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I'm not necessarily talking about LARPing here...I have a "set piece" destination I'd like my players to see.
The PCs are currently in an area of my campaign world that is modeled after my home state of Vermont. I plan to have them explore a set of ruins (of which there are many) and the dungeons beneath it. As it would happen, there is a ruin only a few miles from my home that would serve as a wonderful stand-in for the site.
It's called Madame Sherri's. Madame Antoinette Sherri apparently ran some sort of brothel and was a rum-runner. She had a grand, unique house, which burned down, leaving behind its impressive foundation, including an incredible staircase. You can Google for more information if you'd like, and you can see some pictures of it here:
East side (approach), south side, west side (rear, basement entrance).
Now, I could simply show them the pictures, and say "This is what you see." That would still be pretty neat. But wouldn't it be much cooler to actually take them there? It's only a 10-minute trip away.
The question is, how to play once we're there? We could just turn around and drive back to my house, but that's the back-up plan. Ideally, we'd be able to do a little bit of gaming while we're there. I just don't know exactly how to make it work (I don't want to bring along all the accouterments of gaming).
Help me brainstorm.
Two ideas:
(1) My gaming group went back-pack camping in Kaua'i last summer. We're playing STAP, but hadn't gotten to the Isle of Dread yet. There were several perfect spots where I just said, "Remember this." And I'd take pictures of those as well. When we got to those spots in the game, I'd remind them. Most of the time, I wouldn't even need the picture, the mental image was vivid enough.
(2) But you're not flying thousands of miles to get to your uber-cool spot (it's only 10 minutes away). But the lugging of books is infeasible. I'd recommend total roleplaying. And by that, I really mean story-telling. You narrate, have the players tell you what their characters do. If you think they'll keep it within their characters' limits, that should be fine. It won't be statistically accurate to their abilities (no dice rolling, they'll probably embellish a bit, you'll probably let them). And that's fine. For a one time event, it's totally awesome, they'll love it and remember it.
If you want (or need) to keep it closer to their characters, tell them bring really small notepads (spiral bound, about the size of a credit card) with skills/atks/saves/abilities on one side, equipment on the other. Let them take 10 on everything. Give them a certain number of auto-20's (maybe their CHA mods, maybe just a fixed amount) that they can use and go from there.
I'd go with #2 myself. But it's a totally awesome idea! Have fun!
Help me brainstorm.
Argh, post-monster got me...
in short then, base on past experiences:
- Forget about map and minis; ad-hoc it. We are dependent on those now, but the game works even without. The DM becomes the sole arbitrator however, and players need to trust him/her. (as an aside, there are simple houserules to make that run smoother)
- Make sure everybody is dressed accordingly. Fingers will freeze, but dice are hard to roll with them mittens. I don't know about you, but its been freezing/snowing by night for a couple weeks here on the other side of the Appalachians.
- Bring a surface to roll dice on. You'll be able to improvise everything else, but bring a 30" by 30" plywood or something. Smooth surface are hard to come by. Even pick-nick tables are not ideal for rolling...
- bring a clip-board or something for character sheets.
- Bring camping friendly munchies. Note that I didn't say healthy, just not microwave-dependent or that cannot be stored in a simple container/bag. (on a side note, pick-up after yourselves)
- Consider bathrooms or lack thereof (not a joke)
- Consider light or lack thereof.
'findel
[edit] as mentioned above, this is a good occasion to roleplay. Don't overdo it mechanically.
What would the characters be actually doing in the ruins? Coz if it's a fight, then you'll either need dice, or let them win. If it's a non-combat encounter for most of it, then either of 'findel or Mykull suggestion is great.
Are the players the type to go for this kind of stuff? I remember being on a camping holiday with some D&D-ers and we actually staged a night-time exploration encounter in some ruins on the site where we stayed. Very atmospheric, but it was freezing cold and we wanted to go back to the tent so we could drink a cuppa and see the dice after a bit.
Plus one of our more mechanics-inclined players was getting bored with all the "let's pretend" going on.
And the DM had stepped into a puddle right up to his middle.
Night-time was a bad idea.
Argh, post-monster got me...
Me not am doing nothing to you.
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- Bring a surface to roll dice on. You'll be able to improvise everything else, but bring a 30" by 30" plywood or something. Smooth surface are hard to come by. Even pick-nick tables are not ideal for rolling...
A card table would suffice, if you could fit it otherwise I think Laurefindel covered everything. Bathrooms and the weather/cold would be my two big concerns.
Outdoor gaming can be lots of fun, barring some of the conditions mentioned above(weather, etc). I ran a few Ravenloft sessions outside during autumn and it really helped the atmosphere. But, I had the luxury of a wooded yard. Since you guys are travelling, here's my suggestions:
A card table might be a bit bulky, unless you plan on staying in one spot most of the time. Inevitably, you're going to need to bring some gaming stuff with you. Have everyone bring a cheap clipboard(usually cost less than a dollar)to hold their character sheet, and they make for a decent compact surface to roll dice on. Don't worry about minis, do your best to play things out in story. Try to bring the bare-minimum of books; make xerox copies of important pages to help reduce the book count; no sense bringing a whole book when you may only need one page out of it. This has saved me some back strain many times.
Bring a light source, maybe a small lantern or heavy-duty flashlights. Even if you plan on being home before dark, it gets dark in the woods long before the sun sets. Camping snacks would be a bonus, and as a DM, be attentive to your players during this outing. If they are getting uncomfortable, shivering, etc, don't be afraid to call the game and head back to warmth.
