Should I write a campiagn journal?

[Fire Lord Pi]

Hey, Playground. I'm a VERY long time lurker here and have recently started my second "big" campaign (3.5). I have read a few really excellent campaign journal and greatly enjoyed Kaveman26's "The Big One". I bounced the idea of creating my own journal based on my currently running "Pirate Campaign" off of my players and they offered overwhelming encouragement to it.

The campaign takes place in a very custom made world and focuses on the PC's as they journey under the direction of Captain Cerlin Pugger of the Senescence (a merchant ship, which often does more than trading goods). It's called "The Pirate Campaign" because when we first got the idea, it was going to be on a raiding pirate ship, but pre-campaign planning evolved it to something different.

I enjoy writing and have great pride in my campaigns, but making the journal would take a great deal of time. Do the good men and women and others of the playground think I should write the journal? Does this sound interesting to anyone? And does anyone have advice about how to format such a thread? I have little experience in the posting. Thanks

[Yora]

Do you want to?

If you do, you should. There can never be too many actual examples on how a campaign can look like and be fun.
I think the best ones have a bit of GM commentary included, pointing out what things the players loved to embrace and what situations they used as points to take control of the plot rather than following the default path.

[Fayd]

As someone who has both written one (...and a half...) and edited one currently ongoing for another player in my group, let me tell you that it changes the way you play.... or at least it can. Because you end up recording more of what goes on, it can help keep you engaged, but it can also REALLY distract you from the game itself, as recording can accidentally become more important than playing. Judge for yourself how well you think you can balance play and transcription.

I've found the best system tends to have distributed note-taking, and have everyone (or honestly, at least one other) pool notes so you can put something together from the pieces. It takes the burden off you.

Another advantage is that sometimes it can help you remember an obscure little detail that can be sometimes quite helpful later on!

[Kid Jake]

Reading what people think of them also helps your players get some perspective sometimes. The players in my M&M campaign were actually shocked when they realized they might be turning into the villains in our story. They haven't changed their main PCs, but t's the reason the B-side of the campaign has a more heroic (if similarly brutal) slant.

And I second using it as a means of keeping up with details. Nearly every time I reread mine I find another plot hook I can try to work in.

[Fire Lord Pi]

I like what you mentioned, kidjake, about the players realizing they seemed to be villains. I hope my own players will benefit and enjoy the playground's feedback.

I was hoping to hear some who expressed an interest in reading the campaign journal. Sort of looking for validation to begin the project, and with a work as big as this, it'd be good to know others will be engaged by it. A good kick in the pants to get it started.

And does anyone know how big a single post can be? How many posts should I save at the top of the thread?

[Kid Jake]

Yeah, several times they'd be like "We aren't that bad." and then read back over the recap and realize that there was considerably more unnecessary murder involved than could really be called heroic. Indiscriminate murder is still Plan A, but now at least they feel bad about it.

I think you'll have plenty of readers though, because everyone likes campaign journals. Nobody has enough time to play in every game they'd like to, so (if they're anything like me) they live vicariously through the notes of others.

I'm not sure of the character limits, but my own posts have gotten a little on the massive side and I've never had to trim them to make sure they fit, so I'd say that so long as you're not writing War and Peace every post you should be fine. I would recommend divvying your post up into spoiler boxes though to keep your thread easy to navigate and MAKE SURE to save often while writing it; I had to rewrite the same recap three different times this weekend and I can't even begin to describe how bad I wanted to just take my computer out behind the woodshed and shoot it by the third time.

[Fire Lord Pi]

Thanks, friend, you've been very helpful. I'll be beginning soon.

Also, I literally laughed aloud while visualizing a blindfolded computer being led behind a shed...

[Fayd]

There IS a character limit, and I want to say it's 20,000 characters? Let me check with our writer though. We've gotten close enough, often enough, that she knows generally what it is.

One other thing, don't be disappointed by the lack of replies. A campaign journal gets a LOT of readers, but quite often very few posters other than yourself or other members of your group, at least in my experience.

[TheCountAlucard]

Yeah, several times they'd be like "We aren't that bad." and then read back over the recap and realize that there was considerably more unnecessary murder involved than could really be called heroic.

Odysseus murdered over a hundred men in his house when he returned home to Ithaca, and then had his serving-women hanged; you're using the wrong definition of "heroic."

[Anxe]

My journal gets about 200 views with every update, but only one reader has ever posted on it! So while the popular feeling isn't quite there for me it remains a great resource for my players and me. If someone missed a session they can just go read the recap. If there was an important prophecy, they can go read the recap. If they want to remind themselves of strategies they've used in the past on a recurring villain, RECAP.

I don't take any notes during the session. We use Roll20, so there is a physical record of some stuff. I also try to write the recap within a day or two of playing so that it stays fresh in my mind.

As for whether people will like your story... I won't know til I read it. I find the most attractive thing about a campaign log is when its finished and I don't need to wait for updates. That's probably not encouraging to you, but its the constant factor in the campaign logs that I read.

As for Odysseus, the Odyssey acknowledges that his actions were questionable. The people of Ithaca form a mob and are coming to kill him at the end of the poem. Athena has to intervene for her mortal crush and save him.

[LokiRagnarok]

My journal gets about 200 views with every update, but only one reader has ever posted on it!

*waves* Hi!

I enjoy reading campaign journals very much, in lieu of playing for real. They serve as mental exercise and vicarious satisfaction of my gaming needs.

[Fire Lord Pi]

Can we not speak the name of Telemachus' father? I have a BURNING, PASSIONATE hate for Homer's steaming piece of s*** that we call an "epic". And yes, I know the Greek word had a different connotation...

But thank you for the advice ;)

[Anxe]

*waves* Hi!

I enjoy reading campaign journals very much, in lieu of playing for real. They serve as mental exercise and vicarious satisfaction of my gaming needs.

THERE HE IS! GET HIM!

Can we not speak the name of Telemachus' father? I have a BURNING, PASSIONATE hate for Homer's steaming piece of s*** that we call an "epic". And yes, I know the Greek word had a different connotation...

But thank you for the advice ;)

Do you like the Aeneid better? I always liked Virgil's stuff more than Homer.

[Fire Lord Pi]

I haven't read any of Virgil's work, but I am a massive fan of Sophocles' "Antigone" (as well as the other Theban Plays).

[Kid Jake]

Odysseus murdered over a hundred men in his house when he returned home to Ithaca, and then had his serving-women hanged; you're using the wrong definition of "heroic."

Odysseus also wouldn't have been approved by the Comics Code which is sort of what you're shooting for when you play superheroes.

[TheCountAlucard]

Odysseus also wouldn't have been approved by the Comics Code which is sort of what you're shooting for when you play superheroes.

The word "superhero" didn't appear in any of the posts on the page until you just included it.

[Kid Jake]

True, although it is generally the assumed setting when playing Mutants and Masterminds.

[Phoenixguard09]

I'd read it. :)

For me, 3 Coins takes a fair bit of time to prepare but it is extensive. I keep a heap of information regarding the campaign on a laptop, which sits in front of me during the session. Running on the laptop is an audio recording program (Audacity. I had to get it for a school project years ago) and therefore the entire session is recorded.

I then spend hours in the following weeks in my room with earphones in transcribing what happens, editing it and then posting.

And now everyone knows just why it takes so long for me to update. :P

[blackstone451]

I think a journal is a fabulous idea. What will the thread be titled?