I'm working on a short campaign, and I don't want the sessions to be too long, so I want a 1-3 hour campaign. The campaign is a prequel to a larger campaign I'm still working on. This Campaign also serves as practice, since me and my players are new.
The basic plot W.I.P: An Aarokocra, Akita, convinces her freinds she adventures with to travel back to where her tribe is to support them and their allies to fight a war against a large dragon cult army. During the small amount of time they have to prepare, they try and to gather weapons, potions, exp, exp, while trying to keep the peoples hopes high.
I'm planning on having this campaign on Dec 1 later down the day, during a party, so I dont want a player to leave while playing. If you have an experience with handling session time, please share me tips. Please and thanks!
Time blocking helps somewhat. Know that you want the players to be at-this-point-by-this-time, and try and shape the flow to meet that deadline. Have several of these check-points. This will help you figure out when you want to employ speed up tactics or slow down tactics.
You can create flexible encounters: The party is behind where you want them to be in the adventure by this time on the clock - well ... maybe that clue is unguarded. Are they too far ahead? Maybe that clue is heavily guarded, and you can chuck in a combat to slow down their progress. Combat is taking too long? The bad guy ringleader goes down, and the lowly henchmen all run away.
Likewise, have a handful of short-circuiting tactics: you were going to have the scooby-gang go investigate the abandoned amusement park to find that clue, but they're behind schedule, so one of their street contacts had the information they need right way.
Players are getting bogged down interacting with every NPC and street vendor in the city? Have one of the bad guy's henchmen snatch the McGuffin of Irrelevance from one of the players and run down the street, forcing the Players to give chase. Of course, the fleeing henchman will run right toward the next clue/encounter/stage so that when the party chases them down, they're at the next step of the adventure.
Ultimately, however, be aware that there is only so much you can do in this department; you will never have complete and perfect control of the pace. Sometimes you just can't rush - or slow down - the party, if they really don't want to move at the pace you'd like them to.
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Sure - but it's not about pre-solving the situation by trying to plan flex points directly into the plot. It's more about being able having a handful of ideas and tactics in your back pocket that you can toss into the mix as you need them.
So maybe don't pre-plan when the Kolbolds will be active - have reasons why they could be inactive ( they're nocturnal ... or diurnal depending on what you need), or they could be active ( they're having some big Kobold festival ). You don't decide on how they really are until they party gets there and you decide what you need the truth to be for the narrative pacing.
It's not like the party is ever going to know, one way or another. From their perspective, that's just how the Kobolds are when they get there.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I find the best part about being a DM is being in full control of the pacing. If your players are getting to something too quickly, you can throw in a random encounter or curiosity to distract them for a little bit of extra time. If they're moving too slowly, you can introduce things that push them along -- new stakes that make them want to move more quickly. In your case, it sounds like you're just wanting to do a one-shot, so definitely don't hesitate to 'move them along'. Don't have NPCs wait for the players to talk out of character and decide as a group what they should say-- The NPC is real, and isn't going to wait while they stand there and 'think'. If you press them with time, they'll react more quickly, and often more naturally, which can lead to fun happenstance and memorable moments as a bonus.
I'm working on a short campaign, and I don't want the sessions to be too long, so I want a 1-3 hour campaign. The campaign is a prequel to a larger campaign I'm still working on. This Campaign also serves as practice, since me and my players are new.
The basic plot W.I.P: An Aarokocra, Akita, convinces her freinds she adventures with to travel back to where her tribe is to support them and their allies to fight a war against a large dragon cult army. During the small amount of time they have to prepare, they try and to gather weapons, potions, exp, exp, while trying to keep the peoples hopes high.
I'm planning on having this campaign on Dec 1 later down the day, during a party, so I dont want a player to leave while playing. If you have an experience with handling session time, please share me tips. Please and thanks!
Time blocking helps somewhat. Know that you want the players to be at-this-point-by-this-time, and try and shape the flow to meet that deadline. Have several of these check-points. This will help you figure out when you want to employ speed up tactics or slow down tactics.
You can create flexible encounters: The party is behind where you want them to be in the adventure by this time on the clock - well ... maybe that clue is unguarded. Are they too far ahead? Maybe that clue is heavily guarded, and you can chuck in a combat to slow down their progress. Combat is taking too long? The bad guy ringleader goes down, and the lowly henchmen all run away.
Likewise, have a handful of short-circuiting tactics: you were going to have the scooby-gang go investigate the abandoned amusement park to find that clue, but they're behind schedule, so one of their street contacts had the information they need right way.
Players are getting bogged down interacting with every NPC and street vendor in the city? Have one of the bad guy's henchmen snatch the McGuffin of Irrelevance from one of the players and run down the street, forcing the Players to give chase. Of course, the fleeing henchman will run right toward the next clue/encounter/stage so that when the party chases them down, they're at the next step of the adventure.
Ultimately, however, be aware that there is only so much you can do in this department; you will never have complete and perfect control of the pace. Sometimes you just can't rush - or slow down - the party, if they really don't want to move at the pace you'd like them to.
Hope that helps :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
That is helpful! Does an abandoned temple full of kobildl, where they're inactive during the day, but active during dawn, dusk, and night sound good?
Sure - but it's not about pre-solving the situation by trying to plan flex points directly into the plot. It's more about being able having a handful of ideas and tactics in your back pocket that you can toss into the mix as you need them.
So maybe don't pre-plan when the Kolbolds will be active - have reasons why they could be inactive ( they're nocturnal ... or diurnal depending on what you need), or they could be active ( they're having some big Kobold festival ). You don't decide on how they really are until they party gets there and you decide what you need the truth to be for the narrative pacing.
It's not like the party is ever going to know, one way or another. From their perspective, that's just how the Kobolds are when they get there.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I see, thanks!
1-3 hours for the entire campaign, or 1-3 hours per session?
A 1-3 hour campaign sounds like something you could make a one-shot out of
I find the best part about being a DM is being in full control of the pacing. If your players are getting to something too quickly, you can throw in a random encounter or curiosity to distract them for a little bit of extra time. If they're moving too slowly, you can introduce things that push them along -- new stakes that make them want to move more quickly. In your case, it sounds like you're just wanting to do a one-shot, so definitely don't hesitate to 'move them along'. Don't have NPCs wait for the players to talk out of character and decide as a group what they should say-- The NPC is real, and isn't going to wait while they stand there and 'think'. If you press them with time, they'll react more quickly, and often more naturally, which can lead to fun happenstance and memorable moments as a bonus.
I was planning on doing a few short campaigns, but I guess a one shot is good.