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Post by dmzinthos on May 21, 2015 1:58:09 GMT
When I was writing my campaign, I went through a bunch of different iterations. As such, I kind of kept a mental note of what they were and am holding them aside. The DM of another podcast I listen to was stating that he never recycles campaigns. He'll write them out and if no one plays them, then he will consider them dead and buried. I, however, think that makes him insane. This got me thinking of two things:
1. Do you (or plan to) recycle campaigns that you have written out that havent been played?
2. If you run a game, and it comes to its natural end, and you get a new group of totally different people, would you play that same game again? I think of it like playing a video game. Sure, one person chose to go down tunnel A, but another one chose to go down tunnel B. But some people don't like that idea.
So what would you all do?
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 6:36:56 GMT
I definitely re-use material, provided it's new to all the players. In fact, I recommend it.
First, it means the material is familiar to you. You'll be able to react better to the unexpected, and have a wealth of information in memory's reach to bring the story to life. You can plug the holes revealed in the first iteration(s) to make a more coherent narrative. You have a better idea of which encounters will be too easy or too challenging for the new group. You get to witness the butterfly effect with the choices they make. It's an overall better experience the second time through.
The only reason I can think of not to re-use old campaigns is because it wouldn't be fun for you to run it again. I can appreciate a point of view that prefers the first and only iteration had its permanent effect on the events of the world, but foo on that. Alternate timelines/universes are part and parcel in fiction.
Interestingly, my current campaign is a rehash of an older campaign that fell apart due to people going different directions. One of the players from the old group will be visiting in the near future, to join my table as a drop-in for one session. He'll be playing a new character, not his character from the first iteration, but as a player I think he will be delighted to see how the new group's choices impacted the story, compared to the old.
For instance, in session 1 of both groups, the party intervened in a goblin raid on a caravan. The goblins were attempting to steal some gunpowder munitions they knew to be on the wagons. The old group was unable to prevent the goblins making off with some of the powder. Later, they encountered the same goblins, and a party member died by grenade. The new group prevented the goblins from stealing the gunpowder, and so when they encountered the goblins later on, the party had an easy time of it.
Now, I know I started this post off saying "provided it's new to all the players," and this campaign is technically not new to the player who will be dropping in. However, his group never got this far, so he'll have to imagine this as an alternate universe version of events.
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Post by friartook on May 21, 2015 13:30:03 GMT
This hasn't come up for me much, but my take on it is: a good idea is still a good idea. Like nevvur says, the only reason I can see to not run old content is if its boring to the DM. I find that I still frankenstein old, old ideas together into new ones. So while I haven't run the same campaign twice, a plot device from a very old one may show up in a new one.
That being said, make sure the content is new for your players. I learned this very young. I had this magic item I was really fond of. A magic sword with a blade white as milk. If your actions stayed on the good spectrum, it would stay white and give bonuses, but if you strayed from good actions, it would begin to rust and give penalties.
I had it show up too much though, to the point that one of my few friends I was able to rope in to playing with me back then said with exasperation, "Oh man, this thing again?" Lesson learned.
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Post by DMC on May 21, 2015 20:48:35 GMT
First, it means the material is familiar to you. You'll be able to react better to the unexpected, and have a wealth of information in memory's reach to bring the story to life. You can plug the holes revealed in the first iteration(s) to make a more coherent narrative. You have a better idea of which encounters will be too easy or too challenging for the new group. You get to witness the butterfly effect with the choices they make. It's an overall better experience the second time through. This. I've re-used my original (and first-ever) homebrew game story that I started with my brother-in-law and best friends back in 1999/2000, for my kids recently. It's amazing how much I've remembered about how it went, and how kids playing make completely different choices than adults do. LOL And like Nevvr said, it also means I have better things in mind on how it went the first time. I've even been able to retcon mistakes I made back in the day. Also, I'm not the same DM I was 15 years ago. Newer ideas, better encounters, etc. have all come into play. All in all, it's been a huge blast and benefit. |
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Post by joatmoniac on May 22, 2015 22:39:19 GMT
I can't even begin to fathom why someone would choose to throw away unused ideas that no one has played. That concept just doesn't make sense to me. I love having a stack of things that haven't been used yet, and taking those leftover pieces and putting them together to create a campaign. As to reusing things I think it is a great idea, but I feel like there is a tipping point for me based on how much is getting reused before something new is happening. I feel like I would get burnt out, or not have fun like Friartook mentioned, if it were going to be months worth of sessions rehashing material. Then again with enough time maybe a campaign with years of play could be an amazing ride down nostalgia road. I also feel like it is a natural progression that certain aspects will get reused without a very concerted effort to avoid it.
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