D&D 5E We're Gonna Need a Montage!

[Umbran]

I just wondered if I couldn't work in some kind of resource/die mechanic that would be fun to play at the table.

If you include mechanics, you need to figure out the consequences. If there are resources they can spend, what happens if they spend them all and still don't succeed? What happens if the dice roll against them? What happens if they fail?

 

[fba827]

A non skill based mechanic would probably mean a chart/percentage type thing...
Let players describe the events as you plan and then roll 1d10 (or percentage or whatever) and consult the chart. The chart could be something like
1: your pcs plan / action failed entirely ( some loss of some resource or money resulted)
2-3: your pcs plan / action didn't work entirely as hoped but the party made it through non the less ( maybe if it was combat the enemy leader got away and will remember this....)
4-9: your plan went off as planned
10: you made a new ally or contact in an unexpected way in the process

 

[iserith]

If you include mechanics, you need to figure out the consequences. If there are resources they can spend, what happens if they spend them all and still don't succeed? What happens if the dice roll against them? What happens if they fail?

It's probably total success versus success at a cost rather than outright failure.

 

[iserith]

A non skill based mechanic would probably mean a chart/percentage type thing...
Let players describe the events as you plan and then roll 1d10 (or percentage or whatever) and consult the chart. The chart could be something like
1: your pcs plan / action failed entirely ( some loss of some resource or money resulted)
2-3: your pcs plan / action didn't work entirely as hoped but the party made it through non the less ( maybe if it was combat the enemy leader got away and will remember this....)
4-9: your plan went off as planned
10: you made a new ally or contact in an unexpected way in the process

I've been noodling something along the lines of this:

1. DM frames the scene and lays out the stakes (success/fail forward).

2. Each player can makes a single offer that moves the montage forward. If they do, they get a "point."

3. Players can then spend a point to make additional offers. Each additional offer made adds +1 to the resolving die roll. Players can opt to hold points for later scenes if they want. (Perhaps they are okay with the fail forward in a given scene and are willing to risk it.)

4. Roll the die with whatever modifier against a DC of some kind. Narrate results accordingly.

Still a very rough draft.

 

[chriton227]

I once heard of a D&D group that played a game set entirely in a tavern, where different PCs each recounted tales and the players would then act out the flashbacks. Whenever someone died, there'd be an abrupt "Wait, that's not how I remember it..." from one of the present-day PCs, and the story would jump back a little, with some things changed. It sounded really fun, I'm probably not doing it justice. But the point is, you could do something like that where the PCs have somewhat more control over the narrative than usual because these are all stories that they're recounting, with varying degrees of artistic license. Obviously you're gonna want to go into less detail so it actually funtions like a montage, but it could be a fun narrative framing device.

Also, some demonstrations of good montages.

I recall hearing something similar to this on the Fear the Boot podcast, one of the hosts was planning on running an all bard game at Fear the Con with the game framed as a group of bards recounting the tales of their exploits, and each bard would have a limited ability to change things in the way you describe.

 

[Staffan]

I recall hearing something similar to this on the Fear the Boot podcast, one of the hosts was planning on running an all bard game at Fear the Con with the game framed as a group of bards recounting the tales of their exploits, and each bard would have a limited ability to change things in the way you describe.

Isn't that pretty much the Baron Münchhausen RPG?

 

[Blue]

I like [MENTION=20564]Blue[/MENTION]'s plan, especially because it is primarily player-player interaction, and forms a nice chain. That's better than strict DM-player interaction for this type of stuff.

But because it is player-player interaction, I wouldn't bother with resources or rolling. That might encourage players to game the system. I also wouldn't give out any specific rewards, as well.

Well, the basic "reward" of a montage is to complete the montage - you've completed the travel, etc. Rewards/penalties within that framework like "you arrive quicker but you spent money on extra remounts" based on the player narrative still work. But as you say, the primary purpose of this is a chance for some player narrative and player-player interactions with a bit of spotlight for each PC for the solution.

 

[Umbran]

It's probably total success versus success at a cost rather than outright failure.

And that's fine, so long as it is known before you start. It allows you to think about what kinds of costs you're dealing with.

 

[Psikerlord#]

What kinds of issues need resolving in the montage? If you want to introduce some randomness, can you make use of something like the chase complication tables?

Eg say one issue is resolving a debt with a landlord. Complication table roll d4: (i) landlord's daughter used to date one of the party and now hates him/her (ii) landlord has passed the debt to a street gang (iii) landlord and family have gone missing or (iv) landlord's competition wants to meet with PC urgently.

Then the player(s) roleplay it from there

 

[iserith]

I ended up keeping it pretty simple. You can see how we handled the montage in our last game transcript here.

I still intend to come up with a full-on montage module for others to use, so if you have any additional ideas, post 'em! Thanks.