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Grog Logs
2019-02-03, 12:04 PM
The Stars Aligned and I had a perfect "Holiday Special" session of D&D yesterday. (While we were playing 5e, the way that the session was run could work with nearly any RPG system.)


I've always wanted to do a Holiday Special session of D&D, with Groundhog Day being my ideal as it is less traditional than Halloween or Christmas and time loops are fun. But, I could never figure out how to make it work. Limiting yourself to just one 24-hour period is really tough and may not contain enough important elements.

A few sessions ago, the PCs had recruited five goblin NPCs and made them work for squirrel and rat tails (which the goblins loved). Despite being attached to the goblins, the PCs kept putting them in dangerous situations and considered sacrificing one of them to save the Party from a very dangerous situation, which they barely won without the sacrifice. However, as they fled after the final battle of the previous session, one of the goblins died an inglorious death. I knew that I had to make this emotional opportunity become an emotional moment, but how.

Then, I realized that my monthly D&D group had scheduled our next session for February 2nd (aka Groundhog Day). I had to find a way to make my Groundhog Dreams work. I started thinking about everything that I knew about goblins and about Holiday sessions and two eureka moments struck me on my drive home from work. First, nilbog (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nilbog)'s are trickster goblin spirits with powerful abilities (in fluff, if not mechanics). Second, the Angry GM's article (https://theangrygm.com/a-very-special-adventure/)that finally convinced me that Die Hard and Gremlins are not Christmas movies because they do not deal with the central themes of Christmas; they only deal with the backdrop/backlight of Christmas.


Angry GM: Die Hard and Gremlins...aren’t Christmas movies because they aren’t ABOUT Christmas. They use Christmas as a backdrop. As a backlight...What makes a Christmas movie – or any holiday movie – a true Christmas movie? Well, the movie deals with themes that are central to the holiday. For example, the themes that are central to Christmas, involve family and community; involve charity and compassion; and involve hope, faith, and optimism...it’s also about communities coming together and taking care of those less fortunate and giving to those in need and reaching out to people who are suffering


So, let's return to the central theme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)#Interpretations_and_analysis) of Groundhog Day (1993) with Bill Murray: to better oneself and the lives of others while accepting the inevitable endless repetition of events and suffering. Not too far away from the central theme of secular Christmas stories. Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Now, I knew the themes that I was playing with and I had a plot device (i.e., the nilbog). However, most PCs do not change, at least not within the early build of a campaign. Murderhobos do not easily become an enlightened Ebenezer Scrooge, they're more like a TV drama or sitcom. They're more like the endless brotherly betrayal of Supernatural or more like the selfish and corrupting codependency aspects of the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-Present) gang.

And, why does this nilbog care so much about this one dead goblin. Oh, maybe because the PCs abandoned the dead body of the goblin. Maybe, the unclaimed body was discovered by a barghest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barghest_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)#Dungeons_&_Dragons_3rd_edition_(2000%E2%80%932007))who consumed its soul. Maybe that particular goblin was the seven year-old son of the nilbog mother. Now, we're cooking. Now, we have a revenge scheme. Now, we have a **** off mama bear (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MamaBear) with nigh-omnipotent power (as long as that power uses trickery, illusion, and charm magic).

Additionally, we now have a large span of time to work with. The two days before the recruitment of goblins (so as to not arouse PC/player suspicion, and because it was the first day of the campaign) from the start of the time loop. And, the death of the goblin forms the end of the time loop.


Visual representation of the timeline that you will need to understand the "Make a Timeline" step below:


(1) (3) (5) (7) (9) (11)
-------------------------------------------------------
(2) (4) (6) (8) (10)

Timeline stolen from online (https://www.officetimeline.com/blog/image.axd?picture=%2F2013%2F02%2F/Litigation-Timeline-in-PowerPoint.jpg).




Remember the Theme: The true theme of Groundhog Day (1993) is to better oneself and the lives of others while accepting our limitations. Time shenanigans are a bonus fun activity to serve the purpose of this theme.

Identify the Triggering Act: What terrible thing did the PCs do?

