I operate three separate campaigns and I love it.
Each of my campaigns is very different from the next, but they are all set in the same world.
My world is based on FGR canon from 2nd through 5th edition, but I place my story in the distant future, ahead of any of the current stuff.
I colloquially call this all Faerun 3000, as it's all diesel/steam punk-ish. I assure you: I was doing it before it was cool and all over the DMs Guild.
The world is a mishmash of floating airborne island motes and much surface tension as an over arching villain threatens to consume the known world. The gods are missing and nobody knew why; divine energies are brought about from arcanic sources and the gods that the users think they're speaking with, are not necessarily so.
In my world I feature a mineral known as Iralite, which the Cloud Spires mountain range is filthy with. This ore is sought for its ability to affect magical flux. Iralite can store, transmute or transmit magical energy. It can be blended with gasses under pressure and fluids in a pestle, to create new and wild effects. In some parts of the world, it is known as vertelight or 'green rock', 'green ore', etc, etc.
Chronicles of the Cloud Spires
A war epic of sorts told in chapters. In our first chapter, the adventure featured new bloods making their way in a cold and threatening world. In chapter two, we explored the history of the kingdom through the discovery of long buried history. Finally in chapter three we are seeing the adventurers seeking out solutions to the impending threat.
Chapter 4 and 5 will of course be their return home, and the subsequent discovery of chapter 6 as the campaigns writings continue past level 20.
This campaign is responsible for most of my array of characters, and each has their history, motivations, and modus operandi.
Silverlight Stories
Formerly known as Covenant of Silver: Stories (a rip on GTA: Stories) I realized that was dumb and that a different name like Silverlight, or Silverbird, or Quicksilver or pretty much anything mono or parasyllabic would be ideal. So it was.
The Covenant of Silver campaign took the players through a few quick missions where they grew accustomed to their gear before being fired into Acereraks realm as an accompanyment to the CoS.
They've traveled the dark and dank interiors of the world for some time, journeying for a rumoured elevator that would take them to a surface world and closer to their original goal.
This campaign was not intended to be one where the players hung onto their characters for long, however I've enjoyed the tension more than the violence.
As we're reaching the end of the campaign, the violence will ramp and the chances that I can save players is going to fade hard.
The stories of each character are lacking, in that 'they are soldiers' is really the only part of the story that's important.
There are a lot of NPCs in the campaign, but given the scope of the characters story is more obtuse.
Cormyr
The most D&D of my campaigns, I am striving to keep this a very 'normal' sort of slog, with simple characters, simple adventure and a good mix of all my favourite tricks.
Tonight, we continue this story as the adventurers delve further upon a dark mine, searching for the root of a spider infestation, and discovering more than they expected.
Depending on how the role play goes, it may be the first double cross I commit upon the players in a long time. It's hard to warrant double crosses in most games given players ALWAYS expect them.
I developed more of the characters story for Cormyr than I did for the CoS, despite the two to three hour session average.
In this particular case, I wanted to exercise my chops against a time limit and making the campaign meaningful.
What is Meaningful?
Pedigree, makes characters meaningful. Gift the players a role to play. One may say that in a fantasy game you should write your own story, and I would argue that every DM has to contend with a players influence upon their story, so why can a DM not bear influence upon the player.
It behooves a DM, to provide their player with a role, or a history, or a destiny perhaps. The point is that we do not get to pick our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. They are borne to us, as we are born to them.
The good DM exercises this option, and establishes a pedigree for the player. The good player, whether they are role playing or min/max edgelording their way through the game, will recognize the benefit to this.
Octoberfest
It's been great fun making the little Halloween gestures throughout the months sessions; I need to hit up a dollar store for more tiny junk <3
The challenge always remains to inject cool references that aren't too obvious, or too obscure.
Always open to suggestions :D