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Eldan
2016-06-27, 06:28 AM
So, me and a few friends are in the vaguest possible stages of maybe starting a campaign at some point, with me probabl yrunning it. Half of them aren't even familiar with the system we'll be using (or, in one case, roleplaying in general). It's also setting independent and quite flexible in power level and magic content, but will be fantasy. So, to get things rolling a bit, I've wanted to make a short list of possible campaign types to get an idea of what the players actually want from this. I'd like people to look this over. Maybe tell me if I missed something. Later, I'll have a few more questions as to world and character types.

Campaign Types
Which of these campaign types interest you, and how much? Please order them from most interested to least interested.

Dungeon Crawling
In this very classic type of campaign, the players are treasure hunters in the vein of old sword and sorcery novels. Characters descend into dangerous locations full of traps and monsters in order to find gold and valuable artefacts, then try to escape with them in more or less one piece. More focus on challenge, less focus on story, especially coherent story between adventures.

Travelling problem solvers
Similar to the above, but the characters are some kind of mercenaries, agents, religious inquisition, etc. They arrive in a new location and find themselves involved in strange things going on, sometimes for money, sometimes due to being ordered to solve them. Similar to above, this is more of a string of shorter stories than anything long and connected, but with more of a focus on exploration and investigation, as well as alternate solutions. The exact situation can vary a lot based on what kind of characters are actually played.

Explorers
Again, similar to the first, but the characdters are going out into undiscovered wilderness, as scientists, conquistadores, traders or similar. The focus here is on the unknown and exotic, with a lot of the challenge coming from the land itself. Compared to the dungeon crawler, there will be more overland travelling here, and the players have more control over where they want to go next.

Epic
You are here to save the world. Very explicitely. In essence, the characters will be some kind of chosen ones, and, over a long campaign, seal away or defeat some kind of world-threatening evil. The traditional structure of many computer RPGs.

Political intrigue
The characters, as part of an organization or simply due to being in the wrong place, are involved in shadoy intrigue between two or more organizations. Expect to be caught in the middle of a larger conflict and trying to work out what is actually going on. A lot of focus on investigation and diplomacy, and much less on combat. Long-term story.

Sandbox City
Similar to political intrigue, but the players set their own goals. You are let loose in a city with existing characters, organizations and politics and try to make it big. Whether newly minted noble family, rising political party, organized crime or long-lost royal scion, you will maneuver around until you are at the very top.

Note: almost all of these can be combined, or they can alternate in the same campaign. A group of mercenaries finds divine inspiration and goes on to save the world. Your money from looting a dungeon funds your takeover of city politics. Don't focus too much on one type, but give me a general idea which of these interest you.


So. Did I forget anything big?

Studoku
2016-06-27, 07:17 AM
Have you seen the same page tool (https://bankuei.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/the-same-page-tool/)? Might be just what you're looking for.

AMFV
2016-06-27, 08:09 AM
My experience, and feel free to disregard it, is that players tend to be more interested in the arcs of their characters. Which allows for more better goals in campaigns. If you find out how the player wants their character to play out, then the style of campaign will be easier to plan. For example, say PC Jim wants to play as a might Paladin who always does the right thing (a less omnipotent superman), and he wants his character to experience a big arc where he almost falls. Now you've figured out what he emotionally wants out of the campaign, and can work towards that in any style of campaign that you want to run. The same is true of fitting in other archetypes and ideas.

The campaign world is important, but I think players tend to be happiest with either a true sandbox (if they like that, then they may not be inclined to enjoy anything else) or a composite of several different aspects of the settings you describe. After all some of the best television shows and fantasy novels include a lot of genre-crossover. The main thing is to make sure that the characters' arcs are emotionally fulfilling (save for in a true sandbox where that responsibility falls largely on the players).

Again, this is just my 2C, so you can feel free to ignore it.

Eldan
2016-06-27, 09:02 AM
Thing is, I know some of the players, but at least one comes in as a friend of a friend. I know one of them likes his hack and slash, I know one that likes investigation and politics. But I want to get a feel for what they would all be at least somewhat interested in.

I'll definitely be stealing some from the common ground tool, though I think I?m pretty set on DM style, really.

I'll be asking some questions about the world too, like how much magic, how much high fantasy, how earthlike, technology level, etc., and then we'll agree on things like character power level.

Theoboldi
2016-06-27, 09:31 AM
The problem with the questionnaire as is, at least from my perspective, is that some of the offered campaign categories wrap together far too many individual points in one bundle, while others are very vague.

For instance, Dungeon Crawling mentions all at once the genre (Sword & Sorcery), the setting (some form of dungeon), the focus of gameplay (overcoming challenges), the amount of roleplay (little) and the continuity between adventures (also little). Meanwhile, Epic just gives us a premise (Save the World!) and an eventual goal (Defeat/Banish the villain).

I think that directly asking players what specific type of campaign they want may not be the best way to go about this, since different people have different ideas of what even something as simple as a dungeon crawl looks like. Rather, you should focus on how they feel about the individual points I've mentioned above, which can then kick off a more focused discussion.

Mind, this is not comprehensive list, but rather everything that came to mind looking at your questionnaire. The same page tool mentioned in a post above also has some good points for this, though I think it does swerve a bit too heavily into extremes when it talks about planned adventures vs character-driven goals.

AMFV
2016-06-27, 09:44 AM
Thing is, I know some of the players, but at least one comes in as a friend of a friend. I know one of them likes his hack and slash, I know one that likes investigation and politics. But I want to get a feel for what they would all be at least somewhat interested in.

Here's what I would do, I would talk to players about character arcs. Then give them what they want in terms of that. Give the hack/slasher a violent character arc. Give the investigator an investigative one. And talk to them about it, so that way they'll know that they're going to get a thing they like, and they'll be more likely to be invested in everybody's stories, since it'll be their turn eventually.

Pugwampy
2016-06-28, 11:08 AM
I like sandbox city , dungeon crawling and exploration .

Honest Tiefling
2016-06-28, 12:34 PM
Do you know if you and your friends (and friends of a friend) have any media they are familiar with? I worry that many people might not have ever read a Sword and Sorcery novel, and only know of it from parody. Perhaps you could add a short sentence to each to describe a typical adventure? Something along the lines of 'The party descends into the depths of an ancient temple, where once black magic was used. The builders are long dead, but their deadly traps remain. Them and the fell creations they have given unnatural life to stand between you and treasure.' Something short and sweet to give them an idea of what they'll be agreeing to.

Kol Korran
2016-06-29, 12:30 AM
If I may suggest something:
I'd suggest to first understand/ realize/ decipher their play style/ gaming aesthetics. If you know the group, than it's much easier, but if not, then it is even more crucial. Here are the 8 aesthetics of play described by The Angry DM (http://angrydm.com/2014/01/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-fun/). I found that thinking in these terms, and understanding the experiences the players are seeking through them, helps me plan and think of the game much better.

Find/ discover what are the core player (And DM!) gaming aesthetics, and things fold out much more easily from there.