TheRPGSite

Looking back, I notice that most of the campaigns I have run have default to a series of interconnected events or adventures in a more or less linear fashion - A leads to B, then to C and so on.  Of course players have freedom of action within the scope of each adventure, but in the end it's me who is deciding what the next adventure is going to be.

I'm considering to run a Star Wars campaign soon, and I'm thinking about doing things a bit differently. The campaign starts with a big battle for the control of a galactic sector, with the main villain and his fleet being forced to flee and gone into hiding. The players would be given the task of finding where the bad guy is hiding and what he's up to (that's the big overall plot)as well as asessing the state of the sector in the aftermath of the battle: Which planets in the sector are friendly, hostile, that sort of thing.

Now, rather than me sending them in a particular direction (which is what I would usually do), I'd like to start by pulling a map of the sector with a number of planets, give them available information on them, and ask them what planet they want to visit first. So if they go to Ralltiir instead of Manaan the events of the session will be different, because the situation in Ralltiir is different, too. When they're done there, they can choose a different planet and face new troubles.

Basically, I'd like to know of any experiences or advice in this matter: Games you've played using this structure and how they went. I suppose something like this gets done more often in games where there are maps or a physical sense of the setting - as noted, it's not something I've done on this scale, so I'm curious.

The GM that introduced me to rolemaster did every campaign that way and it was a blast. Exploration followed by entering and extracting yourself from trouble is a great way to go.

It also frees the players from the "what are we supposed to do in the story next" concern.

Advice: do lots and lots of prep or be prepared to run everything straight off the cuff. My GM did the former. I don't have the memory or time for that (his world was built up over a long term in the peacetime military) so what I did was the latter. Both can work wonders if they suit your style.

All my recent campaigns have been like this. I recommend - not neccessarily using - but at least looking into the Campaign Hexagon System, a method used in ancient roleplaying games/settings like Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Empire of the Petal Throne and (more relevant for your science fiction campaign) Traveller. The Campaign Hexagon System is based on sheets of numbered hexes, which are then "stocked" with a number of loosely described, and often randomly generated encounters or location descriptions. In case of an overland map, these encounters could be ruins, relics, monster lairs, strongholds, weird places and things, or whatever the gamemaster (or Judge ;)) could think of. In Traveller, they were starports, asteroid fields, drifting wreckage or, worlds, or, again, whatever else the gamemaster could think of.

Now, the GM has the full map and key. The PCs only get an incomplete and unkeyed map, and can explore it to their will. Say, you have your sector, you give your players a slightly accurate players' map of it, and after kickstarting the whole thing, let them loose. Maybe they will go "southwest" (kinda wonky because space is in 3d, but it was never a problem in Traveller if I am correct) and land on the world of Roembden, a science colony under imperial control, where people are in turn controlled by something nasty they have created in their labs. Or maybe they head "north", into unexplored territory, where you have placed a frozen escape pod drifting in space, containing documents that could make the players several thousand credits, land them in jail or get them involved with the Imperial or Rebel factions if used cleverly. Do the players decide to break the capsule? Destroy it? Tow it into a starport? Use the documents for good or evil, or merely profit from them? Who knows!

The trick is presenting adventure hooks everywhere the group goes, and developing them into full action. Random determination helps a lot here, because it breaks you out of your standard thinking patterns. The last time I was generating a Traveller subsector (purely for the hell of it, since my group isn't interested in playing it, and truthfully neither am I), for example, I got a very, very high tech world with a minuscule population living on a huge (truly vast) planet. Was it a once rich world devastated by a virus? A research lab floating above the surface of a gas giant? Or something else? Who knows. In any case, moving around in the network of adventure hooks, occasionally introducing new ones to spice up "explored" places and "enabling" the players to generate action and conflict is, I think, the most rewarding way of running such a campaign. Open situations and truly hard to explain weirdness seem to be the best kinds of encounters to populate the setting with; the first encouraging proactivity and player choice, and the second creating a sense of wonder and getting the imagination of both GM and group going.

Here is an example of a Traveller subsector map (http://members.pcug.org.au/~davidjw/libdata/sectors/spinward/regin_sb.htm). And another (http://members.tip.net.au/~davidjw/libdata/sectors/spinward/arami_sb.htm). Map (http://www.judgesguild.com/pdf/lenap/lenap_map.jpg) and key (http://www.judgesguild.com/pdf/lenap/lenap.pdf) for a Wilderlands of High Fantasy region. Finally, two (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Melan/Batrakasz-P.jpg) player maps (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Melan/Propyla-P.jpg) from my current campaign.

