******* rest of guide coming ****
Note: Below is just a sample of where I am now. This may change at any time.
Introduction
Here we will introduce you to the long process of planning out your campaign using the narrative and game tools at your disposal. We will go through a process overview and then finally we will get down to business and try to piece this story and campaign together.
My Process is a Guideline and NOT a Rule
Keep in mind that this is just one way to do it. What works for me is a highly rigorous and structured process and that is sort of the process I am proposing here, which is also on the opposite end of the spectrum from what is offered in the Fate core book (pg 225). The Fate core book’s approach is more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants and character driven process. I am proposing something that is a little more traditional, something that is more story driven, with character driven parts thrown in too, hopefully we can tie in the story that we want to tell into the characters and the history for the longer story. Hopefully, between what is in the Fate book and what you find here, you may be able to find that right balance for you and your game.
You do not have to follow the order I suggest. You may go through this process in whatever order works for you:
- skip that section
- come back to a section
- start at the end and finish at the beginning
- use most of it, but insert your own sections
Perhaps you will only steal part of one section which inspires you and that is it. Use what works for you. Whatever! Just go out there and tell great stories!.
BTW, if you have any great ideas or links to make my process better, then please let me know.
Rule of the Morphic Muses
Keep in mind the maxim:
No plot nor plan will survive contact with the characters nor the wild turns of inspiration.
James O’Neill (Storytelling and Campaign Planning Guide)
We can follow this rather elaborate process, but keep in mind that you can and will most likely need to change your plan based on the wild-left-turns the characters will inevitably take or a powerful inspiration you have. For whatever plan you set forth you should be prepared to adjust it to meet the changing conditions of your game. The last section of this guide should cover just that – Adjusting as you go.
For all you know, at the end of a session you may end up adding an intriguing campaign question as a subplot to your main arc, and then find out that it moves your players powerfully and may forever alter how you want to move things forward or end things – scapping everything you have done after that moment.
Another way to put this maxim is from a different perspective is:
The story and drama is king and your best laid plans should be subservient to it.
James O’Neill (Storytelling and Campaign Planning Guide)
“Then isn’t all of our work for naught?” you ask. Well, no. Perhaps your game will go close to the way it is planned. The more you know, the more you have figured out, then the easier it may be to improvise and change what you have planned or to get your players and the game back on track. By doing this work, you may also have access to different ways to tie in the inevitable wild turns into whatever you have planned. Or, you may have a lot of material available in order to take advantage of the wild turns and turn then into something amazing.