Pre-Production Plans

It's like a movie . . . sort of.

For this campaign I'm going to try a few things that I have never tried before and concentrate more on some things I have not done so well. First, I'm going to use my computer to communicate information to the players via sight and sound. I will use a "soundtrack" for many scenes when I can find appropriate music. I will also show on screen photographs and/or drawings appropriate for the current scene. I have never used either of these effects in game . . . we'll see how it works. I do not want to allow the technology to distract me from my main job of adjudicating the game and helping to tell a story. So, if it doesn't work out . . . oh, well, it was worth a shot.

I'm also thinking about doing voice characterizations. I'm not a good one for doing voices, but I'm going to try. I have used this technique in the past with some success, but I fear that most of the time I use a very few select "voices" which eventually all kind of blend together. Again, we'll see how it works out. I will not let it distract me from my main job.

I'm also going to prepare more. I have been quite successful in the past with impromptu encounters, characters, and even plotlines. While I feel that it has worked for me in the past I want to try something different this time. I have a completely prepared campaign ahead of me. It's not necessary to ad lib much, so I should, in theory, be able to prepare completely for the anticipated events of a game session. I will use this preparation to make the events seem more real.

Finally, I'm going to try out lots of new tools for having information available at my fingertips. I will use books and my computer as a data source for characters, descriptions etc. I have done a lot of this in the past, but I will be spending more "prep time" to get all of these things ready, thus smoothing the flow the game sessions and making them more interesting.

Anyhow, my plan is for this to be the most successful campaign I have ever run. That's a fairly tall order, if I do say so myself. I consider myself an above-average DM, maybe even a great DM. So, this campaign is to be my master work. Hope you all enjoy it.

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