I’m a high school English teacher, and every now and then, I’ll convince a kid to read a book that’s a little different. Noting too far off their beaten path, nothing too unfamiliar or intimidating. Just enough to get them a different flavor than they’re used to and accidentally slip into books that have stood the test of time and are truly Great.
The kids who like airport-novel mysteries realize hey Agatha Christie is “pretty bussin,” and the kids who are all about Diary of a Wimpy Kid get blindsided by the power of Maus or Bone or Watchmen, and the kids who like John Green realize F. Scott Fitzgerald nailed the whole pining/unrequited love thing too.
Gotta sneak up on ‘em before you can whack ‘em with great literature, I always say.
Those “new books” are similar enough to what they know and like already that they’re comfortable, but they’re different enough to stretch the kids and give them a new experience.
Your players are similar.
They might be used to the tropes of your table, maybe some favorite monsters you lean on, or story arcs you favor.
Mix it up … but just a little. What are some things you can tweak, just slightly, to subvert those expectations and slip your players into a new genre or idea?
For example, one session, I used some undead cockatrices. All the signs pointed to basilisks or a medusa or something, and the players prepared accordingly, but the reality was just different enough to surprise them and give them something new to talk about, a new experience … a new encounter, if you will. (I’ll show myself out.)
For your next session, think about a way you can sneak up on your players and whack ‘em with something a little bit different.
What’s something you’ve whacked your players with that was unexpected?
Immerse Yourself in D&D - Sly Flourish
Ask Angry August Mailbag and Supplemental Bulls$%&: The Time Between Adventures - The Angry GM (the mailbag includes topics like your players not liking the game you’re running, dealing with anticlimactic on-the-way-home travel, and initial D&D One thoughts)
One D&D Will Be Huge for D&D - RJD20
Random Worldbuilding: Fast & Furious Homebrewing and Ptolus: Running the Campaign – On the Efficacy of Burning Oil - The Alexandrian
Villain’s Toolbox: A List of Deadly Methods for Murder - Pulp Gamer
The Mosquito of DOOM! - Welcome to the Deathtrap
The Sultan’s Basement - Dyson’s Dodecahedron
Rest Interrupted - Rise Up Comus
Now get out there and tell a story!
Peace,
Maximilian