Every campaign is different. Two groups using the same plotline will end up with different results

And no two people view the campaign the same way.

That said, here are the battle stories of those involved. Read, weep, laugh, and go "huh?" Goodness knows we did.

Cast
Jaek: Storyteller
Alex: Luke
Caroline: Lithiano
Joy: Destri
Kate: Rachel

This campaign is probebly the most interesting one I have ever done. And I am not talking about the plot line. I have had many experiences and have GMed several campaigns prior to this one but quite frankly this one just started off and ended wrong. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing in my mind, but the jokes started almost imediately and really didn't stop as much as I would have liked them to.

I took a pretty general approach, in this case using one of the PC's background and used her (Lithiano) to create the story. More specifically, she did not have old soul and had a 5 in Status. So pretty much all of the PCs began with their deaths (which is something I like to do).

Positive Experiences: I feel as if the players at least got a little introduction into game mechanics and in many cases into roleplaying in general. I think by the end of it they learned a lot and I feel like so did I. There was very good variety in types of characters which always makes things interesting.

Negative Experiences: I do think that this particular story and some of its contents were a bit to advanced for this group considering only 2 of them had actually read the Player's Guide and/or roleplayed before. I think I could have picked a better storyline in that regards that would have taught them how to play a bit better. Two of the characters came in the middle of the campaign which worked out fine, the problem was that there were leadership problems that caused in and out of game conflicts. Most of all, there were many campaign running jokes that were admittedly funny but eventually got to the point of hindering the player's abilities to move on.

Overall, I enjoyed this campaign and I think inadvertantly we managed to learn how to play Wraith (Maybe not correctly =P) but beggars can't be choosers.

Ah yes, our first campaign. Full of more danger, disasters, and in-jokes than you can shake a stick at. We'd insisted on a Wraith campaign, me personally because I found (and still find) Masquerade to be too political to really be fun (Sorry, but I do. Dark Ages at least has the setting to keep things interesting). It was chaotic, but also a lot of fun. The "thudding," the solitaire, the kitties, Miss Cleo...ah, those were the days. Alas, I missed some campaign due to the untimely death of my grandfather, so I'm still a bit fuzzy on what happened in some places.

The only real criticism I have is in the treatment in character creation that happened. I think Jaek was trying to "make" a balanced party, but he ended up majorly warping character concepts to do so. For example, Rachel was to have died in a concentration camp, not five years after the fact. Jaek made her death later because he wanted my character to know what a computer was. In rural, post-war Poland? In 1951? Doubtful. It ended up working, but we could have saved ourselves a lot of headaches. And poor Destri...afraid of guns, but allowed to handle a plasma cannon? *Greg Proops-voice* Logic train! Zoooom! *Greg-voice off* I like a balanced party, but not at the integrity of the characters. I'm not innocent of this while ST-ing, either (see Spiritual Fortitude), but at least my stuff made sense! ^_^ Jake (and I) have learned from that, though, and I haven't really had a single problem with his ST-ing since.

Cast
Jaek: Storyteller
Adam: Yorrick
Alex: Torvol
Caroline: Elspeth
Gabe: Raven (SuvwI)
Joy: Destri
Kate: Ciara
Tim: Valentyne
Special guest Robert: Asrael and Azael

Cast 2
Kate: Ciara, Brother Absalom, co-GM
Gabe: Suwvi, co-GM
Linda: Lady Rachel
Matt: Moria
James: Teedraldva
Julie: Amalthea

Um, yeah. England in Darkness. Oh geez, where do I begin? Campaign one was plagued with problems, from disappearing players to mass confusion in the plotline. It worked out in the end, though. For the record, we all got the hang of character creation, or at least the hang of our characters by the end. It worked out somehow.

Campaign two was much more fun for me, but that was because I was a cross between a PC and a co-GM (as was Gabe.) Characters worked better together, and I think it was the most original-thinking group I've played with in a while. Ideas abounded, and everyone made a valent effort to figure things out. Technically, I know, it's not finished yet, but I'm going to enjoy watching it when it is.

And, oh yeah, I got to turn the Book of Nod into cheese. Gruyere, to be specific. That'll teach 'em to trust an old drunk with Transubstantiation. ^_^

Cast #1
Kate: Storyteller
Gabe: Laertes
Jaek: Sabin
Joy: Evelyn
Tim: Hugo

Cast #2
Kate: Storyteller
James: Star-Slayer
Julie: Betsy
Linda: Rachel
Matt: Setsuna

I actually had the benefit of running this campaign twice, once with a group of experienced players and once with a group of new Wraith players. The campaign itself didn’t change much, although the players got there in different ways of course. The experienced players took a more indirect route, working to include their character’s “everyday” lives with the missions, while the newbies naturally took a more linear route, just dealing specifically with the mission. It worked both ways and was great fun to do.

For the record, neither group went through a Harrowing. One was planned for the experienced group, but we ran out of time for the campaign and I was forced to use the alternate means. We never got the chance to pull it off. The other main difference is in the final battle against Graumm himself; since both campaigns were on tough time restraints, a hazard in playing with out-of-town people, Lucillius made life easier by rushing forward and pinning Graumm down. All the group had to do was attack him, and he could not fight back.

By and far, the highlight was the battle with Badas Mofo. The experienced group caused Badas to knock himself out on a quarterstaff; he was put in a soul jar that would not contain his fro. The “jar of Fro” became a running gag for the players. Both endings also featured a hilarious escape by Badas Mofo, which resulted in both Marcellus and Bryant getting their comeuppance.

For those wondering, yes, Graumm’s Cathedral was “borrowed” from InQuest magazine. The core idea is theirs, I just modified it to make it usable and viable in the Wraith world. It seemed like a wonderful idea to base a campaign around; considering there are huge religious factions around the Shadowlands, surely at least one would pray on the weak and gulliable.

It's always nice when a GM incorperates running jokes into the campaign, b/c it makes the need for us players to make them. Badas Mofo was definately fun to play with. The plotline was well put together and I think she did a good job of setting the scenes for us. I was a little disappointed that my character did not get the status I payed for him to have but GM descretion is always more powerful I guess. Although I don't agree that the first group was that experienced, I do think that it went quite differently from the second time. And I thoroughly enjoyed being an Asst. GM the second.

Overall, I think it went well and I think it helped Kate start on the path of being a good GM.

Cast
Kate: Storyteller
Julie: Betsy
Matt: Setsuna
Special guest Jaek: Sabin

Quick, what do you do when half your players call in at the last minute with work conflicts, and the other half is ready to roll? Create something off the top of your head, using existing intregue in your campaign and a city you have a vague knowledge of. This shouldn't have worked, but it surprisingly did. I think that was in part to Jaek/Sabin, working as an ample threat (and a Shadow or two ^_^), and to Matt and Julie, who roleplayed gracefully under pressure. I basically kept things simple, but used the oppertunity to introduce a few new concepts to the PC's, such as streamlining combat and a more inside look at the Legion. And, it created some great oppertunities for Matt and Julie's characters to grow, something that carried over well when we went back to the original campaign the next week.