Western Marches Style Gameplay
West Marches Style campaigns generally are different than a normal campaign in that it has a larger group of players (10-15 likely), there is no concrete questing party (the party changes from session to session), and each session always starts and ends in the same place (so that it makes sense when people come in and out of the party on a regular basis).
We will be using discord for the purposes of planning and off session interaction. Here players will be able to communicate amongst one another and also schedule sessions. The DM will post availability, and with at least a weeks notice players will be able to sign up to investigate places or things. Players will need to be specific about what they want to do with notice being given at least a week in advance (ie. Jeffrey, Samuel and I would like to go investigate the Frogswamp for clues regarding a missing person). It will be up to the players to determine party composition up to a maximum of 5 players. While it will not be required initially, there may be a limit on how often specific players quest with one another consecutively in order to reduce the chance of people being left out or cliques forming.
Due to the nature of characters coming and going, lethality in Western Marches styles games tends to be a larger concern. Most situations will allow for a retreat if things start to look bad, but there is always a chance a character, or even a party, could perish.
To schedule a session, first post in the session scheduling discord to form a group, or do it privately. I encourage people to try and schedule most missions publicly. Once the party is formed and you have worked everything out, please contact the DM with the names of the players attending (it's okay if we had players to the session down the road with some notice), what you want to do in game, where you want to play out of game, and the times you want to do so. Please keep in mind to check the
DM Availability while figuring this out.
Leveling
Player levels may not always be exactly the same, but the DM will attempt to keep everyone within a reasonable range. It will be assumed that if you are unable to play as often as others that your character would have gained experience with what they were doing in the downtime.
Scope
Initially the scope of game will be kept to the northern Renvere area of the map. All normal sessions will start and end from the players base of operations. At a later points there will be opportunities to move that base of operations. If a group of players want to explore a different area in a more longform game play, a Journey will be arranged where those characters will be absent from the normal goings on in the region, but be able to take part in a mini campaign elsewhere before returning.
Information Sharing
Information Sharing is critical to the success and enjoyment of this style game. This being true, each player will be asked to (not required) to submit a session report to recap their version of what transpired in the session. At least one player in the session must do so. The DM will also include a log of all relevant updated pages on World Anvil in those reports.
New Players
This style of gameplay is very friendly to having guest appearances or new players join in, even if they only are able to do so sporadically. Please check with the DM before inviting someone. We will attempt to keep the numbers a little more limited early on as we all learn this new play style.
Setting Background
Many, many years ago concluded a war between Elysium and Hell that ravaged the Mortal Realm, causing untold death and destruction and wiping out roughly one third of the plane's population. It ended with the forces of the Goddess Celestine of Elysium defeating and casting away the demon god of Hell.
Since then the people of the Mortal Realm have started to rebuild, with new forces rising from the ashes of war. Few institutions were able to hold on to their power during the war, resulting in the emergence of many new leaders and nations, whether from communities coming together to rebuild, or warlords consolidating the power they were able to grab ahold of during the turmoil of war.
Many of those who sided with Hell were defeated, and faded into obscurity, while the Mortals who sided with Elysium or neutral warlords, ended up with the vast majority of rulership across the realm.
The Celestine pantheon became the most popular religious following in the Mortal Realms. Many new leaders were devout members of this new religion, including the Kingdom of Renvere, the theocracy of the Celestine Empire, including its smaller city states. The gods of the Fey hold the most sway in the coastal country of Dol Gorak.
Setting Currently
Even though the war has ended, the damage done to the world and it's people is still evident. Nations have been cobbled together to fend of threats of roving warlords and pirates, but true order has not been restored to the land, especially not in Renvere. The kingdom of Renvere has managed to remain independent from the Celestine Empire that has taken control of much of the continent of Imperia. Throughout Renvere the king has appointed noble families to rule and govern their respective regions, although they are plagued by criminal organizations as they content with the treacherous balancing act of feudalism. The world is still very much so putting itself back together.
Check out the Adventure Log in the Players Handbook to read about all the adventures that have happened to date.
Comments