Someone linked me to this in the SJ Games fora (yeah, I know some of you hate those guys for some reason, bite me) and I thought it worth flagging.  The original thread for those who care is http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=21907&page=1&pp=10

The idea is short form fairly standardised prospectuses you can use to pitch game concepts to your group, the thread contains four from the original poster then a bunch from guys who mostly seem to me to have slightly missed the point, but the core idea is a good one.

Here's one of the examples reprinted:

QuoteTitle: Rise of the Serpent Men

Genre and Setting: A "sword and sorcery" (steel and a strong arm vs. alien magics and dark rituals) campaign of a group of adventurers repelling an alien invasion.

Player Characters: Rough and ready frontiersmen, merchants working on the knife's edge, wandering mercenaries are all acceptable. All characters should have combat exeperience, and most should be able to blend into both Christian and Muslim cultures. At least one character should have extensive multi-cultural experience (elves, dwarves, Muslim, Christian, Nomad, Orc), and a linguist is needed.

Mission Statement: What binds the group together is the knowledge, scoffed at by the establishment, that an alien race is secretly infiltrating the continent, working to enslave all mammilain races. Expose the race, defeat their minions, and save the world.

Play Style: Combat will be frequent, but social encounters with strange cultures will also play a large role.

Rules System: Heroic (150 points) GURPS. Each Magic College will be a Wildcard skill, and individual spells can be raised as techniques. Wildcard skills in other areas will be encouraged, for niche protection.

Source Material: GURPS Banestorm, the tales of Conan, The X-Files.

So in essence, the layout seems to be:

Title:

Genre and Setting:

Player Characters:

Mission Statement:

Play Style:

Rules System:

Source Material:

Seems quite a good idea to me, what do you all think?

Quote from: BalbinusSomeone linked me to this in the SJ Games fora

Wonder who that coulda been...

*Snerk*

Quote from: Levi KornelsenWonder who that coulda been...

*Snerk*

Heh, you're right, that's where I got it.  I couldn't remember.

For the past few years I do pretty much exactly this for all my new games.  In additional to being superhelpful for players it has an added secret benefit: if I can't ft everything the players need to know about the game onto one page I know I haven't sufficiently simplified and refined my ideas.

Looks like a great way to organize campaign creation and make sure everyone's on the same page.  Especially critical is the "Mission Statement" portion, which I know I've been guilty of skipping over when presenting campaign ideas to my group.  "Great setting, Ken, but what are we supposed to DO?"

Thumbs up.

Quote from: BalbinusHeh, you're right, that's where I got it.  I couldn't remember.

No worries - my site is supposed to get shared out.  

I just find it totally amusing watching ideas and links from there crop up here.

Quote from: KenHRLooks like a great way to organize campaign creation and make sure everyone's on the same page.  Especially critical is the "Mission Statement" portion, which I know I've been guilty of skipping over when presenting campaign ideas to my group.  "Great setting, Ken, but what are we supposed to DO?"

Thumbs up.

That's critical isn't it?  And the something should ideally be fairly specific.

Jrients has a point too on simplicity, if you can't summarise in that space it's probably not a great idea for a game.

Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.  Indeed, it would probably help me qua GM even more than the players, by forcing me to summarise the whole point of the campaign in a succinct manner.

"Brevity is the soul of wit."

I use these all the time.  I just sent out a batch to my players this past weekend.  I received one as well.  We're trying to figure out what game we're playing next semester.

In fact, I'd like to post them somewhere...but I don't know where.

I do this all the time, and it works great.

Quote from: KenHRLooks like a great way to organize campaign creation and make sure everyone's on the same page.  Especially critical is the "Mission Statement" portion, which I know I've been guilty of skipping over when presenting campaign ideas to my group.  "Great setting, Ken, but what are we supposed to DO?"

The other great value to such profiles is a) when you've got a large group of players, and want to sort them into the game that fits them best, and b) when you've got a wide variety of campaign ideas, and you're willing to let your players chose between them.

Either avenue works basically the same: write up a batch of prospectuses, then have your potential players vote on them. If you've got enough players (and time!) for multiple groups, you can sort them by their preferences. If you've got just one group, you chose the campaign that got the most best votes.

It virtually guarentees that, as a GM, you'll have a campaign you want to run, and as a player, you'll have a campaign you'll enjoy.

The sad thing is, since I started using this system, I've got an excellent format for recording my campaign ideas, but I'm running fewer of them -- none of my games fizzle out mid-campaign, and often run longer than expected because everyone is enjoying them so much.

Quote from: PaulChapmanThe sad thing is, since I started using this system, I've got an excellent format for recording my campaign ideas, but I'm running fewer of them -- none of my games fizzle out mid-campaign, and often run longer than expected because everyone is enjoying them so much.

Yeah, I can see how running long games that everyone enjoys could be terrible

Thing is, for many of us the problem isn't ideas, I have ten ideas a day, it's sticking with ideas.  This could help with that also from what you say.

Quote from: BalbinusYeah, I can see how running long games that everyone enjoys could be terrible

That is the mark of the Swine!

Quote from: BalbinusThing is, for many of us the problem isn't ideas, I have ten ideas a day, it's sticking with ideas.  This could help with that also from what you say.

Indeed.  Fitting an idea into a prospectus like this would help you separate the more robust ideas from the thinner ones.

Quote from: PaulChapmanThe other great value to such profiles is a) when you've got a large group of players, and want to sort them into the game that fits them best, and b) when you've got a wide variety of campaign ideas, and you're willing to let your players chose between them.

Yeah, I always throw about four or five ideas in various genres out there to my players before starting anything (sole exception being the current Trav game.  I wanted to run this game and only this game, though I gave my players the power to choose what the campaign would be about; they chose space pirates).  Problem is, I get so wound up in setting ideas that I often forget that my players will want a clearly defined goal.  It's a pretty fundamental thing to include with any campaign, and I'm ashamed to admit how often I forget it when planning a new game.

Excellent way to organize your thoughts.  I love picking up good practical tips like this.  Thanks!

GAME STYLE
Cinematic (1 part), Realistic (3 parts)
Hack (1 part), Thesp (3 parts)
Schtick (1 part), Drama (3 parts)

WHAT HAPPENS
Action / Fights (3) – "What we do in life, echoes in eternity."
Building (2) – possibly more, as the game will be political.
Character (4) – who you are and who you know is more important than what you know! (That's politics.)
Character Power (1)
Destroying (2) – possibly more, as the game will be political.
Exploration (1)

HOW IT'S DONE
Combat, Communication, Intrusion, Persuading

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
What does it mean to be a Roman citizen, when the Senate is corrupt and indecisive, Generals march on Rome to abolish it, when a Republic is an Empire, when some are free and some are enslaved?

This campaign will be fictional-historical, that is, it will use history as a basis for its story, but it will not use historical figures. It will be realistic in theme, and will have combat, honour, deceit, intrigue and treachery. Characters will begin as mere plebeians, but will by association with greater men rise, and their actions will determine the fate of the Republic and the Empire.