Comments on: Ask The GMs: In it for the long haul

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By: Johnn

Johnn — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:25:03 +0000

@Zzarchov – the level prerequisites systems sounds neat. Do you have it written up anywhere?

@Geo – the blended character parties at higher levels is a cool idea. Didn’t your players insist on continuing with their existing, exciting characters though? Or were they ok with making new PCs every few months? I think my players would revolt – they like to play one PC until he’s dead or king. :)

@Loz: “Hidden truths are the secret to a long campaign.” – Nice quote!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:30:00 +0000

@Robert – you might be surprised. You can start something as a fill-in and have it go for years. But you’re right – most of this will scale down to a smaller campaign.

@everyone else – thanks for your contributions, they are all excellent points.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:47:23 +0000

Sweet, that’s all some great advice there! I don’t think I will actually run a game that long, but since games that last that long are obviously doing something right, I figure I can implement many of these ideas into a normal, 5 year campaign.

By: Loz

Loz — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:23:33 +0000

Hidden truths are the secret to a long campaign.
A Champions RPG-based superhero campaign of mine lasted ten years. PCs came and went, sometimes killed off, but mostly because the players adopted a “multiple PCs per player” approach that allowed them to spread out the xps (i.e. slow levelling-up) and vary the gaming experience, changing characters as a new concept appealed and leaving ready-made characters available for new players.
N.B. There where only three levels of power available to players “Starter hero”, “Veteran”, “Powerful”, with *hard* initiation solo scenarios required to pass to the next level after approximately 15, 30 and 50 scenarios respectively (after those levels came “Demi-God”, “God” and “Pantheon head”… NOT available to players : only one character even came close to level IV “Demi-God”… and the player was afraid to even try the initiation solo!).
Criminal organisations were a must (allowing individual villains to be defeated yet have some support/help) came (and went…). Hidden truths about the sources of powers in the game (and NPC motivations, and PC famillies, organisationfounders and true objectives….) became the basis for sub-campaigns and megaplots.
Each organisation had its own projects and if the players let them advance too far… then the projects came to fruition and became that much harder to stop/undo.
Also I sometimes challenged assumptions and changed supposedly stable elements. Example : During a fight defending their U.N.-sponsors chiefs Manor, the team strongman rolled a critical on his “ground-shockwave attack”, pulverising the ennemies … and the manor! Unknown to them the Organisation chief was a power-hungry manipulator already unhappy with their success… Two sub-campaigns later the players were shocked to find themselves to be outlaws running for their lives from the NEW U.N.-sponsored super-teams (plural!)… and the full ponderous might of the U.N. propaganda/legal machine. Their support system turned against them… their backup super-gadgets (and ammo!) confiscated…. their families in prison….

By: Geo

Geo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:44:50 +0000

I have had a campaign running since the early part of this century.

I ran a series of smaller arcs, with characters typically leveling to 5. Then we would change characters and run another arc. These would typically last 6 months of weekly sessions.

After several of these, I ran a series of adventures with the characters starting about level 6 and going to about level 10. I would allow the players to bring in a charcter they had taken from level 1 to 5 if they wanted to.

Eventually, after several years, we took a group from level 10 up to level 20. That process took a couple of years to complete.

When 4E came out, we advanced the timeline and started with a new group some thousand years in the future. Their epic level characters helped forge the world that currently exists. After 15 months, we are currently mid paragon tier.

One thing to consider is that a fantasy world is a big place. Different areas could have different threats, which may not be known in other areas.

By: Zzarchov

Zzarchov — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:51:57 +0000

I run almost exclusively games of this nature and length. I can say this advice is all spot on. But there are a few things to help the campaign last.

1.) Choke points for personal power. I created a “keypoint” system where characters could only advance in 5 level increments until they achieved certain level of heroics (ie, you couldn’t top level 10 till you saved the world, level 15 until you changed the fate of gods, demonprinces or whole planes) etc (level 20 max). This allowed more lingering at different play levels (being a king at level 5 vs level 20 is a big playstyle change, at level 20 your kingdom only slows you down)

2.) SLOW DOWN

You don’t need to adventure constantly. Slow down, have turns pass as seasons. What are you doing during the winter? Earning some more trade income? Getting married? Building a tower?

Military campaigns can take years or decades to complete. Slow the pace to a realistic level. People don’t constantly jump from adventure to adventure and never slow down to rest.
Zzarchov´s last blog ..3d6 VS 1d20: This time it’s personal

By: In the long run… « Exceptional Success

In the long run… « Exceptional Success — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:52:14 +0000

[...] certain post over at Campaign Mastery elaborates on certain techniques that grant a campaign that necessary variation to keep it alive [...]