jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) (06/03/85)
[...] Since people are interested in campaigns that share GMs, here's a simple solution we use here in our Champions campaigns. All our DMs have their own "worlds" and universes that operate more or less independently. At the same time, true to the comics genre, these worlds are considered to be part of the same multiverse, and hopping back and forth from one universe to another happens from time to time. This gives us the opportunity to run "cross-overs" so that the heroes from one Earth can meet and fight/work with the heroes from another Earth. In addition, there are a number of influences that affect the entire Multiverse, so that the things that happen one place often have repercussions in other campaigns. For example, the world we call the Felicity Universe is the "centre" of the multiverse and contains some valuable treasures that others want to get hold of. The world we call the Concord Universe is a buffer zone between Felicity and the rest of the multiverse. Therefore the Concord campaign often deals with villains who are trying to get to the Felicity Universe. If those heroes fumble the ball, the Felicity heroes get their crack at the villains. Furthermore, if the Felicity heroes screw up and let the villains get away with something important, the Concord heroes can sometimes get a second crack at the villains as the villains try to make a break to an exterior universe. We find that this "separate but related" system makes it very easy to mix campaigns when we feel like it. The individual GMs manage to maintain the integrity of their worlds because you only GM things that happen in your universe. However, characters from different campaigns get to interact. One nice point is that GMs can play characters in each other's campaigns, even on crossovers. For example, I run the Felicity campaign and my friend John runs the Concord campaign. This means that I can play a character in John's campaign and he plays one in mine. If I want to run a crossover, I may say to John, "Arrange for the Concord heroes to deliver a probability stone (a valuable magic item) to Felicity." He can set up any sort of scenario he likes and I can play a character in it without being too much in the know. Once the Concord heroes and the probability stone show up in Felicity, I turn GM and John can play his Felicity hero without knowing what happens next. The crossover happens cleanly and we both get to play! -------------------------------------------------- New Subject: I have recently become interested in PBM (Play-By-Mail) games and wonder if anyone out there has any experience with them. In particular, I am looking at FRP PBMs like Crasimoff's World and Heroic Fantasy. If anyone has played these or similar games, I'd be interested in hearing from them. And if anyone has never heard anything about PBM at all, I can pass on what information I have gleaned from magazines and mail-outs. I can't say I have much direct experience, but I'm willing to share what facts I have. Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo