by Zoe
An inquiry into the best and worst tactics for briefing NPCs, especially concerning complicated plot.
The scene: in the middle of an event, when you're dehydrated, fatigued, and overworked, you set off to lead a combat mod, hook an encounter group, or get involved in some intense RP. You know your stats. You've received a quick briefing from a harried staff member. You're sporting costume and make-up. You have your props and weapons. You hit the field, mod building, or tavern.
Everything's going just fine. Then... the unexpected happens. A PC asks you a question you can't answer (but probably should be able to). Or the players, rather than cutting down your crunchy corpse, decide to RP the stats right out of you. Players take you hostage for questioning. Or you're handed an item, which you should understand, that leaves you baffled.
We've all been there.
Despite our best intentions and the dedication of staff members, in every LARP, there eventually comes a time when the NPC, especially the non-staff NPC, is just not prepared for an encounter. In games that have been going on for years and years, this is especially true: PCs often know the world like the backs of their hands, while casual NPCs may have never read anything other than the core rules. Especially for those interested in RP, this can be problematic. It feels terrible to go out as an NPC, only to realize you don't have the information needed to fully interact with the PCs. And PCs can sense it: if an NPC goes out poorly prepared one time (I can think of a particularly unfortunate incident when an NPC hook didn't have name), they're going to have a hard time gaining player trust in later events.
Irregardless of the quality of the NPC in question, most of the burden of prepping the NPC happens in the pre-module briefing. A well-briefed NPC, even if they're new to larping of the system, is going to be infinitely better than even the most experienced, yet poorly briefed, NPC.
As a compulsive NPC, who likes heavy RP and combat roles, I've seen some of the best and worst ways to brief an NPC. I offer my advice on how to successfully brief people, and encourage other players, especially staff members, to join in the conversation.
I'm going to provide both basic and "advanced" briefing techniques. An important thing to keep in mind: the onus of successfully pulling off a module does not rest on the staff person alone! If you're an NPC, and you need more information, clarification, or ideas, then ask away. The following guide applies to both the NPC and the staff person. These mostly come from my experiences as an NPC: I was my most successful and productive when the following things happened.
The Basics
These are minimum requirements for what I feel is good briefing. This is stuff that, to me, should always happen, even if staff and NPCs are over-scheduled and running on fumes. Finally, some NPCs may not need a full briefing-- these are people that have played the same part many times. However, communciation between staff members and NPCs is essential, irregardless of experience.
Have a detailed write-up.
As an NPC, I feel that write-ups are an essential part of good briefing-- especially when an encounter uses more than one NPC, or the encounter is particularly detailed. A good write-up includes stats, character descriptions and backgrounds, the mechanics of the module, PCs targeted on the module, any lose/win conditions, and even a few hypotheses as to how the PCs may interact with a situation. Writing a good module description is a delicate art, and perhaps a subject to be covered later.
Write-ups allow NPCs to read the encounter, get a feel for it, and ask staff people any questions they may have. It can save a lot of time, and doesn't require a staff person to talk over a busy monster camp. Moreover, if a staff person is required to leave the site for whatever reason, another plot member can, in a pinch, execute a module. Obviously, not all NPCs need to read all write-ups (for example: a town wide field fight), but if NPCs are to play nuanced and challenging characters, the motivations and mechanics of a module are important. Also, having a paper trail of your game leaves to good filing for later planning.
Always provide a verbal briefing.
Even if you've provided a write-up, you should always have a conversation with your NPCs. It's important that they understand the written material, and it allows them to ask you any questions they may have. (Especially for new or shy NPCs, asking questions of plot people can be daunting unless they have a window in which to do so.)
Provide stat cards or a stat book.
I've been in a lot of monster camps where stats are provided verbally. This is fine for large-scale field fights or very simple encounters, but, for more complicated stats, a written record is helpful. A lot of people are visual learners, and will just absorb information better when it's written down. Also, if anything goes wonky in a module (like a new NPC misunderstanding stats, and flinging "Cold by Maim"), staff members can refer to the stats, written in a book, that the NPCs were originally given.
Ask questions. Field Questions.
Asking and answering questions is the best way to test if NPCs understand a module. Don't quiz people, but ask open-ended questions. Instead of saying, "So do you understand that?" ask "So do you understand what to do if they decide to kill Maury the Marauder?" If you have an infliction-active monster, make sure NPCs understand a) what the infliction does, b) how to pull off the infliction, and c) any infliction cards they may have to provide to PCs.
State the start point and end point of the module. Describe the general trajectory of the module.
