I was perusing the group today and ran across Mark Tygart’s dungeon starter called “Epic Fantasy” I think it is great. But it prompted a question for me in regards to campaigns:
These starters have all these great questions. In the one referenced there is “How did you learn of the flaming sword?”
It never occurred to me to use these mid-campaign. Does anyone/everyone do this?
Let me give an example from my own campaign. Two of the characters broke into an occupied city via an old smugglers tunnel. The other two tried to bluff their way through the city gate. The two at the gate got captured. The two that got in from the tunnel are waiting in a pub. So the current situation is that the two in the pub don’t “know” that the others are captured.
To break the dead lock I was thinking of using questions from another Dungeon Starter (The Escape) to move the action back into media res
Have the two that are free start in the dungeon where the captured ones are kept. And use those starter questions to get the thing going “after what you did to the guard, will he live?” And go from there. Cut out the part where they have to discover their pals are captured.
Thoughts? Other ideas?
Yes, ask questions and use the answers is a principle that you should keep using throughout every game. Even outside situations like this, it can be a great way to inject some character-driven world-building while you take a breather and the answers can help stimulate creativity when you’re not sure exactly where to go next.
One thing is that if you’re going to use questions for fast-forwarding like this, be sure to get buy-in from the characters. You can just ask “Is it okay if we use a few questions to fast-forward to you rescuing your companions?” That way if they already have different ideas what they want to do, you don’t lock them in to a plan they wouldn’t choose. Most players are happy to do this, though, as it gets things back into the action quickly.
Another idea: if you finish a session on a cliffhanger and your next session is going to start like what you described above, consider creating a custom move that lets them roll, then gives them a list of choices to help set the scene. This has a similar effect as asking them questions, but also gives them a greater feeling of choice, as they can pick and choose which complications they’re interested in exploring.
Example:
On a 10+, choose 3; on a 7-9, choose 1; on a miss, still choose 1, but there are further…complications:
– You avoid killing any guards
– The authorities do not become aware of your identity
– You were able to find your companions’ equipment on the way and so they aren’t naked when the scene opens
– You don’t have to pay any bribes
Dan Bryant these are both great ideas. Thanks!
One slight adjustment to Dan Bryant’s excellent suggestions… You could start the session with the two captured players discussing their situation in character … Will they be rescued, what do they fear will happen, etc. And use their discussion to build the three options in the custom move. That lets all four players contribute before the session starts.
Adam Norwick nice!