D&D General 40 Year D&D Campaign

[TwoSix]

I think you are correct, but that seems like a bit too much DM fiat for my taste.

I'd be curious of the player stats of his game as in how many people have come and gone over the years. I want to know rookie card stats, he did claim his game was the greatest on earth on earth.

That video said to me that the entire game is focused on DM fiat, and the players are tolerated simply to allow the work on the game to have an audience.

 

[R_J_K75]

That video said to me that the entire game is focused on DM fiat, and the players are tolerated simply to allow the work on the game to have an audience.

I must not have read between the lines enough or just entirely missed it.

 

[Oofta]

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.

I had the same question and pretty much the same response. Maybe people weren't comfortable in front of the camera but it was just kind of ... weird. So much boxed text all read in kind of a droning monotone instead of just presenting. Especially at the beginning, what 9 minutes it's mostly just the DM talking? Then there's the monster table which I'm sure is amazing for set pieces but I think I'd need opera glasses just to see the minis.

Primarily though, there just didn't seem to be a lot of interaction and it just didn't seem like anyone was having fun. But again, maybe they were just more reserved because it was being recorded. Maybe it's just a bad impression. The guy is obviously super-committed to making his world live and breath and I applaud that. The minis are cool, if not super-exceptional. But if this is what his games are like on a regular basis? Pass.

On the other hand if I were to record my own home game I'm sure some people would probably have the same reaction.

 

[Kannik]

FWIW, a few of the players commented on the Wired video to say how much they enjoy playing the game (and often themselves have been playing in the game for decades). I still need to watch the 'live play' vid, but any guesses (based on the Wired video) of whether this DM is or is not running roughshod over the players might be tempered by the knowledge that he at least has some equally dedicated players...

 

[Azzy]

I would have been bored (as either a player or a DM) of the same campaign within the first decade. Variety, spice, and all that.

 

[Mercurius]

Wow, everyone's a critic and has something to say about how this guy is doing it wrong. Sure, he's got his quirks--as do we all--but for me the overwhelming response is feeling awed at his dedication and clear love of the game. Everything else is secondary and inconsequential.

This also drives home the core idea of D&D--and RPGs in general--that each game/group/table/campaign can and should be different, and there's no one right way to do things. Obviously however he's doing things is working for him and those involved. Kudos to him.

 

[jgsugden]

My homebrew setting has been around for 40 years... but we've rebooted and evolved it three times now. And it has had a number of fallow years with little to no use. It has also experienced about 100 players (excluding one shotters).

Sticking with one campaign world - and rebooting it eventually to learn from your mistakes and adjust to modern sensibilities - gives you, as a DM, a lot of tools when running games.

 

[jgsugden]

I would have been bored (as either a player or a DM) of the same campaign within the first decade. Variety, spice, and all that.

I've run dozens of distinctly different major campaigns in the same campaign world. You can do a huge variety of things in a campaign world.

 

[Mort]

Wow, everyone's a critic and has something to say about how this guy is doing it wrong. Sure, he's got his quirks--as do we all--but for me the overwhelming response is feeling awed at his dedication and clear love of the game. Everything else is secondary and inconsequential.

This also drives home the core idea of D&D--and RPGs in general--that each game/group/table/campaign can and should be different, and there's no one right way to do things. Obviously however he's doing things is working for him and those involved. Kudos to him.

I agree with you, and said so up thread.

BUT, when you declare, on camera, that you run the best game in the world - you're inviting criticism on yourself!

 

[Azzy]

I've run dozens of distinctly different major campaigns in the same campaign world. You can do a huge variety of things in a campaign world.

Sure you can—I've run several campaigns in Greyhawk. However, after a year or so I'd want to play in a different setting or even a different game system to do something different and so I don't get burned out.