CAMPAIGN SET UP AND STRUCTURE IN WANDERING HEROES OF OGRE GATE

I just wanted to go over some of the details about how I have been prepping my Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaigns. We may offer some advice rooted in this in the rulebook but this is really more just to give people a sense of how we play tested the system for long term adventures more than anything else. 

I usually start with something I call the campaign backdrop. We already have the setting, but this is more like the current events and recent history of the region the adventure is occurring in. This sets in motions the NPCs, Sects, groups and threats that will be perusing their own agendas over the course of the campaign. This helps create a situation filled with adventure potential that I can then drop the PCs into. 

Once I have that I plan out some possible adventures around a core party concept the group has agreed upon. For example my current party established that they would all be seeking employment together at a security company in the Banyan region, so the first series of adventures were possible contracts available at the Emerald Security Company. 

I also made a point of weaving in some of the backdrop elements into the adventures themselves. Their first adventure was to investigate the death of a local official in Chen. The person behind the disappearance was planning a grand revenge against an old foe and acquired a number of important manuals and texts toward that goal. As the party investigated the villain they encountered people from other sects who had an interest in these texts which made for some exciting and unexpected conflicts. They also formed an alliance with a woman who had a longstanding grudge against one these interfering sects. 

From here I have a number of adventure seeds that I am prepping for. Over the course of the adventure the players encountered a number of potential leads, including the possible whereabouts of something called the Phoenix Crown of Bao. So I sketched out some basic elements for each of these should the players choose to explore them. Because the book already has so many NPCs in it, I can freely draw on those as I need as well (which is helpful). 

But I am also keeping dibs on my backdrop players as well because many of them are potentially interested in avenues the players may explore.

For me this works pretty well. It is a bit less dense than how I prep my Sertorius campaigns, and more dynamic as well. 

I would describe it as a combination of character driven/situational adventure with bits of sandbox and investigation thrown in. The role of fate also allows me to play a more active role as GM.