The following article sprung from a discussion on the DM-Friendly Initiative (DMFI) forum. Thanks to those who contributed their ideas and comments, I've incorporated some of them into the below article. If you are interested in further discussion, please use the link to the topic to look at additional ideas and post your comments. If you want to post and are not already a DMFI member, simply request to join the guild.

Introduction: what's so special about DMing in Persistent Worlds?

While there are a lot of resources available regarding DMing in NWN, up to this point there's been little available on guidelines for DMing in a persistent world (PW) environment. As those who have tried it are aware, a PW environment is unique and demands a somewhat different approach. Neverwinter Nights (NWN) and D&D are explicitly designed to work with a modular, campaign-style format. A party of PCs participates in a series of adventures, which may be open-ended or part of a fixed story arc. The party stays together for the duration of the adventures or campaign. The DM at the end of a module series has the option of moving on to a separate location for fresh adventures.

The above does not describe a PW environment, which by definition is constantly available rather than based around individual game sessions. A persistent world is exactly that: a simulation of a world, or part of a world, rather than a series of adventures. This opens up new possibilities, but presents new DMing challenges as well. Parties often will not be the same from the beginning to end of a single adventure, much less for an entire story arc or campaign. A DM therefore needs to be much more flexible in crafting their plotlines; they cannot rely on a single PC for anything critical to the plot, for example, as that PC may drop out or move on before the plot is completed.

In conceptual terms, in my view a DM in a PW will benefit most by focusing on the world and how its inhabitants (PC and NPC) interact, rather than on individual party-based quests. DMs need to conceive storylines, events, and in-game devices that will keep the world alive for the players in the absence of DM attention, while at the same time giving DMs rich possibilities when they are in-game. How can the DM do this? Below, we'll examine approaches for DMs in creating and managing their world content and look at how DMs can best work with each other and with players to make their PW a success.

1. Plotlines, content, and PC involvement

DMs in a PW quickly see that traditional-style quests and similar content are consumed by players far more rapidly than it takes to build said content. Most PWs square this circle by having repeatable scripted quests available, sometimes with persistent flags preventing those who have completed them from doing them again. When done right, this can be a benefit to immersion and provide useful tasks for PCs, for example guarding a daily caravan between two towns, or protecting a border area from periodic monster raids. When done without regard to continuity, however, it can shatter the immersion factor. Killing the same dire rat in a farmer's barn, delivering the same letter from Anita to her parents, killing the same ogre chieftain, etc. that everyone else has done is anti-roleplay. Some action-oriented worlds don't have a problem with this, so it depends on what your audience is. With active DMing, you can avoid continuity and other problems associated with scripted quests, but realistically DMs cannot be on 24/7 to provide coverage to everyone. Having immersive scripted content, updated to reflect storyline progression and other events in the world, is something that can help pick up the slack and also give something for DMs to work off of on a routine basis.

As an alternative to traditional-style content, DMs can also create ongoing plotlines involving NPCs that draw PCs in on a regular basis. Most importantly, these should be plotlines which PCs can continue without the NPC being present. One technique is to establish NPCs that have specific ambitions and want to use PCs to further these ambitions. The NPC starts the ball rolling, by giving out different tasks, and helps keep the overall plot in motion, but the PCs are the ones who drive events - even if they don't know exactly what is going on!

One example I used in a PW setting was that of a newly-arrived Zhentarim agent setting himself up with a cover business in a town. He had to find a business to purchase, convince the owner to sell, and then move in. He then began to seek out information on the town's power structure, dig up possible dirt on important people, and start planning for possible thefts or assassinations to further his cause. The agent needed PCs to accomplish all of these tasks. Some jobs seemed to be completely innocent, others drew PCs into what were clearly shady dealings. The point being, there was always something - usually multiple somethings - that the NPC needed doing, which involved multiple PCs. One example was the Zhentarim agent directing a PC to spy on another PC, who was engaged in some business dealings of interest to the agent. This produced an ongoing character vs. character situation, which even livened up things like mundane tavern talk - the spy would carefully probe for information while attempting to hide his true agenda.

Variations on this theme can easily be developed for combat or quest-oriented PCs. For example, exploration or patrolling of risky areas is a repeatable task that, however, can generate a variety of encounters and allow for PCs to progress both personally and in regards to the plot. Success or failure of PCs would be reflected in safer/more dangerous areas, promotions/demotions for those giving the PCs the assignment, and so on.