If all else fails, a useful tactic in complicated modules is describing the fuller arc. Explain to NPCs what the general narrative of the arc will look like. Identify a clear beginning for major phases of the module (for example, if you have a combat phase after a delegation, provide a key sentence to trigger combat). Describe a clear endpoint as well (Accelerant uses the masterful "Inflict to Monster" for combat situations). If you're the leader of a module with a lot of NPCs, give yourself a way to control the module and bring your NPCs back to you (an IG phrase like, "My minions, come to me!" or an inflict call both work well). If NPCs understand how a module is supposed to work, they'll be able to make that happen.
Keep everyone on schedule.
Provide the schedule to everyone in monster camp. It keeps everyone in the loop as to what is supposed to happen next. Also, if an NPC needs time to prepare for a role, they can check the schedule to see when they need to take 15 minutes for getting into make-up or costuming.
Advanced Briefing
These are things that I think are still essential to briefing NPCs essentially, but perhaps not as basic.
Don't patronize people.
It's important to realize that NPCs are smart, capable, and experienced people. Even if you haven't seen them in your game specifically, they may have NPC'd elsewhere extensively. Accordingly, they're not going to take kindly to patronizing treatment-- treat NPCs as capable individuals, so they want to help you to the best of their ability.
Make NPCs aware of potential situations within the module.
Many NPCs come to a module unaware of the 6-year arc leading to that encounter. Therefore, they are often unaware of the intricacies that may arrive in RP. Similarly, most NPCs don't have access to character histories or PELs: they don't know the individual motivations and quirks of PCs. Let them know ahead of time what things to be aware of IG and OoG. For example, IG, you might state, "Jenny Smith's PC history includes a phobia of dogs. If Jenny comes on this mod, her character, upon seeing your werewolves, may flip out. Don't be surprised-- it's a character thing." Or, OoG, "John Brown really hates being frenzied, OoG. If he's on this module, try to avoid doing that to him."
Provide archetype ideas.
If you're trying to convey a specific character trait for an RP NPC, offer a commonly known archetype: "This guy is a suave and quirky special agent-- think Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks with a touch of James Bond, minus the womanizing."
Clarify effects.
Try to think of any effects that PCs may use on an NPC. Tell your PC how to react to those effects. If your players have bane effects, this is especially important. If an NPC, going out as a zombie, shields a bane effect unknowingly, it can lead to a PC who is annoyed with the NPC (and it's generally not the NPC's fault).
Give NPCs specific ways to interact with PCs.
In the interest of time, it can be hard to provide NPCs with the character histories of every targeted PC. However, do your best. If your NPC is going to play a conniving aristocrat, with full knowledge of a PC's history, suggest things like, "Lillian, as a character, is deeply ashamed of her elf mother. Bring that up as a way to tease her."
Clarify things people would not know.
On the flip side, if you have an RP role that would not know information frequently discussed in-game, let them know. If your NPC is not aware of, let's say, the impending disaster about to strike the world, let them know.
Provide ways for players to deflect comments to staff members.
It's embarrassing and frustrating for NPCs to be caught unaware by questions about a module. However, NPCs can't know everything, and shouldn't be expected to (especially with creative players). Provide them with IG lines to deflect PC questions to the module leader. For example, "Have you met the traveling bard Lucien? He may be able to answer those questions for you" or, if you're present at the module, "Please refer to my commanding officer-- I have not been authorized to provide you with that information."
Brief your NPCs in advance of the game.
If at all possible, provide NPC write-ups and casting before game. Obviously, you're going to have great RP-ers or especially talented fighters who show up last minute. If at all possible, however, try those with meaty roles with materials a few days before the game (it also allows them to bring their own costuming).
What has worked and failed for you, as an NPC or a staff member, in briefing PCs?
An inquiry into the best and worst tactics for briefing NPCs, especially concerning complicated plot.
The scene: in the middle of an event, when you're dehydrated, fatigued, and overworked, you set off to lead a combat mod, hook an encounter group, or get involved in some intense RP. You know your stats. You've received a quick briefing from a harried staff member. You're sporting costume and make-up. You have your props and weapons. You hit the field, mod building, or tavern.
Everything's going just fine. Then... the unexpected happens. A PC asks you a question you can't answer (but probably should be able to). Or the players, rather than cutting down your crunchy corpse, decide to RP the stats right out of you. Players take you hostage for questioning. Or you're handed an item, which you should understand, that leaves you baffled.
We've all been there.
