Epic Adventures

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

For example, a suitable campaign would involve a party of adventurers invading the Underworld in order to rescue the Goddess of Fertility from the clutches of the God of Death before he forces her to marry him.

This actually worked out surprisingly well when it happened in Greek myth. Y'know, in context and all.

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Since the Goddess of Fertility was stolen, the living have been temporarily afflicted with sterility throughout the world. If they fail to prevent the wedding, the living become permanently sterile while the dead become permanently fertile.

What.

Originally Posted by Gumby Bush

Your campaign suggestion might actually work with some clever 150-pointers (it would also be amusing to try running a bunch of 50-point farmers trying to save the crops, but that might be more "epic comedy" than "epic adventure"). They'd have to be clever rather than use force, but that would be the challenge of it.

One of my all-time favorite campaigns was set against the backdrop of somebody else's much higher-powered campaign after a joke similar to this snowballed in my mind. The PCs in the badass fantasy adventurer game had just finished straight up trashing the main city's entire underworld like an Air BnB during Spring Break to solve a murder mystery, and I or one of my fellow hooligans started a round of speculation about what this all looks like from the point of view of the poor 50-point bastards who just break legs or run a shady dice game or whatever, and where do they go from there when the bulls wander out of the china shop?

[Brandy]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

One of my all-time favorite campaigns was set against the backdrop of somebody else's much higher-powered campaign after a joke similar to this snowballed in my mind. The PCs in the badass fantasy adventurer game had just finished straight up trashing the main city's entire underworld like an Air BnB during Spring Break to solve a murder mystery, and I or one of my fellow hooligans started a round of speculation about what this all looks like from the point of view of the poor 50-point bastards who just break legs or run a shady dice game or whatever, and where do they go from there when the bulls wander out of the china shop?

I did something very similar. An epic campaign ended but I didn't want to discard the game world -- it was well-liked and I had put a lot of effort into it. So, I advanced the clock by 50 years and then started a new campaign the PCs being a mercenary company picking up jobs in the war-torn aftermath of the prior campaign. Tons of fun to return to the same places but to change the perspective to more of an everyman focus.

[RyanW]

I would say that heroes of relatively modest individual power amassing a force of allies to face a threat more powerful than themselves would be more epic than a group of demi-gods fighting a god. Marching to the final battle at the head of your own army sort of moment.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Brandy

I did something very similar. An epic campaign ended but I didn't want to discard the game world -- it was well-liked and I had put a lot of effort into it. So, I advanced the clock by 50 years and then started a new campaign the PCs being a mercenary company picking up jobs in the war-torn aftermath of the prior campaign. Tons of fun to return to the same places but to change the perspective to more of an everyman focus.

You could also do it a bit further in the future, when the exploits of the old adventurers have passed into legend.

[Brandy]

Originally Posted by RyanW

You could also do it a bit further in the future, when the exploits of the old adventurers have passed into legend.

Their feats were legendary. There was no need to wait. :)

[Mark Skarr]

My ARK: Comedy Devolved game was a fairly epic game, but the players were only 75 points. Sucked into an alien world with dinosaurs and advanced technology. Struggling to find their place in this new world, while unraveling a mystery they could only barely conceive themselves. Exploring said world to meet new people and societies. All the while regularly tripping into dinosaur poop. (Every critical failure involved falling into dinosaur poop. There were a lot of critical failures.)

An epic game doesn’t require epically-powered characters. It just has to be big, expansive, and fun. Eons ago, in 3E, I used Worlds of Ultima 2: Martian Dreams as an epic steampunk story for 150 point characters surviving and escaping from a steampunk-inspired Mars. I’ve considered converting the first game and running it for 150 point 4E characters. Both are very epic, and would be a lot of fun. And, just because the main character of the games is The Avatar of Lord British, doesn’t mean that one of the players has to be that person. Honestly, it’ll be better without The Avatar.

[weby]

For me it is mostly about the length of the story arc and the relative power of the opposition. Though often such end up in high powers too as I like characters to have fairly high progression too so they tend to have high power towards the end.

My current campaign definitely qualifies with 350 sessions, about 2800 hours of play, with the characters progressing from 100 point just trained adventurers to current more than 4000 points and low tier godhod, fighting forces that try to destroy the world as they know it.

[jason taylor]

An elaborate campaign with high drama and high stakes involving the fate of a family, nation, planet, or the whole universe. Usually with larger than life characters and fairly typical tropes. It should be serious in tone though it can have lighter moments (Blood and Treasure, which was a pretty good Cliffhangers, though having some elements was to "candylike" to qualify).

It should invoke noble ideals, or at least ideals noble at the time it is written or imitating (Iliad is a whole epic about insubordination which is more fitting for heroic warriors, but Odyessy, is about family loyalty, and Aeneid about the destiny of Rome). Even the villainy should be if not "good", certainly awe-inspiring (attempting to rebel against Eru and the Valar for instance is more "epic" than attempting to get out of washing the dishes). It should have a "mighty theme" as I think Melville said somewhere or other. Saving the world from a plague that is regularly dumped on the world by the Red Star. Seizing the Iron Throne. Becoming the Kwaitz Haderach. Renouncing the power of the Ring. Or just having a tragic feud (stopped or not stopped by the Power of Love, depending on the author). It should also have well done chrome: some Baen books COULD have been epics in the hands of an author who was minded that way but never achieve that status because of the authors lack of skill or lack of desire.

In an RPG it would probably have to be a campaign based on themes that would be able to form a book epic. There are several sample campaigns given. Vikings has a number at the level of a traditional saga, and one or to at the mythological level. Sword Worlds has some potential migratory epics. One can think of more.

[sgtcallistan]

snip An elaborate campaign with high drama and high stakes involving the fate of a family, nation, planet, or the whole universe. Usually with larger than life characters and fairly typical tropes. It should be serious in tone though it can have lighter moments snip

This. Am working on a Flash Gordon / John Carter of Mars short campaign where the future of Mars is at stake, due to the traditional castes of warrior, noble and scientist being unable to agree how to 'save Mars', so they involve some legendary warriors from the next planet in, which should be younger and more vital.

I hope to make it epic, with human-level adventurers (with special knowledge and weapons) against Masters of Mind, vengeful individual warriors and traitorous, out-of-touch nobles.

Could be wonderful, even epic. ;)