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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenada" data-source="post: 9643562" data-attributes="member: 70468">I have described it as a sandbox hexcrawl in the past, so this is probably the thread where I should talk about my campaign some more.I have written about my sessions in the commentary thread for the “Describe your game in five words” thread. You can read about them <a href="https://www.enworld.org/search/3921782/?t=post&c[thread]=682741&c[users]=kenada&o=date" target="_blank">here</a>.I started out running the game in PF2 then switched to 5e then WWN then OSE before I decided that I needed to design my own system to do what I want because what I want is to run a low-prep hexcrawl, and I don’t consider hexcrawls where you spend a lot of time up front to be low-prep. (Ignore that designing one’s own game requires a non-trivial amount of effort.)When we started, I put a map of the region down on the table and talked about things until the players found something that interested them. They decided they wanted to loot the fallen capital. Long ago, there was a magical accident that essentially destroyed the area. Over the last few hundred years, there has been some work done to pacify it, but the capital is still sealed.Over the last 40~50 sessions (I lost count, but I’m fairly sure from our calendar that it’s in that range), the PCs set the course of play. They started out exploring some ruins to the east. They were looking for information or something that could help them find out more about the capital. That’s where they freed Ellenore from a bad situation of her own making. She’d trapped herself in a pocket dimension.That’s also where they found a deed to a manor house. It was just random treasure, but it has become a focal point of play. At that location, I ran <a href="https://necroticgnome.com/products/halls-of-the-blood-king" target="_blank">Halls of the Blood King</a> (at the time using WWN). The PCs managed to extract a bunch of treasure, but the major thing they got out of it was the Princess of Blood as an ally (which is funny because Deirdre [the barbarian] really hates vampires).The PCs have worked to secure the area around their manor. They killed a ton of stirges, negotiated with a dragon, and have been working to get the local raiders off their backs. In the interim, I ran <a href="https://necroticgnome.com/products/the-incandescent-grottoes" target="_blank">The Incandescent Grottoes</a> when they went to investigate a cave that Ellenore was interested in investigating (before she came to work at the manor).The PCs pretty much drive play through the goals they set (campaign-level, group-level, individually). I just provide the adversity they need, and lots of cool stuff happens. The system helps me avoid conflicts of interest, so I can respond to what they are doing without its being unfair (e.g., if they establish something, I can’t negate their success, so no quantum ogre type stuff).Alas, the campaign is on hiatus right now due to our having a baby last fall. Things are getting to a point where I may be able to run again later this year, but I have to do some design work because I find myself souring on the way I was using trackers to run conflicts. I want to move away from them, but it’s going to be a non-trivial change. I also have some reading to do on design.</blockquote>

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