How do you actually design sessions? I've been a Bookcel for so long that I forgot what it means to design a 4+ hour session, especially first sessions of a campaign.
Copy the format from the book
>>97336156Some monster stats and npc names. Maybe a couple spells or items written down. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit... ask the players what they do.That or carefully plotted, highly detailed adventures that my players fuck off from anyhow.And if I really need to buy time? I put them in a town and give them money. They'll easily fuck off for the entire next session to do something stupid.
>where is party currently>what does party want>X, Y and Z are the most likely things they might do>prepare for X, Y and Z>have some filler shit in the back of my hand, should they do something totally unexpected>gives me time to figure out how to proceed>improv everything else, just wing it
A good TTRPG session follows the basic formula of a good episodic TV show episode. I find that the best formula to follow for most TTRPGs is actually Avatar: The Last AirbenderYour first session is the pilot, and it should introduce the setting and scope of the game and the main cast. Each main cast member should get something to do that showcases their strengths and sets up their narrative - tie into their backstory and establish where things should go. You should also set up whatever overarching story you'll follow for the campaign. As a comparison, the pilot for ATLA gives us Katara's desire to learn waterbending and the fact that her mother is dead, Sokka's desire to live up to his role as a man of the tribe, Aang's status as the Avatar, and Zuko's need to capture the Avatar, plus setting up the season long goal of getting to the North Pole to learn waterbending.After that, each session should introduce a problem for the cast to solve. ATLA usually ties it to wherever the party has ended up, but that's not the crucial element. The important part is that each session should have something that gets set up and knocked down in the space of one session, ideally while contributing to the main plot and the growth of the cast. Whatever problem they're solving should be determined by what game you're playing. In D&D, it's probably a dungeon or a dragon, for example.
The more I GM, the more I don't. You just have to react and come up with some shit that's consistent with player expectations from the session, while making sense in the context of what happened in sessions prior.Main thing I'm GMing now is an open group in cyberpunk 2020, set in a mexican city. I have a list of the main factions, some important NPCs that may be involved or give some work, a general idea of the main objectives of each faction and a rough sketch of personalities so things are consistent. After the first session started it was just reaction, and that was a good thing, because if I had planned something more set in stone, the game would have been completely derailed by the start of session 2.
>>97336256I didn't believe that storyshitters were actually a thing until I saw this post. Terrible gaming advice btw.
>>97336383Post games.
>>97336387What? What does this even mean?
>>97336405If you're so superior you must be playing games. Post evidence.
>>97336383Not everyone Is playing d&d-likes. Random tables won't help you set up a mistery for CoC.
>>97336156Make a scenario that your players have input in. Figure out a way to introduce them to the scenario's important elements.Leave it up to them to give input.GMing is something you either really "get" or you don't. Goodluck.
>>97336490Despite my anxieties I’m apparently one of the “good” GMs given how they’re always asking me to do it, but that’s only filled me with a bigger fear of fucking up, hence asking.I think I’m formulating a goof first session, though. I could storysperg in this thread but the important takeaways are,>Early Byzantine / Late Antiquity setting, the arrival of magic in the form of a star was the cause of the Roman equivalent collapse, think Witcher and Age of Strife>Campaign is set in the aftermath of a catastrophic war, they’re still sorting through the dead>PCs are all people who lost something, they’re in the campaign city to recover bones or burial goods>Arrive at warehouse>After some tense build-up (missing keys, missing attendant) discover cult in warehouse conducting ritual due to intense buildup of negative energy in warehouse>Fight ensues, bloodshed results in ritual going off half-cocked>PCs are now infused with Nostalgia, or the lingering effects of intense longing and loss (ie, magic is based on emotion and can soak into things.)>PCs are sought out as help in uncovering the Cult, recovering what was lost and thwarting a conspiracy that threatens the future of the planet The whole campaign is built on loss, grief, and moving on after catastrophe. The Cult’s goal is to destroy the magic making Star to restore the world to what it was, which can’t really happen without destroying the world that was already made with magic. One of those, “destroy my world, or die in yours.” Kinda things.
>>97336156Each morning, drink a tall glass of pic related, it will instantly solve all problems you could ever have with running and planning sessions
>>97336581Sounds like a good premise and that it can grow into a longer campaign.My only thoughts is that it's possible this 1st session with the warehouse could have parts that rely on the PCs taking highly specific actions. As long as they've got a good reason to get inside the warehouse and not run away at first sign of something I'm sure it'll go well.
>>97336421>Post evidence.Like what? Pictures of my table at gaming night? Get the fuck outa here.> Random tables won't help you set up a mistery for CoC.I didn't mention random tables or D&D(likes) once in my post but go ahead, fight the strawman in your head. I bet you are winning. Good for you.BTW if there is one thing that investigators in a CoC mystery are above all else is expendable. If you don't see how that classes with the post I was replying to there is nothing I can do for you.
>>97336581The basic premise is alright, if your group is up for it. It pays to talk with them about the themes, to see if they're on board with a game like that. Some may just want to unwind and fuck about after a long day, he's not gonna have a good time and get bored, or fuck around still and ruin the game for the others. For how you want to structure the session itself, talk with them and see what they'd like to get. Some like Combat, some like social stuff, some want intrigue or mystery, others want to explore. Find a balance that works for your group.
>>97336156Set the scene, describe what's going on, ask the players what they do, respond, resolve, repeat.
>>97336600That’s my fret-point too, I’ve sat through too many campaigns where the GM dumps paragraphs of their novel to be comfortable with campaigns that hinge on the PCs doing something super specific. I’ve got time to chew on it though, which I’ll be doing.
