2 groups 1 campaign

[Mastikator]

I've thought of a pretty good non-linear campaign, that can be entered through multiple angles and has no rails but plenty of action and drama.

And I have these two groups that I DM, and a player that is in both.

Both groups are playing in the same area and timeframe, and I was thinking that it would be easiest for me to use the same campaign on both groups instead of thinking of two campaigns, both groups will enter the campaign at around the same in-game time, and from different angles, and the actions that one take will affect the other.

Has anyone tried this before? Basically, what mistakes did you make and how can I avoid them? :smalltongue:

[Sarco_Phage]

It's doable, but make sure the two parties never meet unless you can handle scheduling a common time for both groups and handling double your usual group.

[Radar]

Apart from the two groups meeting each other, there is a problem of time-flow. You have to somehow synchronise it between groups. You'll also run a risk of describing a situation, that will be retroactively changed by the other group, so keeping the timeline intact will be headache-inducing. It's impossible to avoid, so you'd better warn your players, that sometimes continuity will be broken.

[Killer Angel]

I've done it, as DM.
Basically, the setting is that Gruumsh killed Corellion, the orc tribes are now united in an Empire, with a civil culture developing, and practically wiped away the elves (now gone wild and very ferocious, waging a costant guerrilla in the deep of their forest); dwarves, halflings and gnomes, founded an alligiance in a quasi-continent scale plateau, heavily fortified on the mountain passes. Humans are equally divided, both as allies or conquered. The death of Corellion, created an "magicquake" that weakened the fabric of the world, and this Prime material plane, is suffering from opening rifts between it and other planes.
The players choose their side (pro or ageinst orcs) and we had 2 groups.
We started with low profiles, then both acquired importance, and begin to do important missions to aid their side, growing up in levels and with their own agenda.

The campaign (which was a success) ended with the rebirth of Corellion from one side, and with the orcs gaining free access to arcane magic from the other side.

[Glimbur]

I am wrapping up a campaign which ran with this idea. The two groups stayed in different areas of the campaign world and have not interacted much... until the final session which is just a PvP slug-fest. I would just not pay much attention to exact time lines between groups... this is lazier but a great deal easier.

[Gamer Girl]

I've done this dozens and dozens of times...in fact, I just about always do it. In most cases, there was zero chance that the other players would ever meet.

One mistake: Distinguishing between 'made up stuff' and 'other game' stuff. A great many players get offended if you tell them about 'some other game' and they feel as if they might be in 'some other games shadow or footsteps'. You can get a lot of poor metagaming-"Oh group A went north, then we won't go there". Keeping everything thing 'just' information is much better.