Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Riley37" data-source="post: 6617161" data-attributes="member: 6786839">Pre-generated characters save a LOT of time: here's the pile of characters, pick the one you want to play. There are things you can ONLY do when you're all in one room at the same time. Use that time for those things. Character generation is not one of those things.If all the PRE-GENERATED characters are (a) already on a team together, and (b) all have a motivation towards a shared goal, then the &quot;in media res&quot; can go more smoothly. &quot;Wait, *why* have I spent the last week travelling towards this castle, why am I now at its gates?&quot; - &quot;Look at your character sheet, buddy. See your Bonds and Flaws? That's why.&quot;More important point:If one of the players says &quot;Hey, I want to go off into the woods to gather some herbs to make some potions&quot;, then ask, bluntly, &quot;Is that going to help us reach a satisfying story ending, within three hours of session time?&quot; Keep asking that question. Ask the question even when you think the action IS pointed at reaching a satisfying ending.If they insist on doing stuff that isn't advancing the story, then shrug, and decide whether or not YOU are willing to spend three hours of your life DMing someone's side quest for herbs for potions.Of course, you can also say &quot;Okay, you do that. Write out a note with all the potions you think you can make. Pass that note to another player. If the other player agrees that it's fair and reasonable, then pass the note to me.&quot; That delegates and shares the burden of sorting what's fair and reasonable. If they're all happy letting each other have dozens of potions, then they can have the satisfaction of easily destroying whatever threat you prepared. If they like playing on EASY, then let them play on EASY. But point out: if they reach the end and they say &quot;Wait, is that all?&quot;, then that's a consequence of choosing to play on EASY.The idea that players have a large effect on the game's pacing, and that having a share of control means having a share of responsibility, is sometimes a new idea to TRPG players. It's also one of the most important aspects of TRPGs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Riley37, post: 6617161, member: 6786839"] Pre-generated characters save a LOT of time: here's the pile of characters, pick the one you want to play. There are things you can ONLY do when you're all in one room at the same time. Use that time for those things. Character generation is not one of those things. If all the PRE-GENERATED characters are (a) already on a team together, and (b) all have a motivation towards a shared goal, then the "in media res" can go more smoothly. "Wait, *why* have I spent the last week travelling towards this castle, why am I now at its gates?" - "Look at your character sheet, buddy. See your Bonds and Flaws? That's why." More important point: If one of the players says "Hey, I want to go off into the woods to gather some herbs to make some potions", then ask, bluntly, "Is that going to help us reach a satisfying story ending, within three hours of session time?" Keep asking that question. Ask the question even when you think the action IS pointed at reaching a satisfying ending. If they insist on doing stuff that isn't advancing the story, then shrug, and decide whether or not YOU are willing to spend three hours of your life DMing someone's side quest for herbs for potions. Of course, you can also say "Okay, you do that. Write out a note with all the potions you think you can make. Pass that note to another player. If the other player agrees that it's fair and reasonable, then pass the note to me." That delegates and shares the burden of sorting what's fair and reasonable. If they're all happy letting each other have dozens of potions, then they can have the satisfaction of easily destroying whatever threat you prepared. If they like playing on EASY, then let them play on EASY. But point out: if they reach the end and they say "Wait, is that all?", then that's a consequence of choosing to play on EASY. The idea that players have a large effect on the game's pacing, and that having a share of control means having a share of responsibility, is sometimes a new idea to TRPG players. It's also one of the most important aspects of TRPGs. [/QUOTE]

Verification