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View Full Version : Idea for a co-run, competitive D&D campaign. Any takers?



John_Geeshu
February 14th, 2009, 22:14
I’m interested in exploring co-running a D&D campaign with one or more DMs. If after reading the sketchy details that follow you are interested as a DM, please PM me so we can exchange e-mail or PMs and hash out the details. If you are interested as a player, posting a response to that effect will give us DMs an indication of how much player support there would be for this type of campaign.

This campaign would involve multiple DMs, each with their own group of players, who are all playing through multiple, dependent storylines that interweave across the various groups. The basic idea of this then is that actions taken by one group affect the campaign world in meaningful ways for other groups, creating a more fully interactive experience.

Formally, and ideally, the adventures in this campaign would be of a competitive nature. The simplest example of which would be a set of search and recover quests with a limited number of items that all groups were required to collect.

This kind of direct competition would present all sorts of opportunities to the DM and players for making game play interesting. Competing groups could:

1.) “poison the well” by sowing misinformation in advance in key areas;
2.) encourage false rumors to mislead;
3.) hire mercenaries, assassins, spies to prey on other groups; etc.

Participating DMs would collaborate on the overall storyline, and then share the burden of creating campaign material (maps, personalities, treasure, obstacles, monsters, etc.), which would be shared amongst them. Thus, group A enters a dungeon area, partially explore, find the information they seek and then leave. Group A’s DM makes the required alterations to the dungeon area and sends it to the other DMs. Later, group B enters the same dungeon and discovers traces of group A’s explorations.

The campaign format also lends itself well to pitting groups of different alignments and motives against oneanother, and might involve alliances between similarly-aligned groups.

Eventually, the campaign format would lead to direct interactions between groups. This would obviously require some kind of special joint session, the details of which can be worked out amongst participating DMs.

If you’re a player who would be interested in this kind of campaign format, please post a reply in this thread.

If you’re interested in being a participant DM, PM me.

Cheers.

John_Geeshu
February 16th, 2009, 17:55
This is a bump.

icedcrow
February 16th, 2009, 18:02
My group does that now minus the attack each other thing.

We have three concurrent groups that run parallel storylines that intermingle.

Raen_777
February 17th, 2009, 01:24
I would be interested in playing for sure... I can also help with setting up common rules to be used in all of the respective campaigns. Shoot me a PM is you have any questions or concerns.

DeathDealer
February 18th, 2009, 01:31
i am interested in being a player. let me know

Bjarnveig
February 21st, 2009, 12:39
sounds interesting. I dabbled in D&D a few yrs ago, never got very deep into it (lack of players) so if you are willing to take a noob in the grp I'd love to play. Also would depend of course on the times played at. Am in the UK

mr_h
February 21st, 2009, 13:33
Sounds like a neat idea, probably the hardest part would be coordinating between the DM's. You'd have to have really good communications so that they have plenty of time to prepare their adventures. I think you'd also have to make sure it doesn't turn into a 'us vs them' so much that people are trying to asssinate each others players (well, beyond the norm that is :D)

That said, I'd probably be willing to play in a campaign like this, as a Player depending on the times. I'm far too busy lately to DM :(

Ricboy
February 22nd, 2009, 18:17
I could be interested as a DM. Just need more details, I could probably have a few players to join in as well.

Ricboy
February 22nd, 2009, 18:19
But would it be 4e edition, not really interested in previous edition now. Kindda gettin rid of all books and everything.

John_Geeshu
February 22nd, 2009, 19:52
Yes, I thought we would go 4e as 3e games are fewer and fewer now.

Ricboy
February 23rd, 2009, 03:14
I am very interested. As soon as you are ready to start planning this just let me know.

John_Geeshu
February 23rd, 2009, 14:36
Sent you a PM with preliminary ideas and my e-mail address.

KainVorador
February 23rd, 2009, 17:41
Interested as a player here. Just need a PM with all the basic info that I'd need.

l1wolf
February 24th, 2009, 11:35
Interested depending on day, time, and creation rules.

VarnFury
February 24th, 2009, 23:36
Sounds really interesting, depending on day and time.. i'll be gamed as a player.

Belirohc
February 26th, 2009, 14:57
i'm interested in being a player, PM me and let me know

John_Geeshu
March 1st, 2009, 14:36
Still need at least one more DM to make this work. Currently we have eight players expressing interest. Ricboy expressed interest as a DM but he has not responded to my PMs. Any DMs out there who'd like to try something a little different?

Ragamuffin
March 7th, 2009, 12:00
Hi John!

What a co-incidence!!!, I was just thinking the same concept earlier this week.
This is a great Idea. And could be taken further with little effort, tell me what you think?

On a map of a world - DM's with a group can join, there would be a loose history written to start with. The same idea of multiple DM's collaborating is the key only I think on a larger scale than you were intending, I would even work on implementing a website for the idea and promoting it.

This is how I envision the mechanics......
On the map you could divide the continents into sections and subsections, so you can write base descriptions about the areas...... the dm's can elaborate and record their creative add ons on the map that they are currently dm'ing for....... and the players shape the world through their actions....If you think about it.....it wouldn't be too much extra work.

For example, area a) of the "Troll fang" Mountains the pc's slay a goblin tribe.... the dm after running the adventure writes a summery and adds it to area a) of the "troll fang" mountains....not too much work, see.
Another Dm may happen to be running an adventure later and decide to travel near this area a) of the troll fang mountains....but on reading the previous entry adjusts the local tribes to be on alert as a result of the previous adventures handy work.....so as you see the world reacts to each players actions.

You have bards singing tales of other adventures (people youve met maybe)....passed on by Dm's....
You have co-op missions....possibly wars that the pc's are all caught up in.
Tavern talk and Notorious NPC's that every one knows...loves or hates!


It wouldn't have to be huge.....you could work with just a few dm's if you like....but if it catches on you could essentially have a living breathing dynamic world......the system its self is only a first idea which could be worked on.

I might add I have little experience with FG and even less with 4th edition, I would have to start off as a player until I got into the swing of things.

I also think it would be cool if, as well as the intermingled groups you had other groups in the same world doing their own thing, you may hear of their exploits, or aid in a war that they started. What I mean is intermingling parties is good, but I also think that the realization other people are in that same world is strong in its self. And story lines that constantly revolve around intermingling - IF not designed smart could sometimes not seem credible from a realistic point of view.