As I sit down to write this I’ve just come from one of my weekly gaming sessions with my tabletop roleplaying game group. Since the subject of TTRPGs is fresh on my mind, and I wrote on the subject for Tuesday’s blog, I’m going to continue writing about it today.
No musings on the nature of collaborative gaming this time. I’m just going to reminisce about my favorite campaigns from over the years, ranked in no particular order, but have left an impression on me.
THE MERC SOULS
I have a career in webcomics because of this Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition campaign. I came in late and wasn’t part of much of the story, but it was for this game that I created Dominic Deegan, a Diviner Wizard. I got kicked out of this game for being too “much” when it came to Dominic, so I turned that energy into comic strips, put them online, and the rest is history. Jayden also came from this game, and she was originally a friend’s character who was put into this comic with her permission.
THAT MAGE GAME
I don’t know what to call this one. I don’t think it ever had a name. It was a Mage: The Ascension game that I played with some high school buddies. It was a wild mix of goofy, over-the-top violent, and heartfelt. Its tone was all over the place but it was the first game we were all truly obsessed with. We got together at any available moment to play whatever scenario we could come up with. Our GM had an endearing cast of characters we all became attached to. It may not have been the smoothest or thematically consistent game, but it was the first game that truly hooked me.
THE CHRONICLES OF CATTERICK
This was my only successful attempt at running a game for a group of players, and man was I cooking for this one. A classic 7th Sea swashbuckling adventure, I had a solid cast of NPCs my players were invested in and a story that had them hooked. Much like Jayden, both Siegfried and Milov came from this game and were included in this comic with their permission. When this game came to its conclusion, my friends applauded me. It felt great.
HELL’S REBELS
There was a span of many years between Catterick and Hell’s Rebels, but it was worth the wait. This Pathfinder First Edition adventure path was everything I ever wanted in a campaign; helping a city of musicians and artists shake off the oppressive chains of a tyrant nation. This game is, to this day, the gold-standard of campaign experiences. Between my friend’s expert GMing and the character arcs that developed organically between we players, combined with a subject matter that seemed tailor-made for my sensibilities, I’ve never experienced a campaign as good as this one, and may never again.
WAR FOR THE CROWN
Another adventure path in Pathfinder First Edition. This game was great for its story and excellent character development between its players, but it’s extra special to me for another reason. We began it in the depths of the pandemic, and used the opportunity of remote gaming to bring my oldest friend into the campaign. We’ve been friends since we were in middle school together, and he was the one who first introduced TTRPGs to me. He was so eager to get back into gaming but there was no one to play with where he lived. The game was not only a chance for him to play TTRPGs again, but he fit right in with my local gaming friends, and we’ve all become closer knit as a result. He even comes up to visit us every few months to play games in person, and we call it Nerd Summit. And it was all because of this game.