want more. Great video and you earned a sub.

[@Earthmote]

Thank you!

[@somefrenchguy2091]

This is pretty much how I've been doing things without ever hearing of this method hahaha. Glad I can finally put a name on it

[@Vampster19CockedD20]

I love the color scheme for the blood King pictures.

[@Earthmote]

The artwork in Blood King is really distinct and evocative

[@ArvelDreth]

I cannot believe I've never seen this channel before now. Amazing video, and you have a great voice for these kinds of video essays. Can't wait to see more from you.

[@Earthmote]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@thepuzzlesphinx]

without even needing to see the video, you get a thumbs up and follow. no one talks about this stuff, so much garbage on youtube dming, no one knows the actual advice you would learn in a writing class.

[@brian2cat]

Subscribing and hoping to see more like this! This is how I've been wanting to run my games, but it feels like little "official" material is aimed in this direction.

[@Earthmote]

Yeah its certainly the case with WoTC's products if your running 5e. A lot of great indie/OSR stuff presents open ended adventures/sandboxes for use. Cheers!

[@TheDave-bn2tx]

I would also say you can do this for a setting you're creating as well. So many DMs spend hours creating their setting and then are disappointed when the players don't care about. Slowly create your setting around them instead of writing everything. Rule number one: if the players can't interact with it, they don't care about it.

[@OutlawJJ80]

TY 4 the Vid.! I will definitely add some of these process to my games. TYVM

[@Earthmote]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cempionu_aisbergai]

I kinda do a mix of both. There is an overarching plot, but players' actions have a kind of butterfly effect on how things turn out. So I write what might be happening during the session and I know what plans the factions and NPCs have, but I usually don't write much further until my players had their turn interacting with the world.

[@j.m.r.7737]

I do something similar. I honestly hate the notion of not having anything figured out for my campaign. I need enough known so I can work within those guidelines and adjust things based on what the players do and accomplish. In my current game I have an overarching story that's going on, but what's happened along the way, and how that's impacted the characters, is completely different than what I thought would happen, and it's all based off of player choice

[@cempionu_aisbergai]

@@j.m.r.7737 hell yeah lol. I think the only thing is maybe personally I should let my players fail the quest and doom the world, not to punish, but just cause things turned out like that xd

[@Kalsimir]

I feel like you can definitely prep plots and still have player agency. I agree that emergent storytelling is important, but you need not abandon the concept of a plot to enjoy it. I started playing D&D without a set story and I found that while it can be immensely satisfying it’s very easy to make a game feel purposeless for your players. Personally I see the plot as a way to present player choices and shape the story. When I write a campaign skeleton it is just that - a skeleton without meat, with massive gaps for the players to fill in. My most recent campaign was always going to end with a confrontation against the Drowned King, but the players choices spanned far more than just his story. They each got to pursue their past, made alliances and enemies, fought against demons and celestials alike. Some of those stories would tie into the BBEG, building his legend until they finally met him for the first time. They could have turned away from his quest but by the point they finally met the guy everyone was already invested. Even after they met him there were large periods of time for players to pursue personal goals, and I tied those choices into the end battle as allied abilities to call upon during the fight. It was incredibly satisfying tor me and them, and while I got to choose a small part of the story the vast majority of it was their passions guiding my hand. I’m not trying to say that you’re wrong about emergent storytelling it was a huge part of the world I built. But I feel like a plot can be wonderful with a flexible gm and a curious party

[@Doodle1776]

It's how I run groups now and running three groups exactly like this. A world populated with different encounters and quests, almost all are sole and singular where the players can visit at will. It takes a lot of stress off of me as the GM because I don't have to force an arching storyline or plot. I don't have to worry about making a massive world-ending game to win where everything has to fit and I stress out over also adding in background subplots and other junk. Nope, the word is the world and the players end up changing stuff on the local level that helps change stuff on the larger level. The idea that the "only way to play" is with a massive plotline and story to complete is a farce that I have run into far too many people who believe in. Instead of make quests as I desire with full freedom and sometimes stuff that players do anger other groups who then react. It fully opens the game world up and it gets rid of the common burn-out issues that GMs have with plots and storylines.

