Once a Month Sessions - HOW?
- Thread starter Rechan
- Start date
You live with it being slow. Or you speed it up artificially.
We took 9 months to finish KotS... nine months on a crappy adventure and I realized I intensely disliked it halfway through.
Currently we're meeting every three weeks, it might as well be monthly. A few things I'm doing:
a) I'm more likely to handwave the end of a combat
b) I've done away with XP, they will level when I tell them they do
c) I am going to level them far more quickly than the norm, probably every 2 sessions
d) I'm not using printed material from WotC, so far it's been pretty universally bad IMO and feels more like a time waste
and unfortunately:
e) I'm starting to consider other rulesets, 4E is too damn slow. The main thing it really has going for it (for me) is that it's easy to run and prep for. Other than that, while I love tactical combat, I find the system pretty restrictive and stifling. When we were kids we managed to cram a lot more content in the same time frame, mostly because an encounter didn't take an hour to complete. I think if we played weekly it wouldn't be such an issue.
Don't get me wrong, I like 4E and feel like WotC is starting to engender some of the good will they lost from me over the past year. This game just isn't cutting it though, which sucks because the players are liking this Eberron campaign we started.
At this rate, campaigns are pretty much out for me. Short min-arcs that may or may not be tied together are about it. Otherwise it seems like continuity is harder to hold on to.
Dragonhelm
Knight of Solamnia
I've been hit with the monthly game syndrome due to Real Life, and it can definitely drag your campaign down.
What I have discovered is that monthly games should be episodic in nature. Rather than being something continuous with a major epic storyline (which people forget from game to game), try to think of each game as a self-contained TV show. I would stay away from adventure paths, unless you know each adventure is mostly self-contained. I would, however, run some one-shot modules, or create original one-shots.
Best of luck to you!
If you are the sort who believes the RPG you are playing has a "sweet spot," the 1/month campaigning is actually a blessing...you spend more time in that zone!
It also gives you more time to plot out adventures if you're a DM, or plot out how to befuddle your DM if you are a player.
The main pitfall I've found in infrequent gaming is this: the players may well forget details that PCs wouldn't.
I've been mostly on the player side of this, with one particularly heinous example that sticks with me today. I was playing a PC that had an intellect to match my own. We had been given a series of clues, and I had a sudden insight that connected them together. However, I had connected them in such a way that I had actually divined not just the surface plot, but the hidden ulterior motive, and I blurted it out. Essentially, the entire plot of the story arc had unfolded before my mind's eye, and I shared it with the room. That's not just me bragging...that's what the DM told me while we were cleaning up after everyone had left.
Then we had to take a break. In addition to the usual delay, we had some players with family emergencies, looming work deadlines, Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas, New Years and the various bowl games to watch.
So, nearly 3 months later, we sit down again to pick up where we left off. In the campaign world, though, only a night has passed.
And as we were doing the recap, I just couldn't put the pieces of the mystery back together...and the DM flat-out wouldn't remind me.
Then 3Ed came out and we started a new campaign.
I consider that DM to be one of my best buddies, but that moment still ticks me off.
It also gives you more time to plot out adventures if you're a DM, or plot out how to befuddle your DM if you are a player.
The main pitfall I've found in infrequent gaming is this: the players may well forget details that PCs wouldn't.
I've been mostly on the player side of this, with one particularly heinous example that sticks with me today. I was playing a PC that had an intellect to match my own. We had been given a series of clues, and I had a sudden insight that connected them together. However, I had connected them in such a way that I had actually divined not just the surface plot, but the hidden ulterior motive, and I blurted it out. Essentially, the entire plot of the story arc had unfolded before my mind's eye, and I shared it with the room. That's not just me bragging...that's what the DM told me while we were cleaning up after everyone had left.
Then we had to take a break. In addition to the usual delay, we had some players with family emergencies, looming work deadlines, Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas, New Years and the various bowl games to watch.
