Game masters (GMs) many times ask for a marching order or character position. Other times there are questions about who is doing what action. In many situations, this is because of an immediate activity that no one could foresee. (It is also a great tool for GMs to use to bring a group of players' attention back to the table.) Knowing some of this information before a game even begins can also be helpful.Many adventures have repeat situations that can be sped through easier with some pre-adventure planning by both the GM and the rest of the players. Here is a simple process of getting more out of the time you have at the table
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| Marching order for 10 foot wide hall |
The Process
Identify the possible settings
The GM identifies activities that are going to be repeated regularly during the adventure. A good example of this is opening a door or chest in a dungeon crawl. There could be only a few or many more. It really depends on the adventure and the genre of the game. This can be used for a single gaming session or for setting up during multiple sessions.
Players can also identify regular events they deal with. Before we start playing, many times we'll determine if we should have a marching order or who takes which watches when camping in the outdoors. In one campaign we had a room in the dungeon we would return to for our camp and created a separate map for that location we could refer back to.
Determine character positions
Where are the characters is a regular question of many GMs? The number of times this question gets asked can be reduced with planning out recurring events. Simple ones like marching order can be made and referred to.
You can make them applicable for general activities that will be reoccurring. When doing a dungeon crawl you can build a simple map of marching order for different widths of halls. In the room we used for sleeping in the dungeon, we placed markers where everyone would be sleeping when not on watch and where the character on watch was located.
Determine character actions
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| Marching order 5 foot wide hall |
Another item of play that can take a lot of time is repeating what characters do for similar activities. This can be used for several different scenarios that come up multiple times in a game.
One activity that gets repeated a lot that can be planned to allow quicker play is what the party does when encountering a closed door. We like to determine who has the best skills for each activity, i.e., finding traps, hearing noise, picking locks. Then we give the GM a plan for the order of activity and how the party is positioned during these events.
Allow flexibility
As the GM or as players, be ready to make adjustments to the plans. I don't think this should be done after a plan is put into action during an event, but the party and GM should work together to allow for changes based on changes taking place during play before the event is identified.
For example, the party is on a dungeon crawl and has just left a major combat that has left some of the members hurt and spell resources have been used. Before moving onto the next door, the party decides to reposition the fighter to keep her safe. Or flip it around, coming out of a heated battle the wizard still has a protection spell active and so he moves to the point position on the next door because of the added protection.
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| Position when opening door |
Tell the story
This can be an advantage for the GM and the players.
During the adventure the party approaches a situation that has a planned action. The GM doesn't have to wait for the players to say what they are doing, or in what order. They can tell the story.
The party notices a door ahead on the left side of the hall and move forward into position. Gunther listens and doesn't hear anything and steps away from the door and Andria checks it. She doesn't find any traps, but the door is locked so she takes a moment to pick it. After she moves back, Zinther opens the door and sees two ogres turning and standing up from a table where they were eating. Roll for initiative.
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| Location around campfire |
The concept of creating these plans is not to force the player characters into certain actions, but to allow for the repetitive events to be dealt with quickly. The same scenario above could have been; after opening the door you find a room that looks like a small dining area. The party does a quick search of the room and finds nothing. You leave and move down the hall to the next door on the right.
I also allow players to interrupt to ask for more information, or I'll give something extra to heighten the suspense of the storytelling.
Remember, no matter how you play your game it isn't wrong. It's your game. Use what works for you and your group. The object is to have fun.
If you have other ideas you use to help your game, or questions about other ideas, please share.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
