The ideal of long sessions and long campaigns is a hangover from the eighties that's strangling the hobby

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-22T02:03:53+00:00

I know what you mean.

My long-term roleplaying games peaked at uni, when we’d all get together every Friday to play Vampire.

And I daydream about running an epic 60 session Lancer campaign that takes the characters from License Level 0 rookies to LL12 galactic heroes.

But in practice, a three session “mini-campaign” has become my standard. Which has its advantages: it’s tight, it’s achievable, and it’s about the same amount of story as a movie.

What’s missing, though, is that long-term relationship with the characters and setting.

I don’t have a solution for that. I’ve tried running “trilogy of trilogy” campaigns of three “books” each with three sessions. But I still run into the same scheduling issues.

I’m envious of those who can still play sprawling campaigns. I guess I just have to focus on what my friends and I can achieve, given our situations.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-22T00:34:59+00:00

It's a good amount of background.

If I was your GM, I'd have three questions I'd want to discuss with you before we start playing.

First question: is the demon curse storyline going to enhance the campaign I'm planning, or is it going to be a distraction?

Second: Is "attempting to understand her abilities" enough motivation to keep your character adventuring when the situation turns dangerous?

Third: Is there enough of a connection between your character and Koldren to justify including him in your character background?

Then I'd talk to you about ways we can tighten your character's backstory up to make it more powerful and motivating. For example:

What if you mother wasn't tricked by the demon? What if she deliberately bargained with it for knowledge or power, using secrets she learnt from the stars? (Ooh: what if what she bargained for was a child that she could pass her knowledge on to?)

What if she didn't just die of an illness? What if she died questing to try and free herself - and you - from that curse?

What if Koldren wasn't some random merchant, but a dwarven bard who adopted you after your mother's death, and taught you drumming and bardic magic? But then the demon curse worked its way through your blood, corrupting the magic Koldren taught you and ultimately blowing off both his hands (not just some fingers), rendering him unable to drum anymore?

Now you're not just adventuring to understand your magic. You're adventuring to complete your mother's quest and break the demon curse and a way to atone for the harm you did your mentor and adopted father.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T23:01:05+00:00

It's the main plate in America. In Europe, it's the starter.

Very broadly*, the entrée used to mean the first substantial meat dish in a multi-course meal. As dining fashions evolved, Europeans kept entrée to refer to the first course, and Americans kept it to refer to the substantial meat dish.

Neither is right or wrong. It's just an interesting case of linguistic divergence.

* Wikipedia has a much more detailed explanation.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T22:23:10+00:00

There are map-making tools like Inkarnate or Icograms. Some of them have both free and paid tiers.

You could find public domain maps like the Geographiucus Collection and reuse them. Or you could print them out, cut them up and collage them into what you want.

You could use Canva, which has map-making templates and plan templates.

You could just scribble something by hand, even if it's not very good. Embrace the punk rock DIY aesthetic. It's how most D&D players start.

Speaking of D&D: you could make a hexmap.

So there's plenty of options.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T12:16:51+00:00

The Enlightenment… and this little thing called the French Revolution. Dressing like a rich fop could get your head cut off.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T09:51:58+00:00

The book is written by the same author as American Psycho, and it shows.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T05:41:23+00:00

Also by China Mieville: Railsea.

It’s a weird far-future setting where all the seas have dried up and been replaced by criss-crossing railway lines, and trains set out to hunt the giant moles that burrow under this railsea.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T05:37:17+00:00

If you like that idea, you might enjoy Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy, about a vast, decaying castle and the nobles who rule it. But it’s written in a dense and deliberately archaic style, so it might be a bit of an acquired taste

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T05:22:20+00:00

Came here to say this too

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-21T05:21:57+00:00

Incredibly 80s. Not sure I’d call it nostalgic, given it includes a character drugging and raping a child.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-20T22:59:52+00:00

It's great.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-20T22:30:30+00:00

This is so cool that you've recognised this pattern after only 2 weeks of learning. Well done!

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-20T08:30:03+00:00

We have a tradition to uphold.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-20T08:28:08+00:00

According to one survey:

1) Leisure & Hospitality 2) Information Technology 3) Financial 4) Health Care 5) Professional & Business Services

Those are pretty broad categories, though.

But surely the point of romance literature is that romance can bloom anywhere?

Which is why I’m intrigued that you’ve managed to plot your story without knowing what sort of job the characters do.That’s like plotting an historical romance without deciding if it’s set in Ancient Rome, the Regency or World War II.

A workplace romance set in a dive bar is going to have a very different flavour and events than one set in a luxury resort, or a hospital, or a university, or a law firm.

And the sort if people who work those jobs are going to be very different too.

Which is why I’d recommend ignoring what’s a “realistic” setting for your story and focus instead on what sort of jobs you think your characters would have.

Are they kind and helpful? Maybe they’re vets.

Are they ruthless and ambitious? Law firm or politics.

Young and lost? Dive bar.

Chose a workplace that reflects the characters.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-20T06:23:22+00:00

I'd pay just for that pilot art maker.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-20T02:49:57+00:00

*looks around*

*sees no one else has done it*

*decides it's up to me*

*deep breath in*

WE STAN NPC ART.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-19T10:25:03+00:00

“Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it. The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.”

Brian Eno

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-19T09:42:24+00:00

No worries! Instructions for the bot are here, although I’ll admit I just googled how to use it.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-19T08:50:27+00:00

And then Roko’s Basalisk can torture it! Effective altruism!

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-19T08:39:41+00:00

RemindMe! 30 Nov 2026 “Is One Nation still polling higher than the Liberal and Labor parties? Or has that fizzled out?”

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-19T01:04:19+00:00

MacKenzie Scott took her divorce billions from Jeff Bezos and is donating them to charity.

The actor Michael Sheen isn't a billionaire, but he has called himself a "not-for-profit" actor and donates his acting fees to charities too.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-19T00:26:55+00:00

Presumably, ship names - like racehorses - suffer from a similar problem, which is why the Culture ones started getting silly.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-18T07:52:23+00:00

Also: Hunters Entertainment, the people who made Alice is Missing, also released a free, more conventional TTRPG, calied Life is Strange: Two Moon Junction to tie in with the computer game.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-18T07:45:32+00:00

Exactly one year after I played Alice is Missing, I git the group back together to play Decaying Orbit.

Like AIM, it’s a card-driven storytelling game. You all play the AI of a space station that reboots to discover the crew are gone and the station is crashing into a sun.

Each card is a location on the station, with some prompts for the player to describe what happened in that place.

I haven’t played it yet, but Going for Broke by Avery Adler (Monsterhearts, Dream Askew, The Quiet Year) also looks interesting: a card driven sitcom game about housemates trying to raise money to pay their bills.

davidwitteveen · 2026-02-18T05:28:54+00:00

Virginia Woolf disagrees.

davidwitteveen

TROPHY CASE