Re: [HOE] Campaign advice

[Matt Crawford <matt@severian.chi.il.us>]

> >  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.

I make the random hullabaloo work for me.  I throw leads to different
characters' independent motives (looking for the Harbinger, members
of one's old squad, abominations to destroy, an unsalvaged library,
etc) and let them either haggle over directions or work it out
nicely, whichever.

> 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".  

They could, but I think enough of the *players* in my posse have the
"Big Britches" that won't let them walk away, or will at least pull
them back again.  That's what happened with Dr. Delacroix.


> 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.

Four words: Doom Comes to Frogtown.  And remember the sidebar on page 2.

> 5) Weather is your friend, and it sure as hell aint theirs.  

Yes, I need to use more weather, definitely.