BookTenTiger
He / Him
War pops up a lot in the genre of fantasy, but I've never found a satisfying way to tie it into a campaign.
How have wars been important in your games?
I figure there are a few different ways for wars to interact with a campaign:
Lore: wars are often important parts of the history of a campaign setting, and can explain things like the motivations of NPCs
Setting: wars might be fought during adventures, changing the landscape. Roads might be closed, cities might be under siege, and dungeons might be difficult to access because of raging battles.
Participation: the characters might be participating in war, as soldiers or leaders. The players might be playing as units in a battle.
Here are some issues I've had with putting wars in my campaign:
Timing: wars can take years, and adventures and campaigns happen over days, weeks, and months.
Adventurers are Individuals: it's a little weird to have, say, a Warlock of the Deep throwing on a uniform or fighting on the front lines.
Wars Don't Happen in Dungeons: a lot of time is spent in dungeons. Wars don't happen there.
So how have you used wars in your campaigns? Did the characters participate? Was it happening during adventures? What worked? What didn't?
How have wars been important in your games?
I figure there are a few different ways for wars to interact with a campaign:
Lore: wars are often important parts of the history of a campaign setting, and can explain things like the motivations of NPCs
Setting: wars might be fought during adventures, changing the landscape. Roads might be closed, cities might be under siege, and dungeons might be difficult to access because of raging battles.
Participation: the characters might be participating in war, as soldiers or leaders. The players might be playing as units in a battle.
Here are some issues I've had with putting wars in my campaign:
Timing: wars can take years, and adventures and campaigns happen over days, weeks, and months.
Adventurers are Individuals: it's a little weird to have, say, a Warlock of the Deep throwing on a uniform or fighting on the front lines.
Wars Don't Happen in Dungeons: a lot of time is spent in dungeons. Wars don't happen there.
So how have you used wars in your campaigns? Did the characters participate? Was it happening during adventures? What worked? What didn't?