If anything, your back-up plan sounds like it might work too, if the weather gets too bad. Simply take your players on a hike through the ruins, point out to them certain details you want them to remember. That way, if you must return home to game, they at least have that experience to draw from.
I have never played a set piece like this but over the summer my group often set up shop in a pavillian in the park to play. It worked out really well.
Aren't those HP desktops a bit cramped for a whole group? Maybe for a one-on-one for a short time - I think the HDD would get in the way though.
:-)
A pavilion in the park sounds excellent - your profile doesn't say if you're british or not, but I'm presuming not, as any playing of D&D in a park in Britain is just a magnet for hoodies, chavs and drunks.
IMHO
Would love to be able to play 'properly' outside though - real sense of freedom.
EDIT: linkified for poor joke explanation.
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A pavilion in the park sounds excellent - your profile doesn't say if you're british or not, but I'm presuming not, as any playing of D&D in a park in Britain is just a magnet for hoodies, chavs and drunks.IMHO
Would love to be able to play 'properly' outside though - real sense of freedom.
Nope, I'm over here in the colonies. We live in a small enough town that we don't have a lot of troubles lik tht. Plus SCA does their activities in the park on the weekends, so nobody really pays attention to what goes on.
Unfortunately, you should probably consider how the local constabulatory might react to your activity. I know around here, in suburban NJ, you have to be careful-YOU know you're not doing anything bad, but if the cops were to see a group of guys hanging out in the woods doing something 'weird,' they would probably start harassing them and tell them to get lost. Since 911, too, they are much more sensitive to anything they deem out of the ordinary. If it happens to be a place where kids hang out, drink, maybe smoke dope, whatever, you would be more likely to run into the cops, too. Hopefully it's not a problem where you live, but something to think about. It does look awesome, though. Good luck with it.
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Unfortunately, you should probably consider how the local constabulatory might react to your activity. I know around here, in suburban NJ, you have to be careful-YOU know you're not doing anything bad, but if the cops were to see a group of guys hanging out in the woods doing something 'weird,' they would probably start harassing them and tell them to get lost. Since 911, too, they are much more sensitive to anything they deem out of the ordinary. If it happens to be a place where kids hang out, drink, maybe smoke dope, whatever, you would be more likely to run into the cops, too. Hopefully it's not a problem where you live, but something to think about. It does look awesome, though. Good luck with it.
It's part of a small state park/nature preserve, maybe .25 mile from the entrance. There are hikers and families there every day. Yes, at night teenagers tend to use the basement area for drugs sex and rock and roll, but I seriously doubt we'd get in trouble with anyone during the day.
I plan to keep things simple. Each person would have a clipboard and some dice in their pocket. Nothing unruly or destructive.
I figure we'd get there and do a little sight-seeing and exploring, and then break out the actual rules (more or less) for a short combat with a single guardian monster. Then, we'd head back to civilization to continue the game into the dungeons.
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Bring your stuff, hope for good weather, remain flexible.
Exactly. Although, I hope to make it easier on myself by not bringing too much stuff. A clipboard for everyone - players with character sheets and maybe a page of notes, and me with adventure notes and stats for a monster. Some dice in a pocket, a pencil behind the ear, and we're all set.
I don't want to bother bringing along rulebooks, battlemaps and minis. We already know the rules well enough to do a quick combat without referencing the books, I'd wager. And besides, I'm the DM, I can adjudicate anything we don't know of the top of our heads.
For PC position on the field, I expect we'll end up doing a just a tiny bit of LARPing - standing where our characters would be. I might bring along a measuring tape in case we need a reference.
Let us know how it goes/how it has gone, won't you?
Take drinks.
No, not alcoholic ones :-)
I'm not heading out to Vermont anytime soon, so I hope you don't mind me using your photos!
Good luck with it. I would probably work more from the car, especially if it's a hatchback where I can sit and be somewhat less exposed to the elements. A truck with a bed cover would be best.
The site looks great, just like its been built with RPGers in mind.
Try roleplaying, if at all feasible, but prepare to improvise. Rolling dice on the outside - I would take dice you don´t mind if they get lost in the foliage, if they fall down. But I´d rather try without dice rolling, and only storytelling, if you are not into LARPing (not recommended in public parks, anyway)
Otherwise, as said above, prepare for bad weather, take warm drinks with you, and a set of spare clothes in case you get wet or dirty. I would not wear my best clothes for that hike. Wear sturdy shoes. I would caution against walking on that staircase, tempting as it may be - it looks not too sturdy anymore, especially the middle and upper arches.
Have a look for some fast food shop on your way there - I bet you´ll be hungry afterwards.
Stefan
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I'm not heading out to Vermont anytime soon, so I hope you don't mind me using your photos!
They're not my photos - do as you wish :)
I may be heading out there sometime this week to make measurements. I plan to plot it out on a 1" grid. I'll try to make that map available if/when it comes to be.I would caution against walking on that staircase, tempting as it may be - it looks not too sturdy anymore, especially the middle and upper arches.
Heh. I happen to know from experience that it's plenty sturdy. I was just there Geocaching last weekend. :D However, if there's snow, then the staircase will be off-limits.
I do plan on doing as much diceless as possible, since I'd really rather not lose a d20 in the snow/leaves.
As regards your other advice...well, that's all pretty much SOP around here. We Vermonters know how to handle ourselves on a hike, though I'd hardly call it a hike; it's more of a short stroll from the parking area/entrance up to the ruin. ;)