The On-Going Chronicles: Playing (and Creating!) the Shared History of the Table’s World

Session Dates ($20 for 4 games):

• Wednesday, 01/22 (Microscope)

• Wednesday, 02/05 (D&D 5e)

• Wednesday, 02/19 (D&D 5e)

• Wednesday, 03/05 (D&D 5e)

If you ever wanted to wield a magic item while it’s still mundane, build a wilderness keep that later becomes haunted, or play as the heroes venerated on statues and tapestries found within castle walls, sign up for the On-Going Chronicles! This is a semi-open 5e D&D table that explores the history of a world we co-create and the legacies left by heroes who adventure within it.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO RUN THE ON-GOING CHRONICLES?

Logistically, we’ll be running tables four sessions at a time; one ticket commits you to four events (run every-other week) over an eight-week period. The reason for this semi-closed table (sign-ups reopen after the last session!) is because these adventures hinge on two things: 

1. A shared history. We’ll spend the first session playing a game of Microscope, an indie tabletop roleplaying game that allows us to co-create a world by exploring its history. Note that every four sessions, a new – or returning! – group of players will get to add their own events to the timeline as well, building up – but never contradicting – the history of the world at this table.

2. Exploring a personal legacy. In this game, you won’t play a single character. Instead, you’ll choose a class and play a persistent tradition of people within it (e.g., fighters of a specific martial school, clerics of a specific god, wizards who share one grimoire, etc.) with the aim of discovering how its members leave their mark on history over time, either individually or as a group. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ACTUAL PLAY?

Each week, we’ll play out a single encounter that takes place either before, during, or after a specific historical event we envisioned in the first session. Then, for each session after, we’ll either continue to play within the lifetime of the characters or jump forwards or backwards in time to explore other aspects of history.

More specifically, players will be able to choose both where – and when – they adventure each session. If you play in the future, the characters who bear the mantle of your class’s lineage may be weaker in level but stronger via their heirlooms or skills passed on from mentor to apprentice (magic items and special abilities, respectively). Jumping into the past means your characters will be at a higher level but without the benefit of centuries of development in their tradition.

Alternatively, players may elect to create history independent of their classes. Do you fight against invaders in a historical age to preserve artifacts for future history to enjoy? Or are you the first to raid a dungeon – and leave a map for future generations to fill in and follow?

The choice will be up to each table. And, much like the shared history of the world, most of this will be discovered in play.

WHAT LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE DO I NEED?

Because this is a semi-open table, both new and experienced players of D&D 5e may join whenever the cycle resets; however, the DM will assume players can put together characters in-between sessions (independently or with asynchronous help) and have a basic understanding of how feats, magic items, and class advancement works.

Note that the default ruleset for the game will be the 2024 Player’s Handbook; any other 5e material will need to be approved by the DM and the table during Session 1. 

WILL THIS GAME BE RIGHT FOR ME?

You may enjoy this style of play if you don’t mind your D&D a little weird and semi-improvised: with co-created games, the DM finds building the adventure at the table – roughly in the moment – can be more fun for everyone involved. This will be a game where participation is more than just playing your character: don’t be surprised if the DM asks you to name a city or describe an NPC!

And to that point, this game assumes the unstated golden rule of ttRPGs: that we play for the group’s enjoyment and not just the individual. By being able to decide the past, present, and future of history, you will have a great deal of power in deciding what we explore at the table. Use it to build up and upon each other’s ideas – not for the promotion of your specific characters or classes.