So, nearly 3 months later, we sit down again to pick up where we left off. In the campaign world, though, only a night has passed.
And as we were doing the recap, I just couldn't put the pieces of the mystery back together...and the DM flat-out wouldn't remind me.
Then 3Ed came out and we started a new campaign.
I consider that DM to be one of my best buddies, but that moment still ticks me off.
Mercurius
Legend
I hate to say it but I almost wouldn't bother, not unless you're okay with doing without any kind of campaign continuity and momentum. Sure, it is possible, just difficult. Like others have said, I would recommend running a sandbox-style campaign where each game session is basically a mini-adventure or big encounter, like those outlined in Open Grave and Dungeon Delve. Actually, you could just run your group through one of those books...of course that likely wouldn't be very fun for you, the DM.
Since the beginning of last November I've been trying to do exactly what you are about to embark on.The biggest problem has been not the once-a-month frequency, but that even playing that often has been a challenge. A few times we've gone 6 weeks (we currently haven't played since early July), which makes it very difficult get back in the groove. The couple times we played after only two weeks we noticed the difference--it was much fresher in our minds, and there was a sense of continuity. All in all we've played 10 sessions in ten months, so the average has been 1/month. Each session has averaged about 4 hours, so we're talking about only 40 hours of gaming in 10 months. I've just been running Dungeon Crawl Classics, which we're currently about two-thirds of the way through the second (Scions of Punjar) and up to 4th level.
The hardest thing has been retaining interest for myself, the DM. In the past the thrill of DMing has largely been around the development of story, which is next to impossible to do when playing only once a month. I was originally planning on running two modules to get the hang of the rules and group, and get the characters to about 5th level, and then start a larger story arc. Now I'm not feeling so inspired and am thinking of continuing with modules, if at all.
So yeah, it would be much better if you could manage 2/month. But I suppose 1/month is better than nothing, just be ready for frustration; the best way to avoid it would be to have no expectations beyond the one-off approach.
Since the beginning of last November I've been trying to do exactly what you are about to embark on.The biggest problem has been not the once-a-month frequency, but that even playing that often has been a challenge. A few times we've gone 6 weeks (we currently haven't played since early July), which makes it very difficult get back in the groove. The couple times we played after only two weeks we noticed the difference--it was much fresher in our minds, and there was a sense of continuity. All in all we've played 10 sessions in ten months, so the average has been 1/month. Each session has averaged about 4 hours, so we're talking about only 40 hours of gaming in 10 months. I've just been running Dungeon Crawl Classics, which we're currently about two-thirds of the way through the second (Scions of Punjar) and up to 4th level.
The hardest thing has been retaining interest for myself, the DM. In the past the thrill of DMing has largely been around the development of story, which is next to impossible to do when playing only once a month. I was originally planning on running two modules to get the hang of the rules and group, and get the characters to about 5th level, and then start a larger story arc. Now I'm not feeling so inspired and am thinking of continuing with modules, if at all.
So yeah, it would be much better if you could manage 2/month. But I suppose 1/month is better than nothing, just be ready for frustration; the best way to avoid it would be to have no expectations beyond the one-off approach.
jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
I must be an odd duck. I have no problem with monthly games and, in fact, since 2000 or so, those have been the norm for my play groups and I (we all had jobs, families, school, or other, more important, obligations that meant sitting aside less time for gaming).
For a lot of us, progression wasn't an issue, as we didn't really get into RPGs for wish fulfillment but, rather, to hang out with friends and blow off some steam in an amusing manner. That said. . .
The Fantasy Trip (if you can find it) has a great system for downtime advancement that you can employ in other games. We used it for 'flashback sequences' between games to advance our characters. In this regard, think of your monthly game and downtime activities like sequences in Resevoir Dogs or episodes of Full Metal Alchemist — they aren't necessarily in chronological order.