I did something like this for a game about the exploration and resettlement of Dragon Pass (Glorantha). The players had an almost blank hex-map and I had the one with the info. They filled in the map hex by hex as they went into new territory. I took this idea from two sources: the Griffin Mountain supplement and the old boardgame Source of the Nile.

I'm totally thinking about doing this later on in my D6 Fantasy campaign.  Interestingly,  was inspired to it by one of the "Fabled Lands (aka Quest)" Fighting Fantasy-esque books, which my wife and I found at a book warehouse outlet for, like, three bucks.

As a player, I love this sort of campaign.  Especially if supplied with a handful of short rumours or hints to follow up on.  Example:  The DM once mentioned that the Elven Empire is surrounder by a Great Wall of intertwined trees.  Now I want to go there just to climb that wall.

The Microlite Campaign (http://wiki.greywulf.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Macropedia/TheMicroliteCampaign) is a great example of building this approach from a very small beginning.

I try to be very flexible when I run games and I love Star Wars because you can mix and match any tech level you want.  Here's a tip you might find helpful:  I usually outline about 3-4 possible scenarios - one or two urban, one or two wilderness, and one space.  The trick is, it doesn't matter where the PCs go, they're going to stumble across one of those scenarios.  I keep the basic outlines generic enough that I can adapt them to the world.  So, one urban scenario might be "workers in conflict with locals; locals contact PCs for help; workers make counter offer; final battle w/opposing side."    

If the PCs go to Kashyyk, the locals are wookies and the workers are Imperials (or Trandoshan slavers).  If the PCs go to Coruscant, the locals might be a lower city gang and the workers might be the police.  If they go to Hoth, the locals might be an isolated group of monks and the workers might be pirates.  On Naboo, the locals might be Gungans and the workers unscrupulous miners.  

I find that once I know where the PCs are going, I get a clearer idea of the different complications and twists that unfold along with the basic scenario.  Plus the party is free to pursue whatever reasons they had for going there in the first place.  It helps keep things moving and allows the players to feel like they're not entirely being led around by the nose.    

Hope that helps.  Good luck!

Pete

i've run traveller like that.  everyone usually has a great time.  they would pull out "the spinward marches" supplement and say, "let's go here!"  and a wingin' it i would go.  the players loved the ultimate freedom of movement, and i learned how to follow their lead.  

you should have an easy time doing the same with star wars, i would think.  just keep a couple of adventure hooks ready in case they stall out.  then you can let them ride that, and the repercussions/aftereffects of that plot thread.

i've never done it with fantasy.  would love to try, tho.

@Aegypto  -  It annoys the hell out of me when it isn't like that. The worst is if where you are 'suppose' to go isn't told to you explicitly and then the railroading toolbox gets openned, and out comes the bigass hammer when you strike out towards something that looks cool to you. :(

I think this is a very good idea. SW seems perfect for this kind of campaign, and I like your overall plot idea. I did a space exploration game - think Voyager - sometime back. Since I didn't have much info about the planets, and there were a lot of them, I wrote up a list of interesting scenarios/events that I could use at any given moment. It was a very interesting campaign. The pcs could travel anywhere and I'd always have my list of situations to fall back on.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: MelanHere is an example of a Traveller subsector map (http://members.pcug.org.au/~davidjw/libdata/sectors/spinward/regin_sb.htm). And another (http://members.tip.net.au/~davidjw/libdata/sectors/spinward/arami_sb.htm). Map (http://www.judgesguild.com/pdf/lenap/lenap_map.jpg) and key (http://www.judgesguild.com/pdf/lenap/lenap.pdf) for a Wilderlands of High Fantasy region. Finally, two (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Melan/Batrakasz-P.jpg) player maps (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Melan/Propyla-P.jpg) from my current campaign.

Are those maps in Hungarian? For some reason, they kick ass as fantasy names. :keke:

EDIT: Also, what software did you use to create them? I have a cute little program for fantasy maps, but it doesn't number the hexes...

The mouse-over says the program used was Galactic 2.4.

