D&D 5E As a Player, what would be your Ideal Campaign?

[pogre]

You are a player looking for a new game. You have just moved to a new city, so none of your gaming friends are available. If you could pick the ideal campaign, as a player, what would it be? What are the important elements that a campaign would need to have to keep you going back week after week?

• How important is the setting?
• How important is the theme or tone of the game?
• What character options have to be there?
• Which ones have to be removed/avoided?
• What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?
• Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?

I like traditional settings, but I can adjust. I would prefer a homebrew setting with lots of elements and open plot hooks built in.

I would like a more serious, immersive tone in the game. Does not mean there cannot be humor, but I would not want a goofy game long term.

I require no character options - ban or remove whatever you want. I'm particularly pleased if this is done to fit the campaign's backstory. However, banning just because you hate a character class or certain rules is ok with me too.

That's the DM's call - I don't care which classes are banned. I would prefer if the race choices were fairly classic D&D, but I can adjust.

House rules are ok. I want the GM to show some flexibility if a houserule is interfering with the flow of the game.

There are no optional rules I refuse to play with - again some GM flexibility would be nice.

Overall, I am not that picky. My ideal game as a player would have a D.M. that is really excited about his campaign and setting and is fully prepared for each session.

 

[Hussar]

You are a player looking for a new game. You have just moved to a new city, so none of your gaming friends are available. If you could pick the ideal campaign, as a player, what would it be? What are the important elements that a campaign would need to have to keep you going back week after week?

• How important is the setting?
• How important is the theme or tone of the game?
• What character options have to be there?
• Which ones have to be removed/avoided?
• What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?
• Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?

>>>To keep this from devolving into an edition war, let's assume we are talking about a 5e D&D campaign.<<<

• Not terribly important. There's a setting or two that I don't want to play in, but, by and large, not a big issue.
• At the moment, I'd prefer a more serious tone game that doesn't devolve into slapstick. Again, pretty low bar. Avoid the joke characters and I'm content.
• Have to be? Nothing comes to mind. I'd prefer more to less but, I'm willing to talk.
• Have to be removed? Again nothing comes to mind.
• GM variant rules? I like games with the morale rule I suppose, but, I'm not married to the idea.
• Variant I refuse? Again, nothing comes to mind. I'm pretty easy going.

I think the number one, most important element for me would be pacing and having a resolution in mind. I LOATHE games that peter out and die before a conclusion. I just played through a three year (one of the longest campaigns I've ever played in) Dark Sun Campaign that went pear shaped due to real life issues and, from all signs, is never coming back. What a complete waste of time. Sure it was fun, but, without a resolution, it will never feel like it was time well spent to me.

So, yeah, for me, I want to know that the DM has built in ejection points all the way along in order to wrap up the campaign if real life steps in. I will be truly pissed if our current Dragonlance campaign stutters and fails.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I want "between adventures" to be a thing. I guess that means I want an episodic game. Probably some rules for time spent training. I just really want to focus on who I am as a character, without having to think about who I might be in a few more sessions.

And no gnomes.

 

[Sunseeker]

[*]How important is the setting?

Moderately. If you mean how important is it to be an established setting, not important at all. If you mean "how important is the style or type or setting" well, rather important as certain settings have more interest to me than others. I guess I'm almost a person of extremes, as I like either very high magic settings or very low magic settings. Things in the middle just scream "meh" to me. It either lacks the reality-bending excitement of high-magic or the constant feeling of danger of low-magic.

[*]How important is the theme or tone of the game?

I think a good game can have many different tones at different points within the game. I guess I want a game that takes itsself seriously when it needs to and allows for a good drink and a good laugh at other times. I don't like games that laugh at stuff that should be serious. Maybe I'm just somber today 'cause I had to kill my party member.

[*]What character options have to be there?

MANY! But it doesn't have to be the ones from the book. Diversity of options can be well-represented within a single race if the DM is willing to take the effort to do so. Even if the only choices were to play human fighters, there's still good room for diversity there and when a DM severely limits RAW options, they should take the time to diversify what they do offer.

[*]Which ones have to be removed/avoided?

If it doesn't fit the setting, get rid of it! Otherwise if there's no sound argument to restrict it within the game/world, it should be allowed. The DM reserves the right to say "NO" of course, but I think the DM should be required to have a sound reasoning behind it other than "i don't like it!". That kind of attitude is one I don't play with.

[*]What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?

Whatever rules fit the setting of course! I don't believe there are any "mandatory" house rules at this point in the edition. Nothing is so terribly broken that it needs fixing at every table.

[*]Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?

I don't think I've run or played in a game that had consistent house rules for anything and I can;t say there's anything I don't like except, as above, DM decisions made on nothing more than "I don't like it!"

If you don't like it, do what I did: build your own setting where the things you don't like don't exist. Boom! Problem solved.

 

[Kikuras]

You are a player looking for a new game. You have just moved to a new city, so none of your gaming friends are available. If you could pick the ideal campaign, as a player, what would it be? What are the important elements that a campaign would need to have to keep you going back week after week?

• How important is the setting?
• How important is the theme or tone of the game?
• What character options have to be there?
• Which ones have to be removed/avoided?
• What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?
• Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?

I think this is a fun thought exercise.

-I'm a sucker for a home-made setting, even if I didn't make it. My own homebrew world is very precious to me (gnomes are a slave race), and I enjoy it when others can share their creativity.

