How do you like your campaigns - focused or freeform?
- Thread starter Quasqueton
- Start date
JoeBlank
Explorer
Actually, I prefer variety between campaigns, and am not sure I have an ideal degree of focus.
A game where everyone is working towards the same goal can be fun, where every action moves the group a little closer to the ultimate goal.
But a freeform, adventure to kill things and take their stuff, can also be very fun.
If I have to vote, I'll pick 6, since it is close enough to the middle and I guess I hedge a little on the side of having some purpose.
A game where everyone is working towards the same goal can be fun, where every action moves the group a little closer to the ultimate goal.
But a freeform, adventure to kill things and take their stuff, can also be very fun.
If I have to vote, I'll pick 6, since it is close enough to the middle and I guess I hedge a little on the side of having some purpose.
Herzog
Adventurer
I voted 6.
My longest running ( and, currently, longest-in-hiatus) campaign is the OD&D WotI campaign.
What I like about it is this:
-It contains 3 adventures, one at low, one at mid, and one at high level.
-It contains a timeline, with enough information to use as plot-hooks if you want to use it to base your own adventure on.
-Even if you do not use the timeline for adventures, you can use it to inform the players/characters of events linked to the plot that are happening even if they don't get involved.
Most of the adventures I have run during that campaign have little to nothing to do with the campaign itself. However, if I run an unrelated adventure and see an oppertunity to include some campaign-specific info, I don't hesitate to do just that.
In my experience, this changes the feeling of 'several unrelated adventures' to 'adventures not tied to, but still part of, the campaign we are running'.
Herzog
My longest running ( and, currently, longest-in-hiatus) campaign is the OD&D WotI campaign.
What I like about it is this:
-It contains 3 adventures, one at low, one at mid, and one at high level.
-It contains a timeline, with enough information to use as plot-hooks if you want to use it to base your own adventure on.
-Even if you do not use the timeline for adventures, you can use it to inform the players/characters of events linked to the plot that are happening even if they don't get involved.
Most of the adventures I have run during that campaign have little to nothing to do with the campaign itself. However, if I run an unrelated adventure and see an oppertunity to include some campaign-specific info, I don't hesitate to do just that.
In my experience, this changes the feeling of 'several unrelated adventures' to 'adventures not tied to, but still part of, the campaign we are running'.
Herzog
DethStryke
Explorer
Focused Freeform? 
As a player I like having the ability to strike out on my own, but some DMs cannot flow with things off the beaten path. In that case I would rather the best game the DM in question can present, in the style he is strongest in. Unless, of course, he states ahead of time that he's trying something new to him and to expect some chaffing... in which case, you take your hits in the interest of growth.
As a DM I generally find the closer I get to freeform, the more content I am. I have structured plots, but as I learn the balance between putting in more work that I will get out of my DM-prep time (the hazard of being *too* structured, imo), I find that simple frameworks and stated end goals serve my needs far better.
As a player I like having the ability to strike out on my own, but some DMs cannot flow with things off the beaten path. In that case I would rather the best game the DM in question can present, in the style he is strongest in. Unless, of course, he states ahead of time that he's trying something new to him and to expect some chaffing... in which case, you take your hits in the interest of growth.
As a DM I generally find the closer I get to freeform, the more content I am. I have structured plots, but as I learn the balance between putting in more work that I will get out of my DM-prep time (the hazard of being *too* structured, imo), I find that simple frameworks and stated end goals serve my needs far better.
Wyrm Pilot
First Post
5. I like a lot of flexibility in what I'm allowed to do as a player, and as a DM I like to provide a lot of flex; but a vauge sense of something specific that's going on, overshadowing the whole campaign, gives the PCs a sense of purpose (even when they're allowed to determine what that purpose is).
That said, my favorite campaign I've ever played in was a 0 -- the DM had detailed his homebrew world to the nines, and whatever was going to happen in any given place happened; if the PCs were there at the time, they could be a part of events and influence things, but if they were off exploring the mysterious caverns they found, they weren't affected by the siege of a nearby city.
Cheers,
Wyrm Pilot
____________________
That said, my favorite campaign I've ever played in was a 0 -- the DM had detailed his homebrew world to the nines, and whatever was going to happen in any given place happened; if the PCs were there at the time, they could be a part of events and influence things, but if they were off exploring the mysterious caverns they found, they weren't affected by the siege of a nearby city.
Cheers,
Wyrm Pilot
____________________
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Every time I try to go totally freeform, some players end up being bored or the other players come up with stuff that simply stumps me. And I'm pretty good with improvisational stuff as a rule.
So now I try to have an ongoing storyline that advances with or without the players. (Albeit at a much slower pace without their involvement, and idea taken from -- GASP! -- World of Warcraft.) I also make sure that whatever the player characters do, it has consequences, both to make their actions more significant and to keep me from getting stumped.
Naturally, player characters being player characters, this means half the PCs are now on the run from the law and will soon have a dangerous bounty hunter on their tail.
So now I try to have an ongoing storyline that advances with or without the players. (Albeit at a much slower pace without their involvement, and idea taken from -- GASP! -- World of Warcraft.) I also make sure that whatever the player characters do, it has consequences, both to make their actions more significant and to keep me from getting stumped.
Naturally, player characters being player characters, this means half the PCs are now on the run from the law and will soon have a dangerous bounty hunter on their tail.
Raven Crowking
First Post
I said 3. Over the course of time, I prefer a campaign world in which many parties can act, many adventures can take place, and many plots can be ongoing. I like to offer plenty of neat places to explore that have little or nothing to do with anyone's ongoing plot....and even plot-based locations should exhibit some sense of history and other useage.
