The Session Template: The Basic Concept

This is the second post on how I use my template to generate my adventure one shots. To read the first, click here.

In some ways, deciding to run a one-shot is the easy part. It will be fun, right? You get to introduce people to a new system. You'll exercise your creative muscles to unleash horror on an unsuspecting party!

Insert evil laugh here.

But here's the first and biggest hurdle: coming up with an idea.

The Session Template: How I've started

Recently, I've been researching using templates to prepare for one-shots. This Gnome Stew article served as inspiration. I also read Never Unprepared by Phil Vecchione and The Lazy Dungeon Master by Mike Shea. I aimed to develop a personal template that gave me a lot to improvise from, but didn't lay out an entire linear story.

Shea's 3X5 adventure design method actually has been very ideal for me. Since January of this year, I've been running a Mini Six campaign for my home group using this method. It's worked very well. I've delivered some of my best sessions from a GM's perspective. And my players are getting into the story, too. Win-win!


But it did limit me somewhat when it came time to start writing adventures for conventions. More involvement in that arena has been a goal of mine this year. And I felt a need to approach those games with more forethought.

GADCon 2014 Report

It’s time to write a Con Report! This weekend was the second annual GADCon, a small gaming convention based in White Marsh, Maryland. Lots of fun was had!

Fate Accelerated Character Experiment

So, one of my favorite things in the world is music. When I find a good album, I’ll obsess over it like crazy. And, sometimes, I’ll see glimpses of a greater story peeking out of the lyrics. I’ve used playlists before to represent my character’s relationships with other player characters, but I thought I’d take it a bit deeper. What if you used an album to create a character for Fate Accelerated Edition? Song lines can be aspects, if selected well, can be aspects, and you can also draw inspiration.

My Five Step Campaign Creation Process

So, I'm a brand new GM. I never GM'd a long-term campaign at all. It's something I wanted to do for a long time, but I never really got the chance to do. Part of it was a lack of time. And part of it was a lack of confidence. Not about ideas.I always have those. I was more afraid that I couldn't get the characters to interact with the plot that I wanted.  I had always heard that players will inevitably marr the story that the GM wants to tell, so I decided to abandon this idea and work with my gaming group to develop a story that was based off of the characters wanted to make. These were the steps we followed, and I thought it has turned out smashingly well.  

The Sharn Codex: Thoughts on Character Improvement

First off, I want to thank +Jacob Poss for being such an accommodating game master today. I had a personal matter which came up unexpectedly, and he was cool when I told him I wasn't going to be able to make it. Thankfully, the issue resolved before play finished, and Jake allowed me to jump in for a fun time. 

A Tribute to Season One of MonsterHearts

The ongoing MonsterHearts campaign +Seth Harris runs is currently on hiatus as season 2 is being set up. I've got to say, MonsterHearts has been a really rewarding experience for me. There's a couple of different reasons. 

First, Rueben is probably the most dangerous character I've ever played. He's obsessive, he's manipulative, and he's fun to play. I don't know why, but I've been having a lot fun getting into his head.  Probably one of the reasons is that I've been playing totally against my personality. And I have to say, being the nasty guy is kind of fun.