Hi, everyone. I'm a new GM to the Edge of the Empire system. I'm just wondering how I can create an adventure without railroading my players. I have a plot in mind, with a beginning, middle, and end, but there are so many opportunities for it to get completely derailed and go off in a new direction that I didn't plan on. Any advice?

Let it......and have modular encounters ready for when it does.

Yup, don't try to think about everything in the beginning... it is just Time comsuming and frustrating when the players don't follow your mind.

Best way (for me at least) is to think about the beginning, like this:

The players start in "Mos Denaja" a city an Tatooine, they'll meet in a cantina (cliché) for a job like getting an old Tusken Relique (the main plot).

then Think about the city what could happen here, or what can the players do and stumble across like what shops to be found, may be witnessing a murder, seeing some bounty-holos, meeting a biker gang, getting in a cantina fist fight (modular encounters), the thinks that can happen but don't have to and that can happen at any other place in the galaxys,

Next step be (mental) ready for different aproaches for the main plot (players can be so unpredictable sometimes ^^)

In my example to gain the Tusken relique, the players may want to negotiate (with help of an translater droid), or they fight for it, may be one will try to duell the tuskenchief for it, or they try to hire some jawas to steel it.

since there are a lot of possibilitys that can happen don't work all out: just think about the personens at the scene an what theire beliefs or wishes are, think how the location looks like and think about the main problems the players could meet (the camp is a top a mountainplateu, the relique is guarded by 5 Womprats, the chief is a warmonger, jawas tend to keep what they find, the relique is already stolen, a rancor is on the loose, players could get defeated and end up prisoners)

And do as much as possible on the fly just have fun and react to your players choises.

That works for me pretty well. E.g. my players (typically more of the brute force fraction) landed recently on Tatooine to find a hint for an older than rataka force relique, when they found out that the excavation side is guarded by the empire (suprise), then they decided to do an unforseen aproache... one player went to the Mos Denaja museum of natural history and got himself a job as sectreterian of the curator, so he would get accsess to the excavation later on, in the mean while the other player decides to get an official empireal citizenship, so he could use the library in the governs-palast without breaking in (social encounter per exelance, hadn't laughed so much in ages inluding tears in the eyes), another one then decides to went to the biggest cantina to get a job as dancer to earn some money while the other are getting the legal affairs done.

I would never have planned for this, but by letting it happen and work the scenes on the fly while having some modular encounters in the backhand (the dancer found out about an old mechanic that is supressed by a swoopbike gang, an needs some special (and hard to get to) parts for the bikes) we had an evening that won't be forgotten so fast.

My point of view is that you know where they start you also know where you want them by the end so start the game give them the hook and then sit back and listen to them discussing it.

No game survives first contact with Players, but sometimes listening to them gives you even better ideas for handling your game!

Do you know what characters they are playing?

Yeah, as Copperbell put it, no game survives first contact with players. Hell, the players screw up the plans I came up with to compensate for the players screwing up the original plans as I come up with them during the game!

As Copperbell said, listen to your players, as they will usually come up with something themselves that they will quite happily go after, even if its literally just something you threw out as background fluff. Wave it in front of them and they will usually follow it around, just remember its like herding cats...

Come up with a goal that you think your players will go after, come up with some challenges and characters who will be involved, point them and fire. Just remember to keep a finger on the Adversaries chapter in case you need to get stats for some random NPC they have decided to slap up, and grab the nearest thing you can find to it.

I think it's important to remember that the plot is not a list of encounters. Ideally, the only part you need is the beginning, some important plot points you want to be sure to hit, and a point of resolution at the end.

For the middle, it's important to distinguish plot point from encounters. You can ambush the PCs, steal from them, betray them, and have external events impact them, but how they deal with those things is up to them, and if they lead in new directions then so be it. None of that is railroading IMHO, it's the prerogative of the GM to push the story along. Personally I like to make sure these events aren't just random, because I like to present a world where context is important, but YMMV.

For the end, it's important to distinguish a "point of resolution" instead of "outcome". A point of resolution gives the players options on how to respond. Traditionally there's some kind of showdown, but you could just as easily make it a moral choice.

Anyway, the main point of all this is to not spend too much time pre-planning an encounter web. If you have some cool encounter ideas by all means flesh them out, but try to make some of the details adaptable, because there's no real guarantee as to when or where the players will experience them. I usually only get really detailed when I know from the last session where the players will be, eg: if they're captured then I need a breakout encounter; or if they're spelunking I need some underground events.

