At its core, running a LARP is like writing a story, one in which the readers (the players) are contributing authors of the tale. In writing, you need certain tools: a command of grammar, an understanding of characterization, and a keen sense of plot and timing. Running a LARP requires similar forethought, and using the right tools can make a Storyteller’s job easier. For ease of reference, I’ve grouped these ideas into three general categories: physical, mental, and social.
First, I recommend a tangible Storyteller Toolbox filled with administrative items and resources for LARP sessions. There are mental tools to encourage creativity, from building a world, to creating plot foundations, to suggestions for generating and using player buy-in. Lastly, a Storyteller needs to create social structure, encourage roleplay, streamline the running of the game, and ensure that players feel rewarded and appreciated.
The Physical Toolbox
It can be extremely useful for a Storyteller to compile a physical toolbox, tackle box, file box, or some other simple, portable container with compartments in which to keep paperwork, index cards, and administration items critical to running a game. Stock the toolbox with the following:
• Pens and pencils, index cards in different colors, 2”x3” name stickers, and a few legal tablets.
• Pre-generated character sheets for new players. Each pre-generated character sheet should include short descriptions of any relevant mechanics for that character. Immediately involve these characters with in-game events or player-character backgrounds, so that the players can start roleplaying right away.
• A small notebook in which to record plot events, short- or long-term character goals, downtime actions, and important scenes. Rereading these notes between games can spur plot twists or provide information for roleplay later in the chronicle.
• A three-ring binder containing descriptions and images of common in-character game sites, as well as notes about any security measures taken by player-characters to keep those locations secure. Some Storytellers maintain a binder with updated copies of player-character sheets, although Excel or other programs can be used to keep databases of such information rather than printing out hard copies.
• A list of random names for spontaneously created non-player characters (NPCs), or to suggest to players making new characters. You could even have a few such lists, organized by culture or geographic location.
• Pre-generated weapons, armor, vehicles, and other items, constructed with the By Night Studios (BNS) equipment qualities. Because the BNS rules are very flexible, having a few pre-gens on hand will save time when players acquire “standard” items during a game.
• Mini-encounters: two- or three-sentence scenarios written on index cards. When you have an idea for an evocative scene that isn’t tied to the overarching plot, write it on an index card and toss it into the Storyteller Toolbox. When you find an evening’s game lagging, or when a few players want to “go find trouble” in-character, you can run them through a quick and interesting event.
NPC File Cabinet
One useful resource to have in the physical toolbox is an NPC file cabinet. When you spontaneously create an NPC at game, write the name and basic stats on an index card. Include three adjectives describing the NPC, and place that index-card box within your toolbox. Try to re-use these named NPCs when you can, rather than creating an entirely new individual. Having background characters reoccur from time to time (even an irascible beat cop or chipper IT tech) makes the world feel more alive.
A few quirks for these bit-part characters can develop the chronicle in unexpected and interesting ways, as player-characters take an interest in their lives. You can also fill the file cabinet with Stock NPCs of varying levels. If you are overwhelmed during a game, you can hand one or more Stock NPCs to an assistant narrator and let her run small scenes on your behalf while you attend to the larger issues of plot.
Cellphone Applications
Storytellers can also load and use useful cellphone apps to assist in running the game. Here are a few recommendations:
• Texts can help a Storyteller keep tabs on players who have moved out of sight. It’s important to be able to contact players for plot or when others are affecting them with long-distance powers such as Presence: Summon or Auspex: Telepathy.
• Find an online map of the in-game area (Google Maps is useful), or upload a PDF of the location to your telephone. Mark locations that are important, from local Elysiums to the Rack, as well as any feeding territories claimed by local clans or important city individuals so that you have the information readily available.
• Obsidian Portal is a wonderful wiki site where Storytellers can coordinate character backgrounds, in-game locations, vampiric lineages, and important events, keeping that information accessible to your players.
• There are several RPS generators available for use on cellphones. Keeping one available can help ensure randomness in Storyteller challenge throws or defuse any accusations of bias.
• A PDF copy of BNS’s Mind’s Eye Theatre: Vampire The Masquerade book is a handy thing to keep on your phone or an electronic tablet. Being able to double-check a rule or look up details on a power can save a lot of headache during combat or other tense scenes.
