I currently break my session prep into six categories.
- Synopsis
- Secrets/Clues
- Scenes/Combats
- Map notes
- Hazards
- Rewards
This is the first in a series of 6 posts about these six session prep categories.
synopsis
- prepare a snapshot
from the players view of what’s going on. this could be very
detailed but doesn’t need to be for most games.
- for a one shot adventure
the players need to know the goal of the PCs, the obstacles
in their path and what it means to succeed. the picture
needs to be drawn very clearly so that players can get to
the action quickly and get to some point of resolution
within the session time frame. one shots where most of the
table time is spent talking about what to do are not very
satisfying. it is also a bummer to have to stop midst
action/story and have no opportunity to resolve the
situation.
- what it means to fail
I like to leave up to the players, but sometimes it must be
stated explicitly that failing to stop the bad guy from
preforming the bad thing is the point of the
adventure. other times it is good to explore the difference
between the players opinion vs the PCs opinion. a PC might
feel lucky/ successful to have escaped with their life while
a player might feel very dissatisfied that they failed to
open all the doors or kill every last bad guy.
- the most complicated synopsis
IMO, is the sandbox synopsis. In this scenario
the GM has to provide enough of the world for the
players/PCs to make a choice about where to go and what to
do. this means multiple targets and many more shades of
gray. this often means longer sessions and/or carrying
action across sessions.
- players can help with this
the synopsis is usually a task that falls on just the game
master but i think its an excellent opportunity for players
to help. of course players don’t have much time to prepare
to help if it’s a one shot, but each PC could be given a
knowledge list and background relevant to the story. I’m
gearing up to run Descent into Avernus and looking into
eliminating several NPCs and giving their knowledge directly
to Players. Instead of just holding information for the PCs
the NPCs will become hirelings or henchmen that interact
more with the PCs.