How to tell when your Campaign has jumped the shark

[Darrin Drader]

OK, for those of you who aren't familliar with the term, it comes from the following website: http://www.jumptheshark.com/. In essence, its the phrase given to a TV show that has reached its peak and is beginning the (not always so) slow slide into oblivion. An example would be when Airwolf left CBS and went to USA for a season with no original characters and not even a helicopter.

Anyway, what are the telltale signs your D&D campaign has jumped the shark? I'll start with a few:

1. Half of your regular players move out of the area so you replace them with new players and characters, but keep the original campaign.
2. The players finally kill your arch-villain - not because you intended for them to do so, but because they got lucky, planned better, etc. Arch-villain returns in the next session despite death.
3. You resolve the major conflict of the campaign but yet you keep it going.
4. You run out of ideas for your homebrew so the game moves to the Forgotten Realms.
5. Jedi and stormtroopers make an appearance.
6. The only thing different this week than last week is the level of the villains.
7. The party kills Orcus.
8. In lieu of enemies, the party now verbally spars with the local constabulary, hoping to one day to find a peaceful resolution to the world's woes. Meanwhile, one of your players - the one dressed in black with the high squeeky voice, makes a point to shed real tears at least once each session while pretending to court the lovely cleric who spurns him in favor of the party's bonehead fighter.
9. In lieu of an interesting story, you just go around smiting things mightily.
10. A central character in the party is killed off, but then replaced by Ugh, the meatheaded troll who just wants to be nice to the little peoples.

 

[diaglo]

When Henry Winkler makes a guest appearance as the Fonz and water skiis over a ramp.

 

[alsih2o]

12 you roll a 34 on your jump check on see a large fiendish dire shark passing beneath you.

 

[Henry]

13. The characters never settle down, never have goals, and are still wandering looking for the next nameless dragon to slay at level 40.
14. The party is making Deities and Demigods into a hit-list. "... Sif? Check. last week, Surtur? Check. Next? THOR!"

 

[Psion]

1. Half of your regular players move out of the area so you replace them with new players and characters, but keep the original campaign.

]

Dude, when the monk's player moved away a few months ago, that constituted a complete and total changeover of the player group for the 3e game I started a month after 3e came out.

And you know what? All of the players are still gobbling it up. I have a new campaign idea, but they want to keep playing this one.

(shrug)

 

[Aeolius]

People jump sharks in my campaign all the time.

 

[Olive]

1. Half of your regular players move out of the area so you replace them with new players and characters, but keep the original campaign.

This bothers me not at all. I played in a campaign world where the DM had been using the same world since he was in high school (now he's 35) with an on going time line etc. Why's that not credible?

Maybe I misubnderstood? The others, I have no argument with. Tho, stormtroopers might just be what I need...

 

[Paul_Klein]

3. You resolve the major conflict of the campaign but yet you keep it going.

I disagree with this one as well. So you've resolved the main conflict. Do the players still want to play their characters in this world? Then make a new conflict! Pretty simple.

 

[the Jester]

Yeah, I pretty well disagree with a lot of the list too.

Major conflict resolved? Well, duh, that's what heroes do.

Most of the group leaves? Well, write their characters' departures into the game.

The party kills Orcus? Time to go lookin' for a bigger demon prince.

A major pc dies and is replaced by a different character? What, the player should make the same character over and over? Or is the objection to the idea of Ugh the troll who's nice to the wee folk. What, all trolls are evil and hate little guys?

However, if Jedi and stormtroopers show up and the game ain't Star Wars, you just may have jumped the shark.

 

[barsoomcore]

15. Your PCs leave the Forgotten Realms and come to Earth, 2003. (It didn't work on Battlestar Galactica, and it won't work in your campaign, buddy)

16. Each week your players start the game by grabbing the DM's Guide and deciding which magic item to ask for with this week's wish.

17. Your players vote to determine all die rolls by who can shotgun the most Alexander Keiths'. (India Pale Ale, for those beknighted individuals living in lesser lands than the Great White North)

18. Your party consists entirely of drow.

19. Your party consists entirely of stewardesses.

20. Your party consists entirely of drow stewardesses.

21. You take "How to tell when your Campaign has jumped the shark" threads seriously.