The Missing Reel (Running RPGs)

Skipping the Dull Bits

Ever wished you could skip a dull bit in an RPG? This is for you.

I was out at Chaosium Con last month and ran a couple games. The scenario I ran is a lot to pack into four hours, and one of the techniques I used to make it work was ‘the missing reel’.

He’s Talking About the Old Days Again*

[*stock response from my children to 90% of what I say]

Back in days of celluloid, a movie was on multiple reels of film and sometimes a reel went missing. That stuff was also highly combustible, so maybe one went up in flames or, you know, some projectionist just fumbled their skill roll. I never witnessed this myself, the closest I recall is a Laurel and Hardy film breaking, followed by a delay while it was repaired.

Planet Terror

I got the missing reel idea from the film Planet Terror. It’s been years since I saw it, but as I recall, about two thirds through, the protagonists are sat making plans in a diner, when the screen cuts to black and a sign comes up saying ‘Missing Reel’. After half a minute or so, the movie restarts, and suddenly it’s a disaster movie: shits on fire, people are screaming, those same protagonists now look like they’ve been in a fight (I maybe misremembering details). I loved that.

“The late second acts in movies are usually the most predictable and the most boring, that's where the good guy really turns out to be the bad guy, and the bad guy is really good, and the couple becomes friends. Suddenly, though, in the third act, all bets are off and it's a whole new story anyway." - Robert Rodriguez

The Game

Anyway, no spoilers for my scenario, but the investigators got to the ‘enemy base’ and were discussing how they are going to break in to rescue their friend (an NPC). I’d previously run the break-out by simplifying it to a few key scenes, but right then even that felt like too much. In the majority of RPGs, this kind of operation is going to take a while, probably the rest of the session. This is what you might expect:

• Planning: who’s going to do what? Are they going to use the old ‘knock them out and take their uniforms’ trick, or stealth their way in, or go for a full frontal attack? Are some of them going to hang back and provide cover? What happens if they get split up? And yeah, I know there are games that attempt to circumvent the planning, but I’ve yet to to be convinced.

• Doing it: the GM may have to think on their feet here, responding to what the players do and presenting challenges so it doesn’t feel too easy. If it’s a large building, where are the captives held? Does the GM have a floor plan? Are there alarms? Are there guards? The guards are armed right — do they have magic too? Maybe the PCs find their friend, and now they have to get them out. I’m thinking of Luke finding Leia in a cell — a lot happened after that: trash compactors; evading guards — you know the rest — but a lot, right?

Missing the Reel

So here’s the technique: simply skip all that stuff, and cut to afterwards.

Tell the players what you’re doing — skipping to them having successfully carried out the rescue. Jump directly to the players as they run away, describe what can be seen behind them: the building is on fire and alarms are sounding.

Here’s two tips for making this interesting:

1. Ask questions: “Are you running through the streets or jumping fences through people’s back gardens?” “How do you look right now?”

2. Set stakes: address each player in turn and shine the focus on them. Agree a stake — something that may or may not have occurred during the missing reel that can be decided on a single roll (probably a Luck roll if it’s Call of Cthulhu).

Setting Stakes

Stakes have two sides: if you lose, one thing happens; if you win, another thing happens. The best stakes have an exciting outcome on both sides, but let’s be honest: it’s hard to think of those in the moment. If you can only think of one, that’s fine.

• If you succeed on the roll you’re fine, but on a failure you’ve taken 1D6 damage.

• If you fail the roll you’ve lost all your gear, but if you make it, not only do you have your stuff, but you grabbed something else — a musty old book of spells!

• If you fail the roll, there was another captive and you couldn’t leave them behind (this other person could turn out to be a liability or problem down the line).

State what will happen before the dice are rolled. Build up the picture as you go. Chances are the players are pretty excited right now — this is fun! — give them a chance to express their imagination.

Why Skip Bits?

It doesn’t have to be an enemy base, it could be a fight scene (especially one that occurs soon after you just wrapped another one up), or a visit to a city to get information. I’m talking about something the players feel they need to do, but no one really wants to play out step-by-step. Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes this kind of episode can be fun to play out in full — just for whatever reason, you’re not feeling it.

Ultimately, it’s about planning and reading the room. Is there time to do this thing, and is everyone up for it — or would it be more fun to skip it?

I’m thinking very much of convention games and one-shots here. I think most people are happy ending a four hour game after a three and a half hours — what matters is did they have a good time?

Back to the Scenario

That’s it, you’re back to your scenario — carry on! This could work for any RPG. If you try it, please let me know how it goes.