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Cohesive Campaigning

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Rolemancer
Apr 25, 2010 12:27:20
Cohesive Campaigning

Player Plan and Benefits

            Each Main Player Character (MPC) will be chosen by the Players. Those PCs will be played all the way through the Heroic Tier of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).

            Upon reaching the Paragon Tier (Level 11), the MPCs will form an Adventuring Company based in a location of their choice. Once established, each of the MPCs will attract a Follower Player Character (FPC), who begins in the Heroic Tier (Level 1). These FPCs can be of any Race and any Class of the Players’ choosing.

            Once the PCs reach the Epic Tier (Level 21), the FPCs will automatically reach Paragon Tier (Level 11) if they already haven’t in their current adventures. It is at this time each of the FPCs gain a Henchman Player Character (HPC), who begins in the Heroic Tier (Level 1). These HPCs can be of any Race and any Class of the Players’ choosing.

            Cohesive Campaigning is designed this way so the Players have a variety of choices on which Adventuring Party to play in any given session that addresses certain adventuring dilemmas. This allows them to also experience firsthand more D&D options without having to give up a character to do it. In addition, this establishes a hierarchy and unity of purpose within the Adventuring Company.

            An example of a possible adventuring dilemma could be as follows:

The MPCs are heading off to an Evil Sorcerer’s tower to capture a Seeing Stone in order to decrease the Sorcerer’s power and influence in the region. Once they obtain the Seeing Stone, they peer into it and learn the Sorcerer is leading an army of beings from the Chaos planes toward the capital city to besiege it. They also learn that the Sorcerer somehow sent an unnatural plague that struck an island off the coast inhabited by their old Elvish allies and realize the Seeing Stone could be instrumental in finding a cure.

But, the MPCs cannot be two places at once, they must defend the capital city and they must make a strong effort to save the lives of their friends. So, the MPCs head back to the village where their Adventuring Company is located and hand the Seeing Stone off to the FPCs with a mission to take it to the Elvish Council with haste. However, they also learn that the Mayor of the village sent all of the militia to the defense of the capital city. All that remains to defend the village are a few of the watch.

After the militia left, some Kobolds raided the nearby mine and outlying farmsteads and many villagers were captured and slain. With the MPCs heading to the capital city and the FPCs heading to the Elvish island, who will defend the village from the Kobolds? In come the HPCs who will be charged with rescuing the farmsteads and clearing out the mine, restoring peace and safety to the village.

Dungeon Master Plan and Benefits

            In Cohesive Campaigning, the Dungeon Master (DM) produces different tiered adventures for certain sessions. With a growing library of books, modules, magazines, along with the addition of more game aids like miniatures, tiles, power cards and the like, Cohesive Campaigning allows a DM to take advantage of using more of these purchased materials more often within the context of their current campaign.

            This too allows for variety for the DM and they do not need to feel as though they need to scrap one campaign for another. Have an idea for a Dwarven Campaign in the East Rift of the Forgotten Realms, but also have a city campaign idea based in Waterdeep, and how about that Elvish campaign set in Luruar that has kept getting put off? Cohesive Campaigning allows for all of them simultaneously. The MPCs could primarily handle the East Rift stemming the tide of the denizens of the Underdark. The FPCs could be sent to Waterdeep to work on research, infiltrating organizations and establishing support for the MPCs. Meanwhile, the HPCs are sent to Luruar to gain the trust of those in the region, to explore old compacts, ancient charters and treaties, to send word that the Dwarves of the East Rift are in need of aid.

            Each session plays out with a different Adventuring Party, but the events they represent happen within the same time frame. There also does not need to be any set pattern of how these adventures play out. At times the MPCs may be actively played many sessions in a row leveling up and gaining treasure, while the FPCs and HPCs are considered to be passively working behind the scenes, yet will also benefit by leveling up to keep the story flow moving smoothly. Other times, sessions might be staggered enough to where the Adventuring Parties share enough play time to where progression happens actively for each of them rather than passively.

