How to Plot THE FIRST ACT of a D&D Campaign

If you are planning a story or D&D campaign, it can feel like taking the first of 1000 steps. Act 1 of your story is crucial to setting the tone and mood, so let's talk about how to get that going...

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[thericemenace]

Usually the first few sessions include things that force the party together one way or the other. Then, I introduce a bigger problem that forces them to work together (a kid gets kidnapped and they have to travel together) and then I add snippets of a bugger issue (the kid is important to the cult somehow) so that after they complete the first mission, they take steps to figure out how to take on the bigger issue. After that, I usually pick a character to delve into their character arc, confronting their past, and setting them up for a grander destiny that lies before them, and then I'll do that for each character, throw in some magic items, and then they will be facing the bigger issue.

[gabrieldavi]

Rollercoasters are on railroads and still people have fun on them. (Some famous dm said it I dunno who tho )

[GoobieTheGoob]

There is a fine art to just “winging it” as a DM. If you’re concerned with creating complex plot arcs and narrative connections, you can technically also write them backwards. While your players are struggling to figure out information on a character, there may be nothing there in reality, but they don’t know that. You could take pieces of their theories and make an actual connection to a narrative element later on, then start dropping breadcrumbs. This makes it APPEAR as though you planned something all along!

[glowface]

I like this. Many say dont railroad the party, but to some degree, it can really help a party struggling to roleplay and have their own motivations, it can make for amazing stories, and make it more fun for the players. That doeant mean you fully ignore their choices, but rather having these big trials and acts can be big parts of the story woven together by all the in between choices of the players.

[niftykeebs]

I am about to DM my first campaign and this helped so much, especially with your clear walkthoughs! Thank you for this!

[Chadventure_Animated]

This came at the right time. I feel like I have mechanics down and can run encounters in my sleep, but narratively I struggle with pacing, foreshadowing and working backwards from an arc. I can't wait to see more from you on this

[ronaldwatson]

Pretty solid info here on plotting fantasy adventures, with plenty of starter ideas to boot. Subscribed.

[AnarchyintheUK]

Very good advice!
I'm a big supporter of the idea of: smaller version of big thing later.
In one of my campaigns, one of the end game bosses was a creature that could use Anti-Magic fields (Sul Khatesh) to their advantage. So I designed a few encounters with other creatures that could use similar abilities (Aeroian Nullifier or Flail Snail) without being as game breaking.
This way they don't feel blindsided by broken abilities, but also it's amping up in terms of power and threats.

[anstrengthkobold]

"Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels" has the concept of making a couple "stick" after their first meeting, that I really like to apply to DnD.

It's good to think sbour how do you are gonna make the party stick togther believably after the first job/immediate threat is dealt with.

I find the easiest is just giving them something to share (like troll skull manor in WD:DH) or just making the initial unifying something drawn out enough that it makes more sense to stick together.

[rawrrio]

I rarely comment, but I am a very new player to DnD (voted into becoming DM) and just ran the first part of my own custom one-shot for 6 players last week (group of close friends, also all new). Seems like a majority of them may continue with me into a campaign given how much they like the game. Coming across your video has really helped me out in tying all backstories into Act 1, hopefully rivalling the epicness of Baldur’s Gate. Thank you so very much for such an informative video!! <3 subscribed cause I can’t wait to see more from you

[PotatoForce]

Your style matches my DM style exactly and I am super stoked to finally see a D&D video about a movie-type campaign and not a freeform sandbox. Loved it!

[Owl_of_Omens]

My absolute favorite thing to do is to tell my players that they're in a sandbox. But in reality they are on a roller coaster, and they are the actors and I am slowly feeding them the script. I don't write the lines for them, but I definitely put modes of thought in front of them and then their characters decisions truly affect the way the world is going to work around them

[terristockburger]

This was the easiest, most basic, yet fun and interesting explanation (and video) on how to write up a campaign's Act 1. It was clear and concise. I feel like I can go forward and set-up my own Act a lot more confidently following this as a guide. Thank you so much! :)

[Nevlogeos]

This is a v good video on plotting! Taking note from story structure in film and TV has super helped me figure out the beats for a campaign, and I like the way you broke the main points of conflict before the point of no return as trials! Is all giving the players a chance to get to know each other and themselves, trials is a brilliant describer of this part of the story!

Excited to watch on!! Thanks for making such a useful resource for GMs!

[goldkomodo]

This video came at the right time, as I'm planning a mini campaign for some friends soon. The only thing I think also should be included by the end Act 1 of a (mostly) linear campaign is making the time limit known. The players should understand when the deadline is, so that there's pressure to act sooner rather than later. For example, they learn that the world-ending prophecy lands on a date a month away, or the necromancer is already a quarter of the way building their army, etc.

[baguettegott]

Thanks for this! I'm running my first long campaign right now and I struggled a fair bit during the transition from "opening adventure" to "full first act". That's when i watched this video. Now it's a couple of months later, act 1 is nearing its conclusion and it's working amazingly, I've never had more fun DMing before than i do now that we really got into the swing of things. Thanks for the good advice :D

[someonewithsomename]

I find this video so interesting and well thought out, every minute you make a solid point, so that my ADHD just absolutely side tracks the train of thought with that new exciting information, and I have to rewind this video 4 minutes back every 5 minutes.

[trappedowl]

My current game is an extension of the previous one with mostly the same characters so that made it really easy to plot the major story beats. I had it open with an assassination attempt on one of the players and on investigation they found that it was tied to one of the players backstories

[cadauncie]

I’m not even finished with the video yet and I feel so much more confident in beginning my campaign!! Thank you so muchhhh!!💛💛💛

[ashtonarrington]

14:35 Holy crap you brought up brennan as soon as i thought about him, he intruced his chatacters so well in fantasy high i didnt even notice thats what he was doing. Thanks for the good vid ❤