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View Full Version : Running for a Party of 4 with 4 solo campaigns



Jukebox Hero
2012-06-19, 10:33 PM
What do you guys think?

I thought of this idea a long time ago, back when I first started DMing, but I dismissed it from my mind when I realized that that would take way too much time (I didn't consider pbp back then). Anyways, I recently started thinking about it again while recruiting for a different game. I'm thinking about setting up a recruitment thread for it once one of my current campaigns ends, but in the meantime, is this a good idea? a bad idea? I realize that it'll take a massive amount of work on my part, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

What I'm suggesting exactly, is that I run a campaign which starts out with the party members all separated, all doing their own thing. Then maybe two of them might run into each other, maybe they decide to adventure together, at which point I would merge the threads. Eventually, the goal would be to have all party members in the same thread (or split into two threads, so that they can have a final, epic confrontation). This wouldn't necessarily have 4 players, but I prefer smaller parties. All players would be in the same world, probably in the same region, and maybe even be within a few meters of each other at different points in the game. Maybe one of them will witness the rogue's daring prison escape, or maybe the paladin was the one who put caught the rogue in the first place.

So, playground, what do you think?

Vladislav
2012-06-20, 01:39 AM
I think this in unmanageable, as different players post in different rates, and different solo games progress in different paces. One player could finish an in-game month while others are still on the same day.

You are going to have to constantly bookkeep all four timelines and make sure no mini-game ever runs ahead of the others.

Jukebox Hero
2012-06-20, 06:32 PM
I think this in unmanageable, as different players post in different rates, and different solo games progress in different paces. One player could finish an in-game month while others are still on the same day.

You are going to have to constantly bookkeep all four timelines and make sure no mini-game ever runs ahead of the others.

Mmm....not necessarily. I'm fully aware that different players post at different rates, but if I keep a steady posting rate myself, as the DM, I can prevent the plot from progressing too far (maybe just once a day per thread). Bookkeeping different timelines doesn't seem too bad. I've winged two different timelines, and it seemed easy enough. If one game runs ahead of the others, then I can always just throw him into a situation where he'll be earning less xp than the others, so this way, they'll always be the same level (or close to it). And they won't all be working on the same plotline, although their main overarching goals will likely (hopefully) intertwine.

Frenth Alunril
2012-06-20, 06:41 PM
I totally believe that this is perfectly acceptable. And, as a matter of fact, you needn't get over stressed about it. Your preparation would be as simple as making the things they are involved in specific to the story you need. The idea that they would all have different uses to your NPC recruiter would in one way direct the quests upon which they were set, and in the end, you could end up with a richly developed game involving many different aspects of game-play.

My one observation would be interpretation by players. They may smash up your game by imagining things you haven't said, therefore your information that you give them might get turned into something else by the time the parties join, and you will have a very odd picture of what they understand, which will create a derangement all on its own.

I would say, do it! I would also think that pbp could work so could a supplemented skype game. An hour a player is usually enough for solo adventures, but two is usually too much, so you should have lots of options on how you run the game.