Group Plan and Benefits

            How the Cohesive Campaign plays out is completely up to the gaming group as a whole. The DM and Players decide on how they want to come up with characters, what world to play in, how adventuring sessions will play out and other details that may arise.

            Too often I have heard feedback from Players, “I never have played a character from 1st to 30th level and I would like to do that once.” I have also heard, “I would like to play such and such character next, they sound like a lot of fun.”

Also, as a DM, I have felt like switching campaigns after a length of time, yet it feels like we are right in the middle of things still, which can be unfair to Players. At times, the reason Players never got to play a single character all the way through all tiers was partly my fault. On the other side of that coin, I have also maintained a campaign for a long enough time to where Players were getting the itch to play another character. Along with the desires for variety I have had as a DM at times throughout campaigns, the bottom line is that there just is not enough time to do it all.

Cohesive Campaigning provides solutions for much of that. The gaming group can experience variety and the freedom of choice; all the while they make consistent progress and do not feel as though they need to sacrifice anything to achieve it. By having MPCs, FPCs, and HPCs all adventuring in tandem, a more efficient use of time to explore more options for the gaming group as a whole is achieved.

Some have described 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons as being very similar to a massive multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG or MMO for short) and rather than resist that description, as a DM, I have decided to embrace it. For me personally, MMOs are a lot of fun, but they will never take the place of getting together with my friends around a table face to face, passing books around, rolling dice, roleplaying, exploring, adventuring, laughing together and having cheers of victory erupt when they defeat a tough encounter.

While I may have tailored the idea of Cohesive Campaigning for the gaming group that I DM for, I must credit the MMO option of having multiple character slots for alternate characters along with forum posts made by many on the Wizards of the Coast D&D forums and elsewhere for inspiring me to develop this concept into a useable plan. For some gaming groups it may not be a good fit, but in our group it is heartily welcomed. Thank you.

#2
mightywok
May 02, 2010 7:49:20 Is the idea for the epic characters to share the same world at the same time with the paragon and heroic characters? If so, how would you go about keeping their stories related but separate? What's to stop the epic characters from sticking their nose into the paragon business and addressing the paragon story/threat with godlike power, or loaning large quantities of gold to the heroic characters? Obviously, with mature gamers this wouldn't be an issue, but I also worry about metagamey players abusing the situation and crying foul when told "no".
#3
grehnhewe
May 02, 2010 10:39:05 I like your idea. Two things that make running a level 1-30 game difficult are as you said: players wanting to play a different character at some point, and DMs wanting to running a different campaign/adventure path at some point. This idea could make the prospect of running a level 1-30 game more possible.
#4
AbdulAlhazred
May 02, 2010 16:23:07 Meh. There's nothing wrong with negotiating a design for a campaign, associated themes, and settings, with the players but decades of DMing have long since convinced me that elaborate attempts to structure things like this don't work well. For one thing one or another story is likely to be more compelling than the other. If you're lucky that will be the same one for all players, but chances are its more likely you'll have some players uninterested in one party and others uninterested in the other party.

Personally I would much rather simply use an informal system where at appropriate interludes the players can exchange characters. They may do this by making up new characters of appropriate level or bringing back existing/secondary characters (or turning NPCs into PCs, etc). This lets the players mix and match as it pleases them. You may at times need to uplevel a PC that hasn't been played for a while, but that's not a big deal. Alternatively idle PCs can do side quests or you can even as you suggest now and then switch to another secondary group if the players all want to do that. I just wouldn't recommend attempting to codify this into some sort of 'policy'. Its a game, you just want to do whats fun. Any rule you make up like this will want to go straight out the window the first time it isn't fun anyhow, so why go to all the effort?

