Thinking about all the D&D campaigns I've run tabletop and online over the last thirteen years or so, it seems to me that I've consistently had difficulty running long-term campaigns in a Swords & Sorcery milieu - Conan, Fafhrd/Mouser, Elric et al. I love the 'Wilderlands of High Fantasy', which is a very S&S setting, but I've never been able to maintain a really long-term Wilderlands game despite several attempts.
Whereas games with fairly clear cut Good vs Evil factions such as my Forgotten Realms Loudwater campaign seem to have a lot more legs. It helps a lot that the PCs like the good NPCs and have a lot invested in protecting them. Likewise my online Yggsburgh game is not traditional high fantasy, a big inspiration being Hammer Horror but there again Hammer Horror has a strong moral framework, which Swords & Sorcery lacks. The church may be corrupt, the leading PC may be a ruthless social climber undone by his own flaws, but the bad guys are typically truly evil Diabolists, Werewolves, Vampires, not just another bunch of guys with swords and a competing agenda. I've heard that non-D&D games like Traveller that lack this Good vs Evil dichotomy also have trouble maintaining campaigns when compared to eg Star Wars, but my experience is limited.
I was wondering if other people have had similar or reverse experiences? Is a strong Good vs Evil framework an aid to long term campaigns? Does its lack inhibit long term play?
Whereas games with fairly clear cut Good vs Evil factions such as my Forgotten Realms Loudwater campaign seem to have a lot more legs. It helps a lot that the PCs like the good NPCs and have a lot invested in protecting them. Likewise my online Yggsburgh game is not traditional high fantasy, a big inspiration being Hammer Horror but there again Hammer Horror has a strong moral framework, which Swords & Sorcery lacks. The church may be corrupt, the leading PC may be a ruthless social climber undone by his own flaws, but the bad guys are typically truly evil Diabolists, Werewolves, Vampires, not just another bunch of guys with swords and a competing agenda. I've heard that non-D&D games like Traveller that lack this Good vs Evil dichotomy also have trouble maintaining campaigns when compared to eg Star Wars, but my experience is limited.
I was wondering if other people have had similar or reverse experiences? Is a strong Good vs Evil framework an aid to long term campaigns? Does its lack inhibit long term play?