D&D 5E Would you play or run a game if the party's members are not the protagonists?

[Ezequielramone]

Well, the idea just came to me. I was thinking of running an adventure where you are supporting the "heroes", maybe the party is just part of an army and they have to scout out act as spies
The core concept of this is that there are bigger things happening around and characters can't deal with that but they can help.
In some place, I believe a DMG don't remember which, they say to you that the history must be about the heroes and they should save the day or something like that.

I don't believe in having fun all the way playing. I like intense experiences, both good and bad ones (the same concept of people likening horror movies). So maybe the party success in their mission but the " heroes" or the army fail, that is cruel real life for me.

Would you play something like this? Do you think it could be boring or frustrating? Do you know any adventure like this?

 

[Pssthpok]

Protagonists are the center of the action, so you can't prevent the players from occupying that space in the narrative of the game dynamic. That's like asking if you'd play a game without players.

 

[delericho]

Well, the idea just came to me. I was thinking in run an adventure where you are supporting the "heroes", maybe the party is just part of an army and they have to scout out act as spies
The core concept of this is that there are bigger things happening around and characters can't deal with that but they can help.
In some place, I believe a DMG don't remember which, they say to you that the history must be about the heroes and they should save the day or something like that.

I don't have a problem with running a game where the PCs aren't the Big Heroes. Indeed, I'm pretty sure I have run that game at some point over the years.

I wouldn't run a game where the PCs weren't the protagonists, though.

 

[jayoungr]

Assuming you meant "Big Heroes" when you said protagonists above.

It's all in how you spin it. I have and would happily play/run games where the PCs are not the most powerful characters in the setting. But you don't want to spend large chunks of table time describing how the really powerful NPCs do stuff much cooler than the PCs can.

So if, for example, the PCs were acting as spies for the king, I'm going to spend 99% of the adventure talking about their spy mission and then just tag on a bit about how the king's army sweeps in and defeats the bad guys. I'd stress that they would not have been able to do it without the PCs' contribution. I would not spend time lovingly describing how the awesomest members of that army defeat the way-too-powerful bad guy leaders.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think it’s fine to create a campaign where there are big things happening around them. And there's nothing wrong with throwing powerful NPCs and monsters into the game. If the PCs think they can always get away with anything without repercussions, that only encourages murderhoboism.

What’s not so good is when the PCs are constantly stuck sitting around while an NPC gets all the glory and action. Whatever’s happening at the time, the PCs are the center of the game.

As far as the PCs succeeding at their quest but the overall battle is lost…I’ve got mixed feelings on that. On the one hand, yes, it can make for a nice surprise and adds verisimilitude to the campaign. On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of events that happen no matter what the PCs do. If there’s no way for them to influence the events of the adventure, that takes away from the PCs actions.

I guess my answer is that it’s cool, but it can’t happen all the time, or it starts to feel like the story is unfolding regardless of anything the PCs do.

 

[mflayermonk]

I would play. I've never tried that before and would be interested to see how it plays.

 

[Endur]

most living campaigns fit this

 

[Hriston]

Do you know any adventure like this?

The Battle of Emridy Meadows in the final issue of Dragon (I think it's available on DMs' Guild) has the PCs running several missions to support the effort of winning the battle. Some notable Greyhawk NPCs are there and one of them, a member of the Circle of Eight I think, ends up dying in the battle. The outcome of the battle is influenced by the number of successes the PCs have in their missions, but is ultimately left up to chance. I'm running a Greyhawk campaign set in CY 569 and can't wait until the PCs are fifth level or so, so they can take this one on.

 

[wedgeski]

I would both play and run something like this, as long as the PC's were given clear feedback on how their actions were affecting the larger world (like the Greyhawk example above).

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*