[@Earthmote]

Sounds like a good way to play, cheers!

[@trainer1kali]

Emergent storytelling for everybody, but mostly for me (the GM) 😊 insta sub, matey!

[@tacky4237]

even seeing OSE in the background, i knew this was going to have some great points.

[@dandmadeeasy]

There's a third option, which is to use both (loosely) scripted and emergent storytelling. I feel that that can give the most realistic world... I run a sandbox campaign and make heavy use of emergent storytelling. Towards the end of each arc, I prepare some ideas for quests, but that's all they are - ideas or prompts for the players. Take one, or choose something different. I still have an overarching plot in the campaign. That plot doesn't force the direction of the story, but it does inform it and I keep it in mind as the emergent story unfolds. I feel that having things occur within the world regardless of the adventiring party's involvement (e.g. things that happen on a timer) is key to making the world feel like it's living and breathing, and overarching plot(s) can help inform the kinds of things that may happen on a timer or otherwise that add flavor and life to the world. My overarching story point is that the settlement that is the focus of the campaign will eventually be attacked. Knowing this, I always jave it in mind to present quest and downtime options to my players that can help my party strengthen the settlement itself (it's very small, e.g. by training the guards), or gain potential allies for the settlement. Great video, keep it up!

[@Earthmote]

Thanks! I like having things moving in the background. Helps keep the world alive and as you say potential conflicts for the players down the line.

[@TheBiomedZed]

I create a story because I want my players to have something interesting to see and do.

[@EqbalV]

Thank you

[@andrewhaldenby4949]

Excellent video ty

[@thomasbortscheller8156]

This is one of the best videos for making a DM want to DM. Fun is something to DM should be having. Not just at the table, but also when preparing to play. Have the NPC faction and monster do their own plots and plans makes for a living world. Now, I am not even sure what is going happen next. I am inspired to DM to see what my world is going to do next week. 🤷‍♂️

[@Earthmote]

Thank you!

[@Raptanax]

When I run Chaotica games there either isn't a story, and players explore freely until one naturally emerges, or there is a branching story that they can explore. Stories naturally emerge when you have a variety of NPCs with different goals. The trick, as always, is keeping the party together. With the branching storyline, as DM I can see where the story might go, but I don't know what decisions the players will make and what direction they will take it. I can see six of the possible endings by the time they reach chapter 9, but there is no fixed path. Each chapter gives me suggestions on what choices to offer the player, but they're always free to come up with new options of their own. It's great because players know that they are being given plot relevant choices, and that they can, if they really want to go in their own direction as well.

[@chaz916gaming]

Great video

[@antieverything1]

I love the sandbox style of play but I've found that it can sometimes be frustrating for some of my players. It comes down to learning how your players play, what they like, and finding ways to change the pace of the game in response to the energy level at the table: sometimes it is best to just sit back and let your players deliberate for hours about how they plan on running their bookbinding company; other times you need to throw down a bit of railroad track to move things along toward something more exciting. One of the worst things about playing online with a VTT is that you often can't get a read on everyone's energy level...which makes it even more important to talk to your players. If some of the group is getting lost in all the directionlessness of the emergent sandbox, it helps to be ready with something a bit more dramatic and intentional.

[@peterclose1545]

Nice video. Played this way and the grand story way. Both can work with the right players.

[@Rich_H_1972]

The "Old Way" of playing. And still the best as it empowers players more and lets the GM concentrate on things that are far more important to an RPG. By the way, Free League's games (eg, Mutant Year Zero, Vaesen, Forbidden Lands, etc) have the sandbox plus events, conflict, etc all baked into the system - they are part of the design of each game so they're really great for actively supporting this kind of emergent play. They also have a plotline that players can decide whether to engage with (or not!) so for me the offer a really nice balance and the best of both worlds.

[@Earthmote]

Cool! I've looked a little bit at Forbidden Lands, but I haven't dug deep into their systems yet. People recommend them a lot though.

