Expedition

An expedition is an abstraction, but also a player driven prompt for a game session. It has many components to it, it's purpose is to sign on players and a game master to a session with agreed upon specifications for all parties involved. In many ways, it is drafted like a in game contract but it an informal social contract to meet at a certain time, place and location. Most prominently, the expedition has an objective that the player characters are to achieve, as well as a time alotment (for the session, for the players to determine how long they are willing to play).  

Player Driven Enterprise

Expeditions are proposed in chat rooms, talked up among groups, and posted on player driven quest boards. Once an expedition contract with all the required fields are completed, the players must have it signed off by a Game Master to have it run. Assuming no cancelations occur, it runs for the allotted time and a log of what went down is written. It is then archived for other GMs to reference in future expedition preparation.   The entirity of the game is run in expeditions, it is the main conceit of the West Marches setting- a proactive, player first campaign. Schedualing is mixed with setting up a purpose, and with time limitations set- there's more incentive at the table to get things done. With an objective there is also a clearer vision of how things are going to get done, which is great for game master preparation. When it is logged, it is ideal to note that success should rarely be measured in a binary, it is a spectrum. Logging the efforts and partial successes of previous parties will make successive attempts all the more fruitful and is all in all, part of the experience.  

Expedition Activities

The following are some prompts for common expedition activities players can engage in. It is worth noting that not every session needs to involve all three pillars of play (exploration, combat, social). In the sphere of online games- combat sessions, diplomatic conferences, mercantile trading and land surveying could be single encounter endeavors that take a short span of time. This is incredibly valid.  

• Scouting a new shard (Exploration)
• Explore a new shard (Exploration)
• Explore a landmark (Exploration, Combat, Social)
• Explore a connection (Exploration, Combat)
• Make first contact with a town (Social, Management)
• Secure a trade route (Combat, Social, Management)
• Secure a connection (Combat, Management)
• Secure a landmark (Combat, Social)
• Expand an existing settlement (Social, Management)
• Recruit Characters (Social, Management)
• Build Infrastructure (Management)

  With this opt in style of game play and expedition set up there is incentive to play with other groups and motivation for players to split up. For example, if a shard has hermit that is willing to open their doors to adventurers who can debate a player of a barbarian character has no obligation to follow up to the conference and can put his brawn to another battlefront. Players who want to experience particular things can opt in, and have no obligation to a weekly pattern of game sessions.  

Expedition Contracts

A construct that bridges the in-game and the in-person. Narratively it is an expedition contract between all the characters to go through a particular mission. In a practical sense, it acts as a reminder and an outline about the parameters of a particular gaming session- dramatically reducing the amount of "demotivated wandering" that normally occurs in a sand box rpg.

While filling out forms does sound incredibly unfun and particularly banal, it is a great way to ensure players show up at the correct time, digital space and with a plan in mind. New and experienced game masters alike can prepare greater quality content for their players and half the session log is already filled out before you even begin.    

Anatomy of an Expedition Contract

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When the session is completed the expedition contract should be archived with the notes for the section in a folder, the game master should also label their notes for preparation and place them inside, partitioned from the other materials. This will be useful for other game masters to keep in touch with what is going on in the world- but also allow them to run sessions at that place should they accept expedition contracts there.

One should take special note that the expedition contracts are a roleplaying construct only and are not legally binding service contracts to perform game mastering or exchange services.

Contribution

Should the mission stated be a lofty goal, it should not be completed in one session. Game masters and players should manage their expectations for how much work needs to go towards a particular objectives.   A Contact mission is a diplomatic one, with the implications bearing that it is a social check in or first contact. One could meet new characters or contact known characters to connect peoples, resources and goals. A contact goal should be finished in about one session, perhaps even in a short session. One could repeat the mission with a name based on the region they are in, or a description of the character (should they be a wandering sort, finding them could be a mission series all of it's own). Some names include "Contact Erm-minster", "Contact Acne Crone", "Contact with Lemurians IV". Subdue could be used in place of exterminate- if you intend to broaden your intent for the GM. Missions to do this could be short or long term and are wholly depend on the subject of the grim hunt. Players who might have access to particular resources such as NPC allies, industries or assets might find their capacity for damage to be high here and mention of intent should be included in the affiliated notes. It is important to note that this can get wildly out of hand among particularly violent or malcontent players. Make sure this passes the tone for the campaign with the GMs and players. Some capacity exists here for player competition working counter to the efforts of this project should GMs and players agree in a sportly manner. Some names include "Eliminate Elder Dragon", "Subdue the Leshies IV", and "Exterminate Goblin Bandits II".   Secure is to be used to maintain and make routes through dangerous areas, or make new connections in the Nebula. Securing an area in many ways can be it's own hexcrawl or campaign to make a place more suitable for quick travel. GMs and players should be allowed to collaborate rumors and information that could help one another as they proceed with the project. Once it is done, very real gains are to be felt in the community in the form of easy travel, passive resources or reputation among the populations of the affected shards. Names for such campaigns can include "Secure Semhinter-Ur Connection", "Secure Central Steppes III", or "Secure Foul Ruins II".   Scout is the primary exploration activity for folk seeking new horizons and worlds. Typically these are unique and can involve a degree of failure and gambling to them. Expectations for criteria the expedition team is looking for should be included in the contract, as much of what can be found is wide and varied. Scouting should include the Shard where they are starting their search in the appropriate box and be descriptive in "Region", whether they are looking within the shard or on the outside by naming an inner regiion or the stellar neighborhood. Sample names can include a noun as a possessive adjective to acompany the subject. Names can include "Scout Leshrenia Minerals", "Scout Arboryn Connections" and "Scout Barrowchalx IV"