Despite our best intentions and the dedication of staff members, in every LARP, there eventually comes a time when the NPC, especially the non-staff NPC, is just not prepared for an encounter. In games that have been going on for years and years, this is especially true: PCs often know the world like the backs of their hands, while casual NPCs may have never read anything other than the core rules. Especially for those interested in RP, this can be problematic. It feels terrible to go out as an NPC, only to realize you don't have the information needed to fully interact with the PCs. And PCs can sense it: if an NPC goes out poorly prepared one time (I can think of a particularly unfortunate incident when an NPC hook didn't have name), they're going to have a hard time gaining player trust in later events.
Irregardless of the quality of the NPC in question, most of the burden of prepping the NPC happens in the pre-module briefing. A well-briefed NPC, even if they're new to larping of the system, is going to be infinitely better than even the most experienced, yet poorly briefed, NPC.
As a compulsive NPC, who likes heavy RP and combat roles, I've seen some of the best and worst ways to brief an NPC. I offer my advice on how to successfully brief people, and encourage other players, especially staff members, to join in the conversation.
I'm going to provide both basic and "advanced" briefing techniques. An important thing to keep in mind: the onus of successfully pulling off a module does not rest on the staff person alone! If you're an NPC, and you need more information, clarification, or ideas, then ask away. The following guide applies to both the NPC and the staff person. These mostly come from my experiences as an NPC: I was my most successful and productive when the following things happened.
The Basics
These are minimum requirements for what I feel is good briefing. This is stuff that, to me, should always happen, even if staff and NPCs are over-scheduled and running on fumes. Finally, some NPCs may not need a full briefing-- these are people that have played the same part many times. However, communciation between staff members and NPCs is essential, irregardless of experience.
Have a detailed write-up.
As an NPC, I feel that write-ups are an essential part of good briefing-- especially when an encounter uses more than one NPC, or the encounter is particularly detailed. A good write-up includes stats, character descriptions and backgrounds, the mechanics of the module, PCs targeted on the module, any lose/win conditions, and even a few hypotheses as to how the PCs may interact with a situation. Writing a good module description is a delicate art, and perhaps a subject to be covered later.
Write-ups allow NPCs to read the encounter, get a feel for it, and ask staff people any questions they may have. It can save a lot of time, and doesn't require a staff person to talk over a busy monster camp. Moreover, if a staff person is required to leave the site for whatever reason, another plot member can, in a pinch, execute a module. Obviously, not all NPCs need to read all write-ups (for example: a town wide field fight), but if NPCs are to play nuanced and challenging characters, the motivations and mechanics of a module are important. Also, having a paper trail of your game leaves to good filing for later planning.
Always provide a verbal briefing.
Even if you've provided a write-up, you should always have a conversation with your NPCs. It's important that they understand the written material, and it allows them to ask you any questions they may have. (Especially for new or shy NPCs, asking questions of plot people can be daunting unless they have a window in which to do so.)
Provide stat cards or a stat book.
I've been in a lot of monster camps where stats are provided verbally. This is fine for large-scale field fights or very simple encounters, but, for more complicated stats, a written record is helpful. A lot of people are visual learners, and will just absorb information better when it's written down. Also, if anything goes wonky in a module (like a new NPC misunderstanding stats, and flinging "Cold by Maim"), staff members can refer to the stats, written in a book, that the NPCs were originally given.
Ask questions. Field Questions.
Asking and answering questions is the best way to test if NPCs understand a module. Don't quiz people, but ask open-ended questions. Instead of saying, "So do you understand that?" ask "So do you understand what to do if they decide to kill Maury the Marauder?" If you have an infliction-active monster, make sure NPCs understand a) what the infliction does, b) how to pull off the infliction, and c) any infliction cards they may have to provide to PCs.
State the start point and end point of the module. Describe the general trajectory of the module.
If all else fails, a useful tactic in complicated modules is describing the fuller arc. Explain to NPCs what the general narrative of the arc will look like. Identify a clear beginning for major phases of the module (for example, if you have a combat phase after a delegation, provide a key sentence to trigger combat). Describe a clear endpoint as well (Accelerant uses the masterful "Inflict to Monster" for combat situations). If you're the leader of a module with a lot of NPCs, give yourself a way to control the module and bring your NPCs back to you (an IG phrase like, "My minions, come to me!" or an inflict call both work well). If NPCs understand how a module is supposed to work, they'll be able to make that happen.
Keep everyone on schedule.
Provide the schedule to everyone in monster camp. It keeps everyone in the loop as to what is supposed to happen next. Also, if an NPC needs time to prepare for a role, they can check the schedule to see when they need to take 15 minutes for getting into make-up or costuming.
