instant gm 2

7/28/2019 Instant GM 2

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Instant GM II:

On Your Mark, Get Set, GM!

Instant GM II:


Ramsey Tome Wyrm LundockRamsey Tome Wyrm Lundock


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Instant GM II:


Ramsey Tome Wyrm Lundock

Playtesters: Margaret S. Lundock

Copyright 2007 ComStar Media, LLC

SKU: CSRW006

Tis ComStar Games product is copyright 2006to ComStar Media, LLC. Only the portions o thiswork that contains Open Game Content may be

reproduced in compliance with the Open GameLicense. For identication o what is designated OpenGame Content, please reer to the Legal Inormationsection at the back o the book. Te ull text o theOpen Gaming License can be ound in the LegalInormation at the back o this book. Other than theOpen Game Content, all other work is protected bycopyright and may not be reproduced in any ormwithout the written permission o ComStar Media,LLC.

Te ComStar Games logo was designed by JackReynolds and is a trademark o ComStar Media,LLC.

ContentsForeword ..................................... 3

Introduction................................ 3

Adventure Hooks ........................ 4

Advanced Adventure Hooks ..................8

Stock Characters, Continued ............... 12

Three more Rakugo Props ................... 18

Book: .......................................................18

Card...........................................................19

Glasses ...................................................... 20

Tips Tricks & Rants ............................... 20

Improvise Ahead of Time ........................20

Dramatic Pace .........................................21

Roles of NPC ............................................. 21

The Importance of Research ................... 23

Dont Face the Players on their Home Turf

..................................................................25

The Perils of Over Research: A Personal

Warning ....................................................25

A Final Word: This is Not the Zen of the

Game Master ....................................... 25

Appendix: Quick Reference Tables

..................................................... 27

Table 3 - Stock Character Quick

Reference .................................... 28

Table 4 - Stock Character From

Instant GM 1 ................................ 29


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Instant GM II: On Your Mark, Get Set, GM! 3

Foreword

Tey say sometimes you are the worst judge oyour own work. Tat has certainly been the casewith Instant GM. I used to be involved in some

o the Coordinated Play Role Playing Campaigns,where you can bring your own character and play atvarious conventions throughout the year. I wont tellyou which campaigns, but when I started, there wereonly two. For a change o pace, I ran light-heartedaction adventure games with little to no ore planning.As I moved away rom Coordinated Campaigns, Icontinued running my Pot Luck games to earn reeadmission to the local conventions.

I knew that I didnt run games the same way as

most GMs, but I just assumed that I had a quirkystyle. I never would have written the Instant GM: ABag o ricks i my riends at SunQuest Games hadntpestered me over a couple o years.

Even then, when Comstar Media put out the callor, short game products, and I sent in Instant GM,I didnt think that it was much more than a novelty tosupplement the main line. I certainly didnt realize itwas going to be my rst best seller!

It is only now as I write this, that I realize what I

had over looked. I have a unique style o GMing, butevery GM I have ever gamed under had a unique styleo GMing. And I learned rom everyone o them. Eventhe ones whos styles I disliked, I learned to considerthe players point o view when running a game.

So no matter what your style: i you are a hardcore Strategy Gamer, who has memorized the entireWeapons able; a World Builder who has a notebookull o interesting locations you hope to share withyour players some day; a Competitive GM out to

prove that you can run a published adventure betterthan anyone else; or a First ime GM who is moreworried about not embarrassing yoursel, than aboutdiscovering your style; I hope you can learn rom theInstant GM. Tats only air, I learned rom you.

Introduction

Tis book contains our sections. Te rst sectionis Adventure Hooks. Te Instant GM: A Bag oricks, dealt with Plot Seeds. In this book we deal with

Adventure Hooks to help you bring the charactersinto the plot. Te second section is Stock Characters,Continued. It picks up where the rst Instant GM leo. Detailing new characters to use when improvising,including some more exotic ones. Te third section isthree more Rakugo Props or use in your game. Againthis section is too short, the only consolation I cangive is that every adventure is dierent, and RakugoProps are always improvised. Once you start to useRakugo Props, youll see new ways o using them inevery game. Te orth section is a collection o ips& ricks and Rants, which dont t well into any othe other sections. Tere is an appendix o quickreerence tables at the back o the book.


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Ramsey Tome Wyrm Lundock4

Adventure Hooks

Te rst Instant GM book detailed how to use PlotSeeds to help you improvise when the party wandersaway rom the written scenario. But unless you can

motivate the players and their characters to becomeinvolved in the adventure in the rst place, nothinginteresting is going to happen. An otherwise goodadventure can be ruined i you have to contrive anunrealistic way to orce the party into the scenario.

Adventure hooks are ways to bait the charactersso that you can drag them into the plot. Adventurehooks are useul when planning ahead, but they arealso useul or the Instant GM. I the players dont biteon the rst adventure hook, dangle another in ront o

them, until you nd one that they cant resist.Te rst adventure is particularly dicult, because

you must not only justiy the group getting involvedin the adventure, you have to give each member areason to work with the other characters. Both useso Adventure Hooks are discussed below. SomeAdventure Hooks work better or rst adventuresthan others.

Anything or a Lady: One or more o the charactershas a weakness or attractive members o the opposite

sex. He is willing to promise almost anything toimpress them, no matter how impossible. And he hasa habit o dragging his adventuring companions alongwhen he tries to back up his big talk.

Tis is a realistic adventure hook in any setting,men have always and will always push themselvesbeyond their limits to show o in ront o women.(Tis doesnt have to be men impressing women,adolescent girls have shocking determination whentrying to attract a boys attention.) However, this

adventure hook can run into some diculty in roleplaying games. Te basis o Anything or a Lady isthat some ideas only make sense when your brain issoaked in hormones. Since the players havent hadtheir brain chemistry manipulated, they are still ullyalert and will realize when their characters are beingasked to do something dangerous in exchange or animplied promise, which probably isnt true. Someplayers will enjoy this plot hook specically or theirony.

Tis adventure hook can be reely overused,because unlike Help Wanted and Youre Sitting in

a avern When..., this one is actually unny. In actthe more times one o the characters drags the groupo on a hair-brained adventure on behal o a prettywoman who turns out to already have a boyriend, theunnier it is the next time he alls it. (Im telling you,

this time its true love.)Arrested/Kidnapped: Te adventure starts aer

each o the characters has been arrested (hopeully ona misunderstanding) or kidnapped. Te rst thing theplayer hear is that their characters are being draggedalong in chains, or they wake up in the examinationroom o an alien space cra. Tis opening brings thegroup together quickly and gives them a common goal.Tis way o starting an adventure annoys the playersbecause you tell them about something bad happening

to their characters but dont let them a chance to doanything about it. It is best used sparingly.

A slight variant is to put the characters in situationwhere their only options are to go quietly or get beateninto going. Tis can be even more rustrating to theplayers than starting aer the act.

Blackmail: Rather than oering the charactersa reward or undertaking an adventure, you canthreaten to punish them i they dont succeed.Blackmail can take many dierent orms: taking their

amilies hostage, threatening to send compromisingletters written by the character to the newspapers, oraccidentally deleting their bank accounts.

ruly heavy handed orms o Blackmail includeimplanted bombs, electro-shock collars andreoccurring nightmares. I the party turned a dea earto the poor peasants begging them to retrieve waterrom the Healing Well to save them rom the plague,inect the characters.

Curses which can not be lied without exoticmaterials and extensive travel are another example.How many adventures spawned rom the Knightso the Round table search or the Holy Grail to cureAuthor?

Remember there is always the possibility thatthe characters will ail. Dont blackmail them withsomething that will disrupt the rest o the campaigni they screw up.

Players and Characters hate having their strings

jerked, so Blackmail should not be overused. Butoccasionally it can make a nice change o pace.


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(Especially i they get a chance to give the blackmailerpayback. See the Revenge adventure hook.)

Blackmail Variant: Te Prophecy: Te Prophecyis a variant o Blackmail that doesnt make thecharacters eel as powerless. In this adventure hook a

gypsy, priest, oracle, etc. makes a dire prediction aboutthe characters, or the characters loved ones. But theuture is always uncertain. I the characters are willingto undertake a mission that challenges destiny itsel,they might be able to avert the tragedy.

I the adventures ail to accomplish their goals, theallout o a Prophecy is easier or the players to acceptthan the outcome o Blackmail. Sometimes you cantcheat ate.

Help Wanted: Starting the adventure with a joboer is a very successul way o drawing the charactersinto a plot. It draws the party together without puttingthem under any duress. Players will usually talkthemselves into taking the job, even it i is a stretchto think that character would actually do that kind owork.

Hiring the characters means that they are in theadventure or the money. I this approach is overusedthe mercenary mentality will creep into the entirecampaign. Tis is ne i it is part o your plan or thecampaign. I it is not part o the plan, it can turn anhonorable party into money grubbing scumbags.

