New Campaign Ideas
Apr. 20th, 2003 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rowynI've talked over with Lut which of my campaign ideas interest him (or that he'd at least be willing to play), and winnowed out some of my full list already based on that. But before I go into that, here's some basics that will apply to whatever campaign I end up running:
First, I'm going to be the sole head game master for this campaign. If there's anyone who'd like the "junior space cadet GM" role, or who'd like to participate by playing the occasional NPC, that'd be keen. But I'm going to exercise full control over plot and setting, and retain veto power over anyone else's ideas. I've been sharing control in every campaign I've run for the last three years: this time around, I want things to be a little simpler. Don't get me wrong: GM-by-consensus has produced great results for me, and I expect I'll sacrifice some versimilitude in setting and direction by going it alone. But it's time for a change of pace for me.
Second, I'm aiming for a multi-player group of characters who have reason to stick together. PCs should be created with an idea in mind of how they'll fit into the group. Actually, this doesn't apply to the "You'll Just Have to Trust Me" idea outlined below--in that case, I will be handling the reason-to-stick-together however I see fit. But for the other four ideas, PCs should not be lone wolves who want to avoid each other. You don't have to LIKE the other PCs, but you do need an in-character reason to be with them. This isn't to say that every session will involve every character, or that PCs can never go off and do their own thing. But for the most part, it'll be an ensemble cast.
Third, I am currently anticipating that I'll run a game every other week, and the average game session will be 4-5 hours. Players will be expected to be able to meet this level of commitment. That's not to say games can never be postponed or re-scheduled: this is just the guideline for general expectations. If you'd like to participate, but your schedule is too hectic to make room for a regular commitment, you might consider playing an NPC -- a character who can be conveniently written out or played by me, if necessary.
Fourth, this campaign will follow the same general guidelines laid out in Sinai's AUP. My stories are plot- and character-driven, with little to no on-camera sexual content. (Think "kissing" as the extreme end.) That's not to say that you or your character has to be a prude: it just means that the actual sessions run as "canon" for the campaign are not going to involve any details of sexual activity.
This entry is an open invitation for players: if you're reading this, and you'd like to participate, please leave a comment, or send me an email. I won't guarantee everyone a space (depends on how many people are interested and what roles they're willing to take), but I'd be glad to hear from you.
What I'd like to hear from potential participants:
1) Of the eight ideas given here, which do you like/dislike? You can rank them in order of preference, if you want, but I also want to know if any of the ideas are totally unsuited to you. If you want to particpate, but only if it's "The Great Game", or you're willing to do any of them except "CyberWest", then that's what I need to know. I'll pick the final campaign based in part on what reactions I get. If you really love a particular concept above all others -- even if you'd be willing to play in the others, too -- say so. Enthusiasm will count in the weightings. :)
2) Do you want to be play as a PC, or an NPC, or assistant GM? If more than one of those options appeals, which is your preference? The MUCK medium only lends itself to so many participants at one time, and, in particular, I'm limited in the number of PCs I can handle. I have no idea how enthusiastic the response to this will be at this point; I may need some assistant GMs, or I may have to cut the list of players down arbitrarily. Or it may just be Lut and me and one other person I beg into joining us. ("Please come play with me? Please?") :)
I'm hoping to settle on a campaign idea some time in the next couple of weeks. Once that's finalized, I'll flesh out the setting further, ask people to draw up characters, and work out plot details. My campaigns will tell a story, and the nature of that story will be dependent in part on the characters involved. So I won't be finalizing the story until I know who my PCs are. Since it will be a story, there will be a beginning, middle, and end. I make no promises on how long the entire campaign will take. Mirari took about two years from start to finish.
I expect to be running the first live session some time in late May or June.
Finally, the campaign ideas. Bet you thought I'd never get here. :) Broken out by genre:
Space-faring science fiction
Interstellar Geographic: Space exploration adventure. PCs comprise a "second contact" group, exploring virtually unknown worlds, meeting alien races, and making new discoveries. They have a "soft science" approach, supporting their voyages by selling documentary footage and journalist-style articles to the press back home.
Forlorn Hope: space-faring in dangerous times. The PCs are a small group on a single spacecraft, on a desperate quest to save their world from destruction.
