Having Years in-game between adventures, Good/Stupid

[Celebrim]

...Hobgoblin Warblade??!!

I'm fond of goblins as PC's as well.

One of my PC's in my current campaign was a blue skinned Hobgoblin whose father was a Spriggan and whose mother was a Hobgoblin, and consequently had as a power the ability to turn into a 12' tall giant (via enlarge self as a spell like ability, via a homebrew class called Feyborne). This led to amusing situations.

After that character's untimely death, he was replaced with a Hobgoblin knife/grenade specialist whose backstory was supposed to be he was a henchmen/valet to one of the important NPC wizards the party had become acquainted with. He wore a top hat, courtier's garb, and a great coat lined with various throwing weapons. He was also hard of hearing, explained IC by the fact that he'd been too close too often to the frequent explosions the Wizard's laboratory was known for.

There are mechanically no 'Warblades' in my game (not really needed under my rules), but thematically a Hobgoblin warblade would fit right in.

 

[Minigiant]

It works if everyone is on the same page.

I remember one game where we as the PCs knew the BBEG was not coming back for 10 years. So we spent the time gathering allies and vassals while killing off the nobles who did not help. We accidentally started a war and pulled out the Risk pieces.

 

[Omegaxicor]

good to know, in general I don't allow "evil" race PCs simply because it causes too many problems.

@Minigiant Why was it going to be EXACTLY a decade before s/he or it came back? and you will cause a war, devil/idle hands/work

 

[Minigiant]

good to know, in general I don't allow "evil" race PCs simply because it causes too many problems.

@Minigiant Why was it going to be EXACTLY a decade before s/he or it came back? and you will cause a war, devil/idle hands/work

We screwed up and couldn't beat the BBEG to an artifact. So we locked the BBEG and his artifact created army in another dimension and manipulated the prophesy that lets him return. It would take 10 years before the portal he'd have to use to get out reopened. The DM didn't plan on us remembering details and flavor.

 

[Omegaxicor]

We screwed up and couldn't beat the BBEG to an artifact. So we locked the BBEG and his artifact created army in another dimension and manipulated the prophesy that lets him return. It would take 10 years before the portal he'd have to use to get out reopened. The DM didn't plan on us remembering details and flavor.

I don't think the DM was on the same page as the group great idea though

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I'm hoping to do this in my next mega-campaign. I'll be using 5e, which means I should have premade downtime rules to work with.

I think this can contribute to a very rich campaign, and add a more immersive quality. I mean, would adventurer's really adventure as non-stop as we often play them? Most games I've been in we adventure 7 days a week, apparently without feeling any need for a break. If we find ourselves having a few days to spare (because we are waiting for an NPC to arrive or contact us, etc), we spend most of them doing something adventur-y also.

It is so much more fulfilling for me for players to more believably role-play. For my next mega-campaign, I'm planning on finding ways to encourage characters taking realistic breaks without being heavy-handed. It's not easy! Should I speak to specific players about their characters? "You're getting pretty worn out--those sore feet that used to feel better in the morning feel like they want about a month of pampered rest." "You keep catching yourself reminiscing about the last fair you were at, you can almost taste grandma's blackberry pie..." Or should I bring rolls into the roles? Make a Constitution check every month of constant adventuring or adventurer-focused activity. Failure means you have to make a Wisdom check each day or suffer disadvantage on ability checks and skills for the day? Still trying to figure it out.

The main advice that I would give would be to find (or create) a downtime system that encourages the sorts of activities you want. Perhaps you give PCs a certain percentage XP bonus on all XP earned after downtime for a certain amount of adventuring time. The longer the downtime, the more the XP. That would probably help them accept the "4 years later..." approach.

I'm enjoying this thread.

 

[Starfox]

Different games support this differently. I fondly remember Pendragon, where the equivalent of xp and levelups only happened over winter. So after 1-2 adventures, the players would start to make puppy eyes, wishing for a winter season to cash in on their experience. Rules like this really help time progression in-game flow more smoothly.

 

[howandwhy99]

The adventure isn't over simply because you break out of Rounds. Or dungeon exploration Turns. Or days. Or weeks even. The game goes on.

This is one of the most important elements of Dungeons & Dragons that storytelling games fail at miserably: the consequences of your game play carry over the entire length of the game. No action is without worth and all your previous actions are at least partially responsible for your current situation. Just like any boardgame. That's a phenomena impossible to duplicate by stopping a game, making a story about what happens in between, and then starting another.

Continuity is at the core of D&D not to mention all games. It is why D&D is so unbelievably addictive and actually a requirement for something to be a game. It isn't a story where every word is irrelevant to every other word. Computer game designers and players understand the necessity of game continuity and have been programming based off of D&D's innovations for years.

I suggest having game systems operating at the monthly and yearly level of play - that never go away even in during taking actions in rounds - to allow for players to take long term actions solely or in concert with short term ones. Look at Birthright for a half decent example.

 

[Warbringer]

Pendragon was perfect for this, as Starfox noted because in part of its XP spend cycle, but also because of its healing system.

Also, if you're using 5e, short and long rest cycles could easily be days and weeks (if not months)... I have feeling that would be a very flavorful game.

 

[MJS]

cool ideas here
i see this time passage device being good for a multiple round tournament also

about goblin PCs - I like allowing any humaoid species for PC race, up to half-ogre in size. Players have a blast with it, and it adds a lot of different dynamics -