Has anyone tried a multi-solo-player THW campaign?

[sp]

I'm curious if anyone has used a THW ruleset to play an ongoing campaign with different players running their own stories in a shared setting, and comparing notes or posting AARs to deconflict NPCs and advance an overall plot?

It seems like the sort of system that could be easily adapted to a sort of "GM-less West Marches" type of play.

If you've done something like this, how did it go? If you haven't, but it sounds interesting, how would you like it to work?

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Easy to do. Have the players in the same locale - like NHC. When the first player plays, the other rolls for the PEFs; doesn't make decisions, just rolls.

This can get interesting if you have the solo players hired for the same Job - the Employer has hired multiple people - say putting up a bounty.

Then the players alternate playing the same Encounter - like a Find to start. When the solo player reveals a PEF as the same Class as the other solo player roll 1d6. Score a 1 - they've met.

As for who plays first Encounter, just alternate. If the same Job then roll with high d6 score playing the 1st and 4th, the other the 2nd and 3rd. After 4th Encounter roll again.

[atomicfloozy]

The settings of most THW games are very open, for what you are describing, someone would have to do some heavy lifting to define the setting parameters such as what the designers of the West Marches did. For example, there are players who believe Red Sun aligned characters have to be good, in my games a Red Sun character can be just as evil as a Black Moon aligned character. Some people see the Brethren as shining knights protecting all that is good in a land, while I seem them as parasites.

Then there are technology issues, is a person from Stygustan an ancient Egyptian with copper weapons dealing with a Renaissance nobleman from Capalan with plate armor & firearms? What about monsters which aren't in the rulesets such as a dragon or wyvern?

I think for a GM-less West Marches - someone would have to write a very detailed setting for the players, much more detailed than what is in the core rules. Something like a scenario book that is more of an open sandbox than an adventure path. Anyway, that's my two cents.

How do you see it working?

[sp]

May 19, 2022 23:24:57 GMT atomicfloozy said:

How do you see it working?

Off the top of my head, something like...

Have a shared setting wiki, file drop, or similar...

Perhaps start with "outsiders" so there's minimal need for backstory linked to established world details.

First player to encounter a group, faction, region, etc. would have the authority and responsibility to flesh out the story a bit. Later players could add without contradicting?

If you need to deconflict, folks get one vote for each encounter AAR they've sent that month?

Seems like something like that could work for either a tight location like NHC, as Ed said, where a certain level of detail is established and shared space is interactive, or on the other hand a setting large enough that people have had a chance to establish their own faction backstories and work out interoperability before any two player groups run into each other?

A NUTS! campaign where some people start in North Africa, some people start in Russia, roll to see when D-Day happens, and race for Berlin? Doing well on your front means the Germans start diverting more attention your way and that makes it a bit easier for your competitors?

ATZ over a shared Google Earth map of your hometown, where you drop pins to let people know which stores you've looted and where the hordes of unquiet dead are?

5150: the final frontier: Everybody gets a space ship and goes exploring, maybe runs into each other or not?

I don't honestly know if any or all of those would work in practice... just thinking there could be something to the ability (theoretical or otherwise) for a ruleset to seamlessly transition from solo to co-op to competitive within the same storyline without breaking continuity.

...admittedly, I'm VERY new to the system(s), so have not been following actual canon backstory (or lack thereof).

On the other hand, I feel like a story-lite hack-and-slash [location] crawl in any of the rulesets might fit right in.

Heck, it could be as simple as an online season schedule and leader board for a series of gladiator combats or fight nights... when two PC teams come up you work out doing face-to- face or online?

[atomicfloozy]

Here's an interesting look at West Marches or Open Table game play style:

[sp]

I will admit I was using the term loosely, as the kids these days are wont to do...

[atomicfloozy]

You could try running one. You could set up a Wiki on World Anvil or maybe coordinate with players on a Discord server or something.

If I were to do it, it would be sometime late next year before I could even think about running one.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

May 20, 2022 0:15:20 GMT sp said:

May 19, 2022 23:24:57 GMT atomicfloozy said:

How do you see it working?

Heck, it could be as simple as an online season schedule and leader board for a series of gladiator combats or fight nights... when two PC teams come up you work out doing face-to- face or online?

Yep, we played Red Sand Blue Sky that way. There were 4 of us, all gladiators and 12 Non-player gladiators. We each split into 3 groups of m4 - 1 player, 3 NPC. If you beat all the NPCs you advanced. Worked out pretty good because even if you didn't beat all three, you could use the winning NPC as you new Gladiator

[cthulhukid]

The sport games (Gladitors included) would be really easy to do, and when players meet, it could easily be resolved Play by email/post with a GM referee. Heck, I remember running a Friday Night Fights game back on the old Forums.

Could also do a RRtK game world with multiple players controlling various countries, and the wars throughout the land, and the map constantly changing. Should players meet up, you could have each player play + 1 neutral player play the game. Take the stats from winner of 2 of the games.

I think the big thing that would be needed to make something like this to work would be a Big Boss that would host the information and keep track of everything and keep it all running, moderating rules for the world and act as a GM for the individual games. The better that person handles the thing, the better the whole mess would be.

Which is why I'm not volunteering.

[sp]

I will definitely continue brainstorming this. Could be a fun disaster one day!