GM Tip: Start sessions by recapping the last one and asking players about their goals. This aligns expectations and keeps everyone focused on what excites them most in the game. #ttrpg #dnd #rpg - ThreadSky

tabcreations.com • 14 days ago

GM Tip: Start sessions by recapping the last one and asking players about their goals. This aligns expectations and keeps everyone focused on what excites them most in the game.
#ttrpg #dnd #rpg

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whatsupgazpacho.bsky.social•14 days ago

I'm going to write this at the start of my session notes for next game :)

testeria.bsky.social•13 days ago

Even better, ask players for their characters to recap what happen from their point of view. You will get a recap and it will help them get into characters

jmsledge.bsky.social•13 days ago

I have long had my players give the recap but this idea of having them also restate their goals is a new notion. I'm totally going to add this to my two different groups play practices at our next sessions.

Great idea.

diehtu.bsky.social•13 days ago

We have always done a player recap; as others said, this is necessary to find misunderstandings, but I’ve always been very found of chronicles. I written quite a few as a player but never achieved anyone else to write. If you succeed, you can get the different PC perspectives on events wonderfully.

jessipurr.bsky.social•14 days ago

This second part is incredibly useful to both the players and the GM.
I cannot stress the importance of this tip enough.

maehedrose.bsky.social•13 days ago

Yeah, we usually begin play with some variation on that question ("so, what are your intentions for the day?", or "okay, so what are you hoping to achieve?") then we discuss how they will progress toward their goal.

free2playlesspays.bsky.social•14 days ago

i had a guy who wanted us to reintroduce ourselves every time we played. Its time consuming and tedious.
No1 wanna be on the pedestal to recap the previous game. No1 is capable of remembering.

gottheworldbuzzin.bsky.social•14 days ago

Okay, so I do this but reward everyone with inspiration for participating in the recap.

iren-aelirenn.bsky.social•14 days ago

Recapping the session is an old tradition. Also, I used to write down important events, NPCs and phrases.
But recording the session altogether is simpler and more helpful)) So I turned to that method.
By the way, listening to those recordings is also interesting. My mom and niece enjoy it.

jendefer.dice.camp.ap.brid.gy•14 days ago

@tabcreations.com Recapping is a great way to get everyone back in the headspace of the game. It doesn't even have to be the GM who does the recap. In my group, for example, regardless of whether I'm the GM or not, I'm the one who does the recap, since I'm the one who takes thorough notes […]

AndreasDavour.dice.camp.ap.brid.gy•14 days ago

@jendefer @tabcreations.com I prefer to have one one of the players do the recap, because it tells me what they got from the last session. In an investigative game, that might for example tell you they forgot or overlooked something important.

mrundkvist.archaeo.social.ap.brid.gy•14 days ago

@AndreasDavour @jendefer @tabcreations.com

I ask the players at the end of a sesh to write down their main lines of inquiry for the start of next sesh.

AndreasDavour.dice.camp.ap.brid.gy•14 days ago

@mrundkvist @jendefer @tabcreations.com that's also a good idea. I mostly play pre-written scenarios, but if I wrote it all myself I would probably end each session by asking what they where doing next so I could invent that!

stackodice.bsky.social•12 days ago

Agreed! We start each episode with a character-focused question that helps the players think of answers from their PC's point of view. I find it helps them to get back into the habit of seeing the game world through different eyes while also uncovering new dimensions.

lightblooms.bsky.social•10 days ago

This is also something actual play recorders should keep in mind too and it’s something I am doing in my episodes going forward: a dramatic “LAST TIME ON [title of your game]…” with a few highlighted moments will probably help build hype + help watchers remember!

seeker8998.bsky.social•14 days ago

Mix this up by asking them to do the recap. Good as a regular practice to encourage attention, and great fun the first time to see the deer-in-headlights faces.

timmaidment.com•14 days ago

And for added mayhem, ask them to do it in character..! double panic mode!

maehedrose.bsky.social•13 days ago

We do both. I ask them and help them with the details, or fill out stuff they misremembered or forgot. I answer any questions they have and help them recall deductions/theories they made the first time but forgot in the week since. I make sure their PCs recall everything they should, then we start.

mace-games.bsky.social•14 days ago

Funnily enough, I've always done that as a GM, then when I started teaching I realised it's an essential skill

quartermasterc.bsky.social•14 days ago

DM recaps are good, but player recaps are WAY more amusing!

maehedrose.bsky.social•13 days ago

For near every session, for 35 years, I've started the game with "When last we left our intrepid adventurers, who recalls where we were?". Then we do a quick recap and head right into the session.

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