Types of Games You Run

[sbarron]

I recently got out of D&D game I'd been in for about a year. It was pretty standard stuff. A group of characters with no good reason to be together (some with very real reasons to not be in the group), almost no shared goals (other than accumulating experience, wealth, and magic), and nothing in particular to do but wander around finding ways to get into and then out of danerous and profitable situations.

 

So, why did I quit? There was little story. There was no earth shattering evil that would crush all in its path unless the PC were able to stop it. Basically, I remebered why I had moved away from table top gaming and into CRPGs. I wanted the novel.

 

I want campaigns that have an intro, conflict, climax, and then resolution. Something more like the literature that I read rather than the stuff that seems to be gaming in most circles.

 

So, what kind of games do you play in? Do you play in continuing games that go from one crisis to the next, with the PCs acculating wealth and experience along the way? Or are your games more like novels, in that they follow the PCs through one large adventure dealing with some universal threat, and then put those characters away and start on the next? Some combination?

 

Am I alone in looking for games that have a built in ending?

[Killer Shrike]

A combination. I tend to run Fantasy with a big scope. Big worlds, complex settings, highly-invovled and convoluted character associations, and as much versimilitude as I can pack in.

 

I am extremely big on characterization, and insist on detailed setting-appropriate backgrounds, wont let a PC into the game without a prelude establishing the character first, and expect players to pay close attention to their characters Disads and bgs when they are portrayed.

 

All game play is done in-character, and xp goes to the most memorable characters. I also expect players to fill in with interesting NPC's, either that Ive handed out or that they themselves envision as being appropriate to the scene.

 

I think of it as ensemble role playing. My focus is on the storyline. I set the stage and the players provide the dialogue and direction.

 

Maybe one of my players that frequents the forums (WilyQuixote, SaintQuakko, or DrLucky) will chime in. WilyQ has played in...oh, a lot of my games -- it would take too long to figure it out. DrLucky played in the tail end of my last Fantasy Campaign, which was actually run in 3e Greyhawk, and a couple of short run Supers oriented settings (which were more slam-bang episodic and less story driven). StQ has only played in the last two short run Supers campaigns before the current Nine Arrows campaign, informally just called "the Machtig campaign".

 

The Nine Arrows campaign involves a classic "big prophesy" situation, where the 9 original PCs, each representing their particular Clans, must band together and go forth or the proverbial "or else" will befall their peoples. Where the adventure goes from that opening premise really doesnt matter -- it serves its purpose as the main narrative thread and beyond that its up to the players.

 

http://www.killershrike.com/SanDora/Campaign

[MordeanGrey]

In the past, I've run several Fantasy Hero games using the Sigil campaign setting. These were wildly successfull for some reason, with the first game lasting nearly two years, and the second around a year. (playing 3-4 times per month) Both of these games took on a life of their own, and the characters/players contributed much to the storyline. Several of them kept journals which were compared weekly to see what the other players/chracters thought of last weeks occurences in the game. These games were also wide open as far as what I allowed regarding magic, character races, and locations throughout the Planes.

 

More recently, I have created my own low-magic world that has a gothic horror influence to some degree. It's pretty far from Ravenloft, but there are many creatures that prey on the fears of people in the world. Priestly magic conflicts with sorcery in this setting. Priests are limited to mainly defensive/healing type spells. Sorcery is considered evil, and the few PCs that choose sorcery have to deal with the distrust and fear of average people in the world. Sorecery also tends to corrupt the user and lead them down a dark path. The characters for this world start with 100 pts. instead of the normal(?) 150. I try to stress roleplaying and good plot development. Another requirement for characters is a good mix of skills instead of super-high stats. I'm also having the players get together long before the game begins to discuss my expectations for how the world works, general power level for spells/attacks, and an overview of what I'd like to do. I listen to their feedback and have them discuss building characters that are compatible and have related goals for plot consistency.

