A few weeks ago, while recording Cannon Fodder 30 with Troy, the seed of an idea was planted in my brain.

We were responding to a Listener Mail about the struggles of getting adults together to play RPGs, when we started talking about a large scale campaign; one where players and characters could breeze in and breeze out, but the campaign would always continue moving forward.

Long after Troy left I was turning this idea over and over in my head. Could it actually work? Would a listener try it? Was it absurd? For some reason, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. The seed had been planted and the roots were…taking root. (I bet Matthew wishes he thought of that line)

I was thinking about actually doing this.

In the month before my daughter’s birth, I finished running a 4 year campaign of Council of Thieves. Though I didn’t know it at the time, I also hosted my last Wrath of the Righteous session in person in my apartment (the first session we ever did that wasn’t on Roll20…and it was the best). Six months later, my daughter is still alive and I’ve got the itch to get back into the GM chair.

GM’ing is hard, make no mistake. If you’re doing it well you are mostly invisible. If you’re doing it poorly, every minor error triggers a blaring alarm that won’t be silenced until you’ve apologized profusely and promised to give Arkath the Passive Aggressive back his 2 hit points. I know many players that have never expressed interest in crossing the threshold…it’s not an enviable position. If a game is really good, you’d rather be a player in it. If its really bad, you imagine that GM’ing it would be misery. So why do we GM? Troy played in one good campaign with me, and then seemed to retire as a player and only GM. Why? Because he’s a control freak? YES. But I digress. That’s not what this article is about. This is about practicing what you preach. We’ve had no shortage of advice to give everyone about GM’ing…as if we’re so great. Well it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, O’Brien. Somewhat literally as it turns out.

I realized that I missed GM’ing and wanted to get back in the groove. For Christmas, I asked for the new Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path hardcover book that Paizo released in October of 2016, and I got it…from my MOTHER-IN-LAW. Who the hell has a mother-in-law that buys them Adventure Paths? A guy that always rolls natty 20s…that’s who.

So, as I’m flipping though this gorgeous book I’m thinking, “Curse? Could it work for Curse? I mean…it’s in a large sprawling city. Maybe characters come in and out of the story in time with when players need to come in and out of the game.” Long story short…I decided to do it. So, here it is…my first post in what will hopefully be a series of posts about how this game goes. I guess I should start by explaining what I’m going to do.

The Game

The first thing I did was email my gaming groups: The players from Council that were left without a GM and hadn’t played in 6 months, the players from Wrath (a campaign that I was abandoning because I’m too weak to handle the Mythic and other rules that come into play in the AP), and of course the guys from the GCP. That made a total of 10 players…since some overlapped. Namely Skid. Skid is in every game I run or play and will be forevermore if I have anything to say about it. An AP for 10 players. Too ambitious? Maybe.

One thing that I’m doing to discourage overcrowding is charging for the game. This is the money part. In Manhattan, no one has a large enough room to fit a gaming table (at least no one I’ve ever met) and so I’ll be renting a rehearsal space and having the players chip in. On average, for one session per month, it’ll cost about $18 per person for a night of gaming. I thought that might thin the herd a little…nope…all 10 players eagerly agreed to try it out.

So the first thing that I’m doing is having a Session 0. I’m going to give a lecture on Korvosa and we’re going to make characters. 10 characters to be precise…knowing full well that there will never be more than 6 players in a session. So what happens to the other 4 players? That’s the risky part. Hopefully, like most games, it’ll be tough enough to get 6 players…let alone 10…and I don’t have to turn anyone away. But of course it will happen. I will have to send that tough email,”Sorry man, I know you can make it on Thursday, but we’re full…we’ll get you in next time.” Is it becoming clearer now? The title of this article? Yup…now you got it.

I’m close with these players, though, and I don’t expect too much drama…but you never know. RPGs make people crazy! You know this! I’m preparing for the worst.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that we never have scheduling conflicts. That it’s easy to get 5 or 6 out of 10 and we never have more than that clamoring to get in. Great. We’re through the worst of it, right? Hm. Perhaps you’ve forgotten about the three most important things to any player: XP, Gold, and LOOT.

How will I do loot distribution? What happens to the +2 Mithral Chain Shirt that better suits the character that isn’t there that night, but is found by the CN wizard? Sell it for cash?? Or the Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2 that’s awarded to the player that doesn’t show up for 3 months and the party loses out on the benefits of that item? I’ve got a neat idea for this problem, but won’t reveal it until I see it in action.

What about experience? The players that show up for a session are rewarded with XP, of course, but the ones that aren’t able to make it fall behind? What if they fall WAY behind? How will they be effective? Honestly…I don’t know.



What about gold? What if you help to rescue the kidnapped girl in Session 5, but are not present in Session 6 when the party returns her to her noble father and is rewarded with 2,000gp? Are you cut out of the reward? And what’s worse, what if you CAN make the session as a player, but I tell you you’re out? Who’s got two thumbs and is ready to ruin some friendships?

The Future

I’d like to write about this game and keep you guys in the loop about whether it’s working or not. The struggles I come up against, or the things that worked out better than I thought. I’ll need to talk a little about the campaign, obviously, but would love to avoid spoilers for as long as I can. And if I get too busy with work or family, a lot of these stories may need to migrate over to Cannon Fodder since I’m recording that anyway. The point is this…I think we stumbled upon a neat idea in Cannon Fodder 30. I don’t know if it’s, as my cousin Michael would say, “crazy or genius.” It’s right on the line, but I can’t be sure until I actually throw myself into the ring and get ready for the Flurry of Blows.

The first step is tonight. That’s right. TONIGHT. Session 0 is happening in a matter of hours and I’m out of my mind excited. I’ve been preparing since 1:15pm CT on December 25th when I cracked the cover of Curse of the Crimson Throne. Let’s see what sort of hell I’ve unleashed upon myself.

If I don’t return…tell my story…

-Joe