Your "Pleasantly Surprised" Experiences (Anti-Heartbreakers)

[Retreater]

So we've had a lengthy thread recently of games with high expectations, so how about a more positive spin?

Tell us about a campaign you didn't expect was going to last that was a great time. Or about a system that ended up surpassing your expectations.

I'll start by telling you about a group of my friend's co-workers who wanted to see what D&D was about. They invited me to run a one shot two years ago. They completely got into the hobby. They are regular, consistent players every week, have learned to DM games on their own for their friends and families, started painting and collecting miniatures. In short, they've become the ideal group.

For systems, I never thought I'd get into Call of Cthulhu, but I ended up running a campaign that lasted half a year and players still ask when can we take a break from D&D to play it again.

 

[darjr]

FreeRPGDay 2018. I was at the store and just finished a game. The next DM was running late so I grabbed a jenga tower and told everyone I was going to tell a story starting in the store and you’re all characters in it. Wanna play? Wanna have actions that change things? Gotta pull a block. But fair warning if you crash the tower you’re gonna die.

it was super fun and involved zombies and aliens and when it was time for the next game people wanted me to continue.

I need to do that again.

 

[aco175]

A recent one was when we first played 5e with LMoP box set. We wanted to play with the rules and learn 5e before we changed any of it and ended up playing those PCs until 14th level with several more homebrew adventures after the box set.

 

[Marc_C]

I didn't think my Coriolis the Third Horizon campaign would last very long having D&D players. Turns out they liked the system, the story and we played a complete mini-campaign of ten games. That is far more than I was ever able to play with Star Frontiers, Traveller and Star Wars. Usually players want to go back to D&D after 2-3 games of sci-fi.

I'm currently hoping to run my longest running sci-fi campaign using The Expanse RPG. So far we played 2 sessions. The complete campaign, of 6 adventures, should last 12 to 18 sessions.

 

[kenada]

I’m surprised we finished Masks of Nyarlathotep. We’ve done other Call of Cthulhu stuff, but this was a full campaign rather than a short story. We had several characters die, but we made it to the end (more or less). However, I’m not sure I’d want to do it again. Campaign play feels at odds with the system, and my group is so risk averse that sessions could be tedious at times.

 

[Arilyn]

13th Age
First heard about it: not sure...
Read it: Looks good but I have reservations...
Played it: Found a new favourite!!

 

[CleverNickName]

FreeRPGDay 2018. I was at the store and just finished a game. The next DM was running late so I grabbed a jenga tower and told everyone I was going to tell a story starting in the store and you’re all characters in it. Wanna play? Wanna have actions that change things? Gotta pull a block. But fair warning if you crash the tower you’re gonna die.

it was super fun and involved zombies and aliens and when it was time for the next game people wanted me to continue.

I need to do that again.

Man, I love playing Dread. The "tower" mechanic is absolutely brilliant--I've found no better way to build tension (literally!) at the table.

 

[MGibster]

I thought a game setting where undead gunslingers, mad scientists, and gambling wizards prowling the American old west sounded interesting. But when I picked up Deadlands way back in 1996 I just didn't expect it to make my list of the top 5 games of the decade.

 

[payn]

Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC). I didnt think taking a look back would be so fun. I dont want to do long campaigns of it, but short bursts are a riot.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I had a few friends at work (fellow Elementary School teachers) who were interested in learning how to play D&D, so I set up a one-night game. I expected 4 players, max.

The day of, I got a call that three more people wanted to join. I thought, "Seven people is a lot, but okay!"

Then an hour before the game, two more wanted to join in! I was having a mild panic attack, but I said sure thing and let them in.

I pre-made character sheets, set out miniatures, and of course I had the game start in a tavern. One of the players brought wine, and everyone had a full glass. So I decided in the moment to make the tavern famous for its good wine. The game started with the tavern-keeper giving a toast to local adventurers, and as I described him raising his glass, all the players raised their glasses and gave a cheer!

The rest of the game was like that- super fun, everyone was into it, no one cared about the rules too much, and we all had an amazing time. And it's funny how people fell into stereotypical game roles quickly. One player got really into her character's backstory. Another was silent the whole time except for rolling dice. One guy played a Lizardfolk Barbarian named "Big Daddy."

Honestly it wound up being one of the most fun D&D games I've ever run!