[@mnmnrt]

"actually running a fucking game" is the old way lmao

[@bhorrthunderhoof4925]

My current open landscape campaign is in it's eight year! And it is fucking great. Good tips. I want to see more vidoes from Earthmote.

[@Vincerama]

I played a game like this at GaryCon. The DM was late, but he showed up and we started playing. He had a basic plot based on a module and just made it all up the entire game, and it worked quite well. Clearly he had all the rules in his head and there was no set dungeon or anything. We all had fun and had a lot of laughs!

[@syvajarvi2289]

I use sandbox style. All of us at the table sit down and talk about what they want to play. I’m lucky enough to have a very well developed home brew world to play in with caravan routes, political intrigue that already exists, and things like that. I’ve had a few “plotted” campaigns go completely off the rails and turned into “look, we just want a damn job and we will do anything within reason” type of road adventure where the group started off as caravan guards and eventually became traders running their own caravan to different places. The adventures dealt with regional politics, random encounters that lead to cleaning up some hostile areas, and role playing transactions as they try to become rich. Fun times. The players are the story tellers, as the DM I’m the referee and do the injects to see what sticks and takes the table on the trip. Some things will be random, others planned out in advance.

[@ricraciti443]

Nice. I feel like this is my game style already... Now I have a name for it. Cheers

[@GASlenderman80085]

great advice will share this with my DM

[@Earthmote]

Thanks!

[@pdubb9754]

I so far have used published modules/adventures, but I increasily try include elements of verisimilitude that the emergent style provokes. It feels more fulfilling for me, although I am not sure my players care or notice. Your premise about it reducing stress for the DM? Not so sure about that; maybe I just need to get better. You earned my subscription with this video. I hope you will follow up with more on this topic.

[@phoenixtempleeviltruth8074]

Nice Joe Abercrombie shoutout lol. Love the First Law

[@comickazii6629]

I started our groups first DnD campaign with an experimental style. The world exists, the PCs have their own backstories across that world to find and pursue, and where the story goes depends on the players. Was going well, until work and medical issues took the story loving players away and left the jokers and casuals alone. They wouldnt tell me what they wanted about the campaign to change except for death to be consequenceless, which was the one thing i refused to do. In the end, they opted to plan their own campaign right in front of me after months of them picking up excuses not to play the day of, wasting my time and effort. Now i just have to wait for the players who actually enjoyed my work to become available again.

[@Scruffi]

The balance between these approaches is going to be different DM to DM. Personally, I love thinking ahead and working out enough framework that I can improvise within that framework, even if it means that my players miss a bunch of what I sketch out. In the campaign I’m currently running, I made up a rough sketch of a town, with a few key buildings, and enough local lore to know where it is, what kind of shape it’s in, and why. I knew I wanted a low-level hub so it’s a small town, but I wanted enough adventure beats nearby so I worked out that it used to be a larger town that had collapsed and was now a remnant of its former glory, so lots of abandoned areas nearby. And I made one quest-giver NPC and decided he used to be an adventurer and is now retired there, trying to revive the economy by encouraging adventurers. That was pretty much all of the prep. The PLAN was to have them do some low-level stuff in the town, then head north to more higher level stuff (probably to Icewind Dale or equivalent, so I could run some published content). Instead the group met up in a coffee house (my world has coffee - I wrote it up like a potion :) and while they were looking around I randomly described various NPCs around them. For whatever random reason, they keyed in to a couple of guys at a table with a note book and decided they looked suspicious. And that’s when the improv started - I decided they were some minor thieves planning a small heist. As good a start as any. That tiny random thread spiraled into everything the party has done for the last TWO YEARS and they are still in that starter town (currently exploring the ruins of the old city). In that time I’ve fleshed out the politics, factions, religion, world situation, trade, history, and so on, and created maps of the town and many buildings in it and around it. It’s damn near a publishable resource at this point. All evolved out of a random description of a couple of guys at a table no one was supposed to pay any attention to.

[@roumonada]

00:43 Erybody wanna DM till it time to do DM shlt.