Good communication with players will allow the game to be organized and reorganized as needed. I know most DMs (myself included to some extent) have a subtle urge to be organizers and controllers, but you should always be suspicious of that tendency.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Rolemancer Apr 25, 2010 12:27:20	Cohesive Campaigning Player Plan and Benefits Each Main Player Character (MPC) will be chosen by the Players. Those PCs will be played all the way through the Heroic Tier of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Upon reaching the Paragon Tier (Level 11), the MPCs will form an Adventuring Company based in a location of their choice. Once established, each of the MPCs will attract a Follower Player Character (FPC), who begins in the Heroic Tier (Level 1). These FPCs can be of any Race and any Class of the Players’ choosing. Once the PCs reach the Epic Tier (Level 21), the FPCs will automatically reach Paragon Tier (Level 11) if they already haven’t in their current adventures. It is at this time each of the FPCs gain a Henchman Player Character (HPC), who begins in the Heroic Tier (Level 1). These HPCs can be of any Race and any Class of the Players’ choosing. Cohesive Campaigning is designed this way so the Players have a variety of choices on which Adventuring Party to play in any given session that addresses certain adventuring dilemmas. This allows them to also experience firsthand more D&D options without having to give up a character to do it. In addition, this establishes a hierarchy and unity of purpose within the Adventuring Company. An example of a possible adventuring dilemma could be as follows: The MPCs are heading off to an Evil Sorcerer’s tower to capture a Seeing Stone in order to decrease the Sorcerer’s power and influence in the region. Once they obtain the Seeing Stone, they peer into it and learn the Sorcerer is leading an army of beings from the Chaos planes toward the capital city to besiege it. They also learn that the Sorcerer somehow sent an unnatural plague that struck an island off the coast inhabited by their old Elvish allies and realize the Seeing Stone could be instrumental in finding a cure. But, the MPCs cannot be two places at once, they must defend the capital city and they must make a strong effort to save the lives of their friends. So, the MPCs head back to the village where their Adventuring Company is located and hand the Seeing Stone off to the FPCs with a mission to take it to the Elvish Council with haste. However, they also learn that the Mayor of the village sent all of the militia to the defense of the capital city. All that remains to defend the village are a few of the watch. After the militia left, some Kobolds raided the nearby mine and outlying farmsteads and many villagers were captured and slain. With the MPCs heading to the capital city and the FPCs heading to the Elvish island, who will defend the village from the Kobolds? In come the HPCs who will be charged with rescuing the farmsteads and clearing out the mine, restoring peace and safety to the village. Dungeon Master Plan and Benefits In Cohesive Campaigning, the Dungeon Master (DM) produces different tiered adventures for certain sessions. With a growing library of books, modules, magazines, along with the addition of more game aids like miniatures, tiles, power cards and the like, Cohesive Campaigning allows a DM to take advantage of using more of these purchased materials more often within the context of their current campaign. This too allows for variety for the DM and they do not need to feel as though they need to scrap one campaign for another. Have an idea for a Dwarven Campaign in the East Rift of the Forgotten Realms, but also have a city campaign idea based in Waterdeep, and how about that Elvish campaign set in Luruar that has kept getting put off? Cohesive Campaigning allows for all of them simultaneously. The MPCs could primarily handle the East Rift stemming the tide of the denizens of the Underdark. The FPCs could be sent to Waterdeep to work on research, infiltrating organizations and establishing support for the MPCs. Meanwhile, the HPCs are sent to Luruar to gain the trust of those in the region, to explore old compacts, ancient charters and treaties, to send word that the Dwarves of the East Rift are in need of aid. Each session plays out with a different Adventuring Party, but the events they represent happen within the same time frame. There also does not need to be any set pattern of how these adventures play out. At times the MPCs may be actively played many sessions in a row leveling up and gaining treasure, while the FPCs and HPCs are considered to be passively working behind the scenes, yet will also benefit by leveling up to keep the story flow moving smoothly. Other times, sessions might be staggered enough to where the Adventuring Parties share enough play time to where progression happens actively for each of them rather than passively. Group Plan and Benefits How the Cohesive