Transcript
Speaker: I know how easy it is for you to get distracted and you move on to the next thing. And then here I am being like, okay, well, I've got six flipping arrows now. Help me out here, man.
Speaker: Hello, friends. Welcome to Tabletop Tangents, a podcast about running tabletop RPGs, writing stories, and sometimes the meandering paths we take in pursuit of creativity and inspiration.
Speaker: Tangent 13, four verses more.
Speaker: if you're the goosebumps girl, I'll be... Ermagerd, fur versus myrrh. You're welcome. We're off to a great start. We are off to a good start. Welcome back, Chris. Thank you. It's good to be back. It's nice to be here.
Speaker: um Happy to be present and participating and all of those wonderful things. How are you? I'm perfectly fine. Excellent. Adequate, you might say. I'm about to go to Gen Con. I've got two days before I leave. And so I'm excited about that.
Speaker: Yeah. I didn't get a hotel near the Cannes, so we're at an airport hotel, which means that I'm going to have to Uber in. and Yeah. All right. So actually, I'm i'm curious, seeing as how, because we when we were talking before and we were talking about um the whole Cannes bathroom thing, but but this is a different sort of logistic thing. So now, because you have this distance to travel...
Speaker: So like, how do you manage purchases? Okay. do Do you target them at once or do you piecemeal it out over the con? Well, here's the thing. So we have friends. I think we're going to be able to leverage said friends who have tables, but um to ah you know take our stuff and stick it under their table for a little while. right That's the hope. I will check in with said friend before i plan to do this, but um that is my plan right now. if if I will shop online.
Speaker: happi Sure. Whether I will buy things at you know at at appointed times or whatever depends on how much storage possibilities I have before I Uber back to my hotel. So I don't know yet.
Speaker: i don't know yet. But I expect that I will probably be able to store some stuff at this person's place. How many, like what, if with ah with all the various Gen Con's that you've been what would you say is the percentage where you have done impulse or may impulse purchases, but but in the category of probably inappropriate impulse purchases, meaning ah really shouldn't have bought that?
Speaker: Oh, if I were to put it, I don't know, percentage, that's a tough one, but I've definitely done it. Oh gosh, yes. um the the The thing is i can talk myself out of buying practically anything, right? So I'll look, I'll wander. And the thing about Gen Con, part of it is that, you know, you if you see it,
Speaker: and you like it and you want it, you probably should buy it right then. Not necessarily because it's going to be gone, but because you will never find it again.
Speaker: won't find the booth again. you won't unless you Unless you're a ah heads up person, and I am now after 10 years of going or 10 plus years of going, where I take a note of where I am in the in the exhibit hall.
Speaker: But um it's so easy to get lost. If you don't buy it then, there's a pretty good percentage chance that you're not going to go find that booth again so or see it again or or whatever. Remember where you were.
Speaker: you know So I've bought some stuff, but usually I wait. Usually I i think about it. I hem and haw and I sometimes decide not to. And sometimes I'll go ahead and do it, but it'll be on Sunday.
Speaker: And then I regret myself and, you know, it's, it's a whole thing, but um I don't know. Kind of the fun of it is purchasing stuff that you don't need.
Speaker: Very true. That's part of the fun. so part of the mytique i embrace the fun. There, there have been stuff that I, I have bought that I really, really wanted though, which was last year. I think I got a Marvel Champions base box that had a whole bunch of extra stuff in it, like Doctor Strange. The thing about it was Doctor Strange is one of those heroes that's worth like $200 now.
Speaker: And I got it in a base box that had it included. And so either the person who selling it didn't know what they had, or they did know what they had and they just wanted to sell it to somebody else who would play it.
Speaker: Sure. And it was it was in the the consignment area. And the consignment area is one of the best places to go Gen Con. And um I got it for the Friday or Thursday price or whatever where it's when it starts. i think it's Friday. I can't remember now.
Speaker: But um ah maybe it's Thursday morning. But either way, I paid the higher price for it because I knew what it was. If I didn't buy it that day, somebody else would have, or that morning, I would have lost it.
Speaker: I would have lost it because people knew what know what they're they're looking for. So anyway, that's those are one of those that's one of those purchases that was like, focused or I knew what I was looking for and I found it.
Speaker: And it wasn't necessarily Doctor Strange, but it was like, I'm looking for a Marvel Champions thing that has lots of stuff that I can't get easily for un lot cheaper, you know?
Speaker: So anyway, I'm, I'm rambling. Dot has not even talked hardly. We haven't really even started our conversation about what this episode is. Chris, tell me what this episode is about.
Speaker: ah This episode, well, it's see I think it's still appropriate, though, that we talked about Gen Con because we're going to discuss the different skill set slash approaches slash styles when it comes to running one shots ah versus campaigns. And ah yeah kind of how we go at it um and maybe approach certain things um and the reasons why behind it, I would say.
Speaker: Okay. So you are an old hand at one shots and campaigns. I i thought you were just going to end the sentence at old hand. Well, I could have, but then I would have to have applied me to that as well. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. um But, but yeah, so what, what, what would you like, why are you interested in this topic?
Speaker: i think Honestly, I think part of the reason why I'm interested in is that I have found. and As I have. i predominantly do one shots, you know, over the course of a year or two years or whatever. In in recent history, i probably have done more one shots. Now, granted, i was running a campaign during that time as well.
