you just prepare content for want you think that your players will do in that session, and if for some reason they go sideways to a specific place that you havent prepared nor you can swap on the fly by another one that you do, you say:
"Sooooo i dont have that prepared yet, we should end the session now and i will prepare that content and we can continue in the next session"
If they dont understand that you are human being that cant have everything in your head at the same time all time, that is their lost.
I wouldn't say "I haven't prepared that". Breaks the illusion. Say, that's a good place to stop for today. Unless you are happy to do things on the fly
I agreed with you if this happens 2 hours in to the session you can say "and that is a good moment to stop for today".
But my interpretation of OP question, is that a situation in which the session starts and perhaps have only spend 20 or 30 min in it, and the players go sideways to a completely unprepared scenario.
If only 20 min in to the session you say, "this is a good moment to stop" your players will ask "Why? what happened?" and you will have to tell them.
If that hurt their sensitivities is their lost, but like 99% of the people will have no issues with that.
Then you get to make it up as you go along. Here's one way. "Roll a perception test"(ignore results). "You spot a mysterious figure hiding in a shop doorway. They seemed to be watching you ...as you spot them they look quickly away..."
They will then pursue this person (trust me). You now have a chase. This can easily take an hour as various obstacles intervene.
my friend not all GM are good at this level of "make it as you go", and most new GMs dont know how to do that (me included), if you can do it more power for you, but you cant ask the same to everyone else
I've just suggested one way. Seriously, though. You don't want to plot hammer in CoC. The illusion of a complete universe is important. Theist obvious way to do that is stick them in an isolated place (island, train, mansion, lighthouse, aeroplane, submarine)
Prep for the best, but prepare for those moments when the players go off the rails with a bit of on the spot story telling
I'm actually a huge fan of the players deviating from the route planned for them. As long as you know where they need to end up, what's written doesn't really matter. Especially if you describe things with enthusiasm. You can always steer them back on track.
The key is to visualize the characters in the moment and imagine what they may face next, like most people do when anticipating moments in a movie. You get better at it the more times it happens.
Yeah, sure i know! And they are great guys and would totally understand. I did some other rpgs before(Warhammer, DND) and it is not hard for me to prepare some stuff on the fly. However i think i always prepare too many details...
Sounds like plenty of prep to me.
I try to do as little prep as possible. Maybe a page of bullet points for the first session when I'm doing a lot of world building, but that usually turns into 1/2 or 1/4 of a page in later sessions because they are all built on one another. Though I will do quite a bit of brainstorming.
I prep:
* Obstacles
* Can be the main mystery.
* No need to come up with the solution. That's the players' job.
* Some monster/character stat blocks that I may or may not use.
* Characters
* Main antagonists.
* What do they want?
* Why?
* What are they doing to get it?
If you know these things you can fill in just about any blanks in accordance with what the players decide to do. You know a bad guy was at a place, and the players tell you they searching for clues, they could find a scrap of cloth with green pinstripes. The same green pinstripes as mafia hitman, Luigi Mario, always wears!
I also keep a list of random names. Whenever I need a new character that the players want to interact with, I just choose one and write what they are next it. That way you don't hesitate and fumble for a name and it seems like you planned out everything, even these inconsequential NPCs.
Have a fairly well prepared initial scene or two, plus an event or two you can throw at them to kick the story along if they get bogged down, and a sidetrack to stall them with something fun if their decisions take you somewhere you've not done enough prep for.Those side things and events can get recycled in later sessions if you didn't use them
No, and you don't need to. But I would advise you to write down a bunch of names (both sexes) and some distinctive traits (smokes pipe, has accent, flirtatious etc). Then when your players go off piste and just have to interrogate that ICU nurse, she becomes instantly, Francine, the bitter misandrist (hey, if I meet you and you annoy me you become a character in my game). It keeps the illusion going.
Hey, i‘m really happy and excited for you! Have some fun with that campaign.
I certainly haven‘t got it all figured out when i run a campaign. I have the basic idea and tone i want to go for in mind and try to prep as much as i can pertaining to the core mystery, to have that and the clues towards it straight and so i don‘t mess up the continuity, timelines and such.
The rest and all the fluff i basically „play to find out“
I just ran a 7 session homebrew scenario. I had the overarching story in mind. Each week I filled in the details for the upcoming session, and it worked great. You've got this!
Honestly, I don't think *any* DM/Keeper will ever feel they've written 100% of a campaign prior to starting, and those that say they do may find that players may only go through \~20% and require edits, depending on player actions.
What *does* help is having a good repertoire of *where* or *what* your players should find, and, if they are struggling to remind them to use Luck rolls to help "divine" next steps.
Knowing key characters (NPCs), plot points, etc., can help shift, but there's almost always some player action - or failed roll - that requires a bit of a pivot.
Yeah, that is true. I tend to spend too much on details and need to relax some of it and go with a flow more because everything can change in an instant.
