I will be running two different games, both starting in about 6 weeks. Granted they are both premade adventures (Descent into Avernus and HotDQ)I am really excited to play with everyone but I am concerned about balance. Any tips on how to balance those two games without getting burnt out? The initial plan is to meet each group every other but alternating weeks. 1&3 = group A and 2&4 = group B. I know group A will be pretty consistent but group B has some people who travel for work and we will have to adjust some weekends.
I know the feeling, been trying to get two campaigns going for Dragon of Icespire Peak (with some recurring elements from LMoP) for one group, and Storm Lord's Wrath for another. One is lives out in east Texas, and the others are just as bad, even though we're living in the same town.
Though there is Roll 20 you might be able to use for group B, if that helps.
Have you pondered the idea of simply using the same adventure for both campaigns? That way you can learn just the one really well. The second time you do a segment you will be really smooth.
Have you pondered the idea of simply using the same adventure for both campaigns? That way you can learn just the one really well. The second time you do a segment you will be really smooth.
That is a great idea. My only issue is that one player is in both groups and I don't want it to be boring for them. Maybe I can talk to that one and work something out.
We're doing this set up with Ghosts of Saltmarsh and some assorted more episodic mid-level adventures, drawing from sources like Tales From the Yawning Portal. However, we're using different DMs on alternating weeks. One is running GoS, and I'll be running the mid-level stuff. But both games have the same players (+ the GM from the off weeks). We're not worried too much about balance. And we plan to tie the two parallel groups together through some common NPCs and organizations, dropping cross-game easter eggs where we can.
I'd suggest you do something similar for yourself. If you need to invent an NPC on the fly, take it from your other campaign. Drop easter eggs for yourself in the stories that they won't ever get. If one group attacks a manticore that takes a lot of damage but flies away, the other group sees the manticore they're facing has massive scarring across its face.
Take advantage of group B's inconsistency and take those weeks as down time, or planning time. Or play for yourself in some online pick up game. That'll keep you from getting burnt out too fast. Also, knowing you have clear ends to the campaigns will help. Instead of dragging on indefinitely, you know when the storyline ends, you get to step down.
Make sure that you keep a notebook to hand so that once the session has finished, you can note down the "highlights" while they're still fresh in your memory. Make it clear which campaign it pertains to!
I'm running one homebrew campaign and Lost Mines of Phandelver for two groups and noting down what the players did for each of the encounters has made it easy for me to quickly summarise where we reached whenever we start a new session.
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Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!
There was a time I was running three campaigns at once (Curse of Strahd, Princes of the Apocalypse, Tomb of Annihilation), two of the groups had some of the same people. They were engrossed and had fun in both games. I didn't have an issue getting characters mixed up or campaign events mixed up because the campaigns were different enough from each other and I also used Trello to help keep track of things. Any notes I took were in a separate notebook for each campaign.
Have you pondered the idea of simply using the same adventure for both campaigns? That way you can learn just the one really well. The second time you do a segment you will be really smooth.
That is a great idea. My only issue is that one player is in both groups and I don't want it to be boring for them. Maybe I can talk to that one and work something out.
I would be careful with this if you’re trying to have multiple versions of the campaign running! Maybe having one “universe” where the two groups just don’t happen to be in the same place at the same time ( and possibly team up for the dragon takedown!) could work. I tried to start another session of Dragon of Ice Spire Peak while already running one and found it impossible to keep track of the small details that make a game come alive (like whether an NPC liked the players or not and what gossip or topics had come up in their conversation already or not).
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I will be running two different games, both starting in about 6 weeks. Granted they are both premade adventures (Descent into Avernus and HotDQ)I am really excited to play with everyone but I am concerned about balance. Any tips on how to balance those two games without getting burnt out? The initial plan is to meet each group every other but alternating weeks. 1&3 = group A and 2&4 = group B. I know group A will be pretty consistent but group B has some people who travel for work and we will have to adjust some weekends.
all input is welcome. Thanks in advance
I know the feeling, been trying to get two campaigns going for Dragon of Icespire Peak (with some recurring elements from LMoP) for one group, and Storm Lord's Wrath for another. One is lives out in east Texas, and the others are just as bad, even though we're living in the same town.
Though there is Roll 20 you might be able to use for group B, if that helps.
Have you pondered the idea of simply using the same adventure for both campaigns? That way you can learn just the one really well. The second time you do a segment you will be really smooth.
That is a great idea. My only issue is that one player is in both groups and I don't want it to be boring for them. Maybe I can talk to that one and work something out.
We're doing this set up with Ghosts of Saltmarsh and some assorted more episodic mid-level adventures, drawing from sources like Tales From the Yawning Portal. However, we're using different DMs on alternating weeks. One is running GoS, and I'll be running the mid-level stuff. But both games have the same players (+ the GM from the off weeks). We're not worried too much about balance. And we plan to tie the two parallel groups together through some common NPCs and organizations, dropping cross-game easter eggs where we can.
I'd suggest you do something similar for yourself. If you need to invent an NPC on the fly, take it from your other campaign. Drop easter eggs for yourself in the stories that they won't ever get. If one group attacks a manticore that takes a lot of damage but flies away, the other group sees the manticore they're facing has massive scarring across its face.
Take advantage of group B's inconsistency and take those weeks as down time, or planning time. Or play for yourself in some online pick up game. That'll keep you from getting burnt out too fast. Also, knowing you have clear ends to the campaigns will help. Instead of dragging on indefinitely, you know when the storyline ends, you get to step down.
Make sure that you keep a notebook to hand so that once the session has finished, you can note down the "highlights" while they're still fresh in your memory. Make it clear which campaign it pertains to!
I'm running one homebrew campaign and Lost Mines of Phandelver for two groups and noting down what the players did for each of the encounters has made it easy for me to quickly summarise where we reached whenever we start a new session.
Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!
Never tell me the DC.
There was a time I was running three campaigns at once (Curse of Strahd, Princes of the Apocalypse, Tomb of Annihilation), two of the groups had some of the same people. They were engrossed and had fun in both games. I didn't have an issue getting characters mixed up or campaign events mixed up because the campaigns were different enough from each other and I also used Trello to help keep track of things. Any notes I took were in a separate notebook for each campaign.
It just depends on what you're comfortable with.
I would be careful with this if you’re trying to have multiple versions of the campaign running! Maybe having one “universe” where the two groups just don’t happen to be in the same place at the same time ( and possibly team up for the dragon takedown!) could work. I tried to start another session of Dragon of Ice Spire Peak while already running one and found it impossible to keep track of the small details that make a game come alive (like whether an NPC liked the players or not and what gossip or topics had come up in their conversation already or not).