Re: [DL] Long term campaigns

[Jesse Burneko <jburneko@yahoo.com>]

Hmmmm.... That's interesting.  It seems you feel a
need to have every session relate to every other
session in your campaign.  We have an 'open-ended'
campaign going.  In essance we will keep playing
Deadlands with the same characters until I run out of
ideas or every body moves away or everyone gets bored
with Deadlands and wants to play something else.  The
way I accomplish this is thus:

I treat the whole game like a season of a TV show. 
There is an overarching story arc to the whole
campaign but not every adventure relates to it.  About
every 3 or 4 sessions focus on the main story arc. 
Each character has a personal story arc and in every
adventure I try to include an element for 2 or 3
different character's personal story arcs.  Everything
else is in essance an isolated adventure, like a one
off episode of a TV series.

Surprisingly I have a very low Kill rate in my group. 
I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  As far as I know I
follow the rules to the letter but my posse usually
survives without a scratch.  But I'm very generous
with Fate Chips.

So, that's how I keep a long term campaign going.

Oh, if you're curious to see this in action check out
my web-page and you'll see the story arcs progressing
on both the storyline sub-page and the characters
sub-page.

http://www.geocities.com/devil_bunnys/deadlands.html

Jesse

--- Allan Seyberth <darious@darious.com> wrote:
> How to keep a long term posse interested. . .
> 
> I don't know.  The best I could think of is to delay
> it ending for a long 
> long time.
> 
> My concept is to have a two long term campaigns. 
> The first one is to be 
> one where the posse discovers a dark and horrible
> organization that is 
> spreading fear and terror throughout America.  I
> made one up that is 
> outside of PEG canon - that way the posse can rip it
> down without 
> digressing too much from the published material.
> 	This organization has 13 cells operating in all
> locations of the 
> country.  That way I can have a reason for the posse
> to travel everywhere 
> and experience all the flavors of the DL setting. 
> Once/if the 13 cells are 
> destroyed, then the posse gets their "title-shot"
> and as to go after the 
> central figure.  Along the way there will be red
> herrings, counter-attacks 
> and fake uber-evil leaders to keep the cycle of
> suspense and release going.
> 
> Now we get theoretical.
> Phase Two
> 	Then I was thinking of a second campaign, only this
> time the characters - 
> proven warriors of great renown - take place in the
> greater events of the 
> DL setting.  This is where I wreck DL canon all over
> the place.  Here the 
> characters are movers and shakers and have
> significance.  Bring Deseret 
> into the Union?  Go for it.  Help Dixie Rails get to
> California first - 
> have fun.  Stop Santa Anna?  There he is.
> 	This segment I would envision starting off with
> Stone capping off one the 
> main characters. . . and when things get stale the
> characters hunt down and 
> dispatch Stone.  The ultimate title-shot as it were.
>  Not that it would be 
> easy - the best compliment that I think that I ever
> got from my players is 
> that I play my villians intelligently.
> 
> Phase three
> 	Assuming that the posse 'spatches Stone, then it's
> time for a little 
> Autherian Avalon action.  These heroes of soon to be
> mythical legend are 
> recruited to go. . . you guessed it. . . into the
> Wasted West.  Help us Obi 
> Wan, you're our only hope.
> 	In the Wasted West they learn that humanity has
> squandered the chance that 
> the posse has earned it, but has not forgotten what
> the posse has done and 
> indeed they now have an almost Autherian reputation.
> 	The posse has to deal with the much greater power
> levels, the fact that 
> they are completely unfamiliar with "common"
> technology, and sometimes they 
> have to battle the effects of their reputation -
> after all - the very fact 
> that they, ahem, THEY walk the earth again gives
> hope to all humanity, 
> making them target number one for the forces of the
> Reckoners.  And for the 
> problems with hero worship, and for the way that
> people will come to rely 
> on the posse instead of themselves, etc. etc.
> 
> One minor spoiler here.
> 
> And.  Stone number 2 is still out there.  Only this
> time he's had several 
> hundred more years of experience.  :->
> 
> BUT
> If the Deadlands posse fails to kill Stone, meaning
> that I've killed all of 
> them instead.  (And I would be trying my damndest)
> I'll still break out the 
> Hell on Earth books and say "because you failed to
> stop Stone, this is what 
> the world turns into.  Let's roll up some new
> characters."
> :)
> 
> And, even better, Stone still awaits.
> 
> For me, this is the longest I could conceivably
> extend an ongoing game.  It 
> just wouldn't feel right to move the location a
> third time into the Lost 
> Colony setting.
> 	
> 
> 
> To unsubscribe, send a message to esquire@gamerz.net
> with
> 	unsubscribe deadlands
> as the BODY of the message.  The SUBJECT is ignored.
> 


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