The CritFail.Post - Issue 004
CritFail Post Issue 004 - How to pitch new campaigns to our players
Pitch Perfect
Hello and welcome to the official CritFail.Press Newsletter!
In this issue of the CritFail Post we take a look at how to pitch new campaign ideas to your table, complete with examples. Then we follow it up with another 3x5 card, allowing you to find new and useful resources for your games.
Every New Beginning...
You finally did it, after 2 years of ongoing play, your group has routed their foe, saved the world, and returned home laden with treasure.
Or perhaps you just finished a very quick and fun one (or three) shot game where you tried out new characters, a new setting, or even a new rule set.
In either of these two scenarios the same follow-up question almost always arises: What are we going to play next?
A valid question, and one whose answer can be more than a little tough. How do you find a game and story that appeals to everyone at your table whether it's a table of two or ten?
(Note to solo gamers: hopefully your only issues when picking a system are having too many games you want to play and not enough time to play them!)
There are many ways to pitch games to your table, and I'll discuss two methods below, but the most important piece of advice I can give is start with games that you're excited to run.
It may seem a little self-serving, but as the GM much of the workload of learning a system and managing a campaign falls to you, so if you're not excited about it, you already have a significant road block in your way. Finding games you are passionate about running can spark your own fun, creativity, and excitement for the game. Those emotions are palpable and can be felt by your players when you're really in the groove.
Once you have a game (or games, see below) in mind the next thing is 'The Sell' to your table. This is where it's good to consider what you know about your players. Will they like the system, setting, or themes of the game you want to run? If so, why? And if not, why not?
Another very important question to ask is this: If you think they won't have fun with the game, can you find another one you're excited to run? Ask them what they like now that you have an idea of what you'd like to run and see if you can find some common ground.
This can be easier said than done, but making sure everyone is on the same page is crucial to ensuring everyone has a good time. And if you can't get everyone onboard, then your group may have to have a real heart-to-heart talk and see if you can find a way forward or if it's better to disband and find new people to game with. A common adage online is that “no TTRPG is better than bad TTRPG” and this is certainly relevant here. These are games that we play for fun and enjoyment, for socialization and companionship. It should never feel like a chore or something we dread, or are disinterested in.
Cycling back to determining a game you as GM are excited to play, different schools of thought exist here. My recommendation would be to find at least 3 different games you’re interested in running.
I believe as GMs we should always be reading rules and adventures for a variety of TTRPG systems. It helps expand your horizons on what gameplay can look like, and how to adjudicate a game. It can give you experience with different themes, as some systems are better than others when it comes this.
If you do this hopefully you can generate a short list of possible games. Even if you have just one system that you love completely and wish to keep playing, coming up with different campaign themes and ideas can allow players to choose what excites them from a curated list of what excites you.
An easy way to pitch these ideas are Campaign One-Sheets. These single sided pages provide all the high-level details players might need to understand the concepts of an adventure or campaign and make a decision about whether they want to play it or not.
This idea is not my own, but comes from Mike Shea at Slyflourish.com. The linked article describes the One-Sheets in greater detail if you want to learn about the finer points.
You can check out this link right here to an example One-Sheet I created for a Star Wars Age of Rebellion campaign I had thought about running. Notice the order of information and how it provides everything a player needs to understand, at a high level, the themes and goals of the campaign. Also take note how we can make it fun and evocative for them too. Using a 3rd party Star Wars font may trigger visual memories of the movie title credits, or other related media.
Another option of campaign pitching and one that I used recently with great effect, is to go to the complete opposite extreme. Instead of curating a short list of games, just grab everything you're interested in, no matter how many it might be, and pitch all of them. Lean in to your excitement for each one and try to sell the players on what makes it special. When you're done, sit back and let them decide. Let them curate a shorter list that you can all talk about then. You could make One-Sheets at this time, or you could share images from the games core books or the designers website. Watch actual plays of the game on YouTube, or listen to some podcasts, and have honest discussion about those few games.