Computer Programs
The more organized you are, the less panicked you will be when you have to run things. It’s a good idea to use computer programs to keep character and chronicle information updated and accessible, especially between games.
• Word, Excel, Outlook, and Office are obviously useful programs; most computers come equipped with some version of these items.
• Scrivener and Evernote are intended for writers organizing novel chapters or research theses, but they are also great for organizing your chronicle and structuring ongoing plots. Scrivener allows you to link images to specific writeups. Scrivener also has a random name generator, which can be very useful.
The Mental Toolbox
Storytelling a LARP involves more than compiling physical props and keeping up with administrative recordkeeping. To be successful, the Storyteller must develop a realistic world, create detailed plots, establish realistic NPCs, and be prepared to roll with unexpected player actions. She keeps plots visible and mutable, and encourages players to interact with each other rather than constantly seeking narrative attention.
These things are integral to the Storyteller’s mental toolbox. Analyze the Sheet A character sheet is more than a measure of relative power-level within the world. It helps define the concept, and purchased items indicate a player’s interest in the character’s historical elements. A character’s history should explain high attributes (or low ones), describe the methods by which the character learned skills and developed backgrounds prior to the start of play, and explain merits and flaws.
Each item on a character sheet is a visible manifestation of the player’s investment in the game. When a player chooses to purchase a high Influence level, or puts points in a Retainer, she is telling the Storyteller that these items motivate the character. By affecting the character’s Influences or initiating roleplay with their Retainers, the Storyteller can leverage that buy-in to get the player quickly and emotionally invested in a plot.
If a lot of characters in your game possess a certain merit, flaw, influence, or other common investment, you can create a plot that hits on the specific theme, and character interest will develop quickly and naturally. However, a Storyteller must use this investment gently. Constantly kidnapping a character’s Retainers, making her Influences useless, or causing players to feel that a particular merit is constantly detrimental to roleplay will cause the Storyteller to lose player trust.
Let Your World Do the Work Contrary to popular belief, the most important part of telling a story isn’t running a plot; it’s creating a world. Building a setting and populating that world with believable, motivated NPCs can have strong emotional effects and generate more intense roleplay than any manufactured plotline. A Storyteller should look at most NPCs as opportunities to educate players about the setting. A setting should be understandable, predictable, and believable.
How an NPC acts provides solid clues about “normal” behavior within the world. If NPCs are presented as well-rounded individuals with morals, flaws, and goals, there is a better chance that players will act rationally toward them, and therefore behave properly within the world. If NPCs are presented as throwaway cardboard cut-outs, players will treat the setting with very little respect. Interacting with NPCs helps players become emotionally invested.
Without that investment, player characters will not act realistically or behave with a natural self-preservation instinct. Unless they have realistic interactions with the world, players can forget there is a setting outside the player-character-onplayer-character rivalries within a LARP. This is a tremendous loss; the Masquerade is a critical part of Vampire, and the gothic-punk world that surrounds the game is integral to its theme.
Interactions with NPCs show characters that there are world-based consequences, and that roleplay matters even when no other players are involved. This sense of pressure, the feeling that the world is watching, adds an important dimension to the game. The World of Darkness is neither forgiving nor benevolent. If players think they can act without concern for the setting’s norms, or that dangerous consequences can be ignored if they don’t originate from other players, they will not feel an emotional response. Stories in the game will not have impact.
Pacing
Remember that drama comes from evolution and change. Properly done, a dramatic moment will change the characters involved and might even change the world in which they exist. To create emotional risk, the situation must directly threaten the goals, loyalties, or morality of characters participating. In the most climactic cases, the situation may threaten the characters’ unlives. To be truly meaningful, these situations should involve choices that significantly alter the flow of a story.
The best choices force a character to choose between equally beneficial things or equally hurtful things, offering both benefit and punishment regardless of the final decision. Save your lover, or rescue your best friend? Destroy the bomb that endangers the hospital, or find a way to prevent the villain from escaping? Characters must have limitations, and those limitations cause turning points that force difficult and even desperate choices—and therefore, dramatic moments within the story.
It is critical that a Storyteller pose interesting and engaging opportunities, seeking to make the decision as difficult as possible, but the final choice must belong to the player. The Storyteller sets the pace of the game, pushes characters into conflict and crisis, and describes the consequence of player actions, but she can’t – and shouldn’t – plan out the end of plots. Players must have the freedom to choose whatever resolution they find best.
