An Example of How Shorter Games are Cinematic Games: A New Hope

So, previously I mentioned how only having a couple hours a week to game makes things more cinematic (aka, like a movie). For proof, I offer up A New Hope. We’ll cover the first couple sessions, then fill out the rest of the campaign in a later post. We’ll take a look at it from the perspective of a group playing only 2-hour sessions. The PCs are: Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie and Leia.

Session 1: Look Sir, Droids!

Opening credits. The game begins with Luke receiving the droids. He sees the message from Leia. Plot hook! He removes the restraining bolt, hoping to get more details on the plot and be told by the GM where to go. R2, the NPC refuses to give him the information, and Luke fails a Perception check to realize R2’s bluffing him. R2 goes missing. Plot hook! All of this could be accomplished in 20 minutes, 30 tops. The next morning, Luke goes after him. Encounter with Tusken Raiders! In a standard game, there’d be a whole bunch of them. Not in this case. We don’t have time! One Tusken takes Luke down in a fight taking about 15 minutes. Obi-Wan arrives, using Bluff and the Force to scare off the Tuskens, avoiding a fight. They go back to Obi-Wan’s hut, where the GM hands Obi-Wan a paper of exposition for him to read to the other player to explain the Force. This takes about 15 minutes. We’re at the hour mark. Look how much we’ve accomplished! Luke heads out to find his parents, and runs across the Jawas. Obi-Wan makes some Perception and Insight checks and realizes this is the work of Imperial Stormtroopers (“Only they could be so precise!”) Luke rushes home to find his aunt and uncle dead. He goes back to Obi-Wan. Really cranking out the angst to earn some extra RP XP, Luke tells Obi-Wan he wants to multiclass to Jedi. All completed in one session of an hour and a half. And we’ve only seen one quick fight!

Session 2: A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy

The players playing Han and Chewie are finally able to join the group that week. The GM tells them he’ll find a place to introduce them. The session starts with Obi-Wan and Luke overlooking Mos Eisley. The GM describes the city and how horrible it is. Obi-Wan makes a dry comment about scum and villainy. The GM awards a few extra points of XP for clever dialogue. They arrive in the town. There’s a heavy Imperial presence. Stormtroopers attempt to stop them. Whereas Luke’s player says, “hell, let’s fight them!” Obi-Wan’s more experienced player decides to try tricking them. A simple Skill Challenge and Use the Force skills later, and they’re done. It’s been 15 minutes. They arrive at the Cantina, where they do some Gather Information checks to try to find a pilot. Obi-Wan is introduced to another player who is running the Wookiee. An NPC begins pushing around Luke. With the threats they’re making, Luke’s player realizes they’re probably much higher level than him, and tries to avoid a fight. Obi-Wan steps in to calm them down, but to no avail. Using an opposed Strength check, the NPC throws Luke into a table. Roll Initiative! Turns out they’re just 1^st level Thugs, and with Obi-Wan winning initiative, one ends up dead, the other limbless. Ouch. The fight ends in one round. It’s been another 30 minutes or so. Han is introduced to the other players. They have a discussion, and haggle on the price. An opposing Diplomacy vs. Han’s Bluff skill roll, and they’ve got a deal. The GM tells Luke and Obi-Wan’s players to take a break so he can work out a scene with Han. As Han gets up to leave, he ends up in an encounter with an NPC, Greedo. Plot hook! After a quick discussion and a few failed Diplomacy rolls, Han wins initiative and gets a Sneak Attack in, scores a critical, and drops the NPC down to 0 HP. He departs, and arrives in the hangar bay where he runs into Jabba. Jabba makes some demands, forcing a Skill Challenge where Han haggles down the price with a few Diplomacy and Bluff checks. We’re one hour and fifteen minutes into the game. Only fifteen minutes left to go! Obi-Wan and Luke haggle with a merchant and fail, not getting much for the speeder. They arrive in the hangar bay, and have to rush aboard as stormtroopers arrive. Han fires off a few shots, and they’re away, into space! After a quick successful Astrogate to escape the star destroyers, and it’s the end of the session.

Next time: The heroes find the Death Star, a new player is introduced, and we look at how you could cover the entire Death Star escape in a single session!