How to Run:Primetime Adventures

The content of this WikiPage is based mainly on the thread by Judd "Paka" Karlman, "My Pattern" on the Dog Eared Designs forum, with extra notes from the eighteenth Sons of Kryos podcast (which Paka co-hosts). Additional threads will be cited as they are included.

Primetime Adventures, "the game of television drama", is written by Matt Wilson and published by his independent outfit, Dog Eared Designs.

I didnt like the coin flip scene either. ,

Playing Episodes

Scenes

• Paka tells his group that everyone will be going around in a circle for scene framing but this format might break down a bit and that is okay, as long as we get back on track and everone gets their turn.
• If someone can't think of a scene, others should help.
• Scenes you propose do not have to have your character in them.
• The scene gets set, we know which characters are involved, and we go from there. Sometimes there will be a discussion of the general intent of the scene (this scene is where the prostitute and the wife meet for the first time, with disasterous results), but not always. At some point during the scene it will often become apparent that there is a conflict brewing, but sometimes someone will see a good conflict to drop in and propose it. Either way, this is the point when the group sets stakes.

Conflict Resolution

• Set stakes that aren't about success but about price. If you've watched a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you've probably noticed that the big action scenes ultimately aren't about whether Buffy defeats the Big Bad (most of the time the answer is "of course she does") but about what price she must pay to do so, whether it's her test scores, her relationship with her mother or even the lives of her friends. Paka sets rocking stakes for those first few conflicts so that the players can see how it's done; before long, everyone is helping with setting stakes. This communal stakes setting is really important.
• Paka's group role-plays for a while and then comes up to the conflict. Paka makes sure everyone is heading toward the conflict and not dancing away from it. If stakes are set right, people will be looking for conflicts and welcome them. Sometimes a scene opens and the player won't know what to do until a conflict is resolved. That's cool.
• Paka has noticed that it's cool to have a scene with no conflict maybe once or twice an episode, but if there are more he gets nervous. Watch out for folks avoiding using the system. It could mean stakes setting is going wrong or there is some other disconnect.

Fan Mail

• If you, as a player, chuckle, wince or have some other visceral reaction to something another player says, does or otherwise introduces to the game, you should be giving that other player Fan Mail. If the group is shy about it, Paka loudly notes a good, Fan Mail-worthy contribution; the shyness tends to evaporate after the beginning of the episode, though.
• As the Producer, Paka puts Budget in the Audience Pool and drives play towards conflict so that he can put more Budget in. If the Pool is empty, he spends more Budget on the next conflict. Sometimes Paka puts more Budget into a conflict, not just because it's a big deal conflict, but also to give the players more opportunities to show their appreciation for one another.
• Remember: Although the players can't give you, the Producer, Fan Mail directly, they will tell you when you're doing your job well by spending Fan Mail to get extra cards in Conflicts. If your Conflict wasn't cool, they wouldn't be spending their Fan Mail on it.

The Fingerwave

The finger wave is an unofficial method of showing appreciation to the Producer (who cannot receive Fan Mail) or other players when the Audience Pool is depleted. Basically, you point your hands towards the Producer (or player) and wiggle your fingers in his/her direction.