Author Topic: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?  (Read 2145 times)

Offline JDK002

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A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« on: August 15, 2012, 07:37:17 PM »
So last night I had an idea for a mostly conflict free scenario. Maybe a social conflict or two here and there if it comes up, and a big physical fight at the end.

For context, I'm basing it on The Slender Man.  I was going to pull my characters out of their usual comfort zone (a big city) and put then into an isolated forest setting.  They hear about people vanishing in the woods and investigate the nearby town and eventually the cabin the missing people were staying in and it's surrounding area. 

The Slender Man would basically be the looming boogy man.  Never actually attacking outright, only being seen from the corner of the eye or in quick flashes, and basically doing everything possible to scare the hell out of the players.

Any suggestions on how to run something like this?  It would require a lot of atmosphere and not conflict set pieces i figure.

Offline Orladdin

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2012, 09:08:02 PM »
Get some creepy ambient sounds to play on loops for various areas while running the game. 

It's amazing how much sound adds to a game.  Most people don't realize.  I used to use the audio tracks on my old Tomb Raider (PC) disc back in the day.  Lots of creepy ambient tracks there.

If you run this, let us know how it goes!
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Offline admiralducksauce

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2012, 09:30:08 PM »
You could go with mental stress too. Frayed nerves, unfamilar surroundings, and a constant sense of unease seem like targeting the mental stress track. It'll put some mechanical bite into what might otherwise just be description.

OTOH, maybe your group would latch onto the mechanics involved and the atmosphere you're working towards would be less effective. I just know with my group, the game-mechanical backup would work.

Edit: You write "scare the players", not the characters. That's intentional, right? So then my suggestion probably would NOT work for you, unless your players would get scared by Slender Man dumping massive mental stress hits from fear on their precious character sheets.  :)

I'd say start with working on the players, and if they're not buying into it, then maybe switch gears and go for the characters. If the player doesn't WANT to be scared, they're not going to GET that way while they sit around a gaming table eating snacks and rolling dice. But if they're down with it, awesome. Think of it like telling a ghost story rather than running an RPG session.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2012, 09:34:15 PM by admiralducksauce »

Offline Silverblaze

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2012, 11:40:01 PM »
Sounds fun.

Do people often run conflict free scenarios and scenes?

I'm just curious.  I think my group does this fairly commonly.

Offline JDK002

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2012, 12:31:33 AM »
@Orladdin: Yeah sound was one of the first things I thought of.  I just didn't have any clue where to even start looking.  Sadly it will be awhile before I get the chance to run this, I have a few scenarios I have to run before I could do this one, which means months at least.

@admiralducksauce: Yeah I was thinking of focusing on the mental angle a bit, not overtly.  Things like whenever a player catches a glimpse of The Slender Man in the distance or the corner of their eye it counts as a mental attack or maneuver.  Eventually starting to slap aspects or consequences like "Growing Paranoia" or "Something's Watching Me".  Or metal set pieces, one idea I have is to have a cave network near the cabin they find.  They go in to explore and end up having to escape the maze of tunnels while being stalked by Slender, never attacking physically but doing mental stress.

Err I often unintentionally interchange "player" and "character".  But in a way yes, selling the atmosphere to the player will in turn transfer to the character.  If that fails I'll have to make Slender insanely strong until they find a weakness to keep the players running.

@Silverblaze: I really don't know, I tend to have at least one "action" scene every session.  I'm the "balanced GM" so to speak.  I try and do even amounts of role playing, story development, and action.

Offline ImpishMortal

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2012, 02:23:07 PM »
Sounds fun.

Do people often run conflict free scenarios and scenes?

I'm just curious.  I think my group does this fairly commonly.

I often try to run scenes without conflict planned. My players like to roleplay and self-compel themselves to act rashly and end up causing problems. I've found that this actually ends up making the transition to combat more organic, since it is directly the result of the players' actions and not something I railroad them into.

However, there are times when all I was really aiming for was an exposition scene and they don't end up gaining the info, lol.

Offline JDK002

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #6 on: September 06, 2012, 08:42:19 PM »
Performing some necromancy here as I've started working on this scenario in earnest for Halloween.  This scenario has almost no npc interaction after act 1.  So I need interesting locations for my players to explore and am looking for ideas.

So far I have:
The obligatory cabin in the woods
the abandoned camp site
the lake
the caves
the old house in the middle of nowhere
the obilisk

I'm also playing with the idea of ramping up the tension with compels that will put players at dorect odds with eachother.  Possibly resulting in physical altercations, playing off the growing paranoa and unease.
 

Offline Orladdin

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2012, 12:12:29 PM »
Performing some necromancy here as I've started working on this scenario in earnest for Halloween.  This scenario has almost no npc interaction after act 1.  So I need interesting locations for my players to explore and am looking for ideas.

So far I have:
The obligatory cabin in the woods
the abandoned camp site
the lake
the caves
the old house in the middle of nowhere
the obilisk

I'm also playing with the idea of ramping up the tension with compels that will put players at dorect odds with eachother.  Possibly resulting in physical altercations, playing off the growing paranoa and unease.

One thing you could do to add to the meta-paranoia is to offhandedly mention that you "worked with another player to make the session what it is," before beginning.  Then, refuse to go into detail about what that means.  People with each think the others might be secretly in on it!

However, it won't be a lie.  We players and GMs of the forums here helped you out.  ^_^
There is never a blanket answer to an ethical question.  This includes the Laws of Magic.

Perpetrator of The Cold Days Release FAQ

"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones."
-- The Doctor, Timewyrm: Genesys

Offline JDK002

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #8 on: September 07, 2012, 03:02:52 PM »
Funny enough I'm inadvertantly already doing that.  I felt the need to give my players a heads up that this scenario is a little different and more "sand box" in design.  But I've been telling each of them the same thing in slightly different ways.  I may also send each player a unique email from an in game character to initiate the whole thing.  So each of them has a slightly different take on it.

Also one of my players loves breaking "rule zero".  Which is "don't go giving the GM more ideas!  You will regret it." xD

Offline bjh31

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Re: A (nearly) conflict free scenario?
« Reply #9 on: September 07, 2012, 05:40:43 PM »
Funny enough I'm inadvertantly already doing that.  I felt the need to give my players a heads up that this scenario is a little different and more "sand box" in design.  But I've been telling each of them the same thing in slightly different ways.  I may also send each player a unique email from an in game character to initiate the whole thing.  So each of them has a slightly different take on it.

Also one of my players loves breaking "rule zero".  Which is "don't go giving the GM more ideas!  You will regret it." xD

Sound like fun, tell us how the night turn out.