Help: Akward Session Opening
dreamingjohnny:
Hi guys,
Thanks for all of your replies I'll put up answers to all of them come tuesday, I'm a bit bogged down right now, sorry.
Michiel R:
Quote from: stefoid on November 26, 2011, 03:44:01 AM
Start with a cliffhanger situation.
I agree.
Or start with some nice fight (barfight), chase (stealing of equipement or some object) or other action.
Its nice though if you make the NPC or something else important in the rest of the session.
dreamingjohnny:
Sorry for the wait, I've been trying to catch up with school for a while.
So, anyway thanks for all the replies guy's I'll try to answer as clearly as I can but if there is something more that needs explaining just ask okay, I'm more than happy to talk about my role-playing games as it is and if it can actually help me with my problems than I'll be happy to throw words at it.
Alright first up: Christoph Boeckle
I GM a game of "Hunter: The Vigil" for "new World of Darkness" in which the players play ordinary humans in a modern world that discovers that there is monsters hidden around us that prey on helpless mortals. My chronicle is pretty new, we've roughly played four sessions spanning 4-5 hours apiece, and very slow going, less than 24 hours has taken place "in game". So far there has been no monsters visible, the PC:s are mostly trying to solve a lot of conflicts among their family while at the same time trying to find their cousin that has gone missing.
I currently have four players, two that is very new to role-playing (having played less than 30hours before joining my group), one that is experienced (having played an average of one a week for four years) and one that is very experienced (having played at least twice a week for eight years). They all play very ordinary humans that are all part of the same family. Currently they are trying to find out what happened to their cousin that was kidnapped on her wedding day but their whole family is so wrapped up in lies and petty hate for them to be able to do much of anything.
I've given them a few clues and some motives for pursuing this so I donīt think that the problem is them lacking things to do.
Now I've tried both cliffhangers and action scenes before several times but that only makes situations worse, it usually means that my players freeze up even more, hesitates and really don't enjoy the situation.
Instead we usually start the game with a calm scene, where they are sitting around discussing something or are just done with an important meeting. I usually starts by explaining the scene, where they are, who else is there, the time of day, the impressions that they get from their surroundings, if they are sleep or food deprived I usually add something about that as well. In most of these scenes they aren't in fact doing anything, they are "in between" different more important scenes as it were.
As for how long it persists, well it varies of course but for maybe five to fifteen minutes, and then it gradually goes away for the next thirty after that maybe? It may seem petty but those minutes really aren't enjoyable and when I GM as short sessions as I do that eats away a lot of time in the long run. The akwardness slowly goes away, I can't really say right now what it is that makes it go away, which is part of the reason this is so frustrating for me, it sort of slowly does over the next hour or so.
Callan S.
If I should give an example of a time when the group was really immersed and there was a mood:
Well there was one were the PC:s were involved in a huge row together with their uncles and grandmother, everyone was screaming, fighting or crying. One of the players almost started crying when her characters began fearing that she was loosing her mind. Everyone was very exited, their characters were screaming at each other but at the same time everyone (yes even the one that was crying) was having a good time.
Another would be when they all were gathered at the beach and was talking to an NPC who talked about how he always had felt alone and different but how he hoped that his sister (one of the players) could become one with God (it's really complicated) and that he would be happy to serve her then. Everyone felt sorry for him, but at the same time really creeped out since the God that he seems to want to believe in might be a demon of some sort (they really don't know what to believe right now, but they suspect that there is something evil in the water).
Both scenes were filled with emotions and the players really felt like their characters, but at the same time the scenes where different from each other, one was calm and just dialogue, the other was packed with rage and action.
Contracycle
I usually let the players do the "what happened last time" since it is an easy way to make sure that everyone is ready and has their notes in order (it is getting to be a lot of notes). Also I usually have a hard time remembering where we left of so this serves as a reminder for me as well.
Really everone, that you for your responses, it means a lot to me that I've found people who can help me pick this apart and fix it. I apologize if it was too long or too brief. If I missed some question, or didn't expand my answer enough let me know.
Christoph Boeckle:
Hello there
No need to apologize for taking your time, I prefer slow posting.
It's still not clear to me who the player characters are. So they're members of a family, and this family experiences internal strife, plus a family member is missing.
1) Who is this family? What ties do they have to the setting and important events going on in the world?
2) Why are they fighting? Why don't they just move away from each other and stop having any interactions?
3) Why is it particularly important that this cousin is missing? Is the police handling the affair?
4) Are the PCs Hunters? What are they expected to do, really? Solve the family problem? Find the cousin? Who expects them to do these things? (It seems like half the family couldn't care less that the cousin is missing, or is downright happy with that fact.)
What part of this information is known to the players, and what is secret? What parts do you already know in advance, as a GM? Maybe have you decided that the cousin will turn up again at some point and any investigation will have been a red herring. Maybe you don't know yourself what happened to the cousin, yet.
I know I suggested to keep immersion and mood out of the discussion, but your reply sparked an idea. Could you give us a concrete example of a cliffhanger where the players froze up? Or just any situation where thinks are feeling awkward. What is happening in the fiction at the time? (Similar answers to those two examples you gave in reply to Callan would be perfect.)
Sorry, more questions and still no help. But we'll get there eventually!
Michiel R:
Actually sounds like nice sessions.
I just thought about the tension span. Amongst other it is used in movies and plays. The tension start slow, with low action getting to know the characters, their environment etc. Then a turning point, a tilt of the normal situation. Which leads to point of no return and excalating actions. Then a conclusion, a resolution. Afterwards with a new puzzle, a new situation to begin the tension span again.
Thats for the theory and could very well go for the players also. Movies and plays often begin slow, to introduce the audience to the characters, make them confortable with the situation and feel with them. Could be the same for the players, start out slow, get out of daily life and into the character.
Quote from: dreamingjohnny on December 05, 2011, 01:17:57 AM
Contracycle
I usually let the players do the "what happened last time" since it is an easy way to make sure that everyone is ready and has their notes in order (it is getting to be a lot of notes). Also I usually have a hard time remembering where we left of so this serves as a reminder for me as well.
Then this could also be a reason, for if you have to get into what happened last time, the players will catch up on possible hasitation (uncounsiously).
(ps. forgive my bad English, I'm Dutch, you maygive me pointers as to spelling and such :) )
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