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General Tabletop Discussion
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GMing: What Keeps Long Running Campaigns Exciting?
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<blockquote data-quote="werecorpse" data-source="post: 8085366" data-attributes="member: 55491"><p>I do think you have to be careful with too many threads to explore. Or rather not giving players the opportunity to resolve threads. Your players are both your participants and your audience. Looking at TV series one has to be careful not to have an X-files effect where there was this background story about the smoking man and aliens that seemed pretty cool but never really resolved (or if It did it was in the movie by which time I had lost interest) vs Buffy where in each Season they had an overarching plot that resolved satisfactorily. </p><p>Sometimes having a single mainstring mystery can be good to keep the party focussed. I have run Night Below which I converted to a 1-20 3.5e adventure as a 6 year campaign with one onion style story, and I have run a 15 year campaign with multiple storyline threads that kinda petered out partially due to real world stuff but partially because the players lost track of what they were doing and why amongst the tangled threads. At that stage I hadn’t learned that it’s important to let threads end and let the players have a complete victory over a bad guy - if they want to keep,playing those characters in that world a new one will always come along they can hate just as much (the Buffy model).</p><p>I still think I put too many threads into the game such that it can become bewildering but as long as some are regularly being resolved satisfactorily I think I’m ok. In my latest long running multiple story arc game the party has largely finished with a story arc involving the Scarlet Brotherhood’s attempt to take over the city. They have won that battle and can feel good about it.</p><p></p><p>The other important thing to remember is that all players have different levels of buy in and involvement, and value different rewards. Those who have a deeper storyline buy in often enjoy the exploration and mystery solving parts of the campaign just for themselves but for those who take a less in depth approach to the world you need to have other rewards - they may not care about the party going on an adventure to try disrupt the alliance between the orcs and the exiled drow - they might however be excited to get a magic shield and a formula that will enable the town or party alchemis/herbalist to make enhanced healing potions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="werecorpse, post: 8085366, member: 55491"] I do think you have to be careful with too many threads to explore. Or rather not giving players the opportunity to resolve threads. Your players are both your participants and your audience. Looking at TV series one has to be careful not to have an X-files effect where there was this background story about the smoking man and aliens that seemed pretty cool but never really resolved (or if It did it was in the movie by which time I had lost interest) vs Buffy where in each Season they had an overarching plot that resolved satisfactorily. Sometimes having a single mainstring mystery can be good to keep the party focussed. I have run Night Below which I converted to a 1-20 3.5e adventure as a 6 year campaign with one onion style story, and I have run a 15 year campaign with multiple storyline threads that kinda petered out partially due to real world stuff but partially because the players lost track of what they were doing and why amongst the tangled threads. At that stage I hadn’t learned that it’s important to let threads end and let the players have a complete victory over a bad guy - if they want to keep,playing those characters in that world a new one will always come along they can hate just as much (the Buffy model). I still think I put too many threads into the game such that it can become bewildering but as long as some are regularly being resolved satisfactorily I think I’m ok. In my latest long running multiple story arc game the party has largely finished with a story arc involving the Scarlet Brotherhood’s attempt to take over the city. They have won that battle and can feel good about it. The other important thing to remember is that all players have different levels of buy in and involvement, and value different rewards. Those who have a deeper storyline buy in often enjoy the exploration and mystery solving parts of the campaign just for themselves but for those who take a less in depth approach to the world you need to have other rewards - they may not care about the party going on an adventure to try disrupt the alliance between the orcs and the exiled drow - they might however be excited to get a magic shield and a formula that will enable the town or party alchemis/herbalist to make enhanced healing potions. [/QUOTE]
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