2009-09-09 Preferred Campaign Style

The pseudonymous Yax asks on Dungeon Mastering: What kind of campaign style and mood do you enjoy the most? This page started out with the comment I left on that blog, but then I started adding some more info.

=> Dungeon Mastering | What kind of campaign style and mood do you enjoy the most?

I prefer sandbox-style, location-based games, where players can pick and choose between the various plot hooks. A typical wilderness with various villages and towns, lairs and dungeons provides for all of that.

I’m sure the above requirements can be met using a city adventure. But consider readability: If I can look at a map, pick a region, and read that part of the book, I’m fine. If I look at Ptolus, I get the feeling that I should be reading the entire book before getting started. Do I need to check organizations, churches, noble houses to actually understand this particular section? Again, a typical wilderness with very few organizations and plots covering the entire area nicely provides the modularity I’m looking for.

=> Ptolus

This lack of interdependence also enables me to exchange some of the elements, or let players dramatically alter particlar elements without requiring me to figure out a gazillion consequences for the rest of the book. This also precludes the kind of meticulously planned adventure paths.

At the same time, I want more than just a series of excursions – just picking plot hooks, modularity, and a lack of of interdependence are not enough. Some of the plots must be player driven. Players must be encouraged to drive the plot forward.

Players must have enough in-game time to explore where they want to take their character. If the forces of evil manage to keep up constant pressure, nobody will build a tower, a castle, form a guild, or raise a temple, research spells, or wage war.

This means that I want multiple challenges for the various power levels of the game. I don’t feel like preparing too many of them, and I don’t feel like preparing things in vain. This means that I’d like to run multiple adventures at the same power level. The D&D 3.5 rules resulted in players levelling up every 2-3 sessions. I like to double that. I prefer slow advancement. Gaining a level every 4-6 sessions is good enough for me. Assuming we play a particular campaign twice a month, it will take us about 20 months to reach name level (gain eight levels to reach level nine, each level requiring five session, with two sessions per month).

I also don’t like the upper levels of the game; I’m happy to retire characters around level ten. They turn into non-player characters and can be pulled out of the closet for the rare high-level challenge.

The mood of the campaign is a tricky thing. My first impulse is to say that I like everything. I guess I don’t like evil campaigns. But other than that – anything goes. In fact, I think I like some variety in my gaming moods.

​#RPG ​#thoughts