I am interested specificity in investigation scenes, because I feel I have a pretty good idea on how to run action scenes. Scenes where the players are looking for clues, interviewing witnesses, grilling a suspect, or anything else where the players are gathering information. What do you do to keep your players interested during an investigation? How do you set up your investigation scenes and how at what point do you quit the scene and move on? I have my own ideas, but I would like to hear from everyone else before I explain what I have been doing.
Thanks,
-Dan
How do you make investigation interesting?
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creatureslagoon
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- Posts:76
- Joined:Thu May 09, 2013 12:49 am
- Location:Denton, TX
Hi Dan,
I am a new keeper, but neither group I have gamed with have complained about investigation at all. Most actually like it quite a bit. I would say that any handouts or props that you might have to hand out go a long way. They love to read clippings, etc. and piece a puzzle together. Since most my players are new to rpgs, I often have to utlize the idea roll to make sure they connect the dots and get from point a to point b. I would not stretch out each investigation scene unnecessary long for only a little info, just keep the pace up so they feel a sense of urgency to get as much done as possible.
I am a new keeper, but neither group I have gamed with have complained about investigation at all. Most actually like it quite a bit. I would say that any handouts or props that you might have to hand out go a long way. They love to read clippings, etc. and piece a puzzle together. Since most my players are new to rpgs, I often have to utlize the idea roll to make sure they connect the dots and get from point a to point b. I would not stretch out each investigation scene unnecessary long for only a little info, just keep the pace up so they feel a sense of urgency to get as much done as possible.
Erich B.
Denton, TX
Denton, TX
As CoC is covering a lot of investigation stuff, I'd suggest to others wondering about this (apart from what was previously mentioned by creatureslagoon about the variety of props/handouts) is to just go with making the investigation scenes as rich as possible where the people they're interviewing are interesting, make the environments full of other things & not really red herrings but other things to tell the players about where they're at which could be helpful later (ie. finding out the person they're interviewing has a lawyer or other profession as a brother that the players can tap for more information if stuck). Other fun things could be doing innocent spot checks, like the pet chameleon lizard quickly darting around a vase. You need all the interesting things going on when looking at a mind numbing pile of books.
"That's funny, usually the blood gets off on the second floor." -Mr. Burns in The Shinning episode (Treehouse of horror V)
As a keeper the first point for me is planning. Here's how I usually go about it:
A. Work out the plot of the story, then set key challenges / puzzles for the PCs to overcome before proceeding to the next part of the story.
Some of these challenges will be mechanical - do something then once done progress (eg fighting and defeating an end of level boss). Others will be more interpersonal (eg use you persuade and credit role to get into the club).
Investigations should be more drawn out, require actual investigating, and once completed reward the PCs with more than a simple 'level clear move to next stage', there should be a sense of accomplishment beyond mere survival / locomotion. By way of illustration: your PCs face a locked door... as a mechanical challenge they could force it, pick the lock or find an alternative route in. As an investigative puzzle they won't be able to do those things - it too big, the lock too complex and it's the only entrance / exit, so they need to find someone with a key... easier said than done, clues point to a gate keepers office but it's deserted, searching the office finds a roster of names, that leads to Ned. 2 hours of seRching later and the PCs have located and beaten Ned to a bloody pulp, stolen the keys and are finally ready to open the door. Investigation solved.
For a single game / one shot I usually put in no more than 4 or 5 investigation events of varying complexity, of which the PCs really have to solve at least 3 to progress. For longer games and campaigns I try to make it fewer puzzles per game session, maybe 2 or 3, but the PCs have to complete them (though they can take more time to do this)... And as the campaign nears it's denouement (conclusion) I put in fewer but increasingly trickier investigation events, as well as other mechanical and interpersonal events as well.
B. Next I sit down with a large stein of decent beer and the story line / plot and all investigation events and work through the following for each investigation:-
1. What are the PCs investigating? Is it information, an item, a person or group, a monster or an event? Try to make it interesting, as much as a challenge as your group of PCs can handle, and above all - relevant to the story / plot in a way that furthers the game.
