Apologies

I apologize for not having posted for several months. We will be back in full swing tonight! School has been kicking the crap out of me, if I were 18 again I'm sure I'd have the energy to do college and all the other things as well. However I'm 30 and I get tired easy. Lol. So expect a new blog from me tonight!

Reverse Engineering Your Campaign Part: 1 From the End

Well if you're reading this I very much appreciate your interest in this blog. So I'd like to get things started by talking about a problem most GMs/DMs have. I'm of course referring to planning out a decent adventure or campaign. Well, I personally have what I've found to be a unique approach to planning my campaigns. No matter what game I'm running, or if it's a single adventure or a prolonged campaign. I call it Backwards Planning, it's an approached that has been used by military strategists for hundreds of years. Basically I look at where I want the campaign to end and then plan to the beginning. It may sound strange but it has worked for me for years. Most people already know where they want their campaign to end, but for some reason can't figure out how to start it. Well I never have that problem because by the time I've planned things out, the story start essentially writes itself.
 So let me tell you where I start my planning, the villain. I always start with my big villain, every campaign has one and most players love a good villain. When you start with your villain, it's important to take the time to draw up the stats and to start thinking of henchmen. I'll usually take a day or two to finish up my villain, I'm a HUGE fan of narration and a quality story, so it's important that my villain have a back story. I'll also take that time to figure out the basic plot of my campaign, the most important part is to know where your story will end. Will it be in an epic battle featuring your new villain? Will you end with your players returning home? Or will it be the cliffhanger? With the creation of your villain the writing or design of your ultimate ending will be extremely easy. Next we'll start looking at the key points of a campaign and plot hooks. I'll post a basic villain layout next week so you guys can see the outline I use.

Before we begin

I should start by first telling you that I am an experienced GM. I have 21 years of gaming experience under my belt and have played pretty much every RPG that's been produced. I've been a play-tester and I've been a consultant. I have decided to use my wealth of knowledge to hopefully help other GMs and DMs to develop their games. At times I will be posting for specific games but I will try to keep most things ambiguous so that they can be used in any game setting. I am ,of course, open to suggestions on what anyone would like to see or needs advice on. I'll be posting everything from maps, monster maximizers, traps, riddle rooms, and even NPCs. My hope is that this will make things easier for you as a GM, and make things more enjoyable for your players. As a gaming community we need to stick together and help each other out. There are obviously other resources out there and I will be more than happy to post links to those resources. Your feedback is always welcome I will not, however, use this blog as an argument zone. If you don't like something I post then don't read it. If there is a valid debate or question that will be welcomed. I will be posting once a week, most likely on a Friday. I am a full-time student and a husband and father so sometimes I may be off by a day or two. So in conclusion I hope that the word of this blog spreads and that you all enjoy.