Long Term Plot Development

Patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to running an enjoyable campaign. Often times I feel that campaigns focus too much on instant gratification/consequences to the actions of the players. While this practice keeps the party engaged in the short run it gives the party a complex where they never think about how their actions influence the long term campaign or their interactions with NPCs.

As a storyteller it is important to remember that any action has consequences beyond the immediate and readily apparent. A quest to capture a bandit king might lead to peace for the area and glory for the party in the short run, but in the long run might lead to the rise of a worse bandit leader to fill the power vacuum.

The party cleaning out a group of corrupt officials may make potential allies hesitant to work with them, lest their own secrets be laid bare.

On the flip side, the party saving a town from evil may make that town and its people willing to break the law or believe in the party even if the wider world believes them villains.

In essence you should be thinking of the events and side quests of a campaign both in how they effect the overarching goals of the campaign but also how they effect the greater world and how it views the players.

Going back to the ideas of previous posts, you must think of the world as a living breathing entity independent from the players. Do not mold the world to the players but let the players change the world. With each action they take they not only succeed or fail in their goals but influence society to a greater or lesser degree.

While much of this would seem obvious it really is not. Most D&D campaigns are very Ego centric, focusing only on the immediate activities and goals of the party. Prior actions are usually forgotten except for how they effect the major objectives of the party. Remember that the flavor of a campaign is the small details, the everyday interactions and realism.