I’m not used to improvising this much. We ran our first session last week; two players had never done any tabletop roleplaying games and the other two were fairly inexperienced. Roleplaying was minimal when I didn’t prompt them or push them, but I’m not worried about that; as they learn and their characters grow from vague ideas into solidly defined people that will get better.
I’ve only run Pathfinder and 5E before, and this game plays so differently than anything else I’ve done. I knew I shouldn’t plan too much, so I kept things minimal, and it really really stretched my improvisation ability (in a good way). I had a few takeaways that might help others running the game:
1. Take notes during and, more importantly, just after play. I had a bunch of things I had decided on the fly in my head that there was no way I’d remember a week later. This one I will do so so so much better in the next session.
2. Have a list of names ready for when you need to create an NPC/Bystander on the fly. Write down who they are and check them off the list so you don’t re-use them. Make sure it’s a diverse list.
3. You won’t think of everything. This first mystery involves the murder of a security guard at a museum. My players immediately asked about security cameras and security gates. I recovered quickly, but was so used to fantasy settings that those hadn’t even crossed my mind. Now they have become a key element of how the players are going to solve the mystery.
4. Remember the Hunter names. Write them down if you need to. I struggled with this one. My mind was preoccupied with rules I am still not 100% confident on without reference and trying to keep all the npcs and their motives and jobs in my head. There probably would have been more roleplaying if I’d consistently addressed the hunters by name.
5. Set the scene. I thought I did this one well, and the players responded to it. I based the main location in this mystery on the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, which I expected most of the players to have visited. None had. So, I had to describe not just how it looked, but how it felt, especially at night when it was empty. This put them in the right frame of mind to play a horror themed game.
Thank you for sharing this. Great advice, and it sounds like you’re up to the challenges and fun this new style of gaming will bring you!
My advice for helping the players really step into an active roll: get them to think of their PCs like characters on a show or movie they like, and you are all the audience.
I frequently frame “what the audience” sees as one way to give the players information their characters don’t necessarily have yet. I have found the dramatic tension from that can lead to a lot of fun for all of us. Players are usually happy to walk their characters into trouble, as long as the player is “in on it” with you, and doesn’t feel like it’s the Keeper (GM/DM) vs. the Players.
Nice summary and great advice.
I’m still getting used to running MoTW and all the weirdness that comes with it. My one piece of advice: think like a player! Try to break your own game, if you can. It will make your mysteries tighter I think.
Here’s a super handy tool when generating NPCs: fakenamegenerator.com – Get a whole new identity at the Fake Name Generator
It spits out names, addresses, phone numbers, even SSNs, on the fly. I use it constantly, especially when preparing NPCs ahead of time.
Great advice!
For hunter names, I like to grab a paper scrap/notebook page and write down hunter name, hunter type, and player name for each one, arranged as they are sitting around the table. Leave a bunch of space to scrawl additional notes about each hunter, too.
I have taken to recording all of my games so that I don’t need to worry about note taking during the game. Let’s you focus in on what’s going on around the table. 100% agree about writing hunter/player names down. I have been running with multiple new players and so I write down names like Michael Sands does to keep track of people.
As far as not thinking of everything, I really find that this is where I draw my fun in Pbta games. You don’t have dice for randomness, instead you get to rely on players for that!
I have started making my list of “essential NPCs” and then I have a list of 5-10 names underneath for on the fly choices. If I run out and the game is set in a small town I can choose another name and use the same last name as a sibling or cousin or something!