GalacticAxekick
2022-08-17, 02:07 PM
As a DM, my most successful campaigns have always been episodic. Every session, the players would sit down and choose between a handful of relatively self-contained adventures. Over time, these episodes would build upon each other and reveal an overarching plot or accomplish an overarching mission. But still, they're work as stand-alone adventures.
For example, in one campaign, my players were private investigators/police. Each session, three cases would be dropped on their desk, and they would choose one to try and solve. The others would be left over to solve at future sessions. For example:
"Murder in a Church's Homeless Shelter"
"Repeated Attempts to Break In to Antique Store"
"Vandalism of Wealthy Oracle's Home".
Etc
Over time, these episodes revealed and overarching plot. The antique store contained a magically locked briefcase containing an unknown object of unknown import. The murdered hobo was a retired, disgraced wizard who was in the process of created a spell to unlock that very briefcase. The "vandalism" at the oracle's home was the chaos caused by a poltergeist: the murdered hobo himself, whom the oracle had tried to contact! And so on.
I think this structure works because it makes sure players have clear goals every session, instead of one giant objective and no clear way to break it down.
I want to try an episodic campaign where the players are journalists who choose a story to cover every session. But obviously, sitting at a press release or simply watching an event and taking notes is no adventure. So I want to hear your ideas for what adventures a group of intrepid journalists might go on!
For example, in one campaign, my players were private investigators/police. Each session, three cases would be dropped on their desk, and they would choose one to try and solve. The others would be left over to solve at future sessions. For example:
"Murder in a Church's Homeless Shelter"
"Repeated Attempts to Break In to Antique Store"
"Vandalism of Wealthy Oracle's Home".
Etc
Over time, these episodes revealed and overarching plot. The antique store contained a magically locked briefcase containing an unknown object of unknown import. The murdered hobo was a retired, disgraced wizard who was in the process of created a spell to unlock that very briefcase. The "vandalism" at the oracle's home was the chaos caused by a poltergeist: the murdered hobo himself, whom the oracle had tried to contact! And so on.
I think this structure works because it makes sure players have clear goals every session, instead of one giant objective and no clear way to break it down.
I want to try an episodic campaign where the players are journalists who choose a story to cover every session. But obviously, sitting at a press release or simply watching an event and taking notes is no adventure. So I want to hear your ideas for what adventures a group of intrepid journalists might go on!