The Beginning of the End of Season 1

A little background...

Since September of 2017 I have been hosting a weekly drop-in Dungeons & Dragons campaign at a nearby local cafe. In D&D there are two main types of sessions: one-shots and campaigns. One-shots are typically a self contained story and only last one night. Campaigns typically last longer and can often span years if done well. For my game I designed the structure around the West Marches style codified by Ben Robbins. This style of campaign differs from the traditional style where there is 1 Dungeon Master or Game Master that facilitates a story and game for a group of about 3 - 6 players. Some D&D groups will have more or less players, but they typically hover around that range. The West Marches hearkens back to older editions of D&D when there would be a large group of players (20+) and multiple DMs, all playing together in the same shared setting.

Why West Marches?

I decided to create this modified West Marches campaign in order to achieve a few goals.
  1.  Consistently provide entertainment and fun for as many people as I could through playing Dungeons & Dragons.
  2. Have players experience the feel of the home campaign through witness their fictional actions manifest in our shared game world through our collaborative storytelling.
  3. Facilitate connections between players with cooperation.
  4. Reward individuals that engaged in the storytelling by collaboratively writing in their ideas into the world and recognising their contributions.
  5. To dispel the persisting negativity and scepticism of playing Dungeons & Dragons.
(Reminder: elaborate on these goals and reflect on them at a later date)

This blog started by Jason showcases just some of what the players have done to contribute to this campaign.

The Finale

This campaign has been ongoing consistently since the beginning of September and following the holidays I have decided to conclude "season 1" with three more sessions. Tomorrow evening will be the first of the final sessions. The culmination of the past few months will manifest in a epic final battle a-la The Lord of The Rings Battle for Helms Deep. I will detail my approach to these unique sessions soon as I have designed a way for multiple players to contribute to one combat on two different nights as well as to hopefully engage 10 players in a massive final battle.

Roll well,

Mack


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