Futuristic SF
The Great Game: In a distant future, the world is at peace, lifespans of over 200 years are not uncommon, and medical treatment can all but bring the dead back to life. Sports and other games are huge pastimes. One of the most popular sports is "Rocket Mayhem", a team-based race game. Two teams of six, equipped with jet packs and other high-tech equipment, compete along a marathon obstacle course to see who can get their banner to the finish line first. "Rocket Mayhem" has only been around a few years, and players are constantly refining and inventing new tactics and plans for competing against the course, and other teams. The obstacles on each course vary wildly and are rearranged and altered before each game, with the course layout being a closely guarded secret. PCs play members of a single team. The RPG is intended to take place both on the course and off, with PCs wrestling with issues in their own life as well as the over-arching importance of the Game. Though "Rocket Mayhem" thrives on its reputation as a "dangerous game", it is still safer than sports like drag racing today, and the chances of PC death in the course of the campaign are virtually nil.
CyberWest: Players live on a partially colonized world dominated by a few large corporations, with minimal government and a few small independent businessess. Law enforcement is somewhat spotty, and people tend to “take care of their own”. Most people know the basics of self-defense, and the world itself poses occasional ... interesting challenges for those living on it to deal with. Sort of a cross between cyberpunk and “wild west” in flavor. This setting will undergo significant change over the course of the campaign. Changes may or may not be under PC control. No further information on this will be given. You just have to trust the GM on some things. ;)
Modern Day
You Just Have to Trust Me: Intended to be a short-term campaign. (no, REALLY!) PCs meet one another, for the first time, at a dinner party. Interesting things ensue. So much secrecy that the players are not to talk about the game or their characters EVEN with one another, and the genre for the game is, itself, undisclosed.
Fantasy
Spirits in Wonderland: Concept based loosely on the film "Spirited Away" as well as fantasy/surrealist works like "Labyrinth", Alice in Wonderland, and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. At least one of the PCs will play an "ordinary" character from the modern world, who falls into an extraordinary fantasy environment. (This character need not necessarily be a child). The other PCs will play natives of this fantasy world, who will help (or, possibly, hinder) the "ordinary" figure(s) in their goals. Other details will be given out on a need-to-know basis, to avoid giving spoilers up front for the "normal(s)".
Gothsters Inc.: Beings from another dimension power their civilization by harnessing the power of human teenage angst. <-This one is entirely Envoy's fault. Just so you know.
Sinai
The Bound Sisterhood: PCs living in Ashdod cope with the difficulties of their nation, and the struggle of the priestesses of the Bound Sisters -- an apostate religion where the Seven never break their chains, and instead continue in the functions set for them by their father.
One final note on settings: while some of these are billed as "SF" and others as "fantasy", please bear in mind that I am not a very technically-savvy person. I will not be running anything that could be classified as "hard sf". If I go with one of the sf options, I will shoot for somewhat more realism than "Star Trek". The level of realism you get in "Babylon 5" is probably as close as I would come. There will be techno-gizmos for which I have no good scientific basis, and some things will probably violate known physical laws. I make no claims of expertise.
First, I'm going to be the sole head game master for this campaign. If there's anyone who'd like the "junior space cadet GM" role, or who'd like to participate by playing the occasional NPC, that'd be keen. But I'm going to exercise full control over plot and setting, and retain veto power over anyone else's ideas. I've been sharing control in every campaign I've run for the last three years: this time around, I want things to be a little simpler. Don't get me wrong: GM-by-consensus has produced great results for me, and I expect I'll sacrifice some versimilitude in setting and direction by going it alone. But it's time for a change of pace for me.
Second, I'm aiming for a multi-player group of characters who have reason to stick together. PCs should be created with an idea in mind of how they'll fit into the group. Actually, this doesn't apply to the "You'll Just Have to Trust Me" idea outlined below--in that case, I will be handling the reason-to-stick-together however I see fit. But for the other four ideas, PCs should not be lone wolves who want to avoid each other. You don't have to LIKE the other PCs, but you do need an in-character reason to be with them. This isn't to say that every session will involve every character, or that PCs can never go off and do their own thing. But for the most part, it'll be an ensemble cast.
Third, I am currently anticipating that I'll run a game every other week, and the average game session will be 4-5 hours. Players will be expected to be able to meet this level of commitment. That's not to say games can never be postponed or re-scheduled: this is just the guideline for general expectations. If you'd like to participate, but your schedule is too hectic to make room for a regular commitment, you might consider playing an NPC -- a character who can be conveniently written out or played by me, if necessary.
Fourth, this campaign will follow the same general guidelines laid out in Sinai's AUP. My stories are plot- and character-driven, with little to no on-camera sexual content. (Think "kissing" as the extreme end.) That's not to say that you or your character has to be a prude: it just means that the actual sessions run as "canon" for the campaign are not going to involve any details of sexual activity.
