As is my tradition, each time a game ends, I try to learn from it. This time I'm looking at the disappointing demise of my A5E Eberron campaign, which lasted about 2 months.
About the Group
Player A: my wife, a power gamer who likes butt kicking and action-packed adventure. Her favorite systems are Pathfinder 2 and D&D 4E because of the tactical combat options and big damage potential.
Player B: our neighbor (who grew up with THAC0-era D&D)
Player C: my neighbor’s co-worker (who also grew up with the same era of D&D, but prefers more story-focused games)
Player D: Joining us this time is Player C’s daughter, home from college for the summer. She is studying anthropology and loves exploring worlds through TTRPGs.
Since forming as a group about two years ago, we played two 5e campaigns, short forays into 7e Gamma World (based on 4e) & Savage Worlds Holler, an 8-month campaign in 4e D&D, a handful of 1-shots (Dread, Monster of the Week, Alice is Missing), Dragonbane, and Savage Worlds Deadlands: Lost Colony.
The Selection of Level Up
The group wanted to return to the familiarity of 5E. I suggested Level Up because of the online tools, better balance, great GM tools, etc. Player A was thrilled because it added some of that mechanical crunch she liked from PF 2 and D&D 4e while sticking with the familiar design of 5E. Player D was excited to try it – it had a lot of the rules she was already thinking about for her own homebrew game.
The Selection of Eberron
I have to admit, I’ve usually been hesitant to use any published campaign settings. I have been especially reluctant about Eberron since its creation because of the “I don’t want airships in my D&D” idea that’s been floating around since 3rd edition. However, the excellent reviews of Shadows of the Last War and people online encouraged me to look at it. And I was surprised by how inspired I was by the setting. I pitched them the idea, which especially appealed to Player C who was tiring of traditional fantasy and Player D by the rich world building.
I pitched a few ideas for a campaign framework. The party voted on investigating evil cults in the city of Sharn. I decided to run this much like a Call of Cthulhu game, but with D&D flair.
What Went Wrong
The first session was going brilliantly: an exploding bridge, an enemy noble in a sky chariot, a museum gala where an artifact turned the guests into zombies. Fun pulp adventure. The end of the session turned into a surprise. Player D’s wizard, thinking completely out of the box, wrestled the artifact out of the hands of the enemy noble, pushed him out of his sky chariot in a thrilling encounter…
…which ended up ruining the campaign.
The players then became completely focused on the artifact. “We have to defend it. It can’t stay in Sharn. We can’t trust anyone to help us. We can’t talk to NPCs about this. I want to use it to put my nation on top. I want to destroy it. I want to deliver it to my church across the continent.”
They couldn’t agree on anything. There was no party unity. Even when I suggested things – even “just putting it out of mind so we can have fun” – it didn’t really work.
We went through towns in a blink and nations in a blur, running from scene to scene. The players were too afraid to fight anything, talk to NPCs, or accomplish anything.
Give a Guy a Break
I decided I didn’t have the free time to create 5 towns for each weekly session (that would just be ignored) and realizing that Players A and B were getting eager for some action. Besides, I was coming to the finals of my semester and needed some free time to work on school work. I wanted to take the easy way out and let them explore a dungeon for a little bit, get some XP, treasure, fight and explore, etc. I thought the pulp-inspired adventure of the Lost City (Original Adventures Reincarnated) would be fun for a bit. It would please Players A & B with action, Players C & D should enjoy the lost cultures and faction interaction.
I was dead wrong.
Sometimes Classics Fail, Too
They were bored. The dungeon crawl was too dungeon crawly for them. No one interacted with the factions. They missed out on a lot of treasure and experience that would have helped them and ended up walking into a TPK because they were rushing to the end of the adventure.
Characters Made It to Level 2, but I Failed on Many More Levels
There were two bait and switches – the first when the campaign left Sharn and the second when I dropped them into an old school dungeon crawl. The most disappointing part of the experience was that I wanted to write the entire campaign. I wanted it to be epic, get to high levels. Normally I don’t want to do this. But this time, I wanted to prove to myself and my players that I had it in me to actually stick with something. I wanted to feel passion for the game again by writing my own material. Ultimately, I didn’t have it in me to do any of this. This was intended to be my “last best effort” with this group.
What Next?
Well, this was the last group that I was GMing. And I’m ready to finally back away from the hobby. I think that will be in a more general, Post-Mortem for My Hobby Experience or something. Player D has asked if she can run a game for us until she returns to college, and I’m happy to give her that opportunity. I’m giving her a copy of Jennell Jaquays’ “Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide” – which was my first DM teacher. I hope that she finds the book (and Ms. Jaquays) as inspiring as I did. (FYI, Player D loved A5E so much, she's going to use it for the basis of her game.)
