The campaign began on March 6, 2015 with six players. Four of those original players continue to play to this day. In the years since, three more players have joined them, bringing the regular complement of characters to seven (joined occasionally by various "guest stars," who play for only a short time, as their schedules allow). I doubt the campaign would have made it to this many sessions, never mind nearly seven years of active play, if I were not so fortunate as to have such dependable and dedicated players.
I started the campaign partially as an experiment. While I had refereed campaigns in Tékumel before, I'd never used the original Empire of the Petal Throne rules before. Like a lot of longtime Tékumel fans, I owned a copy of the 1975 boxed set, but it was little more than an artifact of the past. The House of Worms campaign was intended to change this state of affairs by giving me the opportunity to put EPT through its paces, as I had done previously with OD&D.
Though I had hopes that the campaign would last longer than a few months, I had no expectation that it would do so. Indeed, by the time of its first anniversary in 2016, I was frankly amazed that it had lasted this long. Tékumel is an acquired taste, as fantasy settings go. Likewise, EPT is a primitive and occasionally crude ruleset by many standards. That both could hold the attention of players for a full year of more or less weekly play was remarkable to say the least.
Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. My experience is that, after a certain point, campaigns develop a sufficient head of steam that it takes effort to derail them. The House of Worms campaign had certainly acquired that kind of momentum long before we reached our first anniversary. The combination of the unique setting, the situations I created, and the delightful characters the players developed was a potent combination, the likes of which I hadn't experienced since the days of my OD&D Dwimmermount campaign and the House of Worms would soon surpass that by almost every metric.
Looking back on it, I wish I could rightly say what I did that ensured the success of this campaign. Beyond the good fortune of having amazing players, I can pinpoint only two factors that might have contributed to the campaign's continued longevity. The first is consistency. Early on, I decided that, so long as two-thirds or more of the players showed to a session, we'd play. If, as is inevitable, a player or even two was unavailable for a session, we almost always proceeded without them. As a result, we quickly accumulated a goodly number of sessions, which in turn served as an encouragement to keep going. My talk of a "head of steam" and "momentum" is very real. The House of Worms soon moved like a boulder racing downhill.
The second thing I did was provide lots of variety. The early sessions of the campaign took place in a single city but soon moved to another one in a foreign land. Along the way, the characters got to experience intrigue, diplomacy, and underworld exploration. After that, they undertook a lengthy trek across Tékumel, meeting many people and seeing many sites. With each step, their characters got the chance to experience the length and breadth of the setting. I took note of what the players enjoyed and what they didn't and made sure to calibrate the campaign accordingly. Eventually, the characters set off on their greatest journey, a months-long journey to the mysterious Southern Continent, to take up important posts on behalf of the Petal Throne. They remain there to this day – but continue to seek new challenges with each session.
It's hard not to brag about all of this. House of Worms is among the most fun I've ever had playing RPGs. That it's still going strong after all these years amazes me. Even more amazing is that I see no immediate sign of its stopping. The way things are going at the moment, I wouldn't surprised if it lasted many more years. Even if it didn't, I have no regrets about it. I've enjoyed it immensely and will long remember the exploits of the House of Worms clan. This is what roleplaying is all about.
Congratulations James and crew on such an impressive and wonderful milestone! Many more ahead, I hope, and a healthy and happy 2022 for each of you as you pursue the next one!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations James! I love everything about this post. Happy Festivus.
ReplyDeleteWe're told so often these days that big campaigns are something of the past, and that real life and adulthood makes them nigh on impossible. All of which is true to an extent, so it's nice to see an exception to those rules!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Long may it continue!
ReplyDeleteConsistency and variety are good tips. Have you added much to the old EPT rules over the years? Or to the setting?
ReplyDeleteTo the rules, a little, mostly in the form of new spells and specific interpretations of how profession and other skills work. Setting-wise, I have added a great deal, since the Southern Continent is almost wholly undefined in official material.
DeleteYou ever consider doing a Southern Continent supplement? Or dedicate an issue or three of the Excellent Travelling Eye to the subject? Non-canon or not I'm sure many people would like to see the material, assuming it wouldn't violate your agreements with the Foundation.
DeleteI cannot express my jealousy
ReplyDeleteHuzzah!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Quite a feat.
ReplyDeleteHow did/does your group handle missing players at a session? Do you take over their characters, do other players, are they frozen with an Excellent Ruby Eye, …?
It varies, depending on the character and situation. One of the great things, after so many years, is that the characters' personalities are so well established that another player can easily slip into the role of a character not his own. In fact, recently, this happened and, upon hearing what his character had done, the previously absent player admitted, "Yeah, that's what I would have done."
DeleteHow did it go early on before the players knew each other’s characters so well?
DeleteIn the early days, when they were still city-bound, I tried to contrive explanations for why a character wasn't present (e.g. clan business, etc.) or took over the character myself. This wasn't always ideal, but it worked well enough.
DeleteI think you've got every right to brag, frankly. You may very well have the longest running campaign set on Tekumel in the world at this point. That's something to be rightfully proud of for both you and your players. My congrats to you all. Positively inspirational.
ReplyDeleteI'd also say this is a fine demonstration that what really makes a good campaign are the people at the table. The rules and the setting don't matter anywhere near as much as the personalities involved.
Issue #8 of the 'zine includes a mini-supplement of the area of the Southern Continent where the campaign takes place. There's even a partially filled in map of the region.
DeleteHmmm, think I missed an issue, that's unfamiliar. Will have to dig through and check.
DeleteExcellent. In my experience the rules set doesn't matter that much. The players, the characters and the world do. If your players enjoy each others company, the characters are interesting and well drawn, and the world is involving you're good to go. My primary problem has been losing players to real life (jobs, moves, etc.).
ReplyDelete