Speaker: But.
Speaker: I had done so many one shots, I felt that um my skills when it came to running a campaign had kind of atrophied and were being affected in a certain way by the one shot mentality that I had developed over. And it's so I guess this is sort of a reset in a certain way. You know, I say that now as I'm sitting preparing one shots, you know, for GameholeCon in a couple of months, but and also am not running any campaigns right now either. yeah But I think it's important. It's a good reminder, at least for me anyway, of what those differences are, um you know, when it comes to certain aspects of it.
Speaker: So that's that's kind of my major motivation for this. So when you were when you were doing that, like what was the one-shot mentality that you were trying to shift?
Speaker: To shift back towards campaign style? For me, for sure, it's pacing. That's that's the the the biggest one. Yeah. you know in And we'll'll we'll we'll definitely go through because you actually put together a very nice list here. So I don't want to i don't want to trash the list. But for me,
Speaker: um but pacing in a one shot is very rapid, very quick. And there's a lot of things that i will I will cut short. When conversely in a campaign, I absolutely would not do that.
Speaker: But I found myself... Oftentimes, I would like check myself at the end of like certain campaign sessions being um I should have let that scene breathe a little bit more. I need to make sure that I'm making notes so I can develop this aspect that just happened to come up in the campaign session, which I never did.
Speaker: um And then, you know, didn't really fully develop it after the fact. yeah You don't need to nod that enthusiastically. No, no, no. This is why i got so stingy about my gosh dang arrows. I'm going to bring them up again. Because... yeah. yeah Grinding your molars a little bit there. Just going to drink my tea. Okay.
Speaker: Well, because... ah ah for as much as i do try to instill that trust in the GM that like things are all going to work out okay there's a plan I know how easy it is for you to get distracted with the ooh shiny and you move on to the next thing and then here I am being like okay well I've got six flipping arrows now can I yeah help me out here man throw me a bone man
Speaker: throw me an arrow apparently throw me an arrow but in the same sentence so like i am i'm not mad i'm just disappointed but Really? Because because in the moment, you certainly seemed mad. No, I'm not. I'm not and mad. I'm i'm actually like disappointed that we never finished that campaign because I was having so much fun. Very much the same. loved that character. i loved the story that was being told. i was so invested in the direction things were going. And then life, man.
Speaker: i i i I will, it is not a lie to say I usually think ah i will think about that in some capacity, not not this whole stupid, ridiculous arrow thing that a fragile player couldn't handle, but oh okay but the campaign as a whole, at least once a week.
Speaker: And the the toying with the ideas of how to resurrect, how to bring it back, what system to use, that kind of thing, for sure. Yeah. it we You should resurrect it again with me and Andrew, and then we just get the Han Cluster crew and bring them in, too once we're done with Han Cluster.
Speaker: ah we already retooled it once. We could retool it a second time. Exactly. You guys are already dedicated to a Thursday night game. right. and I'm all for Chris running a campaign for me. I'm all for it. I'm all ready.
Speaker: I'm ready. i I do miss it. i I miss it dearly. I enjoy it. I mean, I enjoy one shots a lot too. There is an undeniable energy and funness with one shots. And I think that's part of the reason why I think I got into it. It's...
Speaker: It's it can get very addictive because everything is encapsulated in that four hour thing. You have very focused moments. You have focused scenes. You have the ability to create exciting things that happen just within within the confines of that moment.
Speaker: ah And campaigns do that as well, but because they flow at a different pace, there's it's like it's like the moments are spread out over ah over ah a deie of a longer bell curve or something like that. I don't know. i'm not I got C's in math, so I don't mean. some and Some players have to be more patient than or be patient while other players get their moments in campaigns, right? Absolutely. Blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: And that ah the thing is, I forget stuff too. I forget stuff and I feel terrible about it. I forget, you know, a promise I made to a player about something or whatever, or I forget like that they're waiting on me for something to, you know, to enact something so they can react to it or whatever. And I feel terrible about it.
Speaker: Yeah. But there's it's I It's what it is. so many loose plot threads. It's like the worst seamstress garment ever. There's just all these little plot threads hanging around that you just forgot to you know tie up. and Yeah. And you and you know you just feel bad.
Speaker: You do. i Okay. But from a player's side, If I give a note... a note like physical or ah a DM or whatever.
Speaker: and I say to you, Hey, I've got this cool thing planned. You've already got me perfectly set up for it. I just need you to give me the room to do the thing. and then you step all over me doing the thing.
Speaker: What the heck? because ah Because I've had that happen, right? Where like you you have this amazing aha moment as a player. And, you know, I've gotten so revved up to be like, oh, this is going to be great. And then it's going to add this awesome little wrinkle that the GM gets to fart around with too.
Speaker: But then when it doesn't happen, it's like, okay, pivot. Like, how do i make this still be a thing? Yeah. That was, there was a, in the hustling campaign, there was a i wanted to use one of my powers to screw with one of the NPCs because he just kind of became a punching bag.
Speaker: And, there There was a moment that I was waiting for to be able to do it. And then somehow we got onto the topic of like sale oil.
