Mythic Musings 1: Campaign Elements Lists

If you are using the Mythic GME, you are familiar with lists. Character and Thread lists are really all you need for any game, but I propose a third kind of list to use when you are playing in a prefabricated setting. This is also useful if your own homebrew game has grown many tentacles in many directions. The Campaign Elements List.

I have played some version of Dungeons and Dragons from 1988 until now, and though all of them have plenty in common, each and every printed setting has unique elements that define it. Forgotten Realms is very different than Darksun, though both have elves, dwarves, and goblins. Each setting has elements that make it unique unto itself.

Naturally. some of these would fit snuggly into the Character and Thread lists (and they should certainly be placed there), but some elements that are more about the feel or theme of a campaign setting rather than any specific character or plot hook. A list of these elements can periodically inject the unique qualities of the campaign to the forefront. It is also very useful for the industrious and dedicated homebrewer who has run several characters through their private realm of the imagination, to bring back past elements that linger on and provide an over all continuity to the game.

The construction of such a list couldn't be simpler. You play in a specific campaign setting because you enjoy it. There are unique elements which appealed to you. In a Campaign Element list you simply use the same list format you would for Characters or Threads. The difference falls in when you use them, but first lets discuss creating the list.

For the sake of this discussion I am going to grab my old Forgotten Realms 1e grey box set ($9.99), because it has a wonderful section called "The Cyclopedia of the Realm", that is packed full of juicy details that set this setting apart from those that come before it (namely Greyhawk). Skimming through it I pick a place I haven't played before, Amn (pg. 22), and I start mining it for anything distinctive. Every line has something I can use but I don't want to over crowd the list so I just hit the highlights.

Campaign Elements List Amn
1-2

1. Northern Most of the Southern Kingdoms
2. Merchant Realm
3. Council of Six
4. Rivalry with Waterdeep
5. Meisarch, most powerful councilor and a Magic User
6. Church of Waukeen (goddess of trade)
7. Widely traveled caravans
8. Corruption amid the powerful
9. Cosmopolitan
10. Strong divide between rich and poor

This list ended up being about one nation, but I could have kept building it adding world level details, prominent factions,  active religions, adventuring and mercantile companies, etc.

Now that I have a list, how am I going to use it. At the beginning of a new adventure I would roll 1-3 elements off of the Campaign Elements List, and keep them in mind when laying out the adventure. This could range from the element just coming up in conversation or rumor, to it being central to primary thread. I prefer to leave it a bit up to chance so I simply add the element to both Character and Thread lists, and if I am using Keyed Scenes (“Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes” MM Vol. 10, pg. 12 $4.95) I usually set up a "Roll on Campaign Elements Table" trigger every 5 scenes or so. Doing the latter keeps the setting as an active component in the play. 

The same technique can be used with homebrew games. Any realization that you have while playing that doesn't fit in with the current story, but you want to keep it part of the game, just add it to the Campaign Elements List, and attach a few sentence description.

If you are like me and enjoy repeated trips into the same genre (such as heroic fantasy or modern horror), but don't want all your campaigns to feel like you are constantly treading over the same ground, I think a Campaign Elements list will keep your each separate campaign feeling unique unto itself. 

W.D.