tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post5702397928632452123..comments2024-03-29T06:16:21.012+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: In Media ResUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27114514326173179022017-06-23T15:09:34.039+08:002017-06-23T15:09:34.039+08:00In the hopes this comes across as helpful rather t...In the hopes this comes across as helpful rather than petty: it +should be in medias res.<br /><br />Even though I read The Lord of the Rings starting with the first book, this exact same sense of the world having been there for a long time already was a great part of its enchantment for me.<br /><br />One of the recent Pathfinder adventure paths, the Lovecraftian one, starts the PCs off in an asylum, without any memory of how they got there. Over the course of the adventures, they learn that they've worked for one of the villains, and he double-crossed them and put them away.<br /><br />There's a Lamentations of the Flame Princess adventure set in the Thirty Years' War where the inevitable arrival of the hostile Swedish army is used as both a time for the PCs and a driver for some of the NPCs to go all in on their plans, creating a sort of feverish, apocalyptic atmosphere with everyone in a hurry to get as much done as they can before the end.shimrodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04135625733096882013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-54167749047089861872017-06-19T22:30:39.651+08:002017-06-19T22:30:39.651+08:00"I think this is even more true with newer pl..."I think this is even more true with newer players. Whereas old hands will have enough tropelore to know what to do when 'You're all sitting in a tavern' rolls around, a new player might spend their first session tediously interacting with shop-keeps. Worse, they might think the core game mechanic of D&D involves tediously interacting with shopkeeps."<br /><br />Ha! Very true. The point about new players is a very good one. I've been running games for my kids and their friends recently, and it's crucial to hold the attentions of those who aren't familiar with the format. <br /><br />It's worth thinking about adventures as articles or speeches sometimes. You can almost always improve them by skipping the throat-clearing and introductions and beginning with a bang.<br /><br />The other point about starting in media res for new players is that it gives a chance to get everyone accustomed to the mechanics. So, of the hackneyed adventure openings, an ambush is always better than the "old man in a tavern".<br /><br />An aside: taverns themselves can be a bit tiresome. You can convey a much better sense of an ancient or medieval setting by having the PCs seek shelter in a crowded peasant hovel or whatever.JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964744140140515737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-45159384860688785052017-06-19T09:18:36.938+08:002017-06-19T09:18:36.938+08:00I will be running a game next Tuesday which will b...I will be running a game next Tuesday which will begin with the players locked in the dungeon of a castle that has just been taken by an invading army. They'll have a choice of being POWs or perhaps criminals who were already in there when it was seized.<br /><br />Your post also gives me an idea of actually writing a fantasy book series but not ever publishing the first book. I think it could be interesting, though I doubt it would actually be published.<br /><br />Funny story: the lead designer of Dark Souls loved western fantasy novels as a kid, but his English wasn't very good. So, he had to fill in gaps in the story when he got to words he did not understand. Supposedly, this is why his games rely so much on vague allusions and unrevealed secrets.Eoul the Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01040640458108923682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-54594810959903211252017-06-18T23:21:14.476+08:002017-06-18T23:21:14.476+08:00I think this is even more true with newer players....I think this is even more true with newer players. Whereas old hands will have enough tropelore to know what to do when 'You're all sitting in a tavern' rolls around, a new player might spend their first session tediously interacting with shop-keeps. Worse, they might think the core game mechanic of D&D involves tediously interacting with shopkeeps. <br /><br />I'm a huge fan of the rule that whatever exciting thing is supposed to happen in this locale (revolution. battle, festival, whatever) is always happening when the PCs rock up. <br /><br />(My own setting actually contains a city called Media Res after I told a newer player to always start his campaign in Media Res. His response? "Where's that?")Rocinantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15775746608769762225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-7207170971155463252017-06-18T16:27:43.886+08:002017-06-18T16:27:43.886+08:00Dark Sun did this. It describes the world at a mom...Dark Sun did this. It describes the world at a moment when one of the sorcerer-king's power is in the process of collapse, about to upset the established order that has existed for as long as anyone can remember. This became followed by a disappointing metaplot not much later, but the idea was there.Yorahttp://spriggans-den.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-83032666398061606652017-06-18T15:43:16.979+08:002017-06-18T15:43:16.979+08:00At the simplest level, Whitehack (the best iterati...At the simplest level, Whitehack (the best iteration of OD&D I've seen) has great advice: <br /><br />"The mainstream fantasy adventure has a prelude or "hook" to draw the characters in. Unless it contains a true choice, you can skip it, jump right into the action and let the players explain why the characters are there." (p.26)<br /><br />There's an example earlier, too:<br /><br />"The game may start with your character opening the Lost Tomb of Tunka Jinnn ..." (p.14)<br /><br />I followed that advice in a recent game, and it makes such a difference from the traditional tavern/travelling starting point.<br /><br />These are slightly different to what you're talking about (more micro than macro), but the same principle's at work: throw the PCs into the thick of things and go from there.JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964744140140515737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-86365175569336710352017-06-18T13:24:51.614+08:002017-06-18T13:24:51.614+08:00It certainly beats meeting in a tavern in a boring...It certainly beats meeting in a tavern in a boring town where never ever happens and then having to travel somewhere else to get something going.Ghasthousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07401924351959645260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-14454953118412621212017-06-18T09:39:26.951+08:002017-06-18T09:39:26.951+08:00Huh. Huh.
Something very interesting to think abo...Huh. Huh.<br /><br />Something very interesting to think about.<br />: )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.com