I’m thinking of running a Scum and Villainy game, but I’m a little concerned about time constraints. More than other games, FitD games seem to have a mechanical arc (via crew advancement) where the group grows over time to become more important/wealthier as an organization.
I think I’m only gonna have time for about 13 sessions, and while I think running various jobs might be fun on their own, I’m not sure if I could deliver a satisfying “long game”. Any suggestions on how to a) make sure the crew development happens at a satisfying clip (I have no idea how long a FitD is expected to last, vs a PbtA game where a satisfying arc can be had in about 10-15 sessions) b) disregard the idea of crew development entirely? As for b, it occurs to me that the crews listed in SaV touchstones don’t actually get better/wealthier over time.
My opinion? Just play. Seriously, don’t sweat the pace of advancement and just run the game. I’m not trying to be evasive, I’ve thought the same thing you are and between experience and advice, I’ve just learned to let things go and embrace the fiction!
You can squeeze in more time doing “jobs” during your sessions if you handle downtime (and maybe free time) via social media (Discord has a dice roller).
discordapp.com – Discord – Free Voice and Text Chat
My crew got its first tier up (0 -> 1) after 5 Scores. I doubt you’ll get the crew from Tier 0 to Tier 4 in 13 sessions, but by Tier 2 you should be able to afford Cohorts, which drastically changes the feel.
In my group Scores can take wildly varying amounts of time. We’ve had ones that were done in about 1.5 hours and others that took nearly 4 hours. The more immediate complications you throw at the crew, the longer it takes. e.g. “the guard turns around and sees you” needs to be dealt with right away, but “you leave some evidence behind, +1 Heat” can be addressed in Downtime. The group will also advance faster if they take less Harm and can therefore spend less Downtime healing.
13 sessions is plenty. Enough to get a decent arc, at least. You’ll get plenty of crew development – a good crew will probably get an advance every 1 1/2 sessions.
^so much, this. Don’t sweat it!
And to think, I worry about my 3-session arcs being too skinny.. but yet they manage to tell a satisfying short story every time.
If you’re focused, you can cap out the game in ten sessions (I believe.) So 13 is plenty to work with. One thing to consider is encouraging your crew to take a stand with a faction they consider worth supporting, and for them to figure out who they don’t like as well. Giving a strong sense of ‘these are who we’re rooting for and these are the bad guys’ will help punch up the campaign a bit.