About the Group
Player A: my wife, a power gamer who likes butt kicking and action-packed adventure. Her favorite systems are Pathfinder 2 and D&D 4E because of the tactical combat options and big damage potential.
Player B: our neighbor (who grew up with THAC0-era D&D)
Player C: my neighbor’s co-worker (who also grew up with the same era of D&D, but prefers more story-focused games)
Player D: Joining us this time is Player C’s daughter, home from college for the summer. She is studying anthropology and loves exploring worlds through TTRPGs.
Since forming as a group about two years ago, we played two 5e campaigns, short forays into 7e Gamma World (based on 4e) & Savage Worlds Holler, an 8-month campaign in 4e D&D, a handful of 1-shots (Dread, Monster of the Week, Alice is Missing), Dragonbane, and Savage Worlds Deadlands: Lost Colony.
The Selection of Level Up
The group wanted to return to the familiarity of 5E. I suggested Level Up because of the online tools, better balance, great GM tools, etc. Player A was thrilled because it added some of that mechanical crunch she liked from PF 2 and D&D 4e while sticking with the familiar design of 5E. Player D was excited to try it – it had a lot of the rules she was already thinking about for her own homebrew game.
The Selection of Eberron
I have to admit, I’ve usually been hesitant to use any published campaign settings. I have been especially reluctant about Eberron since its creation because of the “I don’t want airships in my D&D” idea that’s been floating around since 3rd edition. However, the excellent reviews of Shadows of the Last War and people online encouraged me to look at it. And I was surprised by how inspired I was by the setting. I pitched them the idea, which especially appealed to Player C who was tiring of traditional fantasy and Player D by the rich world building.
I pitched a few ideas for a campaign framework. The party voted on investigating evil cults in the city of Sharn. I decided to run this much like a Call of Cthulhu game, but with D&D flair.
What Went Wrong
The first session was going brilliantly: an exploding bridge, an enemy noble in a sky chariot, a museum gala where an artifact turned the guests into zombies. Fun pulp adventure. The end of the session turned into a surprise. Player D’s wizard, thinking completely out of the box, wrestled the artifact out of the hands of the enemy noble, pushed him out of his sky chariot in a thrilling encounter…
…which ended up ruining the campaign.
The players then became completely focused on the artifact. “We have to defend it. It can’t stay in Sharn. We can’t trust anyone to help us. We can’t talk to NPCs about this. I want to use it to put my nation on top. I want to destroy it. I want to deliver it to my church across the continent.”
They couldn’t agree on anything. There was no party unity. Even when I suggested things – even “just putting it out of mind so we can have fun” – it didn’t really work.
We went through towns in a blink and nations in a blur, running from scene to scene. The players were too afraid to fight anything, talk to NPCs, or accomplish anything.
Give a Guy a Break
I decided I didn’t have the free time to create 5 towns for each weekly session (that would just be ignored) and realizing that Players A and B were getting eager for some action. Besides, I was coming to the finals of my semester and needed some free time to work on school work. I wanted to take the easy way out and let them explore a dungeon for a little bit, get some XP, treasure, fight and explore, etc. I thought the pulp-inspired adventure of the Lost City (Original Adventures Reincarnated) would be fun for a bit. It would please Players A & B with action, Players C & D should enjoy the lost cultures and faction interaction.
I was dead wrong.
Sometimes Classics Fail, Too
They were bored. The dungeon crawl was too dungeon crawly for them. No one interacted with the factions. They missed out on a lot of treasure and experience that would have helped them and ended up walking into a TPK because they were rushing to the end of the adventure.
Characters Made It to Level 2, but I Failed on Many More Levels
There were two bait and switches – the first when the campaign left Sharn and the second when I dropped them into an old school dungeon crawl. The most disappointing part of the experience was that I wanted to write the entire campaign. I wanted it to be epic, get to high levels. Normally I don’t want to do this. But this time, I wanted to prove to myself and my players that I had it in me to actually stick with something. I wanted to feel passion for the game again by writing my own material. Ultimately, I didn’t have it in me to do any of this. This was intended to be my “last best effort” with this group.
What Next?
Well, this was the last group that I was GMing. And I’m ready to finally back away from the hobby. I think that will be in a more general, Post-Mortem for My Hobby Experience or something. Player D has asked if she can run a game for us until she returns to college, and I’m happy to give her that opportunity. I’m giving her a copy of Jennell Jaquays’ “Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide” – which was my first DM teacher. I hope that she finds the book (and Ms. Jaquays) as inspiring as I did. (FYI, Player D loved A5E so much, she's going to use it for the basis of her game.)
