[Twilight Time] Cliffhangers--Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

[Heather Grove]

June 19, 2003 - Cliffhangers--Good, Bad, or Indifferent?
Volume 4, Issue 6

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Good morning!

The schedule for the zine is going to change a bit. Rather than aiming 
for one issue every three weeks and an article a week for the web 
site, I'm going for something less scheduled and a bit more free-form. 
The web site and zine were taking up too much of my time and I wasn't 
getting any other writing done. Don't worry--I'm not abandoning the 
zine or site--I'm just setting fewer deadlines and writing fewer 
articles. I also finally got around to verifying the links on our 
links pages, and soon I'll be adding new ones for the first time in a 
while. :)

I think it'll end up being an improvement--I was burning out a bit 
before, and I'm regaining my enthusiasm now, which of course affects 
the quality of my writing. It helps that life is less stressful these 
days, and the cats are healthier, and, in general, everything is much 
better! So I look forward to talking to you in issues-to-come.

Have a great day,
Heather



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Cliffhangers--Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

If you ask a group of 10 roleplayers whether cliffhangers are a good 
or bad way to end a roleplaying session, you'll probably get a pretty 
split answer. Some people will tell you they're terrible; others will 
tell you they're perfect. Why the split? What are the pros and cons? 
And what are some alternatives to cliffhangers that will have the same 
effect that you'd like to achieve?


What's a Cliffhanger?

First we need to define our terms. Some people define a cliffhanger as 
any ending that leaves some element of the story hanging--whether 
that's a choice the player characters (PCs) have to make, the outcome 
of an event, and so on. The dictionary basically defines a cliffhanger 
as an episode of a serial that ends in suspense.

To me, suspense means that you're waiting to find out what happens 
next, which means you're waiting on the game master (GM) to tell you 
what happens next. Because of  this, I'm going to define "cliffhanger" 
a little narrowly--it's a way of ending a roleplaying session in which 
you break off in the middle of something the PCs have a stake in 
(usually in the middle of a scene), leaving the players in suspense 
wondering what will happen next.

For example, the bad guy, whose identity has been secret up until now, 
walks into the room--and you end the roleplaying session right there, 
before you reveal his identity. Or the PCs do the magic ritual and 
hold their breath waiting to find out if they've averted the 
disaster--and you end the session there, leaving the players wondering 
whether they've succeeded or not. Or the climactic combat begins--but 
the players have to wait until the next session to find out how it 
turns out.


What's Good?

Why do some people swear by this method? Because it gets their players 
excited about the next roleplaying session. TV shows use it to get 
people to tune in to the next episode to find out what happens next, 
and GMs use it to get their players to show up for the next session. 
They use it to put their players in a state of heightened emotion 
regarding the game.

Some GMs also find that dropping people into their next session in the 
middle of a scene brings them very quickly into character.


What's Bad?

Some people get really annoyed by cliffhangers. Some people find those 
three words "to be continued" make them *less* interested in tuning in 
next time rather than more interested. Some people are just easily 
frustrated or annoyed, or have a low stress (frustration) tolerance 
and threshold.

You can also run into some logistical problems with cliffhangers. 
Usually cliffhangers require you to break off in the middle of a scene 
rather than at the end of one. If a player is sick or otherwise fails 
to show up at the next session, this can be much more difficult to 
fudge than if you break off between scenes or at a less critical juncture.

Some GMs find that dropping people into their next session in the 
middle of a scene makes it *harder* for them to get quickly into 
character. They might not remember the first part of the scene very 
well. There's no chance to ramp up and bring them up to speed--you're 
just dumping them into the deep end and telling them to swim. This 
works for some people, but not for others. (Sometimes a recap of 
events leading up to the cliffhanger can take care of this problem, 
however.)


How Do You Decide?

The first thing you need to do is ask your players how they feel about 
cliffhangers. If you have even one player who hates them, then 
strongly consider not using them. If everyone is okay with them, then 
you might decide to go ahead despite the logistical problems. If 
someone isn't sure then try it once and see what happens.

Also take into account how long it's likely to be until your next 
session. If your next session is in 12 hours, then even the most 
die-hard cliffhanger-hater might be willing to wait to find out what 
happens next. If it's a month away, then even someone who loves 
cliffhangers might have trouble waiting, or getting back into the 
swing of the scene fast enough. The less time there is between 
sessions, the easier it is to get away with using cliffhangers.


What Can You Do Instead?

All right, so you have one or more players who hate cliffhangers, or 
you don't want to deal with the logistical problems. But you *do* want 
a way to keep your players excited about starting the next session. 
How can you do this without a cliffhanger?

Luckily there are plenty of ways to leave your players hanging a 
little without cutting them off in the middle of a scene or right 
before a major revelation. For instance, introduce something new just 
before the end of the night. Introduce a new plot hook, a new plot, or 
a new NPC. Just give them a teaser, enough to whet their appetite, and 
then end the session. Hopefully they'll be excited to come back and 
explore the new element. If you need an analogy, this is a bit like 
getting to the end of a book and finding that there's an excerpt of 
the first chapter of the author's next book included.

Another method is to cut off at the beginning of a time of discussion, 
strategizing, or decision. That way you can allow your players to chat 
about the issue between games, which tends to keep them interested and 
excited. You could even create a mailing list on which they could hold 
these discussions, so that you can "listen in." (Unless you want a 
game that's part email-game, you should probably institute a rule that 
the moment one PC wants to take action beyond talking, the discussion 
ends and everything has to wait for the next game session.) Even if 
you don't allow discussion between sessions, this kind of ending will 
often still keep your players thinking about the game.

A third method is to actually finish that exciting scene--the 
revelation, the combat, the ritual. Allow the PCs to have their major, 
exciting conclusion, and then break off while they're still feeling 
the warm glow of success or the trauma of failure. That high emotion 
will often carry over and leave them even more excited to come back 
and play again. Just leave the little aftermath bits until next 
time--most of your players will leave remembering just how exciting 
and fun your game is, and it'll make them want to come back again and 
again.


If you have a group of players who enjoy cliffhangers, then you might 
as well play around with them from time to time. But if you have one 
or more players who really don't like them, then try one of these 
other methods. I think you'll find it's entirely possible to leave 
your players excited and looking forward to the next game without the 
use of cliffhangers.


What's Your Opinion?:

Comments on this issue's topic? Suggestions? Tips? Special topic 
requests? Drop me a line at (heather at burningvoid.com). If I pass any 
of your suggestions on (either through the newsletter or the RPG 
resources page), I'll attribute them to you. Be sure to tell me if you 
don't want me to use your name and/or comments!

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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