Throwing out the Campaign map

[whisperwind1]

Hey all, I had a question

I'm sure people have run an Adventure Path or a campaign and grown bored with them. But scrapping the game is unappealing, so they try to mix things up. I was considering doing something similar with my own game (I've found that following a module can be a source of headaches given my personality). Tossing the baby out with the bathwater is extreme, but I was thinking of taking a hard left into a completely new direction and see what happens.

Has anyone ever done that? Taken their game in a completely new direction from what was going on? Any tips for making such an idea work?

[whisperwind1]

I should probably expound on what I mean by "Hard left". Basically it would be when a campaign undergoes a radical shift in the status quo/central conceit of the story itself. Say for example if the game is about fighting to repel an undead invasion, then a great magical event occurs, and suddenly all that is dead is alive, and all that was alive is now dead, including the PCs. Something like that

Would such a spontaneous change in the campaign be workable?

[Thrudd]

I think it's pretty common to start a module or adventure path and end up with the players going off in a direction that is completely out of the book. That's when you start improvising and planning your own material according to where they're going. Of course, this type of direction change is directed by the players according to what makes sense to them in the game world. Or you could use the module as a springboard to engage in your own adventure.

What you're talking about is some kind of drastic change instigated completely by the DM. If you want to play a different game, you should just tell your players that. Tell them you're tired of running the current game and you want to start over with something different. To your example, I think just unilaterally switching all their characters into some form of undead, for no reason other than you were bored, is not acceptable. Ask them if they'd be interested in playing in an all-undead campaign.

[whisperwind1]

I think it's pretty common to start a module or adventure path and end up with the players going off in a direction that is completely out of the book. That's when you start improvising and planning your own material according to where they're going. Of course, this type of direction change is directed by the players according to what makes sense to them in the game world. Or you could use the module as a springboard to engage in your own adventure.

What you're talking about is some kind of drastic change instigated completely by the DM. If you want to play a different game, you should just tell your players that. Tell them you're tired of running the current game and you want to start over with something different. To your example, I think just unilaterally switching all their characters into some form of undead, for no reason other than you were bored, is not acceptable. Ask them if they'd be interested in playing in an all-undead campaign.

You're right, it would be not acceptable. Well in the end I've done something in the middle of the two scenarios. I took prior material in the module itself as well as future books, to chart a completely new course and introduces new dynamics. I'm happy to report that my players loved it and the past two hours have been awesome and exciting!

My plan going forward is to keep the module encounters and skeleton and use them where appropriate, but give the players far more agency on how the story progresses. If you'd like I could storytime the events for you guys.