Story Flow

In the previous adventure I ran, keeping track of loose ends was easy - they were built right in. I'd written a story, given the players the illusion of control, and allowed the story to play out around them. Apart from a few tweaks here and there ("Oh, they spoke with him, not her - I'll just switch who shows up later."), I could nearly have posted a write-up before the session. Like a producer of a television show, I knew what was going to happen long before the audience - the players - ever did. Don't misunderstand me; it wasn't a carnival ride on rigid rails, with obvious pop-up adventures and a slowly-clanking plot that leads you to an inevitable climax. The players could choose where they went, what they did, and how they affected the world. It was, however, scripted; the Big Bad Guy had zero chance of showing up until the very end, and the players had 100% chance of finding information about him, in one way or another. Events were triggered by specific actions, and information was designed to be found. Like the plot from a well-designed video game, there were countless options, but they all ushered the players into the next episode. Which may or may not have been the episode I had originally planned to use, but it was there. It was a story on rails - well-crafted rails, judging by how much my players enjoyed it, but rails nonetheless. Not any better or worse than any other kind of adventure, on the whole, but certainly different.

End of the the Prequel

Thus far, the stories, maps, timelines and histories have been a prequel of sorts. I've taken you, my readers, on a journey of discovery, wandering through time and geography on the continent of Mor-Thir. When I started, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the kingdom of Mareten, and what the map looked like, and so on. But I didn't know the whole story; often, you learned at the same time I did. Who knew that the Wall of Mareten was that big? Not me! In fact, I didn't even know how magical the towers were until I set fingers to keyboard.

Improv Generators

In any situation (not just RPGs, or even games in general, but Real Life (tm) too), being able to think on your feet is a very important ability to have. Ever watch an improv show and wonder how those people could come up with so many funny gags in such a short time - often with only a split second of preparation? Here's a hint: they had more than a split second of preparation.

"Gasp!" You say. "They cheated! It was camera cuts! It's all scripted, like wrestling and elections! I knew it!"

Whoa there, buddy! Not so fast. There are no camera cuts, or scripts (or shouldn't be, if it's a good show). No, what I mean is that they took time to think up all sorts of funny stuff, and when it fit, they just repeated it from memory. That's the key - improv prep. It sounds oxymoronic, but nonetheless, it's incredibly important.

Scheduling

I have been posting a story (or other update) once per day since I started this blog. That's pretty prolific for me; it's rare that I have more to say than a blog or two over the course of a month. However, this has been an exception. It's a whole world (well, a continent - I'm staying pretty hush about the rest of the planet, mainly because I haven't given it much thought); that means it has stories, legends, and of course maps and other wonderful bits and pieces. It's a lot of fun for me to write all those snippets of flavor, and I hope it's been fun to read.

The Seven Towers

Near the beginning of the world, during the Age of Elves, seven towers were built, pinnacles of magic. They were set at important locations: The White Tower, of the north-west; the Air Tower, of the north-east; Meindwr, or the Spire, of the center; the Mareten Tower, of the east; the Wild Tower (Pointless Tower) of the south-east; the Earth's Finger (Toprac Igne), of the south-west; and the Jungle Tower, of the west.

Introduction

Welcome to the land of Mareten, set in a custom world created by yours truly, using guidelines set up in the Adventurer, Conqueror, King System (aka ACKS). But before I introduce you to this wondrous land I've created, I would like to introduce myself!