2. Once you have this sorted out, work backwards, imagining the PCs have just revealed the target of the investigation:
(a.) what was the evidence that led them to the target and how did that evidence link to the target? (Try to keep it to 1 - 4 bits of evidence depending on importance of target and likelihood of PCs to find each bit, also do all the bits of evidence need to be found? Sometimes it's good to have alternatives in case one bit is missed or confusedly misinterpreted).
(b.) where and when was the evidence located? (How will the PCs get there and then?)
(c.) how did the PCs obtain the evidence? (What rolls or role playing will be needed to uncover this)
(d.) how did they successfully use / analyse the evidence to reach the right conclusions to cover the target?
(e.) what clues / intelligence led the PCs to the evidence? (Witnesses, bloody footprints, incriminating emails, prior arrest records etc... nb some clues become evidence when analysed)
(f.) where and when were those clues located?
(g.) how did the PCs analyse / use the clues to lead them to the evidence?
(h.) how did the Pcs uncover / locate the clues? (Did the PCs actively go out and do some detective work, or did they receive the clues passively?)
(i.) how / why did the PCs start looking for the target in the first place? (What motivated them, how did they realise the investigation was necessary to completing the game / reaching their goals etc)
3. Rinse and repeat, for each investigation. If you have the time create backups incase PCs miss an event, or better still create multiple clues that lead to the same bit of evidence, and have alternative / multiple bits of evidence to lead to the target. Failed roles should not stymie the investigation if there are alternatives to look for. A key point on alternatives etc is timing, having lots of options can allow the keeper to stretch or speed up any play depending on what's needed. I personally hate having to mess up the suspenseful ending I've worked hard to lead up to and to disappoint the PCs who've come so far - by me having to rush the end because it's getting late and the last investigative phase took too long.
4. Try to vary the targets, bits of evidence and clues as much as possible. For inspiration look to most police procedural and supernatural tv shows, films, RPGs, computer games and books for inspiration (personal favourites include Dragnet the movie, LA Noir the game, and the XFiles).
C. During the game itself, don't be afraid to move the game on if the PCs fail an important role. If they miss something, be flexible enough to put a variant clue somewhere else. Also keep the PCs on their toes with investigative skill rolls... Eg, don't always use Spot Hidden as the automatic reward skill (ie if you pass you SpoHid you get to uncover something cool or important). Use SpoHid as a tool of evil as well, calling for PCs to roll to uncover sanity blasting scenes of Mythos unaturalness...
A. Work out the plot of the story, then set key challenges / puzzles for the PCs to overcome before proceeding to the next part of the story.
Some of these challenges will be mechanical - do something then once done progress (eg fighting and defeating an end of level boss). Others will be more interpersonal (eg use you persuade and credit role to get into the club).
Investigations should be more drawn out, require actual investigating, and once completed reward the PCs with more than a simple 'level clear move to next stage', there should be a sense of accomplishment beyond mere survival / locomotion. By way of illustration: your PCs face a locked door... as a mechanical challenge they could force it, pick the lock or find an alternative route in. As an investigative puzzle they won't be able to do those things - it too big, the lock too complex and it's the only entrance / exit, so they need to find someone with a key... easier said than done, clues point to a gate keepers office but it's deserted, searching the office finds a roster of names, that leads to Ned. 2 hours of seRching later and the PCs have located and beaten Ned to a bloody pulp, stolen the keys and are finally ready to open the door. Investigation solved.
For a single game / one shot I usually put in no more than 4 or 5 investigation events of varying complexity, of which the PCs really have to solve at least 3 to progress. For longer games and campaigns I try to make it fewer puzzles per game session, maybe 2 or 3, but the PCs have to complete them (though they can take more time to do this)... And as the campaign nears it's denouement (conclusion) I put in fewer but increasingly trickier investigation events, as well as other mechanical and interpersonal events as well.
B. Next I sit down with a large stein of decent beer and the story line / plot and all investigation events and work through the following for each investigation:-
1. What are the PCs investigating? Is it information, an item, a person or group, a monster or an event? Try to make it interesting, as much as a challenge as your group of PCs can handle, and above all - relevant to the story / plot in a way that furthers the game.
