Has anyone ever ran a game with no plans made prior?

My Experience:

I ran one game with only one player just to test my improvisation, though i did make a map and a bunch of characters.
Though my only direction to him was i told him where he was and then just asked what he wanted to do.
It ran ok enough but of course was only one person and he was probably better at making goals for his character than others.

I then ran the same game with my group after some refinement but they were alot more lost with what to do which i didnt expect as they had more developed character motivations.

I then ran another game with my 2 brothers with no planning what so ever, I was quite confused most of the time but I think it managed to stay interesting and I probably didnt have to worry about it railroading because there was no plan anyway.

I feel like Improv can be important if your players want to have control over their characters/ the story.

My previous GM i feel was good in that he kept narrative as the focus but it was mostly a game of "can i guess the correct solution (of which there is only one)" which to me felt like a hinderance to roleplaying

All GMs and players have different styles. Some things come with practice and you would GM with different methods depending on the situation.
But i guess for me i like to focus on immersion, i hope to create a strong suspense of disbelief.

I usually have an overall plan that is happening in the area of the party. Timeline, key characters and locations for that are developed out in my mind. That stuff happens acording to schedual with any actions taken by the group changing them acordingly. What the PCs do and how they do it is up to them but I have a general idea of what is going on.

EotE is a verry good system for improv. The last live session I had I improved an entire bounty mission. the group said it was one of their favorites even though they knew it wasnt planned.

The key I find in EotE is to use the dice rolls to affect the narrative... you roll a threat while firing at the bounty he flees to his nearly by ship. A dispair he flees into his hide out. One of my players shot and missed badly so I used the threats rolled to say the suns on tatooiene had gone down enough to be blacked out by the canyon which now had rapidly dwindling light. In short Improv is great and a lot of fun for everyone.

Has anyone ever ran a game with no plans made prior?

My Experience:

I ran one game with only one player just to test my improvisation, though i did make a map and a bunch of characters.

Though my only direction to him was i told him where he was and then just asked what he wanted to do.

I always have a basic story and a few characters I hope the PCs interact with, so what you described seems pretty lean. That makes it really difficult to generate any immediate interest, especially in a group.* The character generation process, with the players deciding what their backgrounds and motivations are, is fertile ground for at least setting up basic story and premise.

If you do that then I think you'll find the improv process within that story or premise much easier to handle with a larger group. If you have a handle on the key players (i.e.: NPCs or organizations, most of whom are "off screen" most of the time), what their motivations and interests are and how that intersects with the PC's motivations, then it becomes a lot easier to roll with whatever the players come up with. So in that sense, yes, many of my games have little or no pre-planning. The only time I create maps is when I know for sure they will be in a certain location.

Everybody has their own methods for dealing with improv. For me, one of the most useful tools is just a set of dice, either a percentage pair, or some EotE dice (YGGRPP). So if a PC wants to, say, go shopping, and I want to know the attitude of the shopkeeper, a quick roll helps me set the stage, or just helps trigger a cascade of thought strings. Example:

I wonder if the shopkeeper is happy to see them? ...rolls 98...he's thrilled! Why is he thrilled? Because business is bad? No, that's boring. Maybe there's some guys in the back trying to shake him down, and he wants to try and secretly get a message to the PCs...and maybe the guys in the back are working with that gang the PCs have been trying to track down...hmmm, time dig out my adversary cards...!

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* I do have games with my son when he's in town, and it is definitely much easier to just make it all up as you go along when you're only dealing with one person. With my son I really have no idea what he will do next and I'm constantly having to make up places he'd know about or other friends he has that he can tap for help or info...the improv-dice are really worth their weight in gold in those sessions.

I rely heavily on improv since my players never go in any reasonable direction. My usual style is to create a sandbox of who, what and where, and then improv the when and why as the players encounter things. I'll have some pre-planned adventure hooks lying around that get triggered when the PCs bite.

For EotE I'm trying something different. I'm going to have set, one-session adventures (episodes). They will have a lot of pre-planned material (most of which will probably not get used, *sigh*). Aside from the in media res opening, what happens will be up to the players. There may be a couple spots where they get dragged back to a plot line (hopefully without the players realizing it). But the galaxy is going on offstage and the only things we're worried about are what's happening on stage with the PCs.

So aside from knowing what NPCs are knocking about the neighborhood, it is going to be mostly improv with a handful of pre-planned mines going off when(if) they get stepped on.

