OD&D (Ocean D&D) - Just keep swimming, Campaign 26!
I have been running OD&D, as in Ocean D&D, for 9 sessions now that have included 18(!) different players. This is probably by far my favorite thing I have done in the RPG space so far. Not the little rules hack I have bricolaged together but the the whole experience of playing and running OD&D (Ocean D&D) on the Gay Beholder Server. The sessions are consistently a great time because the players bring in a lot of energy and play the game better than I ever expected. Which is to say they match the tone I wished for, they come up with schemes befitting sea creatures, and they get excited about the ocean life even when it is at its deadliest. The ocean is a fantastic space. It is strange and alien but still familiar enough.
The players did a great job writing up session reports (I stand behind my decision to give out XP for it). You can find them here.
Another thing I came to realize is how much more I enjoy running this compared to the Shrike. We finished that campaign after 27 sessions by the end of August. I hadn't written a post because my post after session 24 was not that old, and I didn't really know what to talk about. I had a good time running The Shrike, and I am quite proud of sticking with it for 27 sessions. But finishing it up left me a bit empty. I had no urge to write an epilogue post like I did for my Gradient Descent game. It was just a simple and tidy end to a game.
Perhaps my excitement for OD&D is due to it being the new shiny toy I am playing with. That definitely is a factor. But I think it being something different in tone compared to the common fantasy game and it being my own DIY project are what make all the difference. As well as getting to run a weekly (sometimes more) game on the Gay Beholder server that has become a community I treasure.
I will keep running OD&D (Ocean D&D that is) until I get tired of it. Therefore my Campaign 26 will continue with another table. Well, the three core players of the Shrike have joined the reef as well. So if it pleases your headcanon just think of them as escapees from hell reborn as ocean creatures.
There is also still a lot of potential to expand on the setting. What about the deep sea or the arctic, or is there even LAND somewhere? Eventually, I plan on making a Little Blue Book and putting all the play materials in a nice PDF. But I think first I just want to keep swimming a bit.
SWIM ON!