2. Once you have this sorted out, work backwards, imagining the PCs have just revealed the target of the investigation:
(a.) what was the evidence that led them to the target and how did that evidence link to the target? (Try to keep it to 1 - 4 bits of evidence depending on importance of target and likelihood of PCs to find each bit, also do all the bits of evidence need to be found? Sometimes it's good to have alternatives in case one bit is missed or confusedly misinterpreted).
(b.) where and when was the evidence located? (How will the PCs get there and then?)
(c.) how did the PCs obtain the evidence? (What rolls or role playing will be needed to uncover this)
(d.) how did they successfully use / analyse the evidence to reach the right conclusions to cover the target?
(e.) what clues / intelligence led the PCs to the evidence? (Witnesses, bloody footprints, incriminating emails, prior arrest records etc... nb some clues become evidence when analysed)
(f.) where and when were those clues located?
(g.) how did the PCs analyse / use the clues to lead them to the evidence?
(h.) how did the Pcs uncover / locate the clues? (Did the PCs actively go out and do some detective work, or did they receive the clues passively?)
(i.) how / why did the PCs start looking for the target in the first place? (What motivated them, how did they realise the investigation was necessary to completing the game / reaching their goals etc)
3. Rinse and repeat, for each investigation. If you have the time create backups incase PCs miss an event, or better still create multiple clues that lead to the same bit of evidence, and have alternative / multiple bits of evidence to lead to the target. Failed roles should not stymie the investigation if there are alternatives to look for. A key point on alternatives etc is timing, having lots of options can allow the keeper to stretch or speed up any play depending on what's needed. I personally hate having to mess up the suspenseful ending I've worked hard to lead up to and to disappoint the PCs who've come so far - by me having to rush the end because it's getting late and the last investigative phase took too long.
4. Try to vary the targets, bits of evidence and clues as much as possible. For inspiration look to most police procedural and supernatural tv shows, films, RPGs, computer games and books for inspiration (personal favourites include Dragnet the movie, LA Noir the game, and the XFiles).
C. During the game itself, don't be afraid to move the game on if the PCs fail an important role. If they miss something, be flexible enough to put a variant clue somewhere else. Also keep the PCs on their toes with investigative skill rolls... Eg, don't always use Spot Hidden as the automatic reward skill (ie if you pass you SpoHid you get to uncover something cool or important). Use SpoHid as a tool of evil as well, calling for PCs to roll to uncover sanity blasting scenes of Mythos unaturalness...
Last edited by Riq on Fri Oct 25, 2013 7:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
The next step I'd go for is execution. This is the tricky bit for me, and depends heavily on my players, are they ready and alert or knackered after a day in the office? Will they proactively go looking for stuff or do I have to nudge them in the right direction, or spoon feed them everything? Do they work well as a group or will they argue and split at every challenge?
Assuming the players are a mixed crowd with mixed abilities here are some stratagems I use with regard to investigations / detective work:
A. Police style investigations...
Play the game to the PCs skills sets both in game and out of character. If a PC is playing a police inspector / senior detective or PI, but in real life doesn't have a clue about how to run an investigation, I will provide an out of character crib sheet on some procedural basics - usually in the form of a series of flow charts. Real basic stuff only here. (Alternatively if you have a real life copper playing a librarian character in your game then certainly allow the ooc to blend into the game if it can be justified (eg the librarian has a thing for police procedural sand whodunit murder mysteries so she could theorise a solution to this case... That said try to avoid armchair forensic specialists from implementing something they saw on CSI to solve the puzzle if their 1890s artist character is faced with nothing more than a set of bloody footprints and the remains of the victim stuffed in a saddlebag).
Key skills here are: the ever popular Spot Hidden, though I also develop a Police Investigations or Forensic Investigations skill to provide something slightly more concrete to work with.
