New DM advice thread

>>50707654
Maybe I didn't realize just how much is needed in terms of planning ahead. I'm good at encounters and interactions and over arching ideas for the plot, but I'm lost on details. I thought I could just wing it, but I dont feel like I'm goving the party enough to go on to proceed. Theyre dedicated to the main plot, which actually really surprises me. I've thrown hooks that sound fun but they are determined to find those assassins. Does my plot sound familiar? Is there prewritten material like an adventure path or something that I could read to get a better idea of what I need? Or that I could straight up lift ideas from?

>>50707654
I don't have any resources for you, but there's a couple of ways the PCs could get a start, such as...
>the assassins have a reputation and the local thieves' guild knows they're in the area; maybe they'd be willing to sell some info?
>even if the thieves' guild don't know the assassins themselves, they might know if any outsiders have been buying poisons, bombs or similiar
>the assassins might be trying to infiltrate the staff; investigate any recent hires
>the assassins do a side job while they're in the area (for a petty noble, perhaps), but don't cover their tracks well enough
>if all else fails, make them roll Perception

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So how much worldbuilding should you actually do before the campaign?

What does too little worldbuilding look like? What does not enough worldbuilding look like?

>>50707654
Railroad using the quantum Ogre. Not necessarily the same clue that leads to the Assassins, but different approaches. Like stumbling onto the assassins discussing in plain sight in a dark alleyway, a country's intelligence officer interrogating a few dockscum, or maybe they walked into a bar fronting for the assassin's rivals.

>>50707654
Some advice I have for any sort of 'mystery' or anything like that, something I learned when I was making a 'Clue' style murder mystery campaign.

You gotta have multiple solutions. You really do. Just, depending on what evidence the players find, let that effect what the actual outcome is, and what evidence is available to find in the future.

They don't have to be right on their first try, but they have to find something. And there are lots of ways you could go.

Maybe there's commotion in the town because there's been some unexplained murders recently, and if the players look into it they might come to the conclusion that this was the assassins, doing a practice run. Or maybe they instead think that these people were in the know on the assassination and were killed themselves by the assassins to cover their tracks, and the party decides to track down people who were close to them.

There's not a right answer, just have lots of options, and whatever direction the players seem to want to go in, make that the truth, and try not to be obvious about it.

>>50707821
The players have to be accomplishing something, or else the campaign feels directionless and frustrating, and then it's the GM's job to make what they accomplished actually mean something towards the story progression.

But again, don't make it obvious you're doing that, the players need to think there's one story and only one way for things to go. But that's never going to be the case.

Now, you don't necessarily need branching plot threads. A skillful GM can invisibly railroad and tie every lead and plot thread back to roughly the same point, but you have to be very subtle, and this is a skill that takes a lot of talent and practice.

>>50707654
The adventure books wotc puts out are really good.

Drop more clues than needed, drop some false clues as well. Let them add everything up and sort what's real and what isn't.