Otherwise, your players will be frustrated, sensing that their actions and choices have no meaning. Don’t be afraid of your players; the plot resolution is a time for you to be the audience and listen to the story that your players want to tell. Remember that no plot survives contact with the players. They will think of things you didn’t consider, call on NPCs you had forgotten, and focus on aspects of your chronicle that you’d barely defined.
Sometimes this means the end of a plot will take a sharp left-hand turn. That’s alright. Simply think about their choices in the context of your chronicle’s setting, and tell them what happens. Don’t panic, and don’t consider this a slight against your carefully arranged plans. Be flexible. Be prepared. Enjoy the ride. LARP is a Multiplayer Game A LARP plot provides reasons for players to interact, whether through teamwork or in competition with one another.
If a plot causes players to interact with the Storyteller more than with each other, then it is not a good LARP scenario. LARP plots should be open and accommodating, able to incorporate a large number of players (or develop with only a few). Unlike a novel, there is no “protagonist,” nor should one character receive the lion’s share of attention. Storytellers must take into account the game’s multiplayer format, integrating characters with variable levels of power and providing different catalysts for involvement.
Plots should cause characters to seek each other out and discover strengths (and weaknesses), engaging the players in constant roleplay. Good plots should continually push players back to the main populace of the game. Use common threats or isolating situations to forge unusual alliances within your player group. Give players reasons to roleplay with individuals they don’t know well out of character. Keep an eye out for political blocs and in-character factions as they develop, and don’t allow one group of players to control in-character power in the game.
In the same vein, it’s a bad idea for a single clan (or lineage) to overpopulate the game, or for the most charismatic or experienced players to form an impenetrable alliance. Such things throw a chronicle out of balance and cause players to lose interest. Struggling toward such a bloc is a wonderful in-character goal, but it is not beneficial for a single group of players to dominate a game. A player should strive toward her character’s goals, but a Storyteller should realize that achieving those goals could be disruptive.
Storytellers should actively create obstacles, cause in-game conflict and mistrust, and build divisions or break down alliances within the game. Creating this sort of interactive environment is critical; properly motivated players with conflicting goals will entertain one another (and most importantly, will do so without constant attention from the Storyteller).
The Social Toolbox
Now that you have props and physical tools assembled, and you’ve spent time readying plot and building a living, flexible environment, you’re ready to create the third toolbox: social mechanisms. Live-action roleplaying is an intensely social environment, and Vampire: The Masquerade is a game with emphasis on political structures and interpersonal maneuvering. As Storyteller, you need to facilitate your players’ political machinations and power-grabs.
At the same time, you need to keep your friends entertained, cooperative, and eager to play again. That’s a tall order! Earn
Trust
There is a critical adage of LARPing: If there is no trust, there is no game. The most important thing a Storyteller must do is earn (and keep) the trust of her players. If a Storyteller is trusted, she can make rules errors, run a tedious plot, or drop the ball on downtime actions—yet her players will still work with her to develop fun games. If a Storyteller isn’t trusted, she can do everything else perfectly, but her players will question and argue every step of the way.
The game won’t be fun for anyone. Remember that players see only small pieces of a large and interconnected game. They don’t know one another’s actions, motives, or choices. Vampire: The Masquerade thrives on political scenarios with labyrinthine motives and hidden knives. It is integral that a Storyteller remain trustworthy. Her players must feel assured that all interpersonal character conflicts are occurring within the scope of the rules.
If the Storyteller isn’t trusted, interpersonal character conflicts will quickly become out-of-character arguments. Storytellers walk a fine line between creating intense scenes and respecting personal boundaries. Players want a sense of emotional risk, but to create this, the Storyteller must be worthy of emotional trust. Don’t kill characters arbitrarily. Warn players when deadly situations are approaching, and remind them that the World of Darkness does not balance threat to character ability.
Listen to player concerns, and be open with anything that troubles you. As Storyteller, you must constantly strive to be above doubt. This means providing as much transparency as possible, and having frank and open discussions with your players. A Storyteller must also admit when she is wrong, and seek to correct those errors whenever possible. She must be willing to revise rules calls when they don’t work for the troupe.
