A Campaign Ended

George Lucas once said (and I might be paraphrasing) that, "Movies are never finished, they're only abandoned." Besides feeling satisfied, I also think George's thought here is applicable to RPG campaigns. It's great that the story arc of these characters has been wrapped up pretty comprehensively but there's so much more that could have been done. My Realms campaign ended last night (or 3am this morning rather) and fun was had by all. The planet was saved from Orcus' meteor thrower and the only "casualty" was PC kobold monk (although he escaped into the Ethereal Plane when a meteor destroyed the tower controlling the weapon). There's plenty of stories left for these PCs but, like a good TV show, you have to know when enough is enough for now. How many seasons (my campaigns are typically made up of TV-like seasons where 10 modules equal one season) can a PC adventure without becoming tiresome for the player? By the same token, how many adventures can be written for the same PCs? The answer is: Always more than the GM writes. This party of characters lasted for 3 and a half seasons (I ended early because of a looming military deployment for one player) and more could have been done. However, ending a campaign doesn't mean you can't go back later. That kobold PC needs saving and, perhaps in a few months, the players will want to revisit these old friends/PCs.

The next campaign, which everyone appears to be embracing, is a planar-based one. Using an organization founded by 2nd edition characters, the new PCs begin as 1st-level agents of the group (called the Protectorate). This group is based in the Realms but has recently broadened its "do-gooder meddling" to include the planes themselves. The PCs will be based in Sigil, City of Doors, which gives me the opportunity (that I didn't use when it came out) to jump into the Planescape setting. Right now, I'm feeling a Stargate type vibe for the campaign where the Protectorate sends the PCs on missions to other dimensions/worlds/planes just to see what's out there, catalog threats, and return with cool new stuff.

In freelancing news, I'll be finishing up the NPCs for the Alchemy project within the next 48 hours. Once that's done, I need to jump into a project for Ronin Arts concerning using illusionary PCs in your game. As I've mentioned before, I love Ronin Arts for allowing the creative freedom to really push the gaming envelope and I think PCs that aren't "real" fit that bill nicely.