Greetings all!
My, it has been a long time since I last posted, and unimaginably long since I started this whole blog. I feel somewhat down that I've neglected it so, but I feel in my absence I have grown as a games designer and as a Games Master... And I hope to return to the world of blogging about my exploits in these fields.
I can't much account for my absence. It began with things getting in the way, and continued with it being the furthest thought from my mind. But it ended as something else begins to draw to a close: my WFRP campaign.
I've been running my current Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition campaign for well over a year now, and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. My players have experienced necromancers, cultists of all shape and size, vampires, skaven, goblins, knightly sieges, infiltration, deceit, lies and now a daemonic possession... They have lost members and gained some, and have grown along the way to be a mighty band of adventurers all.
But, their tale must end. I am looking over my notes for the future, and it would seem they have left to them less than 15 sessions to go (and as we play weekly, less than 3 months). Things are drawing to a close, and we just had the end of one of our major story arcs 2 sessions past. Another may be culminating very soon as well...
This has gotten me in the mood for thinking about new campaigns, and I have begun planning my next big one - as most of the planning for the current campaign is done with, only minor tweaks as the players change things needed. What I've been thinking is the inverse of my WFRP campaign, in more ways than one.
My WFRP campaign - Shadows Within Shadows - fits to the following descriptors:
My, it has been a long time since I last posted, and unimaginably long since I started this whole blog. I feel somewhat down that I've neglected it so, but I feel in my absence I have grown as a games designer and as a Games Master... And I hope to return to the world of blogging about my exploits in these fields.
I can't much account for my absence. It began with things getting in the way, and continued with it being the furthest thought from my mind. But it ended as something else begins to draw to a close: my WFRP campaign.
I've been running my current Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition campaign for well over a year now, and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. My players have experienced necromancers, cultists of all shape and size, vampires, skaven, goblins, knightly sieges, infiltration, deceit, lies and now a daemonic possession... They have lost members and gained some, and have grown along the way to be a mighty band of adventurers all.
But, their tale must end. I am looking over my notes for the future, and it would seem they have left to them less than 15 sessions to go (and as we play weekly, less than 3 months). Things are drawing to a close, and we just had the end of one of our major story arcs 2 sessions past. Another may be culminating very soon as well...
This has gotten me in the mood for thinking about new campaigns, and I have begun planning my next big one - as most of the planning for the current campaign is done with, only minor tweaks as the players change things needed. What I've been thinking is the inverse of my WFRP campaign, in more ways than one.
My WFRP campaign - Shadows Within Shadows - fits to the following descriptors:
- It is contained within a single city, and very very location based.
- It is GM driven, with plots, stories and missions being given to the players.
- It is rather high fantasy (for WFRP, that is) and focuses on small folks dealing with massive problems.
- And it is very regimented in its movement - sessions are planned, played out, and ended according to a flow I (attempt to) plan.
So. What is the opposite of this?
- An open world, with no bounds, where the players can go anywhere they choose,
- That is completely player driven and organised, with situations instead of plots,
- Where in the players are powerful and influential individuals who deal with relatively mundane concerns - running an Empire, forging their fortunes, and directing the tides of war,
- And finally, were sessions are left up to the whims of the players, with those wanting to do something gathering together their fellows and forging into the unknown.
You know what this sounds like? This sounds a little like West Marches... Pure sandbox exploration fun!
And what's more? What could be the inverse of Warhammer Fantasy? Why, Warhammer 40k, of coarse.
Into the Expanse is coming...
Never stop rolling those bones, and enjoying the gaming life,
Ben Scerri.
And what's more? What could be the inverse of Warhammer Fantasy? Why, Warhammer 40k, of coarse.
Into the Expanse is coming...
Never stop rolling those bones, and enjoying the gaming life,
Ben Scerri.
:O
ReplyDeleteHello Ben.
I prefer the sound of your 'Shadows' campaign, but then you've probably got a group of vastly more experienced players that wouldn't find it difficult to develop narrative drives beyond the basic wants of their individual characters.
A 40K campaign should be awesome; it'll make setting cutlery on fire so much easier.
Good luck.
Hey Troy!
ReplyDeleteActually, my group isn't all that experienced, with the vast majority of them being new players under me (I think only 1 of them had done anything before WFRP, and there are 9 of them... Yeap, 9).
However, the campaign is already being run a little sandboxy with the players able to do basically whatever they want whenever they want, but being told "You really should deal with the giant Daemon chewing off your arm". It makes for a fun experience.
But, as this will be my first truly 'finished' campaign, I wanted to shift to something I've always wanted to do but never been able to do.
Hopefully Tzeentch and Ranald will smile on this, and I will indeed have good luck, thank you!