Okay, so you have gathered your friends together to sit down and play an RPG, like Dungeons and Dragons or Call of Cthulhu. You have a comfortable space and everyone has their characters, dice, and snacks. The curtains of your imagination will soon open and the game will begin. But how do you start an RPG game session in such a way that it will engage your players?
As you start your RPG session, your first goal as a game master is to capture the attention of your players. You engage your players by putting a piece of the story in their hands and they decide what to do with it. You can jumpstart your RPG session in the following three ways: give PCs someone to react to, provide enough detail to set the mood and give meaning to that action, and provide an individual interaction for each player.
Give PCs someone to react to
Roleplaying is about interacting with the people in your world. So start that way. Give your players someone to react to. Have your NPC put their need in front of the character and demand that they respond to it. Every NPC has a need. Here is a list of just a few possible needs an NPC might have:
What might an NPC want?
- Violence
- To take something
- Help
- Protection
- Understanding
- Escape
- Pleasure
Identify the NPC’s need and then put that need in the PC’s face. This is the opening scene, don’t let them ignore it. Present the need in such a way that the player character will have a hard time not making a decision about it. Does the NPC warrior want to take something? Then have them start the scene by punching the PC in the face and then going to take the thing that they want. Does the NPC mayor need assistance in performing a task? Then have the NPC more or less place the problem item in the hands of the character and then stand back to see what they do with it.
Your opening scene can be combat-based or skill-based. The main thing you want is action. Something has got to be moving and it needs to be urgent. That could include combatants or a ticking clock or a large stone ball rolling down the tunnel after them. The more time-sensitive the consequences are, the faster your players will need to make a decision. And that’s where the action comes in.
In order to maintain the intensity of the opening scene, you need to keep it brief. Plan for problems that can be resolved in two to three rounds. Then quickly introduce the antagonist or the problem and get out of the way. Portray the desperation of the scene and encourage the players to think quickly. Work to have this scene to be completed in 15 or so minutes of real-time.
The next part is a little tricky because you have to get everyone involved. I just told you to keep it brief but now I am going to encourage you to give each player a little attention. Your goal is to make each player feel as though they are needed in the encounter. If your party is large, you might consider having more than one objective for the opening scene. Force more than one character to have to make a decision e. So, for instance, if you’re having a group of stone giants enter the city of Nightstone, in order to steal the giant onyx stone in the town square, then you might also have a young girl selling kittens in the same square. Now the characters have two places they need to be: stop the interloping giants and protect the little girl.
Another way to engage multiple players in your game is to provide a challenge that requires two players to work together. Similar to the idea of having more than one complication in the scene, you may want to have one complication that has two separate parts. To make it more complicated, place the two parts in different areas of the game world. So one player might be deciphering an ancient script in one room that a second player needs to solve a puzzle in a room down the hall. Time is running out so players cannot see the script and the puzzle at the same time. As players work together, they will engage with one another and get more deeply involved in your game.
Once again, the idea of the opening scene is that characters are put in a situation that they are forced to deal with. Don’t force which decision they make. Instead, give them a choice with consequences and ask them to make it. The goal in this initial scene is to get your players into the game and to take action.
Provide enough detail to set the mood and give meaning to the action
I have listed detail as the second piece of advice, but you will actually provide it first in your game. The players need the context of the situation that the NPCs are dangling in front of them, so you will describe it first. Once they understand the situation, it will provide a real choice, where they understand why things are happening and what will happen if they don’t act.
When players do not understand the context, many will hold their turns until they know better. They want to make the right decision and so they will slow down the game until you provide the information they need. That is a pacing nightmare. So, in the opening scene, the NPC needs to punch them in the nose and quickly portray their stance towards the PC. If the character does not act, they will get punched again. Of course, that punch might also come in the form of connecting the clock to the time bomb or the barking of dogs on their trail as they escape a building. Just make sure they know that the bomb and the dogs want to hurt their character.
Start by describing the current status of the characters. Talk about what they look like physically and perhaps how they’re feeling energy-wise. You may want to describe how they’re feeling rested and are dressed in their best clothing. Or you can describe how filthy they are after a long journey and that they don’t want to go another step until they can sit down and get something to drink. You might find inspiration for this description from where your last session ended and build from there. Just let them know their current condition so they know where they are starting from.
Another way to describe the status of the PCs is to get it from the mouth of an NPC. For example, when the worn-out characters stumble into a saloon the bartender might say, “You look like you need a drink” and start to pour them a mug so something dark and thirst-quenching.
After briefly introducing the characters’ situation, you will then describe the status of any NPCs that are involved in this action scene. Every NPC is in the middle of doing something–even if it is staring at your players’ characters. Use that as the basis to describe their physical state and any obvious emotions.
Also, include a description of the physical location where the PCs and NPCs will interact. Explain three specific things that the players can interact with in the scene. This might include people, buildings, animals, modes of transportation, sources of fire, or any other item that PCs might use.
Setting the expectations for the game in the opening scene
The first scene of the game can help you set the tone of the game and the expectations that the GM has for the players. When a young child reminds characters that they are the heroes and the rest of the community nods their heads in agreement, that puts a lot of pressure on the players to react to being called a hero. However they respond, the players will know what to expect of the NPCs in that area depending on their behavior.
