The Campaign Builder's Guild

I've got the itch to run something, or play something, and I've got like approximately no time to do it. I NO, RITE?>

So instead of doing the irresponsible thing and immediately announcing ME RUN GAME NOW OK and then having that fall apart because WHAT WAS I THINKING?, I'm going to take some time and collate ideas and try to figure out what kind of schedule might make a game possible. As usual, the responsible option is the boring option!

So, to satiate my unreasonable gaming BLÖDTHURST, let's chat about what's going on right now: what are you playing, running, all that kind of thing.

Playing in a Star Trek game using the system by Decipher (this is face-to-face/IRL). I'm a Trill Counselor with two previous hosts, one of them a Section 31 agent who faked her death to get out of the clandestine Federation intelligence agency, another a notorious con-artist. My crew-mates and Starfleet all think that my last host was a respected diplomat. Only the narrator and I know the truth.

Also playing in Polycarp's Republic Reborn game as Sanguineus Viviani, Consul of the Interior, a Roman nobleman with an interest in Islamic alchemy, and supporting Pope Victor over Alexander. Currently he's trying to clean up Rome's crime-infested riverside while establishing connections with the Senate's political elites and the Roman underworld.

Still playing in Rose-of-Vellum's play-by-post Cadaverous Earth game Clockwork Abattoir as Catena, a former slave of the lillix slave turned assassin/enforcer in Skein. The game's a little slowed down but I've been posting when I find the time.

Running a game of Fimbulvinter, set during the early stages of Ragnarök as described in Norse myth. This is a casual, drop-in/drop-out game where players are encouraged to play when they can without worrying about a regular schedule. It's going pretty fantastically. New players are always welcome. I keep the log updated for those who want a taste of the game and for players who've missed sessions.

I also run a Planescape campaign, but this is currently on hiatus while I try to finish my dissertation on the aesthetics of weird fiction.

I am p. interested in looking at ways to use the pbp format unconventionally

Okay, so I've been giving a lot of attention to my STA Fantasy which I have dubbed "Rivers of Panorah". I would love to run a game in this setting, BUT I've been struggling with a couple of things. I was going to make a post asking everyone if anybody would be interested in playing a PBP or IRC game or something, BUT i've never done anything like that before, and I don't know where to begin.

If you or anyone else is interested just say so.

IRL I'm playing in two custom FATE games, one drawing heavily from Accelerated Edition and the other much stranger. We're playing a post-apocalyptic game, set in the 2240s that draws heavily on Fallout and the works of Joss Whedon called Irradiated Earth.  The other is set in the world of Avatar, though that's a misnomer - given that events are taking place long long before Wan -where we are some of the first humans entrusted with bending by the lion turtles.

I run a planar/space fantasy game. The character's are closing in on leaving behind the Multiverse in which Golarion can be found, by crossing the Ygaxian Manifold, to return to their Great Wheel home. It's Pathfinder with Mytic rules, soon to be D&D 5e.

I keep considering joining Polycarp's game but then life forces me to Lmns Crn-out and yell "WHAT WAS I THINKING?" A low-commitment weird fiction game would intrigue me greatly, as of late I've been attracted to the veneer of the American West.

Though currently on hiatus, I run a game in my setting, Opus, for sparkletwist (using Dresden FATE) through IRC. I'll be honest, I'm not really sure how to describe the setting. It's gone through so many iterations that it's more a joint project between Sparkle and I than something I made on my own. It's got steampunk and faeries and people who use magic Ink to write new realities and stuff. I think it's neat.

I'm also sporadically playing in my own setting of Opus (as in, when I'm free and Sparkle feels like putting my GMing skills to shame in my own setting) with Sparkletwist at the helm. She's really good. Like, better than me at my own game. It's also super cool that she actually thinks the things that I spew from my head are awesome.