It is also important to have a good sense of humor, to give others the benefit of the doubt, and to always encourage players to bring their A-game. A Storyteller’s attitude is essential to her ability to build and keep trust. The Visible Plot Vampire: The Masquerade is a subtle game and encourages sneaky political maneuvering from players. However, as Storyteller, you must ensure that plots come to the attention of every player.
It is a game that relies on drama, conflict, and showmanship, and vampires thrive on public displays of power. Plot information and major events should be shared, and significant actions should occur at the center of the game, in front of the majority of players, rather than hidden in a side room. Such situations should provide wide scale opportunity to react, respond, and promote roleplay. Yes, vampires are paranoid and secretive, but they are also creatures of high drama and courtly (i.e. public) intrigue.
When players say they’d prefer to hide their backstabbing, political coups, or other activities, they are really saying they don’t want to risk losing in these gambits. While that’s understandable in a game you are playing to win, Vampire: The Masquerade has no “winning” or “losing.” It should be played for melodrama and significant emotional moments. Encourage players to be ostentatious, perform their social attacks, relish their victories, and rue their losses as publically as possible.
If necessary to facilitate public spectacle, ask other players to hold their actions until the moment of drama is complete. Find a compromise between player agency and public showmanship. Remember, the game belongs to everyone. To help keep every player involved in the chronicle, a Storyteller should take pains to show plot events openly. Avoid encouraging small groups to run off and solve issues alone, and encourage players to use critical information rather than keeping it hidden.
It is one thing for vampires to want the most advantage out of their sneaky, underhanded activities, but entirely another to have a game stall out or feel boring because players won’t share or include others. The First Fifteen Minutes Once players have developed characters and costuming, and the Storyteller has readied NPCs and world events, it is time for everyone to gather and play the game. LARPers are notorious slackers, prone to arrive late and spend the first chunk of time at a game chatting rather than roleplaying.
Unfortunately, this can set the tone for the rest of the evening, and cause events to feel uncomfortably rushed or passionless. Players will slip into and out of character, trying to decide if everyone else is “in-game” or not. They will stand around chatting, waiting for answers to downtime actions or trying to organize the coterie with whom they want to enter, and before you know it, half the night’s passed by without anything significant occurring.
Once this has happened a few times, it starts to become a standard pattern of the game. An entire evening can turn on the first 15 minutes. Kicking the game off swiftly and keeping people in character are critical skills to master, and they can mean the difference between a great game and two hours of rushed-feeling or lackluster roleplay. The Storyteller should take steps to start the evening right, and pay special attention to encouraging those crucial first few minutes of the game.
• Before the game, deal with downtime actions or preliminary feeding issues. If you need to do so, arrange for an assistant to handle minor check-in details while you get the game started. Remember—if you aren’t on time, the players can’t be held to that standard, either.
• Specifically take time to talk to any players who tend to be late, and give them in- or out-of-character reasons to be on time.
• Call the players together just before the game starts, and speak with them as a group. Read a description of the setting, or take a moment to talk about the themes and emotions you hope to incorporate into the night’s game. Be enthusiastic and smile, but keep distractions and joking around to a minimum, as they are disruptive to the emotional setting you’re trying to create. The more you allow players’ attention to waver, the harder it will be to set the scene and help players get into character.
• Take a moment in your before-game announcements to note any new players and thank them for coming to the game. Ensure that more experienced players go out of their way to make sure new people feel welcomed and encouraged to get immediately involved.
• Counting down from three may seem like child’s play, but it is an excellent tool to alert players that roleplay is about to start. Counting down from three gives players a moment to stop kibitzing, slide back into character, and fall into roleplay. Calling out “Okay, game on!” doesn’t give players this preparatory breath of time, and the countdown makes beginning roleplay feel like a more unified endeavor. It’s a bit of a psychological trick, but it works. If your game has already fallen into the habit of slow-starting, there are some unusual methods you can try in order to break those bad habits. Think of ways to shake your players up, and give them reasons to believe the first half-hour of game will have interesting events, unique roleplay opportunities, or critical plot moments.
