D&D General What is your favorite "campaign paradigm"

[TheSword]

that is just a video game, one that was divisive to my knowledge.

I personally prefer campaign that lasts and most people know the roles of there characters also one where nither I nor anyone screw it up

Whaaaat? How did what I say relate to a video game?

Curse of the Crimson Throne, Dungeons of Drakenheim, Ubersreik Adventures, Waterdeep Dragonheist/Mad Mage. Nothing to do with computer games?

If you’re referring to Baldurs Gate, The city doesn’t feature in it until the last third. That’s the opposite of what I’m referring to.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Whaaaat? How did what I say relate to a video game?

Curse of the Crimson Throne, Dungeons of Drakenheim, Ubersreik Adventures, Waterdeep Dragonheist/Mad Mage. Nothing to do with computer games?

If you’re referring to Baldurs Gate, The city doesn’t feature in it until the last third. That’s the opposite of what I’m referring to.

you compared it to the lord of the rings as a reflection, what you were describing was the plot for Dragon Age 2 a fantasy adventure set in one city that does not move more or less. I thought you would want a faster descriptive comparison

 

[jmartkdr2]

you compared it to the lord of the rings as a reflection, what you were describing was the plot for Dragon Age 2 a fantasy adventure set in one city that does not move more or less. I thought you would want a faster descriptive comparison

"A video game did that at least once" and "that's just like a video game" are not equivalent statements by a long shot.

 

[jdrakeh]

Old, retired, heroes are called back into action because the young, popular, heroes are otherwise engaged (or got sent out to deal with a problem and were never heard from again). The party is essentially the B-Team, sent into the fray for one last good fight against the forces of evil. In D&D, this necessitates starting PCs at much higher level than normal, but now there is an actual game (Grizzled Adventurers) for this campaign paradigm.

Another twist I like on this is the Dirty Dozen style campaign where, rather than retired heroes, criminals are offered a devil's bargain to undertake what is essentially a suicide mission because (again), the A-Team is otherwise engaged (or has disappeared). I like this setup a little bit less because there's almost always a player who ends up playing Maggot and trying to ruin the game for everybody else. Being a criminal doesn't mean you have to be a jerk.

 

[Mind of tempest]

"A video game did that at least once" and "that's just like a video game" are not equivalent statements by a long shot.

you are missing the point, the campaign was described as a reverse of the lord of the rings, my point was stating that a simile already existed thus making it easier to explain the concept to others.

 

[jmartkdr2]

you are missing the point, the campaign was described as a reverse of the lord of the rings, my point was stating that a simile already existed thus making it easier to explain the concept to others.

That might have been clearer if you had named the game in question.

 

[Distracted DM]

Starting small and growing organically from there. I've run a good number of long-term campaigns, and some of the ones based on long adventures were great (my first Night Below and RHoD campaigns went amazingly)- but I think that not knowing what's going to happen down the road is a lot more fun as a GM.

 

[Mind of tempest]

That might have been clearer if you had named the game in question.

I did in my second post would the trailer help

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

A lot of my creative works, inclusive of tabletop and video game design but also prose and narrative poems I've worked on, is the unifying notion of "The Horror of Heroism".

Simply put, if we exist in a world where some people are simply more important to the narrative of reality than others, it's going to take a psychological toll on either the protagonist or everyone around them.

Sit down and think about what it means to not be the prophesized hero; to have to live in a world of iniquity and wrongness until the "right" person shows up, and that right person ain't you. Think of how demotivating that is. Think about why we don't follow the "Great Man" theory of historiography anymore... and now imagine how terrible things would be if it were true. Think about what it means if you are truly, honestly, the only person capable of saving the world, and what that means about duty and the nature of the self; by no fault of your own, your life no longer belongs to you.

This is something I always incorporate into my campaigns; the players are special, the narrative revolves around them. That's not a good thing.

The end of my campaigns should leave the players feeling like they went on a drug bender; yeah they had fun in the moment but now they're going to need months if not years of therapy to process what happened.

 

[Mind of tempest]

A lot of my creative works, inclusive of tabletop and video game design but also prose and narrative poems I've worked on, is the unifying notion of "The Horror of Heroism".

Simply put, if we exist in a world where some people are simply more important to the narrative of reality than others, it's going to take a psychological toll on either the protagonist or everyone around them.

Sit down and think about what it means to not be the prophesized hero; to have to live in a world of iniquity and wrongness until the "right" person shows up, and that right person ain't you. Think of how demotivating that is. Think about why we don't follow the "Great Man" theory of historiography anymore... and now imagine how terrible things would be if it were true. Think about what it means if you are truly, honestly, the only person capable of saving the world, and what that means about duty and the nature of the self; by no fault of your own, your life no longer belongs to you.

This is something I always incorporate into my campaigns; the players are special, the narrative revolves around them. That's not a good thing.

The end of my campaigns should leave the players feeling like they went on a drug bender; yeah they had fun in the moment but now they're going to need months if not years of therapy to process what happened.

can people become the prophesized hero or does some one or something determine it?