I would also be running a PF adventure path (AP) called Serpent's Skull for my IRL players face-to-face, but it's also on hiatus. That one is fun because it's departed so heavily from the AP that it's sort of it's own beast and I love trying to figure out how to use the skeleton of ensuing APs as a framework for whatever crazy turn they'll take next. It's like a really fun jigsaw puzzle for me and my players enjoy trying to guess what few events were actually scripted to happen in the adventure.

And lastly, I sort of play in my friend's 5E D&D game (also IRL face-to-face). Sort of, only because he's been busy and it's his first time DMing so he's admittedly nervous and keeps thinking he's not doing a good job despite being quite good. It's actually pretty cool - we're stuck on this mountaintop that's always shrouded in mist with a rigid, structured society and caste system. Our characters were drafted for a war that has been raging beneath the clouds on the ground, but through a series of mishaps "accidentally" escaped, and we're slowly learning that the whole society itself seems to be in on something we're not aware of and that the war may be something completely fabricated to hide something much darker. Now we're back in the city trying to figure out who we can and can't trust and who to go to.

I WANT to run a few other ideas I have clattering around in my head, but I'm pretty busy working on a graduate degree so life is UGH stressful.

These "one GM, one player" games are interesting. It never occurs to me to try one, from either role. How does that feel? Is there something about the group dynamic that's problematically lacking?

I have played with one GM, one player before. It depends a lot on the player. If the player is a cool person it can be very fun, though in a very different way than a group. You don't get the joy of watching multiple plans and perspectives interact, but you also don't have to deal with bored players waiting their turn and distracting themselves/others. It can feel a little strangely "intimate" at first and somehow makes the potential "silliness" of roleplaying more acute at times. That said, because the player is interacting so closely and continuously with the setting, I think it's actually pretty brilliant from an immersion perspective. All worries of balancing the party or providing challenges for different classes vanish. All worries about catering to different tastes and providing an experience for everyone pretty much vanish. Probably the most fun I've had with solo games/sessions were playing my old Goblin game with my brother and playing some extended solo sessions with The Meanest Guest in CE.

As Weave already mentioned, I play and run in an occasional Fate game in Opus. It's quite a fun setting, so I enjoy the chance to play in it, and I also enjoy the chance to GM there, and I'm glad that Weave appreciates my attempts to bring the setting to life.

I agree that how well one player games work depends a lot on the player, and the GM too, of course. It certainly requires a creative and proactive player, because, ultimately, that player is the only one who is going to make things happen. I should point out, though, that none of the games I've played with Weave have been actual solo games in-character; in all of these games, the player has had a duo, threesome, or foursome of characters-- one of the big issues with a solo game is sometimes the GM's role being a little too strong because there's only 1 PC, and doing that addresses it nicely. The banter between the player characters is really fun to write, and they have to have contrasting personalities or I can never keep them straight in my head, so the party dynamic is always pretty livelyl. That goes a long way towards easing the problem of not seeing multiple plans and perspectives interact. Granted, the plan will never be quite as varied because it's still only one person thinking of it, but, on the other hand, it also means that the plan is always going to be coherent, which sometimes doesn't happen with actual multiple players.

Quote from: Tangential
IRL I'm playing in two custom FATE games, one drawing heavily from Accelerated Edition and the other much stranger. We're playing a post-apocalyptic game, set in the 2240s that draws heavily on Fallout and the works of Joss Whedon called Irradiated Earth.  The other is set in the world of Avatar, though that's a misnomer - given that events are taking place long long before Wan -where we are some of the first humans entrusted with bending by the lion turtles.

I would play in this so hard.

Quote from: Lmns Crn
These "one GM, one player" games are interesting. It never occurs to me to try one, from either role. How does that feel? Is there something about the group dynamic that's problematically lacking?

EDIT: Sparkle beat me to it.

Steerpike pretty much hit the nail on the head. In my games with Sparkletwist, she and I both play 2-4 characters, which, if the player is okay with, is a good idea IMO. Especially prevalent in PF or D&D games, one character class or concept or whatever usually excels at some things and lacks in others, so sometimes adventures revolving solely around that character can get repetitive. A fighter without a good set of skills to deal with social encounters (diplomacy, bluff, sense motive, etc.) will be more apt to fight monsters than deal with political affairs of the state. FATE doesn't really have this problem nearly as much, but it's not entirely absent either. YMMV.