Missed the Le turn at Albuquerque: Eachcharacter ell down a pit trap, had a detour orce themo the high way, stepped on the wrong teleporter pad,woke up in an unamiliar place aer a night on thetown, or got on a mysterious carnival ride. One wayor the other, characters dont have a clue where theyare or how to get back. Tis opening easily brings

vastly dierence characters together. Tey might noteven be rom the same reality.

Tis is less linear than the Shipwreck (see below)because it gives the characters a chance to explore,rather than just go where the boat takes them. Givingthe players more reedom is always appreciated,but you run into the problem o what to do i thecharacters decide not to work together or ollow theplot youve laid out. In these situations, you have toimprovise, try either introducing a helpul non-playercharacter to spell out what they have to do in orderto go home or unleashing some kind o Beast rom

between worlds to encourage them to move on.

Organizational ies: Te PCs are all members othe same organization, be it a government intelligenceagency, a rebel alliance, or a high school class. Teywill be inclined to set o on the adventure because it is

in the best interest o the group to do so. I stubborncharacters/players reuse to put themselves on theline or the common good, you can have an authoritygure in the organization order them to go with therest o the party.

A cross between Organizational ies and Arrestedis to have the characters draed. Tis explains whysuch a diverse lot joined the same organization: theydidnt have a choice and the organization wasnt being

very picky at the time. It doesnt put the characters

under quite as much distress as the Arrested hook.

Organizational ies Variant: Favor or a Friend:Te Organization doesnt have to be a ormal group.Te characters are asked to do the job by a non-playercharacter whom they know. He may oer payment,but it will be minimal. Basically they are taking the

job, either to repay the NPC, or put him in their debt.Tis works best when you can contrive a way that allo the characters know the same royal court ocial,FBI agent or space-reighter captain.

Revenge: Tis time, its personal. Revenge is auseul technique to i you know the characters wellenough to know the riends and enemies that theyhave made over the years.

Given the amount o tragedy that most groupswitness over the course o a campaign, it shouldnt behard to think o someone that theyd like to kill o.Normally the group eliminates people who anger them,but i a previous villains right hand man escaped, youcan use him as the leader o the next group you intendthe characters to ght.

Keep track o the incidental non-player charactersthat the group liked dealing with. Hurting or killingthem gives the party personal reason to becomeinvolved in the adventure. I the party hears on theevening news that the truck driver who honestlythinks hes Elvis (living incognito to avoid his ans)rom a couple adventures ago has been beaten andhad his truck stolen, the characters wont rest until thecarjackers and their entire smuggling ring are doingthe Jailhouse Rock.


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In addition to characters rom previous adventures,you can use characters rom the player character backstories. Tis is harder to pull o because the playeralways knows those pre-game characters better thanyou do. I you do use a riend or enemy out o the

characters past, you can expect an intense reactionrom the character. Make it clear to the player thatyou are doing your best, and you expect the player tocompromise with you on the characters quirks andpersonality.

Revenge Variant: A Ghost rom the Past: Teplayer characters arent the only ones interested inrevenge. Most groups leave a trail o bodies where everthey go. It is possible that riends, students, siblings,or lovers o one o the people the party has killed will

seak vengeance. In this case, the party doesnt nd theadventure, it comes to them.

A Ghost rom the Past puts the characters in theawkward position that someone they dont even knowis trying to kill them. Te pursuer might even be aundamentally likeable character, trying to avengewhat the party did to his less likeable riend. How thegroup deals with this situation is good role playing.

Maybe in one o their previous adventures, thecharacters didnt nish the job. Adventure movies and

books are ull o villains who suered moral wounds,and clawed their way back rom the brink; kept aliveby their burning hatred o the heroes who did this tothem. Tese adversaries are always more dangerousthan the last time the characters deeated them. Teenemy survived death once, so he has no ear o it.

Reward: Te characters hear o a Reward beingoered or completion o a specic task. Te contestis similar to Help Wanted, but there is no uprontmoney and no negotiation.

Te most amous example o a Reward adventurehook is when a king oers the hand o the princessto whoever slays a dragon. (Tis is not just a clich.Tere are legitimate legends which begin this way.)For an adventuring group, it is probably better tostick to a cash bounty. But there is more to lie thanmonetary rewards, the Reward could be knighthoods,letters o mark, guild or league memberships, etc.

Another interesting acet o the Reward adventurehook, is that the party might not be the only ones aerthe prize. Tird party intererence can range rom

annoying comic relie to deadly.

A Sad Story: Te Sad Story is similar to Anythingor a Lady in that the characters undertake a missionor no tangible rewards. Someone has a problem thatthey cant solve, but the party might be able to correct.

However, the Sad Story works on characters who areimmune to eminine wiles.

It idea is that the characters will take on theadventure because it is the right thing to do. Tissometimes runs into trouble with hardcore strategygamers who realize that putting yoursel on the line orsomeone elses problems is a good way to get killed.

In order or the sad story to work, the othercharacter must be eectively powerless. A knightwho returns home aer the crusades to nd his amilyholding have been seized certainly has a sad story.But the players will be quick to realize that i theyget the knight reinstated, he will be in a position to(and probably should) reward the party handsomely.Women and children are the most deensible types ocharacters, ollowed closely by the blind, crippled, andpeasant or slaves.

Shipwrecked: I the characters wont go to theadventure, bring the adventure to the characters. ellthe players that the adventure starts on a ship, and leteach one come up with their own reasons or beingon board. Ten tell them that the ship is going down.Te characters just happen to end up in the samelieboat or escape pod. From there, they will have towork together to survive.

Alternatively you can have the characters ship,plane, bus, etc. hijacked while they are on it. Tisis kinder to the characters because they start theadventure with their normal gear, not just what themanaged to grab as the ship was going down. Onthe other hand, you have to get the party togetherout o the crowd o Non Player Characters travelingwith them. I you have the kind o players who insiston doing things ocially you need to make sure toget rid o all authority gures, such as captains andocers, during the hijacking.

Some Strings Attached: Te party receivessomething valuable, or something that they havepersonally wanted. But the gi isnt as ree and clearas it seems at rst. I the party wants to keep their newacquisition, they are going to have to ght or it.


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Te most common example it the party receives amagical item with a curse attached. Te only way toli the curse is to conront the villain o your plannedadventure (possibly because the item was stolen romhim.)

Ive always wanted to run a campaign which startswith the party inheriting a castle. When they arriveat the castle, the characters discover that the aboveground foors are inested with poisonous verminand rats the size o a dog; the basement has a tribe oboogiemen living in it; the crypt on the castle groundsin haunted; the peasants under the protection o thecastle are being terrorized by a werewol...

In technological setting, you can give the party awonderul weapon, vehicle, or other hardware that

is completely useless until they acquire the propersoware, be it a password, operating system ornavigational database. O course this item happensto be in someone elses hands, and i the party doesntgo looking or him, hell come looking or them. Inpost-apocalyptic campaigns, you can bury the vitalcomponents in danger lled ruins.

In a setting where the characters are expected toace pirates on a regular basis, rather than having atrading company hire the party, give the characters a

small share in the companys prots and see how longit takes them to start hunting down pirates on theirown.

In this adventure hook you have to give the partysomething valuable/ useul at the start. Tis shouldntbe too much o a problem since rewarding the partyis written into most adventures, but you have to becareul not to give them something which can upsetthe balance o the game.

Something is Rotten in the State o Denmark:No one likes being le out on a secret. In thisadventure hook, you make it clear to the charactersthat something is going on that they dont know about.Tis is a standard adventure hook in the espionageand horror genres. It also works well in the Superherogenera, where it always pays to look into unexplainedevents.

Tis works best when the characters knowsomething that isnt common knowledge. Otherwisethey spend most o the adventure wondering why theworld hasnt gured this out yet. Tis inormation can

come rom direct experience, ghosts, witnesses whoturn up dead the next day, secret diaries, etc.

Tere are two ways to use this adventure hook.One is to keep the players guessing, and orce them towork through the entire adventure to get to the bottom

o things. Te second way is to let the characters gureout what is going on early in the plot, but they cant doanything about it without evidence. Tey may knowthat the Planetary Ranger is corrupt. But unless theycan prove that he has been raiding merchant vessels,and then pinning the crimes on political rivals, thereis nothing they can do to stop him.

Sometimes it is enough to let the players know thata natural death was actually a skilled assassination,but it is not ool proo. On the other hand, i you

present the players with directly contradictory actsew characters can resist trying to get to the bottomo it. For example, when the characters nds a body,they call the local law enorcement and that is theend o their involvement...until they see the same guythey ound dead, walking around town and the lawenorcement denies having ever received the partyscall.

Te party may decide that chasing dark secrets isnot conductive to longevity. You can still drag them

into the plot. Even i they dont investigate urther,they already know too much, and some one will tryto silence them.

