D&D 5E (2014) Should WotC launch a new Living Campaign with D&D Next?

[Jester David]

I'd like to see no real organized play or living world, with one caveat. Next is all about making the game your own. Each table at organized play uses the house GM's modules and structure - or they rotated Basic one week, Standard next, and advanced after. Tactical rules module every 2nd standard or advanced. Not every week.

Basically I do not want to see rules that are codified for organized play that become "The standard rules" and influence opinion at the table of what Next is supposed to be. I want to see every table run it their way and every table just a little bit different. A standard set of options/rules in an organized play situation could reign in that freedom. To me that variance, that chaos if you will, is one the things I love most about the concept of Next.

If they have a few different level of organized play they might have slightly different sets of options. Encounters might use different modules than Lair Assault which might have different requirements than a living world.

 

[Jester David]

I do hope, however, that Wotc will try to make a new campaign world.

This might be the best move.

A brand new world world would allow module writers to expand the world and players would be able to exert a much greater influence on the world. Things could really change over time without worrying about canon, players at home, or novel tie-ins.
Much like the Legend of the Five Rings and how that campaign world is driven by the players and various tournaments.

 

[mlund]

This might be the best move.

A brand new world world would allow module writers to expand the world and players would be able to exert a much greater influence on the world. Things could really change over time without worrying about canon, players at home, or novel tie-ins.
Much like the Legend of the Five Rings and how that campaign world is driven by the players and various tournaments.

I can't find sufficient superlatives to describe how much I like this idea.

- Marty Lund

 

[DerekSTheRed]

I stayed away from mentioning Campaign Settings too much in my original post. I thought it would start a tangent that would overshadow the question of whether a Living Campaign was something that should be done. If one is to be done, then the question of which campaign is important. And since that tangent happened anyway, I might as well give my thoughts on the subject.

I do think that the Greyhawk setting was perfect for a Living Campaign. I know some desire a new campaign setting, but being able to re-use existing canon from Greyhawk was a big pull for a lot of players to try out LG at 3E launch and re-using an existing setting for D&D Next would have similar benefits. Greyhawk is a generic medieval European style campaign that had core rules and cosmology. It was also pretty much abandoned after the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer was published. This meant the players drove the story as opposed to Living Forgotten Realms which had novels drive their story. Since it was a impossible for the Living Forgotten Realms canon to interact with the novel line, players didn't have that sense of ownership that LG had.

Any campaign setting used in a future Living Campaign for D&D Next (if one exists) should not be in Forgotten Realms or any setting with a novel line to compete with players. I would prefer it use an existing Campaign Setting as opposed to a new one, but that may not be possible if no candidate can work. It really needs to be a generic medieval European style to attract new players seeking that typical D&D feel. Yes it will have to use a core rule set which I know some might not like, but it has to appeal to the broadest user base.

It will be interesting to see what WotC does with Eberron for Next. It might not be supported they way it was in the past and could be a candidate for a Living Campaign if there won't be any more Eberron novels. There are also other older Campaign Settings that could be used like Birthright (my favorite candidate). I'd rather not see a relaunch of Living Greyhawk. It just wouldn't feel right and would give off the appearance of pandering.

 

[Pour]

It just wouldn't feel right and would give off the appearance of pandering.

I think that ship may have sailed already...

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

Good post, OP! I'm glad that you enjoyed my book.

I think that if the RIGHT person at WOTC were in charge of a Living Campaign, regardless of edition used, it could do well as long as that person had really learned valuable lessons from Living City, LG, LFR, PFS, and even obscure campaigns like Living Death. Problem is, even those of us who were Triad or Circle members during Living Greyhawk, and, I imagine, LFR admins (I'd have to ask my old buddy Konrad), probably can't agree on what makes a Living Campaign work (the rift between the European and American styles is, imo, especially significant). However, that being said, I still think WOTC should try it. If one were to take the best aspects of Living City, LG, and PFS, I think one would end up with a really great, and significant campaign.

Good gaming!

aurdraco
aka Casey
BK Triad 2005-2008

Hey Casey,

Tell Konrad hello from the Dyvers people up in Wichita.

I think a lot of the best people from LG ended up over at Pathfinder because WotC had their fingers too deep in the cookie jar when LFR started and the Living Campaign just did not feel right. Plus a lot of the LG people did not want to make the change over to 4th edition either.

 

[DerekSTheRed]

I think a lot of the best people from LG ended up over at Pathfinder because WotC had their fingers too deep in the cookie jar when LFR started and the Living Campaign just did not feel right. Plus a lot of the LG people did not want to make the change over to 4th edition either.

This is the key question for me. Did LG players forgo LFR because of the switch from 3E to 4E? Or was there something specific to LFR that would have seen a loss of players no matter what edition? I'm sure there is some bit of both, but I'm wondering what specifically made LFR not feel right to you.

 

[aurdraco]

This is the key question for me. Did LG players forgo LFR because of the switch from 3E to 4E? Or was there something specific to LFR that would have seen a loss of players no matter what edition? I'm sure there is some bit of both, but I'm wondering what specifically made LFR not feel right to you.

For me, as a former fan of Faerun (I used to know as much Realms Lore as I did Greyhawk Canon way back in the day), I couldn't bring myself to do LFR because: 1) I hate 4E, 2) I hate what they did to FR. It is my gut instinct that many of my LG peers, the ones who skipped PFR, felt similarly.

What I'm not sure anyone has analyzed is whether Living City players avoided LFR and, if so, why. It could just be that the years between LC and LFR saw many LC players retire from playing games *shrug*.

aurdraco

 

[gyor]

I hate to break it to you guys, but if thier going to a Living Campaign for 5e realistically it'll be for FR.

FR will be thier first setting and its thier most popular profitable setting and as such they'll want to promote it.

That being said other Living Campaigns may come along later for other settings, but likely only if the new LFR does well.

 

[DerekSTheRed]

I hate to break it to you guys, but if thier going to a Living Campaign for 5e realistically it'll be for FR.

FR will be thier first setting and its thier most popular profitable setting and as such they'll want to promote it.

That being said other Living Campaigns may come along later for other settings, but likely only if the new LFR does well.

If there's to be a Living Campaign at D&D Next launch, then it will have to be an existing campaign setting. Yes LFR 2.0 is the most likely. This is not my preferred path since I don't like the idea of campaign mods competing with a novel line since the novel line will always win. The question would then be do they do a hard regional system like LG, a soft regional system as LFR has now, or no regional system (perhaps reviving Living City and setting all adventures in Raven's Bluff)?