Speaker: And then it was just nothing but jokes. And we've moved on. I have vague memories of that. So that wasn't Sack Tap, though, was it?
Speaker: It wasn't Sack Tap, no. That was also another NPC's name. That's what he got very aggressively referred to as. That was his nickname. Alright, let's do your list. We talk one shots first? Okay. Yes.
Speaker: So we've talked a little bit about this one, but one shots, it's important to me and i like quick immersion. If I can get players into the game within 15 to 20 minutes, meaning they feel comfortable with their characters, they feel like they have an idea of what they're doing and they can start playing and reacting to me.
Speaker: Then I'm success, right? Earlier than that is tough because usually you got your spiel and you got to, you know, blah, blah, Everybody's got to read their character sheets and figure out what they're doing. And then you've got to introduce the adventure.
Speaker: But the faster that I can get them immersed and and reacting and playing with each other, the better I feel like I'm doing, right? Campaigns, it doesn't have to go that fast, right? it's but But that's one of the things that I have worked very hard on over the last many years of doing one-shots. First of all, i ah completely agree. um I'm i' the same way. it is and and for me, and but um I kind of want to hear what some of the the things that you have done in the past. For me, I will i think this is one of those moments, and i'm going to do do a hot take, H-A-W-T-A-Q-U-E.
Speaker: This is one of those moments where taking character agency away, and directing things is perfectly acceptable. I mean, within obvious limits, but you need to, to, to successfully do that immersion. Um, you have to,
Speaker: kind of consolidate and direct that initial action yeah um with with the player characters to guess in ah in a certain sense to get them on the tracks. yeah The path the tracks take is really kind of up to them, kind of, at that point. but But I think that...
Speaker: taking that level of control is ah this, this is a perfectly acceptable time to do that. But like, what have you done in the past or, and or currently to, to do that? I mean, is there certain other things that you do or? Well, you know, I've done everything from flashbacks With Teen Crush, where I'm like, okay, you guys are you guys are part of this this young superhero team organized together by Captain Crush. here You've been working together for two years, but let's do a flashback of when you first met Captain Crush. And then I have this whole interactive kind of thing where you're introducing your character.
Speaker: And Captain Crush is reacting to your character. Like, okay, your luck? Is that your superpower? Okay, great, great. That that sounds great. And and you know you just go on and start making fun of them. And then they start interacting together and all that stuff. And then we go to the Wayne's World thing and we're back.
Speaker: Now we've had an introduction to our characters and an interaction together with Captain Crush, who we now know. And now you realize that Captain Crush is in trouble.
Speaker: Now we start the adventure, right? That was very successful. Another one that was pretty successful was Horizon Zero Dawn, which is a different way of doing it where I'm like, okay, you're all around a campfire. It's still flashback-y, but you're not interacting with each other. You're interacting with an NPC that has a very defined perspective about what you should be doing.
Speaker: as your character, right? It's like, I expect you to do this. I'm telling you to do this. And you can either rebel against them or agree with them or whatever you're going to do, but you're going to have a little bit of an interaction. Everybody's going to watch you. And then everybody gets to know their character because of that, including you.
Speaker: right Because you get to know your NPC that's that's hounding you, whether it's your sister saying you're going to be the best sharpshooter ever, or your father who says you're going to be the best support person for all your friends that's ever been.
Speaker: right And so I've done it that way. And with HonCluster, I've had to... I've got a, you know, 600 word spiel that I give to give you a little bit of an introduction to all the stuff that you need to know without being too in depth about it.
Speaker: Like to say, here's where we are. Here's what ghost traveling is, blah, blah, blah. without And you're going to try it. So I'm going to gloss over it. But here's here's the basics. It's like learning a learning anything where it's going to bounce off you. But then once you try it, what I said before is going to start to make sense. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: It's not great, but that's what I have to do with Honklester because it's so deep and weird and unusual and not like anything else. But that's the kind of stuff that I've done. There's there's others too. But um i try what I'm trying to do basically is to give you ah pregens that can interact with each other in some way.
Speaker: That have their point of views and then give you something to bounce those point of views off of. And that way you can interact with each other, interact with me and then get started, you know? Right.
Speaker: Right. No, I, ah that all of that makes sense. And it's, yeah, I, I feel very, very similar. but But actually I have a question for you, Dot, since you've kind of done, speaking speaking of pre-gens,
Speaker: um since you have kind of done this more on the player side than the GM side, when it comes to pregens, like, what is it about them that attracts certain ones to you over others?
Speaker: You know, in the whether it's whether it's Savage Worlds, if it's Edges and Hiddennesses, is it the art? Is it the description of some of the vampires in Third, Eat the Reich? Like, what what grabs your attention as a player when it comes to pregens?
Speaker: Well, I mean, for for Eat the Reich, it was definitely the art. I a it's beautiful and I love it very much. um But then also just some of the little nods and notes that make some of that personality come through.
Speaker: And I think that. from a GM side is actually a helpful tool when trying to facilitate players picking pre-gens, you know, like Chris, I know you do this a lot in some of your one shots where you'll have like a question or something that you want answered prior to actually starting the adventure.
Speaker: I would almost suggest that, and And it could go either way, right? Because if you if you pick your pregen before giving those questions out, then they fit the question, they fit the answer to the pregen and and some of the context that you get as a player from those from those archetype cards, for example.
