Being as prepared as possible before you sit down to run a mod ensures that you and the players are best positioned to get the most out of the adventure; not only do you have a handle on tactics for a particular encounter, you also have an understanding of the flow between encounters and the underlying theme tying the encounters, the back story, and the NPCs together. This means your combats are challenging, your NPCs memorable, and your on-the-fly adjustments fine-tuned. How do you best prepare to run a mod?

Read the Adventure

Read it cover to cover looking for theme, flavor, and flow; at this point focus on the mood of the mod (frightening, humorous, etc.), get a sense of mystery, adventure, romance, etc., and see how the different encounters lead to one another and into the encounter as a whole. This will provide clues regarding narration and basic NPC attitudes.

Read Each Combat Encounter

Lay the encounter out to get a sense of terrain, enemy placement, basic tactics, etc. Look for appropriate interplay between foes’s powers keeping in mind the roles and intelligence of the monsters. Remember that the difficulty of an encounter is based in large part on how well the creatures use their powers. Poor choice of power usage can under power the fight in the PC’s favor, although having a monster change to a suboptimal tactic is a subtle way to give the players a small break (if necessary). Make notes about the best time to use a foe’s powers and have them be as opportunistic as possible.

Make index cards for each foe (or group of essentially identical foes) so you can include them in your initiative stack and track HPs, powers, etc. right on the card. Doing this will speed up play and will help you remember tactics, etc. Also, if you prepare the cards for 4, 5, and 6 PCs at both low and high difficulties, it will make the combat process much smoother and maximize playing time.

Read Each Skill Challenge

Make a list of skills available and determine whether they are primary (i.e. a success counts toward the number of successes necessary to complete the challenge) or secondary (i.e. a success gives a bonus to another PC or removes a previous failure). Mike Mearls has a series of articles in “Dungeon” and “Dragon” magazines that discuss skill challenge design and I have a post on adjudication as well. See if there are any glaring holes in the design (i.e. the primary skills are all specialized into one or two classes, a particular class doesn’t have ANY trained skills from the list, etc.) Most importantly, make sure you have a sense of the time frame each skill challenge encompasses; this will enhance the narration by making sure it covers the elapsing of time during the challenge.

List Each Significant NPC

One criticism of LFR is the relative lack of role playing opportunity the mods provide, particularly given the amount of time a convention session provides. An easy way to provide some role playing opportunities and enhance the story you and the PCs are telling is by making the NPCs come alive. While there are dozens of techniques available, I’ll suggest three easy ones:

1. Pick a (somewhat) distinctive voice. It doesn’t have to be flawless, but having the old guy talk with a gravely voice and the service wench talk in a high-pitched voice can make a world of difference.
2. Pick a mannerism. Have him wheeze, sneeze, cough, sniffle, squint, scratch his beard, break wind frequently, whistle, etc. Just make sure he does it enough that the players can associate the mannerism with the NPC.
3. Pick a goal. It can be simple (He wants to bring the PCs food and get paid for it), or complex (he wants the attractive female pc to become sympathetic to him so he can use her to make the Mayor’s Daughter jealous). Then just have everything the NPC says or does work in some fashion towards that goal. Generally, the smarter the NPC, the more complex the goal CAN be (although it certainly does not have to be that complex).

Make an index card of each NPC with a brief physical description, notes on his voice, mannerism, and goal, and keep that index card by the appropriate encounter(s). Then, pull that card out and run with it during the encounter.

Make Any Narration Notes

The last preparatory step is to make sure you have a grasp on the narration. Be sure to note anything you feel MUST be conveyed. Try to pick a theme for each encounter to make sure your descriptions match the tone and feel of the encounter and the adventure. Also note the passage of time during the narration and that helps keep the story in focus.

Conclusion

The above work takes roughly one hour preparation but the results are worth the effort. Don’t forget that you can complete this work when you first get a module then just keep your notes for repeated running. This can also help continuity when you run multiple mods from an extended story arc.