>>97336627Players usually get such a cue without needing a nudge, but in case you want to be sure, you can either put something in there they have to recover, or make it clear that if they don't intervene to stop the ritual right away something bad is going to happen, and there's no time to call someone else. Good enough for a one shot.
>>97336658That’s actually some good advice; treat the first session like a one-shot. I’d pontificate on why I like that but I’m driving and, as we know, Phoneposting is low-quality. Thank you, though. Approaching Session 01 like it’s a one-shot helps frame how to build it.
>>97336627My rule of thumb is that limit any description to 2-3 sentences at most. Your player's brains will fill in the details (hopefully... if someone does not have an imagination they can be a serious drain on the table). Only give more details when they look closer, unless it *really* matters to the scene/room/encounter/etc. For example, don't wax poetic about how a lamp shade or table looks. You're running a TRPG, not writing a book. A lot of GMs have terrible plodding games because they think flavorful dense descriptions should be constant.To start things off if you have a premise to deliver to players, like- this is the world- this is why you're here- this is the last few events before you got herekeep that to maybe 2 paragraphs and make sure it's concise and clear. don't let eyes glaze over, people can only keep a few things in their head at once while juggling the imagination/interaction part of things.>>97336613In all my life I've never met players who really know what they want or how to describe it in a way that is meaningful to the GM's structure. It's best to figure that out as you run the game for them. Besides, the best approval you can get from your players is they keep showing up and asking you to run "whatever you want, it's all good."
>>97336156I vaguely write notes on my phone and wing it 90% of the session. Works 10x better than actually planning shit out.
>>97336699>I've never met players who really know what they want or how to describe it in a way that is meaningful to the GM's structureNever had a problem with that really, you ask them what they expect and what they like to do. We're playing L5R, there's all sorts of shit that could come up, to focus you ask if they want more combat or court intrigue, if they want to keep things grounded or delve into the fantastical elements...it also immediately helps them see what kind of character they may want to make, so you avoid the classic "I made a rich explorer with high social skills, and now we're stuck in a dungeon fighting cannibal monsters". Just a few questions that help you clear some chaff. Saves a lot of time and effort, and spares everyone from having less than nice sessions.
>>97336156Wut? I don't know what my players will do so I wing it
>>97336257Great Advice>>97336256Terrible Advice
>>97336156I have been juggling this a lot latelyhere is my algorithm for making villages/settlements/populated areason the most basic level (if you literally only have <=30 minutes of prep time) a settlement needs>a reason to be populated in the first place (Worlds without number has great tables if you are out of ideas)>a list of establishments, businesses, and services>a table-list of important NPCs, their wants and fears (just one item per column)>stat blocks for guards and typical professions if your system doesn't provide these alreadyon the next add more things for players to do>for the NPCs table add a 'task or a complication' column, fill in for like 50% of NPCs>a list of rumors that might point PCs to NPCs with tasks or complicationsflesh out the village on the next level>think of conflicts and factions, go back to NPCs and rumors tables to adjust accordingly>list of random events (a child goes missing, raiders attack, magical storm etc.)next level>think of a village oddity, something that will make it unforgettable and unique >flesh out random events into something concrete so you won't have to improvise those
>>97336256why don't write a book instead brothat's actually a good way to start of a storyfaggotory campaign, not that it's a style to my liking
>>97336256You had me at the first sentence, it's important to have a concept of how you're gonna run each session so they're good.But holy shit all the rest of that is awful advice.
>>97336156No, I prep content and if it happens to line up well to a 4 hour session then all's well that ends well. Prepped content USUALLY lasts for longer than you think it will though.
>>97336606>If you don't see how that classes with the post I don't see how that "classes" with the post
>>97336156This really depends on what game you're running and what sort of players you have. Even defaulting to 5ednd doesn't give a generically applicable answer. What are you trying to run?
>>97338438>What are you trying to run?Pathfinder 2e, level 1. It's a custom setting based on the 7th century Byzantine Empire, "five minutes" after the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The campaign is centered on a city equivalent to Antioch, the "City of Hope" due to its critical position as a trade nexus. The healthy sustainment of trade routes is critical to maintain continuity of civilization. What do you want to know, specifically, about the setting? I can yap all night.But the ultimate point, what the campaign is really meant to be, is around the yearning to recapture something that can no longer exist. Nostos, Pothos. Those feelings of yearning, the core values of stuff like Dark Souls and what people feel when thinking about Rome. The campaign (the plot itself) is about the PCs stopping a Cult that wants to destroy the source of magic in the world because magic is responsible for making the war as catastrophic as it was - and before that, it's been a nonstop threat to the world. People have learned how to live with magic, but that's because the alternative was extinction. Even if people like the cult's goals, the reality is that magic has filled the world for so long and so thoroughly that "removing" magic would destabilize the planet, resulting in even more destruction.That's the thing. The PCs are uncovering this apocalypse cult with genuine motives and desires which simply don't work anymore. Between chariot races, talking to stylites, courtly intrigue and dealing with Turkic-type assholes in the hinterlands, they're working through the yearning of an era that can no longer exist. That you just need to, y'know, keep moving forward. The value of scars, and that.
>>97336156You don't. If the game is good it can be run with no prepping.
>>97339121>Pathfinder 2eDo your players know what they are getting into with a build-autism, overly balanced kind of system? A serious question, as I found it fell apart after a short time when trying to do something that wasn't official Paizo crap.
