Saving the world on a Sunday afternoon
Let me be very clear: You are right. This is not a campaign, and I (Doug) am not a Campaign GM.
The lack of campaign this year is a lack of an OOC device to promote IC roleplay. While this means there is no coherent narrative from an OOC logistics point of view, it does not do so IC: The PCs that are playing the multiple mini-campaigns will be the same PCs, playing the same ten to fifteen games, and having a degree of IC continuity from mini-campaign to mini-campaign has the potential to help with their sense of identity and work ethic.
Based in Heusenberg, the Van Heusen Taskforce is a new directive designed to provide a grounding in patrol dynamics for those Defenders and civilians new to the concept, while still providing a genuine service to the Baron (rather than training in sealed conditions with example enemies). Rather than a dedicated year-long placement in a single location, those who sign up become part of the Taskforce, who will go where they are needed, and carry out the project assigned, before moving onto the next one.
There will be a message board, perhaps a patrolee item fund, a couple of NPCs, and a framework for the new PCs to build on. Everything else is up to the year’s GMs. There will be no plot specific to the VHT, unless other GMs decide to hit it with the plotstick.
Assignment Opportunity – Van Heusen Taskforce
Location: Based in Heusenberg. Frequent travel throughout entire Barony.
Assignment: Multiple short-term placements in various locations and circumstances. Transport logistics provided – applicants must be willing to travel on a regular basis, potentially at short notice. Requirements will be to provide security for civilian patrolees present, assess the circumstances of each placement, and respond accordingly according to Kingdom law. Excellent opportunity to promote relations between DotK and other guilds.
Risks: Various according to circumstances. Members of the Taskforce will be required to be flexible.
Commencing: October 117AE
Expected Duration: A maximum of one year. Applicants may join or leave at any time.
Enquiries/Applications to: Gd.Cpt. Gerrard Knight
Now Recruiting: The Van Heusen Taskforce
With new recruits seeking an entry into the Kingdom patrol structure, Baron Van Heusen has authorised the creation of the Van Heusen Taskforce, and access point to patrolling designed specifically for Defenders and civilians at the starting point of their career.
Based nominally in Heusenberg, the VHT is a rapid response group who will undertake projects as short as a week and as long as two months in duration, over the course of the next year. The Taskforce will travel to locations requiring patrolee support, assess the situation on the ground, and respond accordingly. Multiple projects will be carried out by the Taskforce over the course of the coming year – members should expect a diverse challenge and be ready to think on their feet.
The Taskforce will provide training and support to those entering the patrol structure for the first time, facilitate co-operation between the guilds, and deliver a genuine service to Baron Van Heusen. Patrolees will not be trained in sealed conditions that do not represent the challenges and dangers of real patrolling, but on the job in genuine situations that require a patrol.
Benefits to new patrolees include wide-ranging travel throughout the Barony, access to regular training, and enhanced communication and knowledge sharing. The Taskforce will provide a grounding in party dynamics and mutual co-operation, act as a central repository of information for patrolees to access as they see fit, manage transport and subsistence between and at project locations, and ensure that fair payment is received for services rendered.
How To Apply
You’ve got me on this one.
Gerrard has been put in charge for the year, and the goal is to provide an example to other fiefdoms in the Kingdom, allow new patrolees to develop knowledge of party dynamics and how to work together, and lay the groundwork to endure beyond the year with future new patrolees (giving an OOC opportunity to reinstate it if, in future, there is again no official campaign for the year in the future).
Not at all. In fact, I’d be a little confused if they did.
This ‘campaign without a campaign’ is not intended to interfere with any other GM’s plans (I have no plans for Gerrard to give the briefings, though if GMs want him to, he can), and indeed gives some sound IC backing to the idea of multiple mini-campaigns – projects for the Taskforce can be as short as a single game, or may be five or six games long, or anything in between. The Taskforce is there to project manage, provide transport logistics to the different locations, a knowledge base for new patrolees, and a continuous point of contact for those who are part of it.
While I’d be happy if you did, not in the slightest, no.
Under no circumstances do characters have to be part of the Taskforce in order to play games. Instead, the Taskforce will be there IC throughout each mini-campaign, providing a little bit of a framework that PCs can involve themselves in if they want. It would be great if you decided to have your character be part of it, but I am determined that PCs who aren’t will not lose out.
If you wish to, go right ahead. However, if you lack the time on an OOC basis, it can be assumed that your character applied and was accepted in plenty of time for whenever they show up for their first game.
Not if you don’t want to – if your character (new or existing) fits into the bracket for the year’s low-level games, they will be eligible to join the Taskforce if they so choose.