Tis plot hook has to be handled with skill becauseby design it is very rustrating. Te trick is to makeit so that the characters are rustrated, but the playersarent.

reasure Map: Each o the PCs receives amysterious letter with a map or instructions andcryptic promises o a reward i the instructionsare ollowed. I at all possible, the letters should bepersonalized to each character. No one likes getting,Dear Occupant letters. You can even go so ar as toinclude dierent cryptic clues in each letter.

Alternatively, you can include the map, orcaptains log, as part o a treasure hoard, hooking thecharacters into the next adventure at the end o thelast adventure.

Te potential problem with this opening is that

it doesnt give the characters any reason to trust eachother. Tey might even be competitors. In a pirate,


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every-man-or-himsel, style campaign, this is abonus, not a drawback

Te Wager: Tere is something magical about thepower o a bet. Oer to pay a man $100 dollars togo into the abandoned mine on Spook Hill and his

response will be something like, No, that place mustbe ull o poisonous snakes and rotted support struts.Bet a man $100 dollars that he wont spend the nightin the same mine, and hell be halway to Spook Hillbeore he starts to wonder i he still has a fashlight inthe glove box.

Tis gives you a way to monetarily reward theparty without the clich being hired or a job. Virtuallyany adventure can start this way, provided the party iscocky enough to keep betting on their own success.

Te characters might even start sharking bets on theirexploits, or a Smoky & the Bandit style campaign.

Te wager requires the characters and their playersto be somewhat volatile. Tis normally shouldnt bea problem. I used judiciously, the Wager can goadthe party into things that neither lover nor moneycould motivate them to do. For example, a piouspriest would never, under any circumstances, think otrespassing in a saints tomb...except to prove wrongan atheist who insists that the only reason the tomb is

sealed is to hide the act that the saint is just a myth.

Another example: Have a caravan drivercomplaining long and loud that it takes 3 weeks to getacross the badlands. Have the most wilderness savvyplayer character make the appropriate skill check torealize it only takes 2 weeks. Tis should spark anargument that ends in the caravan driver telling theplayer character to put his money where their mouthis. Te wilderness character will probably have tobum a loan rom the other player characters to cover

the collateral or his side o the bet and the entire partywill get involved to protect their investment.

Youre sitting in a avern when...: Te partydoesnt have to be traveling to come across adventure.You can start the adventure by something going terriblywrong in any public area. Examples include, villageairs, grocery stores, bazaars, and space station bars.Each o the characters happens to be present duringthe opening scene. Te rst scene can either directlyinvolve the characters such as the establishment being

raided or the local dictators troops advancing into the

city. Or it can be indirect, witnessing a ght, nding amurder victims body, etc.

Tis opening trusts the party to stick their nosesinto whats going on. As such it can ail to launch ora variety o reasons. Te character-actor role players

dont eel any motivation. Te money role playersdont see any prot. Te rule lawyers worry thattheir characters arent legally authorized to deal withthe situation. Knowing your players and planningaccordingly can reduce but not eliminate this risk.

Advanced Adventure Hooks

Te above adventure hooks are basic ways toinsert Party A into Adventure B. Once you arecomortable with them, you can start using more

advanced techniques to make the party want to joinin the adventure.

Multi-Adventure Plot Hooks: A single Plot Hookcan be used to start a series o adventures. One o theclassic antasy adventures is based around the partynding the parts o a magical item which had beenbroken into 8 pieces.

Another possibility is to give the party only parto a treasure map, and orce them to track down themissing pieces. Te pieces might be in treasure hoards

and crypts. I the other pieces are in the hands ocollectors, the characters will have to ulll whateverstrange mission the collector sends them on to earnthe next piece.

I you use published adventures rom unrelatedsources, create a shadowy sinister organization oryou world. Ten when you are struggling or anadventure hook, eed the party rumor that the goblinraids, plague, ghost sightings, etc. are actually beingarranged by the Shadow Syndicate. Te players

should take the hint that i the Shadow Syndicateis involved it is worth the partys time to get to thebottom o things. Te rumors about the Syndicatesinvolvement should be right 90% o the time, so youmight have to modiy the background o the nal

villain a little to make him a member.

Multi-adventure plot hooks provide a senseo continuity to a campaign. Te down side is thateventually you are going to have to let the party reachthe goal. At which point they will expect a huge payo.

Not only in terms or rewards, but in terms o climax.


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Personalized Plot Hooks: I must coness that Iam an o the martial-arts genera o arcade games. Inthose games every character has a dierent reasonor entering ghting the contest: some want revenge,some want to take over the company or themselves,

and some are just trying to get a date with one o theother ghters. You can use the same trick in tabletop role playing games. It requires a little more workon you part as GM. You have to talk to each playerindividually and determine what would move hischaracter to action. Te adventure will have a subplotor each character. You should make sure eachsubplot gets a decent amount o game time. Whilechallenging, these are the games the players rememberthe longest.

urn the ables on the Players: Finding a wayto bring the group together or the rst adventure is adicult task. It also comes into play when you needto introduce a new player character into the group.(Or i you run games at conventions where even i thecharacters know each other, the players dont have anyparticular reason to trust each other.) One method odealing with this diculty is to shi the work to theplayers.

I your rst adventure is set in ancient ruins,

describe a campsite next to a major road, which iswithin walking distance o the ruins, but ar enoughaway and heavily used enough to be sae. Recite someo the legends about the ruins, then look at the playersand ask, Why are you here?

Letting the players provide their own motives canbe a un. It can also be maddening. Some players havebeen so conditioned to ollow where the GM leads thattheir characters have no real motives or personality.Although rustrating it is rewarding when you nally

shake up the players enough that they develop theircharacters in more detail.

Te other way turning the tables on the playerscan be rustrating is when one (or more, or all) o theplayers reuses to cooperate. Following the aboveexample, it would not be uncommon or a playerto insists that his character would never go to thecamp grounds and is hiding in the woods watchingeveryone else. My advice is: rst point out that thecharacters around the re are warm and are eating

reshly cooked ood, while the spy is crouching in the

cold, dank woods, gnawing on trail rations. I this isntenough to motivate him to show himsel, make himroll dice to see i he can stay awake all night. I he ails,one o the other characters who gets up in the middleo the night to answer Natures call stumbles upon

him in the woods. Finally, i the player stubbornlyinsists that his character wont join the group, let himgo mano-y-mano with some o the monsters. Hellhave to go running to the group or help or die. Eitherway, you dont have to worry about the loner characteranymore.

Build the Group in Steps: It is rather improbablethat our to six strangers would join together justaer meeting. When pulling the group together, itis much more believable during the rst adventure

to build the group in steps. Aer you get a pair ocharacters working together, switch you attention tothe remaining characters and gure out how to bringthem together. Ten over the rst couple o hours ogame time, pull various the groups together.

Tis technique violates the rst rule o running agame: Never split up the party. Tat rule is soundlybased. You have to divide your time between twogroups. Te best way to handle it is to switch youattention aer each scene, so that no one has enough

time to get bored. Tis is an advanced technique, butyou players will appreciate the believability i you pullit o.

Its about Who you Know: Another way tobuild the group in steps is to require that the PlayerCharacters know at least one other PC at the start othe campaign. I the players resist, point out that noone reaches the age o adventurers without meetingpeople along the way.

Players have been conditioned to assume their

hometown is Far away rom the area where theadventure takes place, and that their ormer lives areirrelevant the plot. So it might take some work toget the players to consider the possibility o previousacquaintances. But i you can get them to thinkoutside the traditional ramework, the role playingpossibilities are almost endless.

Tese relations are also useul or introducinga new member into the group. Meeting a new guyin tavern, and inviting him to travel with the group

certainly can happen, but even some o the Magnicent


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Seven had had previous dealings beore they startedtheir adventure. At rst this sounds contrived andunbelievable, but in practice it happens all the time.Everyone has had a small world encounter wherethey meet an old acquaintance by chance. Tis also

give the new player a place to start as he struggles toestablish his role in the group.

Most o the time the players will come up withunimaginative connections such as being bloodrelatives (usually cousins) or ormer neighbors. Hereis a list o other possibilities to get the players thinkingin new directions. You can orce the players to buildpre-story relationships with other characters, but youshould let the players choose which relationships touse. Tese relationships are very personal thing, and

none o them should be orced on any character.Arrested/Arrester: It is simple to explain how the

scum-bag in the group knows the member o the ownWatch (or the private Security Contractor). Whilethere is no love lost between these two characters, inreal lie, there is surprisingly little bad blood betweenthem either.

Card Buddies: Even adventures need a hobby.Many hobbies are social activities such as darts,billiards, soball, chess, poker, and RPGs. Players

can say their characters met though a mutual hobby.Perhaps the entire party is the uesday Night Pokergang rom OMalleys Bar. Even solo hobbies suchas painting, model building, or raising pets requiresupplies. Te characters could have met at the relevantstore.

