Hey there and welcome to Balmung, Deahfel! Â ^_^
On running Storylines...
For on-going Storylines, I break mine up into chapters and I give each chapter a three-month window. Â The purpose behind this is two-fold: Â
1.) Â It gives me an opportunity to take a break between chapters and let others host events during my downtime. Â This prevents GM burn-out and ensures that you aren't the only one stuck with the duty of hosting all the time.
2.) Â I've found that anything longer than three months tends to start to weary people in the wrong way. Â "When is this storyline going to end?" -- "God, this thing has been going on for six months!" Â Allow people to resolve a problem so there's a sense of completion and it doesn't feel like the story is just dragging on unnecessarily.
Storylines also need to have a purpose besides just providing a RP outlet. Â There should be a goal that everyone is working toward, there should be rewards for completion and detriments for failure. Â Take into consideration the character(s) that are involved and tailor experiences toward both their strengths and their weaknesses. Â Storylines should always provide opportunities for character growth and have a lasting impact beyond, "Oh, it's just this thing we did this one time."
On Roleplaying in the Field...
I love to use the world environment and old dungeon content as set-dressing for roleplay. Â Make sure you know the world! Â So make sure you explore often, poke around with FATES, and really get to know the world of Eorzea from an in-game perspective. Â You'll come to know what FATEs, dungeons, or world environments suit a roleplay scenario. Â (Or what areas may have interference because of FATEs, Sightseeing Log locations, or Questing interruptions -- Not that it's ever happened to me...! Â >_>U)
More often than not, I use dungeons as placeholders for other locations. Â Like we used Amdapor Keep in one roleplay event that I hosted, but it was a different part of the city/keep than was in-game. Â This is to prevent you from treading on established lore and forcing your canon on anyone else. Â
Some advice I read once: Â Blow up a tree, but don't blow up the moon. Change little things that don't really affect anybody, but don't change something that can affect everyone.
On running Storylines...
For on-going Storylines, I break mine up into chapters and I give each chapter a three-month window. Â The purpose behind this is two-fold: Â
1.) Â It gives me an opportunity to take a break between chapters and let others host events during my downtime. Â This prevents GM burn-out and ensures that you aren't the only one stuck with the duty of hosting all the time.
2.) Â I've found that anything longer than three months tends to start to weary people in the wrong way. Â "When is this storyline going to end?" -- "God, this thing has been going on for six months!" Â Allow people to resolve a problem so there's a sense of completion and it doesn't feel like the story is just dragging on unnecessarily.
Storylines also need to have a purpose besides just providing a RP outlet. Â There should be a goal that everyone is working toward, there should be rewards for completion and detriments for failure. Â Take into consideration the character(s) that are involved and tailor experiences toward both their strengths and their weaknesses. Â Storylines should always provide opportunities for character growth and have a lasting impact beyond, "Oh, it's just this thing we did this one time."
On Roleplaying in the Field...
I love to use the world environment and old dungeon content as set-dressing for roleplay. Â Make sure you know the world! Â So make sure you explore often, poke around with FATES, and really get to know the world of Eorzea from an in-game perspective. Â You'll come to know what FATEs, dungeons, or world environments suit a roleplay scenario. Â (Or what areas may have interference because of FATEs, Sightseeing Log locations, or Questing interruptions -- Not that it's ever happened to me...! Â >_>U)
More often than not, I use dungeons as placeholders for other locations. Â Like we used Amdapor Keep in one roleplay event that I hosted, but it was a different part of the city/keep than was in-game. Â This is to prevent you from treading on established lore and forcing your canon on anyone else. Â
Some advice I read once: Â Blow up a tree, but don't blow up the moon. Change little things that don't really affect anybody, but don't change something that can affect everyone.
![[Image: the-chroniclers-2.jpg]](https://writerholic.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/the-chroniclers-2.jpg)
