Comments on: Clone a Great Campaign and Make It Your Own http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own The Game Mastering Blog Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: manodogs http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7408 manodogs Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:11:52 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7408 <a href='#comment-7347' rel="nofollow">@Kurt "Telas" Schneider</a> - I do the same, Kurt, and I don't think it makes either of us lazy. In fact, the campaigns I post online are all built on games I've played over the years. Whenever something happened or was handled nicely, I wrote it down and incorporated it into my own games later. This was especially true for <i>Cyberpunk</i>.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7408','manodogs'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> @Kurt “Telas” Schneider – I do the same, Kurt, and I don’t think it makes either of us lazy. In fact, the campaigns I post online are all built on games I’ve played over the years. Whenever something happened or was handled nicely, I wrote it down and incorporated it into my own games later. This was especially true for Cyberpunk.
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]]> By: Martin Ralya http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7361 Martin Ralya Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:44:24 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7361 <a href='#comment-7354' rel="nofollow">@Matthew J. Neagley</a> - Yep, I agree. But as long as slavish reproduction isn't your goal, the tone, feel, and awesomeness have a good chance of surviving contact with your players. ;-)<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7361','Martin Ralya'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> @Matthew J. Neagley – Yep, I agree. But as long as slavish reproduction isn’t your goal, the tone, feel, and awesomeness have a good chance of surviving contact with your players. ;-)
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]]> By: Matthew J. Neagley http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7354 Matthew J. Neagley Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:35:21 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7354 Remember also, that unlike movie remakes which often tend to be very similar (except when they're excrutiatingly different!) The rule 0 (one of the many) of RPGs (nothing survives contact with the players) means that your remake game has about a snowball's chance in hell of lasting two sessions without someone monkeywrenching the hell out of it (in a completely different way than they did the first time) and it'll never be the same again.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7354','Matthew J. Neagley'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> Remember also, that unlike movie remakes which often tend to be very similar (except when they’re excrutiatingly different!) The rule 0 (one of the many) of RPGs (nothing survives contact with the players) means that your remake game has about a snowball’s chance in hell of lasting two sessions without someone monkeywrenching the hell out of it (in a completely different way than they did the first time) and it’ll never be the same again.
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]]> By: Martin Ralya http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7353 Martin Ralya Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:08:06 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7353 I definitely don't think this technique -- or any variation thereon -- equals a lack of imagination. Unlike movie remakes -- which, when they come in a big rush like they have for the past several years, DO seem to signal that -- reusing cool stuff as a GM just makes sense. Who here has as much time to prep, or do anything, as they did during high school? I sure as fuck don't. Why not save some time with a remake? ;-)<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7353','Martin Ralya'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> I definitely don’t think this technique — or any variation thereon — equals a lack of imagination. Unlike movie remakes — which, when they come in a big rush like they have for the past several years, DO seem to signal that — reusing cool stuff as a GM just makes sense.

Who here has as much time to prep, or do anything, as they did during high school? I sure as fuck don’t. Why not save some time with a remake? ;-)

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]]> By: Razjah http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7351 Razjah Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:11:38 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7351 I wish I could do this, but at college we have an RPG club where we talk about the good and bad we had in the past. The networking is great, but the story time is killing me as I can't steal as many ideas as I would like. Although stealing from the 4.0 game I play in to use in my Iron Heroes game is great fun, especially since the GM for 4e plays in my game. But I need to be a really sneaky bastard about that.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7351','Razjah'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> I wish I could do this, but at college we have an RPG club where we talk about the good and bad we had in the past. The networking is great, but the story time is killing me as I can’t steal as many ideas as I would like. Although stealing from the 4.0 game I play in to use in my Iron Heroes game is great fun, especially since the GM for 4e plays in my game. But I need to be a really sneaky bastard about that.
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]]> By: Lee Hanna http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7350 Lee Hanna Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:12:33 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7350 This is something I have done a very few times, and will do again, notably in Twilight:2000. I ran the Polish campaign 3 times in the late '80s (high school and 2 different colleges), but I never got the chance to repeat it (or explore many other modules) before the end of the Cold War sucked the interest out of that setting. I'd jump at the chance to repeat that again, depending on the players. In 2nd & 3rd D&D, I've had one each really good campaign, and I would like to revisit each of those places. Not a campaign repeat, but a sequel for the same location and perhaps some or all of the same characters. There are at least 2 players wanting to restart one of them. There was some discussion of replaying the G-D-Q AD&D series last week, but it was shot down. I am warming up to replay some of the Star Frontiers, Star Wars and Traveller adventures from back in the day for my sons in the next few years. I hope to build a nice campaign out of that. My wife has promised me that I can read her book of the Shackled City adventure path someday, when we're really ready to declare it over. I've already constructed an outline from my player-character notes of how I might strip it down and re-run it in a pulp-'30s or Age of Piracy setting. Maybe I'm unimaginative or stuck in nostalgia, but I think it can be a lot of fun to revisit things like this.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7350','Lee Hanna'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> This is something I have done a very few times, and will do again, notably in Twilight:2000. I ran the Polish campaign 3 times in the late ’80s (high school and 2 different colleges), but I never got the chance to repeat it (or explore many other modules) before the end of the Cold War sucked the interest out of that setting. I’d jump at the chance to repeat that again, depending on the players.

