Over on Abulia Savant, my friend (and fellow GM) Don Mappin recently posted an intriguing exercise: Rank your 10 favorite RPG campaigns, and see what your list reveals.
This is a great idea — let’s give it a shot, shall we?
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Don’s post for the guidelines (no one-shots, can include games you’ve run or played, etc.), as well as to comment on the original concept.
Martin’s Top 10 Campaigns
- AD&D 2nd Edition solo campaign (me), late 80s
- Twilight: 2000 (Stephan), 2001
- Marvel Super Heroes (Dave), late 80s
- Mage: The Ascension (Matt), late 90s
- AD&D 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms (me), late 90s
- Stargate SG-4, d20 Modern (Don), 2004
- D&D 3.5e Forgotten Realms (me), 2003
- Shadowrun solo campaign (me), late 80s/early 90s
- Paranoia (Stephan), early 90s
- Warhammer FRP solo campaign (me), late 80s
Observations
The thing that stands out about my top three is that they were all just fun — they were detailed and lovingly crafted, but also freewheeling and off the cuff.
#1 was a solo campaign I ran for my best friend growing up, Bud, that lasted several years. It spanned several D&D worlds, and every time I learned something new, I incorporated it into the game. (Luckily, Bud was a great sport.)
#2 was just sublime — Stephan is an amazing GM, and the sense of a post-nuclear-exchange world spiralling out of control in that game sticks with me even today. It was a blast to play, and it made a big impression.
Dave’s MSH game, in the #3 spot, was also a solo campaign. I played my entire superteam, and I traced silhoeuttes from Dragon Magazine and drew on their costumes — we got into every little detail, and had tons of fun doing it.
The fact that I GMed half the games on this list doesn’t really surprise me — I’ve GMed a lot more than I’ve played. Ditto the fact that 4 of the 10 games are solo campaigns.
I had a few good friends growing up, but they were in different places and didn’t really know each other — so we played solo. I’m sure that had an impact on my perceptions of what gaming is all about, but I’d be hard pressed to pin down exactly what that impact was.
In his original post, Don mentioned that he was concerned about the dates on his list — most of them were years ago, not at all recent. My list looks very similar, but I’m not concerned about it, for three reasons: I gamed a lot more growing up than I do now; I had less other stuff to do, so we played longer and more often; and nostalgia played a major role in making up this list. (I’d contend that nostalgia is a powerful force among geeks in general.)
Don’s format also leaves out some of my best recent gaming, which has been at conventions, as well as some of my best early gaming, which took the form of one-shots of Call of Cthulhu. One of my all-time best gaming sessions ever, for example, was a Burning Wheel event called “The Gift,” run by Luke Crane at GenCon 2005 (man, that game rocked!).
I guess there were two surprises for me in making this list: How high MSH ranked, and how low my own Selgaunt campaign ranked (#7). The former was a surprise because that game was so long ago, and I didn’t know a fraction of what I know now about gaming — which, I suspect, was part of what made it so much fun.
That my 2003 D&D campaign ranked so low is interesting to me because in nearly 20 years of GMing, it’s the game I’ve put the most concentrated work into. It also got me into RPG freelancing, and indirectly led to my starting Treasure Tables.
The problem was that I concentrated so hard on some aspects of the game (like an extensive buildup) that I neglected others, and was so intense about it that I lost sight of the bigger picture — just running a fun game.
How about you — what are your top 10 campaigns, and what did you learn by ranking them?
I’ve run six campaigns since 1987. Before that, I ran one-shots. So while it’s hard for me to rank top-ten campaigns in that situation, I guess the facts themselves might tell me something. ๐
I think you are right about nostalgia. If I let it take over, I’m tempted to put the ’87 to ’89 Fantasy Hero campaign at the top. It was the first game for most of the players, and it showed in their imaginative play. OTOH, a more reflective look tells me that every campaign since then has been better than the last, in most ways at least. If we have gotten into ruts at times–well, it’s because we have all learned a lot about what is fun for us.
“The problem was that I concentrated so hard on some aspects of the game (like an extensive buildup) that I neglected others, and was so intense about it that I lost sight of the bigger picture รขโฌโ just running a fun game.”
I see this a lot these days. It used to be, years ago, that this wasn’t as large of a problem: self-contained groups would do whatever was “fun” and not worry about the best way to tell a story, make a prop, or engage their players. They just gamed and had fun doing it. Now, with the advent of the Internet and the ability to be a part of a larger role-playing community, there’s a greater emphasis on running a game “properly” and gaming theory in general.
The only reason I dropped conventions and one-shots off the list was, as I said, the necessity to look at (I feel) sustained gaming experiences. Heck, just about anything can be fun for four hours, but coming back to it, week after week, and still having fun? Well, that’s the hallmark of a good game and tells us a bit more, I feel.