Childhood Friends: In childhood the only criteriaor making riends is to be roughly the same age, andto have some spare time. As people grow older theybecome more selective. Childhood riends take on

very dierent lives, and dri away apart. By the timethey reach adulthood, they are completely dierentpeople. For the purposes o this relationship, childhoodshould be considered to last until adolescence.

Former Romantic Interest: I you have emalecharacters in the group, perhaps they have dated oneo the other members. Te players need to agree onhow ar the relationship went and why it ended. Tisemotional baggage can lead to all manner o tensionand outbursts, leaving the rest o the group wondering

what exactly is going on.

Tough both characters rmly deny it, there isalways the chance that the relationship will rekindle.I the players agree, rather than previous relationship,the characters can currently be an item. Or maybe itsa one sided crush.

I this relationship is a little too personal or thegroup, it can be widened to apply to immediate amilymembers. I the minstrel in the group once wooedthe knights younger sister, the knight will recognizehim, but wont be thrilled to see him again.

Friend o the Family: In most antasy settings,it is common or children to inherit their parentsproession. It would be perectly reasonable or theparents o two o the characters to be old adventuringbuddies.

Te parents might even insist on the characterstraveling together to watch each others back.

Immediate Family: I you want a relationshipwith potential complications, look no urther than thenuclear amily. Between the opposing orces o siblingrivalry and tribalism, the siblings will love each other,even i they cant stand each other.

Tis is a dicult connection to justiy sincethe characters usually come rom vastly dierent

backgrounds and genetic stock. Fortunately, airytalesare ull o examples o step-children, adopted children,abandoned children, hal siblings, and bastards.

I there is a signicant age dierence in the party,the players might decide on a parent/child relationship.Tis has even more potential or interesting role playingthan siblings. (What happens when the el nds thatthe wild-oats he sewed with a human woman in hisyouth, has grown up into a hal-el who is now thesame biological age as he is?)

Warning: I two o your players are Japanese-anime-Otaku with a sense o humor, you might end upwith one o those innuendo laden relations betweenbother and sister or (shutter) between two brothers.

Proessional Acquaintances: Companyemployment is certainly one way to meet people. Youmeet not only people in the same company but peoplein companies that your rm does business with. Ithe characters worked or a small company they willknow each other well. I it was a mid to large sized

company, they might be riends, or they might just


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recognize the name and the ace.

Given the number o characters who hale roma mercenary background, it is entirely possible thatsome members o the group have worked together inthe past.

Proessional Acquaintances do not need to bemembers o a literal company. Students in a moderneducations system are more like coworkers than theSame eacher relationship described below. utorsare one-on-one or small group lessons, where asModern education is impersonal. Army buddies areanother example. I two or more o the characters arediplomatic archetypes, then they can have met at theRoyal Court or at state dinners.

For a real twist, rather than ormer co-workersone o the characters one o the characters was thesupervisor/ employer.

Rivals: In the past both characters wanted thesame thing. Be it a girl, a racing trophy, or admissionto an academy o magic. Te players will have todecide which, i either o them, won. Or maybe itwas a long time rivalry, with many individual contestswon and lost in equal numbers.

Te rivalry doesnt have to be personal. Te

characters might have been in opposing gangs or onopposite sides o a war, and had the confict bringthem into direct contact.

Same eacher: Characters who studied underthe same teacher are at the same time rivals andcomrades. Tey struggled constantly against eachother or the masters attention and praise. At thesame time, they had to rely on one another physicallyand emotionally to get through the training. Brothersin Arms are much like real siblings, but are usually on

better terms.It is tempting to set up a master/student relationship

between characters. But since the beginning characterswill be roughly the same skill level, this relationshipdoesnt work. (In a modern Education system, youcan get away with a eacher-Student connection.Anyone whos been though high school will believea teacher character is no more competent than herstudents, especially i played or comic value.)

Vision: In a antasy setting, visions are oen

consulted or important decisions. Perhaps one o

the characters had a vision induced in a coming oage ceremony, as part o his training, or beore settingout to start his adventuring career. A reoccurringdream also works. It the jumbled, dreamlike visionthe character saw an unamiliar ace. He had more or

less orgotten it until comes into the local roadhouseand sees that ace sitting the bar.

What does the character do at that point? Has theother character had a similar vision?

A vision should let the character recognize one,maybe two o the other characters. Having the entireparty recognize each other at the beginning eelscontrived.


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Stock Characters, Continued

Te original Instant GM provided a list o stockcharacters to use on the fy when you are orced toimprovise. Te stock characters listed here cover a ew

more o the basics, and look at more exotic charactertypes, such as sel aware computers and horses.

Angel: Lets ace it, sometimes a party bunglesthings so badly that they need divine intervention toget out o it. Or i youre not the orgiving type o GM,perhaps it is time or a little divine retribution.

A properly played angel should make the mostpious member o the group all to his knees and begorgiveness. Meanwhile, everyone else should berunning away as ast as they can, and not looking back

or ear o being turned into a pillar o salt. Angelsdont get taken as seriously as they should becauseo the misconception that Good is inherently non-

judgmental. Tis is true o allible mortals, but angelsliterally have the God Given Right to pass judgment,and they dont make mistakes.

Everyone knows that Evil is cunning, but thatdoesnt mean Good has to be stupid. A scoundrelwho tries to lie to or manipulate an angel should bestruck dead on the spot. I the angel is in a orgiving

mood perhaps just struck dumb, or blinded so that hehas a chance to learn his lessen and repent.

While angels are inherently terriying, what is evenworse is than an angle doesnt get involved unless majorevents are in motion. Every time an angel appearsbeore mortals, it is on a specic mission. Angles have

very little patience or mortals who interere with ordelay their mission, and have an appallingly toleranceor collateral damage.

Finally, i an insolent character managed to get

cursed by an angel, the normal methods or liingcurses wont work. Tere is only one court o appealsor a divine curse. I an angel wasnt enough to put theear o God into the characters, maybe the Big Manhimsel will do the job.

Businessman: For the Businessman, it is all aboutthe bottom line. He views everyone and everythingas a potential investment, or a potential problem. Beit alien spacecra, giant monsters or magical swords;i his business group doesnt have a use or it, he puts

it on the auction block. I his group discovers an

ancient crypt o cursed artiacts, he sells them as is,no express or implied warranty.

Te Businessman wont always be oering to playercharacters a job. Why pay them, i he can manipulatethem into doing what he wants or ree? I the party is

working or the businessman, they always loose someo the agreed payment to the ne-print o the deal.

Despite these drawback, the PCs will probablyenjoy dealing with the Businessman. He acts calmand proessional, no matter how weird the group is(aliens, demons, elves, Japanese school girl martialartists; its all just another day at the oce). Becauseall he cares about is money, he could care less whatthe player characters do or how they do it; provided itdoesnt cost him anything. Te Businessman doesnt

get upset when the party does things like break intohis oce rather than making an appointment, drawa gun on him, or interrupt his round o gol to bringhim a mummied head. He will even put up withparties which cost him money in the orm o damageclaims or bail bonds or the party, provided they makehim signicantly more money.

As an adversary, the Businessman will paymaddeningly little attention to the party. No matterhow much damage they infict on his property, he

doesnt seek revenge; there is no money in revenge.I the party repeatedly attacks the businessmansholdings, he will attempt to neutralize them to protecthis remaining assets. Neutralize means either killingthem or buying them o, which ever is cheaper.

Carnivore: A carnivore has a split personalitydepending on whether or not it is hungry.

I slated, the carnivore is perectly happy to sleepin a comortable place or play with its young, and willlet the party pass saely unless they try to disturb it.I the party does pick a ght with a carnivore, its rstthought is to chase them o, and get back to its nap.However i it successully hooks one o intruders andspills blood, all bets are o. Once blood lust sets in,the carnivore is going to kill the target, but may playwith it or a while rst.

When hunting, the carnivore will be aware o theparty well beore they notice it. It may track them orhours by scent and watching rom aar, waiting or achance to pick o a straggler. Unless the party hasskilled bushman among their number, the rst time


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Designed ecosystems are top heavy is because othe misconception that carnivores are more dangerousand likely to hurt the player characters than herbivores.Every year in Egypt, hippopotamuses cause moredeaths than crocodiles. Statically, the water bualo is

one o the deadliest animals on the planet.Te rst response o most herbivores when

startled or threatened is to run. Large herbivores,like the aorementioned water bualo, respond byfattening whatever it is they dont like. Herbivoresare even less interested in ghting to the death thancarnivores, except when deending their young (orthe herds young). While herbivores are ercelyprotective o their young, once a mother looses tracko her ospring she has very little interest in tracking

them down. She will search or a while, then go backto her normal lie.

