Session Guide

Running Your Own Sessions

The Session Guide is the person who announces and runs the brainstorming session. Their goal is to guide people through the adventure creation process, keep the conversation on track, and do their best to make sure that we will be able to create a complete story within a reasonable amount of time (2-3 hours).

You're welcome to take initiative, announce, and run your own sessions.

Before The Session Begins

1. Make a session announcement

Go to #session-announcements and make a post like this:

It's best to limit the group size to 3-4 people. That way everyone has enough time to speak and contribute, things stay more manageable, and the process moves forward faster.

2. Create a copy of our templates

Open the Brainstorming Template and click File > Make a Copy. Do the same with the One-Page Adventure Template.

Don't forget to click Share and change "Anyone with the link" to "Editor" (so that everyone with the link can edit the doc).

3. Before the session, post a reminder

10 minutes before the session begins, make a post in #brainstorming-text:

If you have less than 4 people, invite more people right before the session:

During the Session

1. Begin the session with introductions

Introduce yourself, and invite people to give brief introductions.

If you find it helpful, here's exactly what you can say:

2. Make sure everything is working well

Make sure that people have the Google Doc and the Adventure Prompts Tool open.

Ask them to enter their nicknames at the top of the brainstorming template.

3. Briefly recap the brainstorming process

Explain to people how our brainstorms work.

Explain your role as a session guide:

Ask if anyone has any questions about the process before we begin.

4. Brainstorm the adventure idea

Go through the idea brainstorming part of the template, brainstorm ideas, and select one idea you want to develop into the adventure.

Aim to finish this part in 40-60 minutes.

5. Develop the adventure idea

Go through the rest of the steps and answer the questions in the template to develop the rest of the adventure.

After The Session

• If you really like the adventure - invite people for a playtest. Learn how to run playtests here.
• If you have enough time, energy, and enthusiasm for the idea - clean up the draft and turn it into a complete adventure which you can share with others. Use the #work-in-progress channel to discuss the adventure after the session. Once the adventure is complete, post it in #finished-adventures.