LOST as Campaign Model...

[Scribble]

So I like the show LOST (kind of obsessed with it actually) and so I've read a lot of interviews and such about it... One of the things they mentioned was that they really thought long an hard about the "style" in which to present the show, and how it would effect the audience. They took two other shows into consideration when doing this.

X-Files and Twin Peaks...

They wanted the audience to know there was a clearcut overarching story/ mystery going on, but also wanted there to be smaller story lines happening as well. Unlike X-Files they didn't want to seperate the show into two parts... (mythology shows and non mythology shows) and unlike Twin Peaks they wanted to give themselves freedom to tell smaller tales unrelated to the larger show. Also unlike twin peaks they didn't want the audience to latch onto any one element that when answered seemed to spell the end o the show.

As a result the show hits right away with a format that definitely has smaller stories, and a larger overall plotline, but the two intermingle, and you never know when things will or will not be related... It also attempts not to answer any one question without opening up a larger question.

What is the Hatch? An underground lab built by Dharma. Who or what is/was Dharma? A group of Scientists that dissapeared mysteriously leaving behind a doomsday button... What happened to DHARMA, and what happens if we don't push the button... etc...

So... as it realtes to D&D...

Has anyone tried this model for campaign building? Players move through adventures with questions giving more info by opening more questions, and the players knowing there's an overall epic quest, but not so much what the exact quest is or how to "complete" it until the end?

 

[Simm]

I can honestly say I've never seriously considered running a game like that because it would be really, really hard. What you're essentially looking at, if I understand correctly, is a sandbox game where each plot hook and element links to a central plotline. In order to successfully create this framework you're going to have to figure out what these point are before hand.The problem is that I've often found players to be not very observant. They are likely to miss the underlying conective factors and be frustrated by a apparant lack of progress towards a goal. To bring that back in you are going to have to reinsert the points that they missed into a later game.

In addition the writers of those shows can control what their characters do, you cannot. If the players find clues for which they do not yet have the relevent context they are likely to discard them or be confused by them. If they discard them you will have wasted the adventure which gained it for them because you will need to wait until the party has the required context and remind them of the clues. If they confuse the party they will likely persue a dead end course of action and be frustrated.

I wouldn't even try it unless I was a much better improvisational DM then I am.

 

[Scribble]

I can honestly say I've never seriously considered running a game like that because it would be really, really hard. What you're essentially looking at, if I understand correctly, is a sandbox game where each plot hook and element links to a central plotline.

Well, to a degree yes...Not really a sandbox though. There's a definite plot, but that plot isn't outlined from the begining.

Bilbo has the ring and knows he has to take it to the volcano to destroy it while escaping Sauron and orcs n stuff...

As opposed to:

Take Bilbo and give him the ring... He knows he has this ring, and that these evil black riders want it... but who they are, and why they want it isn't apparent yet...

In order to successfully create this framework you're going to have to figure out what these point are before hand.The problem is that I've often found players to be not very observant. They are likely to miss the underlying conective factors and be frustrated by a apparant lack of progress towards a goal. To bring that back in you are going to have to reinsert the points that they missed into a later game.

Yeah... That seems like a very real concern... Players forgetting stuff.

In addition the writers of those shows can control what their characters do, you cannot. If the players find clues for which they do not yet have the relevent context they are likely to discard them or be confused by them. If they discard them you will have wasted the adventure which gained it for them because you will need to wait until the party has the required context and remind them of the clues. If they confuse the party they will likely persue a dead end course of action and be frustrated.

I wouldn't even try it unless I was a much better improvisational DM then I am.

I almost want to say it would be easier though, since you don't have to worry about fitting the already established plotline... Just alter adventures and such as you go to follow what the players pick... Like you know the destination, but haven't picked a route on the map to get there...

 

[Afrodyte]

Scribble,

No, but I'd love to play in a game like that.

From what you describe (I never watched LOST before ), it seems that you need a few very proactive players to make it work. A lot of players are pretty passive, wanting the GM to spoonfeed the adventure to them rather than the PCs going after what they want. This set-up looks like it'll need characters who would actively seek answers to the mysteries that surround them. And their motives for seeking these answers need to be powerful and personal. What do the questions and answers mean to the PCs?

Like I said, a game like this would be perfect for me, but finding like-minded individuals is the hard part.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think it's a great idea for a campaign model, but you need players who would make it work. They need good backgrounds that aren't completely fleshed out (IME, people who flesh out their backgrounds well rarely leave any dangling bits that would be needed for this model) and would need to put the needs of the character ahead of the needs of the player (which isn't too uncommon).