Getting ready to start a new game online. I sat down to start taking notes for new adventure ideas and I became curious how others go about the process of putting story together.

Do you start small and grow?

How detailed is your story, before play?

Do you try to keep your players "on the rails"?

Do you use the three act structure and modern story beats?

If you're on the fly GM, how do you avoid painting yourself into a corner?

1. Yes, starting small and growing along the way.

2. Usually very detailed, especially the more important NPCs, their motivations and goals, the star system they are in ... etc.

3. No, that would be a waste of time. Besides, the trouble they get themselves in on their own is what makes me chuckle and a reason to be even more creative.

4. 2-4 arcs, depending on the size of the story. But i see it more as guidlines anyway.

5. By trying to know more about the SW setting than my players. The more groups of criminals, law enforcement, and other players you know, localized phenomena and rules ... the harder it is to paint oneselves into a corner. And on the slim chance that i do i can use one of the lesser known NPC-groups to bail myself out. Worst case: GM fiat. But that i could avoid for some time now ^^

1) It varies regarding what I was watching/listening or reading that inspired my game idea, it can get too big but thats why I like using discussion forums to double check!

2) Again varies I didn't do much with edge, with Traveller I went the whole hog but then backpedalled to one or two star systems in that case had the story straight and simple however no plan survives first contact with the PCs!

3) I agree with the above but surprisingly the last Traveller game i ran they did keep to the rails whilst I expected otherwise... shame really one of the player's came up with their home system and it looked much better than my planned adventure!

The edge game i ran veered a bit off the book but that was more my doing although in retrospect I would have done that differently once I was able to look at their character sheets!

(One had a Debt Obligation which should have meant he owned the ship which belonged to the Rodian Pilot who had two obligations as a result, oh well...)

4) No I've never paid attention to that.

5) So far so good, had no problems with that so far!

Just for an Online game or also a "casual" one Glewis2317?

I definitely start small, in fact I don't even start with a story. I start with analyzing the characters, I pluck pieces from their backgrounds, and I build "fronts" (ala Dungeon World) around those. I write very little detail to start but I brainstorm all over the place, and eventually a natural series of events emerges from the fronts and we proceed.

I don't keep my players on the rails, I don't think I could if I tried.

I don't use any sort of story structure implicitly, I run my game more episodic and there's always a cliffhanger at the end.

And for the last question? I avoid painting myself into a corner by being familiar with the setting, and of course guile. I would suggest looking at books like Play Unsafe , GMing blogs like Gnome Stew (who happen to produce some excellent gaming books on this topic) and of course check out podcasts. The more you cram your brain full of cool ideas, the more capable you'll be when it comes time to get yourself out of a pickle.

[edit] I forgot to mention Rory's Story Cubes , sets of specialized dice meant for storytelling games that just happen to make for great brainstorming.

This is my creative process:

Sorry, this post gets a bit lengthy. But being a GM is hard to just…sum up.

TL;DR version: Prepare to have your plans derailed, always have a plan B for when the players deviate, know the setting deeply, provide incentives for following your plotted course, fun always trumps rules, and give the players choices. You can skip to the last paragraph of my post if you want what I think has been most important to me as a GM.

1. I start out very small. I like to picture the story growing like it does in the movies. Luke would go on to confront the Sith and aid in the destruction of the Empire, but all he was concerned about in the beginning was going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters.

2. My stories are…nonexistent. I have ideas and plots going on in the background, but I don't really flesh them out until the PCs are actually there. I have the benefit of being extremely familiar with the lore and being able to stay on my toes and provide detail on the fly. Each new adventure basically starts like this:

You all wake up after a night of partying. People are strewn about the hideout in various states of consciousness. Confetti and smoke is still drifting in the dank air, and the smell of booze and avabush clogs your nostrils. Your accounts are fat with credits from another successful job. What do you do now?

I then leave it up to the players. Whether they want to head to the cantina to sniff out any new leads, go to the market to spend some money, or hop in their ship to browse the navicomputer for a new planet to exploit, I let them make the decisions.

3. It is hard to keep them on the rails when their are no rails to begin with. However, when I have a series of encounters planned out in a loose structure, I provide incentives for following along. Usually, if I do have a set goal for them to follow, they are pretty good at going from point A to point B. An important question to ask yourself is "Why would I want to keep going?" If there are opportunities for reward, consequences for deviating, or just the prospect of an exciting encounter, the players will usually stay on course. Keep teasing them.

