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Calm Pre-Game Nerves with Session-Focused Character Hooks

by Mike on 19 June 2023

Sometimes, right before a game, I get the pre-game nervousness. Am I really ready? I've done my eight steps. I've got my maps. I've got my minis. I've got my strong start and my secrets and clues. But I'm still nervous. What else do I need? What am I missing?

We can calm these pre-game nerves by remembering what our players want out of the game: to watch their characters do awesome things.

Focus on the Characters

Anytime we're worried about our game or spending time we don't have on stuff we're not sure we're going to use, we can always go back to step 1 and focus on the characters. What's going on with the characters? Who are they? What do they want? What makes them look cool? What abilities do they like to use? What places do they want to visit?

What hooks can we drop into our next session to draw in each character?

Write One Session Hook Per Character

A character hook might be a magic item befitting a character. It might be a secret tied to their background. It might be reintroducing an NPC a character is particularly fond of. It might be including a statue of a deity recognized by a character. It might be a circumstance in a combat encounter particularly suited to a character's abilities. This session-based character hook is a way to draw characters (and players) deeper into the game.

When we're feeling that pre-game nervousness, write down one of these character-focused hooks for each character, each intended to occur or be revealed in the next session.

Real-World Examples

Here are six examples from my Empire of the Ghouls game:

The warriors of the Huldramose recognize Wynasia's ties to the Daughters of Perunalia and give her the respect she deserves.
The skeletons coming from the cursed tomb of Bacco come in groups perfect for Durim's fireballs.
The rogues operating around Huldramose recognize HB as "the founder." It's not clear how his reputation made it this far north.
Ved Pinion understands the wild lands of the North and recognizes settlements as shining points of light in the wild and dangerous dark of the North. The wrong path can lead them to starvation, exposure, and death as easily as the claws of a beast.
Bruno recognizes the mark of the Split Oak bearfolk of the Shadow Roads on the Tree of Moonlight Spears — an anchor to the northern Shadow Road known as the Shield Maiden's Fancy.
Rohalin dreams of his former adventuring companion Parlina. "You left me in the desert to die but I forgive you," she whispers.

Next time you feel nervous before your game, write down a hook for each character to draw your players into the story you share.

What are your characters' hooks?

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Mass Effect Style Preludes and Wars in 5e D&D Game and Scarlet Citadel Session 27 – Lazy GM Prep.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Introduce cities from the desire of the characters outwards.
Reveal city locations characters are likely to want to explore.
Focus cities on one neighborhood at a time.
What three notable features make your city unique?
Give characters something to do while exploring a city. Seeing it isn't enough.
Give characters one to three NPCs to help them understand the city around them.
Spend the time to read up on the cities you plan to run.

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