Legacy Campaigns: A Fresh Chapter To Continue Your Story

For a lot of us, the idea of completing a full campaign with a single party of characters is the height of gaming accomplishment. And if you've managed to do that, then you might very well want to play a different system or setting entirely as a kind of palate cleanser. But if you're the sort of player (or the sort of Game Master) who enjoys continuity and sequels, then I would recommend considering the idea of a legacy campaign... because they can take a variety of forms, and you can usually tailor them to fit your game, and your players.

As we turn the page, another set of heroes are enmeshed in our tale...

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A New Chapter In Your Quest

There are a couple of different ways a legacy campaign can go. First and foremost, it can be the literal legacy of the former PCs, whether it's their children, students they've trained, squires they've knighted, etc. The idea is that the PCs of the last campaign are passing the torch to the new party, providing some kind of continuity between the characters, if not the actual story of the campaign. Alternatively, the legacy might be a continuation of the events and story from the first campaign, but in a different location with different characters who aren't necessarily connected to the characters of the previous campaign. For a quick reference, the connectivity between the Pathfinder adventure paths Shattered Star, Rise of The Runelords, and Return of The Runelords follows this path.

However, it's also possible to combine the two into a single campaign, if that's what you and your players want to do!

I am here to earn my spurs, and to make my father proud.

As I said in The Key To A Sandbox Is To Make Sure It's Populated, And Stuff Is Happening, though, a legacy campaign requires a bit of setup to really sell it!

Now, that doesn't mean the Game Master has to plan a three-campaign series right from the jump. But you do have to have the first campaign planned, plotted, and completed so that you have all the information about what happened during the first story that you can use as a springboard for the second one (and from the second to the third, if you want to be industrious). You need to know which characters completed what deeds, which NPCs lived and died, and which of the villains were sentenced, which ones were slain, and which ones returned to the outer darkness to join their alien masters. And once you have all of that information, you can then properly plan the sequel to that game!

If you're the Game Master, picture yourself as the head of a successful TV series. You received enough of a budget to shoot the first season, so you made something relatively self-contained, but which has the potential for spin-offs and sequels. You finished it, and it was popular enough that your audience wants more. Maybe you had some ideas in mind for where it could go next. Maybe you were just hoping the first season did well enough you could scoot across the line. Either way, with this format, and your very narrow audience, it's a good idea to make sure the first season is as polished and enjoyable as possible before you spend too much time working on the second or third season that you might not even get.

The most important thing, though, is that you need to be sure you have player enthusiasm to see more. Because while the idea of following up a campaign with a legacy sequel might be intriguing (especially if the players get to see the results of the previous game, and hear the tales of their old characters' adventures), it's equally possible that your audience might have been just fine with a one-and-done for that game, that story, or that system. Don't over-invest in making a multi-part story told over several campaigns if you know your players don't have that kind of stamina.

With that said, however, keep in mind that a "campaign" doesn't have to be a years-long, level 1 to level 20 endeavor. A campaign could just as easily be a story that takes characters through a 5 level progression, or even a 10 level progression. As long as the story is complete, the GM reaches the end point, and the plot is solved, that's a full campaign... just make sure you let your players know how long the story will last before you get started so they can plan accordingly!

Game Master Resources

If you're planning on running a legacy campaign, whether it's for a passing of the torch, or you want players to have to deal with further permutations of the threats that were seen and opposed in the first story, I would recommend getting your hands on some of the following supplements:

- I'm Back! 25 Reasons For A Villain's Survival: Whether it's the big bad they thought was defeated, a hated henchman, or even an ally they thought was dead, this book can be fun for more continuity.

- 100 Character Goals and Motivations: Good for your players to take a flip through, but very important for understanding the motivations and machinations of your game's villains.

- 100 Dark Secrets: Something that can put allied NPCs into a different context, and which could provide something deeper to find for your villains, can also be good for giving your PCs something to keep under wraps.

