Overview
I have started hosting rpg sessions on my lunch break at my workplace roughly once a week depending on who is available to play. These sessions are intended to be casual, drop-in when you are available, and to contain the adventure within the lunch break (roughly 1 hour). I have a rough setting in mind and session prep for myself has also been limited to shorter prompts that I can use to build out a story based on player choices.
We are using Index Card RPG as our main system. I chose this as it feels like a stripped-down version of current D&D style games. I hoped this would be approachable for people familiar with RPGs and also simple enough for newcomers to learn. I also pitched this to a peer as potential programming for the library, and so wanted to focus on the ease of access and building familiarity with concepts. I also know that D&D as a brand would be a potential selling point for patrons interested in the program, and so chose a system that would be similar but less stressful for someone to run who is not themselves familiar with D&D or running rpg's in general. I hope ICRPG hits a nice middle ground so experienced D&D players will stay interested and new rpg players will not feel overwhelmed by the amount of rules that a more typical D&D game would have.
I am also utilizing various tools by independent creators as a way to test out those tools myself and find out what works for me and what does not. This is mostly random tables or randomization tools to keep playing moving quickly with the low prep for each session. With the emphasis on player driven play, I do not want excessive prep to leave players feeling required to find a specific solution to any given problem.
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April 8th Play Report
Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.
This session, the players chose the following scenario:
Warning! Griffin spotted in town!
Several reports have been received by the local guard of a griffin that has taken roost near Blackwood Court. Local pet owners be warned to steer clear of the area until it is captured!
Player characters present:
- Chadwick, Human Warrior
- Rupert, "Human" Bard
Preparation
I did not prep anything for the scenario beyond the pitch above. I planned on the griffin having a nest on top of a building in a business district of the roughly defined city everyone is playing in.
I had the following resources available to myself for prep:
- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.
- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.
- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.
Session Summary
The party this session consisted of two players: a warrior and a bard. Both players have past experience with rpgs in general and D&D in particular, so while they were new to this system, they had enough foundation on how to play rpgs to easily grasp how to play this game.
The players arrived on the scene in the street below where the griffin had nested. I rolled on the Monster Miens table and received "Grieving" as the result. I decided in the moment that the griffin had a hatchling that did not survive. The death was recent and the griffin was processing the loss.
The party approached the barkeep and asked for access to the roof. The party attempted to shoo the griffin or scare it away without fighting it as the griffin did not become aggressive until the came too close. Neither rolled well enough to intimidate the griffin, a roll I set at a high difficulty given the context.
The griffin appeared to be guarding its nest. The players took a cautious approach and decided to gather information instead. I asked for Dexterity or Charisma rolls, emphasizing that the players needed to show control over their body language to keep the griffin passive. After successful rolls from both players, they were able to observe the deceased hatchling. The moved instead to comforting the griffin and showing empathy for its plight. The griffin moved on and left the nest.
I rewarded the players each with a griffin egg that had not yet hatched. I informed them that the eggs could be hatched at a major milestone as an option instead of a new class ability.
Reflection
This was my first session running over a lunch break. I aimed to keep the adventure limited to an hour and focused more on player choice, trying to limit any sort of structured combat or excessive roll requirements.
The players chose not to attack the griffin after I provided enough signals that the griffin was not interested in fighting. I appreciate that this group did not immediately jump to combat, but also wondered how they would have responded to the truth of the situation if they had slayed the griffin instead.
I think that while I have a monster book handy, I should have some general monster stats prepped for ICRPG for any scenario. Or at least a drop table of some sort. I feel somewhat comfortable with the low numbers that ICRPG uses and don't worry too much about "balance", but I think this could be a useful tool to find or develop.
I am not great at coming up with tangible item rewards. ICRPG is also abstracted and does not track currency. I may also want to come up with a selection of Loot Rewards for each scenario as a quick option for players to choose from at the end of each scenario.
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