Campaign (role-playing games)

In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. The purpose of the continuing storyline is to introduce a further aspect into the game: that of development, improvement, and growth (or degeneration) of the characters. In a campaign, a single session becomes a scene or an act within an overall story arc. At its inception, a campaign may or may not have a defined conclusion. A campaign by definition spans more than one session of play. Certain aspects of the game are nearly always constant throughout a campaign: the setting, the players, and the gamemaster. The gamemaster for a campaign is said to run the campaign.

A campaign is characterized by the following aspects:

Differing amounts of emphasis on any of these factors help set the flavor of the campaign. A campaign, including its characters, settings, and history is created collaboratively by players and the game master.

Some published games have deliberately used different terms for the same concept. For instance, White Wolf uses the word Chronicle for its World of Darkness and Exalted games.

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