When I was about 17 and feeling unsure of my role as a Gamemaster, concerned that I'd never be able to top the games I'd already run, my friend Richard said to me, "You'll never run your 'best' campaign because with each one you'll learn something and improve." I haven't thought about that statement in years.
Recently, after reading posts by James of GROGNARDIA and JB of B/X BLACKRAZOR on the subject of creating one's 'Forever Campaign', the memory of this statement popped back into my head. It's one of the many reasons my views on the subject differ from those of my esteemed colleagues*.
I've run and/or played a lot of games over my 48 years in the hobby.
I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say I've easily played over a hundred+ different systems. If you include multiple editions of games as separate RPGs than definitely more. I also think it's very likely I'm being conservative. It could be several hundred. I'm fascinated by new rules sets, curious about how different designers view and adapt various genres, and interested in checking out known and unique settings.
With such a wide range of options out there - past, present, and of course future - why limit yourself to one game and one campaign? Why not embrace the RPG that is really speaking to you at that moment? Sure, it can be tough to hear that one game calling out to you among the cacophony of other titles vying for your attention but 'at that moment' is the key.
We gamers of a certain age are always wary of the passage of timeTM, the great equalizer that lets us know, 'You only have a finite number of gaming days left'. True...but morbid, no? What a sad state of affairs it would be to focus on what we potentially can't do instead of what we potentially can. I personally feel that we shouldn't be looking for our Forever Campaign as we don't have forever. I'd much rather find my Great Campaign, one that my players and I absolutely love for as long as it runs.
To this end, I try not to go into my campaign design process thinking the game will last forever. At the same time, I don't always aim for a 'finale' or 'conclusion'. It's an odd paradox isn't it? Most gamers [I believe] are either trying to tell a set story with a definitive ending or they're planning to play their game without a set tale but simply for as long as it goes on. As with most things, since no one told me you can't combine these approaches, I do.
A perfect example of this is my current Star Trek Adventure campaign, Star Trek: Prosperity. Now roughly 11 years on, we started it as a one-shot at a local game convention and after a few tweaks decided to keep it going. Approximately 200+ sessions later we're still going. The game is set and patterned after the Original Series of Star Trek and as such, there isn't a single overaching story but a series of adventures of the USS Prosperity and its crew. At the same time, we've seen PCs change positions, get married, leave the ship, new crewmen have joined, and at least two characters were promoted. The ship has been upgraded several times as well.
The campaign, both within the setting and without, has evolved but like evolution itself there is not final form, no end game goal. This allows change to continue and to flourish. Who knows what they'll encounter next and what it will mean to them? Only that pesky time will tell.
Unlike some, I can't just play Star Trek. That would be like eating my absolute favorite food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of my days. I would definitely get sick of it. Heck, to be honest I can't have tonight what I had last night. I always need to mix it up.
So while I am running my long lasting TOS Star Trek campaign, I'm also running a Champions campaign that I have periodically taken a break from to run a whole host of different things. I've also been playing a Hogwarts/Wizarding World campaign for the last 7 years, a Star Trek Adventures game set post-Voyager, and just finished a really great 5 session mini-campaign of The Smurfs (see previous and upcoming posts on the topic).
In 2024 and 2025 together I've run the Japanese TRPGs Dragon Castle and Space Ship Story and got to play Star Rain Days in Meteor City. I mean...WOW! Just...do you know how cool that is? It's FREAKIN' COOL!
I can't imagine playing only one game, a single system and a single system, for the rest of years. Ugh. Sounds like creative torture.
This year I have plans for a return to ALIEN, Ghostbusters, Star Wars D6, and hopefully my Fantasy RPG world of Aerth. Hmm. Or maybe Ars Magica instead. Maybe both! Plus there's the upcoming release of Discworld, I definitely want to run more Smurfs, and Oh, Space:1999!
So many games but luckily...I've got time.
AD
Barking Alien
I, too, prefer to play different games and multiple campaigns within the same games. As far as I am concerned, life is too short not to enjoy some variety.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post BA!
ReplyDeleteI went and read those two articles and while I get the intent of them I couldn't disagree with them more. While I can appreciate focusing in on one campaign to the exclusion of all others and I would be happy to be a player in said campaign I disagree then "breadth" is inferior to "depth". In fact, I would say a deliberate long-term campaign would benefit from the GM taking occasional breaks to run something else just to throw a fresh perspective into the mix.
I'm with you - given the universe of options out there, old and new. why would I ever close myself off from the possibilities? I do commit to running my campaigns to a reasonable stopping point but that doesn't mean we will never come back to them. When my current Temple campaign is over there's a good chance we could return to the Deadlands campaign from a few years ago, the M&M campaign from a few years before that, or go in a completely different direction with the GI Joe/Transformers/Power Rangers campaign that's lurking in my head. Or, we might continue this current run into some higher level action with other classic D&D adventures. I don't have to decide right now and that's another important lesson I have learned over the years: Don't worry about what you are going to run next - worry about what you're running now, focus on that, and make some notes here and there about other options but you don't have to decide in 2025 what you will or will not be running in 2026 or 2027 or 2030 - even as we get older.
Also - what do your players think? How do they feel? When they get a little tired of D&D-style fantasy what are you going to do? Your campaign is not a book that will be handed down for generations - it's an experience. Changing it up keeps things fresh and pushes different buttons for your players, giving them a chance to shine in different ways and get excited about different things. In your case moving between Trek and Smurfs ... yeah that's a great example of changing things up.
You may have provoked/inspired a post of my own now that the wheels are turning so thank you for that!
What I appreciate most about your comments Blacksteel is that they often make me feel validated in my 'unorthodox' opinions.
DeleteI look forward to your take on the matter.
And comment more often will ya? ; )