Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Winter Fantasy 2016 and D&D AL
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Alphastream" data-source="post: 6822357" data-attributes="member: 11365"><p>There have been an incredible number of interactive events over the past 16+ years of organized play, with many takes on how to provide rewards. I haven't really seen one that makes everyone happy. I can go into some examples if it is helpful, but I think campaigns have to just vary what they offer each time. Sometimes it might be a list (which won't be perfect), sometimes story awards, sometimes just a few items, etc. </p><p></p><p>Challenge level is similar. When campaigns have tried to escalate challenge and keep up with strong tables, they still fall short. Worse, they create an arms race. And, consistently, the strongest tables cry foul when they get TPKed. An arms race is very hurtful to a campaign, turning new players away. New players are the lifeline of any campaign and as vital as the dedicated players who help bring them in. My recommendation to any author is this: don't ever compete with strong tables and never try to design for the current metagame. Write for the story. Write evocative material. The vast majority of players will respond to that, and so will the DMs running the event. If as a player you want a challenge (I do), talk to your DM and request that. Give them the free reign to create the challenge that will surprise you - but be fair and understanding if they go too far. When we go outside of the game's expected balance, strange things can happen. And, if the DM isn't comfortable with that, provide the challenge yourself - hold back on the insta-win stuff. We don't have to counterspell every strong spell. We can save it for the crucial moment when the fight is headed south. It isn't realistic to expect any RPG to provide a perfect challenge for our group when we are riding the metagame's wave.</p><p></p><p>(I'm not an admin, though I've written a few interactive events. I was a player for this one.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alphastream, post: 6822357, member: 11365"] There have been an incredible number of interactive events over the past 16+ years of organized play, with many takes on how to provide rewards. I haven't really seen one that makes everyone happy. I can go into some examples if it is helpful, but I think campaigns have to just vary what they offer each time. Sometimes it might be a list (which won't be perfect), sometimes story awards, sometimes just a few items, etc. Challenge level is similar. When campaigns have tried to escalate challenge and keep up with strong tables, they still fall short. Worse, they create an arms race. And, consistently, the strongest tables cry foul when they get TPKed. An arms race is very hurtful to a campaign, turning new players away. New players are the lifeline of any campaign and as vital as the dedicated players who help bring them in. My recommendation to any author is this: don't ever compete with strong tables and never try to design for the current metagame. Write for the story. Write evocative material. The vast majority of players will respond to that, and so will the DMs running the event. If as a player you want a challenge (I do), talk to your DM and request that. Give them the free reign to create the challenge that will surprise you - but be fair and understanding if they go too far. When we go outside of the game's expected balance, strange things can happen. And, if the DM isn't comfortable with that, provide the challenge yourself - hold back on the insta-win stuff. We don't have to counterspell every strong spell. We can save it for the crucial moment when the fight is headed south. It isn't realistic to expect any RPG to provide a perfect challenge for our group when we are riding the metagame's wave. (I'm not an admin, though I've written a few interactive events. I was a player for this one.) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Winter Fantasy 2016 and D&D AL
Top