Hi I'm Vinnie V. now to hand the reigns over to Khaine.

I hope this survives the transfer from Word.
First things first: All the stuff herein is merely my OPINION on
how to make a good Rifts adventure. It is being placed here A) to
help novice GMs and other in need of advice and B) to get some
decent feedback on GMing. I am always on the lookout for new
points of view. Without further ado:

Khaine's GMing tips:

1. Top-down view vs. side view. Most people will design 
adventures in what I call the "side" view. The side view looks
like this:
 
a. The players are introduced to the adventure.
b. The players do this.
c. The players do that.
d. Repeat n times.
e. The players complete the adventure, usually by facing off against the main villain.

Now, this is alright as far as it goes. But when one gets to a
higher level of RPGs then hack-and-slash, designing adventures
this way tends to have a number of bad effects. First, it can
produce unrealistic bad guys, NPCs or other people, who simply
don't act the way they really should. Second, it can have too
much of a scripted feel to it. And finally, if the players decide
they do not like the cozy little framework, and decide to break
out, it can be difficult if not impossible to "wing it" and get
the adventure moving again. Frustration with these flaws led me
to use the "top-down" or "Gods-eye-view" adventure creation
process. The difference is this:
In a "side-view" adventure, the script is written from the
players perspective. But all the things that the players see are
really just a fraction, a sliver of what is actually going on. So
what the characters see is entirely dependent on what is really
going on in the world. Therefore, figure out what is going on,
and THEN extrapolate what the PCs see.

This really requires an example. As GM, I come up with a force in
the world. It could be villainous, heroic, or whatever. Its just
a force. The force has certain goals that it wants to achieve. It
has certain means of achieving these goals. A force can be as
small as a crazy old wilderness scout looking for a good meal, or
as large as a conspiracy of evil prometheans dedicated to taking
over Phase World. It really doesn't matter. So the first thing 
one does is figure out all (or most, you don't need every last
crazy wilderness scout =)) of the forces that will be involved in
the adventure. Now comes the important part. Figure out what each
of these forces is trying to accomplish. Figure out how they
intend to do this IF no other forces, including the PCs, are
around. Do this for each force. Then, figure out the interaction
of the forces, but again, leave out the PCs. Figure out if the
forces conflict, ally, or whatever, and where, when, and how they
will work towards their goals. Each force has people that make it
up. Who are the main ones? Make sure that the agendas and methods
you give the forces are reasonable considering their level of
technology/magic, intelligence, resources, location, etc. If the
CS is a force in one of your games, they probably aren't
searching for the lost sword of Zarn for any reason other than to
destroy a powerful magical force. (On the other hand, who knows?
Its your game.) Now you have this seething, bubbling stew. You've
got the major forces lined up, the major NPCs that represent them
on hand, and all the interactions mapped out. So you know exactly
what will happen if the PCs don't appear. (Usually, this is the 
world being destroyed or something similarly bad.) Now figure out
how the PCs get involved. Are they innocent bystanders, caught in
a struggle between mammoth powers? Are they hired by one force or
another? Do they take it on their own hook to stop the villains
and save innocent lives? Do they wander around ignoring things 
and plundering helpless villagers? Or are they simply seeking
revenge because the baddies burned down their favorite alehouse?
Its up to you. Try to pick a reason that fits your players. (See
Motivations) 

And there you have it. Instead of a strictly scripted adventure,
you have a matrix of forces and characters. So you know what's
going on all over, and how things will work out. The players just
happen to see whatever part of that you like. Playing an NPC
becomes easier if he has a reason to do what he does. Senseless
battles decline as players are presented with goals to
accomplish.
Don't prescript your path, let the PCs do it for. Often, my
adventures are no more than a bad situation and the details of
the area. Its up to the PCs how to stop the villains, or not. 
And now on to more concrete hints.


Opening:

The opening of an adventure is very important. This is the only
part of the adventure in which I suggest you have players have
very little control of what goes on. Many an adventure has been
killed because the GM simply leaves the players in a town and
expects them to find the plot by themselves. Players, left in a
town, will tend to shop, drink, and pick random fights. Not much
plot there. And so, we are led to a cardinal rule of openings:
Start with action!

Start the adventure with combat! Or intrigue! Or something! Don't
just say, "You're all in a town, what are you doing." I can't
tell you how many great adventures I've run along the lines of
"You all find yourselves in a corridor. The far door slams open
and laser fire begins to pour through." The combat or action gets
the adventure moving, and the plot can come later. Think about
movies. A lot of successful action movies start with action.
Starting with plot bores the audience. Prime examples include
(off the top of my head) Goldeneye and Terminator 2. Final
Fantasy 7 starts with a quick action scene. (Many VRPGs
don't, and thus get boring at the beginning. I hate the games 
that start with a girl saying, "Oh, won't you find my lost little
chicken…" or whatever.) Many animes (which Rifts draws much of
its heritage from) also follow this simple rule.

Motivation:

Contrary to popular opinion, motivation comes after opening.
After the intro, you relinquish the power to drive the story to
the players. At this point, you must provide some motivation to
continue the plot. Types of motivation are summarised below:


1. Money: The simplest motivation is a guy who says "I will give
you x amount of credits to do y." This is simple, and often works
wonders. However, unless combined with other motivations, money 
alone can become boring. It also leads to boring characters.
Other things that can be heaped under money are the promise of
equipment, repairs, or anything else. (Magic too)
2. Ethics: One of the best motivations, but often difficult to
pull off. When trying to run an ethical adventure, look at the
players alignments. If they are good, good lures are threat of
harm to innocents and stopping wars and such. If the characters
refuse, remind them of their alignments. If they still refuse,
penalize their exp. For not playing in character!
3. Association: This is another tricky one. Sometimes, the group
works for another power or force. This is always good for
beginning GMs, as you can simply say "Your superiors in the NGR
have assigned you a mission. You must…" Many campaigns
have the PCs be elite squads from some power. This can also get
boring, so don't overuse it.
4. Character Motivations: This is similar to ethics. If the PCs 
have families, hometowns, etc., they can be good plot hooks. Do
NOT overuse this. (I had a player who was the only character in
our group ever to marry. His poor wife (and later, son) were 
shot, kidnapped, abducted, sold as slaves, etc at least once a
week. (On a side note, the character is now 26. His son is almost
18…apparently he grew up in a time warp =P))

Remember, the PCs really do want to go on your adventure. They
want exp. And money and all the other things. Don't railroad the
players, they resent it. Gently push them and they'll go.

Khaine E-MAIL=Khaine@mindless.com













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