Thoughts on sharing the Jump Point with the group ahead of time? None of the players have played before and lik I said this is my first time GM’ing anything in 20 years. I have one written, it’s a little longer than the sample in the book. I want to send it ahead of time and ask each of the players a scene-setting question, having them answer sequentially so we all get an idea of where to start the session.
Thoughts on sharing the Jump Point with the group ahead of time?
Thoughts on sharing the Jump Point with the group ahead of time?
I would share what world building stuff you have, but not the specific jump point. Tell them what the world is like, what technology is like, and THEN explain them how much authority they have in creating things along with you. Give them the “player agenda” page from the UW book 🙂
I think that’s fine. Give them an idea that the game doesn’t run like what they might be used to. They will be asked questions and the adventure will progress based on their input.
(Just my 2 cents)
Personally I’d advise against sharing the Jump Point for three reasons:
– On-the-spot answers tend to be more honest, while prepared answers tend to be detached. When answering on-the-spot, the answer comes from inside the game, immersed in it by the opening descriptions.
– The tone and intensity and inflection when asking a leading question will shape the answer much more than simply reading it on a computer screen. Again, this ties back to the immediacy and immersion in the situation.
– Answers must build on previous answers. Simply knowing the question ahead of time means that you’re thinking of the answer without the context of the answers that come before.
For example: “What faction symbol is on the side of the containers you’re stealing?”, “What’s in the containers that you can’t risk jostling?” and “Which faction is secretly funding this heist?”. Those questions can be asked in any order, BUT each answer will shape the subsequent answers. “What’s inside” can dictate “Who wants it” and/or “Who owns it”. To give out those questions ahead of time will lead to answers made without context, lacking cohesion.
Sean Gomes – Hmm, interesting and good points. I guess I was hoping to get an idea ahead of time about what to do when they start answering grin
Nope. Fight the old school D&D style instincts. This is Pbta baby!
Hahahaha! Excellent point. We already had one group drop out because the concept is so foreign to them it’s not their kind of thing. His campaign is Forgotten Realms-based and highly structures. It’s like playing in a Tolkien setting. He tends to spend as much time looking up the rules as we do actually playing. I sent him a long (possibly tl;dr) polite email about how the game should move faster and be more concerned with the narrative and less so with the mechanics. He never responded.
Jesse R Yeah. I have found that the people that play that type of game enjoy playing that way and don’t like the free form games. But you have Pbta lovers here so you always got people if you want to game.