Speaker: But Even on the reverse side of that, if you ask the question prior, like you give the spiel, they have the the information about what the one shot is going to be about, um or at least a quick little synopsis, what have you, description.
Speaker: um And then you give them this question right at the beginning. And then they get to pick the character that corresponds to that question, too. That also...
Speaker: kind of like it kind of messes with your head a little bit and then gives you the opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone because, If i if I come to the table for an adventure, i again, we talked about this. I don't know if it was last week or two weeks ago, Tracy, but I've got three looks. You know, there's very specific character types that I will play every time. And, you know, there are slight variations between. But more often than not, they they follow a pattern. Right.
Speaker: I'm going to find a character like if this is a game that I've never played before, if I have no familiarity, i need that little bit of comfort zone to help me immerse myself. So I'll lean towards one of those character types that I typically play. Right.
Speaker: When you've got new people at a table, that's not as easily done. So that's where those questions can really like help draw people in. And then I think it leans towards whatever archetype you are going to choose.
Speaker: It's a really interesting idea. ah kind of like that. Kind of dig This is what I bring to the table. I don't like to put... I this is i think it's i think it's me because I don't like to put players in that position.
Speaker: of saying, here's your character. We don't know each other from Adam and you don't know anything about what's going on, but here's a question about your character. The reason I don't like to do that is because I don't like to be the player who's asked that question.
Speaker: I'll do it, but it's uncomfortable and I don't know what the right answer is. I don't know the adventure yet. Like, i you know, I just i just don't know. And so I feel it's just uncomfortable. So I don't like to do it.
Speaker: um isn't she I don't think it always has to do with the character, though. Sometimes it's just... and I think i I understand where you're coming from. I do, because there is that bit of on the spotness that comes from that. And usually there's a little bit of like, you know, performance pressure. If I don't, yeah if I don't give the right thing. Yeah. Right. If I, if I don't say the right thing, it may not fit with the adventure at all. And then I look like an idiot. Right.
Speaker: But Isn't that also a little bit what it's about? Like just stepping outside of your comfort zone. Like if you're going to play a one shot and I mean, maybe I'm thinking about this too much with the lens of like con events in, in, in mind. Right. But if you're going to play a one shot more often than not, you aren't really going to know anything about it because it's only for that one, one evening. It's only for that one game unless you're Chris and you have to run two shots. Yeah.
Speaker: Yes, that's also very true. Also another another reputation thing. Yeah, well. I do get where you're coming from with that. Like it can it can be a little off putting if you're not around the right company to feel confident and stepping outside of your comfort zone that way. So I get that.
Speaker: See, here's where I would push back though against the GM. So, well, first of all, it it hurts my heart to hear either of you say like, is there, i there's not the if it's not the right answer,
Speaker: there is There is no right answer. Yeah, but then you're putting it back on you no to make it the right answer. but so so if But if the player puts down something that is close, but maybe a little bit out there, then it's up to the GM...
Speaker: I think in that case, because they know the adventure, they know what's going to happen saying, hey, this is really good. Do you mind if I change this or is if we changed it to this, would that be OK? Yeah, sure. You know, just to modify that. scene Yeah. And I think I think that' there's nothing wrong with it. And I think that's that's a that's a definite GM responsibility to handle that kind of thing.
Speaker: um Or, you know, if if if it's not fully right and you don't do that, yeah, sure. Spare spare the player the quote unquote embarrassment ah and just don't focus on that particular, don't that like that point just doesn't come up yeah in the adventure.
Speaker: Yeah. You know what's, you know, it's kind of funny. i ah I, this isn't calling anybody specific out, but there have been a couple instances. Oh my gosh, Chris, I'm calling you out. Actually. Always call Chris out. Always.
Speaker: But it was it was ah a con event and there's been two times that I can think of just off the top of my head where you had questions that you gave out index cards. You're like, just, you know, give me an answer here. And there's been two instances that I can think of like immediately where you couldn't read the person's handwriting and you were like...
Speaker: I'm going to just guess. Do you hand it over to Dot and say, can you do this? Or you hand it over to me and you're like, does this look like this word or this word? Can you translate this for me? Yeah, no kidding. you Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, I don't think it's wrong. Don't get me wrong. it's It's just a preference. Because as a player, I i kind of, oh man, I don't want to be put on the spot like that when I don't know. But but as a GM, what I'd rather do is is give you some interaction to make those choices to say, hey, your father says this, what do you say in response? That's a different kind of way of asking that question, right?
Speaker: Yes. Usually when I try and do the questions, I try and do it, and I'm not saying that this is a better way to do it by any means, but I try to do it something relating to um ah a backstory element and it would be so like um for my deadlines noir event having a clue all of the all of the characters in there have a relationship with um the the main the main guy that they're going to go meet at this dinner party and and why why his name escapes escapes me graves thank you mr graves
Speaker: No, there's denture backwards and forwards. they have They have a history with this guy. But I have explained a little bit about who this man is prior to them yeah answering the question. So they at least have a frame of reference. They know that they're terrible people. They know that Graves is a terrible person.
