Anatomy Of A Back Pocket Encounter: The Screaming Ambush

Tuesday, I shared out the tip to create Back Pocket Encounters you can push into play in case you need to change the pace, stall, or provide a transition or clue.

In response, Roleplaying Tips GM TT writes:

Examples of each of the 3 Back Pocket Encounters would have been nice.

Thanks for the suggestion, TT. Today, I’ve got a quick example from my campaign to walk through with you.

The Ambush

Let’s say I’m nearing the finish of a session. About 30 minutes left.

I like to end sessions on cliffhangers if I can swing it. So I decide to use a Back Pocket Encounter to stall for about 15 minutes.

I can then trigger my last encounter and stop halfway through at a great tension moment, such as when a character is about to make an important saving throw.

There’s always a chance an encounter goes longer than expected, so my plan B is to cliffhang my Back Pocket Encounter and save my other one for next session instead.

So I get the group’s attention and lay down the following scene description:

Establishing Shot: “Ok folks, you’re back on the road. It’s a snowy day and bitterly cold despite it being mid-spring. You’re rested and excited to reach the caves to get that magic sword for Roghan.”

The Situation: “Suddenly, loud screaming erupts from around the bend in the road up ahead! It sounds like several people, and they are yelling bloody murder.”

Pass the Hot Potato: “You can’t see what’s happening. You’ll have to get around the corner. The whole area has gone dead silent now. Krug, you react fastest. What are you doing?”

My BP Encounter Notes

We can be quite efficient with our encounter prep.

We want to avoid unnecessary dependencies to make it easier to push into play at any moment.

We also want to keep details at a minimum for easier GMing. Having to read paragraphs or lists of notes takes time and cognitive load.

Here’s an Action to Stall type Back Pocket Encounter I prepped for my campaign:

As the shivering party travels down the snowy road, they hear screaming. The hot potato is in their hands.

Looking at my notes, I’ve got a lot of options here. I know people and beastmen are involved. And a cart with a broken wheel. To save my poor old noggin some cycles in play, I’ve also thought up three quick twists I can choose from if I want.

My OODA Loop reveals a tired group, fully rested characters, 30 minutes to play, and one more encounter ideally to fit in.

Scaling on-the-fly, I decide to make this an Easy encounter.

3 beastmen. And one has a farmer hostage while 5 other family members cower or try to fight the creatures off with basic weapons.

I draw the map out as a thumbnail sketch first in a few seconds. Then I reveal it by drawing it for players.

This sends pretty strong combat and action signals, but if the party wants to parley or do something else, they are welcome to try.

And as a side note here, this encounter works great for Krug and the gang in the cold and snow from our example.

However, I prepped this encounter for my campaign, which takes place in the jungle. Eliminating dependencies helps our Back Pocket Encounters fit into more situations, making them versatile and useful.

Once I’ve finished drawing the player map, we place our minis/tokens and roll for initiative.

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
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