How to run a short game? (and game summary)

[Crothian]

I'm about to start a short RPG game. Basically, it's going to last only five weeks. For the next five weeks the hole group has the same evening free, so we decided to start up a game. If it goes well, at the end of the time we'll place the game on hold and get back to it later. The game is an experiment in more then one way. It's a modern day supernatural mystery game. I'm using a version of d20, a classless version I devised. I tried this with a different group, but they wanted more combat, less thinking. So the game failed then.

But on to the topic. What is some good advice for running a game that is only going to last a set number of weeks? I've ran one nighters and year long campaigns. Never anything in between.

 

[BluWolf]

I've never run a game of this length. Shorter and longer but not this length. I know, not helpful.

My first thought is look at most of the action adventure movies released over the past 20 years and a lot of them have plots that involve a known event that will occur in about a week.

So I say session one should involve revealing the whole basic plot in the first session

"OK, the presidents speech will be in California in 1 week. You guys have to find the ...what did you call it... half/Fiend Amish Psychic vampire??? before then or he will lose all the electoral votes from California. Got it?"

In the mean time Brother Ismael Hellfire is busy tracking the spent nuclear fuel shipment through the country so he can spike the puch at the primary....Sorry I'm on a sugar high.

back to a point...

Use week 1 as exposition-establish characters, major NPCs and support personalities, the bad guy and the major plot.

Week two-looking for a solution. The soultion should have two to three possible answers, 1 is relatively easy an sort of obvious, 2 should be really obvious but so wrong and dangerous only the truly chaotic evil would try it, 3 is not obvious and is incredibly hard but will work.

Week three- First attempt at getting job done, most likely the obvious solution. should end in failure. Most likely because the bad guy thought of it first and is covering his arse. This will force them to week four where....

Week four-the twist. No modern day plot is worth ink (or dice) without a plot twist. The plot twist is usually even better if it shows that the earlier easy solution would not have worked anyway and the ultra hard dangerous solution was the only real answer.

Week Five-showdown in little china (or California)!!!!!!!!!!

Now this all seems very obvious and very cliche. Yes, that is why hollywood is full of very rich people. Cliche works and under a strict five week game schedule cliche is the only real thing you have to work with.

Besides, you and your players have probably been playing for a long time and everyone needs a trip down cliche lane every once in a while.

I know I'm not providing you with alot here but this is the only way I could think to get my mind around the particulars.

Let us know how it works?????

 

[Crothian]

Let us know how it works?????

That I will do. Week one is going to be making characters and introdicing them to each other, the major NPCs and get the ball rolling. I'm laying the groundwork of the five week game, but will havea small mystery that should be finished up then so they get the idea of how I run mystery type games.

Going with the simple cliches might be best. THanks.

 

[Bragg Battleaxe]

On the contrary, I think something cliche is a big mistake. Since you aren't going to invest as much time in this, it is less of a risk. Don't do anything overly bizarre, but try something like having every PC belong to a same-class guild and have everyone play a Wizard or Rogue. Take that or leave it obviously. I would say to make the focus of the campaign something local for the starting point. The key in something of this length is to make the goal of the campaign obtainable and believeable in the time you will be playing. I have always wanted to do a mini-campaign based on something like the PCs are all Halflings from the same village and must find a way to keep a local warlord from finding out the village's location... wait, that sounds like the Smurfs... shudder.

 

[Crothian]

On the contrary, I think something cliche is a big mistake. Since you aren't going to invest as much time in this, it is less of a risk. Don't do anything overly bizarre, but try something like having every PC belong to a same-class guild and have everyone play a Wizard or Rogue.

Well, it's a modern supernatural.mystery game in a sort of classless system. In a short run fantasy game all the PCs being the same class or race would be a good suggestion. It just doesn't fit wit hwhat I'm doing.

Take that or leave it obviously. I would say to make the focus of the campaign something local for the starting point. The key in something of this length is to make the goal of the campaign obtainable and believeable in the time you will be playing. I have always wanted to do a mini-campaign based on something like the PCs are all Halflings from the same village and must find a way to keep a local warlord from finding out the village's location.

It's all based around a college campus in a fairly small city.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

is a newbie allowed to *bump* ?

 

[0-hr]

Man, if I were going to do a guaranteed short-run campaign I'd definitely take the opportunity to really mess with the players. How about if one of them is a doppleganger (or alien etc.) working for the bad guys? Or maybe each player has their own agenda (like the good old Paranoia games)? Or put them in a situation where only one of them is going to win (or survivie). It just seems that with a short-run campaign you should do something that involves character destruction, inter-party politics, and a clear "I win, you lose" sort of conclusion. It's exactly the sort of thing you CAN'T do in a real campaign, so this seems like the perfect time to spring it on them.

 

[Crothian]

Man, if I were going to do a guaranteed short-run campaign I'd definitely take the opportunity to really mess with the players. How about if one of them is a doppleganger (or alien etc.) working for the bad guys? Or maybe each player has their own agenda (like the good old Paranoia games)? Or put them in a situation where only one of them is going to win (or survivie). It just seems that with a short-run campaign you should do something that involves character destruction, inter-party politics, and a clear "I win, you lose" sort of conclusion. It's exactly the sort of thing you CAN'T do in a real campaign, so this seems like the perfect time to spring it on them.

That is a very interesting idea. I'll have to think on that.

 

[jollyninja]

i would plan an ending that did not require them to have really done anything so you can spring it on them in the last session no matter how much or little progress they have made.

perhaps a kind of posessed community leaders/ students type scenario with the final confrontation involving the leader who acts as the hub for the hive mind of the posessed individuals. you can have the pc's arrested, intimidated or anything else your average corrups city councilman and his lackeys could arrange. i like these because as a player you never know who you can trust. or if you want to let a single player in on the plot, have him be said hub and work agianst the party.

edit: also let them unlock a terrible mystical power in their attempts to stop the evil whatever it may be. that's allways fun.

 

[mmadsen]

This sound like the perfect opportunity to have the players play themselves as characters in a horror "adventure" where they all die. Now, if this were a one-shot, you'd just go Night of the Living Dead on them, but this is a five-shot (?), so you'll want a little investigation before they all die.