Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #357
9 Spheres Of Influence -
My Broad RPG Planning Checklist
Contents:
This Week's Tips Summarized
9 Spheres Of Influence -
My Broad RPG Planning Checklist
- The 9 Spheres Of Influence
- GM Preferences
- Player Preferences
- Game System
- Game World
- Campaign
- Character Preferences
- Adventure
- Session
- Encounter
Readers' Tips Summarized
- Running An Adventure In A Laser Game/Paintball Range
- Parents: Finding Time To Prep And Game
- Remember To Take In-Game Notes Of Loose Threads
Advanced Adventures in Gamestores!
If your love of First Edition is not sated after all these
years, check out Advanced Adventures by Expeditious Retreat
Press, sold at our on-line store as well as FLGS! Scooped in
this month's Dragon Magazine's First Watch, old-school
gaming is on the horizon. Check out Pod Caverns of the
Sinister Shroom, The Red Mausoleum, and The Curse of the
Witchhead, also available in PDF at YourGamesNow.com.
Advanced Adventures at Expeditious Retreat
Press
Return to Contents
A Brief Word From Johnn
Free RPG Day
The goal of Free RPG Day is to get gamers inspired to play
new RPGs. This year it's taking place in US stores only, but
hopefully the program will be successful and branch out in
future years. Free RPG Day will be June 23, 2007.
www.freerpgday.com
Anyone Using A Digital Projector?
Digital projectors are becoming quite affordable these
days, and the idea of beaming your maps onto the game table
from your computer is pretty exciting. However, I'm
wondering if the dream is better than the reality. If you
use a digital projector in your games, maybe you could drop
me a line and tell me how it's going?
Does map preparation take a lot of extra time? Does a
projector make games faster or slower? Does it take some of
the headaches out of mapping? Does it keep the GM's head
behind a computer screen? Are there pros and cons each GM
thinking about digital projection should weigh? Should I
spend the money on other RPG products instead?
Cheers,
Johnn Four,
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
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Return to Contents
9 Spheres Of Influence
My Broad RPG Planning Checklist
The following article details a short checklist I use for a
lot of things, from planning a new campaign to writing tips
to organizing a session. I was using it while writing part
two of the Know Your Players tips series when it occurred to
me you might find this information useful as well.
Starting with what I think is the top level when considering
any RPG activity, whether it's buying a product, designing,
preparing, or GMing, the list describes a rough hierarchy of
game elements. Each item on the list is contained inside the
one above it, like Russian nested dolls.
Another way to look at it is each item is a circle on a
piece of paper. Inside the circle are the circles of the
items that follow it on the list.
For example, inside the game system circle is the game world
circle, because the game world is dependant on the rules
that govern it. Inside the game world circle is one or more
campaign circles, because each campaign is informed and
restricted by the world and game system.
Each circle I call a sphere of influence because it
dictates a lot of parameters to the spheres contained within
in.
Confused? Let's get straight to the list then.
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0. The 9 Spheres Of Influence
1) GM preferences
2) Player preferences
3) Game system
4) Game world
5) Campaign
6) Character preferences
7) Adventure
8) Session
9) Encounter
Maybe this diagram helps put things in perspective.
Return to Contents
1. GM Preferences
While the game master and players are equal participants in
games, I've placed GM preferences at the top because I feel
GMs are the primary motivators, coordinators, and organizers
in most groups.
We GMs buy most of the gaming stuff. We do a lot of the
planning and preparation for campaigns and sessions. We do
the adventure and world building.
There are many exceptions to this, and if the list doesn't
reflect your group's structure, then feel free to re-order
it. The purpose is to tweak the list accordingly, and then
use it to guide your decisions and activities where possible
to make things easier and more efficient.
In my model, GMs are the all-encompassing sphere in which
the others reside. We are the ones usually to get and keep a
gaming activity happening, especially as we get older and
all group members have competing real life priorities. As
such, we need to ensure our needs and preferences are met
first, because if we aren't motivated to game, then likely
no game will happen.
Note this doesn't mean it's our way or nothing. We need to
be flexible and cater to the needs of the other spheres, but
we should, at the beginning, figure out what minimum things
we need to stay motivated and interested in gaming and
ensure those elements make their way into the other spheres
as appropriate.
Another reason I've placed GM preferences as the outer
sphere is we can figure out what our preferences are before
any of the other spheres get involved. We can do this work
immediately, and should. We don't need to wait for game
sessions to happen, for example, to figure out what genres
we prefer to game.