The opening scene is also a great place for a GM to remind players of the kind of things that make for a fun RPG game. Kathryn Price, in her book The Power of Fun, explains that three things contribute to the fun in our lives (and our RPGs): playfulness, connection, and flow. So as a GM, you can model these three things in your first scene.
GMs can model playfulness as they act playfully themselves. Make the table a safe space to get into character and then get into your characters. This does not mean that you have to put on an accent, but you could still model a mannerism of the NPC or pull out some sort of prop. This will remind the players that it’s OK to really play and to drop any fears that they have of judgment.
Connection is one of the possible outcomes of roleplaying games and is an integral part of fun. GMs can encourage players to work together starting in Scene One. As mentioned above, you can provide an encounter that requires teamwork. Alternatively, NPCs can overtly invite them to work together on an issue, saying, “Wouldn’t it be better if you worked together on this?”
Price’s third point—Flow—comes from doing challenging things. GMs can make their opening scenario mentally challenging by providing multiple paths of action–all of which have some value. This encourages players to engage in the encounter and look for the best way to accomplish their goals.
Catherine Price’s three principles are a great foundation upon which to build your first scene. If possible find a way for players to drop their walls of judgment, get them to work together, and challenge them so that they engage. As players do these three things, then they will better enjoy the game from the first scene.
Individual Attention
Player engagement will increase as they can see their individual importance in a particular scene. Emphasize that importance by looking at the players individually when it comes to their turn. Refer to them by their character’s name and ask them how they will specifically respond to the current scenario. Your question might also be coupled with a description of their character’s current status and the state of things around them. Let them know that at that moment they are the most important player in the room.
To facilitate this individual attention during gameplay, you will need to think of each character during game preparation. Make sure to include a task in the opening scene that can be performed by each character. This might be as simple as having a place in combat or as complicated as having a specific task designed for each character’s background. Give them a place to shine.
We know our games are succeeding when we see that players gain a sense of ownership of the game. Facilitate this by helping them realize that the game would not be the same without their character. This is easier in home-brewed adventures but is also possible in published modules. Take time to find a way to make that adventure need the characters from the very beginning. Adventure hooks that are designed for specific characters generally have more appeal and will get your story off on a better foot.
When do you recap the previous sessions?
Session recaps work the same way in RPGs that they do at the beginning of television shows. It reminds audience members of what has happened and points out important facts that will be relevant in the upcoming episode. So, do you take time from your exciting start to recap?
Recap of the game is another way to spotlight individual characters and so you can do it at the beginning of a game. Ask each player to review one of two things their character was involved in during the last session. Go around the table and ask each one. You might also ask them to share something that they remember another character doing and how their character feels about that action. This will really get them into their character and ready to play the game.
While researching this topic, I came across the idea of writing a short recap page for the players. The author, Yosef Bender, said he included the following things:
Prompt sheet?
- A short reminder of connections characters have to the other characters
- A connection between their backgrounds and the story
- Bonuses to the upcoming game because of actions in the previous game
- Sensory anchors for the location where the game will start
This recap would have to be written before the session, but it really allows the GM to spotlight individual characters. Each character gets the spotlight for a paragraph or two that describes their actions in the prior game. Emphasize interactions that they had within PCs. Take time to point out ideas in their background that might be important in the story during the next session. Then describe the location where they will start the next game.
As you take time to interact with each player in the game that will increase their engagement. You can do this by speaking with them individually and providing character-specific situations for them to respond to. You can also make sure that they shine in the session recap. If you make each character important from the first scene, it will hook them and help them stay engaged in the adventure.
Opening the Curtain (Transition Triggers)
So you have your opening scene all planned out, but before you can do that you need to make a transition from the everyday world in which you and your friends live to that of your roleplaying world. This is the quick start into the starting scene and will help your players to mentally shift gears and start paying attention to the game. (Check out this description from Thomas Weinberger.)
One way to make the transition is to invoke the game world itself. Slow the players down and immerse them in another world.
World Immersion Ideas
- Show the opening credits and theme song of the campaign
- Ask for a moment of silence
- Listen to music
- Provide a short descriptive monologue
- Use a traditional opening line at every game: “As we last left our heroes, …”
Another approach is to practice your acting skills and get into character:
- Improv exercises
- Take a moment to ponder your character’s story arc and/or motivation
Sometimes it is helpful to make sure that everyone is ready when it comes to the bookkeeping end of the game.
Bookkeeping Starts
- Character selection (for one-shot games)
- Start by asking for the number of HP and AC and any relevant perception scores
- Take questions about level advancement
I would encourage you to take these ideas and see if you can combine them. Some will combine more easily. Perhaps you could have a moment of silence (where the players don’t talk); but instead, they listen to a piece of music and ponder the current emotional state of their character. Some might not go together well, but you might surprise yourself with some of the possible combinations.
Conclusion
Once you have opened the curtains, so to speak, you are now ready for that opening adventure scene. It’s time to get the players to act. Confront them with an NPC who has a need. Show them the options in the world around them. And give each one individualized attention. All of these things will help your players to engage in your gaming session.
