Epic and Continuoius vs. Episodic and Incidental

[jester47]

So yesterday I was goofing around with the OED again and I got to thinking.

What was the definition there of Epic? So I looked it up. The core of the definition basicly stated that an epic was a continuous account of a heroic figure from history or legend.

Hmm. Interesting. Then I thought "Episodic" that starts with "epi" I wonder if and how these words are related. So I looked it up. And this is where things get good. The definition basicly said that it was anything that was intermitant, or bearing the traits of an episode.

Onward to "Episode!" Looking this up I found that an episode is a story that is incidental to a larger story. It comes out of a larger story but ussually is independent of that story.

So my conclusion is that an Epic is a countinuous account of the deeds of a hero or a group of heros, whereas episodes are indicental stories built around the heros reaction to an event.

Monte Cook in the DMG points out that the way to link the adventures in a D&D game are in the format of episodic or continuous. Epic or Episodic. Basicly do you have a big long story, or a bunch of little stories.

What I like is a bunch of little stories with occasional links to give the world versimilitude. With all this in mind, how do you like to do it?

Aaron.

 

[Umbran]

With all this in mind, how do you like to do it?

I think that the two both have their merits. In essence, you're talking about the difference between, say, Leibers Fafhrd and Grey Mouser vs Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, or between Star Trek and Babylon 5.

Both are good, but they are different. I choose the one that fits what I want out of a given campaign. Some are continuous, some are episodic.

 

[fafhrd]

Good hmmm? Well, I still say I'd turn those pesky little fatbodies into lunchmeat any day of the week.

 

[jmucchiello]

Currently we have both. There is a war/invasion. The PCs will eventually stop it or die trying. That is the epic.

There are 3 DMs. Each runs self-contained adventures set against the backdrop of the epic. Each set of sessions is episodic. You could remove 99% of each session the DMs run. Only the parts that advance the epic are truly important to the epic. The rest of the time is how the PCs work toward being able to stop the war.

 

[Belen]

I like to use both styles interchangeablly. It's fairly easy to mix the two in a long campaign.

 

[eris404]

We like both in our group. Some DMs like (and do) one better than the other, of course. Even if a game is more episodic, there is usually a larger plot running in the background.

I will say that I'm personally a little tired of epic stories in the "we're saving the world again!" sense. We're playing in a game right now in which the PCs are very much local heroes who have done things like lift a "curse" off of a small village nearby. We're coming to a crossroads though, because our characters are of a level that needs bigger challenges. I hope we can keep the "smalltown" flavor and still be challenged and intrigued.

 

[Mystery Man]

Incidentally, I'm having a continuous epic episode.

 

[the Jester]

I like a mix of both.

The higher level the pcs get, the more choice they have over what they do and where they go. I find that higher level games go more towards the 'epic' end of the spectrum (in the sense you're talking of) because they relate to chains of events starting at lower levels for the pcs.

But there are often series of 2-3 sessions that are reasonably self-contained, especially in my lower level games.

Personally, I really like having a sense of continuity in the game- a sense that the pcs are in a world that's evolving around them (and sometimes because of them).