- 100 Tips & Tricks For Being A Better Dungeon Master: A supplement that collects a majority of the good advice I've covered here on this blog to help make your games the best they can be.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my additional audio dramas over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

How The Trend in Rules Light RPGs Has Affected Me

Anyone who's been paying attention to the RPG landscape over the past few years has no doubt noticed the trend for games to be easier to learn, and faster to play. I'd personally say this began with the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons' 5th Edition, but it's expanded with games like Fate, Apocalypse World (and the whole Powered By The Apocalypse stable), and even the horror one-shot system Dread all rising to prominence. Old School Roleplaying (OSR) games have also jumped back into popularity, and it seems every time I turn around there's a new game out there that bills itself as fast to play, easy to learn, and friendly to new and experienced roleplayers alike.

Not to worry folks, minimal moving parts here!

There are upsides to this trend, certainly. There are more people playing RPGs than perhaps at any other time in history. People who might feel overwhelmed by complicated games, or who don't have the time to dedicate to learning a complex system, can still get out some dice and play with their friends without doing a three-week correspondence course. It also means that more games are coming out, because with fewer mechanics to balance these games are a lot easier to produce.

Something this trend isn't good for, though, is me. Not just personally, but professionally.

It's Not Easy Rolling With The Market

Anyone who's been on this blog for a while knows that Pathfinder Classic is my game of choice, and the big reason for that is because the game has so many options for customization that you can support practically any idea. It's why I have nearly 58 entries on my Character Conversions page with builds for characters ranging from Gregor Clegane, to Killer Croc, to Captain America.

Part of that, as I've talked about in posts like Understanding The Difference Between Story Freedom and Mechanical Freedom, is that I like games that actually support the story I'm trying to tell with unique mechanics that are suited to my character and story. The difference between my just saying my 8-foot-tall human fighter with a maxed-out Strength score is descended from giants, and having an ability on my sheet that expressly states my giant blood means I qualify as a giant for the purposes of feats, magic items, spell effects, etc.

The other part, though, extends beyond what I personally like to play at my tables. Because while I love writing gaming guides, build recommendations, and going in-depth on mechanics, nobody needs a safari guide to walk across the manicured lawn of the local park.

This is really more my environment.

As an example, DND 5th Edition is a wildly more popular system right now than Pathfinder, but it doesn't really have a lot of mechanical freedom for your character. It's easier to play, but it has the hard structure you expect from an MMO that severely limits your options and customization. I took a good faith stab writing a 5th Edition character conversion guide for John Wick, but the response was... well, mixed, shall we say?

This isn't just about DND, though. As more and more gamers embrace games where the rules are broad, general, and simple, there's just less for me to work with when it comes to offering unique combinations. You can't make bricks without clay, and while I can talk about story, pacing, habits, etc., game mechanics have been the most consistently popular pieces I've put out. Some of them still have staying power... but it's less and less as the days go on. When you add in the fact that rules-light games take smaller teams to design, and they're more often done in-house, that means there's also a lot less work for freelancers like me.

That's why readers are much more likely to see flavor guides and supplements from me, like 100 NPCs You Might Meet at The Tavern, or the almost as popular 100 Merchants to Encounter. Because no matter how simple a game's rules are, random storefronts, taverns, characters, etc. to act as fill-ins will still sell even while mechanics-focused pieces will fall by the wayside.

Sales Drives My Pen

I'm talking about this on Monday because I've had several readers ask why I'm not doing more mechanics-focused projects or posts the way I used to. Whether it's expanding my conversion guides, or writing more modules like False Valor, The Curse of Sapphire Lake, or The Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh there's been a noted drop in my crunchier content.

At the end of the day, it's about return on the investment in energy that I put into my work. Because I would absolutely love to work on a big, crunchy module or campaign where I can put my knowledge to use... but at least at time of writing, those are the kinds of projects that get minimal hits and sales.

So if you see something I make that you really like, something that you want to see more of, please help boost the signal on it! Get a copy if you can, and share the link if you can't. Leave reviews, tell your friends, and spread the word. Because if creating more of that thing you like is going to put tacos on my plate and keep my landlord off my back, I promise you that is exactly the sort of thing I'm going to keep writing.

Also, for those who don't know, you can help support me and my efforts over on The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. That helps you send word directly to me, and every patron is much appreciated!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!