Quote from: TaoJeannes;592850I ran a D&D Mythic Greece campaign that ended up in Egypt within 10 minutes. The 9th Plague and the Exodus happened.

Not to derail, but it sounds like you might have some good contributions for this thread...

Quote from: Koltar;5927561) How ADAPTABLE are you?

Quite. I'll have a go at running any genre/system/setting that takes my fancy - heroic fantasy, sci-fi, horror, urban fantasy, Amber, intelligent animals, post-apocalyptic robots looking for existential meaning in the absence of the humans they were built to serve...

Quote2) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?

Absolutely. I've run game sessions with less prep time and without the benefit of being in my own house.

Quote3) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?

Yes. That guy lost the right to get pissed off when he showed up without being ready to run a game. If he wasn't going to be able to meet his GMing commitment, and knew it in advance, the least he could have done was to let the other 6 people know before they wasted their time and effort.

Quote4) What would you have done in a similiar situation?

I'd have offered to run a game without caring about the other guy's ego. I'd view the lack of game (and lack of advance notice) as being a problem he created. If his ego can't stand someone else offering to run a game when he flakes, he should either take a break from GMing until he's ready to do it again or stop flaking.

Quote from: Koltar;5927561) How ADAPTABLE are you?

If you mean systemwise, I'm an old fogey, I don't like narrative mechanics in my games, it totally throws off my mojo as GM.  I can play those games however and have fun, as usually those games are designed to be one-shots or short campaigns anyway.  D&D, D20, Shadowrun 1-3, any BRP equivalent, Dragon Age, Deadlands, Rolemaster Any, WFRP1-2.  Sci-Fi hard or soft, Fantasy, Post-Apoc, Western, Horror, about the only genre I don't do is TOON or outright Anime.

Quote from: Koltar;5927562) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?

Depends on the systems.  Early versions of D&D, Dragon Age, Runequest Yes.  Shadowrun, yes, but don't expect Ocean's 2057.

Quote from: Koltar;5927563) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?

Yes. Absolutely.  He forfeited his right to any consideration when he showed up without anything ready and with no notification whatsoever.  He knew damn well a day or two before he wasn't going to have anything ready and should have notified everyone.  Some of my players travel an hour to get to my house, so them showing up and me not actually having anything and not telling them is definitely "being a dick."

Quote from: Koltar;5927564) What would you have done in a similiar situation?

I would have run something if the players were up for it.  Not all my players like one-shot RPGs, they'd rather do a good boardgame.

This entirely depends on the length of the adventure, my degree of inspiration, and other factors. More specifically...

Quote from: Koltar;592756QUESTIONS:


1) How ADAPTABLE are you?

Moderately. If I'm just not feeling like playing D&D and someone wants to and I have nothing prepared, well they can run it, or it won't get run. I can't just cold start.

If I am, and I can think, and I want to play D&D then I'm much better about short notice things (but it still works better when I get more notice because I'd rather know about things that take hours well in advance).

Quote2) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?

I could but would really rather not, and the quality would suffer a fair bit.

Quote3) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?

In your case, that'd have probably been best.

Quote4) What would you have done in a similiar situation?


- Ed C.

I'd have said give me a bit, made something, or found a short prewritten scenario and ran a game myself.

Quote from: Koltar;592756Basically it boils down to she told me that I was more ADAPTABLE in general than many GMs and Reffs that she has run into over the years.

QUESTIONS:


1) How ADAPTABLE are you?
2) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?
3) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?
4) What would you have done in a similiar situation?

1: As long as i'm allowed to use my own system, or at least an odd mix of the storytelling system, then all i need is papers, pens/pencils .... because i tend to carry my head with me.
But that is at its worst: i prefer to bring at least the core rules with me, otherwise.
2: Yup, i definitely could. But again, My system or an odd mix of the storytelling system ... or a mix of them both.
3: At some time, a GM/DM/whatever with an ego that won't let others have intended fun ... either must learn, or have to go.
I'm not certain that was the right time, so i guess you did right at that moment.
It is important to remember though, that most GM's aren't very flexible, and needs time to prepare adventures, to do them well enough.
4: I would have suggested i'd do something, and then asked what the others thought, going by majority.
.... I think i would have, but then, i do not know how that GM is, so perhaps i would have done like you.

Quote from: Imperator;592766Very very adaptable. I can run any game I know at the drop of a hat.


Totally, without a problem.


Absolutely. As long as the guy has said that he didn't have the time, there's nothing improper with you proposing a game for the evening.


I would have run something.

These are my answers as well.

Quote from: Koltar;5927562) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?