Designing herbivores does not have to be a timeconsuming task. I you described Earths primaryprotein source as our legged mammals with splithooves and horns someone would be hard pressed toprove you wrong. Tis denition covers cows, sheep,goats, yak, bison, elk, deer, antelope, and giraes.Likewise, or your alien planets, undergroundecologies, or alternate planes, a preparing short

denition with room or many variants should beenough to convince the players that their charactersare living in a plausible world. (Okay, Earths primaryprotein source is actually plankton. But i you caughtthis fagrant abuse o dramatic license, youre areprobably the kind o person who maps out yourcreated ecologies in exacting detail or the un o it.)

Horses: Horses are given a separate entryrom other herbivores because in most historical/antasy settings, they will be the primary mode o

transportation and because horses are smart enoughto cause real trouble. Horses come in our varietiesbased on their temperament, and training: Dra,Racing, War, and Wild. Like all o the archetypes inthis product, these personalities do not hold true inall cases. Riding horses are intentionally le o othe list because their personalities will all somewherebetween these examples, and each individual willavor one kind or another rom the list.

Dra: Dra and pack animals are rock solid. Tey

do not spook at strange noises or sudden motion.

I they are unsure about a situation, they will stopuntil a human assures them it is sae. I wounded orconronted with an immediate danger such as wolves,re or a rock slide, even stoic dra horse will bolt andrun. But the dra animal is bred to carry heavy loads

all day long, not to sprint. Unless the danger pursuesthe dra animal, it will quickly tire out, and the playercharacters will have no problem nding it aer theght.

Racing: A race horse combines the speed o a wildhorse with an aggressive winning spirit. Race horsesare smart enough to have individual personalities;some are sweet or playul, others are jerks or just plainstupid. Race horses will pick ghts with each other toestablish a hierarchy with in the remuda. I one o the

player characters is a less than competent horseman,he will get dragged into these disputes. Once a racehorse learns that a certain human is scared o it, it willbe completely unmanageable. I attacked, a race horseis roughly hal as likely to ght back as to run (whichis remarkable since dra and wild horses almost neverght back.)

War: A warhorse is a earless behemoth. I orderedto, it will charge into packs o dogs, re or even straitthrough wooden barriers. A war horse requires an

equally well trained rider. It is going to go wherethe rider points it, rom there it is up to the rider tohang on. A war horse is trained to respond to exactcommands. I the rider doesnt handle the reigns andstirrups correctly, the war horse wont respond. Ithe character continues to fail around on the horse,the war horse will come to a stop, not so much outconusion, but annoyance; and wait or the human toget his act together or dismount.

War horses can attack with their hooves, but will

only do so on the riders command. (Liaisons, a breedo light warhorses, are more high strung than theheavy war horses considered here. Tis is merely animpromptu archetype.)

Wild: A wild horses rst response to anything newis to run, and its usually not particular about whichdirection. I there is an obvious threat, it will headaway rom it, but i startled by a noise, unexpectedscent, or even meeting an unamiliar horse, the wildhorse will take o sprinting in a random direction.

Insider: Te Insider is a mysterious riend on the


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inside o an organization the Player Characters do nothave access to. At least the characters assume he ison the inside. And they assume he is a riend. Allthey really know about him is that the brie messageshe slips under their door or delivers over the phone

prove useul.Te party needs to be careul when ollowing the

leads given to them by the Insider. Te Insider has hisown motives. Rarely do they want to bring down theentire organization, but the party is a untraceable wayor the insider to leek inormation, cause trouble or arival, or even eliminate a superior.

Te Insider can provide a way to beat the playersover the head with clues they missed. In the mostamous case o a real world insider, Deep Troat,

usually explained where to nd records and evidence,rather than telling people what they would nd.When you need to improvise an Insider, dont createa new character. Instead, look at the NPCs already inthe adventure and ask, which o them has the most togain by helping the party to almost succeed.

From the Players point o view, it is easiest whenthe Insider sets the PCs up or a all. Ten their is noquestion that they eliminate him along with the resto the organization. I the Insider thanks the PCs or

their help, or simply disappears without revealing hisidentity, the characters will have to make the toughdecision o nishing the job they started, or turninga blind eye to the Insider. I the PCs goal was to takedown a member o the organization, rather than thewhole organization, they have to swallow the bitteridea that they helped a man who was willing to sellout one o his own.

Man Friday: Te Man Friday is the perectsecretary and personal assistant or royalty, generals,

politicians and businessmen. He is always hoveringsilently near by, seeing and hearing everything. Igiven an order his response is either a simple, YesSir, or more oen, It has already been taken care o,Sir.

While the main character is responsible orweighing the acts and making the decisions, Friday isresponsible or making sure the orders are carried outwith minimal diculties. It is not the Man Fridays jobto bring acts to the main characters attention, but i

the character requests a specic piece o inormation,

Friday provides it with all haste.

Te player characters will probably try to use theMan Friday as a back door approach to the characterwho Friday supports. Occasionally, a Friday may takea bribe to push the party to the top o the appointment

list, or to recommend their services, but or the mostpart, the Man Friday serve aithully and fawlessly.

Te archetype is male, but Woman Friday worksjust as well. No matter how attractive she is, she treatsall advances with an icy glare and a comment alongthe lines o, Tis is neither the time nor the place.

Nutcase: Te Nutcase is a wild eyed, hyperactive,verbally abusive jerk. Tey act as i they are perpetuallyhyped up on stimulants. Te Nutcase obsesses aboutdeath requently; threatening to kill the characters increative ways, or musing about taking his own lie.

Nutcases are drawn to dangerous proessionssuch as war zone pilot, spelunker, or demolitionist. Inantasy settings they enjoy using the most dangerousand hard to control magic. Te party will mostrequently encounter a Nutcase when they hire himor a job that no one else is willing to take. He willbe especially rude to the player characters, because heknows that they have to put up with him.

He may not realize it himsel, but the Nutcase isonly pretending to be crazy. I conronted with thepossibility o dying, he either becomes very quiet orbreaks down into hysterical tears. Some Nutcasesreally are killers, but most will start making excuses iordered to kill someone.

Shade ree Mechanic: Te Shade ree Mechanic isa repairman o limited intelligence. He xes machines,not because he is smart enough to understand howthey work, but because he isnt bright enough to get

a job that doesnt involve barking his knuckles andspilling hot fuids on himsel.

Because o his limited intellect, the Shade reeMechanic is remarkable good at his job. He doesntover think the situation. Once he learns how an engineis supposed to work, he keeps working until he makesthe engine conorm to that expectation. I someonespecically shows the Shade ree Mechanic a jury-riggtrick, there is a possibility that he will remember it,but he would never think o improvising on his own.

No matter how many time you tell him you want anon-standard modication, he wont remember. For


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example i an engine has the idle set high or racing,he will tune it back to normal.

Only settings were a Shade ree Mechanicrealistically belongs is roughly 1900 to the mid-twentieth century. Beore that, machines were too

rare and expensive to trust to anything but a trainedexpert. Aer that, the technology became too complexto be sel taught. But in that brie time Shade reeMechanic became an icon o hard work, honesty andreliability. Whether he is changing the oil in theirdragster, stitching up their magic carpet, or turningthe crystalline harmonic drive o their space ghters,the PCs will rest easier, knowing that the Shade reeMechanic is handling things.

Shop Keep: Te Shop Keep is a requently

encountered character, as such, you will probablywant more than one archetype handy.

Standard Shop Keep: Te most common stockShop Keep is a slightly overweight middle aged manin an apron. He threats the characters courteously. Iit looks like the characters wont/cant by his goods, hewill make it clear that they need to move on, withoutexplicitly throwing them out. He has eyes in the backo his head specically or shop liers. He spends allday everyday in his shop, so he knows exactly where

everything is, and has it arranged so that the easiestpieces to slip in to your pocket are where he can keepan eye on them. I the characters are riendly, andseem to have money to spend, the Shop Keep willbring out special items rom behind the counter orrom the back room.

Old Woman Shop Keep: Another archetypeShop Keep is an older woman who more interested intalking to the customers than selling them something.Tis kind o Shop Keep is riendly and honestly

interested in the Player Characters. But she ndsviolence distasteul, so rather than asking about theirlatest exploit, she asks what they eed their horses, ori theyve taken the towns sightseeing tour. Tanksto her bad eyesight, she wont notice a larcenous PCpalming items, but the PC should have serious angstabout ripping o an old woman who oered him acup o tea.

Used Car Salesman: It doesnt have to be cars, itcould be any expensive item, such as armor, magical

components, or starships. From the instant the PCs

step into his shop, the salesman is right next to them.He starts by asking i the characters are looking oranything in particular, then proceeds with questionsabout what they intend to use the equipment or.Eventually he shows them an item that is either

marginally related to what theyre asking or, or anexpensive overkill, designed to do every job possible,including the one the PCs need. Te car-salesmantalks incessantly. Once he runs out o praise orthe merchandise, he goes on about the weather, oranything else to keep the PCs rom concentrating.When showing the characters an item, he moves itconstantly and pointing out various eatures to keepthe characters rom getting a good look at it.

