The ideal campaign

[Kensen]

I've run a number of games in GitP and I've come to notice that it's usually very difficult to guess how much interest a recruitment thread is going to generate when you post it in the Finding Players forum (whether ones I've posted myself or someone else's). Sometimes I'm thinking "wow, this is an amazingly cool idea, but only three people are interested..?" and sometimes I'm like "uhh this looks so bad but twenty people are willing to play???"

So I'm asking you, assuming that you weren't busy with school/work/other games and that the DM/GM seemed capable of running the game, what type of game would be such that you'd not be able to say "no" to? What would be the coolest adventure/campaign idea ever?

[dsmiles]

Call of Cthulhu in a Magical/Steampunk world. It's my kryptonite.

[pife]

For me, the main criteria I look for is how the DM/GM/ST present themselves. You can usually tell in the first couple of sentences what kind of style they're going to have. I'm typically looking for their writing style, as the way they communicate dictates everything in a PbP.. I mean, they ARE your 5 senses in the game, and if they can't spell, or can't think on their feet, as a player, I'm going to go insane.

If you have a good GM, you can play ANY game with ANY story and have a great time. I wish there was some type of Rate-Your-PbP-DM section here, so that people could pursue the "elite" gamemasters..

And kill them.

Err, I mean.. Ahem.. And now, for something completely different!

[Myth]

Epic 3.5 with good optimizers but no blatant cheese. Horror 3.5 run by a good dm or an Evil 3.5 for mid levels and onward, but no Stupid Evil PCs.

Also i love Faerun, so an Epic 3.5 Forgotten Realms game will just make me drool.

[Kensen]

For me, the main criteria I look for is how the DM/GM/ST present themselves. You can usually tell in the first couple of sentences what kind of style they're going to have. I'm typically looking for their writing style, as the way they communicate dictates everything in a PbP.. I mean, they ARE your 5 senses in the game, and if they can't spell, or can't think on their feet, as a player, I'm going to go insane.

If you have a good GM, you can play ANY game with ANY story and have a great time. I wish there was some type of Rate-Your-PbP-DM section here, so that people could pursue the "elite" gamemasters..

And kill them.

Err, I mean.. Ahem.. And now, for something completely different!

I see your point and I totally agree that the GM's writing skills are very important. The necessary GM skills is basically a large part of what I meant with "capable of running the game".

But assuming that you had several skilled GMs to choose from, what type of campaigns would be most likely to lure you in?

[Volthawk]

Monster games. I love them, and find them interesting to play in.

[bokodasu]

Well, the nice thing about playing on the forums is that everyone can gravitate to the sort of campaign they like. When I see "RP-heavy, high-intrigue political drama*" I run screaming in the opposite direction, but there are boatloads of players on here who are waiting on the edges of their metaphorical seats for just such a thing to come up.

So I'm not sure "what sort of campaign do YOU want to play" is such a useful question. Unless you're specifically asking someone you want to GM for.

I can't even answer the question, honestly. As long as it's got some measure of adventure and heroics, it's entirely GM-dependent for me - I don't think there's a particular campaign that would grab me regardless of who was running it, although there are certainly ones I wouldn't want to play in even if they were run by the Most Masterful Game Master in the World.
--
*I mean, I've got Real Life for that one. Why would I want to roleplay it?

[pife]

I see your point and I totally agree that the GM's writing skills are very important. The necessary GM skills is basically a large part of what I meant with "capable of running the game".

But assuming that you had several skilled GMs to choose from, what type of campaigns would be most likely to lure you in?

Aha, you're right, I didn't really speak to the OP..

Low Level, Low Magic (note, that did not say NO magic). Points of Light style, meaning that "civilization is struggling, awash in predators". Games that are more cerebral than carnage-based.

Nation-building is fun

I prefer games where the party are not a jaded set of professional adventurers.. Most people see adventuring as carte blanche to break-and-enter into any and all various and sundry dungeons/guildmasters homes/temples and steal/borrow/extort xyz McGuffin from zyx BBEG..

Ahh.. specifically, I like games/settings/campaigns where the timeline isn't pre-ordained but is dynamic. Insert some interesting causality in there, and you have me sold.. When the players actions can impact something greater than their immediate surroundings, and you have to anticipate or react to unexpected events.. MMMM-MMMM-GOOD!!

