What are the three types of scenario hook? How can you twist them? Why should you have more than one? What’s a bait hook?
We have a new Advanced Gamemastery video today. I’d mentioned last week that I was hoping to test pilot some fancy new features in this video. The result? Onscreen titles! My hope is that they’ll increase the clarity of the presentation.
Good gaming! And I’ll see you at the table!
I’m running a few days late with this week’s installment of Advanced Gamemastery.
I’m actually planning to modify my recording rig, but before doing that I wanted to get some raw footage in the bag, so I actually ended up filming the next three videos this week. It took a little longer than I’d hoped to finalize the scripts, but this way if the new rig doesn’t work for some reason, I’ll have some time to figure it out while still being able to roll out the other videos.
The next two videos have also been designed to test some “fancy” new features (like onscreen bullet points), but in a way that allows me to abandon those features and still have a good video in case it all goes horribly wrong. (If next week’s video doesn’t have any new stuff, you’ll know that something did, in fact, go horribly wrong.)
The videos so far, and in the upcoming slate, are mostly bouncing around the topics of mysteries and sandboxes in RPG scenario design. If you’re familiar with the site, I’m guessing that won’t come as a huge surprise to you! Advanced Gamemastery — and the channel as a whole — will continue branching out, but the Three Clue Rule and active play are fairly foundational concepts to a lot of the work that I do, so as new viewers discover the channel I want to make sure we’re all working from the same base.
Good gaming! And I’ll see you at the table!
This week’s Advanced Gamemastery takes a first look (and then a much closer look!) at what it’s like to run a sandbox campaign. I use a D&D-esque campaign as the example, but the lessons can be applied to almost any RPG.
This is the third installment in the series. I’ve been very humbled by everyone’s excitement to see more of these videos! While I know it’s a cliche, it remains true that subscriptions, likes, and comments make a big difference in helping the channel grow! You can help bring these videos to a wider audience by training the algorithm!
If you’d like to keep helping the channel, though, can you do one more thing for me? Share the video! Whether that’s just texting it to someone you think would love it or posting it to social media, that would be huge!
I’d also love to chat about sandbox campaigns.
What have been your best/worst sandbox experiences?
What sandbox campaign have you always wanted to run/play?
Good gaming! And I’ll see you at the table!
The second Advanced Gamemastery video has been released! The Goblin Ampersand is a simple technique that you can use to supercharge the concept for any RPG scenario!
I talked about this a bit last week, but while our first video dived into the venerable concept of the Three Clue Rule, I wanted the second video in the series to present something completely new that hasn’t been seen on the Alexandrian before. In the long-term, the series will be a balance of these elements: Presenting the fundamentals of game mastering in new ways and to a new audience, but also diving into entirely new tips and tricks! And many videos will be a blend of both. Next week, for example, I’m hoping to combine a new introduction to sandbox campaigns with a few insights that will be very familiar to long-time readers of the Alexandrian!
Last week I also talked about how important it is for a new Youtube channel to have engagement with its videos: Subscriptions, likes, comments. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support! Thank you all so much for supporting me and the Alexandrian! And I’d really appreciate it if you’d do it again for our second video. Train the Youtube algorithm so that it knows how much you care about the Alexandrian and the algorithm will help introduce these ideas to an even wider audience!
Good gaming! And I’ll see you at the table!
I’m launching my new Youtube channel today. The first video is Advanced Gamemastery: Mysteries in RPGs, looking at the Three Clue Rule.
The original Three Clue Rule essay was written in 2008. Revisiting the material today in this new format was interesting, allowing me a chance to incorporate some new thinking on the topic and also clarify some of my older ideas.
Going forward, the plan for the Youtube channel is to do more video essays while also beginning to explore unique content that’s only possible in a video format (including a project known as Short Shots™). The Alexandrian you know and love isn’t going anywhere, either: While videos will allow me to reach out to a new audience and do new things, there are still lots of big ideas and tools that are best suited for the essays we all know and love here on the site.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll have a new video for you next week about the Goblin Ampersand. If you want to know what that’s all about, make sure to subscribe!
… okay, I know it’s a cliche, but in all seriousness: Particularly for a brand new channel, it would make a HUGE difference if you take the time to like, comment, and subscribe. That engagement will help push the video out to a wider audience.
Good gaming! And I’ll see you at the table!