Skid Row: While there is an occasional diamond

in the rough, archetypical vagrants are either too crazy,drunk or stupid to plan one months rent in advance.Tey stagger along in a semiconscious state. Teirmotions are over exaggerated. When drunk, theirspeech is slurred. When semi-sober, they speak loudly,and slowly. Teir over enunciation is unmistakable.In either case they tend to repeat themselves, and thethings they repeat have no baring on the conversationat hand.

Youll need an impromptu Skid Row bum when

the players decide to look or witnesses behind thescene o a crime instead o in ront o it. At rst, agentleman o Skid Row will claim not to have seenanything. He doesnt want to get hauled down to thepolice station to ll out a statement or eliminated bythe original perpetrator. Te PCs will have to oerpayment or the inormation. Beer, money and oodare usually the most eective motivators, in that order.Any inormation the party gathers rom Skid Rowshould be treated with caution. Skid Row bums have

a terrible sense o time, and aer a couple o days, allo the memories start to ade together.

I the PCs routinely go looking or clues in allyways, occasionally have one o the Skid Row vagrantsattack them with a knie or improvised weapon. Tisshouldnt be a threat to a combat competent party. Teattack usually wont be an attempted mugging. Teassailant honestly believes something along the linesthat the PCs were coming to implant insects under hisskin, or that they are disguised aliens, or both.

Slave: Slaves do not dream o reedom. Such


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thoughts only make bondage that much harder tobare. Slaves dont think beyond the task at hand andtheir next meal. A slave who is trying to escape or lashout is a heroic character and should not be treated asa stock characters.

I slaves who were born reemen, when they areonce again granted their reedom, it will take at leastseveral minutes or the idea to sink in. I the PCs aretrying to start a slave revote, they will have to personallyattack the captors and look strong enough to win theght single handedly beore hope will once again stirin the breasts o the slaves. Multigenerational slavesare even harder to move to action. Tey have nothingto ght or and no where to go.

Tis description is intended or manual labor

slaves, but the mentality can be equally well appliedto concubines. Is reedom really worth the risk obeing caught trying to escape? Te PCs will have amaddeningly hard time trying to save these womenrom their sad plight.

emptress: Te temptress trades on her emininewhiles. She is a rm believer that the best way tosucceed in lie is to attract a successul man. Mostemptresses will be simple gold-diggers, who longor jewelry, ne living, and (in spite o themselves)

love. Te emptresses who work behind the scenes tomasterminds entire kingdoms, nancial empires. orwar feets, should be ully developed characters.

Adventures oen state that one o the powerulmale non-player characters has a emale companionbut ail to develop her in proper detail. But rom theman she is keeping company with, you can quicklydeduce her priorities. A emptress working with a

villain realize exactly how evil he is, but she doesntcare as long as he keeps giving her gis. Te villain

may think he has the emptress ooled, but sheunderstands men too well to all or his lies.

Each emptress will have a avorite type o gi.Normal preerences include cosmetics, cloths, anda palace liestyle. More exotic preerences will betailored to the man in question (the emptress chosehim because he could satisy her particular tastes.) Ithe main NPC is a genetic engineering genius, it is agood bet that the emptress likes animals and has atleast one engineered pet. A Mages companion will

have fashy but useless magical items. A star-traders

arm-candy will dine o the nest delicacies romacross the galaxy. And a dragons companion will bedecked out rom tiara to toe-rings with jewelry romthe dragons hoard.

Te emptress with firt with men other than the

main man she is using. Tese lesser men might proveuseul i properly manipulated, and it never hurts tokeep the primary man jealous.

Te emptress is always looking to trade up. Shebecomes very accommodating i it looks like the partywill be more useul than her current man. Tose withexotic tastes are slightly more loyal. Slightly. I theone or more o the characters plays along with theemptresss advances, she can be useul or sneakingaround the Main Characters jungle ortress or getting

into the sta only areas o his casino. Te emptress isjust as quick to sell the party out i the winds change.

I one o the characters actually alls or theemptresss act, she will take him or everything hesworth and then move on.

Old Man: Te party will seek out the wise OldMan because they need advice. Player charactersrarely go in search o spiritual counseling (thoughmost could probably use it). Instead they will wantto ask the Old Man to ask about events that happened20 to 50 years ago. Either there arent any writtenrecords, the party ailed to nd the records, or theywant to know i things really happened the way historyremembers them. In antasy settings, lie spans canreach a century or better, expanding the window otime that the Old Man remembers.

Te Old Man has seen it all, most o it twice. He ishonestly unimpressed or intimidated by party. He isold enough that death and pain hold no ear or him,he has nothing worth stealing but enough to get by;and he while he is still attracted to beautiul women,he knows he has no chance o winning them. Inshort, the party has nothing to oer him, and there isnothing they can do to hurt him.

Te Old Man is ully aware that he is now immuneto threats, bribery and social control. And he pusheshis luck to the limit and beyond. He mocks proudcharacters mercilessly, especially i they start to getupset (Treatening a deenseless old man? My, youare the brave adventurer.) He firts with any halattractive young woman (unless his wie is still alive.


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She is the one person on the ace o the planet whostill has the power to coerce him).

Te Old Man expects a small reward or his storytelling. It might be a mug o warm beer on a coldnight, or simply the pleasure o tormenting a group o

proud warriors. He doesnt have all o the acts aboutpast events, but he tells the truth as he remembers it.Most o the people involved are dead, so their is nopoint in lies and secrets. I act i the history books dolie, the old man sees the player characters as a way tounburden himsel o the secret beore he dies.

Te Old Man constantly laments his ailingeyesight, hearing, and strength. But all three are stillbetter than he will admit to. I the characters insultthe old man while out o earshot he will insult them

back verbatim. I the party somehow manages togoad the Old Man into attacking, he is surprisinglystrong, and ghts to the death. Te Old Man wouldnever ght to protect himsel, but will attack the partyi they threaten his descendants (actual or adopted) orthe local holy sites.

Three more Rakugo Props

Rakugo props were rst introduced in the rstInstant GM . Rakugo ()* is a orm o Japanesestand up comedy which has remained popular since

eudal times. Te hallmark o Rakugo is that thecomedian acts out an amazing variety o actions whileseated and using only three props: a handkerchie, aolding an, and the kimono on his back.

For a role playing game, `Rakugo props reers tousing things you have on hand to act as props duringthe game. Tey are an excellent way to add illustrationto a game without having to remember anythingextra. Since you use props that you have on handanyways, youre ready i you suddenly see the need or

opportunity or a Rakugo prop during the game.Te original Instant GM introduced three Rakugo

props: windbreaker, baseball cap and pen. Here areideas or three more impromptu props: Books, cardsand glasses.

Te ideas here are not all inclusive. Everyadventure will oer new opportunities to use propsand act out actions not covered here.

(* A point o clarication. Te original InstantGM says that Rakugo translates as Relaxed alk.

Te literal meaning o the two characters is to alland speak/word but since the Japanese expressionmeaning to calm down :ochitsuku: is literally alling arrival Rakugo is translated asRelaxed alk.)

Book:

Even i you are using one o the new PDF gamessystem, it is a good bet that someone at the table hasa physical copy, or some other book on hand. Tesetricks work best with a hard cover book, but you canalso use a paperback.

Barriers: When someone is hiding behind aboulder, trashcan, or garden wall hold the bookhorizontally over youre head and in ront o you withboth hands on the side o the book nearest you. Tento peak over the top o the barrier, lower the book to

just below eye level while extending your neck. I youhold the spine away rom you and let the back cover othe book hang down, it really will conceal your ace.

Te same idea applied to peaking around a corner.Open the book ninety degrees. Hold the ront and


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back covers with each and with the spine towards you,then peak around the corner.

When a armer is leaning on a ence while talkingto the characters, put the spine o the book on thetable, hold it vertical and rest your arms on the top o

the book.

Book: Te most obvious way to use a book as aprop is as a book. Te wizard holding a book in onehand and casting a spell with the other is a antasyicon. I an NPC says he needs to check his recordsto answer the characters question, fip through thebook beore giving the answer. When the charactersarrive at a high class hotel, ask them to sign the guessregister (then grab the book back quickly beore asmart-Aleck player writes in your book).

Cabinet: You can hold the book up with one andopen the cover with the other hand to represent acabinet. By shiing the book slightly, you can makesure that the cabinet doesnt close on you hand whileyour hand is in it. Likewise tilting the book backslightly will keep it rom opening on its own.

