Recently I ran the last session in a 10 session campaign of mage. After that I sat down and tried to evaluate what went good and what didn't. I won't write down the long essay I wrote, but I will share the points I found out.
The situations me and my players found most enjoyable was the pointed at the following:
• Things should be personal. When it's possible to relate to the other "actors" in the module, it is more engaging.
• Drama! This shouldn't be confused with people walking through doors and looking through curtains but rather that things should matter. There is something at stake.
• Intense moments where things come together. This isn't just a random encounter, but rather an encounter where things matter with something you have a relation to. Combined with pacing and flow of the game.
How to make this possible then?
There are a number of factors I think are important to this, and I did change my workflow as the campaign progressed (mostly towards the final sessions). First of all, I increased my prepping time, especially my focused prep time. Trying to figure things out while walking home from work wasn't enough, but spending the same amount of time actually writing non-stop the same amount of time did give me more material and a more solid background. When writing this background, I tried to focus more and more on other actors, rather than magical secrets or strange events (without leaving those ones out).
Another important thing was to present a situation (not necessarily THE situation) within five minutes. From that situation there should be a trigger to the next and so on. The overall premises should be clear. From there, it's easier as both players and GM to improvise and go on with the story.
What to take with me?
For the next time I run a game, I will make a short check list and try to keep these things in mind:
• More focused prep time
• Start out with a bang and give a basic framework within a couple of minutes
• Focus on persons and things the players can relate to.
• Add drama and intensity. Make choices and encounters matter
There are lots of other little details here, but I think that you can add most game- and setting templats to these little (almost to simple) points. This would apply to a fantasy game as well as a super hero game as well as a mystery game.
The situations me and my players found most enjoyable was the pointed at the following:
• Things should be personal. When it's possible to relate to the other "actors" in the module, it is more engaging.
• Drama! This shouldn't be confused with people walking through doors and looking through curtains but rather that things should matter. There is something at stake.
• Intense moments where things come together. This isn't just a random encounter, but rather an encounter where things matter with something you have a relation to. Combined with pacing and flow of the game.
How to make this possible then?
There are a number of factors I think are important to this, and I did change my workflow as the campaign progressed (mostly towards the final sessions). First of all, I increased my prepping time, especially my focused prep time. Trying to figure things out while walking home from work wasn't enough, but spending the same amount of time actually writing non-stop the same amount of time did give me more material and a more solid background. When writing this background, I tried to focus more and more on other actors, rather than magical secrets or strange events (without leaving those ones out).
Another important thing was to present a situation (not necessarily THE situation) within five minutes. From that situation there should be a trigger to the next and so on. The overall premises should be clear. From there, it's easier as both players and GM to improvise and go on with the story.
What to take with me?
For the next time I run a game, I will make a short check list and try to keep these things in mind:
• More focused prep time
• Start out with a bang and give a basic framework within a couple of minutes
• Focus on persons and things the players can relate to.
• Add drama and intensity. Make choices and encounters matter
There are lots of other little details here, but I think that you can add most game- and setting templats to these little (almost to simple) points. This would apply to a fantasy game as well as a super hero game as well as a mystery game.
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