Episodic play / beginning sessions In Media Res

[sukael]

I'd personally like this kind of setup, as long as I was able to talk with the DM to make sure my character fit into each in-media-res situation.

 

[Glyfair]

It's more the initial build up where the DM typically has to do some coaxing and coralling which I am thinking is often a waste of time.

It's also often the most boring part of the session. I think this sort of goes towards Ryan Dancey's comments about D&D being 20 minutes of fun in 4 hours (or whatever the numbers he threw out were). Throw out the non-fun times and the game becomes much more enjoyable and memorable.

A DM has to pay attention to the character development to avoid painting the character into a position that breaks he believability for the situation. Don't assume character traits not in evidence, for example.

Perhaps set up a "no-prize" rule*. If a DM creates a setup that's unbelievable for the player, he can veto it. However, this can only happen if you can change it in such a way that creates the same situation the DM is presenting.

"You're coming away from an encounter with a leggy redhead."

"Crom would never meet redhead. I veto it so she's a leggy brunette."

GM checks his notes and being a redhead isn't important. "OK, done."

 

[Starglim]

I started my last campaign this way and it worked great.

It's a very useful technique, in general, to run an introductory encounter in which the PCs fight together against a common danger even if they haven't met previously. Starting with "Roll for initiative", then describing the combat scene with a brief background to the encounter in flavour text (if at all), is only an extension of that.


I'm not sure if I would go so far as the Feng Shui idea of starting each session this way. That starts to remove control from the players of non-combat actions that they might want their PCs to take. It would be fine some of the time if set up by a cliffhanger scene in the last session. Likewise I've made my reservations towards flag framing clear elsewhere, particularly at the start of a campaign and when it is not well integrated with the character generation rules, because players (primarily myself) often don't have a sufficiently fixed idea of what their character is about before the first session.

 

[Glyfair]

That starts to remove control from the players of non-combat actions that they might want their PCs to take..

Add in a form of blue-booking between sessions and you can mitigate that. Playes discuss the sort of actions their players are doing between sessions and the GM takes that into account when he sets up the next session.

He might not lead off with the results. However, they could run the encounter staring the session and then "flashback" to the results of the blue-booking after it's completed (assuming the results aren't important to the encounter).

 

[Talic]

If I ever run a campaign again, that's basically what I was planning to do. Ahead of time I'd tell them where they are and why they're there, then let them work their character into it. Nothing overly detailed, but enough to give them a hint of the type of campaign(or at least starting session), and a clear point in their backgrounds to work up to.

Then when it came time to play, I wouldn't need to spend 10 minutes setting the scene but maybe a quick reminder. If it goes straight into action or the first hints of the plot, it should quickly fix player attention.

I probably wouldn't do every session that way, but from time to time it might be appropriate.

If I were a player, I'd have no trouble accepting that sort of start.

 

[Terwox]

I make it a point to roll initiative within the first two minutes of any new campaign I'm running. If you don't roll initiative in the first two minutes, it's not my game.

 

[Seeten]

From talking to Psion about this outside of this forum, I am fairly certain he wants the PC's personalities and desires to shape the campaign, so saying he wants to force the PC's to do as he wishes is assuming facts not in evidence, I'd say.

I think what Psion is saying is, if he knows I want A and B, and that I am willing to do C E and G to get A and B, he can say, "Ok, here is where you are, here is a brief pic on why, start RPING"

I don't think he wants to cut out the RP, either, just the "Ok, how are you going to get from Minolta to Canon?" "We take a boat, and then, we walk the last 10 miles to the mountain, and then hire horses" "You cant find horses" "Oh, alright, we hire a coach." "Sorry, no coaches." etc. Cut that whole scene out and get straight to the you leave Minolta, arrive in Canon, it took X time, which no one cared about anyway, get RPING, John meets you on the docks at Canon.

I like the idea a lot.

 

[I'm A Banana]

It's the only way to fly.

The flag framing helps a lot, because then you get some character motive right out the gates, and can easily throw them together someplace that would make sense for them.

"How you got into this barroom brawl is up to you, but that angry dwarf's iron boot is only a few inches from your shin at the moment, so I'd say worry about the poor choices in your life later. For now, roll initiative."

As long as they can see it as something their character "would" do, it's not really railroading, because they're telling you what their character does via the flags.

I wouldn't do it ALL the time, but it's good to start a few sessions like this. Especially the first session. Because "we all met in a Tavern" makes a lot more sense if, when they sit down, they have to escape the burning tavern itself first.

 

[pogre]

I've done something similar many times. I recommend it heartily.

 

[satori01]

My main campaign has been going strong for 2 years now and while I think it is going to go into epic levels, I would like to start a more thiefly based secondary campaign. I myself would like it to be more en media res, and episodic then my very plot heavy, player planning heavy current compaign.

One thing I have been thinking about is taking a page from JJ Abrams and Alias and have the very first description being of a battle about 4 sessions into the game, say describing a scary demon or dragon and then cutting to 48 hours earlier and having all the characters being in jail. Sorta of an Alias meets Unusual Suspects thing.

I too am concerned about the railroad effect, but then my main campaign has been very player input friendly, (or more likely has seen very free form to the players thru careful planning), and I suspect they may very well like the set up. Alas it seems to take an awful lot of planning to pull it off well.