Then when it comes to making roles I try to incorporate my 1920s copy of Modern Investigation (look for copies on eBay and Abebooks.com). If a PC fails the roll, I describe the scene again, then let them consider alternative ways to get through the failed roll, possibly researching procedure again (Int x5 roll to allow the PC to re-read the crib sheets and come up with a procedurally correct description of what (s)he'll do to justify a second roll). If the PC only just misses the roll I hand them the Investigations book to get some inspiration and then role play the scene rather than re roll for the result. If they can convince me then I'll pass them the clue / evidence. If they just pass the roll I give them the book with the right chapter, if they halve the roll I give them the correct paragraph and on a Crit success I explain what they do and the outcome in full.
This can take some time, so tend to only use this approach early on in the game, and just focus on die rolls and role playing later on once the PCs have experienced the procedural gameplay, shown they are competent investigators, and now just want to focus on the story. It also acts as a period piece prop, which adds nice flavour to the game. If relying just on rolls, I'd create more prop clues / bits of evidence to hand to the PCs.
B. Research style investigations...
I like to include some aspect of research in my games, if only to appeal to the wider professions base of my non PI players. Key skills here include Library Use, Accounting, Law, History etc.
These types of investigations can get tedious, so try to liven them up with better quality props and handouts... then make the investigation bureaucratically frustrating as a challenge (eg the head librarian does not have the time to watch over you as you read through the forbidden tome that has the binding spell you need... Not until Tuesday, at the very earliest), or I make the investigation a matter of sifting through large volumes of info... here a fail still provides information, just not the right information.
C. Uncovering the unseen...
Spot Hidden, Cryptography, Listen, and any skills that could relate to the thing that is out of place or subject to scrutiny (eg 55% handgun rolls 50 and I'll tell the PC the clue that this gun has recently been fired, at a roll of 35 shows it is of the same caliber as the round that killed the victim, at a roll of 25 or less - that it is an uncommon model with a unique serial number that could be used to track down a likely sale and maybe a name of the buyer, and a roll of 10 or any less suggests that the handle has been subtly modified to suit a left handed shooter or a shooter missing their third finger).
As mentioned in the post above I like to use skills like this in ways which don't conform to the PCs expectations... Speedy Spot Hidden rolls are called for frequently for me to determine what kind of description I give of each new scene or NPC or object or event etc, a fail just results in less detail, but essentially the same information. Occasionally I will request rolls that if passed will harm the PCs, eg SpoHid to notice the gruesomely disembowelled corpse hanging high up in the branches of the tree the PC is passing under... Then for the doctors amongst us a success at medicine or first aid causes another San loss as they realise there's enough blood on the trees branches for a dozen victims not just the unlucky corpse on view... Etc.
Props here might include a before and after type image showing more detail for any successes with the die. It might also include actual puzzles like the picture of a rabbit that if turned slightly shows a picture of a duck... Or a big picture and then a highlighted picture zoomed in on the important bit in more focus and detail.
D. Interpersonal investigations...
So long as there aren't too many important NPCs to keep track of, I usually go to town with this kind of investigation. I start with the information that the PCs need to get from the encounter, then include all the useless info and disinformation that is actively bad for the PCs. Then I figure out who is giving the info, what is their motivation (are they hostile helpful or neutral), how reliable are they, how forthcoming (do they need to be pushed or will they volunteer everything), and what will it take to get them to talk? Then what rolls can be made? Tell if they're lying, tell if they believe what they're saying, holding something back, scared, joking, uninterested, etc. then I figure out who else or where else the PCs could get the info from to either corroborate the info they have, or collect any other bits they may have missed.
Key skills include Psychology, Anthropology, Credit Rating, Fast Talk, etc. For props here I like to show pictures of the NPC being talked to. For really important ?NPCs I will have different cards with different emotions (used this once so far and it worked very well - thanks to LA Noir for the suggested game mechanic).
E. Additional bits and bobs...
I encourage PCs to make investigation notes as they go along. Any who do get small cards with the info I have written down (eg clues or bits of evidence) to help them.
If PCs get stuck at any point, NPCs with better skills might be available to offer advice but not do their job for them.
In any event good role playing is also rewarded with additional info or something equivalent... Eg the added respect of a key NPC, an easier roll for the next clue etc. for really important clues or evidence good role playing is rewarded more heavily.
