My Next Campaign

The next D&D campaign I run will be something new. I have learned a lot from running my hybrid AD&D game and want to institute even more changes. I want a better game, one that pushes my players as well as myself. To that end, I have edited the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide.

The major change that I am bringing to the table is the removal of character Alignments. Too often my players relied on their alignments to tell them how to behave. I want their reactions to be real, not based on how a book says they should react. I am throwing out the script and asking my actors to wing it, based on what they know about their characters.

Another change along the same vein is to remove the stereotypes with the races. The 1st Edition books did a lot to pigeon-hole the races and sexes, even setting up how the races felt about each other. All this stuff is for the players to decide. Backstories will be used. Give me a good backstory as to why your Half-Orc is a Paladin of the Sun God. I would love to know how your female elf wizard has 18(00) strength.

“Because I rolled an eighteen-zero-zero, that’s why.”

That, my loved ones, is not an acceptable answer.

I’m also going to be a bit harder on my players. I want to get the game away from character in-fighting and insults, using silliness to break tension, meta-gaming, and using silence. I’m also looking to increase the commitment of my players, that their Saturdays are their D&D days. There would be consequences for not caring enough to call, if they were late or were not going to make it.

By raising mine and the players investment in the game, I hope to increase the depth of the play. They would thrill in seeing their own plots unfold before their eyes. They would hang on my words as described the blind, gibbering mound of rotting limbs that slowly climbed toward them. They would know immersion, and drive their own stories.

Aside from these, the changes are small: a few new character classes, a new understanding of arcane magic, and a new world (heh). Other changes are cosmetic: D6 Hit Dice for monks, tweaking of weapons and certain spells, and streamlining the leveling process. I think the changes will be embraced by my players.

We shall see.