How to Run:Primetime Adventures

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The initial content of this WikiPage is based mainly on the thread, "My Pattern" on the Dog Eared Designs forum.

Brainstorming

  • We start by talking about the kind of show we don't want our game to be, or any issues we don't want in the game.
  • The Producer tells the players that we will be brainstorming ideas; some, possibly many, will get rejected, and that is okay. When we have our idea, there will be an almost audible CLICK in the air and things will start to come together.
  • As the Producer, I guide the brainstorming by asking leading questions and writing down key words. Sometimes I stop the brainstorm and read over what we have. I make sure no one is getting walked over and make sure everyone is having their say.
  • There it is... CLICK and characters just flow out of that...

Scenes

  • I tell the group that we 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 get's their turn.
  • If someone can't think of a scene, others should help and scenes you propose do not have to have you in them.

Conflict Resolution

  • Set stakes that aren't about success but about price. It isn't about whether or not Buffy defeats the Big Bad but about what price she must pay to do so. I set rocking stakes for those first few conflicts so that others see how it is done and before long, everyone is helping with the stakes setting. This communal stakes setting is really important.
  • We role-play for a while and then come up to the conflict. Make sure no one is dancing away from the conflict but heading towards it. If stakes are set right, people will be looking for conflicts and welcome it. Sometimes a scene opens and the player won't know what to do until a conflict is resolved. That's cool.
  • Rarely, maybe once or twice an episode there is a scene with no conflict, which is cool, but if there are more I get 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 throwing Fan Mail. If the group is shy about it, I will loudly note a good contribution that is fan mail worthy but that is rare and usually only in the beginning of the episode.
  • The finger wave of Fan Mail at the Producer is an honor and should be explained, it is also useful when fan mail is depleted.
  • As the Producer I put Fan Mail on the table and drive play towards conflict so that I can put more. If we are out, I put more out on the next conflict. Sometimes I put more budget into a conflict because it is a big deal conflict but most of the time it is so the players can show their appreciation for one another.