Speaker: Tell me question. Tell me tell me tell me a piece of dirt that Graves has on you for something that you did in your past. Yeah. Whatever that might be. And usually, because they'll have picked out their characters by this time, they will take a hint off of... So like if somebody took the the the character who's an actor, um they will usually draw on that profession...
Speaker: to help them fill in, you know, fill in that backstory element. um And, and, and that's, that's kind of a, that is actually something that helps move that adventure forward, all of that, because it it helps provide them with motivation as to why they are where they are when the adventure starts.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, I imagine we've touched on different other topics here, right? So what already without us, like pregens, for example. yeah Exactly. We've talked about that a little bit because in one shots, I give out pregens. I don't say always or never, but I think it's a good idea to give out pregens in one shots. I'll say always.
Speaker: yeah Unless... and unless unless part of the demo is one of those types of OSR games where the character generation is very, very quick.
Speaker: Yeah, like Apocalypse-type stuff, Powered by the Apocalypse-type stuff. That's okay, because you have playbooks, and then you can kind of ah build on the playbooks and decide what your stats are and all that stuff. that's's It's okay. it's Pirate Borg is also a really good example. I made my character with like four roles, and I had an immediate idea of who this person was. It was great.
Speaker: But I have been in a, this is this is a horror story, but I have been in a one shot before Suede was published. um that But we had, we had, somebody had it. I had it, of course, but somebody else had it. And um they were like, we're going to make characters before we play. And I'm like, you're killing me. And i mean I'm an expert Savage Worlds player. I can make a character, but I don't want to, I'm not, I didn't sign up to help everybody else make characters. You know what i mean? And to spend an hour doing that before we even get to play. Like, oh, please don't do that to me. Yeah. yeah
Speaker: So pre-gens, I'm a big fan. And um ah the other thing, time management, I think is important to to cover because...
Speaker: I'm always, as as an experienced one-shot GM, like this is different than when I was an inexperienced one-shot GM. i know what time management is like. I know where I am. I have a clock, whether it's on my iPad or phone. I know what's going on. I know where we are.
Speaker: i know what time it is. And I know how much I've got left. Yeah. And I can pace based on that. Right. And I get a feeling I'm like, we're behind. I'm going to have to do something about that. Or we've got plenty of time. We're doing good. Right.
Speaker: So over time, Chris, how has that developed for you? Were you always good? oh gosh. But I think that's going to say no. Horrible. I will ill fully admit. I'm aggressively shaking my head now. Yeah. Before anybody else can even jump in. it It is without question an acquired skill.
Speaker: um and It took me a little while to get too. easily, yeah. It is, i would say...
Speaker: it took It took several years and several runnings of the same event to just to realize where the fat was on that event, to keep trimming it down and trimming it down and getting to just the the lean, meaty parts of the event. And it's better for it um with that. I mean, absolutely.
Speaker: That other stuff is good and adds nice flavor. um But for what you're doing, it's really unnecessary. And i mean, in and truthfully, i think when I've actually been been pushed on this, when it comes to Savage World specifically, I have found you can generally do
Speaker: two combats and then one other thing. And then that's probably, over the course of four hours, that's probably all you're going to get. yeah yeah um You know, so you pick, you could pick a rules subsystem, but,
Speaker: or you can have a role-playing scene you know like a good kind of chewy role-playing yeah yeah but otherwise yep that's that's about all you're gonna get unless you've got yeah yeah unless it's ah like if it's entirely combat focused game obviously combat combat combat but yeah you get you get like about three total things that you can do yeah and i have found Yeah, I i found that too. like yeah I don't generally think that way when I'm writing a one-shot, but I do – I know it inherently. I'm like, okay, this will take this much time. This will take this much time. Like in Horizon, there's two combats plus one extra thing. yep That's what there is besides the intro and some a little bit of time between when you're wandering around the cave. But the bat –
Speaker: Second thing is the is the first big combat. Third thing is the big, big combat. And that's what you've got time for. That's all there is. I used to think, of it first of all, learning that for me has actually become in a certain way, very, very freeing. you it Because on paper, it feels restrictive, but it's really not yeah because it it it forces you to...
Speaker: really focus on those particular scenes that you're doing, that you're developing, and and what can you do to make them interesting? What can you do to make them exciting and get everyone to invest in them? And then they just become better.
Speaker: Yeah. and And when I look at my one shots, they're all that way. Teen Crush has two combats plus a little extra thing. And then even reunification, when I run it as a one-shot, has two combats and one little extra thing.
Speaker: yeah And so that's that's that's how it goes. But combat isn't ah always a thing. Harry Potter has only one combat, but it has all kinds of stuff that goes on before that, you know. And so, so and it's, I have a sense of, okay, how much time is this going to take? How much, you know, what have what have we got left? And that brings us, that kind of ties into the preparation thing, which we haven't talked about yet. No.
Speaker: Which is with one shots, I prepare Like crazy. Meaning once I've got it written and it works, I don't have to prepare anything. It's already written and it works. I know what to do, right? But getting that initial one off the ground where the first running of a particular game that I'm like Horizon or, or, or the Curious Death of Violet Evans or whatever, getting that first one done to the point where it's polished takes a lot of preparation yeah for a one, for a four hour one shot event. It takes a lot of prep and campaigns are different. We'll, we'll, we'll touch on that, but do you agree? i do agree. i think that because,
Speaker: And the preparation kind of fits into one of the the points that I added here is having that focus goal, um you know, to to to make a joke of the seven effective habits. It's that whole begin with the end in mind sort of thing. But you know what the true purpose of this adventure is and everything that you're preparing for really does funnel everybody in that direction. um Yeah, it is. It's.