So, what are your gaming preferences? Do you have any
restrictions? Are there any deal breakers that would cause
you to quit gaming? Are there any deal makers that would
inspire you to run the best game sessions you've ever GM'd?
Most of us are pretty flexible on the various aspects of our
gaming hobby, but if there are any must-haves in your mind,
such as game system, session location, player types, or
world elements, now is the time to suss those out and take
note.
Use these preferences to influence the other spheres to
ensure you are happy gaming for a long time to come.
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2. Player Preferences
Player preferences are very important to learn about and
serve. Issue #352 started the process for discovering what
your players habits, likes, and dislikes are. In addition,
past tips on player surveys can help.
Roleplaying Tips Issue #352: Know Your Players - Building Your Session Checklist
Without players, you have no game. It's critical to make
your games fun and entertaining, and to facilitate your
players helping each other enjoy game nights.
Therefore, their spheres have top priority after the GM's.
Note that different players have different preferences. You
need to find the prefs that overlap, and cater to those as
the group's strong points. Consider the things your players
mutually like to be the core preferences of your group, and
make these top priority to serve. Once that's done, you can
expand out to reach different or unique player desires.
When you are pressed for session planning time, for example,
cater to core preferences first. If you have time left over,
you can look at individual needs.
Try to also learn what deal makers and deal breakers your
players have. For example, if a player refuses to play
cyberpunk, or can't play on weekends, you need to know this
before figuring out or adjusting the other spheres.
It is also great if you can learn what would make each
player enjoy your sessions to the utmost and clamour for
more, and then weave this knowledge into the other spheres.
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3. Game System
Selection of game system should be informed by GM and player
tastes. Therefore, it's the third sphere of influence.
Sometimes you might pick the game system first and then
recruit players accordingly. This would point to the GM's
sphere influencing the players'.
At other times, the game system might be pre-determined.
Your game club might only possess certain books, your
players won't play anything else, or an existing game group
has recruited you as GM for a particular rules set. So be
it. You and the players will still have other preferences
that supersede the game rules (often in the form of house
rules :), so system can remain as sphere #3.
Even if a game system is universal, genreless, rules light,
or freeform, rules of any kind will put fences around the
various choices you can make in the other spheres, so it's
important to get game system picked after you know what you
and your players prefer.
It's also important once the system is chosen to determine
its boundaries and learn what you need to change to ensure
GM and core player preferences are met, the outside
parameters of your designs, and how far you can push the
engines.
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4. Game World
Picking a game world often rivals choice of game system, and
it could be this is bumped up to be sphere #3. Most times you
are picking a game world for its ideas and gaming potential,
though, and these things are bounded by what the rules make
possible.
Preferences might dictate setting selection first, which in
turn determines the selection of possible game systems.
However, after this flip-flop, we are back to the game
system influencing the game world, in terms of NPC creation,
what types of encounters don't work well, equipment, reward
types, and so on.
In many cases, a game world is explained in terms of the
game system. Game constructs and elements are described in
terms of stat blocks or rules. This would be my definition
of a term you might have heard bandied about: crunch.
Another term gamers use, fluff, I'd define as game world
information that isn't bounded by the rules.
Game world might be a restrictive label. Think game setting,
perhaps, as this sphere contains the universe, laws of
physics, all the planets, laws of deities and magic (if
applicable), and all the planes of existence.
Game world can have great influence on the spheres inside
it, such as characters and adventures, so it's important to
have a good grasp of what the world restricts and offers.
It's also great if you can nail down what makes this world
unique, special, and fun to game in. Unless you are running
a generic setting, try to capture what makes this world
different from the others so you can insert this theme or
element into all the sub-spheres.
Game world also needs to be tweaked by the game system,
player, and GM preferences.
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5. Campaign
There are many notions of what a campaign is. Here is my
definition for the purposes of the checklist:
A series of adventures with one or more common links
that tie them together.
My preference is for the link to be the player characters. I
enjoy a style of campaign where PCs begin weak, low level,
or as normal people, and then they change (usually for the
better) over the course of several adventures. The PCs might
conquer fears, earn many friends, gain in level, learn new
powers - it all depends on the game system and player
styles.
However, other types of common links are possible, such as
villain, setting, plot, and character links, such as family
or tribe, descendants, pupils, and legacy.
