Re - Arcs Redux

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Blake Ryan Batman
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Re - Arcs Redux

Post by Blake Ryan Batman »

Gooday

Had a recent experience as MC that I think is related to this when running Monster of the Week.

3 sessions booked, ep 1 and 2 had problem of the week plots, and seeds for 2 ongoing plots (Denarion and Loup Garou) planted in ep 1 and 2, intending to be resolved in some way in ep 3.

One of the ongoing big bads (Denarion) created the problem of the week for ep 1 and 2. Tied the characters to minor and ongoing plots.

However after ep 1, two of the players advised they were not available to ep 3.

*insert big shuffle of potential events based on who was tied to what*

So the ongoing Denarion plot got fast forwarded and more heavily tied to the episodic plot for ep 2.

Then the ongoing Loup Garou issue got resolved in ep 3.

Don't get me wrong, each player enjoyed each session and the overall game.

However one of the feedback points was ep 3 did not feel like a big finalé, because it wasn't.

It went as well as it could have, but the down side of arcs/tying characters to plots is if the characters are not there the impact of the events and sense of resolution are lukewarm?
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. Lord Alfred Tennyson - Ulysses
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Blake Ryan
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Jared Rascher
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Re: Re - Arcs Redux

Post by Jared Rascher »

Blake Ryan Batman wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:10 pm Gooday

Had a recent experience as MC that I think is related to this when running Monster of the Week.

3 sessions booked, ep 1 and 2 had problem of the week plots, and seeds for 2 ongoing plots (Denarion and Loup Garou) planted in ep 1 and 2, intending to be resolved in some way in ep 3.

One of the ongoing big bads (Denarion) created the problem of the week for ep 1 and 2. Tied the characters to minor and ongoing plots.

However after ep 1, two of the players advised they were not available to ep 3.

*insert big shuffle of potential events based on who was tied to what*

So the ongoing Denarion plot got fast forwarded and more heavily tied to the episodic plot for ep 2.

Then the ongoing Loup Garou issue got resolved in ep 3.

Don't get me wrong, each player enjoyed each session and the overall game.

However one of the feedback points was ep 3 did not feel like a big finalé, because it wasn't.

It went as well as it could have, but the down side of arcs/tying characters to plots is if the characters are not there the impact of the events and sense of resolution are lukewarm?

Towards the end of my 3.5 days, I had a player that was playing a paladin. Her character was from Sembia, and she was interested in exploring the dichotomy of being tied to a merchant family, and the responsibilities to family, versus responsibilities to her calling. The whole party pulled up stakes and headed to Sembia, and was staying at her family estate.

Then she quit showing up for sessions. The first two sessions that she missed, she said she would be coming back to the game. So we found excuses for the PCs to do stuff in Sembia. Then she finally decided she wasn't going to play in the game any longer, and everyone just kind of wandered away from Sembia, because no one else in the game really had any reason for being there, other than friendship and supporting their paladin friend.
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