-I generally enjoy a serious theme in game, and prefer the funny happen in the metaverse. As for themes, I'm okay with the standard medieval/fantasy thing, but if someone were to present a specific style of accomplishing that, I'm all for it. For a short time I ran an all-evil campaign which the players really enjoyed. One of the most interesting theme-ish campaigns I participated in was one where I was both a player (non-player?) and an assistant DM. I helped the DM develop the story behind the scenes, took some of the secretarial work off his plate, and I helped guide that party (mostly all novices or totally new) if they floundered.. it was fun, though didn't last very long.

-Though I tend to despise certain options, and might even mock people for using them (behind their backs, I'm not rude), I feel it's important to allow as many options as possible, so long as the setting and theme allow. I'm joining a group who want to play a Conan themed game using 5e, and the DM has started pulling a lot of player options off the board to match it.

-I like most variant rules to at least be an option, and I like houserules to be logical within the game, or at least the setting. I also like to be aware of when the DM makes major deviations from the rules (as some people may already know).

 

[Shiroiken]

How important is the setting?
Important. The setting is the backdrop for everything that happens. I like to interact with the world as a player, and so the more detailed the setting, the better. Some settings do not appeal to me (Dark Sun, Ebberon, etc.), but I'd be willing to play them if they are at least detailed out by the DM.

How important is the theme or tone of the game?
Very important. I might enjoy a hack-n-slash game for a little while, but I couldn't stay with it week after week. I need the DM to bring the world to life, and the theme and tone are crucial to that. I've played in a non-horror Ravenloft game before, and because I felt the DM didn't play to the settings strengths it just wasn't any fun.

What character options have to be there?
I can work with pretty much anything.

Which ones have to be removed/avoided?
While there are things I don't like, for the most part I can work with anything on this front.

What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?
I will not play a game by RAW. I know this isn't what was meant, but this is the best spot to put it. I don't NEED optional rules or houserules, but anyone who's a stickler for RAW won't DM for me (at least not for very long).

Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?
Flanking is the only one that just comes out really bad, and would not want to play in such a game. I'm not a fan of a lot of the gamist options, such as Action/Hero Points, but I would be willing to give them a try.

 

[iserith]

How important is the setting?

Very, but my requirements are easy to meet: It has to support sword-and-sorcery storytelling and be filled with the opportunity for our brave adventurers to confront deadly perils.

How important is the theme or tone of the game?

Very, but again, I'm easy. My main concern is that everyone at the table come to a consensus on it and agree to maintain consistency with regard to it. If we agree to play a game like Conan or Indiana Jones or Game of Thrones, I want everyone to say what they think that means so we're all on the same page.

What character options have to be there?
Which ones have to be removed/avoided?
What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?
Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?

I'm not too picky here. I wouldn't prefer to have a lot of fiddly bits or take up any healing variants that treat hit points as meat. I wouldn't want a lot of extra dice-rolling for very little gain either.

 

[GameOgre]

How important is the setting? Not at all, as long as it's fun.

How important is the theme or tone of the game? Very but I think we as players need to set it. I really hate railroad as a player. I want to do whatever we as players decide to do and not follow some preset notion of what we should be doing. This means I dislike most adventure paths and long 1-20 adventures. Give me freedom to really role play and not be a character in your story but instead for us to make our own story.

What character options have to be there? Doesn't matter. Halfling a class? I'm ok with that. Half-Dragon Paladin/Sorcerer a option? I'm good with it. Whatever, I will find something to get into.

Which ones have to be removed/avoided? Doesn't matter.


What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with? I'm willing to give anything a shot for a few games, but after we all vote yes or no.


Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with? Those that hurt gameplay. Anything else is good to go.

 

[Herr der Qual]

• How important is the setting?

The setting is definitely preferred to be a homebrew in an expansive world with lots of flavor, a good mix of city adventures with careful planning and negotiation, wide open plains where there's no where to hide from a nasty enemy, woods, mountains, underground, would love to play a game with an underdark mission.

• How important is the theme or tone of the game?

Theme isn't very important, as theme can change throughout the campaign. Even if it is a steady theme, I don't find it that important.

• What character options have to be there?

Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, and Half-Elf for races, all classes available, must be able to roll my stats, must be able to roll my hit points.

• Which ones have to be removed/avoided?

None.

• What optional, variant, or house rules does the GM have to play with?

None.

• Which variant or optional rules will you refuse to play with?

None that I know of.

 

[Thyrwyn]

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses.

I think this is a fun thought exercise.

That was my thought, as well. I've been going through a couple of my home-brew settings and revising them for 5e. Both of them were created to (more easily) allow certain types of adventure/story experiences that I thought were missing in the useable/easily convertable settings available.

It got me thinking about what I look for as player and as DM in the games I play, and I was curious what other players were looking for as well.

As a player, WHICH setting is not as important as HOW the setting helps the story or the game.
Theme and tone work the same way - what about the way they are presented and used helps inform the story. I can't play silly long term, but a silly adventure can be a fun break in a gritty or more traditional campaign.

I agree with those who have said that as long as character options are chosen to reinforce the setting/story/theme, then I can find a way to enjoy the game. I much prefer feats be used, but am ambivalent about multi-classing.

The same goes for optional and variant rules - as long as I can buy into (or at least get past) the reason for their use. I hate the flanking rule (too easy to get, too much gain)