For example, in one of my favourite RPGs, Ars Magica, the
players forge a lair together where powerful mage player
characters, their friends, and servants dwell. Each player
controls and shares multiple PCs, and the campaign is all
about the lair, called a covenant, and building that up over
dozens or even hundreds of years.
A good campaign tightly reflects the game world, which gives
the campaign distinct flavour, boundaries, and interesting
adventure and encounter elements. A campaign also is
dictated by the game rules and preferences of the whole
gaming group.
For example, a cyberpunk campaign should play differently
than a fantasy campaign or a sci-fi campaign.
Even campaigns set in identical genres and game systems can
be heavily influenced by game world to create a special
play-and-feel for better gaming. For example, a campaign in
the leather-tough Dark Sun desert world of Athas should feel
and play differently than a campaign in the high-magic
Forgotten Realms or the film noir, quasi steam punk world of
Eberron.
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6. Character Preferences
Character preferences encompasses a range of needs and wants
that will be discussed in a future Know Your Characters
article. Each character brings to the table certain game
elements that GMs should try to cater to so that gameplay
pleases the players and takes advantage of what the PCs
offer.
Examples of game elements characters provide are:
- Backstory
- Abilities
- Personality, roleplaying
Characters are heavily influenced by game rules. They are
often game rule constructs that players bring to life on
their own, or even sometimes in spite of the game rules,
heh.
However, in good design, characters should be influenced by
campaign and game world. An investigator type should seem
like a different person when run by different players, in
different game systems, on diverse worlds, in various
campaigns. The same body of statistics should be brought to
life in unique ways when the spheres above it change.
In regards to the sub-spheres of adventure, session, and
encounter, the play-and-feel, planning, and design should be
impacted by different character selection and preferences.
For example, a bandit encounter should run differently with
a group of mages versus a group of warriors.
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7. Adventure
An adventure, by my personal definition, is a series of
encounters linked by an overarching plot thread. Numerous
side plots and unrelated encounters can feed into an
adventure, but what makes players say, What an adventure!
after several encounters is they've come through the other
side of a pursued goal.
That goal might be to take down a villain, save someone or
something, or obtain a valuable item or power. The goal,
whether handed down by the GM or pushed forward by the
group, becomes a plot once in the hands of the GM.
An adventure can take place in several locations or just
one. It can survive the death of some party members, but not
usually a TPK. It doesn't change game rules (other than
perhaps a rare version upgrade). It can handle a small
number of player changes, but almost never survives a GM
changeover or large player turnover at one time.
An adventure is a construct of the game rules and a
collaboration of player and GM preferences and styles. Game
world and campaign should make the adventure relevant to the
characters and cast a distinct flavour on the plot.
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8. Session
A game session is a turning point in my RPG spheres of
influence model. Everything up to this point can be pre-
determined, designed, or planned for well in advance, once.
It pays dividends to iterate spheres 1 through 7, don't get
me wrong. After one session or one hundred, it doesn't hurt
to revisit player preferences or flesh out more of the game
world or get a refresher on the rules.
In addition, as players make choices and characters take
actions, the game world and campaign should change or react.
The plot of the adventure will need updating as well. With
character growth and change will also come revised character
preferences.
However, spheres 4 through 7 need only change after certain
triggers or tipping points occur. These tend to be
infrequent. In addition, the ripples created by sessions and
encounters lose momentum through each sphere they travel.
Most changes won't get past the adventure sphere. A large
wave is required for unexpected major world changes to occur
that stem from encounters and sessions.
This sphere thing I've got going here is just a model to
help you GM better, if it works for you. It's not without
exceptions. For example, the world should change all the
time - seasons pass, NPCs grow older, events happen outside
of direct PC influence.
You can anticipate these things, though, and include them in
your planning and design stages. You can create a world
engine, or sorts, with charts and tables and timelines to
automate a lot of these changes to create a setting that
feels alive and has a kind of immune system to various types
of PC meddling. Not just anyone should be able to take down
a king, foil a god, or cause a war.
An adventure plot should be current with PC actions as well,
otherwise you put the PCs and players in a straightjacket.
However, good design means most changes should occur in the
encounter sphere, sphere #9.
Villains, for example, won't change motives, attributes, and
lairs often in reaction to the characters. Instead, armed
with good knowledge of a villain's make-up and resources,
you just craft or revise encounters to reflect what happened
in the previous game session.
You wouldn't redesign a community to handle the sudden
presence of powerful PCs unless absolutely necessary.
