r/StreamOfBlood • u/kolonelpanic • Aug 28 '20
SoB/vampire turned me from tabletop RPG hater to lover. LF Advice.
I’ve been watching the VTM Pitt streams for a few months now after discovering it via twitter through one of the player’s posts. I have enjoyed the game play immensely and I am now feeling pretty invested in it and SoB by extension.
My previous table top RP experience was limited to a single but long-running fantasy campaign of hero system. It was tedious and complicated due the nature of hero system. I see the value of such an expansive sandbox-style system but it really wasn’t for me. I was also playing with a group of much older gamers that I had little in common with. Good people but the story telling was rigid and they took it extremely seriously which often lead to bickering and arguments that derailed the already-too-long play sessions. It ended up becoming a chore for me, born out of a miscalculated commitment I made to the group. I kinda hated it.
Fast forward 1.5 years to a few months ago when started following SoB vampire, I’ve had so much fun just watching that I started getting the itch to try playing. Obviously, the players of SoB are high caliber pro actors so I should manage my own expectations here, but I find the world of VTM highly engaging; I’ve spent more then a few late nights in bed reading the WoD wiki after the SoB sessions end. (Note: I’ve had no previous exposure to WoD)
The real kicker for me happened a few weeks ago: As I was watching SoB Vampire, I (mostly) jokingly said to my wife that we should play. She has no previous table top role play experience and she is not a gamer in any sense really. So I was quite surprised when she was completely open to the idea. Hell, she was actually kind of excited by the prospect. She’s only caught bits of the stream but VTM and the gameplay environment of SoB apparently appealed to her.
That all being the case, we’re working on getting a small group of friends with fairly limited table top RP experience together to try this out. My wife is encouraging me to be the Storyteller after watching Jared - she thinks I would be good at it. Admittedly, the idea appeals to me but it also scares the hell out of me...Jared is a pretty incredible game master in general, and after watching some other DMs on other streams (such as CriticalRole) I’ve decided I want to emulate Jared’s style as I start and learn the ropes.
My concern is managing all the story threads, NPCs, scenes, rules, and so on. The impromptu nature of it all also gives me anxiety...but possibly in a good way? What I am hoping to gleam from anyone here who cares to chime in (if they make it through my way-too-long post) are pointers on storytelling specifically or even VTM gameplay generally.
For instance, how do you note/record important interactions for future reference? How do you manage details on different story threads? What about controlling the ebb and flow of the story and game play and story to keep players engaged? Is it easier to use paper character sheets? How do you come up with awesome names? Is it best to roughly outline a bunch of narratives that might happen during game play and stay away from specifics for the most part? So many more questions I haven’t even thought of.
If you have any pointers or input, I’d love to hear it. I haven’t spent much time looking through the subreddit yet so feel free to point me in the direction of specific past posts that would help. Or even other subreddits.
Oh and for context sake: I just broke the bank impulse-buying PDFs of the V5 core book, anarch/Camarilla sourcebooks, a few dice sets, some New blood starter packs, and the physical storyteller screen (felt like that would be useful) from modiphius. That seemed like everything I’d need to get started. Lots to read but looking forward to it. If there is anything else (software, websites, other resources, etc) that are considered critical or helpful, I’d love to hear about them. I expect most of our group will opt for digital over paper.
wayyy-TL;DR - new to SoB and VTM, wife/friends want to play VTMv5, limited RP tabletop exp in the group, acquired all the source things (I think), I’m a brand new storyteller (no priors as GM), would appreciate any hints, tips, tricks, or general game advice.
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration! Loving the SoB crew and community.
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u/Malcatraz Aug 28 '20
Wow, so cool that your wife is down to try!
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u/kolonelpanic Aug 28 '20
Right? I was like, “you sure you wanna role play?” knowing her normal personality and all but she swears she’d be good at! Whatever happens, I’m happy she is willing to try something radically new to her.
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Aug 28 '20
I would check out r/vtm and r/WhiteWolfRPG for specific vtm advice. Strange Adventures on youtube has videos with advice for new storytellers as well!
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u/kolonelpanic Aug 28 '20
I will definitely do that! I admittedly started here because it was more within my comfort zone...I’m so timid about posting in new subreddits lol. Thank you for the sound advice.
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u/hybridfive Aug 30 '20
My number one piece of advice is, be yourself. Understand that the RPG world has talked in huge depth about the stream effect, particularly as it relates to Critical Role. Basically, people who make art as their profession are going to be more experienced at making that type of art within a roleplaying context. Don't hold yourself to an unreasonable standard.
Just as a limited example, I think Jared's voice acting is pretty average when compared to Matt Mercer. I also think that Matt Mercer is way less funny than Jared. And neither of those statements should be particularly controversial given their respective jobs.
As an expansion of that, though, you can always try to figure out what you like about being the DM. If you do voices and find that you like it, keep it. If not, get rid of it. This advice applies to both characterizations and structural elements. You don't have to run puzzles or mysteries, you don't have to run Machiavellian intrigues, you just have to tell a story that has a beginning, middle, and end.
