Chapter IX: The Game Master
— w arhammer C ampaIgns —
A single adventure can be a lot of fun, but most groups want more than just a few sessions. A series of linked roleplaying adventures, generally using the same set of characters, is known as a campaign. While a single adventure allows a story to be told, it must, by its very nature, be a fairly straightforward one. By connecting a longer series of adventures, you can tell a much bigger story. Campaigns generally end up having a wider scope than a single adventure, though they don’t necessarily have to. Campaigns allow a GM to have characters that “progress” as well. Your PC’s friends and enemies grow with them,
invokes nostalgia, regret and the faint hope that some of that which was once great can yet be preserved. Eminently suitable for campaigns featuring interaction with either Dwarfs or Elves, the key is to invoke the idea that these once great races are fading from the Old World. With each generation, they become less than they were. What little hope they have for survival now rests, ironically enough, with the upstart youngsters, Humans. w ealTh Is C old C omforT An object lesson in the wages of greed, this theme suggests that friends, family and good cheer are far more important than money. PCs in such a campaign will meet individuals who have given so much of their lives over to the acquisition of wealth that they have nothing else in them. Their noble patron will be willing to give everything he has, just to see his kidnapped daughter again. The wealthy merchant, no matter how many crowns he possesses, cannot buy a cure for his disease. C ampaIgn I deas Just like creating a single adventure, it helps to have a premise in mind for a campaign. Indeed, many of the suggestions in the previous section can make for fine campaigns if expanded upon. A party could have a number of adventures fighting against the sinister spread of a Chaos cult, seeking far-flung relics for a wizard cabal, or struggling The Old World is coming to an end. The prophets of doom are right, the end of the world is nigh; the Taint from the North will sweep over all the lands, turning the world entire into a single, inescapable, Realm of Chaos. Against the mighty threat of Chaos, all the Kingdoms of Dwarfs, Elves and Men are as kindling before a bonfire. Will your PCs struggle against a nearly unbeatable foe, fighting on as land after land falls, or will they embrace corruption and join in ushering in the ending of the world? If you love grim battles and valiant final stands, this campaign is just what you’re looking for. a r ogue ’ s l Ife All the PCs are thieves and ne’er-do-wells, perhaps part of a crime syndicate, or maybe trying to found their own. Along the way, they’ll face rivals, Politicians, corrupt and (rarely) otherwise, cultists, revolts, Knights, Zealots, riots, Witch Hunters, Mutants, traitors, Spies, Nobles, Templars, hired swords, masterminds and Skaven. It’s damn The PCs are all aspirants to one of the knightly orders of the Empire. The campaign follows their rise from Squires and stable hands to Knights of the Inner Circle, charged with defending the Empire from its many enemies. Even as Squires they learn that neither being a Knight, nor born to nobility, actually makes one noble. When they finally rise far enough to make decisions for themselves, their naiveté in believing that all of their enemies were mostly outside of the Empire will swiftly be lost. Indeed, even their own Order will harbour those that wish them ill. Those of a more northerly persuasion will doubtless refer to this campaign idea as “In Ulric’s Name” as they seek to become Knights of the White Wolf. against the intrigues of the Undead. b lood & d arkness hard to make a dishonest crown. I n s Igmar ’ s n ame
making the Old World come alive for your players. C haraCTer -d rIVen a dVenTures
It’s hard for a player to get to know a character very well if they play them for only a night or two. A campaign allows your players to fully develop their characters into memorable figures. When you run a single adventure, it tends to be fairly removed from the PCs motivations, because you really don’t know them yet. A campaign lets you start tailoring adventures based on the PCs’ histories and personalities. WFRP ’s system of careers is a wonderful built-in tool for a GM to tell interesting stories. Encourage your players to tell you where they want their characters to end up. The poor Farmer’s player may aspire to seeing his character become a Judicial Champion. Knowing this, you can start framing that possibility into a campaign, a feat impossible to accomplish in a single adventure. T hemes In addition to an ongoing plot line, campaigns will often have a theme. A theme is a central idea, one of the overall thoughts or meanings behind your campaign that you wish to convey to your players. Recurring NPCs, subject matter, or situations can all help to express your theme. While themes often reflect your ongoing plot lines, they can also be used to counterpoint them as well. For example, the main story of your campaign may involve stopping the terrible deeds committed by a war band of pillaging Beastmen, but your theme could be “as long as there is courage, life endures”. Your PCs would see the atrocities committed by the raiders, but also that the many acts of bravery and sacrifice by others who would not give up frequently prevented by Beastmen from doing worse to innocents. Here are some theme examples for the Old World. a ppearanCes Can d eCeIVe The Old World places a great deal of trust in appearances. Most folk accept what they see or are told at face value and inquire no further. All mutants are despised, regardless of whether or not they’ve committed any crimes, from the moment they are discovered because that is what the folk of the Old World have been taught. This theme is all about trust and deception, making it eminently suitable for games involving Chaos cults and deadly secrets. Trusted friends turn out to be spies, the mayor’s Ogre bodyguard is a skilled poet, the local convent is actually a brothel and the PCs, who look like thugs, turn out to be heroes after all. l osT g randeur The great empires and lofty aspirations of the past are gone forever, crushed under the weight of years and the threat of Chaos. This theme
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