What your list does tell me is that you and I ought to be playing in a solo game of some kind. ๐
Oh, and I think it’s hilarious that we’ve both ranked Stargate SG-4 in the #6 spot. Hive mind, subliminal thoughts, karmaรขโฌยฆ ๐
CJ: If you included campaigns you’ve played in, could you come up with a top 10? I’d love to see your list. ๐
Abulia: I’m torn on the issue of theory and increased meta-knowledge — on the one hand, I have a much clearer idea of what I like than I did growing up, and it’s easier to achieve, but on the other hand it seems harder to capture that freewheeling sense of fun from the early days.
Which, now that I write it out, sounds a lot like just getting old. Next it’ll be those damned kids with their brain implants and gengeneered pets. ๐
I understand why you limited the list to sustained games — I found it interesting because it highlighted how much I like one-shots. ๐
As far as SG-4 at #6, I wouldn’t be surprised if it climbed a couple of spots in the next few years — nostalgia hasn’t really kicked in yet, especially since we game together weekly. Part of “old game nostalgia” for me is the fact that I don’t play with the groups I played with back then (with the exception of GenCon, of course).
I did my Top 10, with a homebrew (not mine) setting of D&D 3e/3.5 taking first, an old Rolemaster campaign going second, and a Rifts campaign I ran ranking #3. It’s funny, all these games are considered by one group or another to be more stat-oriented (and in some cases archaic) but I don’t think I’ve been more immersed in either characters or plot than in those games. I know they’re the ones with the best exchanges between characters, and the ones with the most memories and spontaneous bits of fun. I think Abulia hits it on the head: they were fun for fun’s sake, buying into the system, not trying to create an work of art or trying to force a certain style of play, but just having a blast.
Martin, here’s my complete list. I haven’t really played in anything that I would call a campaign. But I’ll be generous with the definition of “campaign” and come up with as close to 10 as I can get (All of these are me as GM, except the last):
1. “Destryni” Arcana Unearthed/Evolved, 2004-present.
2. “Linnea” Fantasy Hero, 1st ed, 1987-1989.
3. Forgotten Realms Fantasy Hero, 4th ed, (radical houserules), 1998-2000.
4. “Destryni” D&D 3E, 2000-2004.
5. Car Wars, 1985-1989.
6. Forgotten Realms (sort of) Fantasy Hero, 4th ed, 1993-1997.
7. “Shadow World” Fantasy Hero, 1st ed, 1989-1991.
8. “Linnea revisited” Fantasy Hero 4th ed, 1991-1993.
9. Champions, 3rd ed, 1986-1988. (Another GM).
#6 was actually a campaign that I ran for two totally separate player groups, using the same prepared material. That was kind of fun, but the grind of Hero was starting to wear me down. My house rules helped for awhile, but 3E was a welcome change of pace.
My homebrew world, “Destryni,” was a fairly decent fit for 3E, but AU/AE was so much better for what I intended that I switched as soon as I could bring the 3E campaign to a graceful close.
#8 was with a totally separate group of my players, except for my wife. It never got going good, and ended poorly thanks to a move. Fortunately, the move was back to my roots, where the core of my earlier group was able to reform.
If the guy running #9 had been doing Fantasy Hero, I’d have been in heaven. He was really good. OTOH, I don’t really click with the superhero gig. Furthermore, the “campaign” was merely episodes built around the same characters. I eventually dropped out of the campaign for the sake of myself and the other players.
I suppose Car Wars is stretching it. The way we played it, there was a lot of roleplaying, though. Still, I’ll readily admit that most of the fun was in shooting things up. ๐
In another 20 years, I’d say that #1 – #4 will still be on the list. The rest certainly had major moments, and even extended fun. But for various reasons, they never really clicked as a campaign.
Hmm, let’s see if I can do my top 10:
1. RuneQuest campaign in Raleigh NC (1992-1993)
2. Cold Iron Blackmoor campaign at RPI (1988-1989)
3. Cold Iron Harn campaign at RPI (1983-1985 with a few sessions into 1986/87 or so)
4. Traveller campaign at MIT (actually started with one session of RuneQuest in space) (1982-1983 or maybe 1984 or so)
5. Fantasy Hero/Cold Iron/D&D campaign at RPI (1985-1987)
6. High school AD&D campaign at MIT (1979-1981, possibly started in 1978 I really don’t remember when I first went to MIT)
7. Arcana Evolved campaign in Oregon (2003-2004)
8. Arcana Unearthed campaign in Oregon (2005)
Hmm, beyond that, things are pretty fuzzy. Beyond #4, order is pretty mushy. Other campaigns that lasted more than a few sessions that I remember:
Early D&D/AD&D play before MIT (1977-1979)
Freshman/Sophmore year AD&D play at RPI (1981-1983)
YAGGS (my attempt at a homebrew) campaign in Raleigh (1990, maybe into 1991)
Memorable, but short lived campaigns, nothing top 10 calibre:
RPI Traveller campaign #1 (set in same universe as MIT campaign) (1982)
RPI Traveller campaign #2 (1988)
RPI Champions Campaign (1985 I think)
1st RPI RuneQuest (1982)
2nd RPI RuneQuest (1983)
Cold Iron Tekumel in Oregon (2005)
Cold Iron Blackmoor in Oregon (2006)
Dogs in the Vinyard in Oregon (1 session) (2006)
Summer demos in Oregon (Fudge, Cold Iron, RuneQuest, 1 session each) (2004)
RPI Thieve’s World game (1984 or so?)