I like to run games in this manner, and what has helped me:

1. Keep my plot overview to a few bullet points - that way I haven't wasted a bunch of time if the PCs zig when I expect a zag.

2. Keep my knowledge of the setting fresh - this is by far the most laborious part of prep for me.

3. Keep a collection of NPCs and settings that are generic enough to drop into place as needed, with a fresh coat of paint.

4. Keep the player's background, Obligation, Duty and Morality in the fore when planning. What do they want to see play out in the game?

5. Keep iterating through the plot based upon how players react.

6. Keep the world moving, regardless of player interaction. I pick 2-3 plotlines that I want to tell, I set them in motion, and see what happens.

Also, if you want to keep them moving in the direction you have prepared, make sure to have some encounters ready to encourage them in the right direction.

The ultimate statement of this was made in The Last Action Hero:

In my world they just leave clues. Or they show up and kidnap me.

I started off with a custom campaign and halfway through running it with 5 groups, I determined it was too railroad-y and did not allow for much player choice.

When the groups stopped or finished the campaign, (there was a reason in the story why they could stop before act 3, as it was entirely up to them to finish the job & they had a ship they could just leave with) I started writing out smaller and smaller adventures.

Now I only write down information that needs to be repeated, such as the layout of a building. Other than that, they get the hook and everything else is improvised. Sometimes I write down nothing but the opening crawl, putting the story hook in that.

When I run obligation focused sessions, I do things a little differently than the book does. Firstly, I roll at the end of sessions for obligation, to give time to setup for it.

Secondly, I talk with that player separately and ask them about how they want it to go, what the general plot-line should be. We create NPCs together (I cover the stats, they cover the story) and afterwards I throw in a bunch of surprises they won't see coming, so they are still on their toes.

I like to run obligation this way because the game encourages an equal share of storytelling between the players and GM. IMO, the non-obligation sessions are when I can bring in stories I'd like to tell & obligation is the time the players can bring in the stories they want to.

It's worked out really well so far, as it gets the players more involved in the story aspect of the game & it helps those who have a harder time role-playing if they know who they are going to encounter and what their relationship is with the character.

Don't confuse guiding with railroading.

Players don't like being told what to do, where to go, and what to say.

They like being given a motivation to do something, a reason to go somewhere, and a need to talk to someone.

So it's ok to plan out the entire adventure, and I strongly suggest you do so. BUT make sure that you hook the players, and motivate them to navigate the adventure and give them a desire push forward on their own. This is actually kinda the point of things like Obligation and Duty and Motivation, to give the players an official communication path to the GM to say "I wanna do THIS."

Likewise be willing to flex. Yes, maybe you planned on the players infiltrating the palace through the sewer...but they decided to do a moonless HALO drop on the roof instead... That's ok, roll with it! Send em out for Pizza if you need to and see if you can rejigger everything with minimal effort. Take the sewer monster and replace it with a pterasaur the players need to fight off for a few turns in freefall. Take the guards from the basement and put them on the roof. Replace the tower command center fight with a sub-basement control room suspended over a massive underground reservoir. .. another tweak here or there, and you're done almost without even trying.

That's the real secret to "improvising" as a GM. Not to make up the entire flipping thing as you go (that's usually a fast track to murderhobotown), but to take whatever the players throw at you and still make it work.

I'm going to disagree with Ghostofman but this is my own view and my own experience GMing I'm going off of, as with everything regarding individuals and experience, YMMV.

Players in every one of my groups have enjoyed the entirely improvised sessions more than any others and I can think quick enough on my feet to work with whatever they throw at me.

If the players become murderhobos, there should be narrative consequences of such (more obligation in the form of bounties, criminal records, being known to kill those they interact with, worse deals in negotiations, the Reputation rules from Fly Casual/Keeping the Peace are great in regards to this). The smuggler who kills people who get in his way will have to deal with some of the worst people in the business, who are just as likely to betray him at any step for the right price, the force user that continues to choke out everyone that won't tell her the information she needs will start taking on a lot of conflict, word will get around of some crazy woman with supernatural abilities, the empire/inquisitorius will get involved...

As you might imagine, a couple of my groups are more scum & villainy than heroes but that's still a fun story to tell. I don't require that they be super good & noble just because the book says "you're the heroes", I let them choose the type of characters they want to be and their reputation builds based on their actions; the story constantly evolves based on their decisions.