Thanks for the input guys. Melan and pspahn suggestions were particularly interesting.

I'll give some thought to the issue of random determination. I'm never been a big fan of randomly generated encounters, but maybe I can make them work with the proper input parameters - it may prove useful once the PCs move into unexplored space and the gaps between known systems become bigger.

Quote from: AegyptoBasically, I'd like to know of any experiences or advice in this matter: Games you've played using this structure and how they went. I suppose something like this gets done more often in games where there are maps or a physical sense of the setting - as noted, it's not something I've done on this scale, so I'm curious.

I think this is a great way to run a campaign, save two points in your GM planning.


I personally love creating the opening part of a campaign. Starting things out with a bang, and introducing lots of NPCs, as well as getting the characters to meet each other, etc. This is great, because you can tie stuff you do later back to stuff at the beginning.

NPC, "Hay yoz guyz, you rememberz me, that dood from your firzt sessionz?"


Again, the ending is more of the same, but it is impossible to "plan" the ending ahead of time. I'd have an idea of what your bad guy is like, and what his evil plan is, but besides that, you should really let the characters grow more before that last "glorious session planning".

Quote from: KashellI think this is a great way to run a campaign, save two points in your GM planning.


I personally love creating the opening part of a campaign. Starting things out with a bang, and introducing lots of NPCs, as well as getting the characters to meet each other, etc. This is great, because you can tie stuff you do later back to stuff at the beginning.

NPC, "Hay yoz guyz, you rememberz me, that dood from your firzt sessionz?"

I thought about that, too. :D

I was thinking that it would be fun to start the first session in media res of the aforementioned big battle, with some the PCs going commando on the  fortress of the villain - who manages to elude capture, of course - and finding the other PCs imprisoned there. Should give them a good motivation to go after the bastard.

Those maps are definitely hungarian.

Quote@Aegypto - It annoys the hell out of me when it isn't like that.

I can not agree more !!!
That said, I'm planning to release my "own game" (which is not really a game per se, since there are no specific rules, only setting/plots), which is based on the needs you describe.

Now, in my humble opinion, I believe that "waiting encounters" in differents locations (be it monsters, ruins, whatever) might be a good thing, but I think that plots is even better. But, then I believe you need to manage the passage of time.

Let me give you an example : players start in a given location and have the choice between going to A, B or C. In each of this places, some events are "planned" to happen (the mob example above can do the trick, for instance). Now, as a DM, playing those types of games, I hate the idea that the choice of my players only conditionne in what order those events are encountered. I would prefer those three distinct storylines to interact in time.

What I mean is : the PCs choose to go to A ? Nice, then events occur as normal in B and C, and when the players reach those locations, as time as went by, the plots are not at the exact point (ie the events are not "waiting" for the players to occur).

Now, a couple of comments about this :
- the PC should ask themselves :"what are we doing with our time?"
- the PCs should feel a sense of emergency : do they want to continue on storyline A ? Then B will continue without them. They will need to make choices !!! That's why I hate when "events" are triggered by their presence (ie waiting for them).
- You'll need a little preparation to do this, but from a very high point of view.
- You'll need to use a calendar as to keep track of time. More generally, a specific design ...
- Ever since I've been playing like this, I find it so much fun !!! And it is really the PCs who have the lead about the story.
- I call this structure multi plots calendar based campaign.

Well, you tell me if that's the kind of stuff you were thinking of ...

Quote from: pellsI can not agree more !!!
...But, then I believe you need to manage the passage of time.

What I mean is : the PCs choose to go to A ? Nice, then events occur as normal in B and C, and when the players reach those locations, as time as went by, the plots are not at the exact point (ie the events are not "waiting" for the players to occur).

Something like this is great, but takes a pretty well functioning world. For example, Dungeon A has goblins in it who are fighting with the big bad orges in Dungeon B. If the players spend time at City A instead of going to Dungeon A, the goblins take the advantage and build fortifications.

Were you referring to something else?

QuoteNow, a couple of comments about this :
- the PC should ask themselves :"what are we doing with our time?"
- the PCs should feel a sense of emergency : do they want to continue on storyline A ? Then B will continue without them. They will need to make choices !!! That's why I hate when "events" are triggered by their presence (ie waiting for them).
- You'll need a little preparation to do this, but from a very high point of view.
- You'll need to use a calendar as to keep track of time. More generally, a specific design ...
- Ever since I've been playing like this, I find it so much fun !!! And it is really the PCs who have the lead about the story.
- I call this structure multi plots calendar based campaign.

