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.
A friend and I have recently started a new group to run convention games. We want to specialize in systems other than Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. While those are great games, they see a lot of organized play in our local area. Other games, like Fate, Savage Worlds, Cosmic Patrol and Open D6 don't get a lot of love. So we thought we'd try to change that a little.
I didn't want a bare-bones skeleton adventure in front of me at the table. I find home games are character-driven. So an improvisational method works well in that environment. Convention games are more plot driven. This is a bit necessary; I'd compare convention games to movies. They need to have a solid beginning, middle, and end.
In my mind, a solid blueprint was necessary to solve this problem. I would have a better idea of the story. I wouldn't have to come up with rushed, ill considered names and locations. Also, I'd be able to come up with a better write-up to interest convention goers.
In short, preliminary brain work would create a better experience for everyone.
The answer to the problem evolved from gameplay. My home group has started playing games together on holidays. I'm a firm believer that playing a wide variety of RPGs leads to more well-rounded players. Different games challenge players in different ways, which can enhance creativity. So, instead of normal campaign sessions, I run a one-shot in a different game.
One of our recent games was Monster of the Week by Michael Sands. This is a "Powered by the
Apocalypse" game. In many ways, PbtA games are master classes on how to be a game master. Every time I've run a campaign or one-shot using that system, I've come away with a new perspective on the craft. Monster of the Week in particular does a great job of pre-game prep. It even includes a template that works well for the monster hunter genre.
In addition to providing a good template, Monster of the Week does a stellar job of providing examples and definitions of what each thing is. It proved invaluable as I developed my session notes. One of my players enjoyed the session so much, he bought the book then used it to run his first-ever game!
The template was so well structured, I realized that I finally had my answer. With a few tweaks, I had a template that sparked my imagination and would give me a solid understanding of my game.
Here's the template in bullet form:
- The Basic Concept
- The Opening Vignette
- The Hook that gets the players' attention
- The Villain
- The Minions
- The Extras
- Locations
- The Event Countdown
- Story Secrets
- The player Characters
In addition to providing a good template, Monster of the Week does a stellar job of providing examples and definitions of what each thing is. It proved invaluable as I developed my session notes. One of my players enjoyed the session so much, he bought the book then used it to run his first-ever game!
How does the template work out? Great question! This is the first in a new series of posts. I'm going to write an adventure using this template. It's going to be a lot of commentary, showing resources and ideas I use to conceptualize my adventures. Because I enjoy the system, and works well with simulating fiction, I'm going to use Fate Accelerated as the system.
Up first, we're going to talk about the Basic Concept!
Up first, we're going to talk about the Basic Concept!
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