So, yesterday, we had our Infinite Weirdo’s game scheduled. We knew one player was iffy (family issues), but wound up being short two players. It was odd, as the other player we were missing was usually really good with letting us know if/when they weren’t going to be there.
So, I dusted off some old pregens I had and ran a game off the cuff. You can read the details
here (link to Denver GURPS Forums).
Obviously, parts of this were inspired by Ark Survival Evolved, but, not in the same way the video game plays. This was complete improv. No planning, no prep, just give them a starting place and throw a curveball at them: Dinosaurs. Everybody loves dinosaurs. Then keep the story going forward and take as many notes as possible so, hopefully, if they want to keep doing this, I have enough to go on.
In no time our session time was over and the only reason we had to stop was so Ruby’s player could fix and eat dinner. The players
really want to continue with this game as they all had a blast and were enjoying their interactions.
I know that we have some GMs out there who simply can’t improv a whole game, from scratch. What advice can we give those GMs to make things easier if they ever find themselves in a similar situation?
My, main, piece of advice is to pay attention to your players as you throw things at them.
Keep the game moving, give your players a little time to
think but no time to
plan. You didn’t have any time, so don’t give them that luxury. Know what they like and what they don’t like. Not everything you throw at them will stick and get a laugh or major reaction. Take notes on it, and keep trying. Shotgun it until you find what they do want and where they do want to go, then let them lead
you down the rabbit hole. Let them do most of the work. Throw them branches and alternates, but let them do the leading. Don’t think
too far ahead, and try to keep your ideas basic enough that you can alter them, on the fly, to incorporate the aspects your players want.
Dinosaurs are always a good place to start.