Advanced Briefing
These are things that I think are still essential to briefing NPCs essentially, but perhaps not as basic.
Don't patronize people.
It's important to realize that NPCs are smart, capable, and experienced people. Even if you haven't seen them in your game specifically, they may have NPC'd elsewhere extensively. Accordingly, they're not going to take kindly to patronizing treatment-- treat NPCs as capable individuals, so they want to help you to the best of their ability.
Make NPCs aware of potential situations within the module.
Many NPCs come to a module unaware of the 6-year arc leading to that encounter. Therefore, they are often unaware of the intricacies that may arrive in RP. Similarly, most NPCs don't have access to character histories or PELs: they don't know the individual motivations and quirks of PCs. Let them know ahead of time what things to be aware of IG and OoG. For example, IG, you might state, "Jenny Smith's PC history includes a phobia of dogs. If Jenny comes on this mod, her character, upon seeing your werewolves, may flip out. Don't be surprised-- it's a character thing." Or, OoG, "John Brown really hates being frenzied, OoG. If he's on this module, try to avoid doing that to him."
Provide archetype ideas.
If you're trying to convey a specific character trait for an RP NPC, offer a commonly known archetype: "This guy is a suave and quirky special agent-- think Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks with a touch of James Bond, minus the womanizing."
Clarify effects.
Try to think of any effects that PCs may use on an NPC. Tell your PC how to react to those effects. If your players have bane effects, this is especially important. If an NPC, going out as a zombie, shields a bane effect unknowingly, it can lead to a PC who is annoyed with the NPC (and it's generally not the NPC's fault).
Give NPCs specific ways to interact with PCs.
In the interest of time, it can be hard to provide NPCs with the character histories of every targeted PC. However, do your best. If your NPC is going to play a conniving aristocrat, with full knowledge of a PC's history, suggest things like, "Lillian, as a character, is deeply ashamed of her elf mother. Bring that up as a way to tease her."
Clarify things people would not know.
On the flip side, if you have an RP role that would not know information frequently discussed in-game, let them know. If your NPC is not aware of, let's say, the impending disaster about to strike the world, let them know.
Provide ways for players to deflect comments to staff members.
It's embarrassing and frustrating for NPCs to be caught unaware by questions about a module. However, NPCs can't know everything, and shouldn't be expected to (especially with creative players). Provide them with IG lines to deflect PC questions to the module leader. For example, "Have you met the traveling bard Lucien? He may be able to answer those questions for you" or, if you're present at the module, "Please refer to my commanding officer-- I have not been authorized to provide you with that information."
Brief your NPCs in advance of the game.
If at all possible, provide NPC write-ups and casting before game. Obviously, you're going to have great RP-ers or especially talented fighters who show up last minute. If at all possible, however, try those with meaty roles with materials a few days before the game (it also allows them to bring their own costuming).
What has worked and failed for you, as an NPC or a staff member, in briefing PCs?
Whoboy. There are as many different ways to handle NPC briefings as there are ways to run plot. I can tell you that half the things you listed above are just about NEVER done by 2/3 of Madrigal staff. Or most of several other talented staffs that I know.
ReplyDeleteStarting with: detailed writeup. Those are great... if you have a person who likes writing detailed writeups. Or writing write-ups at all. I like write-ups, myself, and tend to provide them for NPCs that I've pre-cast into briefing-intensive writeups. Aside from that, I don't bother. If an NPC has to learn a role on the spot, they are not going to have time to absorb a 2 page writeup, so I might as well save myself the time and energy of writing it all out and just verbally condense it into the most important parts... the ones I really need to stick with them.
Verbal briefing - absolutely yes. Sometimes things said in writeups (assuming you have them) are not clear, and that usually won't come out until you're talking with a person face-to-face.
Stat cards/stat book - have never used these. Not kidding. :shrugs: We don't have one for Madrigal (guidelines for different types of NPCs, sure, actual stat book, no), and having set stats for 'all skeletons' or 'all necromancers' makes it too hard to make adjustments on the fly for an unexpected mod group, "Oh, we were expecting 7 inexperienced people and instead we got 10 people over 150 CP? Everyone double everything I told you in monster camp."
I'd agree that start point, end point, and general trajectory are important (as I discovered in a fight when I forgot to tell the NPCs the end point of the encounter and myself got tied up talking to PCs during said encounter).