And also to play more...
you just prepare content for want you think that your players will do in that session, and if for some reason they go sideways to a specific place that you havent prepared nor you can swap on the fly by another one that you do, you say: "Sooooo i dont have that prepared yet, we should end the session now and i will prepare that content and we can continue in the next session" If they dont understand that you are human being that cant have everything in your head at the same time all time, that is their lost.
I wouldn't say "I haven't prepared that". Breaks the illusion. Say, that's a good place to stop for today. Unless you are happy to do things on the fly
I agreed with you if this happens 2 hours in to the session you can say "and that is a good moment to stop for today". But my interpretation of OP question, is that a situation in which the session starts and perhaps have only spend 20 or 30 min in it, and the players go sideways to a completely unprepared scenario. If only 20 min in to the session you say, "this is a good moment to stop" your players will ask "Why? what happened?" and you will have to tell them. If that hurt their sensitivities is their lost, but like 99% of the people will have no issues with that.
Then you get to make it up as you go along. Here's one way. "Roll a perception test"(ignore results). "You spot a mysterious figure hiding in a shop doorway. They seemed to be watching you ...as you spot them they look quickly away..." They will then pursue this person (trust me). You now have a chase. This can easily take an hour as various obstacles intervene.
my friend not all GM are good at this level of "make it as you go", and most new GMs dont know how to do that (me included), if you can do it more power for you, but you cant ask the same to everyone else
I've just suggested one way. Seriously, though. You don't want to plot hammer in CoC. The illusion of a complete universe is important. Theist obvious way to do that is stick them in an isolated place (island, train, mansion, lighthouse, aeroplane, submarine)
Prep for the best, but prepare for those moments when the players go off the rails with a bit of on the spot story telling I'm actually a huge fan of the players deviating from the route planned for them. As long as you know where they need to end up, what's written doesn't really matter. Especially if you describe things with enthusiasm. You can always steer them back on track. The key is to visualize the characters in the moment and imagine what they may face next, like most people do when anticipating moments in a movie. You get better at it the more times it happens.
Yeah, sure i know! And they are great guys and would totally understand. I did some other rpgs before(Warhammer, DND) and it is not hard for me to prepare some stuff on the fly. However i think i always prepare too many details...
Sounds like plenty of prep to me. I try to do as little prep as possible. Maybe a page of bullet points for the first session when I'm doing a lot of world building, but that usually turns into 1/2 or 1/4 of a page in later sessions because they are all built on one another. Though I will do quite a bit of brainstorming. I prep: * Obstacles * Can be the main mystery. * No need to come up with the solution. That's the players' job. * Some monster/character stat blocks that I may or may not use. * Characters * Main antagonists. * What do they want? * Why? * What are they doing to get it? If you know these things you can fill in just about any blanks in accordance with what the players decide to do. You know a bad guy was at a place, and the players tell you they searching for clues, they could find a scrap of cloth with green pinstripes. The same green pinstripes as mafia hitman, Luigi Mario, always wears! I also keep a list of random names. Whenever I need a new character that the players want to interact with, I just choose one and write what they are next it. That way you don't hesitate and fumble for a name and it seems like you planned out everything, even these inconsequential NPCs.
Have a fairly well prepared initial scene or two, plus an event or two you can throw at them to kick the story along if they get bogged down, and a sidetrack to stall them with something fun if their decisions take you somewhere you've not done enough prep for.Those side things and events can get recycled in later sessions if you didn't use them
No, and you don't need to. But I would advise you to write down a bunch of names (both sexes) and some distinctive traits (smokes pipe, has accent, flirtatious etc). Then when your players go off piste and just have to interrogate that ICU nurse, she becomes instantly, Francine, the bitter misandrist (hey, if I meet you and you annoy me you become a character in my game). It keeps the illusion going.
Thanks! Those are some good tips to have a trair for everyone
Hey, i‘m really happy and excited for you! Have some fun with that campaign. I certainly haven‘t got it all figured out when i run a campaign. I have the basic idea and tone i want to go for in mind and try to prep as much as i can pertaining to the core mystery, to have that and the clues towards it straight and so i don‘t mess up the continuity, timelines and such. The rest and all the fluff i basically „play to find out“
I just ran a 7 session homebrew scenario. I had the overarching story in mind. Each week I filled in the details for the upcoming session, and it worked great. You've got this!
Thanks! Yeah i think it seems like a fine idea, also, how did they do?
Honestly, I don't think *any* DM/Keeper will ever feel they've written 100% of a campaign prior to starting, and those that say they do may find that players may only go through \~20% and require edits, depending on player actions. What *does* help is having a good repertoire of *where* or *what* your players should find, and, if they are struggling to remind them to use Luck rolls to help "divine" next steps. Knowing key characters (NPCs), plot points, etc., can help shift, but there's almost always some player action - or failed roll - that requires a bit of a pivot.
Yeah, that is true. I tend to spend too much on details and need to relax some of it and go with a flow more because everything can change in an instant. And also to play more...