Okay, since it's been brought up:
1) Does your campaign revolve around a fixed or traveling setting?
2) Urban or wilderness?
3) How often does the scenery deviate from the norm for the campaign?
Theme:
1) What is the central 'theme' of your game?
2) If a new player wandered in, would there be room for them to
fulfil their goals?
3) Does the war against the Droves play a central role, or is the
War part of the backdrop?
4) Again, how often does your campaign vary from the expected?
My campaign:
Setting is mostly the urban area of Houston, with minor 'side treks'
over the world. When a character 'settles' elsewhere, they leave
the focus of the campaign; more time and effort is spent on the 'in
focus' characters. In other words, if all characters move to
Seattle (or a majority), the campaign focus moves with them.
Otherwise, it's not worth my effort to run eight different stories
just because the characters go skittering off to their favorite
settings (some of which were originally meant as one-shot backdrops).
Theme:
I bring the War to the near background. Players aren't attacked by
Droves on a nightly basis, but if they want to get into a fight,
there are plenty around. The sewers, in particular, are a stage of
fierce warfare between 'gangs' of monsters and Tribe Peri. Because
there are only two dozen or so total immortals in the setting, a
great deal of impact is caused by the player's goals. Although I
try to bring roleplay into the game, my players regard it more as
solving a puzzle to get the NPCs to do things for them. (And to
weasel out of the numerous debts they accumulate doing so.)
Analysis:
My players keep coming back, complaining constantly that things just
aren't easy for them. This tells me that 'kill things and take
their stuff' games have them expecting a spiral of increasing
challenge and ability. However, the players keep showing up, so I
must be doing something right.
Anyway, I hear a meal softly calling my name. I'm going to answer
the call and hope nothing blood-sucking jumps out of the
refrigerator at me.
Mike Kochis
AKA Python the Lesser