Game prep for Trollbabe

[james_west]

It seems implied by the descriptions of play and by the rules that this meant to be a low prep time game (for instance, the Trollbabe picking out where she goes at the beginning of the scenario).

But it seems to me that there's no particular reason this ought to be true; one could easily design a complex situation, relationship map, etcetera, especially if the Trollbabe's destination was picked out in the previous session. Really, you could prepare for this game in precisely the same way you prepare for any game.

Anything I'm missing here?

- James

[Clinton R. Nixon]

James,

As I recall, the trollbabe's stated location is done at the end of an adventure. If not, well, that's the way I've always done it. While wrapping up, I ask each person, "So, where does your character want to go next week?"

In my experience, Trollbabe's not a light-prep game. I'm a huge fan of it, as it really taught me how to run games without this silly party concept, but it also taught me the second part of this argument, which I see people not getting sometimes: in order to have a story - instead of three - there must be a connection. The GMs role in Trollbabe is to nurture that connection that ties the stories together. Like I said - it's not a light task, or even especially easy. It's a hell of a lot of fun, though, and most of it can be done a few moments at a time if you keep a notebook with you.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi James,

Most of the funny vocabulary in Trollbabe - Stakes and Consequences at the scenario level; Scenes and Conflicts at the in-play level; Scale for both; etc - is pretty much "what we do anyway" just put into words. Or rather, it's what I do anyway, and a number of fellow role-players, and I suppose all of us would have thought it was obvious ... until I came to realize that a huge body of role-players literally had no idea about this stuff at all.

That's not exactly what you're asking about, but it seems to be relevant in a foundational way.

Anyway, typically what I do is have a number of fairly usable little relationship maps, Stakes, and names-lists at hand whenever I start playing Trollbabe. Therefore when the players name where they want to go, I think about what combination I want to use.

For later play, what you are suggesting and what Clinton already does are, indeed, the expectation. The GM should leave the table with a very clear understanding of what the Scale is for the next game, as well as where the trollbabes are going.

And then, yeah, prep it up. But you never have to prep more than what's outlined in the rules.

Best,
Ron