Coolest campaign? I'm odd, so your mileage is going to vary here. Each player in the game rules a nation/city-state/organization, engages in nation-building, diplomacy, warmongering, espionage, production, etc.. Something akin to the Birthright DnD Setting (in structure, not fluff) would be good, although the White Wolf system lends itself well to that style..

[PopcornMage]

So I'm asking you, assuming that you weren't busy with school/work/other games and that the DM/GM seemed capable of running the game, what type of game would be such that you'd not be able to say "no" to? What would be the coolest adventure/campaign idea ever?

My answer to this is Campaign blurbs are like movie trailers, no matter how cool it seems, no matter how well intended everybody is...the odds are against it turning out like the blurb says.

[The-Mage-King]

Something in the "High Fantasy//Wuxia" area.

And by that I mean something where all Initiator classes were Gestalt with Monk, and all casters wern't. And that's all that's there. Initiator//Monks, and casters. No Fighters, no Bards, and no Rogues.

[valadil]

I don't really care what system or power level a game has. Here's what I want in the ideal campaign:


My character should matter. If the game is the same regardless of the participants and one character is interchangeable for another, why should I bother to use a creative character?
GM needs to have the free time and motivation to support the game. Running individual quests for half the players before burning out or taking a month long hiatus mid combat doesn't cut it.
The right group of players. One jerk can ruin an otherwise perfect game. Unfortunately, this isn't something you can advertise. At best a GM can play with a bunch of players and then hand pick the people to invite to the next game. Ideally he'll select a good group with similar interests and abilities, but it doesn't always work out.

[Tvtyrant]

I prefer the Tomb Raider approach; you party is technically "good" but it spends the vast, vast majority of its time seeking money/treasure/adventure for its own sake. If a village is in trouble the party will help it, but there will be copious looting of enemy bodies for goods.

[arrowhen]

A low magic, low fantasy freeform collaborative worldbuilding/fiction writing project with a *minimum* commitmment of 1-2 *YEARS* from each player.

[Kaww]

Heavy rollplay, lots of alternative ways to do things (yes, there are always lots of ways to do things, but there are some DMs that frown upon my solutions that trivialize their uber problems).
An open minded, descriptive DM. DM that can take constructive criticism and is not shy. Polite players that aren't afraid to speak their mind. Combat is only a side effect of the game. Lots of skill checks and puzzlelike situations that force players to think.

I'm a picky bastard am I not?

[Tyndmyr]

My answer to this is Campaign blurbs are like movie trailers, no matter how cool it seems, no matter how well intended everybody is...the odds are against it turning out like the blurb says.

This. In fact, the most likely outcome is dying a slow death as players fade away. Getting the players in the first place is easy. Making a pbp last is hard.

I would like to play(in person) a fun epic campaign at some point, though.

[Kensen]

This. In fact, the most likely outcome is dying a slow death as players fade away. Getting the players in the first place is easy. Making a pbp last is hard.

I would like to play(in person) a fun epic campaign at some point, though.

Yes players get bored or forget about the game too easily. I've tried to come up with ways to make games last, but it's not easy. I've really wanted to play in a Dark Sun or Lovecraftian game, but any games I've joined have died in a week or so. :smallconfused: Maybe the sorcerer-kings and Cthulhu guard their secrets too jealously and do bad things to the GMs and players.

[Tyndmyr]

Well, tbh, I think a lot of people expect nightly posting or some such tempo. That's not sustainable for most people. You get busy, and it's easy to miss a couple nights. Different people busy at different times, and it's really easy to for the pace to suddenly slow to the point where people just forget to check.

Don't really have a good answer for it myself...but I game an average of twice a week in RL, for a total of about 15 hrs, so that gets me my fix.

[jiriku]

I've really wanted to play in a Dark Sun or Lovecraftian game, but any games I've joined have died in a week or so.

In a Lovecraftian game, nothing lives longer than a week or so, unless it cannot die. :smallamused:



My candy is games in the Mutants and Masterminds system, because I've wanted to play in superhero games for decades, but never been able to find a RL group. Other than that, I look for a GM who has a story to tell and doesn't mind giving a players a piece of the action.

[Holocron Coder]

Lately I've been yearning for a sandbox E6 solo campaign, with the option to eventually integrate other players in as time goes on (or important NPCs to adventure and story-ify with).

Though, in general, I go after any campaign that piques my interest :smallbiggrin: