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View Full Version : Roleplaying Heroes of Hubtown - Home base centered campaigns



Yora
2018-11-24, 11:52 AM
I am always on the lookout for campaign styles that provide long term potential without having the characters on an endless journey through fantasyland. Exploring monster haunted ruins and having the PCs become powerful heroes is fun, but if you're not really in it for the tactical challenge, this style of playing RPGs becomes wrung out eventually.

Among the games that stuck me as the most fascinating in that regard are Pendragon and Apocalypse World. In Pendragon the PCs are knights and barons who rule their own lands and simultaneously serve their king, and time between adventures passes so rapidly that characters are expected to retire or die and their heirs become the players' new PCs. Apocalypse World is a game about hardened badasses in a world of harsh scarcity who happen to be living next to each other and whose efforts to defend their turfs regularly overlap and occasionally conflict. AW has relatively limited room for character advancement and also assumes that players will retire PCs or add new ones to their roster to play at different times.

I think if such a campaign were to continue long enough, it would really be the story of a place, with characters coming and going, and less the story of a specific party of heroes.
The Mirkwood campaign of The One Ring also seems like something of that kind, even though the community consists of several villages that are georaphically scattered over a huge area.

It's an interesting concept, but I am also having some doubts that it could get somewhat monotonous if half of the campaign is always set in the same place with the same NPCs. It doesn't strike me as something that feels adventerous, though maybe that's actually the point.

Cluedrew
2018-11-24, 09:35 PM
Funny thing, I have the opposite concern some times: if people are always moving around how can we build up a proper cast of characters?

My idea: Just go more into depth with the characters. If this is the only inn-keeper you are ever going to need you might as well put more work into this one and it should get you that much further. Let the characters grow and change, if you have to change them out don't change them all at once. A lot of role-playing game character are shallow and would get stale quickly because we don't need them for long, if you do... flush them out more.

Maybe that is oversimplifying it a bit. But that is what I got.

Mad Nomad
2018-11-25, 02:11 AM
I've done something similar to what you describe. It was an open sandbox campaign in D&D 3.5. It was centered on a small town located at some crossroads, and I had mapped and planned out encounters for all areas surrounding the town.

The interesting part of the concept was that the world was static, rather than scaling with the characters. It was up to them to choose where they went and what they did, but they had to be mindful of the dangers involved. Some areas were far too dangerous to explore at lower levels.

For instance, there was a tribe of Goblins being led by a Bugbear in the nearby woods to the southwest, and rumors of problems in the mines further to the south. Farmers to the north were having problems with Ankhegs destroying their crops, and the road to the west was plagued by Hobgoblin marauders. There was also a mountain pass, but there was a high risk of encountering Giants along the way.

Basically, think of it like playing Baldur's Gate. The players would hear rumors or find clues, and could choose to explore in any direction they want. It was a very lethal setting by nature though, relying on the players to know what they could handle, and when they should run.

The campaign didn't last nearly as long as I had hoped, leaving half of the encounters unexplored, but it was easily one of the most fun campaigns I've ever ran!

Florian
2018-11-25, 02:24 AM
@Yora:

Games like Shadowrun or Vampire make heavy use of the "city" campaign model (ex: Seattle, Chicago by Night). The really interesting thing here are people, power and how they are connected.
Thatīs highlighted even more by systems like Ars Magicka or Dresden Files RPG, where it is a central part to create the location and a good chunk of the whole "cast" together as a step to start the campaign (Covenant, Our World). Also of interest, there're two Paizo APs with the sole focus of one city each, Curse of the Crimson Throne and Hells Rebels. When both are done right, the players will feel a deep love and loyalty for the city and its people.

Yora
2018-11-25, 02:40 AM
The interesting part of the concept was that the world was static, rather than scaling with the characters. It was up to them to choose where they went and what they did, but they had to be mindful of the dangers involved. Some areas were far too dangerous to explore at lower levels.

I didn't think of it, but it's basically a given. Character replacement doesn't work if the NPCs and monsters scale with the party. It also is implausible that opposition growth stronger in a single place as quickly as the party does. But I think it's also sensible to use a system with limited power increase, or alternatively place a moderate level cap. Otherwise it won't work to gradually switch out PCs, with veterans retiring and new recruits growing into veterans.

For variety, I think you could still do expeditions to distant places. But with the purpose of bringing something back to the home town, with the intention to use it to further something that is going on in the home town.

AMFV
2018-11-25, 03:18 AM
I am always on the lookout for campaign styles that provide long term potential without having the characters on an endless journey through fantasyland. Exploring monster haunted ruins and having the PCs become powerful heroes is fun, but if you're not really in it for the tactical challenge, this style of playing RPGs becomes wrung out eventually.

Among the games that stuck me as the most fascinating in that regard are Pendragon and Apocalypse World. In Pendragon the PCs are knights and barons who rule their own lands and simultaneously serve their king, and time between adventures passes so rapidly that characters are expected to retire or die and their heirs become the players' new PCs. Apocalypse World is a game about hardened badasses in a world of harsh scarcity who happen to be living next to each other and whose efforts to defend their turfs regularly overlap and occasionally conflict. AW has relatively limited room for character advancement and also assumes that players will retire PCs or add new ones to their roster to play at different times.

I think if such a campaign were to continue long enough, it would really be the story of a place, with characters coming and going, and less the story of a specific party of heroes.
The Mirkwood campaign of The One Ring also seems like something of that kind, even though the community consists of several villages that are georaphically scattered over a huge area.

It's an interesting concept, but I am also having some doubts that it could get somewhat monotonous if half of the campaign is always set in the same place with the same NPCs. It doesn't strike me as something that feels adventerous, though maybe that's actually the point.

Well I mean take a look at DS9 vs Star Trek: TNG. It still managed to have a sense of tension and adventure, just the tension was different. You basically have the adventure coming to you. Which is somewhat more poignant in some respects since when it's adventures that you're going to, you're making a choice, there's a lot less at stake (only your life), whereas if things are coming to you there's more (like your h


I didn't think of it, but it's basically a given. Character replacement doesn't work if the NPCs and monsters scale with the party. It also is implausible that opposition growth stronger in a single place as quickly as the party does. But I think it's also sensible to use a system with limited power increase, or alternatively place a moderate level cap. Otherwise it won't work to gradually switch out PCs, with veterans retiring and new recruits growing into veterans.

For variety, I think you could still do expeditions to distant places. But with the purpose of bringing something back to the home town, with the intention to use it to further something that is going on in the home town.

I would say the scaling is a little tough, but look at stories such as DS9, they managed to continue to ratchet up the tension and the stakes through at least six seasons, and they had a fixed location. Look at Buffy: The Vampire Slayer or Angel, those are set piece stories set in the same area where the opposition continued to grow as things happened, so it's certainly possible. And all those shows managed to introduce new more powerful characters as older ones were written out. It's not the best analogue for an RPG but it certainly helps.

Yora
2018-11-25, 07:51 AM
That's growing threats. The scaling discussed here is about target numbers that players have to reach to land hits and survive monster attacks. In rules systems with steeper power curves, you eventually get to the point where some characters have no chance to affect more powerful opponents in any way. These games require that all the characters in the party are of somewhat comparable power level.

Mad Nomad
2018-11-25, 09:11 AM
That's growing threats. The scaling discussed here is about target numbers that players have to reach to land hits and survive monster attacks. In rules systems with steeper power curves, you eventually get to the point where some characters have no chance to affect more powerful opponents in any way. These games require that all the characters in the party are of somewhat comparable power level.

I think survival is the critical component. It's way too easy to lose low level characters due to a critical hit, and it's even worse when monsters start rolling multiple damage dice or have multiple attacks.

Making sure the players have a good idea of what they'll be going up against, and a chance to retreat if necessary, is essential to longevity of this type of campaign.

If they're fairly new to the system, and not familiar with the different types of monsters, be sure to have some NPCs describe how dangerous they are, or maybe hint at their powers or weaknesses. The key is making sure the players aren't rushing in blind to an encounter they have no chance of surviving. As long as they know the risks up front, it shouldn't be an issue.

After that, the Level 1-4 group that decides to take on the group of Giants in the mountain pass deserves what they get...