The mini-session is a technique used on and off by my gaming group to increase player to player mystery and speed up sessions by leaving solo character activities to be done at another time. It is most applicable with a campaign containing independent characters and/or players. Perhaps you are playing in a campaign in which the characters are thieves working for a guild, or perhaps your players just prefer other players to not know what they are doing.Lets set the scene shall we? Your players a playing evil characters, in a brilliantly crafted campaign you have designed in which they are working for an evil wizard king. Each of them is trying to impress their lord and get into his good books. The rogue/sorcerer pass you an note:
I want to attempt to break into the mayors house and steal that chalice that the master mentioned. I want to go alone and unknown.
When the time is right you announce to the other players to leave the room, to go outside and shoot some hoops or whatever.The groaning begins.And why shouldnt?Your players have put aside time, perhaps even a Friday night to play the game. And here you are asking them to go play basketball. It could be half an hour or more before they are allowed back to play.
On the other hand, why shouldnt your rogue/sorcerer be allowed to play his characters personality. Why should a solo character be told, no, dont do it alone, let the others join you. Fantasy fiction is littered with solo expeditions. The great and noble Tasselhoff, or Jimmy the Hand, did not decide, no, I should include the others on this. Of course not, they are lone wolfs, solo heroes.So what is to be done?
I suggest the mini-session.It's Tuesday afternoon, youre home from uni early and youre walking past Pauls house on the way home. You see his car in the driveway and you remember that he was mentioning his bard would like to go and woo the young widowed duchess. Well nows the perfect time. You go over, play for an hour, a conclusion is reached and you head off home again.
Come next session hell receive a love letter thanking him for the lovely night and, if he chooses, the players wont know what is going on.
I dont think its reasonable to force players to either waste part of their gaming time on poetry and prose roleplay. However, if a player wants to spend his own time on it, I think its quite fair.
There are many situations where mini-sessions are useful, not just for stealthy characters. A knight riding off towards a nearby village to slay an ogre, or a wizard researching an ancient and dangerous spell one stormy night and two reasonable situations for the mini-session.Of course the mini-session is not limited to single players. A duo or trio work well. It is of course up to you to declare when it stops being a mini-session and becomes a gaming session without a player or two. Of course, depending on the campaign, such a declaration may be merely cosmetic.
Still a few general rules of thumb must exist.
Make it a known option. Not only is it unfair to have only two out of six players know about the mini-sessions youve been holding, but when treasure, experience or other rewards become evident, the other players will feel cheated, especially if it is obvious you know about it.Be balanced. Third edition catchphrase I know, but still it holds in a few ways. Its not balanced for one character to have six mini-sessions to expand his character and for a poor guy who works 9-5 to go without. You must be careful, too, that player who plays the mini-sessions doesnt accelerate in levels and power ahead of the others. Most likely you will have more access to some players than others. Resist the urge to play mini-sessions with them if it will be unbalancing, or perhaps, role play pre campaign events to more completely map out the characters history. However no rewards should be gained in this way.Realism. Time is the most important thing to remember. Im referring to campaign time, not actual time. If a player has only one night away from his players, well thats all he has. Unlike a regular gaming session it is this campaign time not actual time that determines when you play til. Also, you have to consider that while other players may not know what the solo player is doing, their characters may miss the solo character if they get up in the middle of the night and check on everybody or what have you. In short, the mini-session is not a teleport in teleport out no time has passed situation.Low rewards. As a defence against power gamers, do not make them a big reward generating situation. Whether you want to make it a declared rule such as: All experience and treasure are 50% less than what is in a normal session or whether you want something a little less official and just put in less rewards, its important to make it clear that the purpose of the mini-session is Roleplay.The advantages of the technique are fairly evident. Standard session time is not consumed by activities that the group as a whole is not interested in. Therefore players are happier, that is never a bad thing. Also small amounts of gaming time during down time keep alive the flame of interest in your players keeping them thinking about the character. Quieter players, too, without the louder players around them may open up and get a chance to develop their character the way they want.
Perhaps you will want to go to a higher level of organisation and timetable equally each players allowed mini-session time. Perhaps you dont want it widely used at all, saving it for special circumstances where secrecy is most important. Either way make sure you consult the whole group with this. Most likely the players you see more often will be the ones most keen to take this idea on board. Make sure those that are least seen get their say.
Remember, on top of all, the reason you brought this technique into the game. Not to give players the chance to level up ahead of other players. Not to increase your weekly gaming time. But to increase the level of realism in your campaign, while keeping group game time for the group, not for more active individuals.
These are just random words from my mindDo what you will with them.
Toodles,
Seacore
