A few years ago the players in one of the campaigns I was running had expressed an intrest in playing something different for a few sessions, an extended one shot as one suggested. I took it on board and told them no problem.
A few sessions later unannounced I gave them what they had asked for the results where amazing.
I created a small dungeon, which is unusual for me as I really can't stand traditional dungeon crawls of any length, the session previous I had them get to one of the rooms and we then ended. Slightly earlier than normal but they understood maybe stuff was going to happen. SO over the course of the first 60 mins I had them deal with the room, trapped in a way they could never escape, designed with no other purpose than to give a TPK. I fudged dice rolls, I triggered more and more elaborate things and as each character died I handed them an envelope and asked them to go into another room to open it. This at least meant the players at the table got a sense that something else was going on so they didn't just rage at me for so obviously just killing everyone. When the last player died, everyone came in, took their seats, and handed me the completed Simulation Review Forms that had formed part of the pack I had handed them. We then switched directly into a game of Paranoia which given they had each just seen the character they had been playing for 2 years now die so easily at my hand was not hard. Each had a pre generated paranoia character and the opening was them learning that they had been held in stasis since clone creation waiting for a suitable opening to appear in the red trouble shooter ranks. In order to prevent boredom Friend Computer ran simulations of an old game it had found in its memory banks.
The next 3 sessions was a brilliant switch of pace and really helped re energise us all. At the end I restarted the DnD campaign, with the players as they had been at the end of the last session they where all alive, everything reset, and then. watched them spend an hour navigating what was actually an empty room with nothing in it, remembering the death they had suffered here in the "simulation" and convinced with every step that "something" was about to happen.
I have made switches to paranoia since but being as the players now know I can do it it becomes harder, and pretty unnecessary, to surprise them in the same way. Although every time a PC dies now I always get that sidways look and a questioning comment asking if Friend Computer is watching.
Since then friends have taken similar approaches with other games, Startrek is a favorite for one DM I know, he will just stop mid session and tell the players they are actually in a holodeck simulation, it has paused because a ship wide emergency has started. Cyberpunk is another, again players in a simulation. Or Call of Cthulu, the DnD game is a game within the game and the creature just summoned in DnD is real and has come into the real world. That one was good as it allowed me to become a player for a "guest GM" who took over running the game as we switched systems with me playing the DnD DM who had no idea the spell I just had the players invoke was real.
Wondering if any DM's here have tried using interesting ways to switch your players into a different system for a short term break from DnD. I don't do it everytime, as with all gimmicks if you over use it it becomes less impactful but it can be a fun way to break up your campaign and do something a bit more fun and (in the case of paranoia) far more crazy and chaotic.
My group leans more towards heavy story games with deep, long term commitments to characters and so we tend to play those types of games, but the funny thing is that despite all of the talk and insistence on playing in this style when we do take short breaks to run some beer and pretzel style RPG its always waaaay more fun for everyone then any of those heavy story games. Like we spend the evening laughing until their is mountain dew squirting out of people's noses and equally these tend to be the games that everyone reminisces in those "remember that one time" moments.
I think over the many years I have been running games, pretty much every group I have ever run for has been like. They insist on a certain style and have high demands for a certain type of game, but in the end the most fun we have is during the breaks when we dust off the classic hack and slash games, goofing off to the silliness of the clichés.
Don't ask me why.. I have never figured it out, but all I can say is the one shots, commitment free games are always the big hits and those deep "super games" I spend hundreds of hours on preparing, though certainly are memorable and people like them, never get the same response from people. I have honestly never been able to explain this.
The best guess I have is that there is a stigma that comes with being a role-player and admitting that you like the lighter sides of the game.. like paranoia and other cool old school games that really just focused on being fun rather then some serious deep storytelling event.
I will say that as a DM as much as I love the epic world building of DnD, or similar games, the single game that gives me the absolute most fun to run is Paranoia, it is the game that probably I spend the most time thinking about in comparison to how often I run it, in terms of just creating fiendish ideas that I then note down, creating forms to fill out, and of course the all important Experimental Equipment for players to test and report back on. I would say that on a weekly basis I get an idea that I will add to my ever growing list, which is ironic given we generally play it about once a year lol. I also just love, and I mean absolutely get the most fun of anything roleplay related, playing Friend Computer it is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite NPC to play. Just watching players squirm as they talk themselves into more trouble after being summoned to have an incident of treason reported to me.
It is interesting I once tried running a long term paranoia campaign and it lost something, we all agreed after a while we just where not enjoying it. Yet I know other people who are 2 years into a paranoia long term campaign that they love, but get thee fun moments from a crazy one shot DnD adventure that they have fun at and don't take too seriously.
