I recently started listing to the Happy Jacks RPG Podcast. It took me a bit to get used to the occasional belching. Does it have to be into the microphone? Anyway, one of the guys, Stu, also runs the Douchey DM blog, and there he wrote about using Obsidian Portal to keep his notes. He also notes that his players did not seem to interested in actually reading the stuff he writes on the wiki. In fact, one of his commenters writes the following:
I feel your pain about players not paying attention sometimes. I’ve emailed them pdf’s of campaign notes and all that good stuff. Then about a quarter of the way into the first session, I start getting some blank looks. “You didn’t read any of the stuff I emailed you, right?”
“No.”
I recognize the situation. Here’s what helped me cope:
- Don’t write session reports for other people. Write as much as you need for yourself. If a few notes in a notebook are good enough, then just do that unless your players ask for more. If they don’t appreciate what you wrote, you’ve set yourself up for failure. Don’t do that.
- Don’t expect your players to read what you wrote. Some people just want to sit at a table with friends, roll some dice and play pretend. They didn’t sign up for homework, reading assignments and your newsletter. As a player I was shocked when DM James at one point started posting the menus available at the various taverns in Cauldron. That was way more detail than I cared for, on the wiki. I did not mind if he managed to make it relevant at the table, though. Except the menu never turned out to be relevant at the table.
- Make it short. That makes it easier to write for you, and it makes it easier to read for them. In fact, I often use bullet lists and bold words to make it easy to skim.
- Start the session by providing a short summary of what happened and by asking the players about events. It’s a moment of collective remembering. Some people may have taken notes. Let them shine. Some people may be reading stuff off the session report on the wiki using their smartphones. Let them read the interesting parts aloud. It will help the others remember. It will also tell you about the parts players do not care about. It will help your realize which hints and plot hooks may need reenforcement.
Tags: RPG Keep It Short
Comments
I really want to reiterate your first point. Whenever I wrote session reports for our Shackled City campaign, I wrote it mainly for my personal enjoyment. If anyone read it and commented on it, then that was just gravy.
– Adrian 2011-06-16 21:12 UTC
Another aspect of writing for yourself: Claudia writes copious notes while playing. Once the game is over, however, she just can’t find the time to transcribe her notes onto the wiki. She’d love to, but it just doesn’t happen. At the same time, she really loves checking my session report for omissions using her notes, and she really likes summarizing recent events for the other players at the beginning of the next session. She likes it this way, and that’s fine. There’s no point in me trying to push her towards the wiki.
– AlexSchroeder 2011-06-16 21:40 UTC
Oh, what I wouldn’t do for a one-time read! Great advice here, and spot on, in my opinion. Players come to the table for many reasons. Most GMs come to the table as storytellers. Few players seem to share that focus (else they’re GMs themselves.)
I’ve started to regard the Obsidian Portal wiki as an in-game tool more than a player resource.
– Anarkeith 2011-06-16 22:42 UTC
I’d like to add a “me too!” to this. Multiple members of our group take turns as GM. One of them lamented that he didn’t know what to put on the wiki that would make the players read it/add to it. I gave him this very advice: do only what you want, and what you enjoy. Anyone else’s use of the wiki is gravy. That’s how I approach my Obsidian Portal wiki – it’s great if the players read it or contribute to it, but in the end, I do it for myself.
– Bevin Flannery 2011-06-17 01:26 UTC
I usually read session reports twice: once when they’re posted, once before the follow-up session. That’s an upper limit.
– Harald 2011-06-17 05:46 UTC
I also have read that some GM’s are annoyed about the fact that players don’t learn rules themselves. But there is similar point, some players want to sit down, have their few hours fun and get back to their life. They want to enjoy the game, not do homework.
And I love the picture! It’s always interesting to see other fellow GMs’ personal notes on paper.
– Thaumiel Nerub 2011-06-17 06:44 UTC
The Obsidian Portal guys say the same thing. http://www.jennisodes.com/podcasts/obsidian-portal/
– AlexSchroeder 2011-06-21 14:14 UTC
All great pieces of advice, Alex. I am not sure why, but it is nigh impossible getting players to even read my blog. Even when I was posting the house rules we would be using for the game at that time. I have even tried offering extra experience points to anyone who would take the time during the week to stop by and take a look around at my recent posts. I have yet to give out any extra XPs to any of them... :-P
– Shane Mangus 2011-07-15 02:22 UTC