Speaker: i I may have little box text sections because i i I'm absolutely in love with box text and I can't get enough of it. But otherwise, it is it's all bullet points.
Speaker: Yeah. After that of this is going to happen, this is going to happen, this is going to happen. If this happens, this will happen. That sort of thing. yeah um And it's that also became an acquired skill because I was way too fucking wordy. Yeah. In my earlier stuff like that. And then it became hard to follow.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. in In the time pressure of the moment, I couldn't find what I was looking for. And short bullet points to jog my memory is much better um in this sense.
Speaker: Yeah, and that, when when you get down to writing adventures down for for publication, those bullet points are good, but also the strategic use of headers is how you separate all that stuff out so that people understand what's next and what's before and what happens if and all that other stuff. Like headers, breaking up the text, super important when you're writing adventures. And if you if you've just got paragraph after paragraph of text,
Speaker: You're not, the GM's not going to find anything, you know, you have to give them headers. So yeah. Yeah. So anyway, that's a little tangent, but what about campaigns?
Speaker: What's the difference? ah um For me, it's, it it goes back to that pacing thing. The campaigns are are just so super slow burn. I i will about ah probably on on an abusive nature,
Speaker: let scenes breathe way more than they probably should. I mean, it's just because, because i just enjoy doing it. i enjoy immersing myself in the NPCs are there and interacting with the PCs it to, with,
Speaker: Whatever mundane things might be going on, I have to usually try and remind myself to get back to the plot and what's happening. um Just because i want the world to feel real. yeah And so the more, very similar to, want the world. I'm getting better.
Speaker: so but But my desire to feel to make the world feel real change.
Speaker: fall into that. Just, I want to get into the conversations. I want to get into the mundane things that they're doing. yeah And I've always been that way. And i mean, I can remember from my early days in gaming where i was running an urban campaign, had no idea what I was doing. I had, I had a city and they would just mess around there. But one of the players, he just spent the day going around getting all of the ingredients to make his breakfast.
Speaker: I had a great time. He just were... He was going and buying eggs, and he went and got... he found some cheese. He was doing all this. It was freaking great.
Speaker: It is. it is. And yet, when i do when I do that, I start to feel bad because the other players are just sitting there. Yeah, know. That said, though, I understand from an over-the-table kind of thing that In some cases, the other players are watching and enjoying anyway, yeah even if they're not participating.
Speaker: that I know this from a from feedback that I've gotten, but I continually worry about it. I'm like, I'm spending too much time with this player right now. Too much time. I need to go and...
Speaker: get them involved, but they don't necessarily want to be involved. they They don't, you know, it's hard to know. You just have to kind of feel it. Yeah. that the whole, and that's one of the things on you too, is that, that when, when to aim the spotlight and how much time to do that in campaigns, it's obviously, it's very different. And I think you can get away with longer amounts of that, but um yeah, that also, I think, I feel is a little bit learned.
Speaker: Yeah. Dot, what? You're giving me looks. Nothing. i just... I...
Speaker: Hmm. I think spotlight like that is i think players that want the spotlight take it in the moment that they want it. Right.
Speaker: Like and that's where me as a player, I have to really be mindful that I'm not the only one at the table because i tend to be a larger personality ah did Quit your smile in both of you.
Speaker: This is self-admitted. I know. you can smile at facts. Okay. um So, you know, i i come into that spotlight very easily. It's, I don't, I mean, you know, nine times out of 10, it's because I've crit failed at the most inopportune moment. And then everybody's looking at me.
Speaker: At the table like, way to go, Dot. And, you know, it's just, it's my burden to bear. It's fine. yes um But i i actually like those moments. i i I thrive on that kind of attention. It's very Leo of me.
Speaker: But... I think that players at the table know what their comfort level is, even if it is a campaign, even if it is people that you know and have played with before. There are going to be moments where they feel comfortable, confident, want to have the spotlight.
Speaker: And then there are times where it almost sometimes feels... Like pressure, like, well, you know, so-and-so hasn't talked in a little while. what what You give us something to work off of. And it may be it it may be a situation where that player is like, no, no.
Speaker: ass but i'm gonna take the zero it's just four gms going oh man i need to make this funner for them you know but that's the thing that's the thing i think that that's a really negative perception that gms have it is of what their players are actually there for and what they're enjoying because there's been many a time that I have sat back in a Huss one shot or like a con event because I know the adventure well enough. I know what's coming next. And I like, there've been times where either I need to shut the F up and just let everybody else at the table engage. And then there have been times where Chris has looked down atly like looked down at me like, okay, help me out here, kid. I need i need someone to get the ball rolling a bit here.
Speaker: And it's just... I'm a pawn. That's what it is. I'm a, I'm a, I'm a GM plant. It's fine. I got you guys.
Speaker: You are, you are correct that ah Tracy, in the sense that GM, GM plant, sorry. GMs are far too self-abusive in, ah in thinking what their players might be feeling. Yeah.
