I am currently running a campaign exactly like this. YMMV, of course, but my group is currently having a blast with it. I’ll try to be brief, but probably fail, as we all know how DMs like to prattle on about their games…
The general setup is as follows; the PCs began as down on their luck adventurers who were forced to leave their current lodgings about half a step ahead of the local authorities with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a bit of coin in their purses. It was a perfect storm of sorts, with the town guard looking to question the fighter about some property damaged during a recent brawl at the same time a local petty noble and his retainers came looking for the rogue to ask a few questions about reports of his (the rogue) being sighted making a bit of a scandal of himself and the noble’s daughter in the local ale houses.
The rest of the party was just kind of swept up in the ensuing chaos. They fled to the harbor, looking to buy passage, or stow away on a departing ship. Upon their arrival, they sighted the most bizarre ship that they had ever seen. It was massive, it seemed to be made of some kind of metal, and it had no sails. It had three chimneys that released a pale mist into the night air, and a pair of great paddle wheels that seemed to drive it through the water. Long story short, the party manages to meet the captain and secure passage on his ship.
The characters were amazed at the ship, and more importantly at its amenities. The ship has running water and modern-ish plumbing, refrigeration allows the kitchens to prepare fresh food… there is even a sauna on board. It’s easily the most wondrous and luxurious place the characters have ever been, which makes them suspicious… why have they never seen or heard of these things before… and why wasn’t passage more expensive?
The ship has several other passengers, though considering it’s great size, and the fact that it was clearly designed to carry large numbers of people (the party deduced this based on things like the amount of seating in the lounge, the tables in the dining hall, and the number of apparent cabins) there seem to only be a dozen or so other guests on board. The ship travels strange and exotic oceans, sighting rare and wonderful creatures. The party has watched great sea serpents play off of the port bow, parlayed with merfolk in warm tropical waters, and fought the undead sailors of the star king while their ship churned through an arctic sea choked with ice. From time to time the ship makes port to take on supplies, or for some other reason that is known only to the captain… who seems to follow a schedule and a course, though no one else knows what it is. The ports range from the mundane on through the exotic, and all the way out to extra-planar strangeness.
So now what makes the campaign successful? I think that this answer is different depending on the set up of your campaign. In my case several elements really seem to speak to my players, and help me to keep the sense of wonder alive, and keep the sessions fresh. Keep in mind that this has no basis in fact other than my own anecdotal experience with my gaming group.
First is the use of the ship as a means of transportation. This does several things for me that make my job as DM easier in this style of campaign. The fact that it has a captain who directs it according to his will helps maintain the sense that the PCs are being “swept away” on this series of adventures. It really keeps them guessing and excited… will they be stopping next at an island nation of dragon-men, an iron city ruled by noble salamanders, a mysterious floating citadel filled with otherworldly psionics…. who knows?
The ship also allows me to offer the players a mobile base of operations. Let’s face it, most D&D characters don’t want to live in a tent forever, and they aren’t really suited for it. They kind of acquire things as a matter of course, and it’s nice to give them a place to put that stuff. In addition they seem to get more attached to the ship as their “home” if they can store treasured mementos (and loot) from their past journeys in their cabins, and redecorate as they see fit.
Perhaps most importantly it allows me to maintain a population of important NPCs, as well as giving me a convenient way to add or remove them (they leave the ship, or the ship takes on more passengers) from the “stage” as it were. I have found that the having detailed and multi-dimensional NPCs to act kind of as “guides” during the early games when the PCs were adapting to the ship, and later as trusted advisors and sources of information, and finally as friends as sources of extra plot hooks, has really given a sense of consistency and permanence to a game that radically changes every few sessions. (sometimes more than once a session)
Generating plot hooks and keeping the PCs entertained while in the various places the ship stops is a potential source of problems. I completely lucked out on this point, and I’ll pass along how it happened, though this may not be overly helpful to your game. the NPCs on the ship enjoy passing the time by gambling and competing against one another in various games. One of the passengers has a favorite game in which after every round of play a player is eliminated. When a player is eliminated they must draw a card, the cards are a minor artifact that place a compulsion/geas on the character who draws it. These things range from a need to help the first person who asks, to compulsions that prevent a character from leaving a city/area until a certain event happens, or giving away all of their material wealth. No one who is aware of the geas can trigger or fulfill it. The party often plays this game with some of the NPCs for things that they have acquired in the last port, so there is generally an interesting plot point to be spun out of the cards hanging over the various party members.
I think that the most important point though, is the need to build up slowly. Any group of PCs can be “shocked” into a feeling of awe or wonder the first time they meet a demon, or enter a city of intelligent constructs, but if these things are just thrown at the party one after the other, the PCs quickly become jaded, and bored. In my case I built up slowly, the ship itself was mysterious, there were no labels on the doors, no floor plans or schematics available to the PCs, and though no area is “forbidden”, several are hard to find, giving the party a great deal to do in the beginning simply by exploring parts of the ship. I also keep the captain apart from the players and his other “guests” which adds to the sense of mystery. Who is this guy, where did he and his ship come from, and what is he up to? I also made sure to fully flesh out the NPCs, they all have a unique personality and history. The players only find these things out about the ones that they care enough about to have extended conversations with, or to investigate, but it adds to the sense that there might be something larger going on.
For the first couple levels the places the ship went to were fairly mundane. They exposed the players to strange cultures and traditions, and introduced some strange elements, but they built slowly into the more fantastic settings. Finally, my players seem to like that they are “changed” by the places that they visit. The barbarian who befriended the Urughani tribe in the frozen north, and went through their initiation ceremony gained an aura of cold, and unnaturally ice-blue eyes. Recovering a treasure for a noble salamander gained some of the PCs a minor resistance to fire, or a slight affinity to fire critters. This also reinforces the feeling that the PCs are “separate” from characters specific to one “setting” and more at home among their own traveling kind, on the ship. Also, the fact that they are going to stranger and stranger places, and gathering up different bits of power and diverse abilities, making allies and enemies among these exotic creatures, and growing into something distinct from other types of characters gives the players a sense that maybe they are being prepared for something…
Sorry about the length of the post, but we’ve really been having a blast with this style of game. Besides, I warned you about how DMs love to prattle on.
Happy Gaming
