We’ve all been there: It’s game night and you can’t be bothered with playing. Maybe you’re exhausted, maybe you’ve had a hard day, maybe you just can’t find the energy. There is always the option to cancel. That is totally valid option often but it still sucks. ### Getting some energy (2:30) Uri teaches “Improv for GMs” and “Improv for Roleplayers” workshops. Improv and GMing have a lot in common. Here are a few basic tips from the workshops: - Warming up to a session. Both physical and mental warm ups. It's amazing how much it help to clear your head when you’ve done some warm up. [Here are some activities](http://improvencyclopedia.org/categories/Warm-up.html). - Psyching yourself toward the session. Think about the fun you’re going to have and the experience you wish to create. - If you are feeling a genuine emotion - use it. If you are tired - play tired characters, run the next session when it’s night time in the game and all the NPCs are dead tired. This can be a catalyst that will give you energy. ### Run something different today (7:10) Maybe boardgames tonight? If you are too tired to run a session you can take a break from the game routine run a [a filler](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Filler)! - The ultimate solution for continuing when you don’t have an idea. The filler episode have no relevance to the overall plot line. - Childhood session - replay a part of the characters childhood. This is a type of a [Whole Episode Flashback](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WholeEpisodeFlashback) trope. - Body swapping session - for some reason some of the party are in the bodies of other party members, hilarity ensues. A great example might be Farscape’s “[Out of Their Mind](http://www.farscapeworld.com/episodes/synopsis/10209.php)” episode. - Dream session - a session that take place in a dream (separate this from the “[it was all a dream](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllJustADream)” session - that need to be handled with care) - [Lower Deck](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LowerDeckEpisode) Session - a session focus on minor NPC such as the henchman or the people of the town. A great examples may include Babylon 5 - [a view from the gallery](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517621/). Also, read Eran’s article on [Storytelling](http://www.uptofourplayers.com/2017/08/storytelling/). - [The Villain's POV](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainEpisode) session - run a session where the players play the villains of the campaign. Suggestion: make a two sentence character sheet and use the session to flash out the villains. - A night off - An evening where the characters have a night off. The character might be playing a game. A great example for D&D might be the great game [Three Dragons Ante](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Dragon_Ante) that was designed by [Rob Heinsoo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Heinsoo) that [Uri met in Dragonmeet](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152618544183412&set=a.10152618537498412.1073741844.566933411&type=3&theater) (and yes, that’s an “On the Shoulders of Dwarves” t-shirt). - Play a dramatic interlude - Savage Worlds have a great system for handling interludes, it’s called [Dramatic Interludes](https://www.peginc.com/freebies/SWcore/SWDUpdates_Interludes.pdf). [Fate collaborative game creation](https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/game-creation) You might want to play an storytelling game, some examples may include [Intrepid](http://drivethrurpg.com/product/121044/Intrepid-A-Storytelling-Adventure?affiliate_id=29668), [Fiasco](http://drivethrurpg.com/product/78548/Fiasco?affiliate_id=29668), [Microscope](http://drivethrurpg.com/product/91183/Microscope?affiliate_id=29668) and [Venture Forth](http://drivethrurpg.com/product/227988/Venture-Forth?affiliate_id=29668). ### Rel