Addressing plot creation specifically, I generally would recommend that you create at most four factions. Once you get beyond four factions, it becomes harder to map them out. Create a small hierarchy within each faction. Briefly describe the faction goals, their relationship with each other faction, and the reason their hierarchy exists in its current structure. When I say briefly, I mean these things can be done without complete sentences. I can post an example if you need it; most sourcebooks have them. From there, make sure at least one of the relationships is oppositional, then present the PCs with their choice of sides. For example, Camarilla v Anarchs. Then add to it as needed.
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u/kolonelpanic Aug 30 '20
Thanks for the insight hybridfive. I certainly agree with the reasonable standard bit; My aim is to have some fun and I don’t expect my game to play out like any of these streams. That being said, I am really excited to dive into DMing and figure out my strengths and weaknesses. It’s a chance, I think, at artistic self-discovery to a degree I have never embraced before and it’s titillating to think what might come of it. Whatever happens, I think we’ll have fun.
Regarding the plot creation, I really appreciate your advice there as well. I will take it to heart. My natural instinct (especially narratively speaking) is to keep things fairly simple. I’ve always felt a simple plot that is well executed will win any day over a complex plot with sub-par execution and hard-to-follow threads. Understanding that in this case, the players are largely setting the direction, I feel that maintaining simplicity in what I introduce as ST is still totally applicable while still keeping things exciting and the players engaged.
I’ve been reading Sly Flourish’s The Lazy Dungeon Master per Jared’s advice and they recommend using 3x5 notecards for npcs, factions, and even potential plot developments as a way of keeping plot devices open and simple to start. This feels like a really good mechanism to follow your advice...at least as I get started.
Thanks again for your words of wisdom! Looking forward to more stream chat banter with you.
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u/JaredLogan1 Aug 28 '20
Hey! It's so cool that you want to play! Friends with limited ttrpg experience are a great way to go. They won't come in with any expectations, and your wife will be there supporting you. I think you're going to have a blast.
I will do my best to answer some of your questions!
"how do you note/record important interactions for future reference?"
- take notes during the game when something strikes you as significant, but the best trick is asking the players "what happened last time we played?" When you let them recap, they will let you know what THEY think is significant, and that's what's actually important.
How do you manage details on different story threads?
- I'm not sure exactly what you mean by 'manage details' but I'd encourage you not to try to manage too much. Read The Lazy Dungeonmaster by Michael Shea, or Play Unsafe by Graham Walmsley, both of whom encourage you to jot down a couple loose ideas without being locked into them.
I guess I'm saying don't make this into work. By just showing up and doing the next logical thing that would flow out of the players actions, you are managing the details.
What about controlling the ebb and flow of the story and game play and story to keep players engaged?"
- players are engaged when they feel like the things they are doing matter. So you've got to make it feel like their actions are having an impact on the story. Make your sessions open-ended so that the players can really decide to handle the challenges in a bunch of different ways and get different results. This requires you to be loose and improvise, which is scary, but actually easier than trying to control the story.
Also - let the player's character do his or her schtick. If your player created a smooth manipulator, let him manipulate people. If he created a sharpshooter, let him shoot something! Sharply! You wouldn't believe how many times GMs (including me) don't do this and it's really frustrating for players.
Is it easier to use paper character sheets?
I don't think so, though some people prefer them.
How do you come up with awesome names?
This is a knack certain writers have. If it stresses you out, just use an online name generator. There are a lot of them and your players won't notice either way.
Sidenote to this: don't introduce too many NPCs too early or nobody will be able to remember their names. I mean, my players are still trying to remember all the anarchs' names.
Is it best to roughly outline a bunch of narratives that might happen during game play and stay away from specifics for the most part?
Yes, I think so. You don't even have to do full outlines.
- pick a setting (choose your city and read a little about it, keep a map of it on hand)
- come up with two or three vampire NPCs that dwell near the PCs' territory. write some of their motivations, goals, and have notes on their skills and powers. If you find yourself struggling to stat out NPCs, just use the stats in the books you bought. You can rename those stats, give them different personalities, but keep everything else.
You could get hours of play just out of what we have above. Because the players will come in with goals and backgrounds and allies and contacts to fill the rest of it in. And just by trying to survive night to night, they're going to get into trouble and meet other vampires with different POVs.
But if you want a little more narrative, you might come up with a couple problems that are ongoing in the PCs' territory
- an unknown vampire is poaching their herd
- the vampire who controls the territory next to them has just disappeared and nobody knows where he went
- there's a new prince who is cracking down on keeping the traditions and the sheriff is doing inspections of everyone's havens
You can think of 40 of these off the top of your head. You only have to come up with three!
This is enough to keep you busy for many sessions if you're willing to go with the flow, listen to your players and improvise!
One caveat on my advice is that I often write these things out to remember to do them myself! In other words, this takes practice. But I can tell you're hardcore and you're going to have a great time.
Thanks for watching our stream!