CHALLENGE: Campaigns that NOBODY would want to play in

ModernApathy said:

Campaigns I would pass on:
The world has been overrun by gelatinous cubes, your party is what's left of humanity as it rises up against the jelly masters.

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Well, that's kind of the premise of one location in Lost Laboratory of Kwalish, though one session is not a campaign. I agree, an entire campaign of this would get old fast. Hard to make that awesome. Though, could other beasts survive. Are their spirits and undeed to interact with? Can you bring back any of the dead as you clear areas? Would the jellies and other monsters have evolved in this world?

MNblockhead said:

Like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGVC6-Bohqk

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Yep!

A campaign nobody would want to play in (at least after the first session):

The PCs, via a hard railroad, meet in a tavern. They remain in that tavern, because no matter what they do they can only go to a) the kitchen, b) the washroom, and c) three guest rooms upstairs. That is the extent of their available world, and they cannot leave it by any means. The only NPCs they can interact with are a) the barkeep (a dull and bitter man), b) the cook and assistant in the kitchen (the cook is fussy to a fault, the assistant is dumb as a post), c) two other customers in the tavern who are simple common farmers with nothing of interest to say, and c) the upstairs valet, who is mute. The entirety of the treasure in this building consists of 15 s.p. 8 c.p. in the bar till and about the same again divided between the occupants and some forgotten corners of the rooms upstairs, plus whatever the PCs have of their own. Looking out the windows shows an endless prairie of wheat fields in all directions except a rough cart track leaving to the north, all suitably narrated to reflect the time of year.

How to (maybe?) make it awesome:

The tavern building is mobile - it can 'walk', it can fly, it can go underwater or travel through interstellar space, etc., and it can communicate externally as directed, but it can't in any way think for itself - but the PCs have to figure this all out. After that the goal of the PCs is not to themselves adventure but to a) learn how to guide/steer/operate the building, b) to teach the building how to do certain things e.g. fight for itself, conceal itself, etc., and then c) to use their collective skills and abilities to guide it through a series of adventures and-or to a series of interesting places. Their means of interacting with said adventures and places is the building: the PCs tell it what to do and-or 'say' and it does so.

Lanefan

A retelling of the Black Plague. Only races are humans and halflings (reskinned as human children). Only classes allowed are fighter and rogue. There are no monsters. Just saves vs. disease.

The setting I've had a hard time selling is one set in a low fantasy equivalent of the United States during the time of the War of 1812 with border skirmishes on the frontier as the might of the empire is crushing from the east. Long rifles and canons, Napoleonic sea combat, westward expansion, river pirates.

Retreater said:

The setting I've had a hard time selling is one set in a low fantasy equivalent of the United States during the time of the War of 1812 with border skirmishes on the frontier as the might of the empire is crushing from the east. Long rifles and canons, Napoleonic sea combat, westward expansion, river pirates.

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That sounds awesome

Here's a serious entry - I'd run this but I don't think I'd find players for it.

All of the characters start as accomplished and celebrated heroes well past their prime called upon to save the world one last time. Due to whatever McGuffin, they are the ones who need to do it, perhaps blessed by a goddess for saving the world decades ago which grants them some ability to handle this that others lack.

The campaign takes places over a span of years, and as it progresses the characters descend into into various states of physical and mental infirmity, represented by un-levelling. So as they get closer to the true cause of the issues they struggle more and more and must utilize indirect strategies and save themselves for the few things they must go through - at great cost to themselves.

Would likely use a DMG variant for less frequent rests so the feel for less resources over time would be felt. Players would build out their characters level by level at the start, and as time advanced would be given the previous level's sheet. Characters of extremely long-lived races may have other issue pitched to the DM to account for the infirmity.

Another serious entry. I always loved the concept behind the comic series Strike Force Morituri, where the Earth has been successfully invaded and human found a way to create supers BUT the process will kill them within a year.

I don't remember if this is part of the story or a twist I thought of, but I'd do it so that character advancement speed is at least partially up to the PCs, but when they get too far beyond the "safe" advancement level they'd explode. Also, every encounter would be stacked against the group even if the characters are taking advancement at a moderately unsafe rate, and characters could have "breakthroughs" on the field of battle.

The idea si that in order to fight, you needed to power up fast, but powering up too fast will definitely kill you. So do you go out in a blaze of glory, comign in with weaker starting heroes just under the process at a time when more powerful are needed, or do you temper how fast you grow, but constantly be outgunned?

When I originally thought of this I kept in in Champions (Hero System now). Mechanically I'd do something like 250 point starting characters (I think these numbers may be different in the current 6th ed, that was a standard level back in the Big Blue Book days), and you'd explode at the hidden limit of 300 points. Between each session I'd tell each player to advance their character by 4-10 XP (individual player choice how much), but advance the explode limit by how much they would have earned in a normal session, usually 1-3 XP. Also thought about putting in a bit of a randomizer - hitting the explode limit you roll 3d6 and if it's less then the amount you are over you go boom. Plus breakthroughs during play which could add more XP.

(This whole concept can also work in other genres and other systems. I had a really juicy high fantasy concept a while ago I didn't write down and then forgot. Still kicking myself.)

I don't think people would play this because we're talking guaranteed character death, likely more than once each over the course of the campaign. Plus there would be fights you'd lose to high cost to humanity (but likely not death, it was a superhero game) if some on your team weren't reckless in powering up.

A game in which the characters gain XP from playing a game in which the characters gain XP from playing a game in which the characters gain XP from playing a game ....

All PCs are required to play as my homebrewed race, the Potato-Kin…