This entry is an open invitation for players: if you're reading this, and you'd like to participate, please leave a comment, or send me an email. I won't guarantee everyone a space (depends on how many people are interested and what roles they're willing to take), but I'd be glad to hear from you.
What I'd like to hear from potential participants:
1) Of the eight ideas given here, which do you like/dislike? You can rank them in order of preference, if you want, but I also want to know if any of the ideas are totally unsuited to you. If you want to particpate, but only if it's "The Great Game", or you're willing to do any of them except "CyberWest", then that's what I need to know. I'll pick the final campaign based in part on what reactions I get. If you really love a particular concept above all others -- even if you'd be willing to play in the others, too -- say so. Enthusiasm will count in the weightings. :)
2) Do you want to be play as a PC, or an NPC, or assistant GM? If more than one of those options appeals, which is your preference? The MUCK medium only lends itself to so many participants at one time, and, in particular, I'm limited in the number of PCs I can handle. I have no idea how enthusiastic the response to this will be at this point; I may need some assistant GMs, or I may have to cut the list of players down arbitrarily. Or it may just be Lut and me and one other person I beg into joining us. ("Please come play with me? Please?") :)
I'm hoping to settle on a campaign idea some time in the next couple of weeks. Once that's finalized, I'll flesh out the setting further, ask people to draw up characters, and work out plot details. My campaigns will tell a story, and the nature of that story will be dependent in part on the characters involved. So I won't be finalizing the story until I know who my PCs are. Since it will be a story, there will be a beginning, middle, and end. I make no promises on how long the entire campaign will take. Mirari took about two years from start to finish.
I expect to be running the first live session some time in late May or June.
Finally, the campaign ideas. Bet you thought I'd never get here. :) Broken out by genre:
Space-faring science fiction
Interstellar Geographic: Space exploration adventure. PCs comprise a "second contact" group, exploring virtually unknown worlds, meeting alien races, and making new discoveries. They have a "soft science" approach, supporting their voyages by selling documentary footage and journalist-style articles to the press back home.
Forlorn Hope: space-faring in dangerous times. The PCs are a small group on a single spacecraft, on a desperate quest to save their world from destruction.
Futuristic SF
The Great Game: In a distant future, the world is at peace, lifespans of over 200 years are not uncommon, and medical treatment can all but bring the dead back to life. Sports and other games are huge pastimes. One of the most popular sports is "Rocket Mayhem", a team-based race game. Two teams of six, equipped with jet packs and other high-tech equipment, compete along a marathon obstacle course to see who can get their banner to the finish line first. "Rocket Mayhem" has only been around a few years, and players are constantly refining and inventing new tactics and plans for competing against the course, and other teams. The obstacles on each course vary wildly and are rearranged and altered before each game, with the course layout being a closely guarded secret. PCs play members of a single team. The RPG is intended to take place both on the course and off, with PCs wrestling with issues in their own life as well as the over-arching importance of the Game. Though "Rocket Mayhem" thrives on its reputation as a "dangerous game", it is still safer than sports like drag racing today, and the chances of PC death in the course of the campaign are virtually nil.
CyberWest: Players live on a partially colonized world dominated by a few large corporations, with minimal government and a few small independent businessess. Law enforcement is somewhat spotty, and people tend to “take care of their own”. Most people know the basics of self-defense, and the world itself poses occasional ... interesting challenges for those living on it to deal with. Sort of a cross between cyberpunk and “wild west” in flavor. This setting will undergo significant change over the course of the campaign. Changes may or may not be under PC control. No further information on this will be given. You just have to trust the GM on some things. ;)
Modern Day
You Just Have to Trust Me: Intended to be a short-term campaign. (no, REALLY!) PCs meet one another, for the first time, at a dinner party. Interesting things ensue. So much secrecy that the players are not to talk about the game or their characters EVEN with one another, and the genre for the game is, itself, undisclosed.
Fantasy
Spirits in Wonderland: Concept based loosely on the film "Spirited Away" as well as fantasy/surrealist works like "Labyrinth", Alice in Wonderland, and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. At least one of the PCs will play an "ordinary" character from the modern world, who falls into an extraordinary fantasy environment. (This character need not necessarily be a child). The other PCs will play natives of this fantasy world, who will help (or, possibly, hinder) the "ordinary" figure(s) in their goals. Other details will be given out on a need-to-know basis, to avoid giving spoilers up front for the "normal(s)".
Gothsters Inc.: Beings from another dimension power their civilization by harnessing the power of human teenage angst. <-This one is entirely Envoy's fault. Just so you know.