Keeping everyone on schedule - nice in theory, nearly impossible in practice. We post a schedule in Madrigal monster camp every event, with mod spaces blocked off, along with major field fights, encounters, etc. It usually lasts about an hour or so after game starts (and resets at each meal, generally, which is kinda nice), at which point we're off schedule and just running as fast as we can and occasionally peaking into mod buildings to see if they're actually being used or not. I'm betting most people can guess the plan for the Wickford fight was not to have it span dinnertime. Schedule slip happens. It happens in *every* game I've ever NPC'd in, including one that had every NPC scheduled down to the half hour.
That's not to say you shouldn't have schedules. I'm a big proponent of them. But don't rely on them for timing NPC prep, unless it's of the 'we have an undead fight that will occupy town, *then* you get to go out as your bard' variety.
Oh, and I'm going to have to disagree with you on the "A well-briefed NPC, even if they're new to larping of the system, is going to be infinitely better than even the most experienced, yet poorly briefed, NPC." idea, at least partially.
I'd rather have an NPC who I know can roll with the unexpected (which usually means experienced) who is less well briefed than an NPC who is better briefed but is going to freeze up the second that the encounter goes off the rails... as it is going to do, inevitably.
More later...
Thanks for your input! I've never NPC'd for Madrigal, and the games I do routinely NPC for are much smaller. These are baselines that work for me-- it's stuff gleaned from different experiences. Also, I've worked with talented staffs that *do* use these tactics to great effect. I think it largely depends on the individual cadence of a game and the roles required of NPCs. I'll add that it may or may not work for one game over another, which is why I fielded questions.
DeleteOn write-ups: I should clarify here-- I'm talking about mods that require a fair amount of independence on an NPC's part. I've been an NPC for a few staff members whose mods are a combination of weird mechanics, complicated stats, and heavy roleplay. I think the modules have been better because of the staff members' predilection for write-ups: I can read them while the staff member is off doing XYZ, and, after the event, the module is preserved for future reference. With that being said, I don't think that they need to be written and handed-out for large scale field fights, straightforward repeaters, field pain, or basic rp.
On scheduling, stats, and general questions of flexibility: I absolutely agree that everything can (and should) change on the fly. Or that stats need to be augmented before or during a fight-- with that being said, as an NPC, I like having a stat book or card that I can look at. It's useful to me, but I'm a visual person. I get nothing's locked in stone, but I still think it's worthwhile to have stat cards or a stat book. (Again, with a game as long-running as Madrigal, I don't know how useful that is.) Also, for the games I NPC, the stat cards/books generally provide not only stats but make-up, costume, and RP notes. It helps to get people on their ways and out the doors. In terms of scheduling-- I like having a schedule available, even if it's going to change. It makes the weekend more transparent, which I appreciate as an NPC.
The point on a well-briefed NPC versus an experienced one-- that's fair. Let me clarify on that point, though: in terms of experience, I was talking about not just NPCing experience but world knowledge too. If you have somebody who's really experienced with NPCing, but doesn't necessarily know anything about the world, then they're not doing anyone any favors. To your point, an experienced NPC is more likely to ask specific questions about the gameworld, while an inexperienced NPC is more likely to go out without knowing the full background of the encounter, even though they have stats, a name, and motivation (I, for one, used to do that alot).
Here's my final thing on briefing: Things like schedules, write-ups and stat cards help people, myself included, feel like they're part of a team, rather than there for a weekend and out. I can go out as roles spontaneously, and it's just as fun, but, personally, I'd prefer to be in the loop regarding my participation.
I'd be curious to hear how you specifically brief for a large scale game like Madrigal (which seems to have fifty billion things going on at once). I really agree with you on points of flexibility, but I think having baselines is a good idea too. Anyone who's NPCing a game needs to be able to 1) work within a given framework and 2) adapt to changes in the plan.
I think, ultimately, a lot of this comes down to the individual staff, NPC base, and some situational cost-benefit analysis.
DeleteI think Zoe's right, that written briefings and stats, pre-casting, and transparent scheduling are all best practice. They help NPCs feel involved and invested, and have a better time, which makes them more likely to come back. They are also a serious boon to NPCs who are not plugged in to the OOG community surrounding your larp, and make it easier to pull in new folks via NPCing (and, you know, figure out what they can and can't handle).
But staff members have a limited amount of time and energy, and since these things aren't directly necessary to MAKE THIS EVENT HAPPEN NOW GO GO GO, they can and do get bumped down on the priority totem pole, especially if no one is specifically excited about doing these things. There's no point in pampering your NPCs if doing so will burn out your staff members. Many very skilled staffs don't do these things, and run great games without doing them.
