The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Opening Moves for PbeM Games
Where to begin, where to begin. What shall the topic of this column be this month. In the past year and a few months I have talked about a lot of things about running a pbem, but I think one thing that I haven’t done is talk about the importance of the very first move.
What’s so important about the opening move anyway?
The opening move of a pbem sets the tone for practically the entire game. It needs to answer the Five W’s - Who, What, When, Where, and Why. How is optional but can be thrown in for good measure. So, how do these five (or six) things fit into a pbem?
Who: Who is there, If your players don’t know who is there, then there’s not a heck of a lot for them to interact with, and the game gets delayed while they ask who else is there.
What: What is going on? A fight?
When: Daytime or nighttime? What season? If you have a calendar created for your campaign world, tell them the exact date. Players like to be able to figure out how much time has passed during the game for some reason.
Where: Where are the characters? In a tavern? Locked away in a dungeon or the hold of a slave ship? If the characters know where they are (as in they haven’t been kidnapped), tell them the city/province/kingdom they are in. Good role players love details.
Why: Why are the characters there, at that particular time? Are they staying in the inn? Were they passing by and decided to stop in for a quick pint?
How: This can be a tough one. How did the players get to be at that spot at that particular tome (ties in the Why, above). More often than not, the How refers to “How did we get roped into this”, and gets given to the players after the opening move - you must provide the characters with motivations to join together and tackle whatever task you have set for them in your campaign.
Next I’ll be taking a look at some examples, starting with a real stinker.
The Ugly
“You’re in the common room of the local inn when the local bully comes in and picks a fight with one of the patrons….”
Bet you’ve heard that one a lot, probably in a face to face game at the beginning of a sessions. While it may work for a single shot adventure, it’s not that impressive. It’s a cheat. Something to get the game going without seeming to put much effort.
The Bad
“Apgar and Rindell are sitting in the corner of the common room of the Randy Stallion tavern, having a well deserved round of ale when the door bursts open and in swaggers Colpupper, the local bully. Colpupper’s eyes quickly scans the crowded room until he sees grizzled old Beregard. The bully’s eyes narrow and take on a mean glint as he approaches the old man.
“That map you gave me is worthless, old man,” Colpupper says, cuffing the retired farmer across the back of the head. “You said it was a treasure map, and it didn’t lead me to any treasure. You must have already dug it up. Hand it over!”
This one is better. It provides the reader with more information and gives them a feel for what is going on. It also provides the characters for a reason to get involved, either helping the old man, or helping themselves to the treasure.
The Good
“Apgar and Rindell leaned back in their chairs and sighed as they shifted in their comfortable chairs. After three weeks on the road hunting down the bandits that had been plaguing the barony’s roads, they needed more than just a little comfort.
Jenra, the barkeep’s daughter, brought them the large mugs of ale they had ordered and, after a bit of harmless flirtation, moved on to another table to serve other customers.
“Feels good to be back, doesn’t it,” Apgar said to his friend as he took a sip of his drink.
“That it does,” Rindell replied. “That it does.” He looked around the common room of the Randy Stallion tavern from their corner table. He liked coming here because, despite its name, the Stallion was a relatively quiet place. Rindell smiled and took a long drink from his glass.
The quiet was shattered when the door to the in burst open and in swaggered Colpupper, the local bully. Colpupper’s eyes quickly scans the crowded room until he sees grizzled old Beregard. The bully’s eyes narrow and take on a mean glint as he approaches the old man.
“That map you gave me is worthless, old man,” Colpupper says, cuffing the retired farmer across the back of the head. “You said it was a treasure map, and it didn’t lead me to any treasure. You must have already dug it up. Hand it over!”
The two friends watched as the bully continued to harass and abuse the helpless old man.
“Treasure map,” Rindell said to Apgar. “Beregard has had that map since he was a child. Everyone knows that it’s not real.” Apgar looked back at his friend.
“Maybe Colpupper knows something we don’t….”
This one is good. It provides the players with a sense of history between the characters, between the characters and the people around them, and sets the stage for the adventure.
You may have noticed that as the examples got better and better, the amount of description increased. As I discussed in earlier articles, for a pbem to succeed, the GM has to have as much description as possible in the moves he posts. Without it, a pbem quickly becomes very boring and the players easily become detached and lose interest.
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