One-shot or Campaign Play

I've been considering some more my list of "Games to Run". In particular, I've rethought some of the entries - I'm inclined to add "Adventure!" and "Red Dwarf" to the list of possibilities (because both are fun one-shot games), while I'm now thinking I'm less inclined to run "Savage Worlds" (though I'll very happily play it). Likewise, all "Babylon 5" and "Armageddon 2089" were left on the list, the truth is that I'll almost certainly never run them.

I've also been musing about the respective needs of one-shot and campaign play. See, it seems to me that for a one-shot, the ideal system is something lightweight (so it can be explained to the players quickly), something that can be picked up and used as-is (no 'required' supplements, accessories, or house-rules), and something that you don't feel the need to do lots of work with.

By contrast, for campaign play, something with a bit more 'bite' is preferable - there's more tolerance for both the GM and indeed the players doing 'work' outside of the sessions, a bit of complexity in the rules is actually beneficial (as it maintains interest), and if the game can be improved with some supplements and/or house rules, so much the better.

So, with that in mind, here's my current thinking on games to run...

For Campaign Play:

D&D 3.5e: Unless and until I get "Nutshell Fantasy" into a form it can be used (which is looking increasingly like never happening), or if 5e wows me, 3.5e will remain my D&D of choice (except if I decide to run a Pathfinder Adventure Path, in which case I'll use Pathfinder, of course). After the end of my "Eberron Code" campaign, I'm going to take a long break from this game, but I daresay I'll be back. I'll also not be running D&D as a one-shot game, except perhaps as an "introductory scenario" - more on this in another post.

Star Wars Saga Edition: I've resolved not to even look at the upcoming Star Wars games from Fantasy Flight (two deal-breakers: funky dice mechanics, and no PDFs ever - which was borderline acceptable when SWSE was new, but isn't even that now). So SWSE will remain my Star Wars game of choice, and it's a good one. I have both a one-shot and a campaign scheduled for this, and expect to do more of both in the future.

Black Crusade: This game is somewhat borderline - I'm not 100% sold on it as-is, but I really want to like it. So I'm going to pick up the currently-available pregen adventure, and see if that sways me. It's also a game that I think could be massively improved by putting together some key resources - a "Monster Manual", a new character form, action cards, item cards, and psychic power cards. So, if the pregen adventure doesn't persuade me to run this game in "campaign mode", I'll drop it entirely - the required work is too much for "one-shot mode", but I don't think I'd want to run it at all without doing that work.

Hunter: the Vigil: This is also a slightly odd one, because I expect to run 'hunter' one-shots as well, and indeed may not get to a campaign at all. However, if I run it as a one-shot, I think I'll just use the underlying "World of Darkness" rules as-is, without layering on the "Hunter: the Vigil" book as well. But for campaign play, I'll want to add the 'full' version of the rules.

And it's worth noting that it is a very good game, so I'm certainly considering the possibilities.

Mutants & Masterminds: This is here as a placeholder for now. I'm running a one-shot of this next month, after which I'll slot it in properly. My gut feeling, though, is that it's too much work for much one-shot play, so it'll be suitable for "campaign mode", or not one to use at all.

d20 Modern: This is very borderline. It's too much work for a one-shot, but it may suit if I have a particular idea for a campaign that needs a 'toolkit' rules set to run. So we'll see.

For One-Shot Play:

Adventure!: I was watching "The Mummy" at the weekend, and it reminded me of what attracted me to this game in the first place. It does something very similar to "Savage Worlds", and does it well. The upshot is that I'm inclined to put this one back into contention, for use when running the specific type of game it supports.

Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade: I like the concept of this game, and would quite like to run it. However, it's probably not something I would want to bother with a campaign for. Fortunately, it's ideal one-shot material.

Red Dwarf: There's a proposed camping trip which will no doubt feature a certain amount of alcohol and a certain amount of gaming late at night. This game is perfect for that - it requires minimal character creation and minimal preparation, and is a good laugh. And for that use, and for that use only, it's on the list.

Serenity: I thought quite carefully about this one, and considered adding it to the 'campaigns' list. Ultimately, though, I decided that the system isn't really robust enough for that use, and that the story options are almost ideal for one-shot use but probably not robust enough for campaign use. So I've decided to drop any plans for a Serenity campaign, but to keep it on the list for one-shots.

Vampire: the Victorian Age: I've decided to reinstate this onto the list "full time" purely because of the setting. I won't run a campaign again, but I don't want to discount it entirely. Barring my potential "reverse trilogy" one-shot idea, though, I won't bother with any of the other versions of the game.

World of Darkness: The more I think on this game, the more impressed I am. Although supposedly a horror game, the system here is almost generic in nature. So I think that this will be my one-shot 'toolkit' game of choice, the game to pull out for things like my 'Musketeer' or 'Terminator' games. And, indeed, for that 'Hunter' game that I mentioned.

And the Rest...

That leaves three games that were not quite bumped from the previous list, and are not quite written off now, but which may well never see the light of day again...

Armageddon 2089: I don't really have the interest to run a full campaign, but it's too much work for a one-shot. So this game is essentially gone.

Babylon 5: I'm planning to rewatch the series next year, at which point I may well decide I simply must run a campaign using this game. But barring that, it's done - between Star Wars and Serenity, I'm fine for licensed sci-fi settings.

Savage Worlds: It's a good game, and there are lots of nice settings. But... I think this is one I'll let others run, and confine myself to playing. Unless I have an idea that simply must be run using it.