How to start a tabletop RPG campaign?
Hello everyone and welcome to Born2bPlayer’s new tabletop RPG advice column! Do you need to start a campaign and you’re new to this? Or is it your hundredth campaign, but you want to try something different? In this article we begin to analyse — and give you some advice on — the most important part of a campaign: the beginning! Let’s start with some general considerations that apply to the whole play group.
- PICK THE RIGHT GAME
What do you want to play? Very often, a campaign is started by a group of friends who want to have fun together. Before starting, it’s worth checking that everyone has the same kind of fun in mind. Do you prefer a game with lots of mechanics and many possibilities? Or a more narrative, free-flowing game? Would you like to live reckless adventures worthy of a heroic ballad, or also experience the everyday side of an alternative ‘life’? Is controlling one character enough, or do you want to manage communities and factions too? Do you prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy or Post-Apocalyptic? These and other questions can help decide which game best fits the group’s tastes. True, with a bit of goodwill and imagination you can adapt (almost) any game to your needs — but why struggle? Instead of bending D&D into a science-fiction setting, why not try a different RPG that already has that setting? Even for narrative games, looking around you might discover some game — perhaps a niche one — that meets all your needs or sparks your interest.
- THE MOOD OF THE CAMPAIGN
Chosen your game? Good — now think about the mood you want at the table. With rare exceptions, most games can be played with different flavours. Do you prefer a light-hearted game, having fun with plenty of jokes (in-game, if possible!) and laughter, or a more serious one, leaving room for dramatic, authentic moments between characters? Try to agree on the tone, to prevent players from getting bored or uncomfortable. Of course the mood can change over time — but if Kermit the Frog ends up in the party (literally: it happened), staying serious is hard.
- THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PLAYERS
How many people are at the table? It may sound trivial, but some games suit larger or smaller groups better. Some work best with few players, who get the space to portray their characters; others work better with many, offering better odds in fights. Some games have a ‘minimum’ number of players needed to work well. The maximum may also depend on your venue, or on how many people the game master feels able to handle.
- SET THE ATTENDANCE RATE
How often will you actually show up? Another aspect not to be underestimated. In an ideal world, every session features all the players, eager to play. In the real world there are delays, hitches and tiredness. When starting a new campaign it helps to figure out who can actually attend (besides the game master). When players are missing, you often end up running filler sessions — unsure about fighting without the healer, or not knowing how to proceed with the party leader absent. A minimum of organisation here will make for a smoother campaign.
Moving on to some advice for the game master (or Narrator, or whatever the game calls them):
- Talk to the players.
It sounds obvious, but talk to your players. Understanding their needs, problems and ideas is not just useful but important for running a campaign well. Try to clear up doubts and questions right away. Also weigh the players’ temperaments — it will help you foresee the dynamics that might form in the group. The game master shouldn’t have to play ‘babysitter’, but unfortunately it’s sometimes a role you can’t avoid. Let the players in on how you plan to run the campaign and ask for their feedback (both during creation and later!). Building a good climate at the table will help enormously when (when, not if) friction arises.
- Open box or railroad.
Does the master lead, or does the master manage?
Whether you’re following a module or running your own original campaign, balancing railroad and open box matters. Discussing it with the players at the start helps set up the sessions well. If you spend three days crafting a beautiful quest and your players then decide to head the opposite way, you may not be thrilled (don’t worry, you can always recycle). Conversely, you may find yourself in a dull session because the players lack prompts and don’t know where to go in an open world. The game and mood you chose — and your own experience running games — may make one mode or the other work better for you.
- Clarify house rules right away.
Even the best games have ‘flaws’ or grey areas. Having an early discussion about the main variations you want to add benefits both players and master. Some house rules may arise from the players’ needs, others from the adventure. Someone has a great character in mind but the exact rules to play it don’t exist? A few tweaks can be made. But careful not to overdo it! As said above, if you find yourselves piling up too many house rules, maybe it’s worth considering other games! The master may have needs too. For example, a first-timer might struggle to handle divination magic, or mechanics that force them to ‘improvise’ the narration (it may not seem so, but this also applies to story games). Better to talk it out now than regret it later.
- Keep timing in mind.
Beyond what was said about the players’ attendance, the master should also account for session times and lengths. After a long day of work, people may have less energy to play. If sessions last only a few hours, the game needs to progress without dead time. A campaign full of twists at a breakneck pace sounds great in your head, but you might find yourself without a key character that session. Developing plots that aren’t too linear, and always having a ‘plan B’, is useful. Ending sessions on a cliffhanger is the cherry on top.
Some useful considerations for the players, instead:
- Think about yourselves.
Why do you play? Take the time to think about what you want from these sessions. Do you prefer to ‘win’ and pull off dazzling feats? Or are you more interested in interacting with the other players and the game world? Would you rather wear the clothes of someone like you, or try something different — perhaps even opposite? Do you want to live a great story, or be the one who decides? Are you just after a light evening in good company, or do you spend the time between sessions poring over your sheets and fine-tuning your characters? Reflections like these can help improve the experience, rather than finding yourself ‘stuck’ in something awkward or frustrating.
- Think about the rest of the group.
Why do the others play? Talk with the other players, trade ideas and prompts. Try to understand how you might interact with them. Even apparent clashes can spawn interesting in-game developments you hadn’t considered. Share your needs and difficulties with the others. Nobody likes being forced to play something that isn’t ‘comfortable’ for them.
Adapting and compromising is fine, as long as everyone’s positions are known. Taking the cleric because the group needs one, even though it doesn’t inspire you, can wear you down in the long run. You want to play a dwarf, and the jokes start before you’ve even rolled your stats? You’d like to play a character of another gender, but nobody takes you seriously? Letting the others know where you stand doesn’t mean imposing yourself or being a nuisance.
- Think about the character.
Whose clothes will you wear? With a clear idea of what you want from the game, you can figure out how to get it. Look at what the game offers, what the others want to do, what the master suggests. Take the time to weigh the options before deciding. By the second or third session you realise the vampire wasn’t what you had in mind, and you’d play a werewolf better? (Yes, Gangrel players — we know you really wanted to be puppies!) If you change your mind you’re free to do so, but remember that every change affects not just you but the other players too! Also mind the character’s ‘difficulty’. It may come from complex mechanics, a weighty background, or demanding merits and flaws. A character with two personalities sounds intriguing — but then you’ll have to shoulder the effort of roleplaying two PCs! And so we close this first article.
We’re curious to hear whether you have doubts or questions you’d like us to explore, or whether you disagree with us: reach out on our Facebook and Instagram pages!