[HOE] Campaign advice

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 4. Ask the players what they want >>


I think this needs one little tweak.  Have the players give a PARTY concept 
in addition to a character concept.  Usually, everyone makes their characters 
pretty independent of everyone else and you get these random hullabaloos of 
different motives.  

Have everyone in the party sit down and answer this question "Why are the six 
of you hanging out together?". Are they a 'can unit?  survivors from a 
destroyed village?  A gang of road warriors?   If they give a party concept, 
you can build the campaign off of 'what would be a good campaign for a bunch 
of Road Warriors?  Who would be good villains?'  What does the PARTY want to 
do?

Do ask them what they would like to do, but do this AS A PARTY.  This also 
prevents situations where ONE character totally rules the plot for ages and 
ages while all the others are just tagging along.  

5.  Have motivation.
    The HoE adventures all have this problem.  At any point the characters 
can just say 'I'm outa here, I done my bit'.  Really, in Boise Horror, what 
prevents the characters from leaving once Simon gets to Junkyard?  They did 
their job!  In Killer Klowns, at any point the characters can say "The 
hostages are obviously dead by now, we're going home".  
    The only reason the HoE people can think of for a party to go out and 
face the dangers of the west is because Simon/Townsfolk/Guy who owns scary 
building/more townsfolk/Simon Again/townsfolk  ASKS them to.  
    That's it.  Be better than that.  MAke it so that the party is going on 
the adventures for some reason other than just that some schmuck asked them 
to. I have the following suggestions.

1)  If the party doesn't do this they will die.   For example, lets say 
somehow the ghost Storm in Boise becomes ten times as lethal, trapping all 
within.  And then the Boise Horror starts to kill everyone....slowly... one 
by one..  The party has two choices, figure out the horror and hopefully 
fight it on their terms, or fight it on its terms, which will lead to 
unfortunate carnage.  This is to close the option to smart players who say 
"Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure".  

2) If they don't do it, LOVED ONES will die.  Does someone have a poignant 
hostage?  I ran one where a toxic shaman had poisoned the village water with 
plastic goo from the chemical plant and the village (With the exception of 
the pc's who were out fighting the shaman at the time) was turned into 
mannikins.  The campaign?  The PC's have to go into the Wasted Lands and find 
a cure.  Motivation is there.  I mean That Bastard poisoned their families!

3) Revenge is good too.  Never underestimate the motivational power of revenge

4) Have the villains take the party personally, another flaw of the HoE 
Adventures.  I hate to spoil things, but did you know that at NO point in The 
Boise Horror does The Horror attack the party?  The bad guys in all the 
adventure just do their schtick without taking the party personally.  Where 
is the fun in that?  If they get in the way, have the villains get mad, have 
them go after the party.

5) Weather is your friend, and it sure as hell aint theirs.  
    Dante's Peak?  Titanic?  Volcano?  Twister?  All big budget box office 
movies with not much in the line of villains (Although Twister's 'Evil 
Meteorologist' does have some possibilities in HoE).  Why?  Because the bad 
guy is the Weather!  Who Says a Tornado couldn't hit Junkyard?  'Todays 
adventure, a Hell Storm hits, try to stay alive'.  I've used Black Rain to 
get the party to go into places that, though not terribly enticing, during a 
shower of black rain, anyplace is the Ritz, no matter how RadRat infested.  
    Do this one just to wipe that 'I'm a buttkicker' grin off the face of Mr 
'Look at me, I have 6d12+47 quickness'.  Yeah, he's got quickness, you've got 
the forces of nature, teach him a little humility.