Change Creates Tension Creates Adventure

Making adventures can be hard. There is a reason all the major RPG producers sell pre-written adventures. There is a reason the DMSguild exists. There is a reason you can barely throw a rock in the RPG side of the internet and not hit any number of adventure idea/seed generators. There is nothing wrong with them. In fact, a lot of them are really good with some amazing adventures I'd imagine the vast majority would never consider let alone be able to pull off unaided.

Hatred vs. Empathy

 I recently finished The Last of Us 2. I found the game to be a lot better than the Last of Us 1, and the story was a surprisingly mature dissection of hatred and othering. At least, that is what I took from it. You can agree or disagree, but to me The Last of Us 2 through both Abby and Ellie (the two main characters) shows us how hatred can take over our lives, cost us all the things we once held sacred, and how - ultimately - empathy is the solution to hate, but also very frequently one of the first victims of hatred. 

The Mandalorian's Narrative Loop Works For Campaigns Too

 Over the weekend I saw some people on twitter talking about the Mandalorian's narrative loop. No one was saying they disliked the show, just that the story telling in it is not very complex. In a world full of serialized shows with serialized plots, the Mandalorian is a big old breath of nostalgia with the majority of episodes being standalone while the over-arcing plot moves slowly and ponderously in the background until it builds up to where it needs to do something towards mid-season or end of season.

Storytelling in Campaigns

There are more ways to tell stories in RPGs then just in the direct path of an adventure. Like with videogames, almost everything players interact with can help inform them to more about the world, the NPCs, and even yes the main story or stories you're trying to tell. Today I want to touch briefly on ways to get these small bits of stories across.

Big Moments. Small Moments.

Big moments are important to RPGs and the stories we tell in them. Boss fights, epic betrayals, last stands, vindication of loyalty. They're the moments that people both want and crave. The stand out moments from books, movies, shows, and everything else we consume stories from. In essence they're easy to set up: a lone fortress against impossible odds, the final battle, a big boss encounter with a dragon, an ally turning traitor. Those few words used to describe them are more or less all you need to 'setup' in your game to have them. However, for as easy as they are to set up they're just as easy to have fall flat. Why? Because in focusing on big moments, in wanting to have those moments of shock, danger, tension, in wanting to have that highlight reel moment we forget that for a big moment to stand out it has to contrast against other moments and it needs to be setup for with myriad smaller moments.

Small moments, for as small as they are, can be infinitely harder to do well. They tend to be exactly as described: small. They're personal, and in a lot of ways they can feel meaningless. The kind of moments you feel comfortable glossing over at the table because they'll take time, they don't involve anyone, and 'nothing really important' is happening in this.

Need A Plot idea? Dive Into The Lore

As I write this I'm on my third or fourth Mr. Rhexx video on lore regarding Dungeons & Dragons. Why am I listening to this? For much the same reason I've found myself seeking out documentaries when I want to watch something of late. And for the same reason my book shelf has a growing collection of non-fiction works on it. The reason has two parts for it:

1. It's always fun to learn about things.
2. This is pure seed, nutrients, and everything else needed to grow a story.

The thought goes like this: reading stories may inspire you to tell your own stories, but the ideas you take from a story are going to be copies of that story. Go to the lore that that story pulls from though and you get the root ideas and core concepts. Maybe you take a very similar idea, but since you're getting it from this 'purer' source (i.e. not through the lens of the other story) it can grow in its own way.

Story vs. The Dice

I was listening to the Matt Coleville video about fudging dice rolls, and something he said got me to thinking. During the video, Matt posits that RPGs like D&D aren't story telling games - though you can tell stories in them - because it involves dice rolls. The idea is that the dice are random, which is different than fate. His argument boils down to we use dice because we're not story tellers, but game masters and it's our job to run the game. He then further says that we fudge dice rolls because we are story tellers, and it's our job to create drama. Today I want to talk about that a bit.

Elements of a Good Heist Story

Dragon Heist for D&D is out, and in several locations I've seen and heard people complain that the story is just not "heisty" enough. Beyond that, heists are a common thing a lot of groups want to pull off in their game, but they're tricky things. With that in mind, I want to go over some of the key elements of a good heist and how that can look in your game.

Plotting 101: Making A Character Story

On Monday we talked about how Character Stories are a great way to view your central meta-story ,adding intricacy and nuance to the plot and how it is seen. Today I want to talk about crafting character plots. This can be trickier than you'd think, but luckily for you there are multiple tools and approaches you can use to find what you need to make a character plot work.

