In all of the discussions about ttrpgs, we tend to put a lot of focus on the GMs. And that makes sense because there are a lot of skills that can be talked about in a general sense that go into GMing. In improv rehearsals, we spend a lot of time discussing scenes that just happened. Not because we're going to do them again, as in a play, but to examine the choices that were made and see how the scene grew from those choices. We learn what works well because we look at what we've already done with intentionality. Hypotheticals untethered from actual performance become much harder to use as a tool for learning in improv. With one exception. Do something. With ttrpgs, as in improv, you need to do something. And I hear you now. "Mikel, that's one of those 'no shit' statements." I wish that were true. The one thing that I can tell any new improvisor or ttrpg player to make them better, sight unseen, is to make strong decisions. To do something. Because there's a damn good chance that they're not going to. Instead, what tends to happen is that they will give a fairly weak initiation and their scene partner won't know exactly what to respond with so they don't commit to anything on the scene. This goes back and forth a few times where no one pushes the other character into a position where they need to take a strong position and you have a scene that feels more like two people who used to go to high school together meeting in a supermarket. They both feel like they should say hello but neither really cares that much and, 5 minutes after they give their greetings and head down to the meat section, it's gone totally out of their head. This is not an ideal way to approach, either for improv or a ttrpg. A better way to approach the scene: * Cut directly to the thing your character wants * Add to the situation as given by your scene partner * Escalate (Status and eventually giving in are going to be part of a different blog post. The rules take care of a lot of that.) An example: At Gen Con, in my Honoring Stakes workshop, I use some of the Alien Cinematic Campaigns for the scenes. It gives them characters who have an Agenda and a compelling situation to drive the first few minutes of play. If they actually use this information, they should be able to jump into a strong scene, drive their character's agenda, and immediately have things they want their character to do after the scene. Instead, they make small talk and no one really goes after anything. Here's the set up: Spoilers for the opening scene of the Alien Cinematic Campaign "[Chariots of the Gods](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/293977/alien-rpg-chariot-of-the-gods-scenario)" You've got the following characters and agendas: * Miller (Captain who desperately needs this mission to work out to get out of the doghouse with the company) * Davis (Pilot who's had it with the company's shit) * Rye (Roughneck whose brother is ill and believes she should be paid more for a dangerous mission) * Cham (Roughneck who wants to keep the peace) * Wilson (Company agent who's aware that everyone's about to be really pissed off) And here's the situation: * The USCSS Montero should be 48 hours away from being back on Earth after hauling the equivalent of tons of nitroglycerine behind them in a ship not made to carry something like this. Any problems along the way, while the cargo was degrading into a valuable fuel, would have destroyed the entire ship. * They're really more than a year away from Earth because someone (Wilson) changed the flight plans. * They're within range of a distress beacon for a ship that's been missing from nearly 80 years. A beacon they should never have been anywhere near. What tends to happen is small talk at the table between Wilson, Cham, and Rye. Davis comes in to tell them they're a year off and no one really reacts. Miller comes in to talk about the distress signal and they eventually decide they should do something about that. It's boring and when I ask them what scenes they want to have next, there's not really any good answers beyond, "Well....I guess get prepared to check the ship." Then I come in to remind them what they already knew about, model the feelings these characters should have, and then give them permission to come in angry. And then I tell Miller that they shouldn't have to care because their in charge and, at the end of it all, everyone's gong to do what he says. * Cut directly to the thing your character wants * Rye immediately starts pushing Miller for more money. * Add to the situation as given by your scene partner * Miller reminds Rye that they signed a contract and they're getting what they agreed to. It's not Miller's fault that Rye didn't read the entire thing. * Escalate * Rye often threatens to get physical here. * Cut directly to the thing your character wants * Cham cuts in to try to keep the pace * Add to the situation as given by your scene partner * Rye usually reminds Cham that they've been getting screwed over, too. * Escalate * Davis comes in letting everyone know they're a year away from home And that usually turns everyone against Miller until Davis comes in with the distress beacon and has to back up Miller because they need this to work. The argument that happens here puts people into clear corners. Cham sometimes ends up on either side but tends to be a piece still in play for both factions that have just been created. I ask them what they want to do next and I'm surprised if everyone has only 1 scene they want to have. What they discover is how much easier it is to escalate and make things happen when the other player does something. When they come in with a strong thing that they want and push for it. Suddenly a player goes from not knowing what to do next to pushing back and creating a wonderful scene that, in turn, makes it easier for anyone else in the scene to add to it in a meaningful way. So if you find that your scenes seem to circle the drain and have nothing much really happening, the answer is weirdly simple. Do something. Want something. And go after it hard.