PCs who can be bothered to suggest alternative ways of uncovering the investigation will be rewarded with some of the info depending on how likely they would be to succeed - eg PC is in the cave and misses the Spot hidden to see where there might be a secret opening, however his character is an architect so I'd allow him to roll under his profession skills (here Art - architectural design) to figure out where he as an architect would create a hidden doorway etc. not exactly the method I'd want him to use but I like his involvement and role playing so I allow it with a -10% penalty. If he hadn't suggested it and I was feeling overly generous I might suggest it myself but with a -25% penalty.
Assuming the players are a mixed crowd with mixed abilities here are some stratagems I use with regard to investigations / detective work:
A. Police style investigations...
Play the game to the PCs skills sets both in game and out of character. If a PC is playing a police inspector / senior detective or PI, but in real life doesn't have a clue about how to run an investigation, I will provide an out of character crib sheet on some procedural basics - usually in the form of a series of flow charts. Real basic stuff only here. (Alternatively if you have a real life copper playing a librarian character in your game then certainly allow the ooc to blend into the game if it can be justified (eg the librarian has a thing for police procedural sand whodunit murder mysteries so she could theorise a solution to this case... That said try to avoid armchair forensic specialists from implementing something they saw on CSI to solve the puzzle if their 1890s artist character is faced with nothing more than a set of bloody footprints and the remains of the victim stuffed in a saddlebag).
Key skills here are: the ever popular Spot Hidden, though I also develop a Police Investigations or Forensic Investigations skill to provide something slightly more concrete to work with.
Then when it comes to making roles I try to incorporate my 1920s copy of Modern Investigation (look for copies on eBay and Abebooks.com). If a PC fails the roll, I describe the scene again, then let them consider alternative ways to get through the failed roll, possibly researching procedure again (Int x5 roll to allow the PC to re-read the crib sheets and come up with a procedurally correct description of what (s)he'll do to justify a second roll). If the PC only just misses the roll I hand them the Investigations book to get some inspiration and then role play the scene rather than re roll for the result. If they can convince me then I'll pass them the clue / evidence. If they just pass the roll I give them the book with the right chapter, if they halve the roll I give them the correct paragraph and on a Crit success I explain what they do and the outcome in full.
This can take some time, so tend to only use this approach early on in the game, and just focus on die rolls and role playing later on once the PCs have experienced the procedural gameplay, shown they are competent investigators, and now just want to focus on the story. It also acts as a period piece prop, which adds nice flavour to the game. If relying just on rolls, I'd create more prop clues / bits of evidence to hand to the PCs.
B. Research style investigations...
I like to include some aspect of research in my games, if only to appeal to the wider professions base of my non PI players. Key skills here include Library Use, Accounting, Law, History etc.
These types of investigations can get tedious, so try to liven them up with better quality props and handouts... then make the investigation bureaucratically frustrating as a challenge (eg the head librarian does not have the time to watch over you as you read through the forbidden tome that has the binding spell you need... Not until Tuesday, at the very earliest), or I make the investigation a matter of sifting through large volumes of info... here a fail still provides information, just not the right information.
C. Uncovering the unseen...
Spot Hidden, Cryptography, Listen, and any skills that could relate to the thing that is out of place or subject to scrutiny (eg 55% handgun rolls 50 and I'll tell the PC the clue that this gun has recently been fired, at a roll of 35 shows it is of the same caliber as the round that killed the victim, at a roll of 25 or less - that it is an uncommon model with a unique serial number that could be used to track down a likely sale and maybe a name of the buyer, and a roll of 10 or any less suggests that the handle has been subtly modified to suit a left handed shooter or a shooter missing their third finger).
As mentioned in the post above I like to use skills like this in ways which don't conform to the PCs expectations... Speedy Spot Hidden rolls are called for frequently for me to determine what kind of description I give of each new scene or NPC or object or event etc, a fail just results in less detail, but essentially the same information. Occasionally I will request rolls that if passed will harm the PCs, eg SpoHid to notice the gruesomely disembowelled corpse hanging high up in the branches of the tree the PC is passing under... Then for the doctors amongst us a success at medicine or first aid causes another San loss as they realise there's enough blood on the trees branches for a dozen victims not just the unlucky corpse on view... Etc.