Identify the Mastermind: Who cares about the PCs moral failing? What type of Illusion-based powers do they (or someone they know) possess?

Identify the Tone of Your Campaign: If the PCs are capable of moral growth, then help them become their best selves. If the PCs are primarily selfish at their true core (or the Matermind believes that they are), then you have a Broken Aesop (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrokenAesop). (I'll explain this one more later.)

Make a Timeline: Turn piece of paper sideways (i.e., landscape). Draw a horizontal line across the middle. At the middle of horizontal line draw a vertical line coming up from the line and write "5" along with 2-4 keywords of what happened. This is when the PCs started down the dark path (e.g., recruiting goblins that they later exploited). At the far right of the horizontal line draw a vertical line going down and write "10" along with 2-4 keywords of what happened. This is where the PCs committed the ultimate selfish act that aroused the ire of the Mastermind. Then, fill in the remaining timeline with eight other events with keywords. The top of the timeline will have vertical lines going up and contain the odd numbers "1" through "11". The bottom of the line will have vertical lines going down and contain the even numbers "2" through "10". At least one red herring should occur between numbers "2" and "4". Each time the PCs do die (one or all of them), the Timeline resents to "Event 1".

Worst Selves (only if Broken Aesop): Timeline "Event 11a" will be the resolution of the time loop. If the PCs think that they have solved the time loop (but they truly have not), give them the "Worst Selves" ending. The Worst Selves should be tailored to what the PCs each individually fear (e.g., becoming a tyrant who leads hoards upon hordes of goblin armies that ravage the land; becoming fully corrupted by your Warlock patron and destroying the land; leading the kingdom into poverty and ruin). This is the false ending of a video game. After "resolving" the time loop (but not realizing why they incurred the Mastermind's wrath), you "flash forward" like the end of an 80's movie...only everything is dark and bad (e.g., "The Darkest Timeline (https://community-sitcom.fandom.com/wiki/Darkest_Timeline)" of Community). After giving each PC their own terrible flash-forward ending, reset the timeline back to "Event 1" again. By this point, the PCs should have had 3-8 resets. Don't be afraid to kill the PCs semi-arbitrarily if needed. See The "Mystery Spot" episode (https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Mystery_Spot)of Supernatural for inspiration.

Best Selves (both regular and Broken Aesop): Timeline "Event 11b" will be the final, true resolution of the time loop. Once the PCs have realized how selfish they've been and rectify "Event 10" such that the Mastermind would never have taken revenge (and ideally the PCs have made other prosocial changes), you flash-forward and give them the "Best Selves" ending. The Best Selves should be tailored to what the PCs each individually hopes for more than anything (e.g., bringing lasting peace between the goblins and other civilizations; creating perfect harmony throughout the land between nature and civilization; breaking your Warlock patron curse and becoming a true Wizard who founds his own Wizard College; bringing a golden age to the kingdom). Then, if you are doing a regular Aesop's Tale, the PCs wake up from the time loop and the Mastermind tells the PCs that these visions can become reality and they can be their best selves if they work hard and continually do the right thing. However, if you are playing the much more fun Broken Aesop, the the PCs wake up from the time loop and the Mastermind tells the PCs that they will never be their Best Selves and they'll never be their Worst Selves. They will die in mediocrity, unknown and un-cared for. They will rot in the ground and no one will ever mourn them for they are worthless and insignificant. Either way (regular or Broken Aesop), reward the PCs with a ton of XP. They just lived through several adventuring days over and over again. Yes, the reveal of the it was All Just a Dream (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllJustADream) might agitate your Players or make them groan; but this is good because that will help the Players get into the mindsets of the PCs who are very exhausted by this point.

