PDA

View Full Version : Has Anyone Tried an "Episodic Campaign"?



koboldish
2013-02-06, 09:22 PM
Hello Playgrounders!
Recently, my group has sort of stopped. Not because we have any real problems, but because no one has the time to run a full campaign. I have talked to a few group members, and we think we should try rotating DM's, each person running one adventure. Has anyone tried this before? Does it work? Is world building a pain? Do people get mad when someone creates an in game war between one kingdom and another (no one wants things they mad, even as the DM, to get blown up)?

Thank you for your input.

Grundy
2013-02-06, 09:54 PM
I haven't done the rotating dm thing, but I did do a campaign that was episodic in the sense that we limited each adventure to a gaming session. Players that showed played, players that didn't had their PCs take a nap(or whatever). The episodic nature made that work pretty well, and it had a light feel, very fun.

It didn't last long, of course:smalltongue:

ArcturusV
2013-02-06, 10:23 PM
To be honest, I've never done it with a Fantasy campaign. I have done it however with Prime Directive and other Sci-Fi campaigns. Set up is dirt simple. You know, "you're on a 5 year mission to seek out new.... to explore strange..." etc. Nothing really needs to be connected to each other in a long term plot unless you want to run a Klingon-Fed war plot for a while or something.

For some reason I've just never done that with fantasy RPGs.

Doorhandle
2013-02-06, 10:48 PM
To be honest, I've never done it with a Fantasy campaign. I have done it however with Prime Directive and other Sci-Fi campaigns. Set up is dirt simple. You know, "you're on a 5 year mission to seek out new.... to explore strange..." etc. Nothing really needs to be connected to each other in a long term plot unless you want to run a Klingon-Fed war plot for a while or something.

For some reason I've just never done that with fantasy RPGs.

On that note, their is little reason you couldn't do star-trek (http://tailsteak.com/archive.php?num=435)in D&D, even without spelljammer.

nedz
2013-02-06, 11:09 PM
Yes — well sort of.

I ran the main campaign, but since this was mission based others could DM a mission. Their characters would be written out, but get average xp and gold, and I would get to play.

The idea behind the missions is that they are self contained, within the campaign framework, though there have been long term plot arcs across missions, which wasn't intended.

Remmirath
2013-02-07, 12:06 AM
That's basically how my main group has always operated, since there are only three of us. For us, it works great. Usually it happens that one or another of us will end up taking the main plot in any given game, and sometimes we have to hash things out beforehand, but even so there haven't been any problems.

If your group isn't already, they'll have to get good at seperating player knowledge from character knowledge, because you'll likely all end up with some knowledge of the setting and plot that the characters just wouldn't have. That's not hard, though, so it shouldn't be a problem.

When coming up with a setting, we've usually sat down and plotted out the map and then divided up the areas of it beforehand (and we usually do the dividing up even if it's an already established setting). Then different people typically run campaigns in their areas, although there's some overlap, especially for whoever is doing the main plot.

Wars haven't been a problem for us, because when they've happened, we just have fun with the strategising and playing them out. If not everyone in the group likes that sort of thing I could see it becoming a problem, though.

I also know of at least one much larger group that ran in the same fashion, so it can work with larger groups than ours.

Stubbazubba
2013-02-07, 12:38 AM
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying is more-or-less designed with this in mind. XP does not accrue very much or give you permanent huge power-ups, they're usually just temporary, players are assumed to switch characters between sessions frequently, etc.

Zahhak
2013-02-07, 12:45 AM
On that note, their is little reason you couldn't do star-trek in D&D, even without spelljammer.

Because Star Trek isn't Sci Fi: its fantasy that just happens to be set in the future

Anyways, my group has previous done a bounding style campaigns, where one DM runs one week, the other the next week. It isn't terrible, but suspense is completely lost in between sessions, and if the characters/stories are similar, it gets really boring. Also, take very good notes and what happened and who did what, or you'll lose yourselves.

We've also done a series of one-shot campaigns also. That's fine if you're just killing a few weeks before a major campaign starts, but if you're just doing a series of one-shots for a while, that gets really frustrating really fast.

Jack of Spades
2013-02-07, 12:46 AM
Re: Worldbuilding, Dawn of Worlds (http://www.clanwebsite.org/games/rpg/Dawn_of_Worlds_game_1_0Final.pdf) is pretty much made for a rotating-DM situation.

As for my experience, it pretty much only works with games where you can have each DM's time at the head be a beginning and an end unto itself. Which, luckily, is pretty much any game. If larger plotlines are happening, they're generally going to be almost entirely the agency of one DM.

