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General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Is 'Good vs Evil' fantasy better for long-term campaigns than more 'amoral' Swords & Sorcery?
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<blockquote data-quote="Salamandyr" data-source="post: 6172328" data-attributes="member: 40233"><p>S'mon, I think you're right, but I think the reason has less to do with morality and more to do with overall plot structure.</p><p></p><p>Good vs. Evil lends itself very well to stories where the players have a long term goal to achieve, like "gather all the mcguffins" or "defeat the dark lord", in order to "save the world". These kinds of plots are fun, give the players easy to grasp motivations, and provide a coherent framework for a compelling long term story.</p><p></p><p>By contrast sword & sorcery adventures tend to be better for episodic adventure tales, (there's a reason that most iconic S&S major stories are short stories) because the characters rarely have long term goals. There is no overarching villain; instead there are plenty of opponents, usually dispatched with gusto. If an opponent survives a couple of encounters, he might become a nemesis, but generally he's weaker than the hero...a contrast from Good vs. Evil, where the Dark Lord is usually the most powerful guy around.</p><p></p><p>Sword & Sorcery character motivations are usually more abstract. Why does Conan continue to adventure? Because he's restless and doesn't fit in anywhere. Elric? Bipolar disorder, and need for stimulation (and a soul sucking sword that needs feeding) Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser? usually boredom or poverty and a hard aversion to "honest work".</p><p></p><p>So if your idea is to run a long running, year long campaign with a compelling overall story, where each character is working toward a collective overall goal, then Good vs. Evil is just easier.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Salamandyr, post: 6172328, member: 40233"] S'mon, I think you're right, but I think the reason has less to do with morality and more to do with overall plot structure. Good vs. Evil lends itself very well to stories where the players have a long term goal to achieve, like "gather all the mcguffins" or "defeat the dark lord", in order to "save the world". These kinds of plots are fun, give the players easy to grasp motivations, and provide a coherent framework for a compelling long term story. By contrast sword & sorcery adventures tend to be better for episodic adventure tales, (there's a reason that most iconic S&S major stories are short stories) because the characters rarely have long term goals. There is no overarching villain; instead there are plenty of opponents, usually dispatched with gusto. If an opponent survives a couple of encounters, he might become a nemesis, but generally he's weaker than the hero...a contrast from Good vs. Evil, where the Dark Lord is usually the most powerful guy around. Sword & Sorcery character motivations are usually more abstract. Why does Conan continue to adventure? Because he's restless and doesn't fit in anywhere. Elric? Bipolar disorder, and need for stimulation (and a soul sucking sword that needs feeding) Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser? usually boredom or poverty and a hard aversion to "honest work". So if your idea is to run a long running, year long campaign with a compelling overall story, where each character is working toward a collective overall goal, then Good vs. Evil is just easier. [/QUOTE]
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Community
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Is 'Good vs Evil' fantasy better for long-term campaigns than more 'amoral' Swords & Sorcery?
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