There have been a few surveys going around on YouTube lately—prompted, no doubt, by WotC’s D&D survey. A theme running thru these is that players seem to want things that are inherently contradictory, but I’m not so sure. Fireball the Gazebo walked thru one of these surveys and commented on these apparent contradictions. I don’t think they’re too far off, but I do think the players’ desires are not wholly irreconcilable.

A substantial part of the issue are questions about whether players want the campaign to emerge naturally from game play or if they want to play out a predetermined story. Not surprisingly, they want emergent gameplay. Another question asks about wanting a satisfying story, and they want that too. Fireball the Gazebo chuckles at that, saying that you can’t have it both ways. After all, Brandon Sanderson doesn’t finish a chapter of his latest novel and then roll dice to see what should happen next.

But… neither should you.

What Follows Next

What follows next should naturally emerge from what has gone before, just like players want. Players just want a satisfying story to emerge. That’s doable, if the GM ensures the heroes’ actions result in consequences that ramp up drama.

• Destroying the cult results in their evil god’s wrath.
• Rescuing the deposed king results in courtly machinations or even war.
• Slaying all the orcs means the ancient dragon starts preying on human peasants.

After all, the consequences of the heroes’ actions are exactly the area that the players expect the GM to influence the campaign to make the emerging story satisfying.

Consequences Build Campaigns

The way to do this is to purposely set up adventures that can have dramatic effects on the campaign. They players can sometimes even know about these effects and find themselves debating which is the lesser of two evils.

• If we help faction A against faction B, we may make an enemy of faction B.
• If we destroy the magic portal to keep out demons, the king will have to travel on foot to help the Northmen against the giants.
• If we recover the Scepter of Abanthus, it could start a war of conquest.
• If we destroy the elemental weather cult, it may result in worse weather.

Start Small

Your campaign should start out with minor, local effects—mostly just on the heroes themselves. But gradually, the effects should have broader consequences on the town, city, shire, region, and eventually the kingdom. A little bit of planning goes a long way.

• The heroes rescue a sage. She comes to live in the heroes’ city and act as a friend and resource.
• The heroes cross a local cult or other faction, and they’re harassed by these enemies at inconvenient times.
• The heroes solve a problem for a local official (bailiff/mayor, constable/sheriff, judge, etc.), and the official gives them future leads and other benefits.
• The heroes cause destruction in the city, and locals and officials begin to regard them as dangerous.
• The heroes clear a haunted/infested house and are gifted it by the city council.
• The heroes commit a crime and are declared outlaws by a county judge.
• The heroes recover a holy relic and return it to the high priestess—unlocking the potential for them to get a Resurrection spell in the future.

Grow Big

As the heroes reach 8th or 9th level, the campaign should broaden out with bigger perils and far-reaching consequences to start complicating their lives. They should still be driving the cart, but now all the roads are rough enough to cause complications.

• There’s an evil overlord in the neighboring realm. Are the players curious? Then his forces encroach on the heroes’ realm.
• An ancient evil (dragon, eldritch horror, lich, etc.) is said to lurk in the mountains. Is the players’ interest piqued? Then they hear detailed tales from survivors of an expedition.
• A war may be brewing due to courtly intrigue. Do the heroes attend a costume ball to look into it? Then perhaps there’s a way to resolve the situation with diplomacy… or assassination.

Eventually, the campaign should come to a head. One clear conflict they can resolve should provide a satisfying conclusion.

• Recovering the Cornerstone will set things right.
• Restoring the throne will unite the land.
• Slaying the evil overlord will bring peace to the realm.

And voilá, your emergent story has come to a satisfying conclusion. It isn’t exactly easy, but it doesn’t really require any more planning than a dungeon-of-the-week.

Mini-campaigns

But your campaigns don’t have to span 14 levels. You can bring up arcs that the players are free to pursue or ignore as they please and bring one to a mini-conclusion at mid level before embarking on another, greater campaign that will take the characters to retirement.

Trapping yourself (and your players) in very a long campaign arc can feel restrictive in itself. Monster-of-the-week adventures fall away, and all efforts are put into resolving the main plot arc. Now there’s no time for side quests or pursuing random interests.