Speaker: you know Well, a lot of them are. Not all of them, but but I certainly am. Oh, yeah, for sure. And and like i and I can even think of, a ah like for example, I could think of a couple of sessions of of our Haunt Cluster game where somebody else had the majority of the spotlight.
Speaker: but But like, yeah, well, actually, yeah, we'll we'll we'll pick on you. don't. Dot's character did for a couple of sessions, for sure. inappropriately so um And But yet, for me and my character, I was still incredibly entertained with what was happening.
Speaker: I did not feel neglected and still enjoyed myself immensely because um i did I did feel like I was able to contribute. I didn't wasn't feeling the need to have the spotlight. And like I said, the action that was happening was still incredibly entertaining.
Speaker: you know And and i think that's I think when that kind of stuff happens, that's a good that's a sign of a good group as a whole. you know Because good action, good entertainment, is being and a good story is being told. Yeah. and I agree. And as a player, sometimes I want to sit back and not be bugged either. right I'm like, well, let somebody else do their...
Speaker: I mean, let somebody else who's really just good at this do their persuasion thing because I'll just sit back. you know I'll come up with a good idea in like two hours when I've thought about it. and And that happens with me as a player a lot, especially in games that are challenging like Shane's Red Tide game. And he knows that I'm like this. he He's actually said it out loud. He's like, Tracy, you're the type who sits there and is pretty quiet and then comes up with a brilliant idea at the right time.
Speaker: And that's that's kind of true. It's kind of what I do. but And sometimes I don't realize it's a brilliant idea, but sometimes i so I finally decide, well, I have to say something and this is all I've got. So here you go.
Speaker: um but But yeah, I mean, campaigns are tricky that way. And and related to that is generally, i mean, sometimes people will use pregens or archetype cards or whatever in campaigns. And that's great.
Speaker: They're made for that. That's what they're made for. It's what I made them in Haunt Cluster for. It's what Deadlands are made for and all that. But a lot of times people want to create their own characters. And so part of your job and part of the GM's campaign skill set is to adapt to what your players create.
Speaker: And to say, okay, how can i how can I incorporate what they're looking for based on what I see on their character sheet or what they have told me about their character into this campaign?
Speaker: Especially if that campaign is, you know, it's it's not a sandboxy freewheeling campaign. It's a very focused kind of story that we want to tell. And there's reasons to do that. I do it, but I also make room for that kind of interaction for the PCs to have their moments, right? That's a whole different skill set than in a one shot, I think.
Speaker: being able to take the elements of the character's backstory and integrating them into your overarching major campaign plot is I think a necessity,
Speaker: um for GMs to do. Because one, it it it helps perpetuate that player and the character investment in what's going on. Because now they suddenly have some skin in the game, they have stakes involved with this, and it gives them a little bit more motivation for being present in what they're doing.
Speaker: You know, if they're if somehow one of their NPC contacts is inadvertently dealing with, you know, the big bad that's that, that they're going after now there's, there, there can be some friction there. There can be some connection going on there.
Speaker: And that's, you know, being able to do that as a sign of a good backstory provided by the player. And then also shows that the GM is, is like you said, is adapting to what's there yeah um and paying attention to what's going on.
Speaker: Yeah, and the the the campaigns that I've run that have not been published, I do incorporate more of what the players are doing and what they, and and I ask them pointed questions when they're creating their characters. I'm like, okay, this is a cosmic supers game.
Speaker: Why, you know, i ask questions like, what, are you just altruistic? Is there a reason you're a hero? Like, why have you not turned bad? You have so much power, right? Like you are planetary Captain Marvel, Iron Man powerful at this point.
Speaker: Why have you not turned bad? And i' I'll ask them that as part of their character creation so that I can incorporate it into the game, right? But when it's a published adventure, i don't do that as much because the questions are asked by the published adventure and usually during the adventure they're asked.
Speaker: So it's it's less that i I just don't, I want to incorporate your backstory, but I'm not going to ask you pointed questions about it. Right. Right. So that's that. And then, you know, that it's just adapting, adapting to what the players are looking for.
Speaker: And like John Wick says, it's all in the character sheet. If it's, if, if they've put it on the character sheet, they're telling you what they want to do. If they say they're a great pilot, they're,
Speaker: they want to pilot. If they say they're a great boater, then they want to boat. You know what I mean? if they're a gambler, they want to gamble. And so you try to, even with published adventures, you try to give them those opportunities to use the stuff that they want to use.
Speaker: And that's really important when you're trying to do a campaign for players who have created their own characters. Vitally so, because I think that's
Speaker: It is it is a um ah foreshadowing of this is I want my character's arc to involve this primary thing I'm good at. um You know, yeah, Han Solo would not have been nearly as exciting if he just ran around all the time and he wasn't in the ship.
Speaker: Yes, indeed. That's right. If you if you take han Han Solo and just run him around on Endor, that's fine, but it's not really what the player of Han Solo wants to do all the time.
Speaker: Han Solo wants to have his moment in the ship, you know, and so you got to give it to him. um I think, let's see, I've got lots more here, but well we'll we'll wrap it up though. One thing I do want to cover that's weird about campaigns is character death.
