D&D 5E What does "Campaign" mean to you?

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Need more information in order to properly answer.

- is it the same players each time, running different PCs (if yes, carry on to next questions); or different players each time as well (if yes, stop here: it's not a campaign)?
- is there a long-term plan to do any of the following:
- - - have characters from any of the parties interact with any or all other parties, and-or have parties merge (if yes, at that point it becomes a campaign)
- - - have the overall party level slowly get higher on average (if yes, carry on to further questions; if no stop here as it's not a campaign)
- - - reuse any of the parties in future adventures (if yes, campaign status remains unclear; if no, not a campaign at all)

Lan-"but my first question is what's the rationale for using an entirely new party each time rather than continuing on with the existing PCs"-efan

- Yes
- Some characters may appear in several adventures and interact with characters that have appeared in other adventures.
- Why is this relevant? So if you're playing with a system that doesn't have numerical character advancement, you can't have a campaign?
- Characters and parties may show up again in later adventures.

The point of this would of course be to let the group explore the story from different points of view, like how a novel might follow different characters from chapter to chapter.

 

[bgbarcus]

Sounds like my idea of a campaign is nearly identical to the Gygax/Arneson style. My campaign started around thirty years ago. There was a fifteen year break as we (players) moved to different cities and got on with our lives. A few years back (via Roll20) we revived the game in the same game world with new characters who were henchmen of old PC's going out on their own. I maintained continuity in the world with many of the original players so I consider this a return to the same campaign.

We have multiple parties of PC's in this world, all sharing a timeline and with some crossover of characters between parties. Each PC has henchmen who are occasionally sent on one-off missions when we get the urge to pay lower levels or just do something different. Several characters have established dominions, most are either wanderers or assisting in the dominions or using them as home bases.

I anticipate this campaign continuing as long as this group continues playing.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using EN World mobile app

 

[Lanefan]

- Yes
- Some characters may appear in several adventures and interact with characters that have appeared in other adventures.

Then it looks like a campaign to me.

- Why is this relevant? So if you're playing with a system that doesn't have numerical character advancement, you can't have a campaign?

I see it as an indication of progression through the game - in D&D as characters continue to adventure they slowly (or quickly, in some games) get better at what they do; reflected by their level advancement. A game that didn't use a level-based system at all and had character abilities remain static could also be a campaign, of course.

My reason for that question was that if there was no other continuity at all then overall-advancing levels might point to there being at least a bit of it. As there's obviously other continuity as shown by your answers, it becomes moot.

- Characters and parties may show up again in later adventures.

The point of this would of course be to let the group explore the story from different points of view, like how a novel might follow different characters from chapter to chapter.

While at the same time allowing players to try out all sorts of different characters. Interesting idea.

Lanefan

 

[Grazzt]

Sounds like my idea of a campaign is nearly identical to the Gygax/Arneson style. My campaign started around thirty years ago. There was a fifteen year break as we (players) moved to different cities and got on with our lives. A few years back (via Roll20) we revived the game in the same game world with new characters who were henchmen of old PC's going out on their own. I maintained continuity in the world with many of the original players so I consider this a return to the same campaign.

We have multiple parties of PC's in this world, all sharing a timeline and with some crossover of characters between parties. Each PC has henchmen who are occasionally sent on one-off missions when we get the urge to pay lower levels or just do something different. Several characters have established dominions, most are either wanderers or assisting in the dominions or using them as home bases.

I anticipate this campaign continuing as long as this group continues playing.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using EN World mobile app

Same here, except we didn't take a 15 year break. Same world, some of the same players, since the mid 80s. Couple of characters retired and their offspring took up the mantle of adventuring. Some just retired and I now use them as NPCs.

Players (old and new) have run different characters in different parties and sometimes meet other characters from previous parties or whatever.

 

[Draegn]

For my players a campaign begins when they realize what the "problem" is and ends when they solve or fail at ending it.

 

[Plaguescarred]

If I had to define "campaign" in a gaming sense I'd do it thus: A series of adventures undertaken by a substantially similar group of players and characters over time in a persistent game world.

Fits well my definition of what a campaign is.

 

[SkidAce]

For my players a campaign begins when they realize what the "problem" is and ends when they solve or fail at ending it.

If I was using your criteria, I would call that an adventure.

I reckon this shows that it has different meaning for different folks.

IMO, it has evolved towards your meaning more recently, but I have no basis other than anecdotal.