Crossroads session
Dungeons and Dragons returns this Sunday, for what I call a Crossroads session.
The introduction to my campaign is now done. The players have established their characters, and figured out the basics regarding how the game works and the world in which their characters live. A first adventure is completed, so there are no obvious “next step” breadcrumbs to be followed. Slightly different tones and approaches have been used in previous sessions, giving the players an idea of what I am capable of as a DM.
And the seeds for two or three possible campaign story arcs have been laid.
The Crossroads session is the one in which the players have arguably the most voice in the campaign. They will head off in a direction which will largely determine the campaign’s story arc from here on out. They will have the option to set the tone of the campaign — the level of seriousness or silliness involved.
As a GM, I studiously avoid over-preparation, and believe that the players should have as much or more opportunity to define their characters’ stories as I do. The crossroads session is the ultimate expression of this. The game is laid out before them, and one wonders what they will choose to do with it.
I know a lot of people when running the game might try to avoid a crossroads session that is open. It’s almost impossible to plan for, and as a DM have a firm grip on the big picture and an ability to improvise.
But nothing gets players excited about a story arc than defining it based on their decisions and actions. Sunday should be fun.
Related articles:
I’m going to embrace the sandbox world style of play from here out as well. Using what Gnome Stew calls Island Design really helps with this, because you can still have that grand idea as an end, but you let the party decide how to get there, and what flavor it takes on. This way you get the PCs to essentially play your story.
@Aaronichi Agreed with you on Island Design, though I do think Island Design does include a trap — the game’s “islands” can sometimes be designed as static and closed off from the rest of the world.
What I try to do is to update nearby islands between game sessions; the NPCs and circumstances on each island might behave differently, after all, based on character actions in the previous session(s).
A problem can also occur when a key island is missed, or the players take an unexpected route to an island that is still part of the original (rather than the evolved) game design. That’s what happened to me here.
Part of having a flexible game is — in my opinion — to recognize that it’s not the GM’s story, but the PC’s story. They can do whatever they like — the GM’s responsibility is merely the scenario and the consequences.