I've done it in the past and feel pretty confident that I could do it again. I haven't used this in actual play, but this sample scenario from my essays on node-based scenario design only took about 10 minutes to draft up into a playable outline. (And that included googling the floorplans and visuals.)

Recently, I haven't had the need to whip up fresh scenarios on-the-fly because my OD&D open table hexcrawl is specifically designed to give me an "open the box and play" solution.

This can be tougher if we're talking about a system which requires complicated stat blocks for NPCs but doesn't include a ready-to-use stock of such stat blocks. But for systems where winging NPC stat blocks is easier or where there's a Monster Manual-style resource to draw on, it's really, really easy.

Quote3) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?

I'd say yes. One of the examples I'm thinking of from my own past consisted of running a D&D3 game when the group's regular GM wasn't ready to run Star Wars that evening.

I mean, I wouldn't present it as "any idiot could run an adventure with 20 minutes of prep, so what's your problem?". But I would offer it up as an alternative for the evening's activities.

One thing I will add to this discussion: There have been times when I'll say "I'm not ready for tonight's game, we're going to have to postpone". This happens in longer campaigns where I feel a greater responsibility to "get it right". For example, in my current D&D 3.5 campaign we've invested 75+ sessions into the game. I'm going to take the time to get it right.

But usually one of the first options put on the table for an alternative activity is a session of OD&D or some other one-shot.

I'm a really strong advocate for the idea that playing an RPG should not require a huge amount of commitment and time.

Since some people are saying they can't, let me take a moment to explain how I do it. (YMMV.)

If I'm whipping something up on-the-fly, I generally default to one of two options: A dungeon or a simple investigation.

Dungeon: This doesn't have to be fantasy. It could be a haunted house or a deserted space station or whatever.

Step 1: Come up with a single interesting concept.
Step 2: Spin-off five specific ideas involving that concept.

Example 1 - Goblins: Goblin cannibals feasting around a stew pot. The bloody trophies taken from the rival goblin tribe displayed next to the heads of their original owners. Goblins in a hidden upper chamber pouring alchemist's fire brewed from humanoid blood down into the chamber below. Goblin chieftain wearing the shrunken heads of those he's feasted upon. A room of prisoners whose limbs are being removed one by one for food.

Example 2 - Space Ghouls: Medbay where the space ghoul infection broke loose. The bridge has been vacuum-sealed, but the person inside succumbed to the infection. A hallway coated in ghoul chitin, with ghouls bursting out of it to ambush passerby. A half-transformed crewwoman. A nursery with a half-dozen babies, for some reason both uninfected and ignored by the ghouls.

Step 3: Draw a floorplan.
Step 4: Stock it with your ideas.

Across these two steps, you'll probably also toss in a few perfectly generic examples of the concept to fill in the gaps: Rooms with goblins or space ghouls in them that you'll fight.

Step 5: Ta-da. You're done.

Simple Investigation: I'll generally use a simple four-node structure, like the one I linked to in my last post. Or I'll add a fifth node that you reach by going through the clues found at A, B, and C.

I've found it's easiest to lay down clues that point to another location where you can find more clues. So once you've got that simple structure in mind, it gets pretty simple.

Step 1: What's the mystery?
Step 2: What's the hook?
Step 3: What are three or four interesting locations that could be involved?
Step 4: Stock the clues.

Example - Bank Robbery: A bank was robbed by a gang of robbers wearing elaborate masks.

What's the hook? The PCs are cops. They're called in to solve the case.

Clues at the bank: One of the robbers was killed. One of the bank's customers was also killed when he tried to be a hero and rush one of the robbers. Clue 1: He can be ID'd as a guy on parole, so they've got a current address on file for him. Clue 2: The mask he's wearing was actually made for a local opera's production of Verdi's Oberto. Clue 3: In the dead customer's hand, there's a torn bit of clothing that includes the tailor's name.

These clues lead to the dead robber's house; the opera company; and the tailor. Go from there. (Why Oberto? Because the robber was killed in an act of betrayal for deeds that echo the incestuous love stories of the opera. When did I decide that? When I read the plot synopsis for the opera I randomly picked off a list of famous operas.)

The players may invent their own leads. (For example, they might go talk to the parole officer of the dead robber.) Let 'em. With your revelation list (the locations they need to check out), it should be easy to use any improvised encounters to point them toward prepped material and/or the conclusion.

Quote from: Koltar;5927561) How ADAPTABLE are you?

Extremely. My default setting is to just come in with a few notes of an idea and then act responsively to the Players actions.

Quote from: Koltar;5927562) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?

Yes, without a doubt.

