For me, this question always comes down to the division of labor between players and GMs. On the one hand, taking control of the session recap allows a GM to set the tone for a session and make sure that all the most important plot info is written down. On the other hand, overworked GMs need a break! Letting a player take the reigns as party scribe can lighten the workload. Moreover, in-character journals can be a lot of fun, and you wind up missing out on those when you decide to write all the sessions summaries in the Omniscient GM mode.
So how about it? How do you go about organizing your notes? How do you handle recapping at the beginning of sessions? Give me your best practices, tips, tricks, and you all your finest et ceteras!
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
We put DBZ recap music on and have some fun.
Mostly we the players do it and then the DM tell us something important we may have forgotten. We all take notes mid session so usually we remember everything important.
Ugh, I wish! I can’t even get my players to consistently mark down their gold and items.
We put write up narratives on Obsidian Portal. Although some of us are better about getting them up before the next week than others.
We put DBZ recap music on and have some fun.
Mostly we the players do it and then the DM tell us something important we may have forgotten. We all take notes mid session so usually we remember everything important.
This is always the running gag I do with my groups.
"On the last episode of PathFinder Z!"
Sadly, we don't manage to hold it together long enough before we just go back to a more simple retelling.
But I will definitely give it a better shot the next time I GM, which should be in a few months or so.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
not going to lie - I bribe them. Hero point for anyone that kept ANY even modest amount of notes during a session.
It works. Some keep better notes than others, and some don't care enough (or need the hero points) enough to try, but most do, and it helps balance out rolls for the people that tend to get screwed by rng/die rolling
We put write up narratives on Obsidian Portal. Although some of us are better about getting them up before the next week than others.
Is Obsidian Portal worth the cost? I've thought about shelling out for it, but I have trouble seeing the advantage over Evernote.
|
In one adventure, the DM gives out a little extra EXP to the party for a recap of the previous session, and encourages everyone to take turns retelling part of it. Unfortunately, one or two players tend to get carried away and try for the whole thing at once.
In one where I'm the DM, I set up an Adventure Journal thread on the VTT and offered a Hero Point to the last person to post something non-consecutive. It worked until it was the turn for the player who has anxiety or something similar. The player has notes written down and means to post something, and I'm thinking of encouraging one of the other players to post something.
| 6 people marked this as a favorite. |
Three questions
"Okay who wants to give a recap of what happened last session?"
"Does anyone have anything else they want to add?"
"What are your current goals?"
And finally
"Read out a feat, ability or item you have but haven't used much"
The last one has nothing to do with recaps, but is excelent at getting people to know their characters well.
I play in a group and GM another (though theres a lot of overlap with members)
In the one I play in, it's usually done by a volunteer player. When it's my turn, I usually retell it from the POV of my character. This campaign is a little sandboxy, so it works
That said, the people in the group I DM like it when I DM with a more directed story, so I recap a synopsis, and leave in space for players to speak up and add. The people I DM for are really quiet, and b3ing asked to recap can b4 felt like being put on the spot, so I use it as a chance to serve as like an RP warmup, where I break the ice and let people come in on their own terms
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I like to start by asking players what they remember from the last session. I have some players who keep good notes, which are helpful for recaps, but it helps me to hear what stuck in their memory and what didn't.
I like to start by asking players what they remember from the last session. I have some players who keep good notes, which are helpful for recaps, but it helps me to hear what stuck in their memory and what didn't.
This is why I get them to do it rather than doing it by myself. It gets them thinking about what they remember actively, commit more to memory, lets me know what they have gravitated to or potentially missed and gives me a general idea of how invested they are in any one element.
I have also had GMs who give out rewards for recaps, but I personally feel that cheapens the experience and tends to encourage a single recap person who keeps better notes or is a more confident speaker than the rest.
I have had a GM who gave out experience and then reduced the experience given for each bit of information they forgot or got wrong, even if minor or actually inconsequential. That was less fun imo.
I have had a GM who gave out experience and then reduced the experience given for each bit of information they forgot or got wrong, even if minor or actually inconsequential. That was less fun imo.
"So, are you ready for today's exam... ahem, playing session?"
I give everyone a hero point for remembering something that someone else didn't (no matter how small), and if they can't think of anything or if someone already covered what they were thinking of, they can instead get a hero point for giving a fun fact about their character. Pretty much anything goes. Could be their favorite color, happiest childhood memory, ect. Helps for when some of my overachiever players give an even more in depth recap than I was thinking of.
In broad strokes, no more than a few sentences worth.
"When last we left our heroes, you were continuing to trawl through the Castle of Doom. Having discovered that the Lich-King could only be slain by Grunthar's magical hammer, you are seeking in out here. Last week, you fought a Pain Slug and Tarren killed it with plenty of fireballs. You have convinced the jailer of the castle dungeon to aid you by helping him romance his troll girlfriend. We cut in on you standing in front of her door, flowers in hand..."
When last we left our heroes... has become sufficiently iconic in the group that it's the GM signal for "Ok, end conversations, game is starting..."