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Setting Up Situations

by Mike on 23 December 2024

Setting up situations instead of scenes helps GMs avoid predetermined outcomes. Situations give players agency over the approach they take and builds a world that feels real. Even the GM doesn't know what to expect.

What's the difference? Situations lay out the components to create a scene when the characters interact with it. There's no plot. There's no expected path. There's no single ending. Scenes are prebuilt to go one way. Situations can go in many different directions. Not knowing how situations play out is more fun for GMs and more fun for players than walking through a scripted scene.

What's the Lazy DM's method for setting up situations?

Location. Situations take place at a location, sometimes big and sometimes small. If this situation takes place in a dungeon, offer multiple entrances, multiple paths, loop-backs, and secret passages. Exploring the location should be rewarding on its own. Dyson Logo's maps are my go-to for maps of such locations. When you have a map, write down evocative features in each main chamber. These evocative features help you improvise details. See chapter 7 of Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master for more.

Inhabitants. Who resides at this location? I like to mix up both intelligent and unintelligent monsters. Maybe a bunch of hobgoblin soldiers guard the upper keep but ravenous ghouls, black puddings, and carrion crawlers dwell in the forgotten tunnels beneath. This variety of monsters lets players choose a path they want to take and the sorts of creatures they might face. Good random tables, like those in the Lazy DM's Workbook help you shake up your mind and fill the location with interesting inhabitants.

You don't need to place these inhabitants in any particular room. Instead, keep a list of them and drop them into a location as needed based on the situation in the story and the pacing of the game.

Include friendly NPCs – turncoats, disgruntled staff, or ghostly spirits the characters can talk to.

Behaviors. How do the inhabitants act in this location? Do they send out guard patrols? Do they have big drunken revelries on certain nights? What would the pattern of their behavior be if the characters never showed up? The same is true for unintelligent monsters. Do they wander away from their lair? What are their activity patterns? Answering these questions helps you run the world as NPCs react to the actions of the characters.

When considering inhabitant behaviors, think first about what behaviors make sense for the inhabitant and the situation, then think if this is going to be fun for the game when you consider your pacing and beats.

A Goal. Why would the characters go to this place? What are they trying to accomplish? Are they trying to rescue someone? Stop a dark ritual? Steal something? Kill someone? The Lazy DM's Companion has pages of tables to generate goals if you're stuck for ideas. Reinforce this goal often with your players – it's easy to forget.

Complications. Sometimes the situation changes at the location. What event might shake up the situation? Does another big monster attack? Is something set on fire? Do some of those unintelligent monsters break free? This might be caused by something the characters do or it might just happen on its own. During prep, think about a few ways things might get complicated during the situation and improvise them during the game itself.

The Difference Between Scenes and Situations

Building situations is different from laying out individual encounters or scenes. The big difference is that you don't know how it's going to go. You don't know which path the players choose to take. You don't know how inhabitants react to the characters' actions. You don't know what happens when things get complicated. You've set the stage but you're not scripting the outcome. The outcome happens during the game and it's a joy to watch it play out.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos – Update Forge of Foes or the Encounter Benchmark for D&D 2024? and Eryz the Akinji – Dragon Empire Prep Session 6.

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 time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Talk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

RPG Tips

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

Ensure loot distribution is fair so players don’t feel left out.
Keep track of spells as rewards to wizards.
Offer two or three paths when traveling through the wilds or into the depths of the earth.
Ask the characters where their minds and conversations go as they rest around a campfire.
Keep good lists of random encounters handy during prep and play.
Ask for marching orders and who’s carrying a light during exploration.
Review character items, notable features, backgrounds, previous campfire tales, and player desires when you start your prep.

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