On the other hand, feeling directionless, underbriefed, and uninvolved is precisely why I stopped NPCing Madrigal. That's not meant as a bash against that game or its staff-- I LOVE THAT GAME SO HARD, AND ITS STAFF ARE AWESOME. And I don't know if their practices have changed since that time. But NPCing in that environment wasn't for me. It is clearly for many other lovely people, for which I am exceedingly grateful.
I think that ideally, games should try to plan around devoting time to teaching/mentoring/briefing/writing stuff for their NPCs, because I do think it pays off. Though I might be biased, because if I am NPCing rather than staffing, that is what I would want. But you have to find a way to run that is sustainable for your staff, as well. So if that means default monster stats go on a dry erase board and briefings are 30 second conversations on the way out the door, and that works, more power to you.
Also, I should note, there is some middle ground here! Sometimes an index-card sized bulletpointed writeup is way more useful than a 20 page Tome of Background Lore.
DeleteYeah well said-- and I agree with the index-card write ups. I'm really wordy (surprise, surprise), and this is something I constantly need to remind myself: most people don't want to read a thesis when they're going off to go hit stuff/talk at people.
DeleteAnd staff burnout is a great point: if hand-holding npcs is obnoxious and unneeded, then it's not a good plan.
How I brief: if I need an NPC to be largely independant for an encounter with heavy briefing, written description a week or two before the event, hopefully enough time for the NPC to go back and forth with me with questions, and then final verbal go-through on site.
DeleteFor most everything else, I will describe the encounter on site.
I should say, as a caveat, that I *suck* at writing fun encounters for NPCs that I don't know. If I know an NPC, I have a solid shot at writing something that they will both kick ass at and have fun with. I do rather poorly writing general 'fun RP role for anyone' NPC briefings. Don't know why, but it's always something I've struggled with. Also, if I have a more involved briefing, it is probably going to be more than a one-shot, which makes it less than useful for people who are only going to be there for a single event. Just the way my plots tend to flow, but that's unhelpful, too. :shrugs:
Also, I suspect that the reluctance to give NPCs everything that I know of about various plotlines comes from having some of my plotlines blown up by NPCs who did exactly the opposite of what I told them, told the PCs everything that was in their briefing (rather than the stuff I said to give out), and thus blew up several events of follow-up plot that the PCs should have been doing. Most staff members who don't fully brief everyone have had similar experiences. Unfair to the majority of NPCs who won't do that? Yes. But it really doesn't take many plotlines getting blown up for you to become really, really gun-shy about giving information to people you don't know real well.
Schedules: I don't think accepting the fact that events *aren't* going to run on time is particularly defeatist, nor do I think that saying that means you aren't going to try to run on time. I've found that when people are really, really insistant on running on time, it's super-stressful for everyone involved... and not generally more successful at actually being on time than games who aim for a schedule but aren't super militant about it. And even if you build setup/hooking/whatever time into the schedule, it helps (because you're never going to have a chance if you don't build that in), but it won't actually keep you on schedule unless you build way more time than in practical in for that. Inevitably some PC group will, at some point, delay your hook for 45 minutes because the one person who is really invested in the plotline got randomly hooked for a mod that they have no interest in and no one wants to go without them. It probably won't happen every event to you, but if your game gets big enough, it will happen to *someone* on staff every event.
"...various plotlines comes from having some of my plotlines blown up by NPCs who did exactly the opposite of what I told them, told the PCs everything that was in their briefing (rather than the stuff I said to give out), and thus blew up several events of follow-up plot that the PCs should have been doing. Most staff members who don't fully brief everyone have had similar experiences..."
DeleteI had sneaking suspicions, and was wondering about that :)-- and it's a really good point. This has happened to a lot of staffers I know, and a lot of times, I'm pretty sure the NPCs at fault were confused (maybe stuck with some knowledgeable PCs, they panicked and revealed everything??). It's a good topic-- imploding plots through information leaking-- to cover in another post. How do you protect against this, while still giving roles to newer NPCs? How do you deal with it when it happens?
Sometimes NPCs get confused. And sometimes they just get caught up in the coolness of a scene and want it to go to it's natural IG conclusion and forget about briefing, which has honestly happened to me way more often than an NPC being confused (or just blowing off the writeup entirely). They are having a lot of fun with the scene, the PCs are doing awesome, and they want to reward the PCs with an even cooler scene/information/whatever. So an extra detail slips out. And then another. It's happened to me, honestly, but I generally have a stronger sense of the overall arc than a random NPC and am able to rein myself in before I blow up my own plotlines.