I will say, being able to go into a session knowing that as the DM I was just going to kill the party off in as imaginative and fun way as I possibly could was just amazing lol and the look on the first couple of players faces as it happened was priceless. For me there was another reason for it, it got me out of DnD GM mode, work with the players, give them challenges to overcome together and helped me get back into Paranoia GM mode.
The group I play in typically does something like this but between campaigns. Typical campaign is 2-2.5 years playing 2/month if we’re lucky. Then a couple months of one shots in other systems (run by people other than the regular DM) before the new campaign starts. It gives everyone a chance for something new, players a chance to explore character options, and the DM a chance to plot out the next campaign.
A few years ago the players in one of the campaigns I was running had expressed an intrest in playing something different for a few sessions, an extended one shot as one suggested. I took it on board and told them no problem.
A few sessions later unannounced I gave them what they had asked for the results where amazing.
I created a small dungeon, which is unusual for me as I really can't stand traditional dungeon crawls of any length, the session previous I had them get to one of the rooms and we then ended. Slightly earlier than normal but they understood maybe stuff was going to happen. SO over the course of the first 60 mins I had them deal with the room, trapped in a way they could never escape, designed with no other purpose than to give a TPK. I fudged dice rolls, I triggered more and more elaborate things and as each character died I handed them an envelope and asked them to go into another room to open it. This at least meant the players at the table got a sense that something else was going on so they didn't just rage at me for so obviously just killing everyone. When the last player died, everyone came in, took their seats, and handed me the completed Simulation Review Forms that had formed part of the pack I had handed them. We then switched directly into a game of Paranoia which given they had each just seen the character they had been playing for 2 years now die so easily at my hand was not hard. Each had a pre generated paranoia character and the opening was them learning that they had been held in stasis since clone creation waiting for a suitable opening to appear in the red trouble shooter ranks. In order to prevent boredom Friend Computer ran simulations of an old game it had found in its memory banks.
The next 3 sessions was a brilliant switch of pace and really helped re energise us all. At the end I restarted the DnD campaign, with the players as they had been at the end of the last session they where all alive, everything reset, and then. watched them spend an hour navigating what was actually an empty room with nothing in it, remembering the death they had suffered here in the "simulation" and convinced with every step that "something" was about to happen.
I have made switches to paranoia since but being as the players now know I can do it it becomes harder, and pretty unnecessary, to surprise them in the same way. Although every time a PC dies now I always get that sidways look and a questioning comment asking if Friend Computer is watching.
Since then friends have taken similar approaches with other games, Startrek is a favorite for one DM I know, he will just stop mid session and tell the players they are actually in a holodeck simulation, it has paused because a ship wide emergency has started. Cyberpunk is another, again players in a simulation. Or Call of Cthulu, the DnD game is a game within the game and the creature just summoned in DnD is real and has come into the real world. That one was good as it allowed me to become a player for a "guest GM" who took over running the game as we switched systems with me playing the DnD DM who had no idea the spell I just had the players invoke was real.
Wondering if any DM's here have tried using interesting ways to switch your players into a different system for a short term break from DnD. I don't do it everytime, as with all gimmicks if you over use it it becomes less impactful but it can be a fun way to break up your campaign and do something a bit more fun and (in the case of paranoia) far more crazy and chaotic.
Wow, cool idea.
Stealing....
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I will say that as a DM as much as I love the epic world building of DnD, or similar games, the single game that gives me the absolute most fun to run is Paranoia, it is the game that probably I spend the most time thinking about in comparison to how often I run it, in terms of just creating fiendish ideas that I then note down, creating forms to fill out, and of course the all important Experimental Equipment for players to test and report back on. I would say that on a weekly basis I get an idea that I will add to my ever growing list, which is ironic given we generally play it about once a year lol. I also just love, and I mean absolutely get the most fun of anything roleplay related, playing Friend Computer it is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite NPC to play. Just watching players squirm as they talk themselves into more trouble after being summoned to have an incident of treason reported to me.
It is interesting I once tried running a long term paranoia campaign and it lost something, we all agreed after a while we just where not enjoying it. Yet I know other people who are 2 years into a paranoia long term campaign that they love, but get thee fun moments from a crazy one shot DnD adventure that they have fun at and don't take too seriously.
I will say, being able to go into a session knowing that as the DM I was just going to kill the party off in as imaginative and fun way as I possibly could was just amazing lol and the look on the first couple of players faces as it happened was priceless. For me there was another reason for it, it got me out of DnD GM mode, work with the players, give them challenges to overcome together and helped me get back into Paranoia GM mode.
The group I play in typically does something like this but between campaigns. Typical campaign is 2-2.5 years playing 2/month if we’re lucky. Then a couple months of one shots in other systems (run by people other than the regular DM) before the new campaign starts. It gives everyone a chance for something new, players a chance to explore character options, and the DM a chance to plot out the next campaign.
Fixed.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Good catch. Thanks.