Plus, for me, it helps to not have a written down pathway because I will try to find a way to make the players fit into it and I do not want to force that into happening.

Based on the responses that I've gotten so far, I like the idea of giving the heroes a mission, and then letting them figure out how to accomplish it.

So I can go into it knowing the beginning and have a pretty good idea of how it will end (either they will succeed in their mission or they won't).

And for the middle, just have a bunch of encounter ideas ready, or make them up on the fly if I have to.

Don't confuse guiding with railroading.

Players don't like being told what to do, where to go, and what to say.

They like being given a motivation to do something, a reason to go somewhere, and a need to talk to someone.

So it's ok to plan out the entire adventure, and I strongly suggest you do so. BUT make sure that you hook the players, and motivate them to navigate the adventure and give them a desire push forward on their own. This is actually kinda the point of things like Obligation and Duty and Motivation, to give the players an official communication path to the GM to say "I wanna do THIS."

Likewise be willing to flex. Yes, maybe you planned on the players infiltrating the palace through the sewer...but they decided to do a moonless HALO drop on the roof instead... That's ok, roll with it! Send em out for Pizza if you need to and see if you can rejigger everything with minimal effort. Take the sewer monster and replace it with a pterasaur the players need to fight off for a few turns in freefall. Take the guards from the basement and put them on the roof. Replace the tower command center fight with a sub-basement control room suspended over a massive underground reservoir. .. another tweak here or there, and you're done almost without even trying.

That's the real secret to "improvising" as a GM. Not to make up the entire flipping thing as you go (that's usually a fast track to murderhobotown), but to take whatever the players throw at you and still make it work.

If it was possible to "like" something more than once, I'd be liking this again.

That's the real secret to "improvising" as a GM. Not to make up the entire flipping thing as you go (that's usually a fast track to murderhobotown), but to take whatever the players throw at you and still make it work.

Like hell you say! More often than not I was thrown a curve ball that required I make something up then and there. Then it happened again. And again. It happened so much that I could rely on it, which is what's led me to my sparse prep methodology. The trick in my mind is not just to take what the players give you and make it work, it's some forethought into making the generic settings and NPCs I mentioned earlier so a GM is prepared to deal with the eventual curve ball.

Based on the responses that I've gotten so far, I like the idea of giving the heroes a mission, and then letting them figure out how to accomplish it.

I'd throw a caveat on that: often too much choice leads to paralysis. You want to give the illusion of freedom, but you can steer quite a bit of it without seeming to be railroading simply by defining the mission parameters of success ahead of time, e.g.:

"They say if the victim isn't found within 48 hours, they'll almost never be found, so you'll have to be quick."

"If you are identified, you can't be linked back to us, so we will disavow all knowledge and you'll be on your own."

"The shipment is likely to be heavily guarded, and some of the guards might be dressed like normal civilians."

Of course, new intel in the middle of the encounter can also steer the decision process, throwing a monkey wrench into their plans, and that can be fun, but you have to be a little more careful with that to avoid looking like you're reacting to their decisions.

Based on the responses that I've gotten so far, I like the idea of giving the heroes a mission, and then letting them figure out how to accomplish it.

I'd throw a caveat on that: often too much choice leads to paralysis.

This is the bane of improv storytelling in my experience. That's why I don't eschew plots entirely and just go with the flow -- I have to create the flow. Starting a session in media res is a good way to do this, but there are other ways too. One useful technique is to let them flounder a bit while the GM refills their drink, then have something happen with the least-active player for the session. This could be Obligation or Duty showing up, but it doesn't have to be. It's just something to spur the action and tacking it onto the person that's not had as much of the spotlight kills two birds with one stone.

We talked about this very topic back in August: Don't Prep Plots (or, Just Because It Isn't a Literal Railroad, Doesn't Mean It's Fun) .

Based on the responses that I've gotten so far, I like the idea of giving the heroes a mission, and then letting them figure out how to accomplish it.

I'd throw a caveat on that: often too much choice leads to paralysis.

This is the bane of improv storytelling in my experience. That's why I don't eschew plots entirely and just go with the flow -- I have to create the flow. Starting a session in media res is a good way to do this, but there are other ways too. One useful technique is to let them flounder a bit while the GM refills their drink, then have something happen with the least-active player for the session . This could be Obligation or Duty showing up, but it doesn't have to be. It's just something to spur the action and tacking it onto the person that's not had as much of the spotlight kills two birds with one stone.