Instead, you'd craft encounters designed to mitigate the
situation. Perhaps the PCs are summoned to a council meeting
where they are pleaded with to control themselves, or the
thieves' guild sets the stage to try to rob the PCs of their
newfound wealth and items.
A game session is dynamic. Each session needs organization
and planning, especially if you have a group of busy
players. Cancelled sessions, absentee players, changes in
location, and other factors mean sessions are an ongoing
game element that require your attention.
All the outer spheres you can flesh out and firm up before a
single second of game session occurs. A game session
inherits the decisions and influences of all the other
spheres surrounding it. The outer spheres are almost static,
in a way, once we've reached this point.
Therefore, the big tip here, to make sessions and encounters
go as smoothly as possible, is to work through spheres 1
through 7 until you are satisfied and they can stand on
their own feet before you enter sphere 8. This frees up your
time, once the campaign begins, to focus on session and
encounter preparation between game sessions.
Too often we get stuck trying to campaign build, world
build, plan the adventure, analyze the players, and learn
the game rules while trying to keep regular game sessions
happening.
Take care of as much of the outer spheres as possible
before you get into the grind of pre-session prep. The more
you take care of the other stuff, the more you can focus on
what's gonna happen next session and what you can do to make
next session awesome.
Ok, back to what the session sphere is. Session involves
doing what you can to make game day happen and go smoothly,
which includes, for example:
- Ensuring player attendance
- Ironing out location
- Making sure the location is simpatico with gaming
- Being the host or MC
- Organizing game materials
- Organizing your notes and gaming supplies
- Being a good storyteller
- Managing pacing
- Managing limelight time and other player preferences
- Championing the interests of the adventure, campaign, and
game world
The specifics of these and other aspects of game session
have been dealt with in previous issues and will be visited
in future tips as well.
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9. Encounter
As mentioned in previous issues, encounters are the building
blocks of RPGs. All aspects of all the outer spheres feed
into each encounter like a reverse prism.
In the spirit of show, don't tell, encounters propel the
characters through each adventure one conflict at a time.
The villain is angry at the PCs? Stage a retribution
encounter complete with calling card. The magic orb will
save the princess? The next encounter yields a clue about
location, the one after that reveals the opposition, and a
third encounter tries to guard the orb from everyone.
As with Lego, each piece - encounter - slowly builds the
structure, reveals the shape, tells the tale. Encounters are
highly reactive to player choices and character decisions.
As such, you need to spend time planning each next batch of
encounters, or at least thinking about them.
Game sessions are chunked out into a series of encounters.
Running an encounter well is a skill all GMs can learn and
improve at by GMing. Planning and designing encounters will
be covered in future issues.
In an ideal world, you've got spheres 1 through 7 dealt with
to your satisfaction before you get to the encounter stage
to minimize session planning and preparation time.
In addition, hopefully you've got systems and processes in
place so that game sessions take minimal time to put
together.
You are busy. GMing is great, but preparing for it can't
consume too much time else you won't be able to do it. Long
live GMing!
* * *
The spheres of influence checklist is pretty theoretical,
and not without exceptions. However, I've used it for a long
time to help me determine the best order in which to do
things, structure my notes and planning documents, prepare
for campaigns, and GM game sessions. It lets me wrap my head
around the ton of info one can generate for any given
campaign, game group, or game world. Hopefully it helps you
do the same.
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War of the Burning Sky #1: The Scouring of Gate Pass
The dramatic beginning of the War of the Burning Sky
Campaign Saga, The Scouring of Gate Pass kicks off a war of
epic proportions as a mighty magical empire marches for
conquest. Their first stop is the vital mountain road
through the city of Gate Pass, where the PCs, not yet aware
of the role they will play in the coming conflict, lie in
the path of a military juggernaut.
As Gate Pass falls under attack, the heroes are tasked with
delivering critical intelligence out of the city and to a
distant safe haven. First, though, they must deal with
agents of the invading empire, spies from other nations,
avaricious bounty hunters, and deadly inquisitors. The
information they carry may decide the fate of this conflict,
the War of the Burning Sky.
War of the Burning Sky #1: The Scouring of Gate Pass at RPG Shop
Readers' Tips Of The Week:
Have a roleplaying tip you'd like to share? E-mail it to
johnn@roleplayingtips.com - thanks!