It's still pretty fun, though. It can start to feel a little repetitive after a long while, and when it's that much harder to do anything world-shaking you can get a bit disenfranchised. But overall it takes pressure off the people running the game and makes for a lot of fun variety.

Ravens_cry
2013-02-07, 12:58 AM
I admit, the only time I DM-ed, this is what I did. I had a homebrewed mini-setting within a larger existing setting, and plunked various one shot dungeons I found on-line into it, making minor tweaks to make them fit.
It worked out OK for as long as it lasted, but I don't know for how much longer it would have done so.

DigoDragon
2013-02-07, 08:33 AM
My group did an episodic Justice League style supers campaign. Each session was a self contained adventure against the "Villain of the Week" and we rotated GMS (who also had their own PC hero that goes "off screen" while they're running).

It turned out alright and I'd definitly try it again.

LibraryOgre
2013-02-07, 11:24 AM
Shadowrun works pretty well for this... rotating team, depending on availability and needs. Ars Magica is actually set up for something like this, with one person's magus linking closely with another's companion and a bunch of grogs for those whose characters are not particularly interested.

Dr Bwaa
2013-02-07, 11:50 AM
We've done a couple of these. They generally started as something to do when the full group for our main campaign wasn't present, and then expanded into a sort of episodic thing with a core premise that allowed any random selection (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InvoluntaryGroupSplit) of the cast to be thrown into some situation for the night. Some of these had rotating DMs; some didn't. Both ways worked out pretty well.

DraPrime
2013-02-07, 12:36 PM
My Pathfinder group is currently doing this. It has advantages and disadvantages. What you choose depends on your personal preferences, and if you think it's worth it. I was originally the DM, but due to the fact that I'm a really busy person I simply didn't have enough time to finish the campaign. We wanted to keep playing, so we came up with the idea of rotating DM's.

One serious advantage is variety. Each person has a different style in which they run a game and tell a story. We've been from a basic hack and slash adventure to political intrigue, to tangling with a reality breaking man. By the time you cycle back around and repeat a DM, you've been through several very different adventures, so you're unlikely to get bored. As the former DM, I also find that I can sit back and relax a bit more because I've been a player for now. If people in the group like DMing, but want to be able to take a break, then this is quite useful.

One of the biggest disadvantages that I've found is that there is less of an overarching plot. It can take a while for a certain DM to get to run a second or third adventure, since others need their turn. If they want some sort of consistent story, recurring villains, and the like, then they're going to have to wait patiently, and so will you. This can make you less invested in what is going on, since there are really very few recurring NPC's. People may feel wary about letting the new DM use NPC's that they made, since that involves changes out of control, and the DM may not be able to effectively roleplay them. You also might run into people wanting to change characters as often as you change DM's, which makes far less of an actual party dynamic, since characters haven't been together through many adventures.

Honestly, I'd prefer a consistent campaign, rather than an episodic one. I like a more overarching plot, and when there's one DM in charge then it's a lot easier to make that happen. The DM has things more under his control then, and doesn't need to deal with unpredictable elements coming from other DM's.

koboldish
2013-02-07, 03:55 PM
Thanks for the replies!
Has anyone had any major problems doing something like this before? Also, any ideas on how to cut down on prep time, without having to improvise anything?

ArcturusV
2013-02-07, 04:01 PM
Well, remember the rules for Episodic Continuity (As usually applies to TV).

The rules for this most importantly state, that at the end of an episode things are pretty much exactly where they were at the start of the episode. Exception for a two parter or something.

So look at Star Trek. Where does pretty much every episode start?

"We are wandering around space when..."

Where does pretty much every episode end.

"We fixed ... and now we're back to wandering around space."

As long as your plots always wrap up going back exactly towards where your start point was... it makes set up pretty easy even if you are rotating DM/GM/Storytellers. Any given DM knows before you even start your session exactly what they have to work with. Major characters are still in place, same support structure (in Star Trek: The ship, it's equipment, armory, etc) exists, etc.

koboldish
2013-02-07, 04:11 PM
Very true. However, my group loves world building. Do you think it would work out if we ended up traveling to new locations more often? Also, do you think people would be mad, if, say, a town they made was eaten by the tarresque?

ArcturusV
2013-02-07, 04:15 PM
Generally new location is the way things get done. That's why it's more common (In my experience) for Sci-Fi. Just bam, warp off to a new world. Has nothing to do with the old world unless you want it to.