Props here might include a before and after type image showing more detail for any successes with the die. It might also include actual puzzles like the picture of a rabbit that if turned slightly shows a picture of a duck... Or a big picture and then a highlighted picture zoomed in on the important bit in more focus and detail.
D. Interpersonal investigations...
So long as there aren't too many important NPCs to keep track of, I usually go to town with this kind of investigation. I start with the information that the PCs need to get from the encounter, then include all the useless info and disinformation that is actively bad for the PCs. Then I figure out who is giving the info, what is their motivation (are they hostile helpful or neutral), how reliable are they, how forthcoming (do they need to be pushed or will they volunteer everything), and what will it take to get them to talk? Then what rolls can be made? Tell if they're lying, tell if they believe what they're saying, holding something back, scared, joking, uninterested, etc. then I figure out who else or where else the PCs could get the info from to either corroborate the info they have, or collect any other bits they may have missed.
Key skills include Psychology, Anthropology, Credit Rating, Fast Talk, etc. For props here I like to show pictures of the NPC being talked to. For really important ?NPCs I will have different cards with different emotions (used this once so far and it worked very well - thanks to LA Noir for the suggested game mechanic).
E. Additional bits and bobs...
I encourage PCs to make investigation notes as they go along. Any who do get small cards with the info I have written down (eg clues or bits of evidence) to help them.
If PCs get stuck at any point, NPCs with better skills might be available to offer advice but not do their job for them.
In any event good role playing is also rewarded with additional info or something equivalent... Eg the added respect of a key NPC, an easier roll for the next clue etc. for really important clues or evidence good role playing is rewarded more heavily.
PCs who can be bothered to suggest alternative ways of uncovering the investigation will be rewarded with some of the info depending on how likely they would be to succeed - eg PC is in the cave and misses the Spot hidden to see where there might be a secret opening, however his character is an architect so I'd allow him to roll under his profession skills (here Art - architectural design) to figure out where he as an architect would create a hidden doorway etc. not exactly the method I'd want him to use but I like his involvement and role playing so I allow it with a -10% penalty. If he hadn't suggested it and I was feeling overly generous I might suggest it myself but with a -25% penalty.
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Shannon Mac
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I go with an intriguing idea first. Something that would work in an RPG.
Then I develop scenes around it with proper lows and rises in the tale (you can't have a four hour finale or the intensity will wear players down and conversely you cannot have a mundane investigation and end it with even more mediocrity). Opinions will vary on what is mediocre so another step is finding players who wish to see the things you wish to run. That will save you a ton of time and pain.
I try to have at least three interesting characters and preferably those that can reveal elements to the investigation threads or at least be memorable.
Speaking of information dumps don't do it. It's better to give just a bit and let the players ask for more info b/c they're working for it. This is applied when talking to most characters. If I had a ton of info I'd do a prop and have a player read it out to the others and reward them if they do it well.
Are you good at winging it? If so you can start with some ideas and a basic structure and run with it.
If not then you need to be more methodical. In general it's better to be over prepared. If you get stuck excuse yourself to the bathroom and figure out what you're going to do. This maneuver only works a few times btw.
Play with A LOT of good Keepers and steal from the best. A lot of the positive traits of a good or better Keeper are hard to learn from reading until you see them applied. Join groups that discuss good gaming for players and GMs, especially focused on games you enjoy.
That's all for now.
Then I develop scenes around it with proper lows and rises in the tale (you can't have a four hour finale or the intensity will wear players down and conversely you cannot have a mundane investigation and end it with even more mediocrity). Opinions will vary on what is mediocre so another step is finding players who wish to see the things you wish to run. That will save you a ton of time and pain.
I try to have at least three interesting characters and preferably those that can reveal elements to the investigation threads or at least be memorable.
Speaking of information dumps don't do it. It's better to give just a bit and let the players ask for more info b/c they're working for it. This is applied when talking to most characters. If I had a ton of info I'd do a prop and have a player read it out to the others and reward them if they do it well.
Are you good at winging it? If so you can start with some ideas and a basic structure and run with it.