1. Running An Adventure In A Laser Game/Paintball Range
From: Tiernon
I was listening to the radio and they were advertising this
new laser gaming complex (where you run around shooting
everyone with laser guns in dark mist-filled multi-level
horror houses).
It got me to thinking about when I was 15 and had a
membership with Zone 3 (one of the better laser gaming
complexes around at the time) and how I did one of their
Midnight to Dawn runs: 6 hours of constant gaming. It was
one of the most intense, nerve wracking, fun things I think
I've ever done.
Wouldn't it be fun to run a sci-fi RPG in one? Yes, it would
be hack 'n slash, but you could incorporate it into most
adventures as part of a combat heavy sequence. All you'd
need is your group and a few other friends who could play
NPCs and have them go against each other for a few hours.
The great thing about using your non-RPing friends as NPCs
is you could really get them into gaming... a whole new
range of recruits.
This would be even better if people in your group are great
with tactics. Rather than running around with no direction,
have the teams set up bases and think their way through a
capture the flag scenario or something like that.
This would work well for modern campaigns as well, both in a
laser gaming complex or on a paintball gun range. To make it
work properly though, you'd have to talk with the owner so
you could hire out the place for a few hours to yourselves
and set up specific scenarios.
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2. Parents: Finding Time To Prep And Game
From: Sandy Antunes
RPGnet : Sandy's Soapbox Column Listing
As a househusband, I gave up writing while with a newborn.
After a few months, though, things became feasible. Here's
what works for me:
Keep a notebook and pen with you at all times. Write while
laying in bed, while insomniac, while the kid is watching
blue's clues, when the kid has fallen asleep in the swing at
the park and you figure it's a fine place for him/her to
nap, while the kids are quietly playing by themselves (for
all of 15 minutes, no doubt), while they're eating, and
during all those little 5 and 10 minute pockets of time when
you're in parent mode but the kids don't actually need your
hands-on attention.
When one notebook fills, start another. Rip out pages that
you later type into the computer, finish into drafts, or
update on a later notebook page - think of it as an organic
thing. Don't worry about submitting the work or having it in
final form. For now, it's a way to ensure your creative
stuff keeps flowing and that you have potentially saleable
work once you get time to flesh out and edit (even if that's
months away).
Once the kids were past 2 years old, it was feasible to do
things like 'stay up after they sleep' or 'work while they
watch a movie'.
Finally, work out with your spouse (if applicable) which
mornings you can sleep in late, and choose those nights
before as 'deep writing times'. Make sure you do all your
idea work, research, and outlining beforehand (hence the
notebook idea), so you can just sit down and write a solid
draft with a good sense of direction.
Also, prioritize your hobbies. I basically gave up a bunch
of hobbies until my kids are older and self-entertaining. I
figured I could do 4 things:
- Family
- My job
- One writing project
- One escapist hobby
Finally, always take time to read, it keeps you sane.
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3. Remember To Take In-Game Notes Of Loose Threads
From: Rick C.
GMs should take little notes during games. They provide a
wealth of potential adventures and storylines for the
future. It makes it easy to remember to bring back the long-
thought-dead NPC villain when the PCs and players least
expect it.
If they freak out and get excited when the evil cleric they
thought dead comes back for more, then imagine their
bewilderment and all the possible adventure fun when the son
of a man they killed in an incidental barfight years ago
starts stalking them to take revenge.
I've used this to good effect several times. Players seem to
enjoy the storyline concept of anyone you encounter and
anything you do can come back to haunt you or help you.
For example, one particular NPC was an old merchant saved by
the PCs from bandits. A few game years later, the players
encountered the old merchant turned mage. He was determined
to adventure with the group and they let him. At first he
was seen as either a nuisance or comic relief, but as the
game went on, he became more competent and actually
developed into a half-decent mage that most of the players
(if not their characters) loved.
Another example was a low level "normal person" NPC the PCs
failed to save. He later came back as a major undead villain
bent on revenge.
Don't forget that every little action could be noticed by
someone indirectly. If the PCs pass through a city and do
nothing but follow the rules and do things right it might
increase their reputation in some quarters but lower it in
others. What might the poor slum dweller who is being
oppressed by the nobles think of the great heroes who pass
by and never answer his pleas? Nothing good, I might think.
This could have an affect on future dealings the PCs may
have with those on the lower end of the social scale. The
same could be said for PCs who do try to help the oppressed.
Nobles may not like them at all.
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D&D Dungeon Tiles IV: Ruins of the Wild at RPG Shop