Campaign plays out is completely up to the gaming group as a whole. The DM and Players decide on how they want to come up with characters, what world to play in, how adventuring sessions will play out and other details that may arise. Too often I have heard feedback from Players, “I never have played a character from 1st to 30th level and I would like to do that once.” I have also heard, “I would like to play such and such character next, they sound like a lot of fun.” Also, as a DM, I have felt like switching campaigns after a length of time, yet it feels like we are right in the middle of things still, which can be unfair to Players. At times, the reason Players never got to play a single character all the way through all tiers was partly my fault. On the other side of that coin, I have also maintained a campaign for a long enough time to where Players were getting the itch to play another character. Along with the desires for variety I have had as a DM at times throughout campaigns, the bottom line is that there just is not enough time to do it all. Cohesive Campaigning provides solutions for much of that. The gaming group can experience variety and the freedom of choice; all the while they make consistent progress and do not feel as though they need to sacrifice anything to achieve it. By having MPCs, FPCs, and HPCs all adventuring in tandem, a more efficient use of time to explore more options for the gaming group as a whole is achieved. Some have described 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons as being very similar to a massive multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG or MMO for short) and rather than resist that description, as a DM, I have decided to embrace it. For me personally, MMOs are a lot of fun, but they will never take the place of getting together with my friends around a table face to face, passing books around, rolling dice, roleplaying, exploring, adventuring, laughing together and having cheers of victory erupt when they defeat a tough encounter. While I may have tailored the idea of Cohesive Campaigning for the gaming group that I DM for, I must credit the MMO option of having multiple character slots for alternate characters along with forum posts made by many on the Wizards of the Coast D&D forums and elsewhere for inspiring me to develop this concept into a useable plan. For some gaming groups it may not be a good fit, but in our group it is heartily welcomed. Thank you.
#2 mightywok May 02, 2010 7:49:20	Is the idea for the epic characters to share the same world at the same time with the paragon and heroic characters? If so, how would you go about keeping their stories related but separate? What's to stop the epic characters from sticking their nose into the paragon business and addressing the paragon story/threat with godlike power, or loaning large quantities of gold to the heroic characters? Obviously, with mature gamers this wouldn't be an issue, but I also worry about metagamey players abusing the situation and crying foul when told "no".
#3 grehnhewe May 02, 2010 10:39:05	I like your idea. Two things that make running a level 1-30 game difficult are as you said: players wanting to play a different character at some point, and DMs wanting to running a different campaign/adventure path at some point. This idea could make the prospect of running a level 1-30 game more possible.
#4 AbdulAlhazred May 02, 2010 16:23:07	Meh. There's nothing wrong with negotiating a design for a campaign, associated themes, and settings, with the players but decades of DMing have long since convinced me that elaborate attempts to structure things like this don't work well. For one thing one or another story is likely to be more compelling than the other. If you're lucky that will be the same one for all players, but chances are its more likely you'll have some players uninterested in one party and others uninterested in the other party. Personally I would much rather simply use an informal system where at appropriate interludes the players can exchange characters. They may do this by making up new characters of appropriate level or bringing back existing/secondary characters (or turning NPCs into PCs, etc). This lets the players mix and match as it pleases them. You may at times need to uplevel a PC that hasn't been played for a while, but that's not a big deal. Alternatively idle PCs can do side quests or you can even as you suggest now and then switch to another secondary group if the players all want to do that. I just wouldn't recommend attempting to codify this into some sort of 'policy'. Its a game, you just want to do whats fun. Any rule you make up like this will want to go straight out the window the first time it isn't fun anyhow, so why go to all the effort? Good communication with players will allow the game to be organized and reorganized as needed. I know most DMs (myself included to some extent) have a subtle urge to be organizers and controllers, but you should always be suspicious of that tendency.