The main difference between tabletop RPG's and film and

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I apologize for bumping my own thread so early, but I just wanted to state that I have to go to bed now but will be checking the thread in the morning in about 8 hours. If it's still up I'll respond to posts then. Sorry for the inconvenience but I honestly can't stay up any longer and work my shift tomorrow. Goodnight /tg/.

>>52941567
>>52941540
I think saying its THE main difference is a biy much. Films are planned and (usually) have a rigid structure with very little coming "off the cuff". In addition we only get to see the best cuts and takes. Where in ttrpgs its all one take and the "audience" has an actual say in what happens.

Regardless, I think having one way to do it isn't to show the group what bbeg is doing RIGHT NOW, but rather some note/passage of what they did. Could be notes they took in wizard school, tales of younger days from a past friend, or if you want to be blunt, a burning village. Of course all that is more to show how they got to where they are, and doesnt give you much in the way of time sensitive stuffs.

Thinking on it, part of the issue might be fantasy settings not having the "tech" to get information around fast enough for it to be a tool a GM can reliably use without being very silly (patron god just shows the party whats up, but is powerless to intervene or just teleport the party there). Maybe in a more modern setting you could do news casts, but even then jt sounds like it would mostly be "look at the burning village".

>>52941902
Basically what this anon said. Instead of giving a page of exposition, have the BBEG's actions evident. Have players see traces of their handiwork, or talk to witnesses.

>Players beat up mooks, questioning for intel on BBEG
>"Y-you don't understand! He's INSANE! J-jeff tried to quit, a-and... the doctors said they'd never seen balls that far up someone's body before!"

IE there's a clear scene that happened, which the players can now piece out. Here it's more immediate to their characters though, not metagame knowledge, and they have the added engagement of finding out those little stories themselves.

>>52941540

You're wrong from the first sentence.

There are a lot of differences between tabletops and movies, but the most important, defining one which comes before all the others is that it's an interactive medium vs a static one. That the players are involved and can actively alter events rather than merely acting as a static audience.

>>52941540
Read books told from a first person view.

What does /tg/ think of side sessions or interludes with players taking up roles of various agents within alternate POVs, such as townsfolk amidst the BBEG's attacks.

Then later on the PCs stumble across evidence that they themselves saw from another perspective (i.e. alt characters' bodies, discarded items, etc.)

There are a lot of good points here already, but this is something I have thought about as well.

I once tried doing something where I would write out a scene depicting something related to the up coming session and post it to the group a few days before we played. The idea was to generate excitement for the coming game, as well as to show some things happening out in the world not directly related to the PCs.

For example, one scene was a string of events just before a shipwreck, with the following session starting out with the players being tasked to investigate a strange wreck off the coast.

I think it worked out okay, though at times it was hard to come up with ideas for things that kept people interested without spoiling the coming session too much. Anyway, you could possibly do the same thing showing some villainous action.

>>52943687
I've done it before a few times. It was boring for the players who knew their characters would get no character development

>>52943687
Sounds cool, but could get meta-game-y really easily if your group isnt on board.

>>52943687
I love doing it and my players always seem to enjoy it, generally I like to stick them in the shoes of a team with some sort of mission. I've done things like a corp. sec. team investigating a lead they couldn't and squad of the antagonist's hunting them. I think the key was that clear laser focus on the goal and getting the player into running with the concept of their temporary character, depending on my audience I've pre-written the personalities or even got them to do it on the night.

>>52941540
>>52943687

We do that. I give them cards with the guys stats (usually Brawns, Brains, Social), a portrait, a couple traits and goals, and make them roleplay the scene. "You're the mayor of the recently conquered town - you're the evil general. Action"
They love that shit, and sometimes they even end up adding some neat elements to the story.

On a sidenote, it allows for individual character development. You can have a scene focused on a single PC, with the other players doing the NPCs instead of just sitting at the table and waiting for their characters to appear.