Car hood: I the players slam a criminal suspectagainst the hood o the patrol car to question him,hold the book horizontally in ront o you with bothhands and drop the side o your ace on to the book ashard as you can without hurting yoursel.

Clif: When hanging rom a cli by your ngertips, hold the book over your head with both hands (orone hand i the situation is desperate) and both handson the side o the book nearest you. As the characterpulls himsel up, grunt and pant while slowly lowerthe book. When the book gets to about head level,let go with one hand and make a desperate grab romthe ar side o the book. Ten pull the near edge othe book into you chest and slide it down your torsoto the waist.

Doors: You can use the book to represent anentire door. When someone is listening at the door,hold the book up and put your ear against it. Whenpeaking though a key hole look just to the side o thebook.

When there is a knock at the door, tap it out. Tepositioning o your hand aects the sound and says alot about the character. A normal nock is delivered

with the palm acing orward. Polite, or subservientcharacters turn their hand around so the palm

aces backwards and rap crisply with two knuckles.Abrasive characters pound on the door with the baseo their st.

In paranoid societies, doors have small windowswhich can be opened without opening the entire door.

Hold the book in ront o your ace (not too closein case one o the players decides to knock on the`door) and slide it sideways when the window opens.I instead o a window, the character opens the dooronly a crack, peak around the side o the book.

Items with Lids: Dont orget that you can openthe book. Dungeons are ull o chests, boxes, andtrap doors which have lids which fip open. Whenthe party delivers a briecase, or crate, the recipientshould open the top and inspect the goods. Hold the

book with one hand, and li the cover with the other.

With hinged items there is always the comedicpotential o someone getting ngers closed in theopening.

Note Pad: In modern, setting a closed bookmakes an excellent stand in or a clip board. Allkinds o characters use clip boards: scientists, saetyinspectors, work crew oremen, and pollsters. Inuture setting, the closed book becomes a data-slate,data-pad, or whatever you game system calls theportable computers. In addition to reading the pad,the character can work buttons or a stylus to call upnew inormation.

Card

Te heart and soul o Rokugo props is that theseare items you already have with you. I you arentcarrying cards, using them as props is no reasonto start. But given then nature o the role playingindustry, you probably have some cards mixed in with

your gaming supplies. Either a deck o a card gamethat when out o business, promotional cards out omagazines, the key card rom your last conventionhotel room, or those ake cards credit card companiessend in the mail.

In modern and uturistic setting there are too manytypes o cards to count: I.D. cards, business cards,key cards, etc. When the research scientist leads thecharacters into a lab, make the motions to swipe thecard. I the characters steal a pass card to break into

a secure compound, wait until the group has split up


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and then ask Who has the card? Unless the playero the character who has made it to the vault is the onewho has the card in his hands, that character suddenlyrealizes he orgot to ask or the card.

In uturistic settings someone has probably

invented a celphone the size o a business card tocarry in your wallet. In Victorian England, anyone onote carried calling cards or servants to present tothe amily o the house to determine i the charactershould be granted admittance.

Other possible uses or a card are as a handheldsignaling mirror or compact, CB radio handset, apicture o a missing person (or incriminating stillrames rom the security camera the party ailed tospot). I youre wearing glasses (see below) you can

use your glasses to hold an eye patch in place.

Cards also make a good stand in or throwingknives and shuriken. Beore your actually throwsomething at your players, remember two things:someone is going to have to pick the card up at theend o the game, and i you start throwing things atthe players, they will likely start throwing back. Ocourse i the player has it coming, let him have it.

Finally cards make great book marks when youhave to compare dierent passages to resolve an issuewhile GMing.

Glasses

An above average percent o gamers wear glasses.I dont know why. With the availability o cheapcontact lenses we can no longer use the excuse thatwe wear out our eyes reading books and staring atcomputer screens. For those o you who do wearglasses, regardless o why, they make a useul Rakugoprop.

Eyeglasses are a unique shape, and have dicultypassing or other objects. Fortunately glasses andgoggles turn up in a variety o places: Welding goggles,diving goggles, early 21st century driving goggles,Virtual-reality computer glasses, skiing goggles, night

vision gear, leaded glasses to dim the burst rom thatfash grenade the bounty hunter just threw at theparty...

Glasses are versatile because they are contextdependent. Te simple act o looking over the top

o the rims has a vastly dierent meaning when

perormed by an elderly woman librarian, nightclubwomanizer, or a police detective.

Consider how a character who wears glasseshandles them. Scholarly characters are depictedadjusting their glasses by the edge. Nerd characters

have the classic index-nger-push to the middle otheir glasses. Does the character wear the glasses allo the time. I not, when he takes them o does hepush them up onto his orehead, hang them by hisshirt collar, hold them in his hand? Does the characterhave a nervous habit o chewing on the ends o herglasses?

I keep a pair o sunglasses with me at all times.When gaming, I wear them while portraying rock starsor bodyguard/ plain cloths security. Since I dont use

them or other types o characters, my players quicklylearn that when I grab the dark glasses theyve just runaoul o security. Other possible uses dark glasses areportraying blind men, highway patrol men and streetthugs (particularly rom the 1980s).

Te one drawback to using your glasses as props isit tends to spoil the atmosphere when you have to takeo your sunglasses and/or put on your reading glassesto nd the characters next line.

Tips Tricks & RantsImprovise Ahead of Time

Te best way to prepare or the unexpected is toknow what to expect. Tis only works with regulargames with the same group. It doesnt when runninggames or strangers at conventions. Chances are thatyour gaming group is some o the people you knowbest. Not only at the table, but you know somethingo their real world lives as well.

When writing an adventure, or reading aproessional module, keep in mind the types o detailsyour group is likely to sidetrack on. I one o yourplayers prides himsel on being irreverent, you knowthat the alter in the ruined temple is going to getdesecrated. Decide ahead o time how hard it is tobreak. I your group cant pass up any treasure lightenough carry, decide ahead o time what it takes tocut the tapestries down without damaging them. Youknow the rst thing your group is going to do whenthey make planet-all is nd a Spacers bar. I the

adventure doesnt include one, plan one out on your


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own.

And regardless o the setting, i there is a libraryin the adventure, have a list o the titles o at least onedozen o the books. I there is a book on the table,decide what is written on the open page and i there is

a bookmark on any o the other pages.

Dramatic Pace

Role Playing Games are the direct descendent otable top strategy games. Specically, the rst roleplaying game, started out as a variant o Gary GygaxsChainmail system. Dave Arneson ran the rst RPG inhis basement in1971. He communicated his variantrules to Gary Gygax, who expanded and publishedthem. Gary Gygax named the new game Dungeons

and Dragons.With this linage, it is understandable that many

games are run like military campaigns. Te groupplays through the adventure at a cautious pace. Ithere are any rules questions, everything stops untilthey can be resolved. And when it is time to end theevenings session, you write down where you were inthe adventure, and pick up rom the same place nextweek.

In recent years there has been a shi away rom

this sentiment. Te change has been driven by thenumber o one-shot games run at conventions wherethe GM has a set amount o time to present theplot. Another driving actor has been the numbero episodic antasy/adventure V shows, where eachweeks plot is independent.

Te Armchair Generals o the strategy gameshave been replaced by a new breed o ArmchairAction Heroes. Tese players are less concerned withtracking the weight o their gear down to the 1/10th

o a pound, and more concerned about i the gear iscool enough to t their heroic image. Tese playerswant their games to rise to a climax, and then reacha resolution. Ten, pick up a new plot next gamesession. Even in a continuous plot they expect a miniclimax in each session.

Te hal-hour antasy adventure show ollows aairly predictable pattern: Te rst 18 minutes o anepisode are spent on plot, character development andcharacter interactions. Ten in the last our minutes,

the characters let their actions speak louder than

words. (Tat is or the United States ormat. I youare watching unedited Japanese anime it breaks downto 20 minutes build up and 5 minutes violence.)

An action-adventure gaming session should ollowthe same pattern: Figure about seventy-ve to eighty

percent should be lled with sneaking around, ndingclues, talking to people, and generally letting the partyrole-playing their way into trouble. Combat duringthis part should be non-existent or handled quickly asthe characters easily do away with minions.

owards the end o the gaming session the playerswill want their characters to conront the major

villains. I the players/characters have ignored orbungled the plot and have no idea whats going on,the villain will probably either corner or capture the

characters. At which point he can explain his evilscheme to the characters beore ordering his funkiesto kill them. Another possibility is the villain o theadventure will become proactive against the playercharacters, and try to deter them by violence againstthem, or the threat o violence against innocents. Inshort i the characters dont nd the nal ght, it willnd them.

Roles of NPC

Every Non Player Character serves a unction inthe over all plot. When improvising it is importantto remember each characters unction, so that youcan use them to that end. I you nd you need animpromptu Ally (or Antagonist or Contagonist),beore you create a new one, consider the NPCsincluded in the adventure and see i one o themwill work. Remembering the characters role in theadventure is as vital to staying in character whileimprovising as remembering the NPCs personalityquirks.

