Your scenario style

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Your scenario style

 

I do major arcs, except for my sci-fi game, because I have no idea what the plot is for the campaign. I've tried running "shorter" games lately, since my epic fantasy campaign was scheduled for three years and is now grossly over-schedule. When it starts again (it's on hiatus) I'll probably try and wrap it up inside of a year. If it goes longer I may have to get out the whips.

[pendelfield]

Re: Your scenario style

 

Most of my games i've run lately are just small games lasting two or three sessions, I ran a fantasy campaign that lasted about 18 months and that was playing once a week. I think I got sorta burnt out by the end of that, thankfully currently my group has at least three GM's counting myself and we all are running in the same campaign world so its a lot easier not having to have something ready all the time.

[Just Joe]

Re: Your scenario style

 

In the past, I've tended to run serial campaigns with one long continuous "plotline" (I use the word loosely). In recent years, I have switched to adventures of around 3-5 sessions each, only loosely connected (the three I've run have had large overlap of players and PC's, but a few players have come, gone, or switched characters). My goal for my next campaign is to compromise: short-medium adventures, but with some ongoing "plotlines".

[Derek Hiemforth]

Re: Your scenario style

 

Do you play 1 shot scenarios' date=' multiple game stories, or major long term plots that take weeks or years to resolve?[/quote']Yes.

 

When I start a new game, I usually have an endpoint in mind for the game... a long-term over-arching plot, involving all of the PCs, whose resolution is also the resolution of the campaign. (This may be changed as the campaign evolves, and will almost certainly have to adapt to events that unfold, of course.) Every story in the campaign will contain something related to that uber-plot (even if the PCs don't realize it at the time). Some tidbit of information, some plot twist, some clue... something. Not necessarily every session will contain something that points to the uber-plot, but every story will.

 

Below the uber-plot are a number of sub-plots. There's at least one for each character, and there may be additional ones as well (for multiple characters, or the team as a whole, etc.). These are long-term plots that are sometimes the main focus of a story, and sometimes just lurking in the background. These are different from the uber-plot in that they don't necessarily involve all of the PCs, and the resolution of one of the sub-plots doesn't automatically resolve the campaign (though the resolution of some sub-plots might coincide with the resolution of the campaign). Almost every session will contain something that touches on at least one sub-plot (even if the PCs don't realize it at the time), and every story will contain something that touches on every sub-plot (again, even if the PCs don't realize it at the time).

 

Below that are the individual stories. Some of them will be integral to the direction of the campaign as a whole (directly related to the uber-plot or one or more sub-plots), while others will be more "stand-alone" (with strands from the sub-plots and uber-plot just woven in for continuity's sake). Individual stories usually span multiple game-sessions, but if a game session is long enough, some might fit in a single session.

[casualplayer]

Re: Your scenario style

 

I was going to say "Yes."

 

Ideally I try to match the structure to the genre. 4 color Heroes should have a 23 page comic feel, which I used to emulate by self-enforcing a time limit on the game session. 2 hours and end with a cliffhanger or denoument. Occasionally a giant-sized issue or annual that would run for 3+ hours. I would even run 4 issue mini-series, 4 sessions and that's it!

 

The current comic tendency to have 6 issue story arcs doesn't jibe with me because I really don't need the constraints of being collected in a trade paperback.

 

My fantasy games tend to emulate the "small beginnings-grand endings" style of Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance, etc. They tend to start in a hamlet and end in havok.

 

One shots are, IMHO, the only way to go with beer-and-pretzels RPGs like Paranoia or high mortality games like Call of Cthulhu. I used to run an annual CoC game every Halloween that was a lot of fun. The Vietnam Tunnel Rat one was kinda cool.

[zornwil]

Re: Your scenario style

 

X-Champions, my supers game, had a long multi-year (real time) story arc with several shorter arcs contained, side plots, and one-shots. It will continue that same way, with a new long multi-year one succeeding this one.

 

My semi-post-apocalyptic, semi-Western Dogs in the Vineyard game features several episodic efforts.

 

When I play it, the villains' game within X-Champs consits of all one-shots.

 

Similarly, the heroic-level weird occult game consists of intended one-shots (they can take 2 sessions).

 

And I host one-shot sessions in other systems, like we did a pick-up game of octaNe a couple months ago, and of course if I playtest a con game that's a one-shot, such as the Reservoir Dogs game done with the Mountain Witch system. And the hero/sitcom-level Marginally Powered games which are short one-shots.

[wlogue]

Re: Your scenario style

 

Serial.

I've only ever run FH. My campaign has run over several interrelated threads for over ten years. It's entirely serial. The actions taken; or not taken, in the game this week will have an effect next week.

I've had two players drop due to real life issues, and one drop due to a lack of interest in the game.

When possible, I alternate GM responsibilities with another (who runs WW or SR) every two weeks. I'm usually the one who can't game due to RL considerations. Despite the fact that I'm unable to attend about 12 of 52 possible gaming sessions, most of the players seem eager to have me GM.

I'd like to think it's because of my skill at being GM; but it probably has more to do with wanting something new after a few weeks of the other game.

My sole claim to fame is that my campaign is the only one to result in any romance between PCs or NPCs and result in ANY amount of Blue Booking between adventures.

[zornwil]

Re: Your scenario style

 

To me, I really enjoy a long-running serial approach as the players really get to make the strongest contributions to the plot and the world, and you see things come to life you never thought of.