RE: The bold portion of the text:

I ran a game a month ago that was just in-character conversations for 2 hours, as the group was trying to decide on a reasonable decision to make. At the 2 hour mark, I decided to flip a destiny point and have a random Stormtrooper patrol knock on the hangar door, as they were doing random inspections and needed the group to open up. That got the session rolling.

How fortuitous! Gnome Stew just posted an article on this very topic, for this very setting! While the author delves into Apocalypse World style GM mechanics, I'll admit I've been using pieces of them for years and find them a boon. Fronts in particular are extremely efficient plot management mechanisms for me.

Any advice?

A couple of ways of coming at this, with a, how shall we say - structured Sandbox. Build a setting and a basic scenario and then throw the players in and let them figure it out.

For example, come up with something that the players have to deal with but not how to deal with it:

"So you guys have to steal a MacGuffin. The Macguffin is in the Data Store Tower behind a planetary shield."

"Well, we did just steal that Imperial transport the last mission, the transponder codes should still be fresh. We could just sneak in after rounding up some ground troops to act as a distraction and find a sympathetic admiral to bring in some ships".

And then you throw some cool unexpected wrinkles at them. "So you have the MacGuffin, but hey - look at that. The Empire's Planet Kiler just showed up and they've locked the base down. Now you have to get to the transmitter tower instead of getting back to the landing field"

The other way is to have the Bad Guys come up with a plan, unencumbered by player interference:

"The Empire is digging in the endless sands for the Lost MacGuffin of Ultimate Power, and when they find it, they'll load it up on the transport and fly it back to Courscant. But they're digging in the wrong spot, so you have some time to find the right spot and snatch the MacGuffin from under their noses. But you blow a sneak roll so one of the Imperials spots you and takes the MacGuffin away before throwing you in a pit of snakes. Once you escape the snakes, although you've blown up their transport, they load the MacGuffin on a truck and drive it to the spaceport for extraction."

"They have a truck? Great. . . ."

Any advice?

A couple of ways of coming at this, with a, how shall we say - structured Sandbox. Build a setting and a basic scenario and then throw the players in and let them figure it out.

I think that it helps, though, to have the present scenario somehow linked to an overall plotline. I like the effects of a scene to have an effect on the outcome of the ongoing stories - even if the entire crew eschews any plot points and instead goes off in search of the best porridge on the ecumenopolis. While that's fine and sure, I'll roll with that, I would check a box in my notes that said, "well, they didn't prevent the murder of the Ambassador, move that Front forward a step." I think this is essential to provide both continuity and to bring the setting to life. The story continues regardless of their participation in it, but their participation has a huge effect on the outcome.

I just build the main NPCs, decide which generic stats I use for them. I write down their names and Motivation. I know how they react to the PCs behaviour and how they think of each other. I use Name generators and random generators for the planets I create myself and write some landmarks and local customs for them. I write down all the plot turns I want to bring in at certain points during play, but the rest is improvised. The plot is mostly driven by the players and the dice results.

It's best to be flexible.

For me, the biggest thing to keep in mind is the motivations and plans of the large organizations (for the large-scale strategic stuff that is going on throughout the galaxy), as well as that of the specific individuals that might be involved (for a more tactical level view).

Decide what things are going on and what will happen if the PCs don’t interfere, so that the galaxy is always in some form of motion.

These are the threads that form the basis for weaving the fabric of the galaxy together.

You can be very light on the details of the organizations and individuals involved, until such time as the PCs might encounter them.

Then you can quickly generate the appropriate stats, when and where you need them. Allow yourself to postpone deciding anything until such time as it actually needs to be known, and until then allow yourself to be flexible in how things might fit together.

Then you can sprinkle the major plot points around the galaxy, fill in with set pieces as necessary, and wherever your PCs are, they can feel like they’ve got a well-thought out and well-fleshed out galaxy in which to play.

Now, this is easier said than done.

Therefore, I recommend that you do as I say and not as I do.

I just build the main NPCs, decide which generic stats I use for them. I write down their names and Motivation. I know how they react to the PCs behaviour and how they think of each other. I use Name generators and random generators for the planets I create myself and write some landmarks and local customs for them. I write down all the plot turns I want to bring in at certain points during play, but the rest is improvised. The plot is mostly driven by the players and the dice results.

It's best to be flexible.

I like using Johnn Four's 3-line NPC system for my NPCs. No stats, I leave that to the GM's own Holocron so it scales to a table's power level.