I made a PowerPoint which you can download here to use as an example. I was excited to run anyone of these games. We took a normal gaming session and I presented this to them, showed them images from rules PDF's, and websites, and we discussed. They voted and we came out with two options: Pirate Borg and Perils and Princesses.
We are going to play both games as short campaigns, one after the other. Everyone (including me) is excited for both. I can't wait to run these games.
And best of all, I still want to run all the other games on that PowerPoint, and I now have it as a visual list of what games I'm interested in. When we finish both of these games, I can pull them from the slideshow, add any new ones I'm interested in, and talk through it with my players again. It's a tool to catalog and pitch my campaign interests whenever I want now.
There is no wrong to share what game you're interested in running or playing in, but you need to be cognizant about what you as GM are interested in, what your players are interested in, and finding a way to work together to choose a game everyone will enjoy. Or being wise enough to realize when that just may not be possible.
The 3x5 Card
5 Blog Articles
- Rascal News does a great write-up of that viral Deboran Ann Woll interview where she not only explained what D&D is, but played it with Jon Bernthal on his podcast.
- Teos Abadía of Alphastream.org has great advice on how to use theming in our campaigns. He provides several examples of how defining some consistent truths of our setting or campaign can help set a game's tone and enhance its immersion.
- The D&DBeyond Blog had a nice update on their 'Maps' VTT. I haven't it used it for a game in months, but it seems to have added a lot more features that it was sorely lacking, without adding a lot of bloat.
- Over at Slyflourish Mike has a great article about using the Flee Action from 13th Age in other game systems. Its a really useful way to transition out of combat
- The Kobold Press Blog has a fun article about a new in-game sport your players can get up to, Spike-Rush. A novel team game involving tactics, strength, and shields with spikes on them.
5 TTRPG Podcasts
- The Tome Show, a long running D&D news, reviews, and interviews shows. It has a little something for everyone with shows that focus on new D&D products, rules changes over the editions, DM specific advice, and even a book club!
- Lazy RPG Podcast, the podcast arm of the Slyflourish empire, Mike provides solid advice and tips for how to improve the games we as GM's run. He doesn't focus on anyone system these days, though the back catalog is mostly D&D.
- Mastering Dungeons, an incredible show hosted by the discerning Teos Abadía and the wise Shawn Merwin. These two know how to pull on a thread and really break systems down mechanically with their honest and fair assessments of rules, settings, and more.
- The Eldritch Lorecast, an awesome round table show presented by the fine folks at Ghost Fire Gaming. The show focuses heavily on D&D but provides a lot of great advice from some real industry heavy weights like Ben Byrne, Dael Kingsmill, James Haeck, Shawn Merwin and amazing special guests like Matt Colville.
- Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk the "unofficial" podcast of one of the Internet's longest running D&D forums, ENWorld. Each week, Morrus, Jessica, and PJ cover the latest news in D&D and other TTRPGS including product releases, kickstarters and more. The also have great interviews with the likes of Kelsey Dione, Rich Lescouflair and more.
5 Video Games
- The Secret of Monkey Island is dripping with fantasy Caribbean vibes. While more light hearted than Pirate Borg, definitely a good place for reference and inspiration.
- Octopath Traveler is a great game set in a sprawling fantasy world. The game focuses on strongly developed characters and is an excellent example for how to create NPC's with unique and powerful motivation.
- Baldur's Gate (the first one) is one of the greatest CRPG's of all time and predecessor to the smash hit Baldur's Gate 3. See the beginning of the Bhaalspawn saga and how to write an unfolding mystery in a fantasy RPG.
- Metroid Prime Remastered is a masterclass in multi-layered dungeon design. The crisscrossing pathways and loops, often gated to the use of specific item or powerup is an inspiring look at level layout and design.
- Pokemon Sword/Shield like many games in the franchise's catalog, it showcases how powerful theming can be to the impression a game leaves on us and how we can style our immersion. Everywhere you look in the game there are strong visuals reminiscent of the English countryside, and if the battling wasn't enough, the natural engagement people have with Pokemon on a daily basis really pulls you in to how their world operates.
Next Issue:
- Reflections on ending a campaign
- A short Pirate Borg adventure!