• When you are ready to begin, have the players arrange themselves around the gaming space as they might if they were in character, creating a frozen tableau. Tell them to close their eyes for a moment and mentally get into character without moving from their pose. Use this moment to dim or change the lighting, start background music, or otherwise change the game environment in some small way, as a sign that the in-character portion of the night is about to begin. Then, count down from three and tell them to start gameplay as they are.
• Depending on the night’s premise, you can start the game in media res of a dangerous or critical circumstance. Open the game’s metaphorical curtains onto a dangerous battlefield, a difficult parlay with contrary NPCs, a grand procession, or formal announcement by prominent NPCs (or PCs), or some other visible plot activity. Players can immediately invest themselves in the political, social, or combat-related action, address the issues involved, and have something to talk about and build on during the rest of the game. This sort of game opener works well at the very beginning of a chronicle, when players aren’t as familiar with their characters or your setting and require an additional push into roleplay. Teach Through Rewards Roleplaying is a hobby, and like any activity, people will continue to come so long as they are enjoying their time in the game. That’s why it’s important to provide each player with a great moment in each session—not a moment of victory or an easy benefit, but a fun roleplay moment: something the player can think about and enjoy for days to come. Regardless of whether a player is new or a veteran, young or old, a spotlight is always thrilling and immensely satisfying. Learn to recognize a player’s interests, and guide that player into turning those interests and character specializations into part of the night’s game. Even if it is a small thing, like a fun combat scene, an interesting way to approach the plot, or a clever idea, everyone wants to feel included and celebrated. A little bit of encouragement or a few minutes of personal attention can make the difference between a player having a great time or feeling bored and lackluster. Bored players eventually stop coming to the game. If a player puts extra effort into a performance, plan, or action, or if their character accepts a particularly painful consequence or makes a concrete sacrifice, the Storyteller should do everything she can to reward that moment with roleplay. These moments are investments in your game, and you should always take the time to make such things important, even if they weren’t initially included in plot planning. The more a Storyteller goes out of her way to reward and encourage cleverness, creativity, or emotional roleplay, the more often these things will occur. Divulge an extra clue, reveal part of your plot that you’d planned to keep secret for a while, or give the player and her allies a minor advantage that relates directly to the player’s actions. As a Storyteller, think about the lessons you are teaching your players. If you always punish a player when she is creative, she will stop using her imagination at your game. If you ignore a character’s emotional moments or sacrifices, your players will stop trying to have such moments. If every interaction with NPCs becomes a combat scenario, the players will learn to treat NPCs like a set of statistics and nothing more. Take the time to reward positive contributions to the game, so that your players will look for such opportunities and actively pursue them. Encourage your players to provide positive examples of roleplay and interaction. Players should be glad they came to the game and feel as if they received fun and entertainment in exchange for their investment of time. That’s one important way to get the players to be active, interested, and return for the next session of the chronicle.
Recaps
After a combat, the Storyteller should quickly summarize what happened, providing a brief synopsis of the scene to everyone who witnessed the events in character. The VTM system is designed to make combat swift and intuitive, but players don’t usually pay attention to a combat if they aren’t actively throwing tests. A quick recap ensures that the players are on the same page about the scene that has played out before them.
After the game, call your players together and give a brief recap of the night’s events. Don’t provide “spoilers” of hidden information, but do be certain that everyone at the game understands the meaning of any plot events or public scenes and what those developments might mean for the chronicle. Encourage your players to share short descriptions of intense or meaningful scenes that were less obvious, and take time to thank new players for trying out your game.
Conclusion
A good Storyteller is an organized Storyteller, prepared to handle many difficult situations and to coordinate a large number of players in a flexible and decisive manner. The more work you put in ahead of time, the more fun you (and your players) will have at the game. Although every troupe (and every Storyteller) is different, the right set of tools can be integral to ensuring a successful chronicle and a happy, enthusiastic player base.
The last tool in the Storyteller Toolbox is for the Storyteller to use on herself: Know when you’re not having fun. Measure your reactions from time to time, and be honest. If you aren’t having a good time as Storyteller anymore, your ennui will influence the whole game, eating away at player enthusiasm, too. Don’t force yourself to be Storyteller if you are burned out, no matter how much you want to live up to that responsibility.
Originally published in Mind’s Eye Theatre: Storyteller Secrets by By Night Studios. Presented here under Resources for chronicles and live play.