Also, outside of my house, I usually keep some dice in my pocket and a simple game with me in the car or a notebook.

Quote from: Koltar;5927563) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?

Yes.

It is OK if the majority has had a bad week and just want to hang out, but if you came to game then you should game.

Quote from: Koltar;5927564) What would you have done in a similiar situation?

Told the Whisky Delta that he can take his sandy vagina and go stand in the corner, because I'l throw a game out there to be played by those interested.

Thing is, I've done this before when the GM pussed out on us at the last second.

EDIT: Yeah, I'm all Tough Guy here, but I'm also middle aged and busy with everything else in life. So when I actually manage to have time set aside to game, then it is really annoying to have the game fall through because the GM wimps out. I'd rather run something myself than not play at all just because of my time limitations.

As long as I have randomizers, paper, and pen/pencil I can do it. I may require a occasional 5 minute prep break, but any official motherfucker can pull this off.

With access to the proper chemical enhancement, I require no prep at all. Otherwise 15 minutes is both necessary and sufficient.  

If allowed, though, I will spend hours and hours and hours a week on prep.

Quote from: Koltar;592756QUESTIONS:


1) How ADAPTABLE are you?


2) Could you Run a Game Session at your own House with less than 20 minutes notice?


3) Should I have just done my first choice impulse and Run an impromptu session anyway? - Stepped on that guy's toes and such?


4) What would you have done in a similiar situation?

1 & 2) Very! If I know the system it's no problem at all. Just a small idea is enough and I take it off from there.

3 & 4) I guess I would offer, in a diplomatic way if I'ld feel that would be necessary, to run a one-shot of some game the group knows. I guess nobody would have a problem with that (not even the would-be GM for that evening), at least not in my group.

Quote from: Koltar;5927564) What would you have done in a similiar situation?

The solution people I've gamed with have used a few time is to ask each player for an element they want in the game, the GM describes the setting, they create characters, and go.  This works best if everyone is familiar with a fairly lightweight universal system that can handle just about any genre.

So the players might say, "Horror", "Comedy", "Urban", and "Space".  The GM would pick a setting (e.g., "You are all on board a highly populated space station city being overrun by a malfunctioning shipment of murderous vending machines that spout marketing phrases at people as they murder them.").  The players create characters and go.

Quote from: John Morrow;593555The solution people I've gamed with have used a few time is to ask each player for an element they want in the game, the GM describes the setting, they create characters, and go.  This works best if everyone is familiar with a fairly lightweight universal system that can handle just about any genre.

Check my subtitle - I'm that GURPS Guy.

Anyway, your solution...at least in my case that particular night wasn't really 'possible'.

That guy - the other DM just has issues (bordering on 'back issues')

In 20/20 hindsight I'm still kind of pissed about it. Also 'pissed' that I didn't suggest a quick one-shot game session that night. (We wound up watching DVDs instead)

Since 2008 I've been a 'player' in two different D&D campaigns - both times these D&D campaign situations wind up going bust or are just a big disappoinhtment for me. (One was a 4th edition campaign, the other this 3.5 campaign I've been referring to)

I really WANT to 'like' D&D - but it just doesn't wind up working out that way for me as a player.

Seems like I'm going to be stuck being the GM most of the time gaming - like usual

- Ed C.

Quote from: Koltar;593567Check my subtitle - I'm that GURPS Guy.

That's why I added the qualifier "fairly lightweight".

If you've got a group of people familiar enough with GURPS that they can create characters in half-an-hour, then it would work with them.  In such a pop-setting situation, the players need to be fairly good with improv, too, and if you've got players who take hours to craft GURPS characters, such a game isn't really going to work.  

Quote from: Koltar;593567Anyway, your solution...at least in my case that particular night wasn't really 'possible'.

Yeah, I got that, but I also saw this thread as you basically looking for confirmation that expecting a GM to be able to improv a session isn't crazy, and it isn't.  But not every GM is up to it or feels comfortable with it.  Maybe the answer is to ask the GM to run an improve one-shot, where there are no pressure that doing badly will ruin a campaign for everyone, could help him figure out if he'd do OK improvising or maybe you'd discover that maybe he's not up to it.

I should also add that despite the fact that I improvised just about everything I've ever run, including some fairly long campaigns, with a minimum of prep, I ran a D&D 3.5 game where I mapped out and stocked all of the dungeons beforehand and had a lot of trouble improvising D&D 3.5 because everything was so tightly balanced.  So at least some of the problem could be the system and that the way D&D 3.5 is designed, it can leave a GM feeling uneasy about improvising.  Have you ever played anything else with this GM?