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Campaign Logs
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hazardchris
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:02 pm    Post subject: Campaign Logs Reply with quote

I was wondering if anyone else keeps a log of sorts that Players can refer to for past events, NPCs, and so on. I'm using a wordpress blog for my next game (we're reviving our old game from 4 years ago, although one of the main three players is now in China).

Here's my Campaign log if anyone wants to take a look at it.

http://dawnofthejedi.wordpress.com/

The campaign is set in a universe where Han died on Endor and Luke didn't make it off the second Death Star. The Sith returned to the galaxy (in a way that's not dissimilar to a mix of the current Star Wars novel line and the basic plot of The Old Republic MMO) and the PCs ended up on the front lines of the war against them. We're picking up two years after the war ended and running something that I've pitched to them as "kinda like the Jedi Academy Novels."
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masque
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 4:26 am    Post subject: Re: Campaign Logs Reply with quote

hazardchris wrote:
"Don't you have to have mini-clorinies in your blood or something to be a jedi?"

"Oh no, that's just something we used to tell people."

I have no opinion on your actual post, it not being the milieu I play in, but I just had to highlight your sig and say "HELL YEAH!" to it.
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Yak Face
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My group keeps a basic log. Mine actually needs it for working out some long-term game mechanics. They have a crew to manage, so at the end of each month we tally up the successes and failures they've experienced and evaluate the kinds of deeds they've done, and then roll on a chart I devised to determine the affect on the faceless NPC crew. Their morale and morality are affected by the outcome.

So, for us the development of the story requires at least a basic log. I also keep an electronic record of the adventure notes/flow info that I prepare in advance, which is helpful if we have to look back on past events.

I like your approach of using a blog for that purpose. Do your players use it?
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mdlake
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We do; it's part of a wiki including house rules, character profiles, a quote log, and whatever else the GM or players might find useful. wikidot.com offers a free, perfectly functional if not overly sophisticated platform for such a wiki.
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Ankhanu
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to maintain a website for my campaigns in which I would maintain a character record, keep useful resources for reference, and maintain a game log, providing a synopsis of each gaming session in a narrative style. This basically served as a chronicle of the characters' adventures, maintaining important events for each of them along with the broad arc of the story. For one of the campaigns I'd also add a little "What we have learned this game:" quip based on some major success or failure the characters encountered; usually something humorous (or simply presented humorously) One of the, for example was something like "Transparisteel has the word 'steel' in it for a reason" following one character's brilliant idea to crash through a transparisteel window for an escape resulting in smashing into the pane and crumpling into a heap beneath the fully intact window.

Sadly, my backups have gone missing and the server that housed the site died... the game synopses are lost to the ages Sad

Yak Face wrote:

I like your approach of using a blog for that purpose. Do your players use it?


Yeah, the blog approach is a good one... but Yak's question is the most important one Razz If the players aren't using it, is there really any point?
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ifurin
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

in one of the games i play in our GM recaps all of our games in story form and e-mails them to us. we have about 2 years of games collected now. one of the other players is compiling them into a book. several of us even started character diaries, their pretty much the same thing, recapping the games from our characters personal point of view.
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hazardchris
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yak Face wrote:
I like your approach of using a blog for that purpose. Do your players use it?


Sorry about not replying to this in good time. The short answer is: yes, they do use it.

However, we've not yet started this game yet, the site is still under construction in a sense, however I've gotten good feedback from the returning players and a couple of people who played with us in the original campaign whom are interested in reviving their old characters (even a few new people are interested in playing).

The main problem with our Star Wars games is that they were never intended to become a long-running campaign. It started off as a one-off game that we played one night due to boredom and along the way we accidentally started building our own mythology around these characters. So this site is more or less me ironing out some of the wrinkles in the old game and refreshing the memories of the players (it's been a couple of years since we used these characters).
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Redmenace
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We used to make a printed 1-4 page session log of each adventure. At the time it started as a 1 page recap of the last adventure to remind players of clues and leads left hanging.

Slowly we added additional detail about concurent events in the galaxy, a rebel base being wiped out, new Moff stationed after the last displeased someone higher in the Empire than themselves, etc.

The odd thing about it was that gm and players got two different things out of it. I, the gm, could keep my players on track with the game, the players really got more out of reading about their own exploits. They loved that,
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Antilles
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello everyone.

I'm sorry to reanimate this topic, but I find that It is the right one to ask you:
I have made a wiki/session log for my players. There they can find their character sheets, inventory, force powers the jedi knows, etc...

My question is: I have planned a section for typical and major NPCs, ships, beast... my players meet. Should I let them know the stats of NPCs, beasts, species... (for example: stormtroopers, typical bounty hunters or TIE fighters...)?

I'm thinking of letting them know these stats once they have confronted those NPCs , beasts or starships, but I'm not completely sure.

What is your opinion on this?

Thank you!!!
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FVBonura
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My players and I write a post game transcript endeavoring to put down all important details of the last game. My group reread the 407 page document to prepare for the January 2025 restart.
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jtanzer
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 11:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As with most things in this forum, there's a simple solution. The Alexandrian talks about campaign status documents, bluebooking, and similar methods to encourage and reward player engagement with the campaign.

Sauce:
Smart Prep – Part 4: Campaign Status Documents
Ptolus: Running the Campaign – Bluebooking
https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/47451/roleplaying-games/random-gm-tip-what-were-we-doing-again
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pakman
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

my group keeps a log (one of my players maintains it, and I adjust it upon occasion for clarity or accuracy).

I also provide summaries for each session, with key things the party did or learned, which I post up prior to each upcoming session (along with an image of upcoming location, or key npc etc.).


As far as a website - I have had them for three previous campaigns - with a bunch of stuff on them - 90% of the time - the players never looked at it.
So now - in my current campaign - it is not a priority with all the other things I have to do...

(the logs are in a big long word document shared with players).

As far as stats - it was rare - but I like the idea of sharing stats once the party can learn things.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 12:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Antilles wrote:

I'm thinking of letting them know these stats once they have confronted those NPCs , beasts or starships, but I'm not completely sure.

What is your opinion on this?

Thank you!!!


I can see some folk saying yay, some saying nay...
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ThrorII
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 2:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I run a MeWe page for each of my campaigns (my co-DM also runs a page for each of his campaigns). On those pages, we schedule the next session ("Events"), we post game synopsis, upload relevant maps, files, photos, etc., and upload character sheets for storage.

So yes. Each session is memorialized in a multi paragraph synopsis that tells what the players did, who they met, what they learned or saw, how many days that session covered, and what dates that session covered (in campaigns where we track calendars).
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Antilles
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you everyone for your feedback!! Very Happy

I take note on what you say. I think I will hide the stats of adversaries, and only show those of major defeated NPCs. For the rest, I will provide only a description, so my players could take a look in case of doubt.

Thank you, guys
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