(TFT) Rough and Ready Campaigns 3

["Jay Carlisle" <selfinflicted_wounds@boardermail.com>]

Rough and Ready Campaigns

Style 3

>From scratch.

Points I think are important.

What is a Campaign?
That is a very good question, are there any more questions?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_(role-playing_games)

In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters.
A campaign by definition spans more than one session of play.

And thats about all we get.
A discussion of types, or generas, is superflurious IMO, as genera jumpping is a genera in itself, and aspects, as noted, only serve to determine flavor.

So I have a working definition of Campaign that tells me that I am looking at a set of adventures that will span more than one session of play.
Aparantly, I can use a Storyline to tie these adventures together, but I read that or as an and/or.



Now from a real world prespective, what am I looking at?

Im talking about having a group of people meet on a regular basis, and attempting to entertain them.
The media for this attempt is the game.

Now, do I even need a Campaign?
No, this is not a requirement for a regular group.
In my case, Im in the process of forming a group and, as I suspected, Im gonna have to show them TFT first.
Since so much of the entertainment value depends on the Groups dynamics, I let the first session or two run as Character building and arena Combat while I try to feel out what these folks are expecting outta all this.

Rules and the rest be damned, this is probably the closest Im gonna get as to WHY we play RPGs.
I keep it at Entertainment for a reason!
I know what kinda nut jobs are attracted to these games because I am their Patrion Saint!
< waves benediction in my best Antonio Salieri imitation >
I aint no writer, and I aint no Psychologist neither.

So, having put a little thought into why my Group is there, I can NOW begin to think about how to structure a Campaign.

And here I am back at the same subjective problem as Story.
What does my Group want?

But does it have to be that way?

Short answer, Yes with a but.
Long answer, No with an if.

So IF I run a Downtime system as roughly outlined, what am I loosing?
Nothing really, as the additional information shouldnt really cause any restrictions to a Story, except by keeping it within the bounds of creditability.
Most of these Actions are tied to positions of power within a Government.
A Character has to occupy a Lawmaking Job before they can affect Law as an Action for example.
This kinda thing helps to limit Players, but IMO is not enough.

If I just want them to learn how to fight in an Arena, but still want to call it a Campaign, then, If Im REALLY being fair about it all, I should at LEAST have the arena Map drawn out.
Now when I draw a Map, I bear in mind that the Characters actually live there.
< waves benediction >
If nothing else, these poor arena slobs have some wooden boxes over in the corner to sleep in when Im not breaking them out to kill them for entertainment.
The Grrrrrrreaaaaateeeeest aaaaadveeeeenture Who that THAT guy outta the box? DMG
Bring out the Gimp
QT
Screw em. Im just gonna kill em anyway, but until then I suppose I gotta feed em, and we all know where THATs gonna end up.
Okay, seeing as theres no way Im putting up with;
< boney hand raised through slats of crate >
 Mr. Dungeon Master Sir? I need to go to the bathroom.
Ill just keep straw in the boxes.
Still, that means storage areas and workers and
Why?
Well one of these bright boys may actually consider escape one day.
IM not gonna tell them its a possibility, as a matter of fact, the NPCs that work there are gonna tell them just the opposite (great reaction an exception to account for).
I wont even tell em they can ask.

The idea here being, if a Campaign is a series of sessions of Play with the same Character/s then instead of trying to force the action in my role as GM, I try to plan the environment to where I can use the NPCs and Equipment of the Place to do the forcing.
Of course that stuff is subject to the same rules that the Players are.
If a PC gets past my planning, well there are going to be some procedural changes at the old Dungeon, but whos fault is that?
I blame bad dice.
But heres the kicker.
The longer a Player Character lives < waves > in an area, the more detailed that area becomes.
It doesnt matter how much you plan, the Players are gonna either ask questions that get a yes out of you, or there going to bring weird stuff in and leave it lying around.
One way or another, this will happen, so I go with the other.
Instead of trying to give them fleshed out, detailed gameworlds I go the other way.
If they want someplace to stay, I tell em to start digging.
Okay, maybe not THAT bad, but I make things as simple, and bear, as possible.
Even a simple problem like where to keep the gladiators can get complicated quickly, so I prefer to sluff this kinda thing off on the Group.
Handled properly, the Players feel that they are more powerful and that they are accomplishing something by building stuff and setting up how it runs, and I get to play Dom3 and can even apply one of the games to what is happing on the Large Scale while the Players set up there little village, or what not.
I told yall I was lazy.
Its my definition of multi-tasking.
I pretty much just keep the Campaign notes at my house.
One day I hope to be usurped.

Can a style like this be run on the fly?
Possibly, but youd have to re-think some of the more traditional approaches.
For example, if I really wanted a new Group to adventure in a Dungeon I drew up, rather than try to tease them in, why not start them at the bottom and make em get out?
Its a dirty trick, but a GM gets to pick the starting location.
How do you think I got all these cats in the boxes to begin with?
Still, at some point, you got to let em outta the box.
So when you crack that lid, what are you releasing them into?
Have you Player-proofed your Campaign?
Cause just like little Ferrets, theyll dart for the nearest little hole or cranny and the next thing you know their in the walls and all you can do is leave food out for them and hope that SOMETIME in the next few months, theyll show themselves and youll get a shot to throw a sheet over them.
Either that, or you can point your finger at the clever SOB and say NO FAIR as you ruthlessly disallow the valid point.
It will, after all, totally wreck the whole Campaign.

Of course Duce will never get to play in another game if everyone swings that way.

So, since Ive had to play with all these intellectual gorillas over the years, I really try to make my Campaigns Samsonite.
Keep it small, and simple, and sluff the thing off on the Players in the form of Jobs that have Actions that affect things like the Map and the Timeline.
Dont reinvent the wheal, Physics is Physics, etc.
First, superseding physical laws is like half the point of Magic in the first place. (tech to for that matter)
Second, you have something to go to when things get weird.
I find that if you, in the role of GM, present these interesting little problems to the group, the resulting discussion can be just as entertaining as other aspects of play.
Also people seemed to appreciate my asking their opinions, and as mentioned a note can be made in the body of the rules for future arbitration.

So Ive said all that to say this.

I suppose I can offer some adventures in the near future.
Yall have an idea of my plans for my Play-test-ers.
To demonstrate concepts like equipment, I run a session around it.
By the end of the session, Ive got a story.
So, if an adventure requires a story then Ill have to run my Campaign a few times to pull some adventures.
You never can tell what those little monkeys are gonna do next.

Jay

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