My Life As A Gamer: Patrons And The Campaign (Part Three): Making The Most Of Your Patrons

(This is a series. Part One is here, and Part Two is here.)

Patron Contributions

In the sort of tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) campaign that is typically discussed, all of the setting and Non-Player Character (NPC) detail is solely the Referee's responsibility. The issue of burnout and Imposter Syndrome is a known one, especially for those new to the hobby.

Patrons, handling key NPCs and organizations, can and should take on that creative work instead under the Referee's supervision. Let them draw up maps of that Patron's Domain, figure out how his operations are fueled, guided by a briefing provided by the Referee and then sent back for the Referee's approval. A hobby pursuit that requires a group to play should welcome group contribution in more ways than just rolling dice.

The Referee should welcome this as it frees him to concentrate on the core of the campaign experience: the administration and adjudication of player decisions. He has plenty of opportunity to draw up location maps of sites and areas as it is; no need to do more than required when there are others eager to do so upon request.

Patrons can even turn this into a scenario in its own right. For example, a player running the Wizard King puts in an order to the Referee. The order states that the Wizard King wishes to establish a laboratory complete with testing grounds, and he decides to hold a contest to see who has the best design for such a facility. In reality, what this means is that at the time the contest scenario concludes the winning player gets to draw the map for the location and the Wizard King executes that design. If word of the contest reaches the Wizard King's enemies, they could intervene in turn.

The Referee need only exercise some moderation from time to time to ensure that (a) the rules are respected and (b) the campaign doesn't go off the rails. Given that most Patron players will be adults, this should not happen that often.

This is how and why the Referee needs to vet and recruit his Patron players carefully. Because the Patrons are in the driver's seat, they establish and shape the campaign's State Of Play--the environment within with adventuring Player Characters (PCs) operate.

Making The Most Of It

The best way to make this work is to pre-game your campaign launch with just the Patrons. Put them on the map, let them run through a few go-arounds of actions and interactions, and thereby put the setting into motion. This could take a week or it could take months; the details are specific to the Referee's campaign. Once events are set into motion, then stop and get the adventuring PCs into the game. Now the campaign can begin.

Doing this sets up the campaign gameplay loop by having the Patrons' actions create adventure scenario conditions in an organic manner. Your brand-new Fighter isn't off to clear out a mine because the Referee just bought a brand new module, or fished out an old one, but because your old pal Bob is playing the Wizard King and he needs that mine cleared so he can provide his troops--your troops--the steel arms and armor needed to win on the battlefield.

If it turns out that the mine's problems are due to some creature of note, so much the better; haul the carcass back to town and get paid above and beyond for providing sources for valuable reagents. Soon your Fighter will go from a random mercenary Sergeant to a Lieutenant, then a Captain, and maybe even granted leave by the Wizard King to go clear out a mountain pass and secure it for the kingdom- with you its lord.

All that adventuring feels a lot more meaningful when you know the guy playing the NPC that your man's doing it for.

By the same principle, when your Fighter faces off against Dick's Assassin because he's trying to get at the Wizard King you know this isn't a screwjob; Dick has to play by the rules, same as you, so both of you know that the Referee won't be picking winners or losers.

The Referee gets to be entertained by the actions of all the players, as all of them are always going to be more creative, more cunning, etc. than he alone could ever be. When Dick has to make his way through the Wizard King's maze (Bob's dungeon), knowing that your Fighter is attempting to intercept him, Dick knows that Bob didn't care about "making it fair"- Bob made a map intended to screw intruders. This is player-vs-player at its best and the Referee gets to enjoy the show as much as everyone else.

Maybe Dick gets the kill. Maybe your Fighter runs him down (and through). Maybe Bob calls into the session and has the Wizard King directly intervene. No one knows, not even the Referee, what will happen. That's the second-order effect of letting the Patrons do stuff like this, and the result is a far more compelling campaign than anyone could get otherwise- and far more satisfying. Your wins are yours, and so are your loses, and yours alone.

As for the Referee, this approach allows him to run such games in the hobby manner that was always intended. This means talking about the administrative end of things, and that is tomorrow's post.