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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voobaha" data-source="post: 247735" data-attributes="member: 2741">CAMPAIGN GROUND RULES SHEETThis worksheet is organized to help you think through and plan out a campaign.  Fill out this sheet (with player input) and hand it out to the players, so they all know what kind of game you're playing, and what the rules are going to be ahead of time.  It's mostly from the FANTASY HERO rulesbook, embellished by me.CAMPAIGN GROUND RULES SHEET1) GENERAL DESCRIPTION & GOALS(A paragraph sized blurb describing what the campaign is about. Especially what the GOALS are.  Are they ACHIEVABLE?  If so does the campaign have a time limit?  For example, if your PCs goals are to throw the One Ring into the Volcano from which it was forged, will they win the game and end the campaign?  If your game has NON-ACHIEVABLE GOALS--like most continuing campaigns--then the PCs finish lots of quests, but there's always new, changing things to strive for.  Finally, do the PCs all have the SAME GOAL (ex: defeat the dark lord) or OVERLAPPING GOALS (fred the rogue wants to get rich, thelma the paladin wants to defeat evil, and scooby the mage is lonely and wants to adventure with his friends...)  ).2)  IMPORTANCE OF THE PCs(Describe how important the PCs are to events in the game world)   *All Important (PCs are superheroic, the fate of the world rests on their shoulders.  ex: PCs are demi gods)   *Very Important (heroes are an elite group of individuals who have a major impact on the world.  ex: they are the Avengers or the Fellowship of the Ring)   *Important (PCs make a difference & are exceptional heroes, but their actions usually don't have earth-shattering consequences.  ex: most D&D heroes, most superteams)   *Unimportant (a rare choice, PCs don't/can't make much impact on the world.  ex: PCs are drones in a nightmarish totalitarian state, PCs are footsoldiers serving under high level NPCs, etc)3)  CAMPAIGN TONE(What is the outlook and feel of the adventures in your campaign?  Is it funny or serious?  Is it going to be consistent, inconsistent, or gradually change--for example starting upbeat and then getting slowly grimmer as the forces of evil threaten the campaign world.  Define the campaign tone through it's:MORALITY (how clear are moral choices) REALISM (is the game going to be wildly dramatic and flashy, or realistic and/or gritty)OUTLOOK/SERIOUSNESS (how easy is it to win--are things optimistic or pessimistic & how seriously are you taking this? Is the game grim or played for laughs?)CONTINUITY (how connected are the adventures & how important is it to you?)   *MORALITY (rate 1-5): 1) Good vs Bad is black & white; 2)Good v Bad mostly clear cut; 3)Some crossover; 4) Little distinction; 5) Morality always shades of grey   *REALISM (rate 1-5):  1) Very Romantic, nobody ever dies; 2) Romantic; 3) Neutral; 4) Realistic; 5) Extremely realistic, PCs suffering from bleeding and permanent disability from combat   *OUTLOOK (rate 1-5):  1) Everything works out - Very Optimistic; 2) Almost everything works out; 3) Seriousness balanced by light hearted; 4) More serious than light hearted; 5) Almost entirely serious   *CONTINUITY (rate 1-5): 1)Episodic -- No effort is made to tie adventures together [ex: The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island]; 2) Mostly episodic, with some continuing stories [ex: Star Trek TNG, James Bond Movies]; 3) Some long stories, some episodic [ex: the X-Files]; 4) Mostly serial, some enforcement of campaign continuity [ex: most superhero comic books; 5) Entirely Serial -- everything must fit into the storyline [ex: TV soap operas, "24"]PHYSICAL WORLD (DESCRIPTION)(what is the world like and where is the SETTING?  Is it *Familiar*, so the players can understand and relate to it easily, or is it *Unfamiliar* that the players will have to learn a lot of weird stuff to play in it?)CHARACTER STATS/REQUIREMENTS(Describe how you're going to roll up characters.  What level does everyone start at?  What equipment is allowed?)HOUSE RULES(Are there any rules changes in this campaign?  Make sure you and the players know and agree on them before the game starts to avoid arguments later).MAGICOCCURRENCE OF MAGIC (Rate from 1-5):1) No magic; 2)Some, usually in form of items/creatures; 3) Magic Uncommon, but accessible by PCs; 4) Magic common, items and creatures abound; 5) Campaign is steeped in magic, everything is magicalINFLUENCE OF MAGIC (Rate from 1-5):1) Magic useful for only minor tasks; 2) Magic useful, but not on a large scale; 3) Mix of powerful & weak magic; 4) Magic extremely influential; 5) Magic powerful enought to alter game world on massive scaleSOURCE OF MAGIC(Where does magic come from and how does society view it's use?)STATE OF RELIGIONWhat Gods/Pantheons (if any) exist in world?  How does religion affect world?CIVILIZATION/TECH LEVELHow much knowledge does the world possess?  Do people live in the stone age and use magic for their needs, or do they drive fantastical steam dirigibles and spelljam thru space?Anyway, hope this helps.  I'll provide an example campaign in another post...</blockquote>

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