JUST a simple breakdown or decomposition technique in providing information.
When to Roll for Information and Senses.
Narratively. Does the story encounter problems if the PCs fail to sense or detect the object, threat, clue?
If Yes – then provide the information, otherwise, let the dice fall where it does.
How much Information to Give? Ask “What is the minimum amount of information does the PC’s need to move to the next part of the story?”
If Too Little – repeat the question and add a little more
If Too much, what is the next challenge the PCs will encounter through their actions (acting on the information).
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Since I’m a process writer in our company – sometimes i find myself Breaking Down Assumptions and in breaking them down get to how Intuition works and see how to Better intuition.
Its this Intuition where I realize that one I mastered it i start doing multiple steps of it without thinking, but when I perform the steps too quickly I cannot Troubleshoot why it went wrong. Like opening the Computer Logs or Rewatching a CCTV video of an incident I have to play it back slower to understand the disconnect.
Most GM’s I encounter have a Problem when the PCs think to QUICKLY and move on to bounds and other clues. THE GM DOESN’T NEED TO THINK FASTER THAN THE PCS. He just needs to ask the PCs what Kind of problem will they encounter.
Just ask the PCs “How can this go wrong?” You can say it the most Naive and Humble way, or you can shift your tone to a Knowing Question. Always ask the Players who can this go wrong and this buys the Referee/GM Time to both think and work on the story.
If the PC cannot imagine where it will go wrong, the Referee can “Scrub the timeline” like in youtube as you fast forward or rewind in the slider and slow down the speed. You don’t need to be a genius, you never needed to – Patient yes, Thoughtful yes, and keen listening or motivated to Listen – Yes.
Like in the Problem Statement where the Solution seems to appear simultaneously or teasingly once uttered – the Next Challenge that will excite the PCs will come from their understanding of the uncertainty and risks of their actions.
- Knowing your players, even a clueless GM can use Session 0 as a way to navigate what the players will find interesting and challenging.
- Knowing some basic storytelling techniques – like presenting a problem or identifying uncertainty or assumptions.
- Learning from Experience – if a newb, then make the mistakes you’ve never made. if experienced then apply ones experience in working with the techniques you know and testing the techniques you believe you need to master for everyone’s enjoyment.
- Lets go back to basics, if we didn’t master it thoroughly as to be able to do it reliably and automatically then we are taking more risks and uncertainty with techniques that are more complex applications of basic techniques.
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