2014-10-15 Con Games

Somebody was recently wondering about con games on Google+ in a private post and I left the following comment:

• bring pre gens, have pictures of the characters or a *strong, bold three word characterization* which allows people to pick characters without reading the entire character sheet
• start *in media res*, in the middle of the action (no meeting in a tavern, no traveling to a dungeon, just go)
• bring pens, erasers, dice, empty paper
• keep things moving

This last point is important. How do you do it?

• *Speaking authoritatively*. I’m usually a bit bossy. I point my hand at somebody and say, “OK, your turn. What do you *do*?” Other players can interject this or that, but I lift my other hand and stop them if they are confusing the player on the spot or if they’re trying to talk over the player.
• *Active time management*. I have a watch in my view and mention the time left. “We have thirty minutes left. Do you want to attempt the throne room?” Even if we almost always attempt to cram whatever I’m suggesting into the time remaining, everybody will know how much time we have left.
• *Encourage players*. Prevent dithering, doubt, indecisiveness, lengthy planning. If they propose a faulty plan, propose the better plan instead. Use non-player characters or their characters’ experience to give yourself a voice. “It’s possible the *Master of All Doorways* has not heard of your trickery, but remember, many grey elves left the burning city and I’m sure he’ll have learned all about you in the mean time. I don’t think talking to him will work.”
• *Skip the obvious parts*. This also goes together with the avoidance of planning. “Enough planning already! Your proposal works. There you are. You have confused the scouts with your distraction, you have bypassed the sentries with your sneaking, you have quietly murdered the body guards standing outside the tent and you’re there, in the map room. A curtain separates the sleeping quarters from the rest of the tent. What do you do?”

​#RPG ​#advice

Comments

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Great bullets, Alex. These are a freaking gift for me, especially as a reminder going into a Con this coming weekend. They seem obvious (and I generally agreement with them), and yet:

In the first batch I’m good at the 2nd two bullets, but objectively weaker in the first two. Well, the first: I often substitute chargen or finishing chargen as a team building among the players, which is an intentional trade-off, but not one I’d recommend spending much time with.

In the second batch (unpacking “keeping things moving”), I’m strong in the 1st and 3rd; really strong in the 3rd, I think. Objectively, I think I’ve been letting the 2nd bullet slide too much. The 4th is just good advice, especially with many Cons now offering 4 hr blocks.

These days, I’d also add – to the general prep – practice. While no session works out the same way, I find that I learn a lot more about both the adventure _ session I’ve planned (play test) as well as my own GMing when I run an advance session of it._

– Brian I 2014-10-15 09:53 UTC

Brian I

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Yes, practice sessions are definitely a good thing. In my case, I love running a few indie games that keep presenting the same characters and the same situations:Lady Blackbird, Darkening Skies, The Mountain Witch. These games make it particularly easy for me. I’ve run them before, they’re great.

Lady Blackbird

Darkening Skies

The Mountain Witch

Con games using traditional role-playing games are harder for me because I use traditional role-playing games for long running campaigns. I’d have to extract one particular adventure from the campaign and that makes it harder for me.

And then there are those games in the middle somewhere, mostly Fate games. What I did for one shots, at home, with friends (and what I haven’t tried for con games) is bring characters that are *mostly* done. Fate makes it particularly easy to bring characters that are still missing some aspects and skills. No problem, just fill them in as we play.

– Alex Schroeder 2014-10-15 10:34 UTC

Alex Schroeder