Tag: Scenario

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Promethium War Campaign Wrap Up – Did it Work?

Back in April and May I ran a narrative Kill Team event called Promethium War. We had 12 players all fighting over the Promethium rich world of Pyrothis V. The aim of the campaign was to keep it simple, push the narrative side of the game and see what it is like to run an experience like this. I purposely kept it short at 4 weeks so that I could dip my toe in the water and understand what works and what doesn’t. Of course, I also wanted to make sure people at the club were really interested.

Did it work and what lessons did I learn? Lets find out.

What Worked?

To start with we had 12 club goers sign up for the campaign. So there was real interest in the narrative side of the game. People were excited about giving more meaning to their casual Wednesday night games.

Having factions and teams working together created lots of banter and feedback from the participants rated this as an enjoyable part of the whole experience. The exception to this was the different win conditions for the Xenos team, which didn’t really work as well as I had hoped.

Most of the players really engaged with the narrative elements of the campaign and wrote up fun battle reports. They weren’t shy about putting their own spin on the campaign events, resulting in some really creative additions.

All in all, lots of engagement, fun banter and some great narrative. An all round win. However, there were some elements that could have gone better.

Close fought battle from week 4

What Didn’t Work?

As mentioned above the Xenos faction win condition was confusing and actually difficult to pull off. To their credit the Xenos players leaned into it well, but if I were to do it again I would have their win condition be more aligned with the other two factions.

Scoring was based only on wins. Looking back, I think that points should be scored for playing games as well, not just the win. this encourages players to get more games in and removes the sting of defeat a little.

During Promethium War all the narrative elements were collected as stories in the discord and the weekly campaign journal. Having a map would have grounded the games even more with actual territory being fought over. Whether this needs actual mechanics associated with it or stays as a tool to aid the narrative remains to be seen.

In my set up of the campaign I added a couple of bespoke crit ops. However, I feel like I missed a trick here. Having a strong of specific ops can really help tell the story of the campaign. The scientist mission I included was a real hit. Having things like this that deviate from the regular game set up gave additional life to the campaign.

Campaign Journal

Inspired by the old Necromunda newsletters from the 1990s White Dwarf magazine, I wrote a series of campaign journals. These were intended to tell the story of the campaign, including results and missions. These took a fair bit of work to compile and I’m not sure that the players really engaged with them. From an effort/reward point of view I’m not sure they are worth it. Next time I think I will do something similar but a lot shorter.

If you want to follow the campaign here are the journals from Week 1 to the finale:

Promethium Wars Journal 1Download
Promethium Wars Journal 2Download
Promethium Wars Journal 3Download
Promethium Wars Journal 4Download
Promethium Wars Journal 5 (final results)Download

Lessons Learned from Promethium War

From my own experience and from my player survey there are a few things I’d do next time. these include:

  • Include a map to fight over (though with limited mechanics)
  • Keep multiple factions, but keep win conditions more aligned
  • Appoint Faction Captains to encourage engagement and narrative
  • Include secret missions for Factions to give a sense of mystery
  • Have a specific mission for each week that follows the arc of the campaign
  • Include environmental rules to make battles feel different
  • Have a reduced campaign journal, rely on players and captains to provide the narrative
  • Include specific events during the campaign with special missions and multiplayer games to maintain interest and give different experiences throughout
  • Make it longer than 4 weeks to give more of a feeling of a larger scale campaign.

Final Thoughts on Promethium War

Did Promethium War work? Yes it did. The players were engaged and had fun, which is after all the purpose of the whole experience. Additionally I learned a lot about the effort required and other things that the players were looking for.

Would I run another narrative campaign? Definitely! Would I recommend running your own narrative campaign? Definitely again. However, the set up does take quite a bit of work. Watching players engage with your material and make it there own is a very satisfying experience.

While writing this I already have the makings of the next campaign already forming. Get ready for Succession War (working title) later in the year. Cant wait to see what story emerges.

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Planning a Kick-Ass D&D Campaign with Minimal Effort

Planning a Dungeons & Dragons campaign can feel overwhelming, especially for Dungeon Masters who want to keep their preparation time manageable. However, by borrowing concepts from Dungeon World Fronts and embracing minimalist planning, you can create a dynamic, player-driven experience that feels rich and engaging without requiring hours of prep work. I use this methodology in many of my own campaigns and I can say from experience that it works a treat.

What Are Dungeon World Fronts?

Dungeon World, a narrative-driven RPG, uses Fronts as a way to organize campaign threats and storylines without rigid scripting. Instead of planning each session in detail, you create major factions, events, and dangers that will evolve naturally based on player actions. These Fronts act as living forces in the world, ensuring the story unfolds dynamically.

Step 1: Define Your Fronts

A Front is a significant force or conflict that drives the game’s narrative. Examples include:

  • A Rising Cult – A mysterious order gathers followers to summon an ancient deity.
  • A Warlord’s Ambition – A power-hungry warlord seeks to conquer the region.
  • A Failing Empire – The once-great kingdom crumbles due to internal corruption.
  • A Forgotten Curse – An ancient evil begins to stir beneath the land.

Each Front has:

  1. A Core Threat – The central danger or goal of the Front.
  2. Grim Portents – Steps showing how the Front advances if unchecked.
  3. Impending Doom – The final, catastrophic outcome if players fail to intervene.

It is best to have 2-3 Fronts in play. This creates interesting moral dilemmas for the players. Do we find the rising cults source of power, or stop the Warlords ambition in the border lands? Combatting one will leave the other unchecked for a time and closer to reaching it’s impending doom.

