Of Carcosa, Grand Campaigns, and Braunsteins

 Hooooo boy it's been a dogs age since I've used this thing. I've been really throwing myself back into gaming, and have tried several experiments within the recent years. After many more years spent burning myself trying to make almost exclusively homebrewed campaigns, I finally threw up my hands and decided to use pre made stuff. And you know what? That was one of the best things I could have done! I have so much more energy to run the games; rather running myself in anxious circles trying to come up with 100% original content then using half of something someone else already made in a panic. And it led me down a rabbit hole of all sorts of fun games and campaigns. 

The original kick off was my year long or so Carcosa campaign. I used the Lamentations of the Flame Princess of course but added in a bunch of other classes I found across books and the web as it grew. Aliens, Ape men, Robots, Psychics, Eld, Ghouls, Cave Otters and much more. It was a blast, but it did in fact wear me down even as a sandbox. The players were free to go where they pleased. Thinking I was clever,  I would ask my group where they planned on going for the next session. I would prep the area to the best of my ability polish and plonk it down. It of course fell to the oldest problem of any game master, the players ever changing whims.  Many a time I poured my energy into the thing they claimed they were stoked for and then they would toddle off in a different direction. Then the few problem players I had at the time would complain how things weren't as polished or seamless as usual, as if they didn't know I had to pull a bunch of stuff out of my ass. Add on the fact I had to flesh out the myriad of podunk villages that dot Carcosa and make them interesting, along with waning player participation... The gate to Carcosa closed. 

I experimented with a few other other campaigns. The one I remember the most fondly was an Earthbound inspired campaign using the excellent Suburbia setting book. I had more than enough material to draw from the community and even threw in my own spice; with crude handmade sprite art. That campaign also (shamefully) burnt out, though that was more to several players who were integral to the campaign dropping out. 

This lead to me picking Wolves Upon the Coast Grand Campaign by Luke Gearing. The system? A stroke of lightweight genius. The vibes? Immaculate. In my relatively short time playing it with the two groups I've run, we've fought the White Apes in the Forests of Faroe, explored Atlantean Ruins, plumbed the depths of a Demonic Temple, slain a wyvern, and sank an Elder God into the Gullet of Jörmungandr. Combine it with the fact I've thrown in Treasure maps and the City State of the Invincible Overlord from the Judges guild and dozens of other modules I've been dying to use and the players making their own maps; I've saved so much energy. And yet that energy made me hunger for more.

My current Campaign Map

I will not waste time trying to comment on the BrOSR. I will say they are a strange bunch, and have some interesting ideas, but that's about it. Specifically the idea of Patron Play and using it in a Braunstein style. That is to say, closer to how Blackmoor was played. Sessions of standard adventuring with wargame/4X shenanigans going on during the week. So in my desire to show the world my passion for running games, I said screw it. I whipped up a 12x12 hex map setting using the AD&D DM guide and Monster manual.  I made a discord, set up my Twitch channel and am now running two games a week live after work. I currently have a stable of 8 players, half of which who have taken roles as Patrons in the world. It truly has made a difference, causing several small skirmishes to break out, organic quests, a war that has been cutting into the Players purses, and schemes to fester in shadows. All the while the players have ventured into the depth of Castle Zoltromos and wander the streets of Oleyesh (CSIO my beloved.) We are using the Pits and Perils system which is another lovely Old school ruleset by Olde House Rules, and so far has fit seamlessly into this style of play. I highly recommend experimenting with this with your own group/friends. 

I hope to jabber about this more over the coming weeks, with session reports and other bric a brac.