hen players begin to arrive, you need to give them information. You need to tell them what’s happened since the last story (if anything) and should provide goals and motivations for the upcoming evening. Prepare as much information as you can in written form for players to read as they arrive. Here are some handouts that you can create to facilitate your story’s introduction.

• Timetable – (For Narrators only) This sheet contains a chronological list of all events that take place. Timetable sheets are useful for planning complex stories, and help your Narrators coordinate where they have to be when. Events listed might be “10:00 P.M. – Herald of Smiling Lord arrives and announces war with Jade Empire.” Make sure each Narrator has her own copy and go through the events on the handout during your Narrator briefing.

• Background Briefing – This is a one-pager that you can create to provide a short background for the important characters of your chronicle. You should include any important events that have occurred, rumors that are circulating throughout the city, and important things that have happened in previous games. A new player should be able to pick up this handout and immediately have an idea of what is going on. (Lost players tend to be bored players, and bored players don’t come back.) The handout can mention things like what city the chronicle takes place in and the names of the local movers and shakes. Make several copies of this document and give one to each player, or leave several out in the open for players to take.

• Character Briefing – Depending upon how thorough your character creation process is, you may need to let individual players know special tidbits that their characters know. It is best to have these written down; even the most talented role-players have to resort to their own notes now and then.