Sinai
The Bound Sisterhood: PCs living in Ashdod cope with the difficulties of their nation, and the struggle of the priestesses of the Bound Sisters -- an apostate religion where the Seven never break their chains, and instead continue in the functions set for them by their father.
One final note on settings: while some of these are billed as "SF" and others as "fantasy", please bear in mind that I am not a very technically-savvy person. I will not be running anything that could be classified as "hard sf". If I go with one of the sf options, I will shoot for somewhat more realism than "Star Trek". The level of realism you get in "Babylon 5" is probably as close as I would come. There will be techno-gizmos for which I have no good scientific basis, and some things will probably violate known physical laws. I make no claims of expertise.
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no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 03:49 pm (UTC)Techno-fantasy setting. The native species of Ashdod is a race of anthropomorphic bat-like creatures. Ashdod has long been dominated by a religion wherein the deities are malevolent and cruel - sometimes appealed to for protection, but just as inclined to torment those who attract their attention. The Seven Sisters are the foremost among these deities. Though there are priests (and priestesses) who manifest supernatural powers in the service of their deities, by and large this is a world where the exact nature of the hereafter is a matter for debate. Are the gods really providing that priest's power, or is it just another form of arcane magic, fueled by the force of his belief? Thus, the ability to work miracles is not necessarily a proof of the rightness of one's beliefs in this world.
Anyway ... that's probably far too much space spent explaining it, really. If anyone cares to find out more, I can get as verbose as one likes. Personally, "You Just Have to Trust Me" so far is the one that would appeal to me the most, if I were to be a player. ;)
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 03:57 pm (UTC)Forlorn Hope -- Hmmm. Seems a bit dark, and would require a lot more effort on your part with regards to background, and probably some decisions in regards to technology level (we find a ray that blasts all the badguys off the planet but only dry-cleans the clothing of the good guys!) and enemy development.
The Great Game -- Another hmmmmm. I think the concept would be neat, but I think I'd get lost doing this one. I'd probably need to see more development stuff before I offer too much of an opinion. It seems neat, but it seems to have the potential to get repetitive or fall into lots and lots of dice rolling after awhile.
CyberWest -- Memories of Deadlands! This sounds like it could have a LOT of potential, although would also probably require a lot of development in regards to the details on the corporations, plus as the world is recently colonized you could have all sorts of fun with unknown elements of the planet such as previos civilizations and artifacts, odd wildlife, and funky minerals or cool radiation things. I wouldn;t mind being a part of this as well.
You Just Have to Trust Me -- This sounds awesome. Although I don't envy you any potential head-busting you may have to do do get people to hush. You may consider not posting the logs for this at ALL until it's all over with. I wouldn;t mind being a part of this as well.
Spirits in Wonderland -- Neil Gaiman's NeverWHERE ;) Close though. Still, the concept sounds really neat and would allow you a lot of freedom. I don't like the idea of one person being "normal" and all the other PCs having the potential of ganging up on him/her. It might be better to just allow PCs to decide if they want to be natives or normals, and come up with advantages and disadvantages of such. (I.E. Normals are not succeptable to the whims and powers of whomever is in charge, while natives blend in better and have a bit more acceptance)
Gothsters Inc -- ???????? What do you and envoy TALK about? I think I'd need to know more details before forming an opinion. Ya'll are weird. ;)
The Bound Sisterhood -- This would work in that there's an established world already and the Sinai logs could continue, but it also means you'd be bound by all of the baggage of Sinai and may find it difficult to go entirely solo as a GM. Still, I like the idea, and it wouldn't take as much work as setting up as inventing your own new world with races and religions and such.
As a sidenote, I also would like to see you revisit the world with the fox-king that you briefly played with Brenna. but probably mainly because I want to know more about that ruler ;)
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 04:10 pm (UTC)I think Envoy paged me out of the blue about Gothsters. But I think there's some ... potential, in it. That would NOT be a serious game. :)
If I went with "Spirits in Wonderland", there'd certainly be compensations for being "normal". Note that the "normal" character is instrumental to success in all of the examples I draw from. :) And being one of the "spirit" creatures would not necessarily mean you had vast powers.
Anyway, thanks muchly for your input. :) I'll see what others are interested in, too. I've got a soft spot for most of these ideas, or I wouldn't have offered 'em. I'm hoping that my potential playerbase will weed them down a lot; otherwise, it'll be hard for me to choose.
A more serious response after this, but...