RPI Thieve’s Guild game (1985 or 1986?)
Top Secret SI (1988)
GURPS Fantasy – Talislanta (2002)
Cold Iron Talislanta (2003)
Chivalry and Sorcery (1978)
Everway (1995)
Less memorable 1 shots or attempts to run various games (to pretty much complete my history of gaming, not going to bother with dates) (not listed are various other attempts at games listed above):
Top Secret (a couple different times)
Justice Inc.
GURPS Supers
Bunnies and Burrows
Elf Quest
Deadlands
7th Sea
Mechanoid Invasion
Space Quest
Ringworld
Call of Cthulhu
Gamma World
Metamorphosis Alpha
Dragonquest
Adventures in Fantasy
And probably several more than have been lost to time… Or that I own but not sure I ever really played… (Space Opera comes to mind here).
Campaigns I’ve played in (none really to make a top 10 list):
Bob’s Cold Iron campaign (RPI) (1983 or 1984)
Rob’s Cold Iron campaign (RPI) (1983)
Kris’s Cold Iron campaign (RPI) (1984)
Another Cold Iron campaign (RPI) (1984)
I never played in Mark (the author’s) Cold Iron campaign…
Fudge demo in Oregon (1 session disaster) (2004)
Dogs in the Vinyard in Oregon (2 sessions, 1 chargen, 1 play) (2006)
Glen Blacow’s D&D campaign (1980/1981 or so)
Glen Blacow’s Traveller convention scenarios (2 sessions – hmm, one of these would make it into a top 10 sessions list…) (1980/1981 – ok these I could look up and find Glen’s session writeups for…)
Various random D&D in high school (a few sessions here and there) (1977-1979)
GURPS Supers (1989 or 1990)
7th Sea demo (1999)
Warhammer Fantasy Role Play (1989 or 1990)
Hero System at MIT (Champions, Space Hero, Fantasy Hero Harn) (1984/1985ish)
Probably 1 or 2 others I can’t remember (including some guy at MIT’s not really D&D, I created a character but I don’t think I played)
Out of that, what’s all noteable: Well, Cold Iron with the right set of players really would be my top choice for games. RuneQuest with really cool players is great. So is Traveller. Hmm, what a trend. Right players, right game, awesome play. Really all of those top 8 were right players for the right game. I definitely do best with crunchy games with tactical combat. Relevance of the world (universe) map is strong (all of those top 4 made strong use of the world or universe map). The top 4 also all relied on a workable treasure economy (yes, even the Traveller campaign was totally about getting treasure), and players figuring out how to work that economy (Cold Iron crumbles if the players don’t get psyched about the treasure economy). Ultimately, strategic play that drives the tactical play is important.
Frank
In no particular order:
1)Twilight 2000: High school roleplaying club. High mortality rate but fun (“I’ve taken a lethal dose of radiation, but the tank still works right?”)
2)World of Torak: Recent Homebrew dnd.
Centuries after the mysterious change turns most of the world into a jungle hundreds or feet deep, a few rapier and flintlock armed cities suvive on high mountains peaks traveling between each other by airship.
3)World of Kai: My homebrew at age 14.
Dyson sphere world struck by asteroid hard enough to puncture shell and destabelize sun disk (one side the sun, the other the moon) dividing the would into burning daylite or freezing moonlite.
Players had to find the 12 artifacts of the 12 races and then get up to the sun to repair it.
4)Dragonwall: My recent homebrew:
Oriental dnd setting based on novel Bridge of birds.
5)Werewolf: Homebrewed detroit setting.
Tom’s game, blow it up.
6)Deadlands: Published setting, my senarios.
7)Aredel: Homebrewed world setting:
1st to 30 plus level dnd that ranged over most of detailed world.
8)Emerald steets: Shadowrun homebrew.
Players given territory and told to form gang, based entire gang theme on the Wizard of Oz. Annoyed that GM, but it was fun seeing how much gang slang we could base off the movie. Gang members wore green and called themselves the Wizards, the turf was the emerald city, and the steet samerai were called Tin men.
9)Thieve’s world: dnd with santuary boxed set.
10)Call of Cthulhu: Homebrewed.
Used game system for 1930’s vampire hunting based on book Vampire$.
What seemed to the main factor in makeing these games funner that others was either Epic setting in which the players are the primary movers and shakers in deciding the fate of the world, and built up to it by thier own choice, or the player just click and start to really interact in character.
So far, everyone who has made a list and posted about it learned something from the process — that’s pretty nifty. ๐
Cool. Then I guess it worked! ๐