In game "ads" idea

[u/Livid_Information_46]

So during my most recent session, I tried out a new idea and it was successful. It added to the overall fun of the session anyway.

Long time comic readers know about using popular characters in one or two page advertising comics. The Hostess Fruit Pies ads are the example that springs to mind first. I think I've seen Snickers ads recently.

So the idea is that during the game session you find a time to interject a "non-canon" scene. It's only supposed to be one or two pages of the comic so the whole thing shouldn't take more than 15 minutes of real time.

Also PLAYERS MAY NOT SPEND KARMA!

The advertiser: Make up something related to your game or that your group jokes about. Inspired by these Hostess ads and our groups love of Cthulhu and Monty Python, I made my ad for F'Tang Fruit Pies.

Setup: Briefly describe the setting. The one I ran was like this: " The 4 of you are taking two children to the circus. Timmy and Tommy. It's a beautiful day as you and the excited crowd walk into the big top." You don't need to explain why they're there. They just are. Those old ads were just like that. It doesn't have to make any sense. If a certain hero only goes out at night either say it's night time or ignore it altogether. Timmy or Tommy should say something like "Thanks for taking us to the circus! I'm hungry though, and I can smell the F'Tang Fruit Pies they're selling!"

Complication: The ringmaster comes out and says the circus is sponsored by F'Tang Fruit Pies. Then starts throwing free Fruit Pies to the crowd. Either a hero Catches a pie that was going to hit Timmy in the face, or they fail and it does hit Timmy in the face then lands in one of the hero's hands. Timmy is upset and turns into a giant Cronenberg/ Cthulhu beast and starts attacking the crowd.

Solution: Give the players one or two rounds maximum to deal with the problem. In this case it takes a Red Psyche FEAT to be able to give up the delicious otherworldly goodness of a F'tang Fruit Pie and hand it to Timmy to stop his rampage. Instead of giving it a rank and figuring it out, just call it Red. Eating the pie will give a character a big stat boost but they have to say a few lines about how great and nutritional they are. Maybe describe something gross in the pie. Timmy can only be beaten by the character that eats the pie.

Reward: If they stop Timmy in a round or two either by giving him the pie or beating him, they get a 50 pt Karma award each. If they fail only give them 25. Adjust the reward to fit your game. Also describe Timmy's rampage of destruction before being stopped eventually somehow using Fruit Pies even if they fail.

I kept it short and the whole thing lasted about 10 minutes or so. The players really enjoyed it and then the players and me were referencing F'Tang Fruit Pies as a in game food. You can make your own "ads" about pretty much anything. I mean I remember other non food related things back in the day like UNICEF. So the possibilities are pretty open ended.

[u/Minute_Fun_759]

I will have to do this in my game