The big thing that we did to keep the games fresh was to start and end each game in combat. It required a little more bookeeping on the part of the DM, but since we were primarily playing AD&D it was no big deal. It kept things tense, it made people anxious to get back to the table, and it started every session off with a blast of adrenaline.
[Edit: Almost forgot — we also had one DM who sent out email dispatches before a game session, both to remind us when the next game night was and to remind us where we had left off the month before.]
For a lot of us, progression wasn't an issue, as we didn't really get into RPGs for wish fulfillment but, rather, to hang out with friends and blow off some steam in an amusing manner. That said. . .
The Fantasy Trip (if you can find it) has a great system for downtime advancement that you can employ in other games. We used it for 'flashback sequences' between games to advance our characters. In this regard, think of your monthly game and downtime activities like sequences in Resevoir Dogs or episodes of Full Metal Alchemist — they aren't necessarily in chronological order.
The big thing that we did to keep the games fresh was to start and end each game in combat. It required a little more bookeeping on the part of the DM, but since we were primarily playing AD&D it was no big deal. It kept things tense, it made people anxious to get back to the table, and it started every session off with a blast of adrenaline.
[Edit: Almost forgot — we also had one DM who sent out email dispatches before a game session, both to remind us when the next game night was and to remind us where we had left off the month before.]
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I'd suggest single-session adventures, more short story than novel. So, no Keep on the Shadowfell, but Dungeon Delve would work, especially if you combine them with your own stuff. You want to keep it episodic, not continuous. This means:
1. A big time jump between each adventure, summarised in a couple of lines. "After defeating the Necromancer Dol-Galtur, you travelled west into the Sunset Isles, where..."
2. New antagonists each adventure, with minimal continuity. This deals with the problem of players not remembering stuff that happened a month ago. You can certainly feature recurring villains, pulp style: "You thought you had seen the last of me? Dol-Gultur does not die so easily!"
A good model is the short sword & sorcery stories of REH (Conan) or Fritz Leiber (Fafhrd/Mouser). Sessions can be highlights from the lives of the PCs, rather than following them day-to-day. A year of game-time between each game works well, in my experience running Conan.
1. A big time jump between each adventure, summarised in a couple of lines. "After defeating the Necromancer Dol-Galtur, you travelled west into the Sunset Isles, where..."
2. New antagonists each adventure, with minimal continuity. This deals with the problem of players not remembering stuff that happened a month ago. You can certainly feature recurring villains, pulp style: "You thought you had seen the last of me? Dol-Gultur does not die so easily!"
A good model is the short sword & sorcery stories of REH (Conan) or Fritz Leiber (Fafhrd/Mouser). Sessions can be highlights from the lives of the PCs, rather than following them day-to-day. A year of game-time between each game works well, in my experience running Conan.
vagabundo
Adventurer
A slightly different suggestion is to have a minimum amount of players available for a game to proceed. I have four regular players and one very irregular, we have the "Money Man rule", which means if three players confirm and me - the DM - then the game is scheduled. We send a weekly email and people shout out.
We game pretty regular considering everyones hectic schedule. If someone isn't there their character is run by another player - the team looks after themselves. I send a Story Hour email after the session and everyone manages to keep up with what is happening.
We game pretty regular considering everyones hectic schedule. If someone isn't there their character is run by another player - the team looks after themselves. I send a Story Hour email after the session and everyone manages to keep up with what is happening.
wedgeski
Adventurer
I've DM'd campaigns that have met once every *few* months, all of the players from which still say they had a good time. It's definitely achievable, you just have to change the kind of experience you're going for. Imagine each session is a mini-con, and design adventures appropriately.
If you want to add more continuity, then session journals are essential (for all parties, DM and players), and they probably need to contain a little bit more overt detail than you normally would... in other words, don't be afraid to draw attention to clues and information that the players might have missed.
If you want to add more continuity, then session journals are essential (for all parties, DM and players), and they probably need to contain a little bit more overt detail than you normally would... in other words, don't be afraid to draw attention to clues and information that the players might have missed.
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