I too improv quite a bit - I learned early on that my players weren't one to stay on the rails. To keep my game from seeming too aimless, I set up a couple chains of events that may or may not interact with the players, but their effects will be felt by them. This gives me a lot of fodder for story hooks for them, although they usually end up creating their own.

Just curiosity, anyone else here plays just with one player/one GM sessions?

Josep, often when I am learning a new game or system I'll do a game where my wife is the only player. I just come up with a simple story for it and try to fill it with colorful characters and she tends to like it.

On Improv:

In Star Wars, I tend to plan my games more heavily, I just enjoy diving into the complex world-building.

I've been running a lot of improv games in the Feng Shui 2 action movie RPG system, where I just take the PCs' melodramatic hooks into account and construct a story that hits as many of them as I can. That's a lot of fun, and I've been considering adapting this style to Star Wars--as others have said, the SWRP system makes it really easy!

It was actually d20 that i was trying improv with before.

I havent played a proper Eote game yet i want to get the mechanics down a bit more first.

I love world building, but sometimes i feel like i need to run scenarios in a more open way kind of like beta testing what i have made, so then i can know my limits with the additional possibility of extra content

I certainly will be using the adventure books, and its good to have some structure so there is consistency in themes, or goals.
Over time itll be fun to find the balance of structure to improvisation. And yeh it definitely can be true can be hard to keep players on a rail, especially ones that like to solve their problems with masses of explosives.

I have 2 incidents of GM Improv to speak about.

1st one; My Players were about to do a Bounty Hunting mission and I asked if they wanted a structured mission like the previous ones or a totally 100% random out of thin air story. All 4 Players voted for random.

I rolled a d100 x1000 for how much the bounty was worth. I took the Star Wars Atlas and spun my finger around it until they said "Stop" to find out where the target bounty would be, and I used a random name generator for the Target's name.

I proceeded to off the cuff describe the reason he was being hunted and a small tidbit of the last place he was seen. Then off they went.

They didn't have much of a clue where to go so they decided to find a bar which i proceeded to fill (with words) all of the colorful characters, what they were doing, what races, and their reactions to the Players. My Players months later still refer to this as proof I don't need much prep to run a great story.

2nd one; I wrote maybe 9-12 lines of notes for a mission/mini adventure that lasted about 7 sessions. I did stat up a few characters but the rest I tried to do on the fly and reacting to the Players.

I had to think rather fast went they failed to accomplish part of the goal because I accidentally made it too hard for their particular tactic. Thankfully I had enough characters ready that it barely stopped them from accomplishing their main goal anyway. They found an alternate person to talk to and succeeded with the overall mission.

I think at one point I just wanted to see if one Player could keep up with me so I had a whole negotiation with him and one character that zero rolls were done just the verbal back and forth. When the overall outcome was assured I had only 1 roll that fit what was discussed between the two sides and it succeeded.

A note: there was a roll because the Players wanted to have their character skills come into play just to fit the game aspect of it.

Just curiosity, anyone else here plays just with one player/one GM sessions?

I've done it, but only with tailored adventures. I separately ran a couple of my players through a significant story in their background. It worked great in those cases.

All the time. But I can keep track of the story in my head fairly well. Typically the starting scenario is what I come up with first but that can take as little time as

"The GM cant make it again this is the third time in a row. Hey Ryoden you should run a game for us"... "Ok, Your characters are prisoners on board an Imperial Transport when it comes under attack. An explosion rocks the ship and the door to your cell is broken loose. What do you do?" ... "Wait we dont have any characters.".. ."So just decide how good you are at whatever you are doing and make sure the rules fit it later. Lets get on with the story"

That is quite literally how my current game started.

It's worth noting that you have to have some mastery of the setting to be able to pull off improv, and I don't need to remind anyone here just how big the galaxy is. It's a hefty but rewarding task.

It's worth noting that you have to have some mastery of the setting to be able to pull off improv, and I don't need to remind anyone here just how big the galaxy is. It's a hefty but rewarding task.

I'm surprised nobody else mentioned this first (as well as surprised I missed it). Improv absolutely requires you to know the game universe well; both for consistency and verisimilitude. If I start talking about warp drive instead of hyperspace, phasers instead of blasters, or maglev instead of repulsors, my audience (players) won't feel like they're in the Star Wars universe.

