Role Playing Tips - By Johnn Four
SAVE TIME & GET MORE PLANNING DONE THROUGH CAMPAIGN NEWSLETTERS
I don't know how I lived without my roleplaying campaign
newsletter, "The Redblade Crier". A newsletter is such a
fast and easy way to keep your players motivated and
interested, plan out your campaign, organize your next
session and add depth to your game world that I heartily
recommend every game master immediately start one for their
roleplaying group.
A newsletter kills several birds with one stone (although no
birds were actually harmed during the writing of this
newsletter). And the more I get done in less time the better
I'm able to fit my roleplaying hobby into my busy life.
For example, I keep an on-going log of all the people and
non-human NPCs the characters meet in a section titled "NPC
Journal". This helps me keep my NPCs organized as well as
reminds me to bring back an old friend or adversary once in
awhile. It also helps me maintain campaign consistency. The
players like it because they have a growing reference of
contacts, allies and enemies.
Another example is the "Next Session" and "Player Info"
sections that I put at the end. What a great way to
distribute everybody's contact information (i.e. for car
pooling) and remind them about the time, date and location
of the next session. This has prevented a lot of confusion
and saves me time as well.
Quick Newsletter Tips
* Keep it short and simple. If it becomes a chore it won't
last and you lose out on a great tool.
* Write from your players' perspectives. What would they
find interesting to read? If no one reads your newsletter
it's just a waste of time.
* Use your newsletter to educate your group about your
campaign:
- game world factoids
- NPC profiles
- legends and lore (story hooks)
- rumours, gossip and things of note
- monster lore
- magic item lore
By developing this type of information you end up planning,
storytelling and advancing your campaign all at the same
time--very efficient.
* Send your newsletter (by e-mail or fax) between sessions,
preferably closer to the upcoming session but never on the
same day. I GM every other week on Monday evenings, so I
e-mail my roleplaying newsletter on the off Monday. This
helps everybody associate Mondays with roleplaying, which is
important to me because my players and I will tend to keep
our schedules clear for that day now--a good habit for
generating full attendance.
Have more fun at every game!
Johnn Four