I heard Senda from She’s a Supergeek talk about using the It’s Not My Fault! character and situation generator cards to play micro sessions with people at a Con. What else would you use to run a demo session in less than five minutes? Or do you have suggestions for how to design a framework with this in mind?
My goal is to show outsiders or traditional gamers what playing rpgs can be like. Getting people to an actual table is a lot of work and if I can’t win people over in five minutes, it’s probably not worth it anyway.
Hey Senda Linaugh…Tor likes your 5 min RPG.
Hey Senda Linaugh…Tor likes your 5 min RPG.
Phil Vecchione He’s not alone!
Phil Vecchione He’s not alone!
Not really an answer to your question, but we get a lot of feedback on DR and +1 Forward along the lines of “The short AP really helped me get a feel for the game and whether I should buy it.” We hope whenever Comic Strip AP launches, it will have a similar effect, but on a larger scale.
Not really an answer to your question, but we get a lot of feedback on DR and +1 Forward along the lines of “The short AP really helped me get a feel for the game and whether I should buy it.” We hope whenever Comic Strip AP launches, it will have a similar effect, but on a larger scale.
It seems to be a hit! They really are great for just this purpose.
I do have some other thoughts on 5 minute RPGs without the cards–the key is the magnitude of the problem. You could absolutely plan out a five minute scenario right up to the point where your player makes that key decision and rolls to demo any game you want. Phil Vecchione and I chatted about this a bit on Panda’s Talking Games a while ago, but the key is that with only 5 minutes, you cut all build up of any kind and only play the climax of the story. Everything rides on that one decision made by the player that they’ll roll for, and resolve from there. The reason I like to use the cards is because running a bunch in a row would get boring if they were all the same! It’s more fun for me to add the elements of random, but there are other ways to achieve that variability.
It seems to be a hit! They really are great for just this purpose.
I do have some other thoughts on 5 minute RPGs without the cards–the key is the magnitude of the problem. You could absolutely plan out a five minute scenario right up to the point where your player makes that key decision and rolls to demo any game you want. Phil Vecchione and I chatted about this a bit on Panda’s Talking Games a while ago, but the key is that with only 5 minutes, you cut all build up of any kind and only play the climax of the story. Everything rides on that one decision made by the player that they’ll roll for, and resolve from there. The reason I like to use the cards is because running a bunch in a row would get boring if they were all the same! It’s more fun for me to add the elements of random, but there are other ways to achieve that variability.
Senda Linaugh I don’t see myself doing this over and over like you did, so maybe a well planned scenario would suit me. Something inspired by Lady Blackbird. But a simple scenario table like the one in Lasers and Feelings could provide a lot of variety while still letting me plan for it. I might not know what Zorgon the Conqueror will do next, but I can have a voice and demeanor ready. An alternative to the table is to make a plot tree where you plan out different directions the story can take and choose which way you go depending on the players response or interests. Another idea is to plan the skeleton of a story and leave it open for any setting that would interest the player. Star Wars, Fantasy, Steampunk, whatever.
Senda Linaugh I don’t see myself doing this over and over like you did, so maybe a well planned scenario would suit me. Something inspired by Lady Blackbird. But a simple scenario table like the one in Lasers and Feelings could provide a lot of variety while still letting me plan for it. I might not know what Zorgon the Conqueror will do next, but I can have a voice and demeanor ready. An alternative to the table is to make a plot tree where you plan out different directions the story can take and choose which way you go depending on the players response or interests. Another idea is to plan the skeleton of a story and leave it open for any setting that would interest the player. Star Wars, Fantasy, Steampunk, whatever.
Tor Droplets Did I just hear you volunteer to make these tools? 😉
Tor Droplets Did I just hear you volunteer to make these tools? 😉
Christopher Meid I don’t know how else I’m going to find duet scenarios tailored for five minutes of play. I don’t have the experience, but maybe a doc and a some playtest recordings appear one day.
Christopher Meid I don’t know how else I’m going to find duet scenarios tailored for five minutes of play. I don’t have the experience, but maybe a doc and a some playtest recordings appear one day.
