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This looks really interesting — the only reason I don't run more games more often is the time burden. At a glance it appears to be focused on the various D&D ed

• fapjacks 9y ago
  Yes, absolutely generalized. It basically outlines a generic "world/story engine" using index cards and a kind of "rule of threes". I've used this in all kinds of systems: Shadowrun, D&D, Pathfinder, AD&D, Star Wars d20, etc. It's totally usable in any system. It cuts down on the preparation time required by orders of magnitude, seriously. One tip that I use in every game that is incredibly useful and isn't in this book (or Sly Flourish's other great book, "Dungeon Master Tips") is to have three NPCs who represent "Money, Power, and Fame" and are always on the move. Their storylines develop even if the players are not interacting with them. Remember "Fame, Money, Power" and create a single NPC to represent each of these three things. For example, you could have a local baron who is hungry for power, an evil guildmaster who is trying to expand his influence over local trade routes for money, and a retired, good-hearted adventurer who helps out new adventurers at the local adventurer's guildhall because he enjoys the fame and recognition. Each of these three NPCs will have some immediately obvious conflicts which will generate storylines you can very easily improvise. I don't even need to give you an example since you can probably think of some conflict in those three examples just off the top of your head. These three NPCs also have easy access to each of those three things (money, power and fame respectively) and typically, at least some of your players will be motivated by this to some degree. That makes for an easy carrot-and-stick for players. Do your players need money for an expensive spell component to save the mayor's daughter? You might find the guildmaster willing to pay a handsome reward for completing a small side quest, for example having the players bluff or sneak their way into the baron's palace during a party and steal some important documents. The local baron of the land can probably give you the power to raise a small militia to stop a rampaging band of orcs in the area. Does the king's court have no idea who you are? It turns out the retired adventurer might be willing to write a note on your behalf, if only you could do him a small favor... And the important thing is that you should always be moving these three NPCs along their life paths even if the players aren't around to see it. This is very easy to track with your index cards. And if one of these NPCs is killed or retires or somehow drops out of the game, you should come up with another to replace them. Perhaps the evil guildmaster has the baron assassinated, and now that he's had a taste of power after his guild is given control of the barony, he becomes your "Power" NPC, and a rival guildmaster becomes the new "Money" NPC. See how easy that was? And you can do this in your sleep really, so it works out great for the method described in The Lazy DM.