Cake Mage said:
I've tried doing that but it just didn't work well for my group. Part of where I failed though was that I didn't set my games to have that ending feeling to each session. I think thats what is needed to have this idea work sucessfully.
The ending doesn't have to have everything wrapped up in a nice bow with all the plot lines closed. Some of the best endings leave a bunch of questions, leaving the players wanting more.
Thomas Percy said:
Interesting idea.
I'm curious it can work?
I've run episodic campaigns before and found I like running them much more than normal free-form sprawling campaigns. I haven't tried with rotating players, but I don't think it would be too difficult as long as the number of players each session is fairly consistent.
But, there are a few caveats to episodic play. Players must be more accepting of a bit of railroading at the beginning of each session. It helps to have a mentor or authority figure giving guidance or orders to the PCs. This way, they don't wander around looking for adventure, it is handed to them and they are told to start their investigation at Point A. It also helps if the PCs trust the NPC, so if they start to get lost they can go to the NPC to review information and get back on track to head to Point B.
I would think a mentor NPC would be especially helpful with rotating players to bring everyone up to speed on the current situation. This way there could be an underlying story to what is going on in the vein of Lost rather than a bunch of random disconnected adventures like Gillian's Island.
I also try to scale down, keep the action moving, and the adventure focused. This way, I can be assured we reach the end of the episode before we run out of time. Therefore, there is no such thing as a random encounter, everything has a purpose even if it isn't apparently clear to the players. Travel is usually glossed over, red arrow across the map Indian Jones style.
But, I like episodic play because I can plan and script out a few cool scenes/encounters. I know the PCs will end up at the haunted mansion on the top of the hill, so I can really pour energy into its description, the NPCs, and the monsters there.
If you can get you players to think of the game like a TV show, it helps even more. Dropping them into the middle of a fight--that out of character they have no clear idea why they are fighting or how it started--to start an episode just because it is cool and leads to a fun adventure becomes no big deal.
Anyway, games are supposed to be fun. I've just found this is my way of stripping back everything that slows down the pace of the game and provided more opportunities for the PCs to be adventuring heroes.
