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[ZEITGEIST] The Continuing Adventures of Korrigan & Co.
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<blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 6073382" data-attributes="member: 79141"><p><strong>A quick note about portraits and prep.</strong></p><p></p><p>Before detailing events on board the train, I thought I would mention an additional step I took when prepping for this adventure.</p><p></p><p>One neat innovation of the <em>Zeitgeist</em> AP is the use of clear, readily identifiable portraits for key NPCs. Having ran a plot-rich NPC-heavy urban campaign for three years, I know all too well the frustration of blank looks when reintroducing a key character, particularly if one was expecting gasps of shock and surprise.</p><p></p><p>The <em>dramatis personae</em> handouts help greatly, as do the individual portraits themselves (and the rich descriptions associated with them). I have made a point of rehearsing my characterisation of each NPC before their first appearance, and often try to link them up with a famous person or just a familiar archetype. (Margaret Thatcher as Lady Saxby was perhaps the most amusing/egregious depending on your point of view.)</p><p></p><p>But bad impersonations aside, the portraits are the best reference point. Human beings remember faces. Unfortunately, as has already been pointed out on these boards, using them in <em>Always on Time</em> could be a dead give-away. And seeing as keeping track of NPCs is arguably the whole point of the adventure, I decided to take the following drastic step:</p><p></p><p>I drew my own pencil portraits for every single one of the NPCs, including the train personnel and the incidental 'filler' NPCs.</p><p></p><p>I can draw fairly well, particularly faces, and for some characters all I had to do was roughly copy the ones in the published adventure. I altered even those, to look more like how the characters appeared in my head. For the rest, I just sketched some readily identifiable faces that matched the descriptions in the text.</p><p></p><p>So far the effort has been very well received by my players, and has served the purpose of obfuscating which NPCs are key to the adventure. </p><p></p><p>Knowing also that my players would not bother to interact with passengers at random, I came up with a list of reasons that the filler NPCs would draw their attention and serve as red herrings. For example:</p><p></p><p>Alexi Morbacher - complaining loudly about not being able to travel first class as he had planned.</p><p>Ford Zugoksy - quickly pockets a document (his fundraiser invite) on noticing that he is being watched.</p><p>Bethany Cousineau - doing her best to remain unnoticed.</p><p>Charon Chevrolet - slips a bribe to a train guard (to allow him to sit in second class).</p><p></p><p>Some of these required a check (insight or perception) and made them seem even more important.</p><p></p><p>I also planned out what each of these NPCs would do at each stop, in case the players decide to tail them. (Remember, I have seven players in my group, so stretching them more thinly will be fine.)</p><p></p><p>I'm amused by the fact that Bree is the first NPC they encounter (other than Xorin), as I'm sure that will have led them to dismiss her as a suspect. They also quite like her. </p><p></p><p>This is much more additonal prep than I usually do for a published adventure, but I am confident it was worth it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gideonpepys, post: 6073382, member: 79141"] [b]A quick note about portraits and prep.[/b] Before detailing events on board the train, I thought I would mention an additional step I took when prepping for this adventure. One neat innovation of the [I]Zeitgeist[/I] AP is the use of clear, readily identifiable portraits for key NPCs. Having ran a plot-rich NPC-heavy urban campaign for three years, I know all too well the frustration of blank looks when reintroducing a key character, particularly if one was expecting gasps of shock and surprise. The [I]dramatis personae[/I] handouts help greatly, as do the individual portraits themselves (and the rich descriptions associated with them). I have made a point of rehearsing my characterisation of each NPC before their first appearance, and often try to link them up with a famous person or just a familiar archetype. (Margaret Thatcher as Lady Saxby was perhaps the most amusing/egregious depending on your point of view.) But bad impersonations aside, the portraits are the best reference point. Human beings remember faces. Unfortunately, as has already been pointed out on these boards, using them in [I]Always on Time[/I] could be a dead give-away. And seeing as keeping track of NPCs is arguably the whole point of the adventure, I decided to take the following drastic step: I drew my own pencil portraits for every single one of the NPCs, including the train personnel and the incidental 'filler' NPCs. I can draw fairly well, particularly faces, and for some characters all I had to do was roughly copy the ones in the published adventure. I altered even those, to look more like how the characters appeared in my head. For the rest, I just sketched some readily identifiable faces that matched the descriptions in the text. So far the effort has been very well received by my players, and has served the purpose of obfuscating which NPCs are key to the adventure. Knowing also that my players would not bother to interact with passengers at random, I came up with a list of reasons that the filler NPCs would draw their attention and serve as red herrings. For example: Alexi Morbacher - complaining loudly about not being able to travel first class as he had planned. Ford Zugoksy - quickly pockets a document (his fundraiser invite) on noticing that he is being watched. Bethany Cousineau - doing her best to remain unnoticed. Charon Chevrolet - slips a bribe to a train guard (to allow him to sit in second class). Some of these required a check (insight or perception) and made them seem even more important. I also planned out what each of these NPCs would do at each stop, in case the players decide to tail them. (Remember, I have seven players in my group, so stretching them more thinly will be fine.) I'm amused by the fact that Bree is the first NPC they encounter (other than Xorin), as I'm sure that will have led them to dismiss her as a suspect. They also quite like her. This is much more additonal prep than I usually do for a published adventure, but I am confident it was worth it. [/QUOTE]
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