DeleteHow you deal with it when it happens? You kinda take what the PCs now know and move on. In one case where it happened, I entirely redirected a plotline from being investigative in nature to responsive. (PCs went from trying to figure out what happened to immediately dealing with it.) There's not a whole lot else you *can* do aside from move forward. Once they know the plot, you can't put that back in the bag.
How to try to prevent it? Occasionally I will provide extremely detailed briefings about what the character a person is playing knows (tons of background and things that they've seen/know), but very little information about the overall goal of the plot. They can give up everything that their character knows without actually giving away the plot. I've got mixed opinions about that. On one hand, it solves the problem (generally). On the other hand, it would drive me a little nuts if I got that all the time as an NPC, and I am unconvinced it's the best way to get the encounter to go off the way you want. I'd much rather be able to explain to people the general feel of the encounter and how it fits into the bigger picture so that they can get why, yes, this scene might seem to be sorta uncool for the PCs, but it's setting up something a year down the line where they will get AWESOME revenge. Which brings you back to the 'having enough information to screw up the plotline' level of information.
Probably the best way to deal with it is to give cool, emotionally interesting but not super detailed roles to newer NPCs, see how they like that/do with that, and then escalate over time.
That said, I can say that a staff member totally threw that out the window when I first started NPCing Madrigal, and it's probably part of what got me hooked. No one there knew me from a hole in the wall, but I showed up, did a minor role for someone (like what I described above), and she decided from how I handled that that I could handle something bigger, and dropped the Malekyrge race writeup (all 10 pages of it) in my lap for a major RP encounter (me: What's an El-lu-vi-ar?). Which was awesome, but terrifying. And years later, I'm still NPCing Madrigal, so clearly that worked out.
"Probably the best way to deal with it is to give cool, emotionally interesting but not super detailed roles to newer NPCs, see how they like that/do with that, and then escalate over time."
DeleteThat, to me, seems like a win-win situation. The fate of a two-year long event arc doesn't rest in an inexperienced player's hands, and the inexperienced player still feels cool, worthwhile, and important. To me, it's an even better situation if a new NPC can go out as a bit part, and, depending on performance, upgrade that character to a bigger role in later events. That way, the plot people can test the waters, but also encourage NPCs to come back to the game (in order to play the same parts.
I feel that many of these skills are something that need to be nurtured in new NPCs. I am of the opinion that the staff member should not always be the focus of a mod and that by giving more roles to NPCs you will be doing a great service to the future of larping. You may be surprised with what a person can do if you give them a proper, well informed, chance. It's these NPCs that will be staff and owners in 10 years and those that are staff and owners now may be gone from the community for the many reasons life throws at us. So if we want our craft to continue improving year after year we MUST continue to innovate and incorporate new ideas and techniques to bring out the best in everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteI like a lot of these points. Preparation makes for better events, without exception. Even people who can run a good or great event would run a better one if they prepped. Both themselves and their NPCs.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, some specifics:
Writeups - Bullet points are underused as we fall in the trap of creative writing and grammar. Bullet points condense useful information to a size that most people are willing to digest.
Oral briefing - combined with bullet points you're golden.
Takeawy - Repetition is gold. Going over the flow of a module multiple times is really helpful to have it go well.
Atmosphere - Your NPC camp should have an atmosphere where NPCs feel like they can ask questions without being judged for their ignorance. Sometimes things ar emore busy than others, but staff should answer questions to the best of their ability under the circumstances. If you must, you tell the NPC you will have to answer them later, but if you do you *must* follow up later. No excuses. An NPC asking a question is the best indicator of their readiness to learn.
Stats- One major value added by a set of standard monster stats is the world building feel it gives to a game as PCs figure them out. Obviously these aren't ironclad and are adjusted as needed, but having some stat stability makes the world feel more cohesive. For example, when Madrigal changed its rulebook to include a lot more 2 Damages for PCs and increased the dumb defenses for NPCs, part of the stated reasons from Rob was to also make stable stats for NPCs so PCs could gain tactical advantage over time through observation and learning.
NPC growth - The responsibility of a good staff is mentoring NPCs to greatness. You give them chances to grow and learn their abilities and limits and go from there. You need to start low stakes so they don't lock up in fear, but meaningful roles are absolute candy to NPCs. Unless they're just there to blow off steam and hit things for a few hours, NPCs want to do cool things. Let them. Learn from them. And soon you'll have a talented and well trained team to make the game flourish.
