From Johnn 4
Roleplaying Suggestions Publication #1195
(Be part of the dialog about right now’s ideas right here.)
Right here’s an fascinating query about encounter constructing that WorldWibe asks on RPT’s Discord:
Is a dungeon-making philosophy that goes: “Each room ought to have one thing fascinating in it, be it battle, treasure or lore” a very good design-methodology?
Thanks for the nice query!
Quite a bit will depend on your GMing model and participant expectations.
However let me clarify my strategy within the hopes half or all of it would swimsuit you.
Hold a Good Tempo
First, contemplate your required pacing.
Would you like the occasion sniffing, scratching, and tapping in each floorboard, nook, and cranny?
If we put one thing fascinating all over the place, then we inspire gamers to go looking all over the place.
That quickly creates Snoozeville.
So I want a sprinkling of fascinating issues all through an journey as an alternative of a carpet.
And my encounter design objectives more often than not contain:
- Reward gamers who listen
- Reward good concepts, good roleplay, and taking motion
- Sustain a brisk tempo
- If motion, present an fascinating CombatScape
- If roleplay, present fascinating 3 Line NPCs
- If puzzle, present readability intimately and replies
- Hook as a lot element to world, marketing campaign, journey, or Loop
Notice these are encounter degree objectives. Adventures contain completely different goals. Likewise marketing campaign and world tiers of GM considering.
My encounter objectives are additionally impartial of how a lot I improvise.
If an encounter is 100% pre-planned, I nonetheless wish to reward concepts, roleplay, and motion.
I nonetheless need as fast a tempo as attainable by default (and slower for impact).
And I nonetheless need fascinating environments, NPCs, and particulars.
The identical is true with 100% improvised encounters.
However general, I favour gameplay with a very good, fast tempo so a lot of story emerges.
In my expertise, we are able to flub loads of our GMing throughout a session.
However guaranteeing the plot advances and getting that storytelling in helps everybody really feel higher a couple of session no matter its GMing disasters.
So design (and reply your query WorldWibe) with tempo in thoughts.
Present Clear Indicators
The 5 Room Dungeon construction means I must make at the very least 5 encounters fascinating.
They kind a Vital Story Path by your journey, no matter whether or not your journey is 5 encounters or a megadungeon.
Every Room within the 5RD framework has a particular story goal in order that, when mixed, turns you into Spielberg, Tolkein, Shakespeare.
So we’re actually speaking simply non-5RD encounters.
The very first thing I’ll do when gamers encounter a barren space is clearly describe that.
I’ll finish my description with one thing like, “And you are feeling fairly assured there’s nothing of curiosity right here.”
And I preserve my phrase on that.
I clarify to my gamers that I’ll let their characters mechanically discover the apparent and considerably occluded stuff except the PCs are below duress.
I give out the issues I would like characters to search out. There’s no level obfuscating that.
Then I give out particulars on considerably hidden stuff to extremely perceptive characters if these PCs aren’t distracted.
This lets my group loosen up about looking out each 5 toes. They know I’ll inform them the apparent stuff and gentle problem detection kind stuff.
For well-hidden particulars I’ll await motion to disclose these. Detect or set off. Both end result is comfortable with me.
So my gamers know the place to not waste time and have belief I received’t screw them.
Observant gamers notice when the occasion’s distracted and can determine whether or not to pause and search.
This speeds tempo up loads.
It additionally makes the sport extra about discovery by making it simpler for characters to get fascinating particulars, which we would like.
Present clear indicators on if there’s doubtlessly fascinating stuff to search out and also you’ll enhance tempo and enjoyable on the similar time.
However Wait, Let Me Contradict Myself
In true villain vogue, my ultimate reply is sure, make each encounter fascinating.
Let me clarify the contradiction.
Since I made this 4 half video collection with Sly Flourish (watch the primary video right here) I’ve given the idea of Conditions much more effort.
At the moment, I deal with each journey like a Rube Golderg mechanism or Mouse Lure recreation.
Additionally as Sim Dungeon meets Spielberg.
Which means there’s a higher context we are able to inherit so as to add selections, motion, and story to each uninteresting encounter.
An empty room may actually don’t have anything of curiosity.
However what if it’s a method to slam a door within the face of harmful pursuers, add extra distance one should cowl whereas bleeding out, or supply an space of reprieve?
Each second of gameplay ought to replicate the occasion’s present Dramatic State of affairs.
I name GMs who’re life-long learners and have a robust want to enhance their craft Wizards of Journey.
And a part of being a Wizard of Journey is about mastering the second.
By analyzing and synthesizing many particulars, we decide a present second of motion.
That is what I name the Dramatic State of affairs.
We harvest our data of the sport guidelines, our recreation world, the present journey, our marketing campaign, and different information sources.
We then fuse particulars these into our narrative of what’s occurring now.
Then we discover out what gamers do to see what occurs subsequent.
Take a second to consider that.
Whew.
We GMs are fairly superior, eh?
It’s fairly the factor to ask of an individual.
“Hey individual.
“Why don’t you recollect particulars about a complete fictional world you made up, the story that’s been informed for the final two years, 5 distinct protagonists and all their enemies and all different individuals within the space, and 546 pages of guidelines suddenly?
“Too straightforward? No drawback. It’s good to be a grasp of technique and techniques too.
“Nonetheless too straightforward? No drawback. There’s no script. You make it up as you go alongside!
“That’s proper. You gotta combine guidelines, and cube math, and technique, and creativeness, and lore collectively to weave a unbelievable story on-the-fly.”
You’re wonderful. We GMs are wonderful.
I urge you to take a look at the video above the place Mike and I speak extra about the right way to flip 5 Room Dungeons into Conditions to get extra context on what I’m happening about right here.
My Closing Reply
Intention to GM with brisk pacing.
Enable computerized element detection to offer gamers good expectations and confidence whereas they discover.
And suppose by way of conditions, not remoted encounters.
Mix these three approaches to maintain gameplay fascinating with out having to make each room fascinating.
I hope this helps, WorldWibe.
Focus on these recreation grasp ideas on this thread on the official Roleplaying Suggestions neighborhood discussion board.
