Heya, running my first campaign! I’m just starting to get the hang of things, and I’m wondering if it would be smart to add something like a ‘cutscene’ for the players—but not the characters. The idea I had is that after the session ended, there would be a scene showing the group of Bad Guys discussing their next move and what the world will be like once they start to change it. I want to be able to give more background info to the players, but not the characters, as this would just be me briefly talking w/o any character interaction. I trust them not to meta-game and use the knowledge to their advantage. Is this a smart or creative move, or should I refrain from doing it?
My general experience is that long periods of non-interactive exposition (whether they be cut scenes or anything else) are annoying for players, but brief scenes are fine.
Cut scenes are generally ok as long as they are short, serve a purpose, and do not take away player agency.
I am uncertain about giving away the plans of the bad guys.
It takes a bit of experience to keep what you know separate from what your PC knows.
If you really want to give them a hint, let them overhear somebody talking about the bad guys - bar maid, guards on a break, a thief that plans to break in..etc.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
If you’re going to do it, keep it really short. Most people (and I don’t know you, so maybe this doesn’t apply) are not as good writers as they think, nor as good actors as they think. Delivering an extended monologue, and keeping everyone’s interest, is especially difficult. But beyond that, I find many players will just kind of tune this stuff out. I often find, as a DM I am constantly reminding players “that’s what person A said three weeks ago when you talked to them.” Similarly, I find my DM reminding me of such things. This feels like adding on another layer of that kind of exposition that players often don’t track.
Heya, running my first campaign! I’m just starting to get the hang of things, and I’m wondering if it would be smart to add something like a ‘cutscene’ for the players—but not the characters. The idea I had is that after the session ended, there would be a scene showing the group of Bad Guys discussing their next move and what the world will be like once they start to change it. I want to be able to give more background info to the players, but not the characters, as this would just be me briefly talking w/o any character interaction. I trust them not to meta-game and use the knowledge to their advantage. Is this a smart or creative move, or should I refrain from doing it?
Some DMs do this kind of thing all the time, some don't. If you think it's what works for you and your group, give it a try.
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My general experience is that long periods of non-interactive exposition (whether they be cut scenes or anything else) are annoying for players, but brief scenes are fine.
Cut scenes are generally ok as long as they are short, serve a purpose, and do not take away player agency.
I am uncertain about giving away the plans of the bad guys.
It takes a bit of experience to keep what you know separate from what your PC knows.
If you really want to give them a hint, let them overhear somebody talking about the bad guys - bar maid, guards on a break, a thief that plans to break in..etc.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
If you’re going to do it, keep it really short. Most people (and I don’t know you, so maybe this doesn’t apply) are not as good writers as they think, nor as good actors as they think. Delivering an extended monologue, and keeping everyone’s interest, is especially difficult.
But beyond that, I find many players will just kind of tune this stuff out. I often find, as a DM I am constantly reminding players “that’s what person A said three weeks ago when you talked to them.” Similarly, I find my DM reminding me of such things. This feels like adding on another layer of that kind of exposition that players often don’t track.
I hope so! i was hoping to do one for an intro to my first one-shot
I do agree you should focus on the players, but hey, you are telling a story too.