Success in phase one depends on how much fame you have as an explorer. To this end all players in a campaign should have a 'fame' rating. It should start at I and go no higher than 5. Of course, the more famous you are, the bigger the expedition and the more grandiose the goal must be. For example, only Stanley could have rescued Emin Pasha.

It is recommended that all players start with fame = 1. This allows players to build their characters over the course of several campaigns and generally makes things more fun. The beginning character comes from one of several backgrounds. He could be a young Army officer on a distant station. He could be a scholar/scientist with an idea. He could be a young man of action who participated on someone else's expedition and now making his own way. Each successfully completed mission earns a player one fame point. Players that successfully complete missions above their current level earn two or three fame points, based on circumstances. Players that complete missions below their rating get no points. Players that fail missions at or above their level are not penalized, but if you fail a mission below your level you lose a fame point.

The following missions are mostly based on real expeditions and generally follow the historical timeline. For example Burton and Speke went to Somalia in 1856 while Stanley rescued Emin Pasha in 1889. The player/umpire is free to determine other missions, using the below list as a guideline.

Level	Sponsorship	Mission
1	Government	Explore/map for military purposes some mildly exotic locale like coastal Kenya or Yemen.
1	Government	Make contact with a known tribe that isn't too far away from your departure point and establish a treaty.
1	Philanthropist	Live amongst a certain known tribe and collect information, artwork and crafts.
2	Philanthropist	Recover (steal) a particular artifact from a hostile tribe that isn't too far from your departure point.
2	Royal Society University	Discover the source of a lesser river (i.e. not the Nile or the Congo).
2	Government	Explore/map a more remote area, such as inland Kenya.
2	Philanthropist	Establish contact with a remote tribe and collect information, artwork and crafts.
2	Government	Explore the Sudd (big swamp in southern Sudan).
3	Government	Establish a treaty with Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar (read Flashman's Lady beforehand).
3	Philanthropist	Find the lost city of (blank).
3	Royal Society/University	Map the eastern route to the highland lakes of Central Africa.
3	Royal Society	Follow the southern bounds of the Sahara from Timbuktu to Khartoum.
3	Philanthropist	Establish contact with the secretive pygmies and collect information, artwork and crafts.
4	Philanthropist	Find Dr. Livingstone.
4	Royal Society	Find the source of the Zambezi.
4	Royal Society	Map the western approach to the Central African plateau.
4	Royal Society	Find The Source of the Nile.
5	Government	Rescue Emin Pasha.
5	Government	Follow the. Congo River and claim territory for Leopold of Belgium.
5	Philanthropist	Find the lost tribe of Israel.
5	Philanthropist	Find Prester John.

More Campaigning

Campaigning in Darkest Africa: Introduction
Campaigning Phase 1: The Mission
Campaigning Phase 2: The Party
Campaigning Phase 3: The Adventure
Campaigning Sample Campaign
Campaigning Cards (very slow: 290K)