Improv 7: Alluding to the encounter

Last article, we talked about running the encounter.

You’ve improvised the encounter, expertly crafting it out of nothing, with your eager players being none the wiser.

Encounters like this feel planned, even when they’re not. That’s because they fit into the world, they’re fun and they make sense.

But there’s more to it than knowing how to design them on the fly.

There’s even more to it than knowing how to run these encounters.

Because you might go to all the work of designing an encounter in the moment, but that doesn’t mean the players will trigger it. Maybe they’ll see the suspiciously quiet cave or the ominous door and decide, nah, not today.

It happens to me all the time, so knowing how to respond is important.

The first thing to consider is whether the encounter is any good. They can’t all be winners and many just aren’t that unique.

In that case, you might decide to let it go. They didn’t trigger the encounter, but that’s okay – at least you got some design practice in.

If the encounter is worth salvaging, though?

Then you have two choices:

One – like a sneaky, trickster GM, you might salvage the cool bits of the encounter and save them for later. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of railshroding – having details of the world change when players observe it, and thus keeping them on the rails while giving them the illusion of choice.

If the players had gone into the cave, they would have found an ancient temple. They didn’t, so the temple is no longer there. Instead, it’s further down their road.

Two – you could have the consequences of their choice dog them for a while. Say they left the bandit camp alone because they’re running low on resources. Between there and the next town, show signs of bandit activity. Show toppled wagons, nervous merchants and signs of ambushes.

When they rest, have a teary-eyed NPC curse the bandits and the ground they stand on.

The party might decide to double back. They’re rested now, plus they have more of a stake in clearing the bandits out – either emotional or financial, if some of the victims are willing to pay.

Again, the party might decide to ignore the bait. That’s okay, you gave them the choice and they acted on it. That right there is the essence of the game.

If they go back, though, your encounter will be even better. Not only will you have had more time to flesh out the details, but anticipation is running high. An improvised encounter usually leaps out of nowhere. This one has had time to marinate.

It’s amazing how easy this makes your job as a GM. An encounter like this, properly designed, can easily fill up a session or two. not bad for something you crafted in a few moments, hey?