Also, it's easier. You're just trying to make one person enjoy your game, rather than 3 or 4 or 12. Steerpike is right, though; you miss out on the camaraderie of a group getting ready to play, the variegated banter of players with different perspectives, the immersion of having other living, breathing characters with real, tangible goals that aren't just some ham-fisted DMPCs. And that's a big hit.

From the player's end, it's faster and more engaging. It's mano a mano between you and the GM, so you get the opportunity to get on each other's level and really, I dunno, jive with one another. "Same wavelength" stuff. It definitely takes the right person.

One big advantage to solo gaming is that the player can go off and explore whatever they feel like: there doesn't need to be any consensus about what to do next. This is wonderfully liberating. You can also run games that make the player's character extra-special in some way without having to worry about marginalizing others.

Playing in Vreegs Collegium Arcana game on Thursdays. Lots of fun to be playing GS again. My PC is Durhum Lentilles, a son of a pair of assassins, enrolled in a school for the magically gifted.

Playing in Steerpikes Fimbulvinter, another fun game in a really cool setting. I play as Egil a Warpriest of Ullr.

Playing a GURPS game with Humabout, I'm currently the only PC, as Sir Durhum Lentilles, Paladin of Saturn, God of Agriculture.

Preparing, to hopefully run, a LotFP game set in ether Ember Valley or early-mid 17th century France. Really depends on player interest, hopefully I can get some.

All of these are IRC games, as I do not know anyone who games IRL.

Llum, what year/decade would you set the French game if you went for that? The time of the Fronde? Some time during the Thirty Years' War? One of the later parts, during Louis XIV's reign?

Don't mean to push you towards France over Ember Valley, just curious if you had a specific event/period in mind.

Also - knowing your voracious reading habits I wouldn't be suprised if you'd read them, but have you looked at Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories? They're more medieval than early modern, though there are some that are set in the 16th century, and they're very "weird France." Also Brotherhood of the Wolf is a must-see in case you haven't seen it.

Quote from: Steerpike
Llum, what year/decade would you set the French game if you went for that? The time of the Fronde? Some time during the Thirty Years' War? One of the later parts, during Louis XIV's reign?

After the Thirty Year's War for sure. Ether during from the Fronde (1648-1653) or slightly after, no later than 1675. I like the Fronde since it's a time of particular unrest and there's a LOT of people who've seen combat kicking around the area (People/Mercenaries who fought during the Thirty Year's War for example, civil war, etc)

Quote from: Steerpike
Don't mean to push you towards France over Ember Valley, just curious if you had a specific event/period in mind.

I'm leaning towards it being in an area near the borders France (such as Alsace or Dunkirk or something). It would be weird and probably dangerous. I don't forsee myself creating  Death Frost Doom dangerous, but when there's forces beyond humans knowledge, things are messy.

Quote from: Steerpike
Also - knowing your voracious reading habits I wouldn't be suprised if you'd read them, but have you looked at Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories? They're more medieval than early modern, though there are some that are set in the 16th century, and they're very "weird France." Also Brotherhood of the Wolf is a must-see in case you haven't seen it.

I actually have Brotherhood of the Wolf queued up to watch this weekend! I am not really familiar with any historic (or semi historic) books, but I'll check those out.

Smith's Averogine stories are all pretty short (or at most novellette length). They can be found on a site called theeldritchdark.com; wikipedia actually has a list of all the Averogine stories on that site, with links. Smith was roughly contemporary with Lovecraft, and wrote a lot of Mythos stories. His Averoigne stuff is usually more folkloric, with a lot of undead/witchcraft/werewolves, that kind of thing.

EDIT: That all sounds pretty awesome by the way. Musketeers vs. elder horrors from the outer void.