DMing a good party scene

[solamon77]

Just as the title states, how do you run a good party scene? And by party, I mean like a celebration, not like a party of adventurers.

 

[ccs]

A few years ago I ran a session where the PCs found themselves involved in an all night bash hosted by a tribe of satyrs.
The longer each character lasted (remained conscious/didn't bail, death wasn't possible), the greater the rewards.

I divided the night into 3 stages - early, mid, & late.
Then I made multiple decks of cards. (I used one of the various MTG card maker programs, some cheap sleeves & about 400 bulk commons)
1 deck had a card for each person (PC or NPC/creature) attending the party.
3 decks were "Things that happen at the party during stage: 1/2/3). Each deck was 100 cards. There were 50-some cards for each, some having more copies than others, & some cards duplicated between decks. Each card represented either something the character drawing the card was participating in, something they could choose to interact with, or something they witnessed, & most had instructions, effects, etc. Some cards required knowing wich other attendees were involved/affected, so that's where the PC/NPC/Creature deck came into play.
Each character got to draw 4 cards per party hour on average. Some cards used up multiple draws.

There were about 4 scripted events (planned encounters) for the session. Everything else was dictated by the card draws....

 

[solamon77]

That's a really really cool idea. I absolutely love this. I'm going to take it and adapt it for my own use. Thanks for the great reply.

 

[ccs]

Make sure to post the results.

 

[solamon77]

Will do, but it's going to be a while before I get to that scene.

 

[Nytmare]

There were about 4 scripted events (planned encounters) for the session. Everything else was dictated by the card draws....

Do you have a Cliff's Notes version of the events or what some of the cards were?

 

[MarkB]

Make the main guests personable and distinct, and introduce them early - both by name, and with a brief scene that illuminates their general character. If at all possible have pictorial references so that the players can keep them straight.

Provide some good reasons why the PCs need to circulate and talk to people. It's very easy for the less talkative players and/or the less socially proficient characters to default to wallflower status if there's no action.

 

[ccs]

Do you have a Cliff's Notes version of the events or what some of the cards were?

Yeah.

 

[billd91]

At most party scenes, the group of adventurers is going to split up - at least one hopes they aren't constantly traveling around as a pack and swarming any other party-goer at the event. When they split up, you've got to jump the focus about between the PCs and the people they are interacting with so that no player is left sitting out of the action for too long. Put on your director's hat and jump from conversation to conversation like a director might in a movie - even mid conversation. It not only allows you to involve the other players, it keeps the anticipation high for returning to a conversation thread left hanging - AND it gives both you and the player involved that thread a little more time to think to come up with your responses or next moves in that encounter.