Those silly details and the ability to describe a setting that feels like Star Wars are important to improv. The ability to get the dialogue smooth, spin the plot quickly, incorporate player suggestions and such is great. But if it feels like it is happening down the street instead of in a galaxy far, far, away...

Question: Is there a web site or place to go to gain some info as to how to improve your ability to improv.

I always feel I am one of those people that have an arguement with some one, then after getting home does the old forehead slap and THEN and only then, I come up with the witty retort. Fore the most part I think the same way with my GMing, after the session I then think of all the cool things I could have done, but at the time I went with the lame 12 stortroopers come out of the 10x10' room and atatck you.

Unfortunately I think improve is only gained by talking to people more. Like I don't think you could just read about it in a book.

But I understand some people can be easier to come up with ideas with than others.

Can probably find some way to practice with people on here though

Question: Is there a web site or place to go to gain some info as to how to improve your ability to improv.

This was the most helpful for me: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106247/Play-Unsafe

This was useful: http://www.enginepublishing.com/unframed-the-art-of-improvisation-for-game-masters

There are some improv sections in D&D's Dungeon Master's Guides as well.

There are also a number of "how to be a better gamemaster" pdf books floating around with some useful information as well.

Classes or books on Improv Comedy can also help, because a lot of the theory is similar. The main thing is, do it a lot and critically evaluate yourself afterward.

For example, I realized in a session last night that I sometimes find it challenging to carry on full dialogue in a character's accent/dialect, so I tend to resort to summarizing what was said.

For me, this means I should practice improvising character dialogue, just practice talking as a character and saying anything that comes to mind.

Think about bits from your sessions you'd like to do better and practice doing them!

Part of me doesn't like those links just because now I want heaps of those game mastering books but I already have a bunch of books I haven't read. My brain is a limited size

Still need to finish both dark souls. And then there's the infinite stuff I have to learn for career stuff.

Part of me doesn't like those links just because now I want heaps of those game mastering books but I already have a bunch of books I haven't read. My brain is a limited size

Still need to finish both dark souls. And then there's the infinite stuff I have to learn for career stuff.

If I were to suggest just one, it would be Play Unsafe. It's a quick read and a lot of bang for the buck. I hear ya on the lack of time to read everything one wants to read!

I just finished Robin D. Laws' "Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering", there's lots of great advice in there.

The gist is that players have different types--Power Gamer, Tactician, Method Actor, etc--and you can make a more satisfying game for everyone if you take into account what each player is looking for.

I just finished Robin D. Laws' "Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering", there's lots of great advice in there.

The gist is that players have different types--Power Gamer, Tactician, Method Actor, etc--and you can make a more satisfying game for everyone if you take into account what each player is looking for.

That one's classic, it's worth coming back to. Now, the LazyDM did some ebooks that boiled those down a little bit into an easy-to-read format. I also dig Wick's "Play Dirty" as a book I can always read again and refresh - another quick read!

As an Improv actor and GM, I agree with a lot of what's been said here. Particularly, the importance of familiarity with the setting, and character-driven narrative. My two requirements for running an RP are: it must be in Star Wars (because it's the setting I'm most familiar/comfortable with), and the players must create characters with goals. I don't decide on the story, or often even the setting, the players do. This way, when I drop them in a blank sandbox, they have reason to pursue something. I can react to their actions and objectives, and don't have to both create the world and improvise story hooks.

The main reason I like improv is because it lets me run a real sandbox campaign: the players know they're in charge of what happens and where the story goes. But, it only works if they can come up with things they want to do and places they want to go, so it's a very important part of character creation for me to stress.

I spend about 12 solid hours prepping for each 5 hour rpg session, a bit of that is searching wookieepedia for background info (I try to use as much of the EU as makes sense [but I will never use the Vong], but that prep is largely prep for improv (I know the environment, so I know how to improv better), I have a story that I don't expect the players to follow, but my group has largely been sticking to the "plan" that I'm not telling them (I don't plan _how_ they accomplish the objective, that's up to them to figure out, so the "right" answer is whatever the PC's attempt that seems plausible). I create char sheets for the important NPCs maybe 2 per session. no one else have stat blocks, I just eyeball the stats on the fly

While we're on the topic of improv, can anyone recommend any resources for voice acting? I've spent some time on google with lot of unhelpful results....

I did a voice acting short course before (though it was pretty much tailored to commercial work)

It was pretty much just practice, record, listen to yourself, revise

I didnt finish it i dont want a profesional actor mentality, someone can feel free to surprise me with some more books.