Map/Grid: Although the entire session will be run via Theater of Mind and all battles will be decisive (with easy victory by the PCs or their death and a reseting of the timeline), a map/grid is critical. You will start the session with a blank map and narrate the start of "Event 1". This will be your alarm clock moment (see Groundhog Day movie and "Mystery Spot" episode of Supernatural). Make it fun because it will keep happening. When the PCs decide to go to an event marked on your Timeline, add the number to the PCs map with a couple keywords and move the mini-figures to that spot. This is necessary to avoid confusion for everyone. Play out that scene as the PCs decide. If they veer too far off the beaten path, find a reason to kill them to reset the timeline or have an obstacle block their path. The numbers on the Player Map will also help them slowly realize what events are missing, which may help or hurt their solving of the puzzle. Proceed to laugh either way. Gradually, the entire map will show all of the events.

Exit Plan: Have an early exit plan. If the PCs struggle too much with achieving the "Best Selves" or "Worst Selves" ending, have them roll an insight check and then give them clues to try something new. You'll want them to trigger the "Worst Selves" ending (if applicable) with at least an hour left in the session. You'll want them to trigger the "Best Selves" ending with at least 20 minutes left in the session. For the impact of this to work, especially with some many time resets, you need to resolve this within a single session or everyone will be too confused.





Groundhog Day (1993) with Bill Murray
"A Very Special Adventure" (https://theangrygm.com/a-very-special-adventure/) by the Angry GM
"The Darkest Timeline (https://community-sitcom.fandom.com/wiki/Darkest_Timeline)" of Community
Dark Phoenix's revenge (https://comiczombie.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/phoenix131.jpg)on Mastermind during the Dark Phoenix Saga
Scrooged (1988) with Bill Murray
The "Mystery Spot" episode (https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Mystery_Spot)of Supernatural
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-Present)

paddyfool
2019-02-04, 04:30 PM
Question: will they be able to milk the time loop for XP? If so, you may have something like a Mother of Learning situation on your hands (https://m.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-Learning).

EDIT: Ah, ok, a large but GM controlled xp gain. Sounds good.

Grog Logs
2019-02-04, 05:42 PM
Question: will they be able to milk the time loop for XP? If so, you may have something like a "Mother of Learning" situation on your hands.

EDIT: Ah, ok, a large but GM controlled xp gain. Sounds good.

Yes, I assigned XP at the very end. Since my PCs did so well with the RP and relived the first 5-6 sessions over again, I matched their current total XP. That is, they previously had 2,045 XP so I gave them 2,045 more. If they had been higher than level 3, I probably would have given them the amount of XP worth two Hard encounters.

More generally, my DM Style usually involves awarding XP for RP. Usually this amounts to two Medium encounters, but sometimes more and sometimes less. I tell the Players what they're getting the XP for. Usually something like, "#### XP (Medium encounter worth) for meeting the mayor, learning about the town's problems, and conversing with the blacksmith to gather more intel" and "#### XP (Small encounters worth) for saving the farm from the demons and debating amongst yourselves whether to reveal the town's secret history".

Any other Qs???

Kol Korran
2019-02-05, 06:13 AM
This sounds like quite an interesting structure. Can you perhaps describe the actual game session? Though I understand the general design, an example of actual play would be great!

Thanks for sharing this!

Grog Logs
2019-02-05, 12:10 PM
This sounds like quite an interesting structure. Can you perhaps describe the actual game session? Though I understand the general design, an example of actual play would be great!

Thanks for sharing this!

Thank you for showing interest! I'm happy to share more about how the actual game session went, but it may take me several days to have the spare time to do so.

However, the best summary is the Supernatural episode and Groundhog Day movie that I referenced. There are a lot of narrative montages (some with only slight variations; some with wide departures from the norm). There are no dice battles and only occasional skill checks.

Meanwhile, the Worst/Best Selves are represented well in the Scrooged movie with the Ghosts of Christmas Past/Present/Future. (In my version the PCs weren't watching themselves, but I did take full narrative control at those points. It requires trust between GM and Players.)

Grog Logs
2019-02-10, 05:38 PM
In order to understand my Timeline Events (listed below), you need some background on my campaign. "The Greenfield Tech Campaign" is basically the TV Show Community meets Harry Potter meets generic fantasy setting with influences from Eberron. That is, the PCs are all a part of a local community college that accepts everyone in order to train them to be Adventurers (no matter how unqualified they are for this line of work). After a successful Session 0, I created a 4-page college brochure as the Setting Guide. Here are a few excerpts.