I think a calender is a great way to keep the ball moving in a game, especially when "super death virus extreme X" is going to destroy the world and your hometown (note the dramatic order of that last sentance), and you have 30 days to find the cure.


This kind of thing certainly isn't new, but there are some games that do it really well. Specifically, Fallout 1 comes to mind, when you're looking for the water chip, though I've never tried something like this in a roleplaying game.

QuoteSomething like this is great, but takes a pretty well functioning world. For example, Dungeon A has goblins in it who are fighting with the big bad orges in Dungeon B. If the players spend time at City A instead of going to Dungeon A, the goblins take the advantage and build fortifications.

Were you referring to something else?

Yes, more or less. Let's retake your example :
Let's say you've got two plots :
- goblins are fighting ogres in dungeon B. If they win (let's say that's what is happening if the PCs don't take part in it), they take over the dungeon, fortify it and then launch some assaults on the neighboring "human" kingdom.
- in city A, a necromancer is turning its inhabitants into undead
The important thing is that both story occurs at the same time.

Now, let's say the PCs go help the ogres. After a while, they decide to reload their gear in city A. While in the city, they discover the plot of the necromancer. Now, what will they do ? If they try to stop the mage, they won't be able to help the ogres anymore ...

QuoteI think a calender is a great way to keep the ball moving in a game, especially when "super death virus extreme X" is going to destroy the world and your hometown (note the dramatic order of that last sentance), and you have 30 days to find the cure.

Just to be sure I'm not hackjicking this thread : time constraint might be fun in your example, but it is still in the context of a linear plot. The main idea of the starter of the thread was to be able to provide something non linear.

In a non linear plot, time is not only a constraint, but it also helps to know where in the plot you are when the PCs jump in. In the previous example, when the PCs come to town, does the necromancer has already start some "transformations" or is he still somehow "hidden". You'll need a calendar to manage that.

QuoteThis kind of thing certainly isn't new, but there are some games that do it really well.

Non linear !!! This is the important thing !!! In what I'm doing there are 5 plots going around at the same time. PCs change plots all the time !!!
Without a calendar it would be impossible to manage this !!!!

I've never found the "plotless" campaign to work all that well for me.

Be prepared for a lot of players who have absolutely no idea what they want to do.  Not everyone builds a character that just wants to wander aimlessly, or has any specific goals.  And finding anyone who cares enough about the campaign world to actually know much about it is rare.  

Contrary to what the Forgites believe, a lot of players do not want to dictate the flow of the story/game.  A lot of them like mission-oriented play, where they are given a goal.

So just make sure you have the kind of players who want to read up on the setting and want to create characters with their own personal goals.  Otherwise, you could very easily end up sitting around with everyone waiting for you to tell them what to do.

Personally, I use a mixed approach.  I throw in missions from time to time, but leave them openings to go do something they want to do if they want to do it.

Quote from: pellsI call this structure multi plots calendar based campaign

I call it old school, baby!  I'm glad you're enjoying the game.  In my current campaign we have 14 starter adventures, 5 towns, 1 major city, and 100s of NPCs all buzzing around in different dynamics.  It's a big ball of wax, but it's fun.  

To Melan: Did you make those most recent campaign images in Hexmapper?  They look perfect for what I need.

Quote from: jgantsContrary to what the Forgites believe, a lot of players do not want to dictate the flow of the story/game.  A lot of them like mission-oriented play, where they are given a goal.

And the players who do want to dictate the course of the game each want it to go in a different direction. It's like hitching two horses to your wagon - at either end. :D

Quote from: JongWKAre those maps in Hungarian? For some reason, they kick ass as fantasy names. :keke:

EDIT: Also, what software did you use to create them? I have a cute little program for fantasy maps, but it doesn't number the hexes...

AutoREALM and Paintbrush. The hex numbering took a good deal of my time, but only had to be done once.

Quote from: JimBobOzAnd the players who do want to dictate the course of the game each want it to go in a different direction. It's like hitching two horses to your wagon - at either end. :D

So the characters face down each other and yeee haw, we got ourselves a shoot out. Good times. :)