Schedules - Schedules always get messed up, but all too often staffs assume they have no ability to stay on schedule and thus don't try. This laziness multiplies a 5 minute schedule slip into a 25 minute one that builds into a 5 hour one over the course of the day. Giving up and saying "LARPs can't be on time" is just a defeatist attitude that leads to long lulls and broken promises. instead, schedule things *realistically*. Stop pretending that a one hour module can be done in 30 minutes. Remember prep time, walking time, hook time, setup time, break down time. And then, when necessary, you changeup the schedule to adapt during the event, but that should be a last resort.
Background info - Most NPcs are better at their roles the more they know. Keep background info available in monster camp for them to read when curious. Have maps, have writeups, have ways for them to grow their world knowledge that enables them to better handle the unexpected.
Great points.
DeleteOn Write-ups... Ah yes, the bullet point. I will be the first to admit that I am a wordy, wordy person. But I think bullet points, especially for your NPCs with smaller roles in an encounter, are preferable to tomes. (I'm also an NPC, when given a lengthy write-up, is really happy.) That being said, a tome leaves a nice paper trail for the person writing and the game staff: I like the idea of preserving a campaign for the ages.
On Stats... I like the feeling, as a PC, of knowing, even roughly, what the monsters are going to swing: "Hey-- I've seen that lycanthrope before. I know he's going to attempt to main my limbs off. I also know that, in general, there is no way I can take that big one by myself." Some people are geniuses at keeping stats in their heads for years at a time. I'm not, and, for me, having general stats (which change) written down really helps.
On Mentoring... I really like the point about mentoring NPCs. Aralis and Endgame were great examples of that for me. I worked with really good staff people who slowly gave me more and more responsibility. At Endgame, in particular, it started as, "Hi, new NPC! Glad you came!" At my first or second endgame event, I was given a fairly meaty RP role with some consequence. By the third and fourth event, I had recurring roles. Then I was given some higher-statted lieutenants. Then I had roles that routinely hooked PCs, dumped information, or RP'd for 2+ hours. Then I was helping organize modules prior to the actual event. Recently, I joined staff. I'm still pretty new, but mentoring really helped me level-up as an NPC. I like thugging as much as the next person, but it was really nice to be treated as a member of a team who, with training, could potentially add something to the larger game.
What's the most successful way to write and share background info? Wait. Hold that thought. That sounds like another post to write. ;)
I cannot emphasize my love of bullet points enough. I often use this format:
ReplyDeleteThis is the long flowery descriptive paragraph in which I tell you about your dead parents and puppy. You hate fire because it fell from the sky when you were two and now you want to kill all fire mages as a rule. You are from the vast wastes of Blahblahblah and your mother and father raised you to worship Blahgod. Despite your misgivings and lack of interest as a child, you've come to be truly devout and that's why you're here. You're alarmed with the intense situation developing to the south because clearly the catastrophe warrants attention.
-You're from Blah.
-You hate fire mages.
-Everyone you love is dead.
-You worship Blahgod.
-You're devout, and that's why you're here.
-You want something done about Catastrophe.
Some NPCs want to read a novel with deep inflections and understand the personal motivations that their characters face in choosing the bad guys side and becoming a goblin/zombie/anathema/warlock/mahori. Others want the bare bones because they've got quite enough information flying into their heads and have no time to parse. I generally phrased for both.
As for your other question - I would offer Wiki as the best way to share information. Though, I would stress that this has an upside and a downside. A lot of staffers would grouse and say that it's frustrating to have to ask all the time and feel thrown in the deep end, and wouldn't they just love a Wiki?
On the flip side, this is what I like to call a natural control. I feel like there's a certain amount of time that a staffer needs to get familiar with "how people roll" in a staff and what the order of the day is. Sometimes when faced with a Wiki, a new staffer will plunge in and start dancing all over things others really would prefer to run themselves, or things that have an outcome in the cards. Also, there is often a conflict between "what exists in the wiki" and "what the staffer believes the players know/should know." Occasionally when flooded with a lot of info, it's difficult to remember, "Oh hey, that's a campaign secret." This isn't so bad when it's phrased that way, but imagine you have 400 campaign secrets and 300 campaign things that aren't so secret all muddled together in a wiki. Now turn a new staff member loose with an unscripted talk role.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying keep new staffers in the dark at all. I'm just saying there's a purpose to letting them ease in and ASK for what they want to know. It gives that very same sense of mentoring, and a certain level of communication on the unwritten things in a writeup. Like, "Oh, that's X's plot domain, she's been working on it for two years."