If not then you need to be more methodical. In general it's better to be over prepared. If you get stuck excuse yourself to the bathroom and figure out what you're going to do. This maneuver only works a few times btw.
Play with A LOT of good Keepers and steal from the best. A lot of the positive traits of a good or better Keeper are hard to learn from reading until you see them applied. Join groups that discuss good gaming for players and GMs, especially focused on games you enjoy.
That's all for now.
My gaming blog with pretty pictures: http://www.storytellersjem.blogspot.com/
I was wondering if anyone has came up some kind of template document to put the scenario in some kind of easy to reference format?
I've been a way from keeping for a while and the past 2 weekends I have been the keeper. I have prepared and read both stories inside and out.
I was finding myself floundering through my notes most of the night when someone would as a question about a peculiar event or person.
I heard some one mention note cards is a great tool, and I will try that out. But it seems to me that if you had some kind of outline, maybe arrange by subject, events or people that would be helpful too.
Thoughts anyone?
I've been a way from keeping for a while and the past 2 weekends I have been the keeper. I have prepared and read both stories inside and out.
I was finding myself floundering through my notes most of the night when someone would as a question about a peculiar event or person.
I heard some one mention note cards is a great tool, and I will try that out. But it seems to me that if you had some kind of outline, maybe arrange by subject, events or people that would be helpful too.
Thoughts anyone?
Sam Stamps
Keeper of my own little reality.
Keeper of my own little reality.
Pelgrane Press' gumshoe rpg called Night's Black Agents has a tool like this. They call it the conspiramid and it originated from another rpg. The premise is that the director (keeper) has a list of connected antagonist parties all layer out like a pyramid diagram, with the tougher the bad guys the higher up the diagram. Google search conspiramid or read up on it at the Pelgrane website fir more useful info.SamS wrote:I was wondering if anyone has came up some kind of template document to put the scenario in some kind of easy to reference format?
I've been a way from keeping for a while and the past 2 weekends I have been the keeper. I have prepared and read both stories inside and out.
I was finding myself floundering through my notes most of the night when someone would as a question about a peculiar event or person.
I heard some one mention note cards is a great tool, and I will try that out. But it seems to me that if you had some kind of outline, maybe arrange by subject, events or people that would be helpful too.
Thoughts anyone?
Personally I think developing something like that could help a great deal. To consider it further I'd have an easy to use timeline chart of key events with each event described in brief, all items, clues and helpful prompts, then the likely NPCs involved and likely locations - all with page and map and handout references to the campaign book given too. I use notecards with a PC side and a keeper side (or if possible a list of info split into sections reflecting how much the PCs have uncovered). Then you can read out the PC side, or kept them read it, while keeping the keeper info (on stuff like motivation, the awful truth etc) secret. Giving cards a ref number in the timeline chart would help (especially if you have loads of things to relay and then the PCs go and split the party!
Based off the audio plays & stuff I've read about I'd definitely agree with immersion & handouts (esp. if the players aren't expecting them if new to CoC). I think as long as the scenario is painted in such a way to keep the characters interested in the story & not casually/distracted then it will make it more memorable. Looking back at my time spent with a variety of other RPG games from when I was in college there were plenty of spots in some campaigns that I can barely recall with myself not being in the right mindset to be immersed in the game. Remember you can always get the players to come up with stuff to help enrich some smaller details then build off that or just remind them to write that stuff down on the character sheet as might be useful later.
Another thing heard on YSDC audio play of the Pale God (with Chris Lackey running it) that I think helps get the players in the mood of the game, which I'll totally insert in any rpg or game I run in the future once I start doing that, is to spend about 5 minutes with each of the characters at the start just going through to do a day in the life of that character before the group sets out.
Another thing heard on YSDC audio play of the Pale God (with Chris Lackey running it) that I think helps get the players in the mood of the game, which I'll totally insert in any rpg or game I run in the future once I start doing that, is to spend about 5 minutes with each of the characters at the start just going through to do a day in the life of that character before the group sets out.
"That's funny, usually the blood gets off on the second floor." -Mr. Burns in The Shinning episode (Treehouse of horror V)