4. I guess once the players have an idea of what they want to do, I plan a loose series of acts for them to progress through. It really is not all that detailed, just a rough outline. For example, my party right now is neck deep in a plot to kill a powerful crime lord and slaver on Nar Shaddaa. The level of immersion and detail that this plot has created is way beyond anything I had expected. The original outline was basically three brief points: Find a way in, learn what you can, and use this knowledge to take him down.

5. Knowing the setting is crucial. The best thing I would suggest is always have a plan B, maybe even a plan C. If the heist is pulled successfully, make sure they know where to hideout. If the heist goes sour, make sure they have a plan for escape. If they decide to stay on the planet and help the refugees, make sure to give them exciting ways to offer aid. If they want to leave the planet and abandon the refugees, make sure to tell them the consequences, but have something ready for them to encounter next.

Sorry for the long-winded responses. I think the key to my success as a GM is always having little details to sprinkle here and there. I provide immersion for my players, giving each action they take a little dab of Star Wars flavor. If they order a drink at the bar, don't just have the bartender give them a drink. Have the one-eyed zabrak slide him a Corellian ale. If they are passing through a busy market, don't just say that the street is crowded. Have a crowd of people on their left bartering with an ithorian for bantha steaks while a squad of stormtroopers on the right bickers with a group of CorSec security officers.

* Do you start small and grow?

Yeah. I'll usually start out with an idea and build from there. "What if the players need to knock over a casino?" and then start throwing in some cool set pieces "Well, they'll need to penetrate the vault - no, the laser web - and figure out to move 3.5 tons of gold. . . "

* How detailed is your story, before play?

Pretty detailed - I try and write up settings and locations, flesh out key NPCs and throw in as much color as I can.

* Do you try to keep your players "on the rails"?

I try and write my games as if the players aren't involved. If left unmolested, here is what the villains would do. Then I figure out some key events where things could fall apart for the bad guy, and how to he might compensate. Plan for a couple of events that could be moved about as necessary ("So they're going to Tatooine instead? Fine - instead of sea monsters, it's krayt dragons they run into!") and bascily keep the game fluid that I can adapt to the player's whims and still maintain control of what the story needs to do.

And sometimes, you just throw up your hands and let the wookiee win. Easy defeat in two rounds because the players were clever and outmaneuvered you. It happens.

* Do you use the three act structure and modern story beats?

The story is as long as it needs to be. Sometimes I do a one reel short, sometimes it's a 12 part sprawling epic.

* If you're on the fly GM, how do you avoid painting yourself into a corner?

It's just a matter of having a solid idea of where the story needs to go. If you have that, you can try and stay ahead of the curve.

I start with the characters' backstories. Their obligations, their stories about where they came from and any relevant NPCs to their history or to what they're looking for.

I brainstorm a lot and write a lot of notes about what *could* happen, then I narrow those down to what might actually happen in a session.

I try to anticipate a variety of paths the players could take, but as you know you can't predict everything and players usually come up with something you didn't expect!

I try to find reasonable ways to keep the story on track--if the PCs are really motivated toward their objectives, they're probably not going to just say "screw it, let's fly to a different planet".

The only structure I use is anticipating roughly three different 'beats' in a session. We often only get to two of those beats or they happen in a different way, but I've got the third one in reserve.

When planning an adventure I basically open a load of sourcebooks and pick a few good ideas. Maybe an interesting race or planet to include. The key word here is Interesting .

Decide on a basic plot point; rescue, escape, trade,explore, etc. This includes a goal and rewards players should expect. You need to give PCs some motivation.

Decide on NRPs and plan scenes/encounters.

Plot the encounters together using a flow chart. I don't necessarily write down the chart, but it's in my head. When I run the game I don't have a set order for each encounter, I let the story flow and drop the encounters in where appropriate making on the fly adjustments if needed.

Only after a few adventures once the group have established a direction for the group do I start looking at how I can bring it all together into a campaign.

I'd answer my own questions but the fact of the matter is that I never seem to do things the same way twice. Sometimes it starts with a title and sometimes I steal from TV or movies.

I outline the first few story beats, but I do it in broad strokes. Objectives, NPC's, and Environment. Let the players figure out how to achieve their goals.

I like to have three groups of bad guys waiting, just in case things get a little slow. Imps, local law, and the competition. The compitition is a group of NPC's are typially in diret conflict with the player characters over "the job". If any of the PC's obligation comes with a bad guy, that's another one I keep in my hip pocket.

After that I pretty much wing it. Because I outline in broad strokes, it's really hard for me to paint myself in a corner.