We here at Grenfield Technical Institute like to think of our school more as your secondary home than as a secondary learning institute. Other places focus on only accepting the best of the best. We focus on the rest. We’re a hands (and tentacles) on learning center where what you learn in the field is as important as what you learn in the classroom. We hope that you join us and realize that Greenfield Tech is as much of a family as an institution.

Adventure is much more than simply exploring new life (and unlife) and new civilizations (and old ruins). Adventure is about expanding your own personal horizons. As you learn to seek out new experiences, you begin to realize that you are good enough, smart enough, and, gods darn it, humanoids and other assorted creature types are going to like you. You’re not too cool for school. You are just cool enough.

Through your various homework assignments, you’ll gain real-life experience, not just theory or “kingdom standards.” We’re here to teach you what you want to know. Because if you don’t know what you want to learn, how should we? Adventure internships, or “adventureships,” are a lot like friendships: There’s always another lair. Go down further in the cave. Explore that so-called “haunted” house. Discover what’s lurking deep in the dark forest of doom. As you experience adventurships, you’ll come to realize that you are more efficient at killing things, looting treasure, and talking to NPCs (or non-paying classmates) than you ever imagined. Because everyone is a classmate, not just students enrolled at Greenfield Tech.


Here are the Timeline Events that I sketched out before the session. I edited out several parts of Events 9-11 in order to avoid spoilers for Death House.


Class Roll Call (strange 14 vs 12 stu)
Lose map & Wolves
Caves (negotiations w/ molefolk; firebugs; bats & unconc)
Neptune's assistant & Neptune raises PC who died to bats
Classes; Cafeteria; Caves (bats; badgers; pits; laughter echo)
Ooze in molefolk basement
Classes; Goblin ambush; Recruitment
Rooster farmer; squirrels in cellar; Scare old woman
Mansion; Rose & Thorn; PC # 5 in closet; [Location A]; [Location B] & finds note from Wizard King C'thunk
PC # 5 reading; [Location C]; [Location D]; "[1st Chant]"; "[2nd Chant]"
Flee; [Edited Mansion events]; Mace-y not make it


Events 1-4 occurred during Session 1.
Events 5-6 occurred during Session 2.
Events 7-8 occurred during Session 3.
Events 9 occurred during Session 4.
Events 10-11 occurred during Sessions 5-6.
Groundhog Day occurred during Session 7.


"Welcome to Cultural Studies 101. I am Professor Zusudall Stonebreaker [said the Young Adult (20's) male Half-Orc]. As it is your first day of class [One Player perks up, "What?!?" I ignore it and proceed. The other Players will catch on soon.], we'll start with roll call."
[Proceeds to roll call the first 9 students in the class with each one responding, "Here."]
[Then, proceeds to call on the 3 PCs who attended Session 1, who respond with "Here." He mocks two of the PCs for being Elves.]
[Then, proceeds to read off PC # 4's name, who did not join until Session 2, who responds with "Here."]
"That's odd. There are normally only 12 students in a class."
[Then, proceeds to read off PC # 5's name, who did not join until Session 4.]
"Wait, now there's 14. I'm not getting paid enough for this. *Grunts*
[Then, proceeds to give the lecture on how Diamonds can be used Resurrect a slain companion. Different diamond values are needed for different lengths of death. Professor Stonebreaker then instructs the students to form groups. He puts a pile of maps on his desk that lead to the Diamond mines and leaves the classroom. All the other students pair up, grab all but one of the maps, and leave before the PCs can act. Thus, the Party is formed as there is only one map left.



At this point, all the Players realize that something is very wrong. With the exception of PCs # 4 and 5 being there, everything occurred exactly as it did at the start of Session 1. The presence of these two extra PCs is a clue that they are in an Illusion Spell (similar to Dream) rather than a pure Time Loop because history is already different - even before the PCs have had a chance to enact changes. The additional two PCs are there because the Nilbog (i.e., the Mastermind extracting her revenge on the Party) assumes that they were there. So, there is a slight mix between what the Nilbog is able to extract from the PCs' brains in the dream world and what she expects.


