Adventure scripting

[Gregorius]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but only got around to it now.

How much scripting (i.e. GM pre-prepared plot/ storyline/ events/ dialog/ etc...) do you think should go into an adventure?

What do you do for this?

And what would you reccomend to me, as a new GM?

[Urban Spaceman]

No real right or wrong answer here, in my book.
Over time ou will develop your own style, and your notes will refelect that.

When I started out, I used to document everything. I would write out the desciptions and names of every planet , location and person they were going to meet. I'd have side notes for myself writen down, and so on.

After a while, I kept it down to important information, the stuff that I didn't want to make up if I could avoid it. This included names of important people and places (no use forgetting the bad guys name), I would write out a description of a few places they might go (but bullet point them, rather than an exact description to be read out loud).
I also found it useful to write down things like damage dice, or difficulty numbers (foe example, if they might try and break a lock, rather than Con someone in to opening it, I'll not that it's a Moderate diffculty, or even specify a number) .

It's different horses for different courses really, and after a year or more of running games, you'll look back and wonder why you wrote so much down.

Oh, and expect to make mistakes. It's what happens as we find our own way.

[jonnjonnzz]

I tended to use quite a bit of pre-scripted events and dialogue in my SWRPG campaigns, but I usually designed my adventures to limit the ways players can screw up how I wanted the scenes to play out. This basically came from me using a lot of the canned adventures instead of cooking up my own until after I had been playing for 3-4 years.

[ZzaphodD]

I write down general plot ideas, and also a timeline if thats important.

ATM the characters are going along their own plot parallell to the plot in The Force Unleashed. At some points the character crosses path with Starkiller so I have to write down both timelines to keep track of who does what when..

One thing I always have handy is a list of SW-ish names. Being caught flat-footed when someone asks about the name of some unsignificant plot-device npc is not recommended.
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My Biggest Beard Retard award goes to: The Admiral of course..

[Whill]

For new GMs, I recommend using published adventures. They tend to be failrly linear and that makes it a little easier. But whether you use published or make your own, there will alway be times your players will take a left turn and you have to improvise anyway. But in general the more planning and details the better. And as Zzaph mentioned, having spare character names handy is a good idea, as well as planet names, starship names, NPCs statted up, etc.

I wish I had all the published adventures and resources (or the internet) when I started runnning Star Wars. All I had was the RPG and the original Sourcebook. My first campaign had many adventures under its belt before Tatooine Manhunt came out. I made up the first adventure in which the characters joined the Rebellion at the end. I used some of the hooks but made up most of adventures. I usually came up with a basic plot or at least a mission objective and notes on locations, NPC, scene ideas, etc. I became really good at just winging it. But in my old age I like to be more prepared.
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[ZzaphodD]

I have a hande 'Random Name' generator which generates ship, planet and character names.

With it I can pregenerate names and have them handy on a list.
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My Biggest Beard Retard award goes to: The Admiral of course..

[Bobmalooga]

I only ever did this once and had a ball doing it, the players enjoyed it too...
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