In terms of plots, I have no "DM plots" per se. What I have is "NPC plots". One NPC, for example, wants to take over the area the PCs are in and make it a "New Parthelonian Empire". This plot is ongoing until it is resolved (through PC action or not), and crops up sometimes in unrelated adventures. Similarly, the aboleth in the sewers under Selby-by-the-Water have been working toward collapsing the town for nearly a century now. One of the three aboleth was destroyed by NPCs before the game started, one was destroyed by PCs in-game, and one still exists.
Whenever possible, I try to tie PC backstory into the history of the area and the ongoing NPC plots. Some examples:
As an example of this last: When the Bonewardens sought to use a drug to increase hostilities between men and orcs, the group followed the early leads, tracked the villains down, and defeated them before even finding out exactly what the plot was.
I enjoy folklore, and seed areas with bits of folk stories and fairy tales that the PCs might become part of. When the PCs found a dead girl in the sewers, one of them returned the body to her parents. As a result, she was buried, and her spirit helped to avert that PC's death later (Motif: The Grateful Dead).
Finally, I also like to play with recurrences. Old enemies (defeated but not slain) return (possibly as allies), NPCs met might be met again, lost treasures may be found, old adventuring areas are re-entered, and (best of all) seemingly insignificant events are discovered to have more importance as time goes on.
I listed this as a "3" out of "10". YMMV.
RC
In terms of plots, I have no "DM plots" per se. What I have is "NPC plots". One NPC, for example, wants to take over the area the PCs are in and make it a "New Parthelonian Empire". This plot is ongoing until it is resolved (through PC action or not), and crops up sometimes in unrelated adventures. Similarly, the aboleth in the sewers under Selby-by-the-Water have been working toward collapsing the town for nearly a century now. One of the three aboleth was destroyed by NPCs before the game started, one was destroyed by PCs in-game, and one still exists.
Whenever possible, I try to tie PC backstory into the history of the area and the ongoing NPC plots. Some examples:
1. One PC decided to go the "I have total amnesia" route, and made his character left-handed. I decided to rule that he was the escaped reflection of a powerful wizard. The players loved this!
2. One PC (Hrum, see my main story hour) was a half-orc and left his family tree blank. I decided to rule that he was descended from a rape when the town of Oakhille was looted by orcs. This gave him ties to an adventure area and gave him an opportunity to meet the ghost of his grandmother's lover. Unfortunately, he died before that could happen. These sorts of tie-ins do not give you plot immunity.
3. Another PC decided that his parents were friends of the deceased wizard/greenbond Amoreth the Arcane, and that his parents had deserted him when he was very young. Since Amoreth the Arcane had died stopping the first of the three aboleth beneath Selby-by-the-Water, I decided that the PC's parents must have been involved in this. They didn't desert thier child; they died trying to make his home secure.
So, there are a lot of things to give players direction if they need it, but nothing to force them in a single direction. No one -- PC or NPC -- is immune from death simply because they tie into an ongoing plot, and as plots belong to the NPCs (not the DM) they may be smashed well before they come to fruition.2. One PC (Hrum, see my main story hour) was a half-orc and left his family tree blank. I decided to rule that he was descended from a rape when the town of Oakhille was looted by orcs. This gave him ties to an adventure area and gave him an opportunity to meet the ghost of his grandmother's lover. Unfortunately, he died before that could happen. These sorts of tie-ins do not give you plot immunity.
3. Another PC decided that his parents were friends of the deceased wizard/greenbond Amoreth the Arcane, and that his parents had deserted him when he was very young. Since Amoreth the Arcane had died stopping the first of the three aboleth beneath Selby-by-the-Water, I decided that the PC's parents must have been involved in this. They didn't desert thier child; they died trying to make his home secure.
As an example of this last: When the Bonewardens sought to use a drug to increase hostilities between men and orcs, the group followed the early leads, tracked the villains down, and defeated them before even finding out exactly what the plot was.
I enjoy folklore, and seed areas with bits of folk stories and fairy tales that the PCs might become part of. When the PCs found a dead girl in the sewers, one of them returned the body to her parents. As a result, she was buried, and her spirit helped to avert that PC's death later (Motif: The Grateful Dead).
Finally, I also like to play with recurrences. Old enemies (defeated but not slain) return (possibly as allies), NPCs met might be met again, lost treasures may be found, old adventuring areas are re-entered, and (best of all) seemingly insignificant events are discovered to have more importance as time goes on.
I listed this as a "3" out of "10". YMMV.
RC
Last edited:
Hussar
Legend
I went with a seven, although like many others here, six to nine would likely do it for me.
I recently stopped playing in a Shackled City campaign because, while I was interested in the plot and getting the story moving along, the other players were more interested in exploring Cauldron and their own backstories. A shame really because I really did like the DM, but, it got to the point where my frustration level was skyrocketing. Sigh.
I also think my tastes have changed of late. Asking this question a few years ago and I might have said more rambling. But, I have discovered that I like having goals for the party and then acheiving those goals.
I recently stopped playing in a Shackled City campaign because, while I was interested in the plot and getting the story moving along, the other players were more interested in exploring Cauldron and their own backstories. A shame really because I really did like the DM, but, it got to the point where my frustration level was skyrocketing. Sigh.
I also think my tastes have changed of late. Asking this question a few years ago and I might have said more rambling. But, I have discovered that I like having goals for the party and then acheiving those goals.
Similar Threads