Allies: Tese are people who are on the same sideas the Player Characters. Tey may or may not also beheroic characters. Tey include girlriends, riendlypolice detectives, mechanics, trainers, butlers, etc.Tese characters require game statistics almost asdetailed as the player characters. Most Allies are lesspowerul than the PCs. Allies should rarely, i eversave the day, but theyll come into the middle o thingsto help the player characters save the day.


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Antagonists: Anyone who tries to stop the PlayerCharacters is an Antagonist. An Antagonist willalways have reasons or wanting to stop the PCs. Hecould be protecting his master, carrying out a vendettaagainst one o the PC, or trying to win the attention

o a love interest. Antagonists are logical and can bereasoned with. For example, a FBI agent hunting downsuperhero vigilantes would be an antagonist whos justdoing his job. Sometimes antagonists can be talkedout o committing misguided evil deeds, or deals canbe struck. An antagonist may even change sides i thePCs beriend him or oer him a better deal.

Antagonists require ull character statistics. Teywill be the same power level or more slightly morepowerul than the PCs.

Contagonists: A contagonist is someone whoworks at cross purposes to the player characters. Tecontagonists motives might be selsh (seize control oa corporation), noble (rob the player character to givethe to the poor), or questionable (wreak vengeance).Some may even be trying achieve the same goal as thePCs, but want to do it with their own hands. Each willhave to be dealt with on a case by case basis, and aerthe confict, the PCs and the contagonists could walkaway riends or bitter enemies.

Contagonists require ull character statistics. Teywill be close to the same power level as the PCs.

Flunkies: Opponents who are ar less powerulthan the PC are Flunkies. Flunkies are not mindlesscombat machines. Each has a reason or ghtingwith the PCs, even i its just a simple mugging. Youdont have to spend too much time developing thepersonality or motivations o a Flunky, because aparty with even limited combat ability is going to puthim on his back with little diculty.

While the character o the Flunky will live theirentire lie in the campaign world, he will only crosspaths with the characters or one scene. You onlyneed to know what he wants right now, and why hewants it.

Flunkies can be represented with simpliedcharacter statistics. Tey do not need skills unless oneis relevant to the roll they will play (example: Driveor someone chasing the PCs in a car). All they needare combat statistics. Most o the time all thugs in agang can be given the same combat statistics, and no

one will notice.

Normals: A Normal is a Non Player Characterin the game who has no connection to the over allplot. Te innkeepers, the cab drivers, the innocentby-standers, and possibly even the heroes ans. Most

o the time, Normals are part o the background, butyou never know who the Player Characters will wantto talk to.

Normals require nothing in the way o combatstatistics, because the rst time theyre hit, they godown. Its the GMs choice as to i they are dead,unconscious, hysterical, or running or their lives.

Patrons: Tese are powerul Non Player Characterswho work on the same side as the Player Characters.Patrons oen hire heroes to do their work or them.Te heroes may be reelance doing occasional jobs, orthey could be ull time members or an organizationwhere they report to the Patron. Another class patronis the venerable old master whom the characters visitwhen they cant overcome their obstacles.

Patrons are a powerul tool or the GM, and easyto mishandle. In theory they are much more powerulthan the PCs in terms o knowledge and worldlypower. However, they never actually do anything orthemselves, always acting through intermediaries suchas the PC. Patrons never have the ability to help thePCs with their problems, but they have a remarkabletalent or helping the PCs get into trouble.

You should never create a Patron as animprovisation. By i there is a Patron in the campaign,you can improvise reely with him. Patrons haveunexplained access to all kinds o restricted equipment.I there is something needed or the plot that the PCscant get or themselves (treasure maps, starships,invitations to parties, CIA intelligence reports) thePatron can get it or them. Using Patrons in the gameis a delicate balance. Tey help the PCs, in exchangeor the PCs help. Beore the Patron does anything tohelp the PCs, stop and think, What does he get inexchange or his trouble? I the PCs ask or somethingthat would eliminate the diculty and danger o themission, then i the Patron could provide that, hed

just do it himsel rather than sending the PCs. I thePCs want something that will get them to the dicultand dangerous parts aster, the Patron can probably

provide it.


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Patrons can turn up literally anywhere. I thecharacters are eavesdropping on a conversation at anexclusive gol club, the Patron walks up (undetected)behind them and asks i he can play through. I theparty is eating at the dingiest noodle bar in Hong

Kong, the Patron is sitting two stools down becauseKen Gu here makes the best ramen in Asia. You canalso use the Patron or a Quick End. Aer the heroeshave paddled up the Amazon River to a orgottentemple to ace the Jaguar God and stopped him romtaking over the world, the Patron might show up witha helicopter to airli them to civilization, rather thanmaking the PCs go through the long and anticlimactictrek back. I the PCs capture the bad guy and hislieutenants, the Patron can be trusted to round up the

rest o the gang. Dont over use the Quick End. TePatron never wins the nal ght. He may show up onhis yacht when PCs have just redlined reactor on theSoviet submarine and need to escape, but without theheroes there doing the work, he wouldnt have doneanything.

A Patron should have a list o attributes and skillsto dene what type o person he is. Tey shouldhave detailed histories, motivations and worldlyconnections, even i the Player character do not know

the true goals o the Patron. Patrons really only needone game stat: Tey can do that because the GM sayso.

Not all campaigns will have a Patron character init.

Villains: Villains are like Antagonists, in theact that they have reasons or opposing the PlayerCharacters. Unlike Antagonists, a Villains reasons areall evil. Villains can not be reasoned with. Tey knowwhat they want, and dont care how many people get

hurt or killed because o it. Some enjoy making otherssuer or no reason. Tey are arrogant, treating theirminions with open disdain, and holding no regard orlie. Oen they have a twisted since o beauty, andsurround themselves with disturbing items. Villainsare without redeeming qualities and the PC should beable to kill them, guilt ree. However killing them isharder than it sounds.

Villains require ull character Statistics. Tey willbe signicantly more powerul than the PCs. Villains

also have worldly power. Tey protect themselves with

castles, modern security systems, or undergroundbunkers. Tey hire guards and may be powerulenough coerce a national army into their service.Teir power doesnt have to be physical. Villains witheconomical or legal power could make the characters

lives very dicult, without having to see them aceto ace. Magical abilities might be available to the

villain.

When the PCs oil a Villains plan too early in thegame session, orcing you to improvise, rememberthat a good Villain will always have a plan B. PlanB will achieve the same goal as the original plot, butwith a higher body count. Improvise a scene alongthe lines that: the villain orders a missile strike on theortress the PCs saved, uses a voudoun doll (usually

misspelled voodoo doll) to kill the nun while thecharacters are guarding her, or just bribes the Chie oPolice to get his drug shipment back. I the questioncomes up whether the Villain has that kind o power:like the Patron, he can do that because the GM says hecan. Tis will rustrate the players to no end havingthe villain cheat. And they will love it all the morewhen they get to cave his skull in.

Not all campaigns will have a villain. Cyber punkgames in particular avoid villains. Megacorporations

may do evil things, but really they are just doing whatthey have to in order to survive. Tere membersare calloused and calculating, but they dont enjoy itenough to be evil.

The Importance of Research

When orced to improvise during a game, ithelps i you have some background knowledge to helpyou ll in the gaps. You dont have to be an expert,but take the time to do some research. Role playinggames are actually some o the most accurate, conciseand detailed resources available or rearms. But theytend to be weaker on other subjects. From time totime, antasy GMs should read a book about real worldmyths or historical campaigns rather than a new gamesupplement. Science Fiction GMs need to subscribeto a periodical about new science and technology.

Many people like to do their research via theinternet. Tere is an astounding amount o inormationon the web, and a little o it is actually correct. I preerthe look and eel o a good old ashioned book. Andits a lot easier to read a book 5 or 10 minutes at a time


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between classes or while waiting on the next train.

Te other drawback to internet research isthat it is too each to skim or keywords. Te mostuseul part o research is not the acts you look up,it the trivia you come across while reading. Whilereading about a historical military campaign, youllnd odd reerences to the local oods (great or whenthe players ask what is on the tavern menu), how thearmy dealt with things like chariot repairs, washed-out roads, or snowstorms, and dozens o problemsand complications a modern person would not thinkto consider. A good reerence will explain what theweapons o choice were, and why. ake as many notesas you can stand (highlight the book i you own it).

In Science Fiction, it is a sure bet than anysource book 5 years or older is outdated. Sometimeseven books hot o the presses have uturistictechnology that lags behind current capabilities. Iyou read science/tech periodical, you will encountergreat ideas or obstacles to throw at the characters,new toys to reward them with, perhaps even ideas oran entire adventure. I you dont have the backgroundto und

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