Example of Dungeon World fronts used for a Castle Ravenloft campaign

Step 2: Keep Session Prep Minimal

Instead of spending hours scripting intricate encounters, use situation-based preparation:

  • What’s Happening Right Now? – Consider what the antagonists are currently doing.
  • What Might Happen Next? – Think about the logical consequences of past events.
  • What Questions Need Answers? – Let player curiosity drive exploration.

This method of play does require getting comfortable with improvisation. For some tips on upping your improve game you can check out my previous article on the subject.

Step 3: Build NPCs and Factions, Not Plots

Rather than rigid story arcs, create motivated NPCs with clear goals. If you establish what each faction or villain wants, they will naturally push the world forward, reacting to the players’ choices.

This keeps the game very fluid and flexible. It will actually create intricate and compelling stories without the rigidity and time spent on creating these beforehand.

Step 4: Use Player Backstories for Hooks

Weave your players’ backgrounds into the campaign. A character’s lost sibling, old rival, or mysterious prophecy can become central elements of the story, creating organic engagement without extra planning.

Step 5: Let the World React

One of the best ways to keep a campaign like this engaging is to make the world feel alive. To do that use the following:

  • Actions Have Consequences – If players ignore a threat, it advances.
  • Factions and NPCs Adapt – Enemies respond to failures and successes.
  • The Story Evolves – The campaign unfolds based on player choices, not a fixed script.

Final Thoughts

By using Dungeon World Fronts, embracing minimal prep, and letting players drive the story, you can create a rich, immersive D&D campaign without hours of meticulous planning. While this type of campaign can seem too freewheeling, it does in fact take less effort while creating adventures that the players get fully engaged with. By focusing on dynamic factions, evolving conflicts, and player-driven narratives, and you’ll have an unforgettable game that practically runs itself.

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Launching the Promethium Wars: Designing a Narrative Kill Team Campaign

Those who have been reading this blog for a while will know that I love the idea of stories emerging from game play. While this is obvious in games like D&D, I’m also interested in trying to create similar emergent experiences with other game systems. I’m a member of a local wargaming club where we play games of Kill Team and 40K on a weekly basis. I think there’s something special about a wargaming campaign that tells a story. Not one written in advance, but one that emerges—slowly, chaotically, gloriously—from the dice rolls, the table banter, and the narrative fragments players build together. With that in mind I volunteered to run a narrative campaign for the group. As a result, Promethium Wars, a narrative Kill Team campaign, was born.

I wanted something simple enough to run with minimal admin, but rich enough to spark real engagement amongst the participants. Something where a quick game on a weeknight could feel like part of a bigger war. Games would no longer be transactional affairs, but rather threads forming a larger narrative. And with twelve players already signed up—divided evenly across the Imperial, Chaos, and Xenos factions—it’s clear the idea has struck a chord.

Design Principles

Narrative and Emergent Storytelling were at the core of the campaign design. I didn’t want to script the campaign’s twists and turns. Instead, each week’s outcomes will steer the story. Players can dive in as much (or as little) as they want—whether that means writing full-blown battle reports, communicating in character or just rolling dice and watching the story evolve.

To keep things light and playable for everyone, I leaned into the principle of Limited Admin. No complicated map-tracking or bookkeeping for the campaign manager (me) or the players. Just clear weekly themes, short prompts, and a shared space for storytelling. Every game counts, but you don’t need to log three hours on a spreadsheet for it to matter. The minimum admin for each participant is to log game results and send them to me. Of course, if the players get really into the game the Discord server should begin to grow with narrative reports and banter, but it is not a requirement.

Each faction has its own win condition, giving players a reason to show up and push their agenda forward. The Chaos and Imperial factions want control of Pyrothis V and must win the most number of games. The Xenos faction, who can fight for either side, wants to grind both enemies down to an ineffective stalemate, wins if the Chaos and Imperial sides are effectively tied (two points difference). Regardless of the game mission being played, there’s always a motive. The stakes are casual but meaningful—exactly the balance I was aiming for.

My Imperial Navy Breacher Team, ready to help rescue Pyrothis V.

Structure and Themes

The last principle was Short Campaign Length. I don’t want the campaign to fizzle out. Keeping it short ensures that the high energy at the start can be maintained. Short, sharp, explosive. I hope that this will keep the players coming back for more campaigns in the future.

Therefore, the campaign unfolds over four weeks, with a new theme each week to guide missions and inspire storytelling. These themes won’t constrain players—they’re meant to be narrative fuel. Players are encouraged to run games when and how they like, as long as it fits the week’s vibe. The four themes are:

  • Week 1: Infiltration and Sabotage
  • Week 2: Open Conflict
  • Week 3: Firestorms and Disaster
  • Week 4: Final Gambit

Once reports begin trickling in from the front lines, I’ll be putting together a short newsletter each week to highlight key developments, turning points, and of course, the faction scores.

For more detail on the background, win conditions and campaign set up, you can download the players pack below:

Kill Team Narrative Campaign_Promethium Wars_Player PackDownload

A Living, Breathing War

Perhaps the most exciting part of any narrative kill team campaign is the player energy. Already, folks are crafting characters, naming squads, and giving them relevant back stories. And while there’s no pressure to write stories, every player is invited to contribute. These tales—written, spoken, or just shared at the table—are what will give the campaign its true shape.

Ultimately, Promethium Wars is a story we’re writing together. And the pen happens to be shaped like a bolter.

Final Thoughts on Narrative Kill Team Campaign Design

The campaign is started mid April and will run to mid May. I’m aiming to learn from this experience to hone the opportunity for emergent narrative play and see what comes out. Depending on the actions of the players I’m considering running a multiplayer finale to cement the end of the campaign. But the fact that this is an emergent experience I guess I’ll have to wait and see how the whole thing pans out.

Once the campaign has finished, I’ll post the results along with any lessons learned from the experience.

To find out how the campaign went and to read the weekly journals check out my summary post here.