Story Pens

Another GM and I were watching some players overthrow the second circle of the Abyss and the two of us got to talking.  "Wouldn't it be fun to create a 'third circle of the Abyss' on-the-fly?"  And that's what we did.  Sort of.  Well, not really.

The other GM borrowed an unused area, added some decorations to it, and lastly populated it with some monsters.  As we reviewed the area, we discussed creating an abundance of "story pens," which would be a collection of empty areas, kind of like theater stages.  These areas would have some basic dressings (like a forest area, a mountain area, a cavern – or an Abyss-like area) and then we could add details to them as needed.  We also have the potential for adding some stock NPCs to enhance the area.  Once an area is set and ready for visitors, we open it and run the story.

I really love this idea, and the potential for it is enormous.  Sometimes a silly pick-up adventure leads to some good brainstorming.