 

One aspect that is steady in all of my games is that actions (or inactions) have consequences. If the party kills or robs someone without good justification, you can bet that the authorities/relatives/henchmen of the victim will be looking to arrest or punish the offenders. Also, if the party has several options and happens to choose one that might be questionable, the other options don't just go away. For instance, if the party turns down a mission to recover an item, there is a good chance that someone else (usually a rival or potential enemy, but the options are endless) will show up with the missing item at a later date.

 

In the current game, the characters are setting out on a religious pilgrimage to find the truth about what happened to a missing Saint of their church. They are following his path using clues from an old journal that was delivered to the church and serves as the hook for this game.

 

Most of my players are older and have outgrown the typical hack and slash mentality that you often see with newer/younger players. I really try to avoid the "beat people up and take their stuff" type of adventures.

[SleepyDrug]

Epic Fantasy....

 

the most recent campaign, the characters were all part of an elite military patrol in the service of a high ranking noble. The backstory of the campaign world was central to the character's story.

[austenandrews]

I pretty much always run campaigns with some overarching plotline. As often as not I move it too slowly, though, and the campaign runs its course (logistically, personality-wise, or for other out-of-game reasons) without actually finishing the big storyline. Often it's either that, or railroad the PCs toward the goal line. Yuck.

 

Which is why I like short-run games. Players are much more willing to run with the plotline in front of them instead of wandering off on miscellaneous subplots (which is great, don't get me wrong, but doesn't necessarily serve the big plotline).

 

-AA

[Chuk]

My current FH game is pretty much a mishmash -- two of the PCs were in jail (one for being a ninja, one supposedly for causing a public disturbance but really being held by agents for a mysterious general who is hunting him), they escaped and raided a nearby lich's tower (with the help of a fire mage who wanted to go there and check out the lich's library), only escaping with the help of an NPC stranger who appears to be some kind of rogue type. Now they're running through a D&D module I've partially converted. They do have some loose connections, but it's not really a very serious campaign, more of a hack and slash kind of thing.

[Midhir]

In most games I run their is some form of story arc the players are a part of but it doesn't permeate every playing session. Some sessions/adventures are directly related to the overall story and then others I thrown in as side adventures depending on the outcome of the PCs actions that might have nothing to do with the main plot.

 

Generally I have a rough outline of what is happening in the world and what part the PCs will play but being a world there is a lot going on that the PCs never see or get involved with and of course having free will sometimes things don't turn out as espected if you plan them to precisely.

 

I was never a big fan of the random adventures thrown at players that never really related to one another but I also don't like a completely scripted plot line that doesn't allow for even the most minor of devations.

 

Every once in a while as a GM or a Player you just wanna have some good old fashion fun, so what was suppose to be an overnight stay in Altdorf waiting for the coach to leave in the morning for the Border Princes turns into an adventure on its own.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Midhir

Every once in a while as a GM or a Player you just wanna have some good old fashion fun, so what was suppose to be an overnight stay in Altdorf waiting for the coach to leave in the morning for the Border Princes turns into an adventure on its own.

Nice Warhammer reference

[Midhir]

Yeah I couldn't help it, I love the world setting, dislike the rule set.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Midhir

Yeah I couldn't help it, I love the world setting, dislike the rule set.

So, finish your website so we can see your WH material converted into the HERO System already.

 

Im about to embark on a similar effort (though as a tangent and not the main thrust of my overall efforst) and am interested in what youve already got thru.

 

[Storn]

I modeled my campaign off of RDU Neil's superhero campaign.... which means each player tends to have multiple characters in multiple stories, some that end naturally, in multiple locations. So far, I've had (or having) 10 Campaigns. Some are short (3 or so adventures), some are very long, 18-25 episodes. Some have been revisited. I just ran an episode of characters from the 2nd campaign, who haven't been touched in 5,6 years of real time.

