tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post6190633089165211871..comments2024-03-28T01:53:34.870-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: "We Need Long Campaigns"James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-53595752775845475102024-01-07T15:08:01.301-05:002024-01-07T15:08:01.301-05:00>
> In recent years, I've developed an ...> <br />> In recent years, I've developed an allergy to one-shots.<br />><br />Although I totally agree with your assessment that the 'long' campaign is definitely preferably to people that already are well acquainted with the game, I also can see a clear use case for the one-shot: a max 2 hour session for people that never played the game (or perhaps any TTRPG) before (with a clear beginning, middle, and end), as a solid introduction of what the game is all about. Just throw in all the well-worn things you can think of: you meet at an inn, get set on a quest to fight the big-bad, find/see a seer who can tell the party where the big-bad is (and perhaps how it can be defeated), obtain a magic item to defeat the big-bad, and finally defeat the big-bad with said item. And pack it all into a 2 to 3 hour single session. Just a thought.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12991003032357821603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75610331035624957502021-08-20T10:00:46.801-04:002021-08-20T10:00:46.801-04:00Flogging my own work.
Main campaign (AD&D) = 4...Flogging my own work.<br />Main campaign (AD&D) = 42 years old & still goingAquinas Dadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16760282282923079133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56089510417402792012020-11-28T18:45:07.096-05:002020-11-28T18:45:07.096-05:00Short form games and campaign games are just diffe...Short form games and campaign games are just different things. Novels are not better than short stories. Albums are not better than singles. TV series are not better than movies. It's apples and oranges. Or at least like, grapefruits and oranges.<br /><br />I guess I agree with you on some higher level. It seems like everything is getting faster, we have shorter attention spans, fast media, clickbait articles, one night stands, can't just drink one beer like my grandpa did, you have to try a million craft beers.. And so on. None of those things are bad per se, but I think having this constant feeling that you have to try everything IS bad and one shots might be one more example of that.Mihahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05732100875620818769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54152215408995981342020-11-18T16:11:48.059-05:002020-11-18T16:11:48.059-05:00That's a pity. Do you have any sense why this ...That's a pity. Do you have any sense why this is the case?James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63725020195580398072020-11-18T16:03:11.536-05:002020-11-18T16:03:11.536-05:00I haven't had one last more than 4 months and ...I haven't had one last more than 4 months and that was without weekly play.Blumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00889805974035919720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26410353101341832192020-11-11T08:18:34.003-05:002020-11-11T08:18:34.003-05:00Ditto. 7 years of weekly/bi-weekly play to get to...Ditto. 7 years of weekly/bi-weekly play to get to name level.squeenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975523149573452984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87148846638569022542020-11-05T00:30:44.430-05:002020-11-05T00:30:44.430-05:00Long campaigns played with close friends are indee...Long campaigns played with close friends are indeed the acme of the hobby. That investment in a mutual creation is what carries the game through the inevitable troughs and lays the groundwork for those 'highlight' sessions that we can all recall even decades after the fact.<br />In terms of advancement, that 5e schedule is ridiculous. It took my last group approximately 7 years to get to name level, gaming once a week on average.Strigoihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08435153869659684590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-16397110924517913512020-11-02T16:35:29.367-05:002020-11-02T16:35:29.367-05:00I heard that the average length was 8 sessions, th...I heard that the average length was 8 sessions, then they break up. my experience has matched that, generally. right now, with the kid and 90 minutes from the big city, I play occasionally. I would love to do more, especially into big campaigns like Horror on the orient express, and Rappan Athuk, but no dice.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09872338936249305301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-64077586271386684252020-11-02T16:17:23.655-05:002020-11-02T16:17:23.655-05:00At best the majority of my players down through th...At best the majority of my players down through the years just wanted to get out of low levels (1-3) so they could feel less on the verge of death all the time and become a bit badass around normal folk. Only the occasional power gamer would come along and be desperate to get to high levels but I never really got along great with them anyway and they were rarely one of my closer friends. Anybody who had their heart set on getting higher than ninth or tenth level in a year and a half campaign in my games would end up sorely disappointed. The first couple or three levels come fairly quickly in my campaigns But after that you’ll really feel that you earned every level. They don’t come easy.Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58672955100348398972020-11-02T15:37:03.893-05:002020-11-02T15:37:03.893-05:00Wait, if the average campaign is 18 months, so you...Wait, if the average campaign is 18 months, so you need to get all the way to 20th in that time? If folks ended at 20th level and you hit it in 18 months, that would create downward pressure on the average campaign length, since by definition many campaigns would be taking longer to get there before you're adding the goal to hit 20th level in 18 months.Charles Saegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368131505593336249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24669532843596381462020-11-02T15:22:11.890-05:002020-11-02T15:22:11.890-05:00I haven't played for years due physical isolat...I haven't played for years due physical isolation and IRL business. But did play in a couple longer campaigns of several years (cut back, low level AD&D). The story arc from those, punctuated by a couple magical nights of gaming, still provides a bit of 'my story' for which I'm greatful. And keeps me hooked and coming back to sites such as this!Adelaide Gamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052999343460635401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39484232985527199602020-11-02T14:00:07.273-05:002020-11-02T14:00:07.273-05:00My main experience is with long campaigns, but as ...My main experience is with long campaigns, but as I get older I don’t really think in terms of years Anymore. I never liked high level play anyway. 1st or 5th edition, I think lately about being glad to get 12 months. 5th level has always been about an average level top out in the last decade. I also have grown to love change. I hate one shots, but a short campaign is fine. Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-79067128426856346612020-11-02T13:55:07.030-05:002020-11-02T13:55:07.030-05:00You and noisms turn my own thoughts into words. Wh...You and noisms turn my own thoughts into words. When I was younger, I had a really bad case of gamer ADD (probably stemming from my actual, at that time unmedicated, ADD). I would referee a few sessions of one game, then get bored and either switch game or have my players suffer from my obvious lack of energy and enjoyment.<br /><br />For ten years or so I almost didn’t play at all, even starting to think that maybe roleplaying games aren’t even that fun, that they are better in theory than in practice. However, since I got my closest circle of (previously non-gaming) friends to try out oldschool D&D, we’ve played almost every other week, hitting our 51st session last sunday. In a way, it feels like we’re gaming the way people did in the ’70s, before D&D started reaching out to the high-school crowd: not with random people that you’ve met in a game store (though there is of course nothing wrong with that), but with real-life friends and their spouses. It is indeed obvious that the long campaign how the game was meant to be played, and I have never enjoyed role-playing games as much as I do now.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131883711564207245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-68918783070152276472020-11-02T12:42:06.032-05:002020-11-02T12:42:06.032-05:00I too prefer campaigns to more limited runs. My pr...I too prefer campaigns to more limited runs. My problem is that since I'm often (always?) the DM I suffer from easy burn-out. I try to compensate with mechanics-light games (thus my love of pre 3.x D&D) that do not require intrnsive preparation and modules. To this day my record is about 70 something sessions.<br />I feel like my best game is still in my future. artikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86475451491279692502020-11-02T12:34:47.284-05:002020-11-02T12:34:47.284-05:00I have limited experience with open tables. My Hou...I have limited experience with open tables. My House of Worms campaign has regular drop-in players, who come by when their schedule allows, but I'm not sure that's the same thing. Even so, I'm not certain that an open table is necessarily an impediment to a long campaign.<br /><br />10 months? That's nuts.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86166536437227189512020-11-02T12:29:09.530-05:002020-11-02T12:29:09.530-05:00I do love a long dedicated campaign, but I appreci...I do love a long dedicated campaign, but I appreciate the importance of open tables, with one DM and dozens of players, to introduce new players that don't understand enough of the game to commit.<br /><br />Btw, the expected campaign length in 5e decreased to 10 months.Kaiquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13268348558006325529noreply@blogger.com