MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

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Keeper Dan
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MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by Keeper Dan » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:54 am

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In Episode 89, we Shanghai a budding keeper and an old friend of the podcast to discuss some of the challenges of first-time Keeperdom. We've also got a few Campus Crier updates and another call for submissions for Issue 2 of Cephalaphobia, the MUP yearbook. This episode was recorded on September 28, 2015.

Campus Crier
We decided that we could only take the 5am Sunday recording time for so long. We are now recording on the Monday evening the week before release. For critical news items, Dan will add them into the audio during the edit.

Even though we talk about this not being live yet, the Kickstarter for Delta Green: The Role Playing has finally launched, and funded very quickly. Now they're going through stretch goals.

Arc Dream has also put out a call for scenario submissions for Delta Green.

Chaosium is closing down an office and a warehouse in Hayward, California. This effectively ends “the 40 year physical presence of the company in the Bay Area.” This also means that two employees, Ben Monroe and Ken Kaufer, will no longer be with the company. Ben’s name has come up a lot since the fahrvergnügen this summer because he has been fielding customer communication and has been responsive. Both have deep histories with the company, and it’s too bad to see them go.

Cthulhu Dark Ages - 2nd Edition is now available.

Scriven is calling for submissions for another issue of Cephalaphobia.

Cryptocurium Spotlight
October Parcel of Terror announced as a Halloween blind box.


Topic
Scriven, our Cepalaphobia editor and MU actual-play celebrity, brings us a few questions about first-time keeping, and looks for advice on how to get over nerves and start running games. Should he find newbie players or experienced players? What system should he use? Is it better to start with a published scenario or a homespun one?
Keeper Dan of the Miskatonic University Podcast

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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by RobH » Mon Oct 05, 2015 2:17 pm

Oh this sounds perfect for me; looking forward to running a game with my group but quite nervous about doing so.

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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by DadsAngry » Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:05 pm

Despite Murphs comment I ran No Man's Land as my first scenerio. I found it to be a great starter adventure and intro to a campaign.

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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by Keeper Jon » Mon Oct 05, 2015 9:15 pm

Also, Murf likes to kick The Haunting in the balls a lot, but it really can be a super creepy and fun introductory adventure. If anyone is interested in some additional notes that expand upon the foundation of The Haunting, please PM or email me, and I'll be happy to share that with you.

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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by PirateLawyer » Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:55 pm

Needed more Delta Green coverage.

Then I remembered you guys recorded this the day before the Kickstarter began.

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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by Scriven » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:56 am

Interestingly enough, Dan's cover art for this episode is an exact and faithful representation of what I look like in real life.
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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by Gladius » Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:34 pm

You look like a ceramic horse?

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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by Scriven » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:01 am

Gladius wrote:You look like a ceramic horse?
Yeah. It's the freakishly disproportionate cheekbones.
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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by EddyPo » Wed Oct 07, 2015 6:38 pm

Hey guys!

Really great episode and really cool to hear from Scriven again. The keepers all had great input. This kind of content is why I listen to MUP.

I had a couple thoughts about good scenarios for first time keepers.

One, I like anything from the Blood Brothers books. Since these scenarios are frequently inspired by popular horror movies, I think it's easy for players and keepers to know what the expectations are and act accordingly. We've all seen the movies. Oh, we're playing sex- and drug-starved teenagers in a 1980's slasher flick, for example. Therefore I also think it's easier for a keeper to improv when players go off script. They're not too serious, good for a one-shot, and usually short enough to do in one session.

Two, I also like the Delta Green shotgun scenarios for quickies. (Caution--there is a range of quality here. Not all are fantastic.) I've run Last Things Last by Brett Kramer and Secret Shopper by Ed Possing. Both are awesome and I've run them in about 3-hours time each. Of course if you're not familiar with the Delta Green setting, there's a little extra background you'd want to read up on, but I don't think you need to know everything about it to start. Also, Delta Green may not be your thing generally.

I think a good follow-up episode would be a debriefing from all of you again to talk about how that first session went, what you learned, etc.

Nice job everyone.
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Re: MUP 089 - Those Beginner Keeper Jitters

Post by Nvision » Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:08 pm

There is one, possibly contentious, piece of advice I'd like to offer regarding running a Lovecraftian game for the first time. I'd suggest looking for a fairly linear adventure to cut your teeth on. The reason for this is two-fold; it allows you to more easily absorb the general plot structure and it will limit "splitting the party." I've found almost any scenario that has a point where the group can split up to investigate different leads or cover more ground, they WILL do so. Transitioning play between these two (or more) groups to keep the players involved in the game and maintain the atmosphere you want can take a fair amount of finesse. While railroading can be a dirty word for some players it can be comforting to have to rails there if you're just getting used to GMing.

A few scenarios that might fit this, that I've enjoyed running, are "Engine Trouble" by Tom Lynch, "Unsung Saga" by Oscar Rios, and "The Crack'd & Crook'd Manse" by Mark Morrison. All of these feature limited locations or streamlined events that keep players from wandering too far from the action, but can still be deep, enjoyable experiences.

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