 

I have a few overall themes: Underpopulated continent, return of magic, the ascension of Elves, some bad guys who are continually kicking around on the periphery.

 

But I have multiple stories (3 campaigns are current) going on In the world at once. Some tackle those themes more than others. Geo politics has a huge impact on what kind of stories are told where. So, if we want to do a low level game, we have a situation where fun stories can be told and it makes sense. We have characters who are stepping into kingmaker positions and can do that. Sometimes, it is the small stories that feed the larger, more epic stories.

 

Admittedly, this multiple stories is somewhat logistics. I have rotating players and my campaign is not the weekly game. I run my Realms when I have the players to do so, which seems to be about 1 or 2 a month. And I often have a different mix of players, so I've become adept at juggling. I actually have 2 campaigns waiting in the wings that haven't even gotten a single player character yet... just in case I get some NEW mix of players. And I have one player who is threatening to run something.

[ghost-angel]

We run both one shots and ongoing campaigns.. for the ongoing there are two major ones, one designed to be episodic in nature, the other very connected and intricate.

 

The episodic one is open ended, has no real overall plot beyond it tends to take place in one city. All story lines affect each other, at one point all the supers in the city disappeared, currently most of them are still gone. But it has no overall plot idea behind it. This was designed to have a rotating set of players so ppl could jump in/out as they have time to game.

 

The other one had a begining, has an ending but is open as to when the ending will occur. this one has a set number of players and if one of them can't make it we usually put it on hold (occasionally we have gone on since not every plot line needs every player). Currently the players are racing to actually prevent or at least delay the end of the campaign - which is the apocalypse. Of course, that ending may not end the campaign, just force another goal in mind.

[Nuadaem]

I think my campaigns tend to run along the same lines as Midhir. I create the setting and the players determine the plot. I try to figure out what plotlines will be occurring in the world and give the players an idea of what they are and let them choose to involve themselves or not. I figure that the world has been humming along for quite awhile before the characters showed up and has been doing just fine, so it'll probably continue to do so. That doesn't mean that there aren't various nefarious plots afoot to influence the world, it's just that the players aren't the only people in the world capable of dealing with the situations.

My games are not like novels, though if the characters put themselves into a position where they need to save the world, it could become that way.

[Guest taxboy4]

I've always run the old situation to situation and hack / slash sorta game.

 

I'm now trying to get more of a overarcing story and interactions. Fancy, actual roleplaying is fun!!

 

A good way to get PC's to use their heads and not their swords is having to solve a murder in a village or town - watch them try to put it all together.

 

Murder she wrote it ain't, but very satisfying when they solved it...

[Eclectic Wave]

Right now I'm trying to convert a Tabletop minatures game into a RPG FH game. "Wargods of Aegyptus" a game of Mythic Egypt, with a dozen different races, and a very odd hero/super hero setup. Certain great leaders get "imbued" with ka of thier god, giving them extrodinary powers (Including becoming a scorpian creature like the Scorpian King in Mummy II)

 

http://www.crocodilegames.com/

 

If I ever get the conversion done, I'll post about it.

[Guest zarglif69]

We run a hack 'n slash gaem, and it si teh besterest!!!1 We kills teh monsters and we steals teh treasures. I liek it a lot!!!!!!#$

[Sketchpad]

I'm a big fan of epic fantasy ... I just started convertin my 3.Xe campaign over to Hero after the players have taken down an evil overlord and stopped a war on behalf of their patron (who happens to be a King) ... good time for all ... but now there are new evils lurking in the dark

[Guest joen00b]

I tend to run Epic Fantasy, with low magic at first, slowly ramping it up to true epic proportions.

 

The campaigns tend to be smaller inset stories aiming towards the main goal. It allows for plenty of distraction from the main plot, allows them to grow in power while getting the feeling of accomplishment (as I do tend to torture my players now and again).

 

I try to make my players hate the antagonists, while keeping the game flowing.