My last session in my game I started my players off traveling from a town to a mission point on the map. The players have made characters that show more than just wanting to get to point B as fast as they can. My game is the sort of game where they actually like to cut loose and do role playing and that's something I deeply appreciate and honor since most of us go to the same shop and there isn't as much focus or attention in those games than there is mine. Its been a hell of a good time and were still relatively new in the game itself. We did only just finish session 7 and no one's lvl 3 yet so its been a nice slow burn game.
In my last session I decided to tackle the travel system differently. Mostly because there was a DM we have been playing with that has been obsessed with us rolling dice after dice for an encounter and he's sort of making us worn out. Don't get me wrong, its been standard and we haven't thought anything more to it till this guy showed up having us roll about 3d12's per character per day for the duration of a 2 week travel (which still ended with no encounter). Point is, it was draining and made me realize that it didn't make the world feel organic. The more you let RNGesus decide every little aspect, the more patchy and chaotic the world feels in a not good way.
To the point of the matter, I scooped random encounters out entirely. I gave the wagon drivers personality and backstory, pretty easy to do. I wrote out the 6 days of travels and left setting pieces for them to interact with if they choose. It was encounters you pursue, not one that just jump scares you. The Druid chased after a Manatee to study it (its the IRL player's obsession) and it lead them down the river to some Giant Crabs. Some encounters were just old abandon fishing outposts where they just jacked the canoe and got a story out of it and others were just Jim and James (the wagon drivers) giving pointers on surviving out in the wilderness and showing them how to cook and eat Cattails off lake sides and etc. It was fun, there was barely any action getting to the destination but it made everyone feel good because no one felt left out. It wasn't just the Druid owning nature, everyone had something they wanted to do or see and they interacted accordingly, running around like they're on a playground or at the park. I need ideas to keep this sort of stuff up. Ideas like running into a tavern dedicated to Fharlanghn (god of the horizon and the bard's deity of choice) where after spending a night there they benefit a minor boon till they make it to where they're going, waking up later that night to find themselves in a campsite and the tavern gone. An old dirt road off on the edge of the main road that can only be seen at night that takes you to a part of the feywilds and into secret lagoon, unbeknownst to the players. A cave that in the back of it if they aren't careful or carrying torches could wind up taking them through a shadowcrossing and into the Shadowfell (to which the druid knows about and can instruct them on how to return for no harm no foul. Just a neat thing to run into). Mundane instances with animals, a mistake they run into that puts them in sight of a bandit camp, Something that leads them to interesting floral for alchemical uses, what have you. What ever you think would make the world feel more alive and like running through skyrim where you can head in one direction and know you'll find something like an old dungeon left and abandoned or mudcrabs on the river side.
My last session in my game I started my players off traveling from a town to a mission point on the map. The players have made characters that show more than just wanting to get to point B as fast as they can. My game is the sort of game where they actually like to cut loose and do role playing and that's something I deeply appreciate and honor since most of us go to the same shop and there isn't as much focus or attention in those games than there is mine. Its been a hell of a good time and were still relatively new in the game itself. We did only just finish session 7 and no one's lvl 3 yet so its been a nice slow burn game.
In my last session I decided to tackle the travel system differently. Mostly because there was a DM we have been playing with that has been obsessed with us rolling dice after dice for an encounter and he's sort of making us worn out. Don't get me wrong, its been standard and we haven't thought anything more to it till this guy showed up having us roll about 3d12's per character per day for the duration of a 2 week travel (which still ended with no encounter). Point is, it was draining and made me realize that it didn't make the world feel organic. The more you let RNGesus decide every little aspect, the more patchy and chaotic the world feels in a not good way.
To the point of the matter, I scooped random encounters out entirely. I gave the wagon drivers personality and backstory, pretty easy to do. I wrote out the 6 days of travels and left setting pieces for them to interact with if they choose. It was encounters you pursue, not one that just jump scares you. The Druid chased after a Manatee to study it (its the IRL player's obsession) and it lead them down the river to some Giant Crabs. Some encounters were just old abandon fishing outposts where they just jacked the canoe and got a story out of it and others were just Jim and James (the wagon drivers) giving pointers on surviving out in the wilderness and showing them how to cook and eat Cattails off lake sides and etc. It was fun, there was barely any action getting to the destination but it made everyone feel good because no one felt left out. It wasn't just the Druid owning nature, everyone had something they wanted to do or see and they interacted accordingly, running around like they're on a playground or at the park. I need ideas to keep this sort of stuff up. Ideas like running into a tavern dedicated to Fharlanghn (god of the horizon and the bard's deity of choice) where after spending a night there they benefit a minor boon till they make it to where they're going, waking up later that night to find themselves in a campsite and the tavern gone. An old dirt road off on the edge of the main road that can only be seen at night that takes you to a part of the feywilds and into secret lagoon, unbeknownst to the players. A cave that in the back of it if they aren't careful or carrying torches could wind up taking them through a shadowcrossing and into the Shadowfell (to which the druid knows about and can instruct them on how to return for no harm no foul. Just a neat thing to run into). Mundane instances with animals, a mistake they run into that puts them in sight of a bandit camp, Something that leads them to interesting floral for alchemical uses, what have you. What ever you think would make the world feel more alive and like running through skyrim where you can head in one direction and know you'll find something like an old dungeon left and abandoned or mudcrabs on the river side.