[Haunted] Considering a Stronger Setup Phase

[Jesse Burneko]

This is cross posted from my G+ feed.  I'm cross posting here because Haunted was a Ronnies runner up and I figure keeping the people involved in those events in the loop might be appreciated.

This weekend I finally got around to play-testing Haunted.  It was with a group of people who are not very experienced gamers and are especially inexperienced with GMless games like Fiasco or Montsegur where players really have to push strong agendas at each other.

If you've never seen haunted the latest and greatest draft is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nxUAQZrLGEqW1Hp_iLUmljOkHU9TT4N_mfDI_BPf6iI/edit

The result was that the game ended kind of prematurely.  However, I did get a lot of useful information.  There are a few places I think I need to clarify or tweak rules.

However, what I really think I need to do is create a stronger setup procedures.  I think a lot of this can be stronger instructional text and optional helper tools rather than strictly Do A, Then B, Then C stuff.

I'm thinking more along the lines of important questions the group should be considering and some optional charts like common motives for murder and relationship ideas.  Things that will help the players go into each scene understanding the character's motivation.  Especially characters who are not the murderer or ghost.

I'll probably be running a couple sessions of this at Gamex here in Los Angeles in mid-May.

Jesse

[Steve Hickey]

Do you have some examples of important questions the group could be considering?

[Jesse Burneko]

Sure!  Here's a few:

Besides not getting caught what does the Murderer want to accomplish?
Who among the living does the ghost still care about and what would he want the Murderer to do to make things right for them?
What do the supporting characters want from the Murderer?

Basically, the players need to be able to take proactive action with the characters.  Otherwise people just kind of sit around "chatting" in character about how they feel.

Jesse