Only the line "Welcome to Cultural Studies 101. I am Professor Zusudall Stonebreaker..." is said by me after a PC death as the "Time Loop" starts again. I then montage Professor Stonebreaker doing the roll call, the diamond lecture, and the maps. This is your Heat of the Moment & "Rise and shine, Sammy" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByMEQ0cWRVA) moment from Supernatural and your I've Got You Babe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD2ZC11pPPQ) from Groundhog Day.


The Party falsely assumes that they are still trapped in the Haunted Mansion and return there. I move the PC minis to Event 9. (See "Map/Grid" from my initial post.) They accuse the man outside of the Mansion of being responsible for the Time Loop. As a DM, I had originally added this man to the outside of Death House in order to integrate Death House into my campaign. He had originally hired them to enter the Mansion. He denies everything. One of the PCs gets fed up and kills the man. While the Party is arguing about what just occurred, they do not notice the village guards surround them. The guards swiftly kill all five of the PCs. I move the PC minis to Event 1 and cue "Start After Each Death."



The Party falsely assumes that they must partake in the immoral action at the Key Decision Point at the end Death House when the chanting is in full swing. They go to the Mansion. Then, they realize that they need the Goblins. I move the PC minis to Event 7. They defeat the goblin ambush and recruit them (see "DM Sleight of Hand" below). They head to the Mansion (move minis to Event 9) but the goblins whine & refuse to go into the mansion as they have not been given the rat tails that they've been promised. The PCs go to the Squirrel Cellar (move minis to Event 8) and give them all of the Squirrel tails. The goblins will now follow the PCs anywhere. They go to the mansion (move minis to Event 9). The PCs commit the immoral action (move the minis to Event 10), which results in the death of a goblin. The PCs expect the Time Loop to stop. They go home for the night (move minis to Event 11). I move the PC minis to Event 1 and cue "Start After Each Death." (Yes, they didn't die, but they failed to break the "Time Loop.")



I "carelessly" grab a bunch of goblin minis and put them on the board at Event 7. What the Players do not realize is that there are only FOUR goblin minis instead of FIVE goblin minis, like in the original timeline. The missing mini is the one who died during Event 11 in the original timeline. This is the second clue that it is not a pure Time Loop. This is also a clue that the "Time Loop" involves the goblins somehow. The goblin minis are moved to the different events with the Player minis until the "Star After Each Death" triggers again.



The Party is stunned that the loop is not broken. One of the PCs interrupts the roll call of Professor Stonebreaker to inform him about the Time Loop. He dismisses their concerns as a prank and orders her to be quiet. She persists. Professor Stonebreaker throws his axe across the room and kills the PC in one shot. Cue "Start After Each Death."



The PCs falsely assume that they have to relive each day perfectly. I let them proceed as planned. We play out each Event in montage narrative. Occasionally, they miss an Event number, realize what it is, and say that they do that, and I add the missing number to the grid. When they get to Event 7, only THREE goblin minis are placed on the board. This time, the Players notice. They are now convinced that the goblins are involved but they don't know how. They continue through all the Events, only this time they kill the remaining three goblins one-by-one (exploiting their trust in the Party) before completing the immoral actions at the end of Death House. They see nothing wrong with killing the goblins as nothing they do matters. (Nihilism!). As the Party leaves the Mansion, they return to Greenfield Tech. I trigger the "Worst Selves" Ending, which I labeled Event 11a in my original post in this thread. I completely take over the narrative and illustrate how the PCs' behaviors trigger three different end of the world scenarios simultaneously. As the PCs all die in the apocalypse, I move the PC minis to Event 1 and cue "Start After Each Death."



