Micro-Shots
T
he magic that permeates the world is far
stronger, older, and all-encompassing than any
mortal can truly comprehend. The same way
that one can view the multitude of stars and
know that they are distant, without
comprehending the very real numerical
amount of space and time that divides them, so
is magic in its presence in the universe. Because of this
reality, it is not surprising that some things happen through
magic that no living being is aware of. Changes are made,
fates decided, all possible by undetected magical influences
that stretch out from the known reality, across the multiverse
and beyond.
There is a place, not extradimensional, not extraplanar, and
certainly not present, where the smallest flap of a butterfly’s
wing acts as an arcane component in a grand ritual of
immense power. Within this place dwell the Forms; beings
and objects that mirror those found in experienced reality,
that come into existence for brief moments, and then fade.
They do not realize that they are merely Forms, but this does
not make them any less real. The Forms sole purpose upon
their creation is to play out the chaos and determination of
the events that brought them about, and in doing so, become
a cause for some related material world effect. After their
cause has been fulfilled, they return to the magic that they
were born from. In this way, reality moves in complex ways
that no one, save maybe the oldest gods, can understand.
What are Micro-Shots?
Micro-shots are small roleplay encounters that are meant to
be played within a 30 minute session. They are crafted by the
DM of a campaign from prompts in the usual sessions, and
have the potential to affect the decisions the DM will make in
future games. Micro-shots are limited to two players (plus the
DM), and take on the roles of premade characters (called
Forms) with simplified stats. These characters may be PCs
from the campaign, NPCs, monsters, or something more
abstract. DMs are encouraged to think outside the box when
creating Forms for these micro-shots, and may even wish to
experiment by giving sentience to otherwise non-sentient
entities (storms, toys, etc)
How to Run a Micro-Shot
During the course of their campaign sessions, the DM will
write down any number of “prompts” that stick out to them as
holding some kind of significance. Some examples might be
a difficult decision a PC makes, a quote someone speaks that
everyone finds funny, or a particularly devastating attack. A
prompt should be no more than 2 sentences, such as, “The
wizard maximized his fireball attack, destroying the enemies,
while leaving his allies unscathed.” or “The paladin finds that,
with the loss of his powers, a new path must be found.”
In preparation for the micro-shot session, the DM will
create Forms, using standard character sheets, but leaving
most sections blank. Blank sections can be filled in during
the course of play as they become necessary, but are
otherwise ignored.
Each micro-shot is designed with a particular Style:
Combat, Exploration, Decision, or Puzzle. Combat refers to a
session that will include one or two combat encounters,
usually incorporating some unique/important feature (terrain
hazards/bonuses, unusual rules, etc). Exploration involves the
use of skills to discover knowledge, such as the location of an
object/person, the answer to a riddle, or the method of doing
something. Decision is the social type of encounter, and
involves the balancing of pros and cons to come to a
meaningful decision, oftentimes requiring other steps be
completed before making a final choice. Finally, Puzzle refers
to sessions that contain thinking challenges, and may involve
navigating a maze, solving a riddle, or bypassing some traps.
Style Examples
Style
Description
Combat Child versions of the PCs fight teddy bears
Exploration Historical NPCs begin city planning
Decision The gods argue who gets a priest's soul
Puzzle
PCs dream of being lost at sea
Combat A king's emotions fight to keep sadness away
Decision Some ghosts decide if they want to haunt
All of these different kinds of sessions may represent
historical events within the setting, a dream had by a PC (or
NPC), or may be nothing more than a passing thought
experiment in the mind of an aboleth. Whatever they are, they
exist at the beginning of the session, and cease to exist at the
end, regardless of the outcome or how much has been
achieved.
DMs should also prepare micro-shots with possible
outcomes and game effects in mind. Effects do not need to
have a mechanical effect, and instead might mean that a
future NPC will be friendly when they otherwise would have
been hostile (or vice versa). This might be explained in-game
as the NPC experiencing a happy fortune (or an ominous
nightmare) before meeting the PCs, setting their tone.
Another example might be that the PCs will come across a
secret compartment the next time they decide to search for
one, wherever they are. A stroke of luck, a promise
generously made, a path revealed, are all examples of
changes DMs could make in their campaign session as a
result of how a micro-shot played out.
Before a micro-shot begins, players will know what style
the game will take. They will then be given a character at the
start of the game, and may decide to roleplay them however
they see fit (no consistency with in-game characters is
required). Roleplay and dialogue that are off topic are
encouraged, but players are aware of the time constraint on
the session, and must balance roleplaying dialogue with
reaching an outcome they want. A negative outcome might
not always be considered a failure; it is simply an indication
of the kind of effect that will carry over to the campaign
sessions.
Made Using the Homebrewery