This was posted on a forum for MMO's, and relates to how "quests" in games are really squad-based missions - but considering the senses of humor here ( half-knight and Cujo.. ) thought id see the reception my rant got here. :bebi: A more Bite-sized and less tangential blog entry... ("make it accessible") That most "Role Playing Games" of the computer variety; particularly single-player ones; tend to really BE a campaign of tactical squad-combats is no secret I suspect... One of the great failures of most "RolePlaying " quest-games is to explain why Adventurers-in effect SPECIAL FORCES -rather than the whole regular army is being sent in. And really; in most adventures; the army would be a better bet. All those quests where they tell you to go take a place over and exterminate everything... Not hit and run before reinforcements come to tip the tide& overwhelm you; but stay and kill EVERYTHING...? Are you REALLY so tough that NOTHING the enemy has can defeat you? You have NOTHING to fear?Wheres the Adventure in THAT?? If thats NOT the case; but we're still expected to control & occupy; that just makes you ask why they aren't using someone tougher ?(or a whole lot more than 4-6 some-ones?) Ever been asked to Save The Kingdom - at LEVEL ONE? Oh I forgot: I'm the chosen one; blah balh bladda-dah. Thats not only as TIRED as all hell a cliche can BE; its also a matter of - you know what? SCREW YOU - I'll EARN mine - thats MY destiny. If I'm Destined to win; Wheres the Adventure in THAT?? ...And if the situation arises where a party IS actually stronger than the Forces of Said Authority Figure; Your Campaign Has A Much Deeper Problem... (...which will bother MOST gamers no more than all those weapons & robots designed to make 13 year-old power-rangers fans say "WOW!" "COOL!" ) But there are situations , both in fantasy and reality; where a smaller group of people are BETTER. And NOT just when trying to sneak a ring to a mountain... Any situation where its a smash-and -grab (and run) is ideal for squads - for adventurers. History - even now - is rife with tales of professional adventurers- and yes; sometimes you get hung for not wearing a uniform...( ..cough; cough.. pirate, cough.. spy; cough cough ). But with or without one; there are more purposes to squads than just patrol encounters. Enough said on that other than to say; if you want to write convincing and compelling adventures for small groups; research special missions/ops; or ask a friend... With THAT cow finally a-salted - and a-burgered; I hope I have established an in-game need for squad-level events. A little more thought in the actual quests would be welcome tho' - and maybe cut-scenes.
Somewhat off-topic rant of my own... I've always felt that the "called before the king to save the kingdom" scenario that some of my past dm's have chosen to lead off with at level 1 is pretty silly. I've always thought players should have a kind of "you're on your own" sort of feeling at the beginning and scramble and toil to earn a little fame and notoriety before being handed a save-the-world quest. Although if you MUST start a campaign with a dire mission of some kind, a good plot device to make it seem plausible is "The main army is otherwise engaged/doesn't have time for this shit." A major war, for example. That's a good excuse for your party being sent to save some distant town or outpost from being overrun by goblinoids instead of the overcommitted national guard. I'm considering a campaign setting where there's a "new world/old world" type situation where most of the government's resources are tied up trying to colonize the newly discovered continent and have no time for more minor tasks, leaving open opportunities for adventurers. I feel that SOMETHING should be mentioned to make the idea of leaving an important task up to just 4-6 people plausible. So to sum up, if you're starting off a campaign by handing your players an important task, you should work to justify it. Fortunately in fiction nothing is impossible to justify if you are creative enough.