In 2nd & 3rd D&D, I’ve had one each really good campaign, and I would like to revisit each of those places. Not a campaign repeat, but a sequel for the same location and perhaps some or all of the same characters. There are at least 2 players wanting to restart one of them.

There was some discussion of replaying the G-D-Q AD&D series last week, but it was shot down.

I am warming up to replay some of the Star Frontiers, Star Wars and Traveller adventures from back in the day for my sons in the next few years. I hope to build a nice campaign out of that.

My wife has promised me that I can read her book of the Shackled City adventure path someday, when we’re really ready to declare it over. I’ve already constructed an outline from my player-character notes of how I might strip it down and re-run it in a pulp-’30s or Age of Piracy setting.

Maybe I’m unimaginative or stuck in nostalgia, but I think it can be a lot of fun to revisit things like this.

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]]> By: Scott Martin http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7349 Scott Martin Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:17:09 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7349 Like Zig I've brought things back in bits and pieces, but rarely do I take big identifiable chunks. That'd be a nice way to work some structure in-- but I'd have to be wary, and sure that I didn't bring in too many assumptions. Besides, we all know no plan survives contact with the PCs. No matter how similarly the game started, it'd probably go down very different paths-- making it a fun and different experience the next time.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7349','Scott Martin'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> Like Zig I’ve brought things back in bits and pieces, but rarely do I take big identifiable chunks. That’d be a nice way to work some structure in– but I’d have to be wary, and sure that I didn’t bring in too many assumptions.

Besides, we all know no plan survives contact with the PCs. No matter how similarly the game started, it’d probably go down very different paths– making it a fun and different experience the next time.

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]]> By: Troy E. Taylor http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7348 Troy E. Taylor Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:37:50 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7348 The best example of this I can think of for D&D is the Temple of Evil / Village of Hommlet. I've been back with a different character and the same DM, and I know DMs who go back to this mega adventure again and again. Certainly, TSR/Wizards has capitalized on this by offering some version of this setting/campaign for every edition of the game. But I was also part of a game where the GM had sought permission of a another GM to run an aspect of his homebrew because it was so compelling.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7348','Troy E. Taylor'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> The best example of this I can think of for D&D is the Temple of Evil / Village of Hommlet. I’ve been back with a different character and the same DM, and I know DMs who go back to this mega adventure again and again. Certainly, TSR/Wizards has capitalized on this by offering some version of this setting/campaign for every edition of the game.

But I was also part of a game where the GM had sought permission of a another GM to run an aspect of his homebrew because it was so compelling.

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]]> By: Kurt "Telas" Schneider http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7347 Kurt "Telas" Schneider Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:34:14 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7347 I've been kinda-sorta doing this all along, with everything from scenes to items to entire plot arcs. "Remember that? It was so cool, I'll have to use it again." Does this mean I'm unimaginative, or just lazy? *scratches head*<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7347','Kurt \"Telas\" Schneider'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> I’ve been kinda-sorta doing this all along, with everything from scenes to items to entire plot arcs. “Remember that? It was so cool, I’ll have to use it again.”

Does this mean I’m unimaginative, or just lazy? *scratches head*

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]]> By: Zig http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/clone-a-great-campaign-and-make-it-your-own/comment-page-1#comment-7346 Zig Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:14:05 +0000 http://www.gnomestew.com/?p=4884#comment-7346 I think this is an interesting idea that could work nicely. I've never attempted to re-create a former campaign in its entirety, but I often "re-purpose" bits and pieces from former campaigns, both ones I ran and played in. For instance I have an NPC named Jedediah Randolph who appears in multiple campaigns. This particular one was used in both Shadowrun and D&D campaigns. He always owned a store named something like "Jedediah Randolph's Emporium of Everything" where the PCs could find all kinds of items and especially information as Jed filled in the role of "Fixer" in any campaign he has been part of. I enjoy playing this particular NPC a great deal so it's fun for me to include him, plus the players always like him and it gives them an obvious place to visit when looking for adventure or information. I wouldn't mind re-running my Shadowrun campaign that ran for several years, but the problem is my gaming group is pretty much unchanging so my players would have played the campaign the first time. So, in that case, it wouldn't work, but I would love to try that sometime with a new group of players. Would be very entertaining to me to see what kind of solutions the players come up with compared to the first group to run through the campaign.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7346','Zig'); return false;">Reply</a> </div> I think this is an interesting idea that could work nicely.

I’ve never attempted to re-create a former campaign in its entirety, but I often “re-purpose” bits and pieces from former campaigns, both ones I ran and played in.

For instance I have an NPC named Jedediah Randolph who appears in multiple campaigns. This particular one was used in both Shadowrun and D&D campaigns. He always owned a store named something like “Jedediah Randolph’s Emporium of Everything” where the PCs could find all kinds of items and especially information as Jed filled in the role of “Fixer” in any campaign he has been part of. I enjoy playing this particular NPC a great deal so it’s fun for me to include him, plus the players always like him and it gives them an obvious place to visit when looking for adventure or information.

I wouldn’t mind re-running my Shadowrun campaign that ran for several years, but the problem is my gaming group is pretty much unchanging so my players would have played the campaign the first time. So, in that case, it wouldn’t work, but I would love to try that sometime with a new group of players. Would be very entertaining to me to see what kind of solutions the players come up with compared to the first group to run through the campaign.

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