Tor Droplets Or you start the ball rolling and share the doc on Google drive and crowdsource it. It may grow into a Gauntlet Scenario Skinner
Tor Droplets Or you start the ball rolling and share the doc on Google drive and crowdsource it. It may grow into a Gauntlet Scenario Skinner
Honestly I think you need even less than that if you’re really trying to do five minutes–it usually breaks down to about one minute to establish some kind of super basic character (“I’m a thief”) and for me a setting, so you could probably reclaim a little time there. Then you have about two minutes to set up your scenario and problem: you’re walking a long a dark dark forest and then you are AMBUSHED! How will you protect the sacred book of night and stars that shine?? Then you have about a minute for your player to tell you the coolest possible way they could solve the problem as their character and make that one key roll. One minute to epilogue. It cuts it pretty tight; for five minutes there is really only one immediate problem and problem resolution. Whether people live or die they usually walk away having had fun doing it. Someday I’ll get all mine edited and released–I have a bunch from gen con and some from Denver comic con.
Honestly I think you need even less than that if you’re really trying to do five minutes–it usually breaks down to about one minute to establish some kind of super basic character (“I’m a thief”) and for me a setting, so you could probably reclaim a little time there. Then you have about two minutes to set up your scenario and problem: you’re walking a long a dark dark forest and then you are AMBUSHED! How will you protect the sacred book of night and stars that shine?? Then you have about a minute for your player to tell you the coolest possible way they could solve the problem as their character and make that one key roll. One minute to epilogue. It cuts it pretty tight; for five minutes there is really only one immediate problem and problem resolution. Whether people live or die they usually walk away having had fun doing it. Someday I’ll get all mine edited and released–I have a bunch from gen con and some from Denver comic con.
Makes sense. I’m looking forward to listening so I can get some inspiration.
Makes sense. I’m looking forward to listening so I can get some inspiration.
I might adapt the concept to my own taste. I could make them longer, 10 minutes maybe. Or I’ll condense it to something even shorter (if that’s even possible).
Here’s what I came up with on the fly.
“You’re a swashbuckling pirate captain sailing your ship full of booty back home from a journey across the seven seas. Then Roc, the legendary giant bird comes diving down toward you with razor sharp talons. It could tear straight through the planks holding the ship together or maybe even lift it out of the ocean.
Anything that could be found on a well equipped pirate ship or amongst the fantastical and exotic treasures is probably there and at your disposal. What do you do?”
Come up with a plan, then roll and resolve. Bam. Finished.
Maybe it’s flawed now, but I could take a seed like this and refine it every time I used it and add, take away or change details of the introduction as I find out what encourages more creativity and how to let players understand what they can actually do. Maybe it should be tighter or looser or maybe I need to actually list some “aspects” that are available or establish what the bird is after or what you’re trying to protect.
Senda Linaugh am I on the right tracks?
I’d keep the single roll resolution, but I think it would be interesting to have some really simple options for changing the stakes or odds.
How much are you willing to risk or sacrifice to improve the odds or add to the reward? Putting the life of your character or more on the line might give an extra dice or some other modifier, but failure will be catastrophic. Or you could try something really risky, like capturing the bird, but the chances for success would be slim.
Maybe that’s just complicating things, but I like the idea of exploring how different people approach risk and reward.
Just brainstorming.
I might adapt the concept to my own taste. I could make them longer, 10 minutes maybe. Or I’ll condense it to something even shorter (if that’s even possible).
Here’s what I came up with on the fly.
“You’re a swashbuckling pirate captain sailing your ship full of booty back home from a journey across the seven seas. Then Roc, the legendary giant bird comes diving down toward you with razor sharp talons. It could tear straight through the planks holding the ship together or maybe even lift it out of the ocean.
Anything that could be found on a well equipped pirate ship or amongst the fantastical and exotic treasures is probably there and at your disposal. What do you do?”
Come up with a plan, then roll and resolve. Bam. Finished.
Maybe it’s flawed now, but I could take a seed like this and refine it every time I used it and add, take away or change details of the introduction as I find out what encourages more creativity and how to let players understand what they can actually do. Maybe it should be tighter or looser or maybe I need to actually list some “aspects” that are available or establish what the bird is after or what you’re trying to protect.
Senda Linaugh am I on the right tracks?
I’d keep the single roll resolution, but I think it would be interesting to have some really simple options for changing the stakes or odds.
How much are you willing to risk or sacrifice to improve the odds or add to the reward? Putting the life of your character or more on the line might give an extra dice or some other modifier, but failure will be catastrophic. Or you could try something really risky, like capturing the bird, but the chances for success would be slim.
Maybe that’s just complicating things, but I like the idea of exploring how different people approach risk and reward.
Just brainstorming.
Love it.
Love it.