sadly, i already had a thread like this, but it is now invisible to me, and it wasn't that old either. You can find it here though:
http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=59759Hopefully this mistake will be rectified, but until then, it may be worth posting in your thread instead.
Also, let me know if you can see that thread in the OOC forum. If you can, maybe it's just me who can't.
EDIT: i see you joined recently, and since i haven't run across you before, let me say welcome to CAA!
EDIT: and since i'm posting, might as well post something pertinent.
I'm currently working on a more traditional RPG campaign for my friends and i to play in person in a few weekends. I'll try not to go into great detail, as that would be boring to anyone not interested in rules systems and such, but i'm using a few ideas that are new, or, new to me anyway.
[color="Red"]Random Encounters[/color]: Not a new idea, not an original idea, but if you find the game flagging, have a preset list of events made up. Try not to make it too outlandish, don't put Singing Octopi next to Siberian Tigers. Unless you are playing in a really messed up campaign, in which case, go ahead, it could be fun!
To run the random table, you can use dice. If you don't have the funny polyhedrons your pen and paper RPGs utilize, you can visit Obsidian Portal or Wizards.com, where they have digital dice rollers!
If you use a single die, bear in mind that the percentages of rolling any number will be the same, so you have to think in terms of a spectrum. By spectrum i mean 1-3, 4-8, 9-15, and so on.
If you are using two dice and adding them together, it is more acceptable to place results on just a single number. For instance, rolling two ten-sided dice will result in no less than 2, and no more than 20. But you only have a 1% chance of rolling 2, and a 1% chance of rolling 20. The closer to the middle of the whole spectrum you place things, the more likely they are to result. For instance, between two dice, there are a total of ten ways to roll 11, which means 11 is likely to come up 10% of the time. Again, using a spectrum is ok, for instance 10-12 will result in a 28% likelihood of coming up. So things you want to happen more often should be placed somewhere in that range.
[color="DarkOrchid"]Hidden Challenges[/color]: Come up with some minor goals for your players, but don't tell them. If they meet the conditions for the reward, it will be a nice surprise for them. For instance, if someone is playing a fighter, you might reward that character with extra experience for defeating the first opponent without help. Later on, you might reward that character for the total number of times an opponent was defeated without help.
If you aren't using an experience system (maybe your game is more role play oriented rather than character stats building, which seems to be the case in these forums), reward the solo warrior with sole share of the loot from the victory, or maybe send a private message to the player with a secret message the foe whispered in the character's ear with his dying breath. That way there would be no spoilers for the rest of the group.
[color="YellowGreen"]Making Monsters[/color]: In my table top game enemies and monsters are made basically the same as the characters, this way i know exactly what i'm throwing at my players, and what they should be capable of handling. But it's tedious to write up a new monster each time. What i've done recently is to write up generic stats for opponents, arranged them by level, and then set along side them certain skills they can use depending on what class the enemy is supposed to be. Same stat block, different skill. If i want to throw a goblin munchkin at them, there it is. If i want to throw a giant man eating rat at them, same stats, different skill (or lack thereof). If i want to throw a whole bunch of monsters at them all at once, POOF! There they are, all homogenized for simplicity. If i want to have a boss, i use a higher level creature and give it a little more Health for the heroes to hack through.
*facepalm*. Sorry, CAA people... I'm trying, I'm trying...