Anyone who’s been around USP for any length of time knows that not only do we stream long form content, but we also tend to generate a bevy of one-shot style content as well, when we can get it all to fit into one session that is. This is generally in keeping that a lot of us who GM for USP also tend to run games at conventions, and it’s usually easier to come up with a one and done scenario. But, as sometimes happens, we run into an idea that’s designed as a one-off that resonates so well with the players that they beg and plead for a sequel, and if we as a GM decide to honor that request, we have to come up with ways to pull that off.

Recently I’ve been asked to create follow ups for games that I’ve run, and while I’m still working on both of the games, I’ve done enough that I think I can tell the story in an attempt to help others who may find themselves in the same boat. I won’t name the games (those that know, know), but the existing one shots that were created both have their challenges in writing a follow up.

In the first games case, I had always intended to go back to the world, with the same characters, but following a completely different setting. You could say that any follow up to this game would be indirect; I could utilize the same characters or not, but I would likely not reference the elements from the first game unless I had a majority of players at the table who had played the first game. In this way, it’s almost as though I’m writing another one shot, just utilizing the same setting from the first game, tweaking things, and presenting the new game to the player. The only issue I had here was in living up to the expectations of the previous game; I’d gotten so much positive feedback from the first I didn’t want the sequel to fall flat on it’s face. That in and of itself is a weird feeling I’ve not had before as a scenario writer, and honestly it put me into a paralysis situation for the longest time. At the end of it, I ended up giving myself a deadline to have it done by, wrote a story that stood on it’s own but could reference the first, and presented it to the players. Thankfully, it as as well received as the first, but like most things there’s still some tweaking I can do.

The second game is a bit more of a challenge. The way the game ended amongst the players almost cries out for a direct sequel, in this case defined by utilizing both the same characters and the same setting or world, and directly referencing the elements from the first game. Now, direct in this case doesn’t necessarily need to mean starts immediately after the events of the last game. Time can still pass to allow the narrative to advance to a point where a new story can be picked up, but the events of the first game propel this new story forward, hopefully onto a new trajectory.

As I’m still in the process of even working this game out in my head, the only thing I can provide is the questions I’ve been asking myself as I do my brainstorming. Those are:

1. What was the ending of the previous game? If I know where things ended I can decide if I’m picking up directly after the events of the previous game or pushing things into the future a little bit. Since I’ve run the game multiple times, I probably need to try to come up with one “canon” ending based upon what the majority of tables did to get to that ending, while still allowing myself a little wiggle room.
2. How did the world evolve after the events of the last game? This is really about what did the players of the game do that would have changed things. If you’ve run the game multiple times with different decisions by the players, this can be a bit trickier to overcome, but generally trying to look for similar patterns can be helpful. Not specifically about the ending of the game, since that’s the previous question, but more about what did the players learn and how might that have affected what they did once the session was over.
3. Why is there a need to continue the story? Outside of the request itself, what is it that the players found interesting about the setting, and how can you continue to subvert their expectations while treating them to an enjoyable experience. This tends to be where my brain starts trying to figure out all the little plot twists and interesting minutiae that I can throw at the players.
4. Is it possible for this to stand alone? One would think this is odd, especially since we’re talking about a direct sequel, but when you do a lot of one shots at conventions, you understand that having a stable of games to pull from cuts down on prep time immensely. So my thought process here is, what happens if no one at the table has played the previous game? Do I write up a long blurb about the previous games events (which I’ve done with my Cartoon Universe games, though that was always designed as a two-parter), or, do I let this story stand on its own and not worry about the events of the first game? The way my story prep is going, it’ll be easy enough to opt out of or insert the story bits I need so that I can run the game as both a direct sequel or as its own one shot.

Not everyone is going to have the same experience as it relates to this, and that’s normal! I’d actually love to hear other people’s takes on this situation, so please drop a comment on this story or in our Discord if you’ve had or have a similar experience but different outcome. Thanks for reading!