And now a taste of things to come....

[Piratecat]

What you do is a lot like "cut scenes" from various movies. I always liked that idea.

I actually added a high level divination spell into the game specifically to provide an excuse for 'cut scenes.' It works really well. I've taken to saying that unless I say otherwise, the flavor quotes in the game reminder emails are glimpsed by the wizard through that spell. It means that they don't have to pretend that they never read 'em!

I also start each session with "When last we left our intrepid adventurers...", giving a brief summary of the previous game's end. Waite, I like what you do, but I'd worry that specifically filling in missed clues may occasionally be too big a hint. Still, that's a cool method, and it gives good insight.

Pcat, do you just mention the quote or do you also mention the names of the NPC or adversary? Taking your example how did those quotes align with the events of the session?

I mention the name as well, as long as the PCs have heard it. Some times the quote never becomes relevant in the game, or just gives a sense of what other people in the world are thinking.

For instance, with the four I mentioned above:

- the first showed the result of a very clever PC trap/ambush against their githyanki enemies. I included it so that the players could justifiably gloat a little.

- the second is a little bit of foreshadowing, while relaying some flavor of a primary religion.

- the third refers to the fact that in-game, the PCs were confronting someone who claimed to be a servant of Trea, Goddess of Treachery and Seduction. It's just a little bit of local color that adds some perspective on what most people think about Her.

- the fourth is an important prophecy that told a whole lot about what was going on in the session, if anyone could understand it and pick the insane ramblings from the truth. (more of it is truth than ramblings.) I like giving prophecies that make a lot of sense in retrospect.

 

[Waite]

Pcat, you are a genius. Its a great way foreshadow and bring alive a campaign as well as let the players know the world is dynamic. I DM a low-level game and I use a number of published scenarios. Often times there are some great backstories about a dungeon or the history of a specific encounter or NPC that the players will simply never learn about. Half the fun in reading these adventures is the flavor but it is tough to communicate that flavor to the players. Through use of quotes you could foreshadow coming events in the dungeon as well provide snippets or clues as to the histories of the place, person, or monster.

 

[Piratecat]

You're kind! It does seem to work well, though, and the players all dig it (I asked them.)

Waite, if you want a way to legitimately use cut scenes in your game, here's the spell I use. You could easily reduce the mechanical benefits to make it lower level, and give it to someone in a magic item if you wanted to introduce it.

[sblock]Vision Cascade
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 24 hours
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Vision Cascade relies on gathering echoes of the caster’s personal knowledge which reverberate upon the astral plane. Throughout a 24 hour period, this spell shows the caster fragmentary glimpses of his enemies, allies, and even strangers whose actions may interact with the caster’s at some point in the future. Oracular visions may occur at any point in the 24 hour period (as dictated by the DM), and in any given day the caster may see between zero and his level in number of oracular visions, as determined by the DM. These visions are perceived the caster instantaneously when they are periodically generated by the spell, but may relate events that vary from seconds to minutes in length. The events seen by the caster generally occur in the present (i.e. within the past day), but the unpredictable nature of the spell occasionally relates events that have happened in the past or which have not yet occurred. The knowledge of roughly when the vision took place is communicated by the spell (ie “past,” “present,” or “future.”)

The caster has no method for determining exactly what people are viewed by the spell, although upon casting he can choose one target creature or event. There is a percentage chance equal to the caster’s level that this target creature or event is definitely included in one of that day’s oracular visions. This spell works in spite of most scrying preventions, but is thwarted by mind blank and more powerful spells. Subjects shown by the oracular visions have no way to detect the spell’s observation, as there is no scrying sensor to detect.

In addition to providing oracular visions, this spell provides limited insight into immediate danger. While it is in effect, the caster gains a +1 insight bonus to both AC and Reflex saving throws. This bonus does not stack with other insight bonuses.

Note: This spell is primarily used in campaigns where the DM wishes an in-game method to impart information via “cut scenes.” The player is encouraged to occasionally remind the DM that the spell is active if relatively few visions have occurred on any particular day.

In my own game, I usually provide between 1 and 3 visions per session, and that number seems just about right in terms of usefulness and game flow.[/sblock]

 

[wedgeski]

This thread has inspired me to do a kind of 'Next... On Lost' type epilogue to all of our D&D sessions. Thanks!

 

[Luthien Greyspear]

While I use the "When last we left our (descriptive)(heroic-sounding title)..." method, I think I may have to introduce PCat's uber-nifty spell to my campaign. I have more than enough mages working for or against the PC's to introduce it, and since my campaign relies on assembling a huge puzzle of clues, this might be perfect for giving out hints as to what NPC's they need to seek out.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I usually have one of the players do the recap. Due to the amount of intrigue in our games, I dont want to give weight to something they might not have picked up on, or give away clues. I'm also able to observe what they think is important and/or fun, and tailor the game accordingly. If they make an obvious error, I'll fill in the details.

 

[Jupp]

With the new campaign that started end last year we have opened a blog on wordpress.com. Every session someone in the group will write a journal of the game session as we go and will then put it to the blog a day or two later. We also take pics with a digi cam of interesting events or if we have to end a session in mid-fight to remember the position of each character and the monsters. I was able to get a notebook from the office for free and the person responsible for the current journal is typing it directly into WinWord. That makes the whole process even faster.

We also have categories set up in the blog to keep everything neat and tidy. There are categories for the journals, house rules, web links, off-topic stuff, etc. I think it will become an interesting place for us over the time when more and more content is being added.


We did make journals before but not on the web. They were handed out in one of the following session. But somehow we got very lazy with that method. Since we use the blog the journals are put online within 2-4 days, which is a huge improvement compared to the 1 week to 3 months we had before with the print-outs

 

[blargney the second]

That's a neat spell, Piratecat. It feels like it ought to have the [Chaos] descriptor, at least thematically.

I like the idea of prepping the players for upcoming games like that - I find there's a long period where they're sitting around the table trying to figure out what's going on. That'd be a great thing to minimize.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

If I had PCat's spell available, I'd never cast it. Too dangerous. Imagine having an oracular vision of several minutes duration about something else while in the middle of a battle! (The characters can't read the last line!)