A few months ago, I stumbled upon Martin Ralya’s GM Wiki (well, it’s a collaborative effort, but he hosts it) and one concept in it really inspired me, the RPG Elevator Pitch. A short, concise description of a RPG system, like if you were trying to sell someone over a new game within the time an elevator ride takes.
That got me to think. People like to rally to clear, simple and strong ideas (Politics anyone?). While a campaign’s plot can be complex, convoluted or downright insane, if you want your player’s rapid buy in, you need to hinge it on a simple cool idea.
That’s where the idea of the campaign elevator pitch came to me. It’s a simple paragraph that I put on the 1st page of our gaming Group page. It’s the campaign’s rallying point. Whenever I become too embroiled in side-quests and conflicting plotlines, I go back to it and focus on that.
As an example, here was my last campaign’s (Iron Heroes in Ptolus) pitch:
- A group of tough-as nails, extremely competent Iron Heroes found that they have been held prisoner all their adult life in a Bubble world on a Prison plane. Guided by an unlikely alliance of fiends and angels, they finally escaped that prison and were sent to the world of Prameal, where the fallen Lords of Chaos brood and plan their revenge upon the multiverse. While the heroes’ role in this new world remains uncertain, one thing is clear, they will make a name for themselves!
My current campaign, still based in Ptolus (although stripped of a lot of Monte Cook’s plotlines):
- Four survivors of the Sphere-wars converge on Ptolus, teaming up with a local noble with a mysterious past. They are determined to end the threat of the Yugoloth Shadowlords who scheme over the destruction of this ravaged world.
Feel free to adapt the pitch from ‘season to season’ as the player’s influence the plots and move the story along lines they wish to explore.
What would your campaign elevator pitch be? Sell me your campaign!
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