What's a "Dynastic Campaign"?
No. Not "dynamic." Dynastic.
Dynastic Campaign is a term I straight up made up to describe the sort of campaign I feel taps the full potential of the RPG. This is where, in the course of the standard D&D game, the player characters advance to very high levels, retire, perhaps becoming important NPCs, but certainly having left their mark on the world. The players come up with a new group of PCs--possibly even the offspring of the original PCs--and a new saga begins. But this time, it's set against the backdrop of a richer world.
What got me thinking about this is a question posed about what do high level characters do upon or near retirement. My response is copy-and-pasted as follows:
But think of what that means. Imagine playing an 18th level magic-user who has NO SPELLS. Level 18. You've still got close to 40 hit points. You have a THAC0 of 13. I mean, you're kind of on par with a 7th level Fighter or so. Maybe more like 5th level if you adjust and account for the inferior weapons and armor. So we'll introduce Zerax into the campaign almost as if he's a 5th level fighter and proceed to put together a "5th level party."
Now how about Dakota? Druid changed to Thief. Well, if she was level 3 as a Druid then changed to a Thief, the thief class could make level 4, possibly level 5, with the amount of XP it takes a fighter to be level 5. This would give Dakota use of 3rd level druid spells and actually be able to use them without incurring XP penalties because the new class is of higher level. And yet this would fit in great
Theydor has a kingdom to run, but he may be able to offer up a knight errant to assist the offspring of the friends of his own father. So someone can create a new character, begin with about 20,000 XP and make a Paladin, a Fighter, or possibly even a Cleric (or Cavalier if you're using UA) according to what the stats best fit.
And you know what could also be cool? What if one of the dragons Rubarb raised happened to meet the rest of the party and joined up as a player character. Normally I'm very wary about adventuring parties turning into bands of monsters or freak shows. But in this case, it fits, because we know the backstory. We don't have to try and concoct a backstory just to justify some asinine character choice. Instead, the backstory has presented this as one logical outcome of the past.
Now this could be a young dragon, about 25 years old, right on the cusp of sub-adult and young-adult, and for the dragon, it's going to have to be some great learning experience in which he "comes of age" to get to the next age category. I would assume he's a 6 hit die dragon, age category 3, so 18 hit points. I would also assume he's one of the more intelligent dragons and capable of spell use. As he was raised by Rubarb, though, he would know a cleric spell rather than a magic-user one.
I'm supposing this group is about to embark on some grand adventure worthy of the legacy of their forefathers. Maybe this was the fated time when the old one, Jonka, would come down from his mountain. Although still a powerful and high level monk, his body is withered with age and atrophy. Maybe he's blind. Kind of like the old kung fu theater movies where the old blind guy could always kick everyone's ass. He's got -4 to hit everything, so that will reign him in somewhat. His main role in the group is as a guide, but ironically, as he is blinded, he himself may need a guide.
So what's the adventure? There's no shortage of possible hooks. Jonka may have had a vision or some prophecy that brought him down from the mountain which links up with a great adventure. Or since Zeron created Zerax as a precaution, maybe Zeron left subtle clues behind that, if correctly deciphered, will lead the group on a quest to free Zeron from his fate. Another possibility is that King Theydor has some mission of political importance that the knight is charged with. Maybe Dakota is seeking out her father. Maybe she says she wants to reconnect with him but is really after the treasure she's sure he has hidden. Or maybe just the opposite. She says it's about the prospects for treasure but deep down she just wants to know her father. The dragon may have been sent on a specific quest by Rubarb.
Whatever it is, the key is that you wouldn't be able to replicate this by just creating any old new party of adventurers. The game world has given us this great gift. And it owes its richness to the dynamic campaign.
So how can you run a dynamic campaign of your own? Well, you have to stop trying to figure out the very best way to make your campaign uber-awesome and just start playing. If you just start playing, and keep playing, sooner or later you will have some epic characters in your campaign's history. You won't get it unless you play. A lot.
One thing that might help it along is to ignore all the GM advice you've heard about avoiding Monty Haul adventures, or if you let things escalate to too high a level the campaign will become boring. This is a "no finger wagging" zone.If you're a little generous, not only do players get that short-term buzz, but you're also setting up your long-term dynasty.
Now you can't just open the floodgates. The point isn't just to have high level characters. You could do that on paper without ever playing. The point is you need to have real, genuine adventures. The characters need to be living, breathing beings, not generated with rules and dice and "character concepts" but rather evolved through actual play. Be generous if you have to, but skip nothing. And always keep on playing and moving forward. Even if the entire session is nothing put players sitting around the tables designing their keeps, that's great.
Have adventures. Change the world. Then start all over again. That's what it's all about.
Dynastic Campaign is a term I straight up made up to describe the sort of campaign I feel taps the full potential of the RPG. This is where, in the course of the standard D&D game, the player characters advance to very high levels, retire, perhaps becoming important NPCs, but certainly having left their mark on the world. The players come up with a new group of PCs--possibly even the offspring of the original PCs--and a new saga begins. But this time, it's set against the backdrop of a richer world.
What got me thinking about this is a question posed about what do high level characters do upon or near retirement. My response is copy-and-pasted as follows:
I haven't retired that many characters. The group that's been on my mind the most lately did retire. The party consisted of two Paladins, a Mage, a Monk, and a Thief.This is not an exercise of "Let me tell you about my character." Think of the possible campaign implied here. Let me start with Zerax, the clone. When he comes out of stasis, he'll be the level he was when Zeron first created him, so Zerax is a level 18 magic-user. Here's the catch. He has no spellbook. Zero. Nothing. Nada. Zeron knows the danger of using clones, how they'll come to kill you. And the last thing Zeron wanted was to be killed by the clone if the clone somehow got freed. So leaving him with no spells is a great safety feature.
I already talked a little about the sanctuary and stronghold my paladin, Raul kon Deen, built, the land he'd discovered, and the settlement he founded. He also founded a knights order that was similar to the Knights of the Round Table (named Knights of Raulscourt). After that, he embarked on a final quest to achieve immortality and was never heard from again. His son Theydor was left to rule Raulscourt.
The mage, Zeron, built a castle in the sky which has no entrance or exit--magic being the only means of egress. He also disappeared on a fantastic journey. He knew the dangers, though, and had created a clone of himself (named Zerax) and held it in temporal stasis.
The monk, Jonka of the Jo Stick, went off to a cave to meditate indefinitely, to emerge only when the day comes where his guidance is needed.
The thief and the other paladin were really close friends. That may sound weird, it led to some jokes like, "Go steal me that holy symbol!" But the thief was actually more of an Indiana Jones type, and the paladin worshiped the gods of the Khemetic (Egyptian) pantheon, so they actually did have some common ground that was near and dear to both.
The paladin, Rubarb, journeyed north where he would raise white dragons. Again, sounds weird, a paladin raising evil-aligned dragons in. But of course he would raise them not to be evil. He's kept one for himself that he uses as a mount.
The thief, Montana, retired in the most literal sense, used his treasure to live in comfort while he traveled. In his travels he's no doubt fathered more than a few children. One in particular, Dakota, born the daughter of a tribal priestess/shaman and taught the ways of the medicine woman proved to have too much of her father in her (changed classes from Druid to Thief).
But think of what that means. Imagine playing an 18th level magic-user who has NO SPELLS. Level 18. You've still got close to 40 hit points. You have a THAC0 of 13. I mean, you're kind of on par with a 7th level Fighter or so. Maybe more like 5th level if you adjust and account for the inferior weapons and armor. So we'll introduce Zerax into the campaign almost as if he's a 5th level fighter and proceed to put together a "5th level party."
Now how about Dakota? Druid changed to Thief. Well, if she was level 3 as a Druid then changed to a Thief, the thief class could make level 4, possibly level 5, with the amount of XP it takes a fighter to be level 5. This would give Dakota use of 3rd level druid spells and actually be able to use them without incurring XP penalties because the new class is of higher level. And yet this would fit in great
Theydor has a kingdom to run, but he may be able to offer up a knight errant to assist the offspring of the friends of his own father. So someone can create a new character, begin with about 20,000 XP and make a Paladin, a Fighter, or possibly even a Cleric (or Cavalier if you're using UA) according to what the stats best fit.
And you know what could also be cool? What if one of the dragons Rubarb raised happened to meet the rest of the party and joined up as a player character. Normally I'm very wary about adventuring parties turning into bands of monsters or freak shows. But in this case, it fits, because we know the backstory. We don't have to try and concoct a backstory just to justify some asinine character choice. Instead, the backstory has presented this as one logical outcome of the past.
Now this could be a young dragon, about 25 years old, right on the cusp of sub-adult and young-adult, and for the dragon, it's going to have to be some great learning experience in which he "comes of age" to get to the next age category. I would assume he's a 6 hit die dragon, age category 3, so 18 hit points. I would also assume he's one of the more intelligent dragons and capable of spell use. As he was raised by Rubarb, though, he would know a cleric spell rather than a magic-user one.
I'm supposing this group is about to embark on some grand adventure worthy of the legacy of their forefathers. Maybe this was the fated time when the old one, Jonka, would come down from his mountain. Although still a powerful and high level monk, his body is withered with age and atrophy. Maybe he's blind. Kind of like the old kung fu theater movies where the old blind guy could always kick everyone's ass. He's got -4 to hit everything, so that will reign him in somewhat. His main role in the group is as a guide, but ironically, as he is blinded, he himself may need a guide.
So what's the adventure? There's no shortage of possible hooks. Jonka may have had a vision or some prophecy that brought him down from the mountain which links up with a great adventure. Or since Zeron created Zerax as a precaution, maybe Zeron left subtle clues behind that, if correctly deciphered, will lead the group on a quest to free Zeron from his fate. Another possibility is that King Theydor has some mission of political importance that the knight is charged with. Maybe Dakota is seeking out her father. Maybe she says she wants to reconnect with him but is really after the treasure she's sure he has hidden. Or maybe just the opposite. She says it's about the prospects for treasure but deep down she just wants to know her father. The dragon may have been sent on a specific quest by Rubarb.
Whatever it is, the key is that you wouldn't be able to replicate this by just creating any old new party of adventurers. The game world has given us this great gift. And it owes its richness to the dynamic campaign.
So how can you run a dynamic campaign of your own? Well, you have to stop trying to figure out the very best way to make your campaign uber-awesome and just start playing. If you just start playing, and keep playing, sooner or later you will have some epic characters in your campaign's history. You won't get it unless you play. A lot.
One thing that might help it along is to ignore all the GM advice you've heard about avoiding Monty Haul adventures, or if you let things escalate to too high a level the campaign will become boring. This is a "no finger wagging" zone.If you're a little generous, not only do players get that short-term buzz, but you're also setting up your long-term dynasty.
Now you can't just open the floodgates. The point isn't just to have high level characters. You could do that on paper without ever playing. The point is you need to have real, genuine adventures. The characters need to be living, breathing beings, not generated with rules and dice and "character concepts" but rather evolved through actual play. Be generous if you have to, but skip nothing. And always keep on playing and moving forward. Even if the entire session is nothing put players sitting around the tables designing their keeps, that's great.
Have adventures. Change the world. Then start all over again. That's what it's all about.
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