Randomly Generated Campaigns

[DiscipleofBob]

Looking through the DMG, the amount of randomized tables is staggering. Everything from major plots, to dungeon construction, settlements, wilderness, quest and sidequests, plot hooks, villains, NPC generation, you name it.

Has anyone tried to basically randomly generate a campaign/campaign world? If so, how has that worked out?

[Madfellow]

I haven't yet, but you know what? I've got some free time. Let's do this. :smallbiggrin:

Event #1: Rise of a leader (Religious)
Event #2: Myth and legend (Rebellion)
Event #3: Myth and legend (New Organization)

So it starts with some new religious leader rising up and stirring up trouble, culminates in a celestial/infernal rebellion against the established order, and ends with someone new in power.

Anyone else find it frightening that I rolled this randomly on Easter Sunday?

[Ralanr]

I haven't yet, but you know what? I've got some free time. Let's do this. :smallbiggrin:

Event #1: Rise of a leader (Religious)
Event #2: Myth and legend (Rebellion)
Event #3: Myth and legend (New Organization)

So it starts with some new religious leader rising up and stirring up trouble, culminates in a celestial/infernal rebellion against the established order, and ends with someone new in power.

Anyone else find it frightening that I rolled this randomly on Easter Sunday?

It be a sign. TIs be divine work

[Xetheral]

Has anyone tried to basically randomly generate a campaign/campaign world? If so, how has that worked out?

I once created an entirely random dungeon for a few-shot using a Munchkin deck to thematically determine the encounters and treasure. The players were encouraged to adhere to "tradition" and make characters exploiting every D&D trope they could think of. (People showing up late and forgetting character sheets or dice were similarly applauded for their embracing such traditional aspects of the game.)

The party met in a tavern and were railroaded into answering a plea of distress found in a message in a bottle.

We had great fights against the Auntiepaladin (a venerable female blackguard in a rocking chair), the Barrel of Monkeys (dealt with via AoE inside the barrel while the monkeys were still inside), the Humongous Ravenous Gazeebo (it was really, really big, and very hungry), the Deck of Too Many Things (saving throws to resist drawing more cards) and the Dungeon Casino (where half the party got lucky and ended up with divine ranks).

It was so much fun it turned into a several-month long mini-campaign, but that was only because we approached it as a joke. I can't imagine a serious game with that level of randomness would have had as much success.

[DiscipleofBob]

That is an interesting concept to roll up for Easter Sunday.

In my attempts to have a 5e one-shot ready in case my normal gaming group has the time and opportunity to give it a shot, I gave the campaign randomizer a go.

The result was something like a cross between Zelda: Wind Waker and Fallout, where the world had just suffered a great flood for no adequately explored reason. It would be the players' duty to somehow build/acquire a ship and then figure out what happened and who is responsible before they can sink the rest of the world. Obviously more than a one-shot but at least there's a good start.

The dungeon generator seems a bit eclectic. I would routinely generate rooms that led back into other rooms which supposedly had no exit, or hallways that were wider than the rooms they connected to.

[Madfellow]

The result was something like a cross between Zelda: Wind Waker and Fallout, where the world had just suffered a great flood for no adequately explored reason. It would be the players' duty to somehow build/acquire a ship and then figure out what happened and who is responsible before they can sink the rest of the world. Obviously more than a one-shot but at least there's a good start.

I'd play it.

[goto124]

Right up with Fallout Equestria.