Due to the needs of Episodic Continuity if you hang around the same location (or regularly visit it), you'll need to have things reset at the end of the session (Trouble wasn't so bad to create a lasting effect), or need an In Universe Reset Button (Like the Dragonballs in a Dragonball RPG. Eternal Dragon undoes the damage). If you lack those two? You end up less towards Episodic Continuity but towards a long term plot.

koboldish
2013-02-07, 04:24 PM
I figure if we all work together for a few sessions just to completely build a small area, we can have it written down, and modify it accordingly. Nothing should be too major, but having the world reset seems to de-suspend everyones disbeleif. Any ideas on world building?

Your bit about sci-fi was great, but, once again, it doesn't quite work. Because we're not in space :smallannoyed:. Yet.

ArcturusV
2013-02-07, 04:40 PM
If the effects aren't major, Episodic Continuity works fine even if you are hanging around the same area. But as you start leveling up, and your adventures naturally should have a larger scope you'll run into problems. Like when half the city gets burned down by pyromaniac player characters. Tarrasque flattens it, you've gone and commited Regicide on the local monarch, etc. Because these all suggest various fall outs and effects that derail from Episodic Continuity and focus more on long term plot. Which means your rotating DMs need to talk things over, plan their campaigns together, etc.

Probably the best bet is make a "you break it, you buy it" rule. If they do something that seriously breaks part of the place you've worked in... the guy is stuck DMing until you finish an arc to fix it. Whatever that is. Or until he leads you onto a new area.

koboldish
2013-02-07, 04:43 PM
Great idea! No one likes to DM, but everyone likes to play, so that would work perfectly.

Dr Bwaa
2013-02-07, 05:27 PM
The way we tended to do it was by throwing the PCs in a de-facto interminable situation where an NPC has significant control over the setting. Trapped in a inescapable cage between "episodes" of being plane-shifted around as Reality TV for an epic wizard was a good one. One technically took place in Thay, but inside what was essentially the WLD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Largest_Dungeon) without any preplanning--so rooms were generated on the fly by whoever was DMing, and the party would split as needed to accommodate the players who were present that day at the whim of the Red Wizards running the thing (basically also reality TV, but the prize for being the last person standing is that you can theoretically earn your freedom (yeah right)).

koboldish
2013-02-07, 05:34 PM
That doesn't really seem like something we would like, although it is really cool and could be kind of fun. We generally don't like to be completely repressed, and like to be able to have some control over stuff.

Dr Bwaa
2013-02-07, 05:57 PM
Well, the point is that you're only "repressed" between sessions. When the next game session starts, the Powers That Be whisk you away to whatever scenario the GM of the day has dreamed up, as open-ended or railroady as that might happen to be. It's essentially a way to give a measure of continuity to a whole bunch of one-shots (or two-shots; whatever), which is the point of an episodic campaign (as I see it, anyway).

koboldish
2013-02-07, 06:04 PM
Good point. I think my group tends to like at least a few constants, such as geographical features, and not just the speed of light. :smallwink:

nedz
2013-02-07, 07:04 PM
If you wanted to recreate Star Trek, in a fantasy setting, you could go for an island hopping campaign.

Make the whole party Vikings and the PC of the current DM has a bad hangover stays behind to guard the ship.
The current episode's DM gets to design the island, and the weird aliens monsters which inhabit it.
You need some good catch phrases though — I suggest starting a thread for suggestions.
The ship's carpenter must be Scottish, of course. You can guess what he night say in a storm.
The ship's navigator has to be an Elf.

koboldish
2013-02-07, 07:26 PM
Yes. Very much yes. Twice. And a half. I think this is perfect. Mabye with a few known locations when we dock, but besides that... And it helps that we all use charisma as a dump stat :smallbiggrin:. Very epic idea. I think I may have to use that. Go vikings!

Jay R
2013-02-07, 11:37 PM
1. Don't assume that each sc nario has to be one session long. Somebody can run a three-session scenario, followed by somebody else running a two-session scenario.

2. The biggest potential problems are DM PCs and differences of opinion about rules, cosmology, or any basic underpinnings. Work those out in advance, but then KEEP TALKING TO EACH OTHER ABOUT THEM.

Dsurion
2013-02-08, 01:17 AM
The Conan RPG kinda-sorta enforces this type of playstyle with the High Living Rule, where anyone who has more than fifty pieces of silver has half of it slip through their fingers each week unless specifically invested (for nobility, amassing mercenaries, whatever, it's broadly defined so you can play loose with it). The idea is that it's abstracted: you either have enough money to get by, or it's time to go adventuring again.

The Gm of this game is encouraged to start off by saying things like, "You find yourselves in the wilderness of Vendhya with nothing but your blade and the clothes on your back, hounded by [insert group]," to get the action started and not really worry about the details. Sort of episodic, anyway.