D&D General 40 Year D&D Campaign

[GMforPowergamers]

I'd be the guy moving minis around to screw with him while he's up getting more, swapping out the Orc Lord with Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.​

we had a running joke for years when an ocd DM with tons of minis would go to the bath room we would make slight changes (sometimes same place but turn mini other way around, sometimes swap 1PC mini for a diffrent mini but it be the same character) and every once in a while someone would do something big (like replace an orc with a half giant) and he would flip... he knew it was in good fun but in the moment he would get so frazzeld.... the best times were the few times we did nothing... I think those time messed with him the most thinking he couldn't find teh change.

 

[R_J_K75]

we had a running joke for years when an ocd DM with tons of minis would go to the bath room we would make slight changes (sometimes same place but turn mini other way around, sometimes swap 1PC mini for a diffrent mini but it be the same character) and every once in a while someone would do something big (like replace an orc with a half giant) and he would flip... he knew it was in good fun but in the moment he would get so frazzeld.... the best times were the few times we did nothing... I think those time messed with him the most thinking he couldn't find teh change.

Thats great. I know ppl like this so I can picture it.

 

[el-remmen]

As someone who likes to use scatter terrain, pre-draw maps, and likes terrain set-ups (but nothing close to the guy in the video and no dwarven forge stuff), I try my best to have it set-up before the players arrive (sometimes setting up the night before) - sometimes this requires getting the PCs to a place at the end of the previous session where they have made a major decision about where to go/what to do, which lets me predict what I will need to have ready.

 

[R_J_K75]

As someone who likes to use scatter terrain, pre-draw maps, and likes terrain set-ups (but nothing close to the guy in the video and no dwarven forge stuff), I try my best to have it set-up before the players arrive (sometimes setting up the night before) - sometimes this requires getting the PCs to a place at the end of the previous session where they have made a major decision about where to go/what to do, which lets me predict what I will need to have ready.

I think this guy probably does this to an extent too but because his game seems to rely so heavily on minis that he can probably tear down and set up a new scenario rather quickly.

EDIT: Like a Nascar pit crew.

 

[R_J_K75]

Anyone else notice the guy in the room in the background on the computer? I wonder if he's the next player/PC up when someone bites the dust. Almost seemed like an understudy or he was auditing THE GAME 101 class.

I'm just speculating from the 30-minute video I watched but "THE DM" seems as though his style hasn't evolved much passed 2E. There's lots of bookkeeping, lots of detail and not much ad-libbing. His players seem to be reacting to his world and story more than them building it interactively. It makes me realize how much the game has changed since then, how it's effected my DMing, and some of the things I miss and hate about that style of game. I don't watch online play or get involved in the OSR v. modern game debates so it's interesting to see. For me it's time and ambition, I don't have either for that style of play anymore.

 

[Kannik]

You can find streams of his game on Youtube, for anyone interested (this is the intro I saw at least 2 more to complete this session):

Cool, I'll have to give this a glance later! The Wired piece might well have been edited to make it more "sensationalist" and make him seem more "extreme" than is actually the case, (such as the character death stuff; I'd bet it isn't a case of kicking the player out completely without remorse nor exception) so it'll be good to see how things actually run/transpire.

 

[Mort]

Anyone else notice the guy in the room in the background on the computer? I wonder if he's the next player/PC up when someone bites the dust. Almost seemed like an understudy or he was auditing THE GAME 101 class.

I'm just speculating from the 30-minute video I watched but "THE DM" seems as though his style hasn't evolved much passed 2E. There's lots of bookkeeping, lots of detail and not much ad-libbing. His players seem to be reacting to his world and story more than them building it interactively. It makes me realize how much the game has changed since then, how it's effected my DMing, and some of the things I miss and hate about that style of game. I don't watch online play or get involved in the OSR v. modern game debates so it's interesting to see. For me it's time and ambition, I don't have either for that style of play anymore.

To be fair, He says the world has expanded dramatically, with the original "world" just a small northern kingdom in a much bigger realm. No Idea if he built it out or if the players organically pushed forward and now it's huge.

And I mean, whether it's your style or not (watching it, I'm not sure it would actually be a fit for me!) It's cool to see a guy who's found such a passion in life and people to share it with.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Same. And I think that ending a campaign, reflecting on what went well, what didn't, then bringing those improvements to the next one, is an important part of growth as a gamer.

When I think about the campaign I was running at that age, it was a hodge-podge of stuff cobbled together, most of it in the Tolkienistic-mode. When I think about my characters, they were one-note heroes and villains, with little in the way of depth and complexity. I'm trying to imagine still playing my namesake of Ralif Redhammer today. And all the characters that I wouldn't have gotten to had I done so.

Man, as impressive a feat as this is, I couldn't do 40 years of running the same campaign. That's just too much, whether as a player or as a DM. I'd want new things eventually.

 

[R_J_K75]

To be fair, He says the world has expanded dramatically, with the original "world" just a small northern kingdom in a much bigger realm. No Idea if he built it out or if the players organically pushed forward and now it's huge.

Oh yeah he did say the world expanded. Theres no way for me to say for certain from watching 40 minutes of a 40 year game but my impression is that the players and THE DM did this on a macro scale over years rather than a micro scale from encounter to encounter and game to game. And I'd bet this 40 year game is many smaller campaigns stiched together.

And I mean, whether it's your style or not (watching it, I'm not sure it would actually be a fit for me!) It's cool to see a guy who's found such a passion in life and people to share it with.

For sure. Im sure his notes are meticulous, filed pristinely and fill volumes.

 

[Mort]

One thing I wish the interviewer had asked him: Did he used to play in a game as well and/or does he play now?

From the video it seems like he started running, never stopped and has no time to actually be in another game.

I've found DMs who never play (or worse have NEVER played) lack a vital perspective to their game!