Building The Mission Briefing

[LordKruelos]

One thing I've liked about Spycraft from the beginning, especially when a convention or 1-shot game, is how quickly you can get into the game through a brief "Mission Briefing" format without breaking the feel of the game. I've generally found that one of the biggest differences between sessions that take-off well and sessions that get mired down quickly is a quick but effective mission briefing.

In addition to getting players (especially new players) up to speed on what their characters are being asked to accomplish in-game, it also sends a message that the GC is organized, prepared, and on top of things (even when this is sometimes not true).

I'm curious who uses briefings, and what kinds of tricks you've come up with to make them awesome.

To get things rolling, here are a number of links I've found useful in the past -- other suggestions?

How to Write a Mission Briefing (Operations Order)

Types, Steps, and Outlines of Briefings (US Army Medical Dept)

US ARMY SERGEANTS MAJOR ACADEMY - Briefing Guide

Briefing in PowerPoint (USAF)

[MugMug]

How to Write a Mission Briefing (Operations Order)

There is nothing "awesome" about writing an OPORD. In fact, let me speak more generally and say there is nothing awesome about having to adhere to any particular Army writing standard. 

Walter

[Krensky]

I gave up on writing fake opords for my SG-1 game after reading some of those.

[LordKruelos]

To clarify: I wasn't saying anyone had to do that, but rather that they might be useful as a guide if someone has no idea what they're doing.

How do you do your Intel Sessions?

[Krensky]

I follow the examples from the show. A flag officer (typically Brigadier Harris, RMC or General Mitchel, USAF) tells them where they're going and what they're supposed to do when they get there. A few missions have started without this, with me giving some exposition about where they are and why.

[meadicus]

I write a very simple briefing document which has just a few paragraphs describing the mission then a list of objectives at the bottom.

It also states the mission calibre with a little alert style graphic to state the level of importance. Not very fancy but it does the job.

[LordKruelos]

I follow the examples from the show. A flag officer (typically Brigadier Harris, RMC or General Mitchel, USAF) tells them where they're going and what they're supposed to do when they get there. A few missions have started without this, with me giving some exposition about where they are and why.

Which show are you talking about? Did I miss something?

Where I find the briefing MOST useful is for the initial plunge into Spycraft, especially with unfamiliar players -- a good one sets the tone, gets the group on the same page, and gets them into the mission in a short time. As a group gets more familiar with each other and the system, the formality and preparation can go down and the players themselves can take more control from the beginning.

[Krensky]

I probably should have reiterated it was a Stargate: SG-1 game, but I did mention it in the post before yours.

As for formality, the group is (in various combinations) been around for... twenty years I think? I'm not sure, I've only been a member for 11 or so. Granted, my players are about the same or less in it, and the people playing the game are more or less familiar with the show (ie some are very, others know it exists), but the general concept is pretty familiar.

My players have actually moved more from the 'go do this and this and this' structure to something more 'go solve this problem or deal with this issue', with the the scope expanding. They're currently doing a LRRP behind enemy line with vauge mission goals. "Scout area, strike targets of opportunity, stay alive."

[Gentry]

I find that tactile assistance works miracles in setting the proper tone and helping everyone settle down and get their spy-face on. In prior instances, I've recorded the mission briefing in "Mission Impossible style" on micro cassette, and simply placed the tape player on the table and waited for the players to hit the button. Once they did, and after the first few moments of "this is really cool", they started taking notes, and by the time it was over they were totally in the moment.

Just recently, I demoed for the Day of the Bullet, and posited a situation where the players had to get on board a yacht and assassinate a terrorist financier. As this was a convention event, I really went all out, and compiled a manilla envelope full of handouts--photos of the target and a contact, deck plans of the yacht, illustrations of the mission bundle gear (with the game mechanics printed right there for easy reference later), the works. It was all stock stuff, from either google or one of a number of stock photo sites out on the interwebs. So the players got to open the envelope and spread out this sweet hot spy stuff all over the table while I read out the "your mission is" details. It was a joy, and the event was the hit of the RPG room. 

As an aside, I've also found that introductory missions (which is to say, missions run for new players) work best for me if they have no "teaser" scene prior to the intel phase. New players in my experience don't get into spy mode as quickly when they have to immediately tackle big mechanical tasks like combat or a Chase, and working through those mechanics can drain away precious time from the real mission.  But that's just me.