Create These 3 Back Pocket Encounters For More Confident GMing

What do you do when the party gets stuck, the game gets bogged down, or you simply need to stall for time?

In a recent Tiny Prep Challenge on our Discord server, one GM mentioned they were preparing a “backup/extra encounter to keep the fight-oriented players happy, if things go too lore-heavy.”

This is an excellent tactic. I’ve always felt more confident behind the screen when I have a bit of backup gameplay prepared.

In my lingo, I call these Back Pocket Encounters. They are built with a specific purpose and minimal dependencies, so you can drop one onto the table when needed and have it slip seamlessly into play. They are a fantastic agile GMing tool.

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My 3 Standard Back Pocket Encounters

I keep three of these ready by default for my campaigns:

  • Deliver A Clue
  • High Leverage Roleplay
  • Action to Stall For Time

Deliver A Clue Encounter

I create a clue delivery mechanism wrapped up in an encounter, but I do not include the clue itself.

That’s a game-time decision based on what I want players to discover.

I wait until the party gets stuck, decide what clue I want to drop into play to help them, plug it into the encounter, and push it into play.

High Leverage Roleplay Encounter

This is to break up the pacing if the group has seen a lot of action in a session.

By high leverage, I mean this encounter includes a plot point, and the cost will be high to the PCs to earn it.

I also mean leverage as in my favourite NPC Move of finding out what the characters value and then applying pressure.

Even if the party doesn’t earn the plot point, we still get some roleplay done.

Action to Stall For Time Encounter

Sometimes I’m setting up a cliffhanger near session end and need to pad out a few more minutes. Other times, I just need time to think. And once in a while I need a shiny object to distract my players.

This is usually a combat and action type of encounter. It allows me to give combat monkeys some love if we’ve been roleplaying heavily for a while.

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Reduce Dependencies

To make Back Pocket Encounters work, we must keep them untethered. Avoid requiring the characters to be in a specific time, place, or condition to trigger them.

The more versatile your Back Pocket Encounters are, the easier they are to deploy.

For example, I try not to make Back Pocket Encounters need day or night, specific terrain type, or for the party to head in a certain direction.

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Add a Carrot

To ensure players engage with your Back Pocket Encounter, as you are the one pushing it into play, we want to dangle a carrot.

Make sure there is an obvious bit of loot, a potential boon, or an obvious advantage visible from the start.

Give the party a selfish, narrative, or strategic reason to join in instead of avoiding the encounter entirely.

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Dropping Back Pocket Encounters Into Play

When the time is right, I usually perform a Push move, meaning I interrupt the PCs in play and have the encounter trigger.

I do this using my universal 3-part description framework:

  1. Set the Establishing Shot: Hat tip to Hitchcock. Give the context. Where is the character or party right now, and what’s going on around them?
  2. Enter the Dragon: Now we take that context and shake it up by injecting a conflict, event, or twist.
  3. Pass the Hot Potato: Finally, we offer one or more details players can latch onto and take action on, and ask, “What are you doing now?”

Example of a Back Pocket Encounter Push Move

Here are the three steps in action for dropping an Action to Stall For Time encounter onto the table:

Johnn:

  1. 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.”
  2. Enter the Dragon: “Suddenly, loud screaming erupts from around the bend in the road up ahead! It sounds like several people, and they are yelling bloody murder.”
  3. Pass the Hot Potato: “You can’t see what’s happening. You’ll have to venture a few hundred feet around the corner. The whole area has gone dead silent. Not even the bugs are making a noise. Krug, you react fastest. What are you doing?”

One moment the characters are headed to their quest, and the next it’s a screaming mystery I’ve dropped onto the table. We play on, without a hiccup.

To see another example in action, check out Anatomy Of A Back Pocket Encounter: The Screaming Ambush.

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It’s Your Turn

Back Pocket Encounters reduce GM panic, help make pacing tight, and keep gameplay alive without breaking suspension of disbelief.

They give you confidence to run your game knowing you have a safety net ready.

To get Back Pocket Encounters going in your campaign, follow these five steps:

  1. Pick Your Purpose: Choose one of the three templates (Clue, Roleplay, or Action) that you need most right now.
  2. Draft the Minimum Viable Encounter: Write down the core conflict and the NPCs or monsters involved. Do not tie the encounter to a specific location or time.
  3. Add the Carrot: Add at least one obvious bit of loot or boon characters could get to draw players into the encounter instead of avoiding it.
  4. Log It For Quick Access: If you use Campaign Logger, create a new Page for your encounter and tag it with *Backpocket to make the encounter instantly retrievable mid-session.
  5. Push It Into Play: The next time your game drags, you need to switch things up, or you need a minute to think, pull up your encounter’s Page, trigger the encounter, and finish with the magic question: “What are you doing now?”

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!

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