This brings up a crucial point: players love nothing more than seeing their PCs' actions affect the world around them. This is easier to do in a DM'd campaign which can be tailored each session for the PC, but can also be accomplished in a PW setting. Low-level PCs can have a measurable impact on the world, positive or negative, while mid-to-upper level PCs absolutely should be leaving their mark in tangible ways. NPCs who succeed or fail because of the PCs are one aspect of this - PCs thereby win friends or make enemies - and the physical environment is the other. Something as simple as a "reserved" sign on a PC's favorite table at a tavern can be immersive and rewarding, along with more traditional things like statues and PC-owned housing.

To sum up, show the PC that they are part of the world and always have something going on in it.

2. Consistency and continuity

PWs feature multiple DMs who often do not overlap on a regular basis in-game. In a traditional campaign structure, even with multiple DMs in an NWN setting, there should be very little that is a surprise to the other DMs, since everyone usually is in-game and DMing the same party at the same time. In contrast, PWs inherently have a problem of consistency between DMs, the most important elements including how NPCs are played in terms of personality, storyline continuity, what items are given out, and how much XP is given out.

The ideal situation, in my mind, is where specific DMs have a regular schedule and can DM essentially the same group on a regular basis, or at least the same storyline, so they can keep things consistent in their sessions. However, this still leaves balance and continuity issues with other DMs/groups operating in the world. If one set of DMs are "Monty Haul" types while others are miserly, things get unbalanced quickly and it's not fair to the players.

Regardless of the size of the PW, some core guidelines on items, treasure, and XP need to be created and understood by all. There are a wide range of opinions in the NWN community on what the right balance is; the point is that for whatever PW you are on, the guidelines should be consistent and clear. Having the same sheet of music to work off of helps keep things consistent both in and out of game. All of the DMs sign up to the guidelines and if there are any questions about them, the arbitration process should be clear, definitive, and quick. For example, a DM may want to give out a major magic item at the end of a particularly epic quest which normally would be outside the guidelines. A small panel of fellow DMs might discuss the item's use with him/her, someone might be designated in the PW to supervise magic items and would discuss the scenario with the DM, etc. I think it's important not to stifle creativity and allow for exceptional situations, but at the same time compromises may have to be worked out for the good of the world's balance.

A central forum for plotline developments is also key. Summaries of important developments for plots and NPCs should be posted regularly. This is a lot of work (I speak from experience). If the DMs don't know what's going on, though, you can only fake it so much before blowing it. Nothing ruins a player's experience quicker than having an important NPC start acting differently with them or not "remember" significant storyline elements the player is involved with. It is also frustrating for a DM to have to "fly blind" with an NPC. In addition to plotline references, I strongly recommend keeping a central NPC roster with short personality and background descriptions, so that DMs can prepare out-of-game as necessary. A variation of this idea in-game is to have a (no-drop) book on an NPC with their personality and background description. Few DMs have perfect memories and this can be a life-saving item if you are put on the spot in-game.

3. DM cooperation and community building

Building community relations and encouraging cooperation among DMs can often be overlooked while DMs/project managers focus on the world's plotlines, important NPCs, and other content. In a PW environment, however, DMs benefit from regular mechanisms designed to reinforce their contact with other DMs, allow them to contribute their views and ideas, and understand what is going on world-wide. If this doesn't happen, the world can start getting ragged and DMs can start getting seriously frustrated with each other, the players, and the project. In addition to maintaining healthy forums, I recommend hosting regular DM meetings in IRC, voice chat, or whatever medium you prefer. This kind of real-time interaction helps foster and deepen a sense of community, along with letting DMs bounce ideas off of each other and solve each other's problems. No one has a monopoly on good ideas and forums can only do so much. Often, you can get as much settled in an hour of chat as you can in a week of forum posts.

Any community will need some sort of structure and rules that work for it, especially regarding leadership and division of responsibilities. However, crushing people's fun and creativity with arbitrary rules and hoops to jump through will help nothing. A small number of people who all share the same background and outlook should need far less structure than a large-scale project which attracts people with diverse views. Whatever works for your community best, go for it. My personal caveat is that it's hard to stop adding structure and rules once you start trying to cover every contingency with them. Establishing and maintaining core values and taking a clear approach to your world's development, in my opinion, works better. Everyone who shares those values and approach will be happy, while those who don't - well, why would they want to be there?

Keeping the players and DMs involved and attracted to the world's story is of high importance once a PW is up and running. Arguably it's even more important when initially building a PW community, since story and background are what draw a lot of people to a PW in the first place. Out-of-game, having a website and/or public forum where common background information is available is very important. Otherwise, your world looks like a cookie-cutter one, since there's no context. In-game devices such as books, journals, etc. can also be effective for players, especially new ones.

For both DMs and players, to hold their interest, a PW needs to answer the question: why should I care? Answering this question right is what keeps players playing and DMs DMing. Some of the following ideas can help: