Campaign Philosophy
I wanted to put out some basic campaign philosophy for this game, so
everyone's on the same page so far as expectations. This is old news for
some of the long-term players, but it bears repeating from time to time,
and the players less familiar with the game's history may benefit.
The Wilds is essentially a sandbox campaign. What's that mean?
This:
- What the characters do is entirely driven by their own
actions. There is no golden path of plot for them to follow. If
they do nothing, so be it. On the flip side, actions have
consequences. If, for example, the party decides to go on a
murderous rampage the next time they're in town, they will be
declared kill-on-sight outlaws. Or, say you get in several major
fights with a necromancer's allies, he's likely to be
annoyed. :)
- Things keep happening in the world, even if the characters
don't do anything. The gnolls keep raiding and gathering
slaves. The necromancer keeps making zombies. Kobolds keep praying
to Fraykulga and summ... (oops). Thambar the Prudent, Lord of
Hembard Wilds, Defender of Highcliff Keep, Recognized Lord of the
Peerage of the Kingdom of Jal, Meisterburger of Auslaug, Hustwood,
and Brekkevale, keeps gathering titles.
- There are encounters out there that can destroy you. This is
not a "level one of the dungeon is full of level one creatures"
world. It's up to the party to choose their foes, allies, and
fights carefully. Remember: GOLD is XP.
- There is no 'right' way to go, but from a practical
perspective a scattershot player approach means I'm taking a
scattershot approach to world development too. Game time is
finite. Changes of direction are fine, but having an overall
direction is also good, so I can plan / expand appropriately.
- Finally, we're all adults and we're all in this to have
fun. Hopefully that's happening. If it's not let's discuss how we
can make things better and meet this fundamental goal. PLAYER fun
is more important than CHARACTER choice.