Date: 2003-04-20 04:16 pm (UTC):D :D :D :D :D
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 06:55 pm (UTC)The shared Sinai universe is a product of several people contributing various ideas, and it pretty much works best if there are lots of people actually participating in their own way. The product isn't the best of quality, and it doesn't fit together quite as tightly as something made by just one person, but there's a certain dynamic that a shared universe has - the fun of various scattered characters interacting with each other, plots crossing lines, events on one part of the play "environment" affecting others, rumors being passed along, and so forth.
However, when it boils down to pretty much just a campaign with one GM, then the GM might as well be given full control over the setting. The "shared universe" isn't quite so useful anymore - especially for outsiders to SinaiMUCK, since they wouldn't have the advantage of already knowing most of the background details.
So, I've become much more a fan of finite campaigns with new settings created for each one - perhaps drawn from familiar sources, but not burdened with an ongoing continuity beyond the scope of the immediate storyline.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 05:41 am (UTC)I like these a great deal, too, obviously. :) But there's something about a shared universe and its vast, swelling history. Yeah, you get a lot of hokey junk. You get ideas you wished you'd never come up with. And then someone else builds on your ideas that you wished you'd never come up with, and their product is SO COOL that you can't hate your idea for being the foundation of it anymore, but you still kinda wish you could somehow excise the crappy parts of your idea without spoiling THEIR idea ....
There's something about it. It's flawed, but it's also richly detailed, moreso than anything I would ever invent on my own. There are masses of old story elements and forgotten characters to be drawn upon and invoked. It's like when you read a good comic from the DC or Marvel superhero universe. Like Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing". You know that these elements are all pretty silly and campy, but somehow he draws them together and makes them into something AMAZING that couldn't happen anywhere but there.
I expect that my next multi-player campaign will be off Sinai, too. But I don't think I could ever quite turn my back on Sinai, or say "Forget that place; I don't want to run anything in it ever again." There's so much there to draw upon.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 05:44 pm (UTC)I like the chance for open endedness that Spirits and Trust provide, and Cyber West seems more adventurous.
Great Game would probably be the only one I'd want to avoid. The whole 'the game is our life' concept never really appeals to me.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-22 03:28 pm (UTC)My first comment
Also, I can now blame you for getting me onto LiveJournal, since you threw down the gauntlet by mentioning that I was responsible for the Gothsters Inc. idea! ;)
Hm
Date: 2003-04-22 07:56 pm (UTC)-- Kagetsume
Re: My first comment
Date: 2003-04-22 08:18 pm (UTC)Uhm ... is my immaturity showing? =)
Anyway, I think it'd be interesting to see you play a character in a more sci-fi setting. I figure you'd have the techie background to make a convincing native of such a setting. ;D
Re: My first comment
Date: 2003-04-22 08:59 pm (UTC)Of course, if she needs help working out what sort of stuff should be available I'll be happy to volunteer :) Otherwise, I'm not going to assume there will be situations where the PC has to know how to change a fuel-cell or how to fix a broken down robomule.
It's all about the characters, dude! :)
Re: My first comment
Date: 2003-04-22 09:23 pm (UTC)Re: My first comment
Date: 2003-04-23 11:14 am (UTC)Right now, I think I'll wait until
Re: Hm
Date: 2003-04-23 11:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-25 10:22 pm (UTC)Interstellar Geographic: Sounds cool.
Cyberwest: I've a bunch of character ideas from when I was playing Deadlands, and maybe 1 from watching Firefly. Both are cool concepts.
You just have to Trust Me: Oooo... it's short, and I trust you, really.
ForelornHope: Actually this plus Cyberwest would be sort of Firefly.
The Great Game: Reminds me of a comic book, Planet Racers, where the action was a chapter of racing, and a couple chapters of in between intrique. It could be interesting.
Spirits in Wonderland: I liked Neverwhere, Alice, quite cool.
And the ones I'm definitely not interested in.
Gothsters, Inc.: I'd hit critical mass when the faux-angst combined with my vrai-angst.
The Bound Sisterhood: While Sinai is waycool, I'm not up to weighty struggles with religion right now.
Character Ideas
Well, nothing as such so far. I'll play pretty much any kind of character, though obviously I've some preferences. Whatever fits. I've been mildly interested in a dolphin character (a la Startide Rising), which obviously would have some unusual limitations. If that is unworkable, I'm sure some other things can be thought up.
Re: My first comment
Date: 2003-04-25 10:33 pm (UTC)I'm not into adventures in bureaucracy, paying bills, and respecting authority. I've got enough of that now.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-26 05:45 am (UTC)