How gloomy and desolate do you make your settings when beginning a campaign?

[darthauthor]

Great question and tough to answer.

I know of no perfect answer for this question.
For me it depends upon the players.
Some power players want to play demi-gods or the something like superman.
Then they feel like the game is rigged against them when the only thing that can survive their attacks and beat them is a Splugorth or ancient Dragon. As a GM this honestly feels like a player created box.

1. Make an over powered character.
2. Pick fights with unarmed vagabonds and grind them up. Complain its boring.
3. Get the attention of an Adult dragon.
4. Run away.
5. IF the can't rob it or kill it they don't want anything to do with it.

But the RARE player that plays one of the adventurers, then I gear them up.
Rogue Scholars with magic scrolls and amulets of see the invisible.

Unless the players active seek horrible places I engineer the adventure such that their is always ways to survive and / or escape:
-a buoy or some piece of wood such in the water
-an oasis in the desert
-the remains of an adventure party that didn't make it to resupply with MRE's or dried food and water or something
-Basically I don't kill characters, they kill themselves during high risk or idiotic things.
-Even in the harshest environments there are ways to survive.

-ONE solitary time an adventure was playing some kind of monk. Was in the city. For some reason he was broke. Had a chance to rob. Would not. Got Xp for playing in character. Scavenged the trash for some things. Rewarded with Xp and got as resonable a thing as could be expected.
Finally, he used his super high begging skill.
His face twisted at it. It was so super hard for him. I felt like really rewarding him so a rich old lady came by and gave him as much money as he needed. It was so hard for him I real felt it was his O.C.C. character would do and he did it without braking his principles or violence. Practically leveled him up.

I think of it as my job to create the darkness.
The players to light up the darkness with their hope.
If they make good decisions I reward them for it.

[Grazzik]

As Darthauthor said, depends on the players and the OCCs they pick.

Assuming this is the first campaign for the PCs, I match the player group to the setting to start, so they can get a feel for their PCs. Merchants in a town. Soldiers in a military base. Adventurers in a tavern. If they are dropped into a crisis straight away, some may make it and others won't. Yet, if you let them tool around a bit, the players get a feel for their PCs' basic strengths and weaknesses, as well as their personalities and group dynamic. Then you, as the GM, can build up the story to lead them out into the campaign proper. Think of that story a while back about some ne'er-do-wells in a place called the Shire that stir up trouble and hoof it across country with some hot jewelry. Wouldn't have worked as well if you started the story in Mirkwood or at the Black Gate of Mordor.

[Aermas]

I absolutely hate crapsack worlds of misery designed to only demoralize people. My worlds/settings can be harsh, but never without hope. The good guys always win. Good always triumphs over evil. Just because you failed doesn't mean evil wins. A noble death of a hero might become the rallying force of the masses to overthrow the tyrant. The loss of war might have you retreating & finding powerful allies. God loves you. The story can be dark as night, but there are always the stars, shining til the sun returns.

As far as player motivation & playing "in character" I never had complications. My overpowered demigod players find joy in politicing & pursuing their own personal goals a lot. They rarely care about murderhoboing.

[slade2501]

I keep my campaigns pretty light and easy. I always tone down the enemies (excepting most boss monsters), and run with their crazy hairbrained schemes. I mean the stuff they come up with. Bear traps painted with silver. Talking Golden age weaponsmiths into building them a medium range MLS truck. a DU claymore the size of a vacation suitcase so it has a hundred foot damage cone. Hugging a Monstrex. the list goes on.

The point is, the game can be both serious and fun or just silly and fun as you and the players choose. Sometimes they epically fail and get mulched but more often then not they succeed and cheers all around.

[Zenviscaype]

I love a street level game. Little powers and equipment. My current TMNT game is great. They were even given a +25 BIO-E and they didn't abuse the bonus. Good players want a story they can tell later. I have had the munchkin gamers and man that sucks!

[darthauthor]

Liked, "Good players want a story they can tell later."