My GURPS: STAR TREK game is about to have either its final or penultimate session this coming Sunday at 3:30pm.
Last game session - this past Sunday they wound up with a heck of a cliffhanger -or rather I ended the game session with a hell of a cliffhanger.
Normally I try not to end things on cliffhangers - unless I know its a very stable campaign group and we're guanteed the same players every time. This group is still 50% getting to know each other stage. We've already had one player 'fade away' from the group becvause her work schedule changed. Tho, I know she loved the two game sessions that she was involved in.
The player characters were split into two groups - the Captain in orbit up on the ship and two of the player characters were on the planet trying to talk to native humanoids an confronting interfering Klingons.
The ship up in orbit was confronting a Klingon D-7 Warbird battlecruiser that had a slight edge on it. In the middle of simultaneous fire between the Klingon ship and opur "hero ship" of the USS Cochise - a Romulan vessel blasts the Klingon ship to smitereens...then another Romulan ship shows up, and another, and then a pair of them.....
Game ended with a landing party still on the planet and a Romulan fleet flying through the star system completely ignoring the Starfleet vessel.
Now I gotta figure out whats likely to happen next.
Any of you guys end your sessions on cliffhangers?
How often do they end on cliffhangers?
Whats your preference?
Got any suggestions for my next session?
- Ed C.
Yeah. I've run them fairly consistently. I like having a hook for the players to want to continue to the next session as soon as possible.
Although my cliffhangers usually have an imminent threat of some kind, or a surprise revelation.
I don't much consider what you did much of a cliffhanger. I'd have ended "Romulan ships annihilate the Bird of Prey and turn ominously towards the Coshise ....and the END!"
Leaving the outcome to manifest from the players choices next session.
"Something shows up and does something surprising to an enemy..." without a lot of setup that the players know about is anti climatic to me.
Think of it like ST the show. If you were watching this, how would a two-par episode have ended? With ships showing up, blasting something--and leaving with no interaction with the ships crew?
Things to try:
Have sensors pick up a sensor reading of a lone Romulan, or a small Romulon team.
Have the ships send a coded warning that the Cochise picks up--a warning of some kind sent back home---just before the signal vanishes.
Have more Klingon ships show up--in response to the Federation "attack", then have the Rom's ships return, with several still cloaked around the Cochise. Using the obvious inferior vessel for a trap. Let the Cochise people have to grab the crew and run for it in the middle of a hectic battle where they're STILL a target bot a secondary one.
Make there be a reason for the PC's to interact what's going on...not just watch it and shrug.
I'd say about 50% of our sessions end in Cliffhangers. But situational Cliffhangers not ones that are merely one simple die roll or quick answer away.
If the game is going regularly I like using the Cliffhanger both as a GM or as a player. It often helps to generate discussion between sessions and keeps the game fresh in our minds (we only get together about once a month).
When I'm GM'ing I try and setup the Cliffhanger so that there are several possible solutions for them to come up with for their return to the game. Sometimes I'll have the right answer already worked out. But often I'll listen to the discussion and tailor something towards the direction their steering in. Or if it's more interesting the exact opposite direction just to mix them up.
Quote from: Koltar;377610Any of you guys end your sessions on cliffhangers? How often do they end on cliffhangers? Whats your preference?
One of the GMs in my group really liked cliffhangers but I made the case for why I didn't like them so they became more rare. I don't like them because I find it difficult to just wind up the same emotions and thought I had at the end of the previous session. Some of the other people weren't particularly fond of them, either.
Quote from: Koltar;377610Got any suggestions for my next session?
The very attractive Romulan commander of suitable gender invites the captain aboard to discuss "important matters" concerning the planet?
Quote from: Silverlion;377619Yeah. I've run them fairly consistently. I like having a hook for the players to want to continue to the next session as soon as possible.
Although my cliffhangers usually have an imminent threat of some kind, or a surprise revelation.
I don't much consider what you did much of a cliffhanger. I'd have ended "Romulan ships annihilate the Bird of Prey and turn ominously towards the Coshise ....and the END!"
Make there be a reason for the PC's to interact what's going on...not just watch it and shrug.
Well my players did have the right look on their faces in "What the efF are Romulan ships doing in this star system?!?"
Also we only had that gaming space for barely another 30 minutes - were were at a game store and it was within 30 min utes of closing time.
What I should have ended with might have been this :
BRIDGE OFFICER: "Captain! We have intruders on Deck 7 near engineering!"
SCIENCE OFFICER:" IT looks like several Klingons beaned over as their ship was about explode."
CAPTAIN: "Damn."
Quote from: Koltar;377866What I should have ended with might have been this :
BRIDGE OFFICER: "Captain! We have intruders on Deck 7 near engineering!"
SCIENCE OFFICER:" IT looks like several Klingons beaned over as their ship was about explode."
CAPTAIN: "Damn."
Well, I don't know about your crew, but if there was a Klingon vessel in the system and then Romulans showed up, the shields on my ship would have been UP a whole lot earlier than the Klingons blowing up.
And there is that whole can't beam through shields thing. :)
In my experiences, cliffhangers usually happen at a time when the game is running late and you suddenly realize that it would be a great time to pause the session. Leave them on the cusp of a dramatic moment and return to it next session.
You can plan cliffhangers, of course, but they don't normally happen like that for me.
Example: The players are taken aboard a space station. When they are docked, they are informed that a bacterial agent has escaped containment and that the station is on lockdown until it can be taken care of.
You realize that time is short and that the next combat encounter might take too long to finish. So you let the players play their way up to the start of that next fight. You end the session on a cliffhanger right before initiative is rolled. You then pick up the next session right where you left off before.
That is usually how it works for me anyway. Most of the people I have gamed with seem to love that kind of cliffhanger to. It gets them excited about starting the next session off with a bang.
Quote from: PaladinCA;378361Well, I don't know about your crew, but if there was a Klingon vessel in the system and then Romulans showed up, the shields on my ship would have been UP a whole lot earlier than the Klingons blowing up.
Just in case of a Klingon boarding action, I'd have the crew arm themselves with tribbles.
Quote from: jeff37923;378365Just in case of a Klingon boarding action, I'd have the crew arm themselves with tribbles.
This mini-campaign takes place in 2258 -
before Starfleet first encountered tribbles in the 2260s. So, tribbles wouldn't even come up in the conversation
During the actual game session this past Sunday (yesterday) the players did pretty well at fighting the Klingon boarders.
- Ed C.