Seeking an advise on running longer session

question
#1

Hello all!
I have a group of friends which I am gming, and we are live at different parts of the globe, so our sessions is like once or twice a year. We only play in person, and with all obligations of adult life, these are standard 3-4 hour sessions.

We finally decided to get together in air bnb for a strait 48 hours of pure play.

I am super excited and terrified the same time :slight_smile: as I never run or prepared for such a long play, and don’t even know where to start…

If anyone has any suggestions or advises how to make it happen - it will be supper appropriated.

#2

I would run it like a mini-convention, with ample breaks. So, a suggested schedule and template might be:

10:00 am to 1:00 pm = Session 1
1:00 to 3:00 pm = Lunch/break
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm = Session 2
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm = Dinner/break
8:00 pm to 11:00 pm or midnight = Session 3

Then just repeat the second day.

So, in terms of prep, you’re running 6 total 3-hour sessions.

That gives you some room to create some conflict, tension, and struggle, across five sessions, with that 6th and final session resulting in a climax and resolution.

And a good story/plot template might be:

Session 1: Leaving the shire and pursued by ring wraiths
Session 2: Warg riders and Rivendell; accept the quest
Session 3: Mines of Moria (good midway climax)
Session 4: Pursued by orcs and helm’s deep showdown (a valued NPC dies)
Session 5: wretched swamp and spider lair (it all seems hopeless)
Session 6: Sneaking into Mordor and showdown on mount doom with big bad

Now, just reskin everything with kobolds and gnolls and evil wizards and a dragon at the end, and that will be an epic weekend. Or something like that.

#3

I probably should have also explained, when I am feeling overwhelmed by a large task, my default is to break it down into discrete, smaller chunks. That’s what my advice is above: it’s just a template to follow to break things down into smaller pieces. Reskin a tried-and-true formula and then execute your version of events.

#4

Thanks!
Will try to follow. Maybe there are some ready modules which I could use to as an inspiration?

#5

Sent you a message with some adventure links. :shield:

#6

When I moved away from my regular gaming group, we continued to play remotely via email, meeting once a year or so to resolve major plots points at the table. Those sessions would usually run over a weekend, so it fits right in with your 48 hour limit. Here is what I learned:

  1. If you can do significant amounts of storytelling beforehand via an agreed-upon format (like email), do so. In our case, I was like a cross between an author and GM. I would send a short “story” setting up situations for all of the characters, they would tell me what they wanted to do, and I would write up the results in another piece. We would do this back-and-forth, and we were able to move the story along quite a bit. This is a great way to get a lot of role-playing and world-building done. Depending on your players, it may be more efficient than doing it at the table as you can deal with individuals or sub-group actions and plotlines without making others wait with nothing to do.

  2. Maximize your together-time: if you are using offline methods as described in step 1, try to arrange it so that the party is fully ready for a significant in-person adventure as soon as you sit at the table. Equipment is purchased, spells are memorized, guild fees paid and travel, if not already complete, has been arranged. Example: if the overall arc is to defeat the lich at the bottom of the ancient crypt, the in-person adventure should start as close as possible to prying open the door to the crypt itself.

As for how to prep for 48 hours of adventuring goodness, the above suggestion to plan breaks is a good one. Otherwise, if sounds like you have done plenty of 3-4 hour sessions that add up to well over 48 hours, so you already have a good gauge of how much adventure fits into that much time: just plot out 2 six-hour sessions for each day (I assume they will be interconnected for a continuous narrative through-line). If you’re like me, you find that some of your 3-4 hour sessions end before the content is fully resolved, so this is your big chance to run longer adventures that you may have discounted because of your normal constraints. It’s a challenge, but also a huge gift! Try to let go and enjoy the opportunity!

Best of luck! I hope you’ll post a follow-up telling us how it went.

#7

Thanks all for very strong suggestions!
With all suggestions ideas start to sparkle in my mind.
The session is planned mid-July, and I will definitely report back how it went.