In a previous article, I discussed running long term campaigns. A lot of interesting discussion was generated. What I want to focus on in this article is what got me started in running a long term campaign: the willingness to finish existing campaigns.
I used to suffer from what one of my players called shiny object syndrome. The new RPG hotness would come out and I’d want to stop a campaign, sometimes right in the middle of an adventure, and start this new thing.
This annoys players. They work hard on developing their player character. I’ve also found that many players want to spend way less on RPGs than most GMs. A new RPG costs money and takes shelf or pixel space. And it is hard to continue to hone your skills as a GM if you constantly derail your own work.
My first step, and this works for me but not for everyone, was to start freelance writing about RPGs and for RPGs. Now I write about the new interesting RPG and occasionally create something for RPGs. This allows me to exercise my creativity without putting undue stress on my fellow gamers.
However, I finished the arc. I didn’t get distracted or give up. I had a rough plan ahead of time and had options to work in whatever schemes the players came up with.
There are other complexities I don’t have time to cover here. There is player turnover which I may cover in another article. There is the skill of having GM generated content to keep things going but being willing and able to combine that with PC driven adventures. Having a set game night and sticking to it. And more. I’d love to hear your experiences and some of the things you’d like to talk about when running campaigns as a GM.
I used to suffer from what one of my players called shiny object syndrome. The new RPG hotness would come out and I’d want to stop a campaign, sometimes right in the middle of an adventure, and start this new thing.
This annoys players. They work hard on developing their player character. I’ve also found that many players want to spend way less on RPGs than most GMs. A new RPG costs money and takes shelf or pixel space. And it is hard to continue to hone your skills as a GM if you constantly derail your own work.
First Step: Find Something Besides Shiny Objects
If you tend to bounce from RPG to RPG I’d advise spending that energy on another hobby that interests you. For me this turned out to be writing.My first step, and this works for me but not for everyone, was to start freelance writing about RPGs and for RPGs. Now I write about the new interesting RPG and occasionally create something for RPGs. This allows me to exercise my creativity without putting undue stress on my fellow gamers.
Second Step: Keep a Small Commitment
When I ran Age of Sigmar - Soulbound, I committed to a campaign focused on the city of Brightspear. I explained that the campaign might expand to another city after the campaign ended, but I was only committing to this first arc. We played that campaign and I found what I was looking for just in that first arc and wrapped the campaign after finishing the arc.However, I finished the arc. I didn’t get distracted or give up. I had a rough plan ahead of time and had options to work in whatever schemes the players came up with.
Third Step: Keep Another Small Commitment
Next up was our Alien campaign. This one was complex, with agree upon options for betrayal by fellow PCs being a real possibility. Again I mentioned that we’d play one arc with others being an option. Keeping this one going was easy and fun sometimes and a bit grueling at other times due to everything going on. But I was committed and I stuck with it. In this case, we finished with a terrible battle against inhuman opponents and with a PC betrayal. It was intense and the majority of the group wanted a break. We might come back for a second arc at some point however.Fourth Step: More Commitment and Try a Second Arc
After that was our current The One Ring campaign. I knew right away this one was different and special. The inclusion of landmarks, small self-contained mini-locations, allowed me to run a variety of encounters in one geographic area. Once we finished exploring Lake Evendim, I had the idea of running a full-fledged adventure which involved a type of travel to the First Age. And the second arc was kicked off. This arc is all about the three wizards in western Middle-earth. And I already know of a third and fourth arc that could possibly follow.Ongoing Steps: Keep Going and Finish Campaigns
If you can force yourself to break the cycle of stopping a campaign only to start up a new one, you can keep this momentum going. Start small, with an arc of only six adventures even. But finish it and let the players tie up the loose ends for their characters.There are other complexities I don’t have time to cover here. There is player turnover which I may cover in another article. There is the skill of having GM generated content to keep things going but being willing and able to combine that with PC driven adventures. Having a set game night and sticking to it. And more. I’d love to hear your experiences and some of the things you’d like to talk about when running campaigns as a GM.
