rpg blog carnival logoIn one campaign years ago, the PCs did so much travel it seemed far-fetched to give them an encounter every time they hit the road. However, I still wanted to pace things so the party was not instantly appearing at their destination each time. A fun solution we came up with was campfire chats. This month’s blog carnival is about travel in games, so I thought the campfire chats would be topical.

These chats take only a few minutes real time and are social mini-games that involve roleplaying and character development. Even combat gurus will enjoy these games, and all PCs will benefit, especially the cardboard ones.

Campfire chats represent periods where the party is killing time and telling stories about themselves. This might be done while sitting out dark nights around the campfire. It could also be done during brief exchanges when the PCs clump together on the deck or in their saddles to trade barbs and friendly banter.

The game is played like a trivia contest where players try to guess or remember information about each other. Groups with well-developed characters could use it to work out deeper character motivations and issues.

Here is how the game is played.

1. Create the questions

Before the session create several questions based on information and trivia characters would know about each other.

For example, how many siblings does each character have? Bonus: what are the siblings’ names?

It is not fun if you ask questions players would have no chance of correctly answering. The game is most rewarding if players get answers right.

2. Prepare materials

For each question during the game, players will write out their answers for each of their companions. How do you want answers to be recorded? You might need to prepare pens, papers, and whatnot.

Some options:

  • Scrap paper, throw-away answers. Players use any old scrap paper, and after answers are tallied you don’t care about keeping the information and answers are pitched into the trash.
  • Spare paper, keep answers. Use good paper you or players can keep and reference later.
  • Notebooks. This is my preferred method. I buy $1 notebooks at the dollar store and players record questions and answers in them. I collect the books between sessions and study answers for hooks, spotlight opportunities, and ideas.
  • Character sheets. This might be the best answer but requires advanced planning. Have players use character sheets with areas to record personal information about their personalities, traits, backgrounds and motivations.Answers to chats are available on the sheets, and if players don’t flesh out their PCs this way before the campaign starts, you can use the chats to get answers into slots over time. A nice easy way to round out PCs as the game wends onward.

You might also want to have spare pencils and erasers handy for player use.

3. Decide rewards

For every answer the players get right they receive a small reward. This teaches them to pay attention to the little details about their fellow players’ PCs.

For every answer other players get right about a PC, players also receive a small reward. This encourages players to share character details and remind each other about them, ideally through roleplay.

You decide what the rewards should be. Do this before session start, and best before campaign start, so you can establish game balance.

I use XP rewards. At low levels I offer 10 XP for each correct answer, for example.

You might offer other kinds of rewards, such as action points after 10 correct answers, special treasures place in later encounters after 20 correct answers, Pocket Points, bonus dice to future rolls, and so on.

Next, calculate the maximum reward possible after each chat. If a player gets every possible reward from a chat, what is the total? Use this number to see if you are potentially unbalancing the game, and then adjust individual reward amounts down if so.

If the maximum reward seems too small, then increase individual rewards a bit until you hit a sweet spot. Some players might not be too excited by these chats, but a decent reward will get them interested.

4. Start a campfire chat

When you feel the time is right, tell your group they are chatting with each other in-game, and that you’re initiating a round or two of campfire chats.

Try to set the scene with a good description to ease transition from typical gameplay to the campfire chat mini-game.

“You manage to build a small but warm fire despite the wet wood. As you huddle close, touching shoulders, to get the most warmth out of the meagre flames, you start to share bits and pieces of your pasts, taking turns it seems, so the memories might do their part to warm you up on this dark night in strange woods.”

Have your questions ready. Decide how much real time you want to spend on a chat. Often a single question is a great way to switch things up and make travel seem like it took awhile in-game.

A question should take about 10 minutes of game time, depending on group size.

5. Play the game

You ask one of your prepared questions.

Each player writes down their answers, usually one answer per fellow character.

For example, you might ask what each character’s last name is. In a group of five, that means each player needs to write four answers – the names of the other PCs.

Provide a time limit. A minute or two.

When time is up, you start with one player, who reveals the true answer. Go around the table and have each other player reveal their answer. Wrong answers can be funny and their own reward.

Correct answers get the reward you’ve assigned. Each player with a correct answer gets a reward, and each player who has a correct answer about their own PC gets a reward.

Depending on the question and type of answer, you might ask players to weave a short tale behind their true answer, or you can run this as a simple trivia game.

Once all questions and answers are done and tallied, approve the reward totals and resume the main game.

Hopefully the players will have learned more about each others’ characters, and maybe their own as well.

6. Good questions are the key

The true benefit of the game is the answers that come out. Answers will teach players about the characters and the party. This is a great tool to flesh out characters, generate inspirational material, and connect characters with the campaign and setting.

The quality of an answer depends on the quality of the question. So, asking fun and interesting questions is the key to this mini-game.

Here are a few examples:

Trivia

  • What deity does each character follow?
  • What is each character’s favourite weapon?
  • What is each character’s favourite saying?
  • When is each PC’s birthday?
  • Who is each character’s biggest enemy?
  • What food does each character like most/least?

Hooks

  • What does each character’s father do for a living?
  • What is each PC’s hometown?
  • Who is each party member’s greatest enemy?

Character development

  • Why is each character a member of the party?
  • What does each character want more than anything else?
  • What does each PC fear most?

In groups where character stories are important and shared often, you might consider questions like these:

  • How did each PC get to be so good at their best skill?
  • How did each PC come to be a memmber of the party?
  • What was the lowest point in each character’s life and how did they get out of it?

Another way you can use campfire chats is to promote forgotten clues or to celebrate great campaign moments:

  • What does each character think the true identity of the villain is?
  • What is the best battle fought to date?
  • What’s been the worst inn stayed at so far and why?
  • Who does each character think has been the most interesting to meet and why?

This mini-game is a lot of fun and gets players thinking beyond the numbers and the rules. If you try campfire chats in your next game, came back and let us know how it went.


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