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Today I’d like to talk about horizontal vs vertical growth, and what I like to call the dragonball z problem.
In Dragonball Z(and many other shows and books and games and...) you have characters faced with a more powerful enemy. They train hard, level up and defeat the enemy.
In Dragonball Z(and many other shows and books and games and...) you have characters faced with a more powerful enemy. They train hard, level up and defeat the enemy.
A new, even more powerful enemy shows up. They train hard, level up and defeat the enemy. A new, even more powerful enemy shows up. They train hard, level...
Ok. So clearly this is repetitive, in description and experience. This is vertical growth. I overcome the problem by
Ok. So clearly this is repetitive, in description and experience. This is vertical growth. I overcome the problem by
gaining power/stats etc.
It has another, far more insidious problem than repetition though. The problem is investment. Lets go back to dbz, because I think its clearest there. At first, the threat is to your friends and family. There are clear emotional connections, and those
It has another, far more insidious problem than repetition though. The problem is investment. Lets go back to dbz, because I think its clearest there. At first, the threat is to your friends and family. There are clear emotional connections, and those
relationships are in danger. The next threat is against the world. The next against the universe. Its a strange thing, but when the scale gets to large to comprehend its much more difficult to care. In fiction this is doubly true because the threat become unbelievable. The
protagonist may lose friends, but if the world ends the series ends. So the threat becomes unreal. In games this is less true: the gm may very well end the world. But threaten the world vs the npc your players have become friends with and see which they respond faster to.
A corollary is the superman problem: once the character is the most powerful being and can no longer lose a fight, how do you make a story interesting? The answer is to change the nature of the conflict.
WotC recently put out survey results saying most players dont make it past
WotC recently put out survey results saying most players dont make it past
level 10. They didnt address the why, but I think theres 3 reasons:
1) Time
Most people just dont have time for a multi year game(I say running Masks of Nyarlathotep). Theres so much good stuff out there you want to jump around. This is unavoidable.
2) Game Design
It takes a
1) Time
Most people just dont have time for a multi year game(I say running Masks of Nyarlathotep). Theres so much good stuff out there you want to jump around. This is unavoidable.
2) Game Design
It takes a
LOT to play a level 18 wizard. Theres tons of spells and abilities to track, combat has gone from a grid to a cube, youve got magic extradimensional bags holding hoards of gold and piles of magic items. Its complex to play and even more to run.
3) Boring
And were back to the
3) Boring
And were back to the
superman/dbz problems. How do we make high level play interesting? Or, alternatively, how do we expand the range of play so we dont need high levels?
1) Systems, not monsters
You can fight a dragon. But what about poverty? A plague? 2 groups of wizards arguing over the ethics
1) Systems, not monsters
You can fight a dragon. But what about poverty? A plague? 2 groups of wizards arguing over the ethics
of a newly discovered life form? Involve factions: organizations, guilds, political entities. Give your players land and titles and kingdoms and tell make them want to protect it. Move the space of interaction from “how do I kill this” to “how can I make the most people happy”
2) Alter the playing field
Whether space or the planes, deep in the underdark or outside our reality. The players dont have easy rest. They dont recognize the creatures, they wander fields with gods. They are strangers in a strange land lost and trying to find the way home. The
Whether space or the planes, deep in the underdark or outside our reality. The players dont have easy rest. They dont recognize the creatures, they wander fields with gods. They are strangers in a strange land lost and trying to find the way home. The
key is the players have to continuously get their bearings. They cannot trust previous experience to tell them what to expect. Sci fi is ripe with stealable ideas for this.
3) Change the stakes
Sure, a party with lots of good ideas and planning can storm a dungeon above their
3) Change the stakes
Sure, a party with lots of good ideas and planning can storm a dungeon above their
weight class. But if the threats come for them rather than vice versa? What if someone threatens their favorite barkeep? Sieges the town theyve made a base? Hires assassins to hunt them in the night? Buys the land the temple theyve been healing at sits on? Dont let the threat be
world ending and vague. Dont let the stakes be gold and experience. Give the players something to care about and threaten to take it away.
These are some of the major ways you can make your campaign have higher stakes with more player buy in. I hope this helps, and would love
These are some of the major ways you can make your campaign have higher stakes with more player buy in. I hope this helps, and would love
to hear what you all have been doing in your games. Happy gaming everyone!