Speaker: Oh, okay. And sometimes like... You never know when it's going to happen. And especially in Savage Worlds. Like Savage Worlds, most of the time you're going to be fine. They're soaking. And even if you so if you become incapacitated, you've got roll. You're not going to die right away unless you crit fail. Maybe you will.
Speaker: You could. But if somebody's got healing and is close to you, there's probably a good chance you're going to survive. And there's all, there you know. But... I have accidentally killed people before and i don't regret it, but you should have a plan either going, both going in and during the game for what happens when somebody dies. God has something to say. she's just killing herself.
Speaker: I have never experienced character death. Ever. Ever. I have. And it by both great and not so great.
Speaker: Yeah. i I and the only time that I and again, I don't count this because it was a character funnel of like those those you're meant to die. Like your characters that that's different. I have never in a one shot or a campaign setting experienced character death.
Speaker: There has been world ending apocalypse. We failed as heroes and, you know there, everything goes, but I've never had I've never had a a failed role or interaction in a campaign or one shot setting that has resulted in, in that moment, character death.
Speaker: Right. Yeah. And I am terrified what it will do to me if slash when it eventually happens. That's fair. See, I think that's that's that's how to see and that's where i think how to deal with it. That's the other side of it. I think it's important.
Speaker: The GM needs to know what they're going to do. with The player also needs to know what they're going to do. Yeah. Like either you set it up but ahead of time and say, okay, there's going to be a heroes never die rule or a four wound cap rule. And I actually talked about this with the Honklyster players before we started. Do you want to do a four wound cap rule? Normally I wouldn't, but if you want to do it, we will do it because it makes it makes it less likely you're going to die. Yeah.
Speaker: But everybody agreed. No, no, no. And that's fine. But um there's there's that. And then as a GM, you know if if if a player if a player character dies, what do you do? How do you do how do you deal with that?
Speaker: Because obviously the player is not out. They're going to bring in somebody else, right? Yeah. and My experience with bringing somebody else, boy, that's hard.
Speaker: Like, because I'm i'm stuck on, i love, I've had great experience with the character death where sometimes it was meaningless in in the middle of a fight in a jungle because I was in Vietnam somewhere trying to deal with a Cold War thing. And I just, I died.
Speaker: And I'm just like, ouch. But my group made it meaningful, right? Like they they said goodbye and we took time. But bringing in that's that that replacement, wo it's tough.
Speaker: It's tough because it's just not the same. Well, yeah, it's not the same. The vibe is different than dia night the den tonight the dynamic is different. Yeah, it is. um Yeah, it is. um And you you for the player, you're you're very much at a ah square one.
Speaker: Yeah. You know, and and trying to figure out who this character is. what they're doing, what their motivations are. And even for the GM, it's that way too. It's, you have to, you have to ramp them up so much faster, you know, um which can be, which can be tricky.
Speaker: Yeah, for sure. And you have to establish trust with the other, the other heroes, not necessarily other the players, all the players trust each other. Right. But the characters coming in,
Speaker: And so there's this, who are you and why are you here with us? Right? And so so we have to role play through that establishing of trust thing, which is kind of kind of tough. Now, there are some players like Daryl, for example, or freaking Simon who lost, man, he he got killed five times during Red Tide.
Speaker: um He doesn't care, apparently. Right? It's just a toy to him, his character. But I do. And i I've created my character. ive I decided to make my character in a way that would survive.
Speaker: I bought Holy Warrior, which means I can spend power points to get pluses to soak rolls. I made sure that I had a good chance of not dying. um because I knew it was going to be deadly. And I'm the kind of player who loves my character.
Speaker: So I won't do super, super safe things and self-preservation-y things. I'll take the risks. But my construction of the character speaks to, in that particular case, what I knew was coming and what I know is important to me. And I think the GM has to have that in mind as well.
Speaker: I agree. And not to be dismissive, but this is kind of a session zero thing. I mean, out of the out of the things that you should talk about in session zero, character death is absolutely on that list. Yes. And that's why I talked about it.
Speaker: And and yeahp I'm like, well... All right. No wound cap. we're we're We're without the safety net. And here we go. And Zanai on Shock was quite nervous.
Speaker: Very good. Very good. The the the the the internal relief when i when i remember reading if I had the protection on the suit and thinking, wait, is this mean what I think it means? Please let this be right. Please let this be right. You know?
Speaker: Yeah, you know what you know what the damage is on that? um Well, it wasn't yeah, it was a lot. It was over 40 points. it was yeah Yeah, and what I rolled is 5d6 AP20.
Speaker: Yeah. That's what I roll for a deluge of Krista on you. Yeah, I was there. It was not planned. But yeah, and and and that's the point. It's to scare you.
Speaker: And it did. I haven't killed anybody yet on shot, but I've come very, very close. I've come very close. course.
Speaker: it's great.
Speaker: Thanks for hanging out with us. Whether you're behind the screen, at the table, or lost in your own story, we hope that you found a little inspiration. If you enjoy our tangents, be sure to connect with us on Discord and follow us on socials to keep the conversation going.
Speaker: Until next time.
Speaker: Tris, I do want to point out that I have noticed behind you, you have a copy of the Battletech game just kind of right underneath the picture of Haley Preston behind you. And I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. That's my new map.
Speaker: My new horizon. Oh, okay. Not even being used for Battletech. No.
