G'day Folks,
This is a bit of a whine. I have a case of writer's block regarding my current campaign. I'm writing this to help marshal my thoughts and perhaps receive a bit of inspiration from the other members.
Background
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Current Situation
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What I'd Like
It is time for he or some section of his organization to make a serious mistake. They know he has been putting together a coalition of other factions (the aforementioned aliens, Unseelie faerie, and potentially others). They do not understand his purpose. Perhaps it splinters and the PCs get involved in the aftermath? Perhaps one of the other independent factions engages the coalition in a way that draws the PC's attention? Perhaps one of the coalition factions attempts to recruit one or more of the PCs? Perhaps one of his side projects suffers a catastrophic failure and the PCs get a different viewpoint into his actions?
This is a bit of a whine. I have a case of writer's block regarding my current campaign. I'm writing this to help marshal my thoughts and perhaps receive a bit of inspiration from the other members.
Background
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The campaign is a modern-day X-Files style game with the PCs being agents working to investigate weird events to determine the level of threat to national security. The system is a modified Conspiracy-X with the setting completely rebuilt.
One primary conceit of the game is weirdness is typically subtle, transitory, or both. Evidence is difficult to collect and naturally “goes bad” once exposed to people's expectations and disbelief.
The campaign has been running ~5 years averaging 20-25 sessions a year. The campaign is somewhat structured like a TV series. They had about 4 season arcs and a couple of made-for-TV movie equivalent material.
The campaign is primarily investigative. The PCs try to handle things without violence (and are a tad timid about direct engagement). When violence has occurred, the PCs handled themselves well.
The campaign is episodic with strong continuity. In general, the group is tasked with an investigation by their department head and adventures are designed to be completed within a single session. Completion within two sessions is typical. The PCs have latitude to promote their own missions should they have something they wish to explore or follow-up on. The assigned missions are a mixture of monster-of-the-week and windows into the shadow world.
The environment is complex. There are quite a few long-term factions and players. The players have slowly developed an understanding of some of the pivotal players, forging positive relationships with some powers while keeping the truth from the public and gaining experience against elements that threaten the peace.
One primary conceit of the game is weirdness is typically subtle, transitory, or both. Evidence is difficult to collect and naturally “goes bad” once exposed to people's expectations and disbelief.
The campaign has been running ~5 years averaging 20-25 sessions a year. The campaign is somewhat structured like a TV series. They had about 4 season arcs and a couple of made-for-TV movie equivalent material.
The campaign is primarily investigative. The PCs try to handle things without violence (and are a tad timid about direct engagement). When violence has occurred, the PCs handled themselves well.
The campaign is episodic with strong continuity. In general, the group is tasked with an investigation by their department head and adventures are designed to be completed within a single session. Completion within two sessions is typical. The PCs have latitude to promote their own missions should they have something they wish to explore or follow-up on. The assigned missions are a mixture of monster-of-the-week and windows into the shadow world.
The environment is complex. There are quite a few long-term factions and players. The players have slowly developed an understanding of some of the pivotal players, forging positive relationships with some powers while keeping the truth from the public and gaining experience against elements that threaten the peace.
Current Situation
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Just recently, the department has transitioned between civilian agencies that will have a beneficial effect on their funding and resources. The transition is very recent and and though there are ambitions on using the extra funding, nothing has come to fruition. Their official actions are constrained to operate inside the law. Their new agency has accepted the department, but doesn't really know what to do with them yet.
Their primary foil is a billionaire tech leader (CEO of a large social media company) who is actually something ancient. They do not yet understand his full plans, but have uncovered enough tangential evidence to be convinced they are not good for the national interest or possibly humankind in general. He knows of them, but is not afraid. He is confident that they cannot touch his public persona. What little evidence they have is circumstantial at best, impossible to explain to laymen, and illegally obtained at worst. They have nothing to present that would count as a case to the justice system. The PCs know of and have good relations with powers specifically opposed to but not actively working against him at this time.
Another consistent enemy is a alien race (think something like Migo as described by Delta Green) that has been caught engaged is a variety of longitudinal human population studies including the removal and study of brain development and potentially the introduction of targeted mutations. The PCs have had their greatest successes against this group including bringing its existence to the attention to the military. Several recent missions involved them to one degree or another.
Their primary foil is a billionaire tech leader (CEO of a large social media company) who is actually something ancient. They do not yet understand his full plans, but have uncovered enough tangential evidence to be convinced they are not good for the national interest or possibly humankind in general. He knows of them, but is not afraid. He is confident that they cannot touch his public persona. What little evidence they have is circumstantial at best, impossible to explain to laymen, and illegally obtained at worst. They have nothing to present that would count as a case to the justice system. The PCs know of and have good relations with powers specifically opposed to but not actively working against him at this time.
Another consistent enemy is a alien race (think something like Migo as described by Delta Green) that has been caught engaged is a variety of longitudinal human population studies including the removal and study of brain development and potentially the introduction of targeted mutations. The PCs have had their greatest successes against this group including bringing its existence to the attention to the military. Several recent missions involved them to one degree or another.
What I'd Like
The players are frustrated right now. The billionaire seems unassailable and his plans inscrutable.
I would like to transition the campaign from its reactive investigative base to a more proactive engagement. Ideally, this would grow out of the players' direction, but I'm happy to give them a push to get them started or at least get them some traction for them to work from.It is time for he or some section of his organization to make a serious mistake. They know he has been putting together a coalition of other factions (the aforementioned aliens, Unseelie faerie, and potentially others). They do not understand his purpose. Perhaps it splinters and the PCs get involved in the aftermath? Perhaps one of the other independent factions engages the coalition in a way that draws the PC's attention? Perhaps one of the coalition factions attempts to recruit one or more of the PCs? Perhaps one of his side projects suffers a catastrophic failure and the PCs get a different viewpoint into his actions?