Tags: Conventions, Preparation

WotC recently announced major changes in their Rewards Program, effectively ending the player mailings entirely.  To compensate, just about every player who had qualified for any rewards received all twenty current cards via download.  This increases the odds that players will sit at your table with a stack of these cards expecting to use them during your adventure.  We’ll go over the different types of cards available, their impacts on the game, and ways you can adjudicate their usage with minimal detraction.  These rules can be found in the RPGA Character Creation Guide (current version is 1.7) and are subject to change.

Types of Cards

There are four card types; their names and effects are listed below:

* General Cards - These common cards affect play twice during a run. The first impact occurs when they are played; each card contains a one-time benefit for that player’s character.  The second time occurs when the bonus is granted.  In the upper right corner of general cards is a +1 or +2.  This bonus may be given to any ally for any d20 roll after the die is thrown.  This bonus may only be used once per session, may only be used after the original benefit is used, and may not stack with other card bonuses.  There is no limit to the number of general cards in a card stack up to the maximm size of a player’s stack.

* Creation cards - These rare cards grant permission for a player to create a character somehow not usually permissible under the current rules set; perhaps there is a race or class restriction removed, an allowance of a normally prohibited feat, etc.  Any of these cards used in the creation of a particular character must remain in that character’s stack for the character to be legal.  Only one creation card may be in a stack, and it does count against a player’s stack size.

* Expansion cards - these uncommon cards provide new options a character may add when they level up; these options could be backgrounds, feats, etc.  Any of these cards used to modify a particular character must remain in that character’s stack or else the character will have to retain or otherwise lose the benefit of the card.  There is no limit to the number of expansion cards allowable in a card stack up to the maximum size of a player’s stack.

* Quest cards - these rare cards have in-game achievements spread across many modules; when all of the achievements have been obtained, this card then allows the character access to special closed mods. There is no limit to the number of quest cards in a card stack, and quest cards do NOT count against a player’s stack size.

The Card Stack

Each player may have a “stack” of cards in front of him; the size of this stack varies depending upon the level of the character and the type of cards present.  Every character is entitled to 2 cards at 1st level and additional cards are added every 5 levels beyond 1st (6, 11, 16, 21, and 26). Only one of these cards may be a creation card; the remainder must be either general or expansion. In addition to these cards, the stack may contain any number of quest cards. Stack limits look like this:

Only one of these cards can be a creation card.  The maximum stack size does NOT take into account quest cards.

Adjudicating Reward Card Usage

Of the four card types, only two have a direct impact on in-game play: general cards and quest cards. The other two card types merely need to be in a player’s stack if they represent some facet of character generation.

* General Cards. The primary purpose is easy to manage; if the player meets the condition they are rewarded with a specific action. To date, I haven’t seen any cards with a cause and effect scenario that wasn’t clear.  The secondary purpose has a larger affect on in-game play, as the bonus retains it’s potential until used and alters the dice roll AFTER it’s completed; this means that you will get a LOT of questions along the lines of “would a +1 (or +2) alter this result?” With potentially six players having cards active, this can become a real drag. My advice is to get in the habit of announcing to folks whether a bonus would impact the result. That way, you put that info out there as part of your information transfer and not have to deal with a bunch of interruptions.

* Quest cards. When both you and the player(s) recognize a quest event, you have a great opportunity for some role playing; play up the drama, the intrigue, etc. I suggest making note cards for the character so he can add it to his folder. I recommend prepping note cards when you happen upon a rewards event in the mod; then, when players trigger the event and have the quest card, you can give them your prep card and quickly wrap up the administrative work without disrupting the flow of play. Other than serving as notice that a particular part of the quest is complete, these cards have no effect during play.

Reward cards add a small dimension of player control to the events of a run; being prepared for them takes very little work on your part and a]enhance the player’s experience. Now you are ready for them!