[@freshhands9461]

Direct communication, love it. Pointing out that you are no storyteller and this is maybe too much to ask of GMs regularly...helped me clear my mind about it. Thanks! I am apparently entering my second age of roleplaying and I noticed that I just don't have the energy or time to come up with AMAZING STORIES every other week. Really binging all advice such as yours. Thanks twice!

[@Earthmote]

Glad it could help!

[@RadeFoxxy]

Great advice! Hail the Alexandrian!

[@Xorron-Arkham-Dreams]

I actually used this kind of system for years now - I currently GM for 5 groups all in the same world but in different areas, but all playing a single adventure - I do not currently use the faction goals/rumor table/encounter table system (yet) as I mostly make that up on the fly and add it retroactively to the story of my world - I do have a few important things that could happen but as you said for me it's the most important thing to create a living and breathing world together with my players and factions and NPCs change all the time according to how the players interact with them - great links - i´m sure to download and read some of those

[@loverdeadly6128]

From almost 20 years of ttrpg I’ve learned that above all, players get emotionally invested in their characters and want them to do cool things. As a DM if I develop interesting NPCs for their PCs to interact with and use just enough descriptive imagery to make the setting/backdrop believable, that’s enough for satisfying gameplay. A cool story is satisfying for me but it is secondary. As a GM I need to work smart not hard and just worry about facilitating theater of the mind with enough opportunities to roll dice and win prizes… because that’s what I would want as a player!!

[@swordsnstones]

my game is a loose sandbox / story line. I love prepping and creating encounters and dungeons, but i dont force players to follow a specific path. I do inject a snippet of story as we go along by finding specific treasures or story related items that hint towards something of a story line. As well some NPCs will have some hints of the story line either by the way they interact or something they are wearing or an item or something like that. The game play flows based on where the players go. If they pick up on some of the story hints then i will increase those things or offer a story line hook to see if they are interested. If not we keep running based on their game play.

[@Earthmote]

That's a nice way of doing it. You can definitely have deeper situations going on and if the players bite, then great. If not, you can either set it aside or keep it brewing in the background till they might see more of it down the line.

[@swordsnstones]

@@Earthmote Ty, cheers...

[@PtolemyJones]

Been doing it since 1978.

[@Hungry_Raccoon_]

Love this video, I was planning on having a war actively going on with the concept of, the war is guaranteed to be a win but it’s going to take a very long time as the empire (main government body) is doing its best to lessen casualties on the orc’s side as they have had many wars and do not wish to be blamed for the countless deaths of a race once again. So obviously this is going to take time, however the players can step up and help if they so choose through any way they wish, assassinate orc tribe leaders, join the war front, or simply protect cities from orc raids. Raids on cities will happen naturally and more than likely when they are inside them, they could run away or stay and fight reducing the intended casualties that the orcs wanted, raising the resources and man power the cities have. I would probably have a sort of point system to keep track of their deeds, defending a city gives 1 tick or half a tick and 1 tick = 1 less year on the war. Killing an orc camp leader would probably be 15 ticks. I intend the war to last 350 years and this is a world in which, if the players get wiped, time skips ahead a little and they can either play their kids, or a random. Once the war ends a new continent will open up and they will get a choice between which continent I make next. To any readers I would love any ideas or feedback as I have yet to actually make this campaign (just started about 2-3 weeks ago) and am still in the works of making certain aspects of it. It is currently an open world campaign and will switch to a linear story once they traverse to another continent. 1) They visit the “continent of the enemies” in which they have to either 1) find a way to convince their leaders to open up boarders and make peace 2) find a way to make a weak spot within their naval defenses so another war can happen and 3) a mix of both (although idk how that would work yet) Another continent is the under dark which would probably have them dealing with the monstrously overpowered race I made for that area as well as underground monsters And finally the continent which they came from which is where the empire lies, this would take me the longest to make because I would need lore and history for the continent as well as this would take a more political focus with the world in which they uncover many secrets and shady dealings of the coalition of the races, their government body.