In the long history of my game world (that I started as a kid) I always tried to maintain some consistency in setting, personages, and timelines. Very early on I started a journal that is now decades old and well worn with the hard cover missing. But it is still handy to go back to and look at. Sometimes I have to dig around for it, because in recent years I refer to it mostly a couple times a year at most. Sometimes just taking a quick look when I come across it when cleaning or something. The important history and events in my setting will always be in my head, so I don't really need to always be looking back at old text.
What I did was every campaign or so since I was a teen I would scribble a paragraph about what was happening. The main beats and arcs, what characters were involved, events, locations etc. Most of my longer campaigns could span a year or more, and I would indicate the year, and there would be a couple or three entries of what was happening during a certain season within that year. I mean, I have been using this world forever, with groups of friends playing for years with me until different stages of life occurred. It can be big fun to look back and see things I forgot, see the names of characters of transitory occasional players I totally forgot about (a lot of time I cannot put a face to some of the character names from the 80's and 90's).
At the start of a new campaign these days I take a look just to brush up on the time line of big things from the past so new players can work up background stuff that may relate to changes in the setting that happened in those old campaigns. I mean, there is now around 120 years of play continuity since I created that first dungeon and a town. But the most meaningful events to modern times occurred in the last 50 years or so of the setting, so I can often just say "a few decades ago this and that happened."
In campaigns of yore I had a certain obsession with my game world's timeframe marching on. After a campaign I would often have an in-setting year or two go by till the next campaign. If I had a major change in a group and took significant time off from gaming, a couple of times I had like 5 years go by. I feel like it lends and epic feeling to a world for actual play years to pass. But there could be funny side effects. I had a long-time female friend who played a lot in the 90's declare "stop trying to make my character old!"
Since I started running online with Roll20 around Covid, I had moved things forward a little slower. A LOT slower. I think the 4 major campaigns I have done in that time have all occurred pretty much within the same year. It makes sense. Online groups just don't seem to last that long. On average my sessions would go around 20 games before a couple people have life issues. I heavily vet people I cannot meet in person before inviting them into a new campaign, so I usually start with four or five players. When you only have maybe four regulars you are on a razors edge. Losing a player or two is the end of it. Certainly, my current group is an exception. We have played for around 14 months now, almost weekly, and its well over 40 sessions so far. But anyway the quicker turnaround of groups in my online game life has caused me to slow my roll on the time moving forward thing.
What does this have to do with retconning? Well, a bit of general history can be helpful. Because things change. And I want to talk about two retconning issues I often adhere to, with the second being maybe the most pertinent to this discussion, as it's what inspired this post.
Isle of Dread was about my first real module, and the one I probably dipped into the most. Since I was a kid used it probably every several years. This is an example of something I did not retcon, but it just went through organic changes with each group that visited. For that first adventure group or two, it was an untouched area. But later uses demanded a place that was no longer virgin territory as far as the mainland or the natives were concerned. There was now trade with the tribes, and even a dedicated trading company from the mainland that was subsidized by the crown, and in my current campaign there is a trading outpost on the beach near Tanaroa (run by a mainlander and also has a bitchin' Tiki Bar!) that is a go between for trade with the natives. And should the characters go to the great plateau they will not find the dungeons from the module but instead other stuff that has happened there since the first PC visitors (spoiler - I currently have a massive space ship like from Barrier Peaks up there... in keeping with my having the Kopru creatures have originally come from outer space).
But then I have areas I have reused and have started retconning in more recent years for new usage for new players. I have less of a mind for continuity because most of my old players will never play again. So new groups don't know any better. Even before running online I have done this for many the last 15 years or so. I have adventure locations I want to reuse. Things I have used over my lifetime again and again. I just reuse them as is. Examples of this would be favorites like The Lichway from White Dwarf magazine. And also Tegel Manor.
These are things I have run at least a half dozen times as major parts of campaigns. And I just don't change them (mostly). I just recycle and reuse. I love them that much. OK, Tegel has changed up a bit since I was a kid because I found some of the sillier elements easily adjustable without detracting from the fun. But pretty much they get reused as is.
Now that I think of it, maybe this is not really retconning in the truest sense. But the world around these places change. OK, I have not used Tegal since I adopted 5th edition, and the changes in undead and such may make it a different thing. Dunno. But in my mind right now it is the same old manor. But I have used Lichway twice since going to 5th about 6 years ago, and it had the same feels. Last time the Susurrus was released and an army of undead now stalk the halls. To use it again I would probably just reset it.
So how I think about these places is that they are affected by a powerful time loop situation. As comedy magician The Amazing Johnathan used to say "fuck you its magic!"
What happens in The Lichway or Tegel will have no affect on the greater world. New batch of players. Just run it again. I may be using Keep on the Borderlands next campaign, and I have used that a couple times before. Oops, all retcons. Its back to formula. the frickin' humanoid tenement caves are back to normal.
OK, so here is the current retconny notion I have. Perhaps more contentious than that other retcon stuff.
In the past in discussions during a game, we have talked about how in DnD (and any rpg with levelling) about how characters go from fairly weak to powerful heroes often in the course of a few months in setting. Hell, often a matter of weeks. DragonballZ always comes up (mostly from me). If you know DMZ, then you know what I am talking about.
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| 1000 times gravity! |
Often, especially when a player complains about having to start at 1st level, they will say that they think of their character as starting out fairly powerful in some way, or at least fairly effective. Especially when they want the character to be older. By hundreds of years in the case of elves.
For years my response has been this: OK, well, think of it this way. At first and maybe even 2nd level, think of it as the character is having a "bad day." or Week or whatever. Imaging that the weak foes like goblins are stronger when you meet them as well. A player might respond "but, it's only been a month and I'm 6th level now!" Cry me a river, player, this is dungeons and dragons. It's how it works.
Sometimes I think these complaints are misplaced, or even kind of performative. I mean, they complain about this in their tabletop, but in the video games they play they fucking love going from 1st to 50th level in the first couple hours of play.
But I have to admit that the fast levelling is kind of awkward when you think about it. OK, so don't think about it. Heh, easier said than done. But In a convo with a player in last weeks session, it came up while speaking with "K", who was running her drow wizard, was known to have come from a family full of fairly powerful members. An awesomely powerful house matron mother, and pretty effective siblings. She is 7th level in my game now (Isle of Dread will level you up lickety split), but it came up that she started weak. A first level drow who travelled from the Underdark to my main setting city. What is up with that?
So I suggested that perhaps we can look at things like her journey from 1st level is affected by constant retcon. It happens with any character you would want to look at this way. When you look at those earlier sessions, think of her as having been 3rd of even 4 level then. She just wasn't using those more powerful spells yet. Maybe those goblins did not seem as scary now when you look back at it. No big deal.
Sure, even looking at it from that light, she certainly has had recent experiences that improved her ability and powers. People can learn and get better at things fast. A total noob at golf or tennis can get relatively much better than they were in just a month. Not a pro or anything, just way better than they were. But again the point is to explain a bit better somebody that went from 1st level to 6 or higher in a month. Retcon that 1st level by saying you actually started at 3rd level or something.
In 1st edition you had that having to pay a trainer to get your level. Spend some time with that. I guess that can be a less awkward explanation. But on the Isle of Dread, for example, where the hell do you find a guy to help you train with your longsword or whatever?
Just say "aw, at the start of the campaign you were better than you thought you were" and move on. YMMV.
Cheers.
