Ever Play In/Run a Campaign Where Everyone Played Characters of same Race & Class?

[el-remmen]

I was recently developing some of the more recent history of my campaign setting and made up "The Seven Rays of Ra", which I described as a band of paladins.

Then I realized that the one reference I made to them was vague enough that I could set a campaign back 100 years from "present" in the setting and have people play those paladins. . .

But my question is: Has anyone ever played in or run a group where every single character was the same race and class? How did it go?

 

[scourger]

Same race & class, no; not in D&D. I don't think it would work. The class archetypes are too ingrained. If everyone is the same race & class, then what differentiates each PC? Feat, spell and/or skill selections could do it to a certain extent and might make an interesting game for the right group of players, but it would have to be a pretty unique group.

We had a very short-lived all-dwarf game. I thought it was a great way to have a built-in unifying element of commonality. But, all the players were into it. Hard to say where it would have gone if it had been played more than twice.

Another all-human (except 1 dwarf) game where all were from one particular barbarian tribe had mixed results. The DM tried to force several roles on the players that weren't really embraced and turned out not very fun. It wasn't a failure of a game, just not a smashing success.

 

[Crothian]

I've done this twice in d20. One was a an all Rogue city based game (THieves World but before Green Ronin came out with their update). That wasa lot of fun as we really got to see how verstaile the class was. The second was a group of all Dwarves, and that one really didn't need me. They could sit for hours in character and it was a riot.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Yes, way back in the '80s - the old Thieves Guild series by Gamelords, everyone played a rogue (thief back in those ancient days ).

In Vampire the Masquerade I have been in two 'one clan' games - one Giovanni that I ran and one Ravnos game that had no GM at all.

The Auld Grump

 

[Glyfair]

Although this never got started, I was going to play in a campaign that was going to be an all wizard campaign. However, it wasn't D&D it was Melanda, Land of Mystery.

The GM (one of the game's creators) asked everyone to come up with a concept. IIRC, we were to come up with a list of spells and magic words for each spell. I think the design threshold was too high, so no one finished (I know I got the concept, but couldn't get the spells down on paper).

 

[jdrakeh]

Sure. I've played in a few campaigns based on the Crusades where everybody played a cleric (i.e., holy warrior), an Arthurian Legend campaign wherein everybody played a Paladin, and a mercenary game wherein everybody played fighters - oh, and at lest one game that revolved around a Thieve's Guild (yep, everybody played Rogues).

The catch was that all of the characters, despite hailing from the same class, had specialized in specific areas of skill. All of these campaigns were a blast and a very nice change of pace from the tired (not a typo) and true 'one party member of every class' and 'save the world' campaigns (those campaigns can be fun, but after a while they all start to look the same).

[Edit: err.. and yes, all PCs were humans in these campaigns.]

 

[Glyfair]

Plus, this is actually a lot easier to play in D&D since 3E, as long as you don't set the bar too high.

For example, you could have a campaign set up so that everyone plays clerics of various gods of a pantheon. One could be a cleric/rogue, one a cleric/wizard, etc.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

Each PC should have a different highest ability score, (for the 7th have the ability scores balanced).

Sir x the Strong
Sir x the Quick
Sir x the Hearty
Sir x the Clever
Sir x the Wise
Sir X the Charming
Sir x the Fair

this will allow some "specialization" among the characters

 

[Crothian]

For example, you could have a campaign set up so that everyone plays clerics of various gods of a pantheon. One could be a cleric/rogue, one a cleric/wizard, etc.

If we are counting similar mutli classing then I've played in three. We had agame where everyone multiclassed as something fighter.

 

[Glyfair]

If we are counting similar mutli classing then I've played in three. We had agame where everyone multiclassed as something fighter.

IMO, for it to count, it would have to be an intentional theme, rather than concidence. Were the games say mercenary campaigns, where everyone was assumed to be a fighter?