I have been considering restarting a game I ran a little while back, set in a Venice of my own construction, set in the 1230s.  I wanted to know how much interest there would be in a game like that, and if the interest would be in a small group sandbox game, or a more storyline driven game.

I'd be game for sure.

 I'd love to play some DA! I'd prefer a small coterie based game. Sandbox or story driven, or both, would be good with me, just as long as I knew what I was getting into.

I'd be interested. I wouldn't mind whether it was sandbox or story driven.

I'd have to read up on the setting but for sure I'd check that out.  I've still got my old Dark Ages print copy around here somewhere, though I'm not married to the ruleset.

Could be interesting.

Dark Ages are always interesting.

DAV is one of my absolute favourite settings to play around in. If something comes of this it would be awesome

this seems to have received more interest than I thought it would.  I'm still not sure I will restart it, but if I do, would players prefer a small group sandbox (where players begin as a coterie and work together to pursue their own joint, and personal, goals), or story driven?

Would love a good DA game. I find a storyline with some sandbox aspects thrown in make for a good game.

Story-Driven, with background-sandbox elements that can effect The City (or even the plot) would be my preference.

I Like a mix of both. A general plot to guide us but also allowing the possibility of sandboxing it for our own personal fun.

in my experience it is very hard to mix the two, that's why this game initially died off.  Too many players with their own agendas that did not want to work together in the storyline.

So basically, it would either be a storyline with occasional chances to do your own thing, or a full sandbox where the players decide the goals.  It won't be both.

 I'd be partial to a Story driven game with downtime opportunities if we're picking between the two. It worked great for Transylvania Chronicles!

Story-driven then

To that end, it may behoove you (just a suggestion) to declare what you want from characters. IE Why did these kindred, this corterie, get chosen for XXXXX. What hook or shared interest could/should they share. Do they each have a "particular set of skills", are they all the same Clan, do they share a connection to an NPC that pulls them into things...?

mind, I'm totally in for story driven :)

I whole-heartedly agree.  The problems begin when players do not tell you everything they plan for their character until after the game begins, which is pretty unavoidable.  But if I do start this game over, I will accept players with rough character concepts, then have the players work together to form a cohesive coterie, or at least a firm foundation in the city itself, to avoid any mishaps like I had previously.
This message was lightly edited by the user at 05:27, Tue 28 Oct 2014.

A "living" private thread for each to constantly update personal ideas/schemes for down-time/behind-the-scenes stuff might work too? Just a thought. Things like: "Call Contact YYY, put into motion Scheme C23". A lot of those background applications could be working behind the scenes and between assignments/adventures as the GM (the only person privy to ALL) opts to unfold them. A good example for that would be the Ao/God-Games. Sure they're turn-based, but each character just lets the GM know how each turn (down-time, be it a car ride or a day passing) is ivested. How events unfold, may or may not directly involve actual plot, and may or may not unfold as intended/forseen... or even inadvertantly run counter to other plots (self-or-friend driven).


Just random thoughts.

I'm all in regardless if this takes off

possibly.  But that assumes that the players actually tell me what they want to do.  I have had many begin to unfold big schemes that they never told me about, which means I either have to let them alter the story in their favor, and against the rest of the players, or tell them no.  That usually leads to them losing interest in the game.

I guess I'd just need to make sure players were clear on what the game would be like and how it would work.

I have restarted this game.  Looking for a small coterie to work together in a story-centered chronicle with downtime for personal and group goals.  it is an adult game.  here is the link.


link to another game