Hurried Handouts #3 – The Power of the Press

Here’s a quick handout I put together to help summarize the players actions from the preceding week. They picked this up just before leaving dock.

News-sheet handouts like this can be a used to immerse your players in the world. Getting your name or exploits in the press just makes the world feel more real. It’s a tip from John Fourr I’ve been using for years.

Getting your exploits in the paper is always fun

Photoshop work here was very minimal and went like so.

1. Find a scroll image on Google
2. Type some crap

The first story pertains to the PCs recent climactic end of level success in rescuing an Eladrin ship. Although until reading this they didn’t know the town guard had been onboard to check out their story about the captain. This little addition of something that happened when they weren’t there makes the players realise there’s more to the world than just their actions. This first story also lets the player’s know that the Sergeant made good on his promise to cover up the deaths of the attackers.

The second story is feeding a future plot line. The third, a murder investigation, is the result of the party’s over zealous interrogation techniques. The Mayor’s birthday is pure meaningless fluff, unless the players get hooked by it, in which case it could become future plot.

The final job posting is there because the players killed the last hold of that position!

How have you used news-sheet handouts successfully to drive your players? If you haven’t then why not?

Since the dark days of the late '70s, Iain has been playing and running RPGs of one type or another. When not with his wife and children or working as a software engineer/Photoshop monkey he spends spare time either shooting pointy sticks at pointless paper targets or spending time enjoying the varied worlds of role playing.

Tags: Handout, Photoshop Tips, Resource