Tags: Conventions, RPGA, Running

Running LFR mods at Conventions introduces the time constraint as a potential limitation to the gaming experience.  Generally, an adventure slot will be 4 hours; that includes the time it takes to handle administrative considerations, deal with character generation , etc.  We really can’t eliminate these necessities but there are some tricks that allow us to minimize their impact on the game.

New Players & Character Gen

Attracting new players is one of the goals for a Convention, and everything should be done to make these folks feel welcome and help them get the most out of their gaming experience.  However, character generation can be a long process, particularly for the uninitiated player, and can really eat into playing time.  There are a couple of ways to address this depending on time and resources:

• Character Generation session.  If you can speak with the tournament organizer ahead of time (via e-mail, etc.), suggest that one or two experienced gamers set up a very visible table to help new players create characters.  This will minimize time spent during the run handling this function, it will provide some experienced players the chance to teach the game, and it will give new players a chance to craft a persona they will be eager to play.

• Pre-make Characters.  I know there is some work involved, but take the time to create some pre-built first-level characters.  You don’t have to get crazy with concepts and burn through a bunch of great ideas you were saving for yourself; instead, you can focus on some of the fundamental class-race combinations that new folks will likely be familiar with:  Human and Dwarf fighters, Elven wizards and rangers, etc.  The WoTC Character Builder is pretty good for this purpose and can cut creation time down pretty significantly.  While I wouldn’t worry too much about background or history (let the player have some free reign), I WOULD probably list three or four common actions for the player and detail the game mechanics behind them.  This simple and short summary will help the new player grasp the core of his new character quickly.

Administrative Details

We all have paperwork details to complete for each run in order to report the event properly, etc.; many of these can be streamlined as well.

• Complete as much of the Session Tracking Log ahead of time as you can.  While players get seated and are still moving things out of their backpacks, pass this around for player names, RPGA numbers, etc.  I always attach a couple of blank RPGA cards and instruct my players to grab a card if they don’t already have one.  I also attach blank Adventure Tracking Logs for the same purpose.  This gets all of the paperwork out of the way during a bit of dead time and gets folks focused.  If you are really pressed for time you can also be reading the boxed text prologue simultaneously.

• Pre-make bundle cards.  Take some blank index cards and list the various treasure bundles available at the end of the module.  Go ahead and list them all (low and high).  Once the players have determined which path they will run you can cross off any inapplicable bundles.  Then, at the adventure’s end, you can give each player a card and they can tell you which bundle they select.  This speeds up the process and makes sure the module pages with the bundles don’t get tattered or lost.

• Prepare index card adventure summaries for each player; this summary should have the name and number of the module being played, along with room for gold and treasure bundles.  At the end of the adventure, the players claim their treasures and you can mark the summary cards and distribute them.  This allows the players to complete their Adventure Tracking Logs at their leisure without taking up valuable time at your table.

Most of these tasks can be completed with 20-30 minutes of prep work and can save you that much time each session.  And at a Convention, that time could be the difference between getting a real lunch or grabbing vending machine fare (again)

Tags: Conventions, Preparation, Supplies

For those of you who have run RPGA events at tournaments, conventions, product releases, etc., you likely know (or have heard) the term “Table 0″; for those unfamiliar with it, Table 0 refers to the run through of a particular module by the DMs and admins.  It serves two main purposes:

1. DMs become familiar with the adventure in a very practical way and see the various aspects of the module;
2. Event folks have an opportunity to earn some player points and level up their characters.

My three goals for this blog are straightforward:

1. Discuss various aspects of running RPGA mods at events, conventions, etc.;
2. Review various LFR adventures with feedback from sessions, suggestions for DME, and any pertinent advice;
3. Develop and discover tools that will help RPGA Judges run sessions that are as fun for participants as possible.

I want this site to be interactive, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment, ask a question, or offer a suggestion. I’m also looking for folks to contribute so feel encouraged to contact me with ideas for posts.

Tags: Conventions, Preparation, Running