The PCs try various strategies. Sometimes selfish. Sometimes helpful. They try various things to disrupt the "Time Loop." One of these includes a PC sitting in the front of the door to the classroom before the maps are handed out to stop the NPC classmates from leaving. The PC is trampled and I cue "Start After Each Death." Another event includes the PCs picking the locks to a teacher's classroom that they had never entered during the campaign. They wanted to know what would happen if they disrupted the original timeline significantly. The door opens to a white void. (There is a white void because the Nilbog does not know what is on the other side.) They step into the white void and I cue "Start After Each Death."

Finally, the PCs decide that they have to do the right thing. They proceed to follow Events 1-10 in the same order as the original timeline. Only this time, they are chivalrous and unselfish. They help those they didn't before. They are polite. They do the right thing. When they get to Event 7, there are no goblins. The PCs are very suspicious of this but don't know what it means. They proceed through Events 8-10, with me moving the minis accordingly. Finally, they exit the Mansion having made the moral choice at the end, but without exploiting any goblins (possibly because they were unable to encounter any, but more likely because they learned that exploitation is wrong). I then trigger the "Best Selves" Ending (see post 1 of thread).


Edit Addition: Please, let me know if anything is unclear. It took a couple hours to type all of this and my brain is starting to melt. The PCs LOVED the session, BTW. It went better than I had hoped.

paddyfool
2019-02-11, 09:25 AM
This is epic.

I do also recommend the mother of learning thing I mentioned for a (very longwinded) alternative take on groundhog day and student (wizard) life in a d&d world: https://m.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-Learning

Kol Korran
2019-02-14, 08:34 AM
@ Grog Logs:
Thanks for the session write up. The example explained the concept quite well, along with the links.
I'll keep this idea in mind. I have an idea for a scene, where the characters come upon the old remains of an ancient, almost undisturbed battlefield, which the nearby locals consider cursed.

After an activating event, the characters are suddenly drawn to the past/ a ghostly/ semi-illusory reliving of the battle, beginning in the day before it, and culminating at some sort of a great disaster, that caused the armies involved getting cursed in this way, to relive it every X time...

The characters are thought to be participants, and begin reliving the battle, and when they die (By the disaster or otherwise), they return to the start... They need to figure out how to break the loop though, because at each beginning they become more ghostly themselves, joining the great battle... As many around them, who didn't find a way out...

While it differs from a holiday game, quite a lot of the structure can be used. Thanks!

Grog Logs
2019-02-17, 09:20 AM
This is epic.

I do also recommend the mother of learning thing I mentioned for a (very longwinded) alternative take on groundhog day and student (wizard) life in a d&d world: https://m.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-Learning

Thank you for the praise and resource. It is on my to do list.


@ Grog Logs:
Thanks for the session write up. The example explained the concept quite well, along with the links.
I'll keep this idea in mind. I have an idea for a scene, where the characters come upon the old remains of an ancient, almost undisturbed battlefield, which the nearby locals consider cursed.

After an activating event, the characters are suddenly drawn to the past/ a ghostly/ semi-illusory reliving of the battle, beginning in the day before it, and culminating at some sort of a great disaster, that caused the armies involved getting cursed in this way, to relive it every X time...

The characters are thought to be participants, and begin reliving the battle, and when they die (By the disaster or otherwise), they return to the start... They need to figure out how to break the loop though, because at each beginning they become more ghostly themselves, joining the great battle... As many around them, who didn't find a way out...

While it differs from a holiday game, quite a lot of the structure can be used. Thanks!

Agreed. I wish you luck with your scene/session. I agree that there is a lot of overlap. Have you seen Edge of Tomorrow (2014) with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt? Or, what about the "Battle Lines" episode (https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_Lines_(episode))of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. While neither one is quite what you describe, they might help you adapt what I called the Best/Worst Selves into something more appropriate for your specific story. Please, let me (and others) know how the story went!

trollballz
2019-04-19, 08:41 AM
Hey, just wanted to chime in and say thanks for compiling the work you did on this and sharing it. I had the idea to start a campaign off like with a groundhogs day and this is really helping to refine it.

Thanks!

Endarire
2019-04-28, 09:03 PM
Thankee for making this! Such is the first I've seen anyone report on this time loop adventure style!