My Life As A Gamer: Campaign Update (Patrons)

Following last week's post, it is time to set expectations.

The Defined Campaign

At this time, each of the participating Patrons will share one objective: Secure The Tower.

Each Patron will have a specific Cause For Action. That Cause For Action will provide at least two further objectives, their Win and Loss Conditions, and their constraints.

Each Patron will possess a limited array of resources. Attention to, and development of, one's economics to satisfy the demands of logistics will be necessary for success. The capacity to engage in trade and commerce, which also means diplomacy, will be critical to satisfying these demands when internal capacity is insufficient. Patrons will be expected to solve the problems caused by their deficiencies; how they do so is up to them.

Each Patron will possess imperfect intelligence to work with. Development of a competent intelligence capacity will be necessary for success, and each Patron will be required to determine how to synergize trade and diplomacy for economic ends with Intelligence ends. They will know nothing of the campaign's territory other than myths, legends, and the account of a specific NPC to be determined at a later day.

There will be one player per Patron. There will be no less than five Patrons at the launch of the campaign; there will be no more than 9. These are Long-Term Patrons (see last week's post, linked above), and will not be required to play at the table to participate in the campaign.

Each Patron shall begin play at one edge of the campaign map. They know where their landfall settlement is as well as the immediate surroundings. They know where the Tower is because they can see it from that seaside settlement. The map is otherwise blank, reflecting Fog Of War, and Patrons are required to take action to reveal the map.

Play is intended to move around the map. Strict timekeeping dictates that this will be necessary and participant interest prompts where to go when timekeeping shuffles a Patron's Domain out of action. It is entirely intended to play one week in one Domain, move to a second the following week, then go hard in another for a month before returning to the first.

It is intended that Patron actions shape the map through their actions independent of what is done at the table.

Patrons are expected to focus their efforts towards find a route to the Tower. Their Cause For Action will provide sufficient impetus to do so.

The Campaigner Defined

The player that I seek for these Patrons are not necessarily the ones that play ordinary characters often. This level of play is for those who enjoy the high-level perspective of a flag officer or sovereign (or similar powerful individual).

They need to be the people who check in on the campaign communications on no less than a weekly basis, and to be counted upon to send the Referee sets of orders for what the Patron does. Someone who has an active career or family life and cannot be present at the table much, if at all, but enjoys this level of play would be welcome as a Patron.

For the Short Term Patrons, those revealed through play, no one playing a Long-Term Patron may also run a Short-Term Patron. No one may run more than one such Patron at a time. No one running an ordinary character may also run a Patron in the same area.

It is not necessary to run a Patron to participate in the campaign.

It is recommended to possess a physical copy of the ruleset in use.

It is recommended to use your position to enable the play of ordinary player-characters by delegating matters to such parties whenever possible and focus the Patron's attention on what only that Patron can do. King Arthur didn't handle every last threat or opportunity; neither should you.

The campaign ends when either all parties hit their Loss Condition or when one party hits their Win Condition.