Plotting 101: Why You Want Individual Character Stories, And How To Use Them

A couple of months back one of the groups I'm in was preparing to start a new game. As people made characters I got really excited about the huge potential everyone was bringing for personal stories. The GM, at the time, said that he liked that but the game was going to be a more event based story so he didn't know how much room there'd be for individual stories. I didn't say anything at the time because this person is a great GM and their stories are wonderful.

However, last night we were discussing various games and plotting and I brought the point back up. In my opinion you are better served as a GM by incorporating individual character stories into your game, and wrapping those narratives around the central thread of your metaplot. Today, I want to talk about that.

Crafting A Personal Plot - Involving The Other Players

On Monday we started talking about personal plots in your game, and where to start looking for the seeds and ideas for those plots. Today I want to talk about getting your other players involved, as well as how we're going to keep that in mind while we design the adventure itself.

Endings

Today's post, while related to table top gaming, is more about story telling. Endings are something everyone is talking about, and mostly because a lot of people are really mad about the How I Met Your Mother finale. I didn't watch the show, but I know the feeling. As it turns out, a bad ending can ruin an otherwise great story. Also, as it turns out, a bad ending can ruin an otherwise great game. Endings are so powerful that sometimes it is almost better to not have one than to have a bad one. Then again, with some thought about things, a sufficient ending isn't the hardest thing to pull off.

What Actually Makes A Story?

One of my friends, and players, has a new series on Youtube where he investigates videogames to determine if, academically speaking, they count as literature or not. It is an interesting discussion to have, and it is definitely worth having. However, it also gets me to thinking just what exactly constitutes a setting? This can be particularly important because as role playing gamers we are, in many ways, in the business of telling stories. So, today, let's talk about story telling and what goes in to telling a tale.

Ending A Story

this being the release day of Mass Effect 3, I figured I'd do something small about what you might want to look for as you end your story. Hilariously, and by pure chance, this post coming out on time and on the actual day of Mass Effect 3's release means that it has gotten a more punctual response from me than any other real holiday thus far. Cute, no?

Protagonist Driven vs. Antagonist Driven

Wow, I'm doing really bad this week on these updates. I apologize. Not really sure what is going on, but between missing a post and setting the wrong time, this has probably been the worst week for the blog in a very long time. My apologies for that.

Today's post is a bit less about RPGs specifically and more about story telling, which is something you need to be aware of as a GM. When it comes to a character driven story you have the choice of having the Protagonist drive the events, or the Antagonist. Now, the driver doesn't mean the other character is passive, it is just who has the bigger impact. However, this interacts with a game setting in an interesting way. Let's take a look at that.

How Do You Craft Your Story?

Over the weekend I ended up talking to one of the players from my L5R game. The player is new to the kind of story heavy games that our group plays in, and is considering taking their first steps into the big, wide world of GMing. On this topic, they asked me about how I set up my stories for my more story heavy games. Now, unfortunately for this player, this is something I've thought about a good deal - and have even read some books on (i.e. the DXM, Robin's Laws of Good GMing, Play Dirty), so I kind of talked his ear off about it for a bit. Today, I want to talk about it a bit more concisely here in the hopes of it being a help to other potential fledging GMs.

Plinkett's Reviews - Avoiding The Plot Holes

Today's post is going to be quick. I'm not particularly proud of it, but, well, I spent my weekend working on other things and didn't have much time for getting ready for this week. Some of that is important stuff (New semester starting, working on my WIP, etc), but some of it was just silly fluff. Anyhow, that is neither here nor there. Over the weekend, a friend pointed out to me that Red Letter Media has released their review of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

Deviance is Essential for Good Characters

How good of a main character for a novel would you be? Now sure, I'll bet that some of you are nodding along, looking over your life, and thinking you'd make a pretty good main character, or at least a fun supporting cast member, for a story. For most of us though, we wouldn't be very good characters at all, and you know why? Because we're not very interesting people. Now, I'm not trying to be insulting here, but most of us didn't stray very far from what was expected of us. We followed the rules, went to school, got a job, and live our lives by walking down that big, broad, straight path that society has laid out for us. There's no hook, no draw, and no pull. At best we could be the 'normal' person that the reader is supposed to relate to, and used as the introduction to a far fetched and fantastical world. So, why do you need to know this? Well, to make good characters as a Player, to make good NPCs as a GM, and to write good characters as an Author, you need to understand that interesting characters are good characters, and that the way to become interesting is to deviate from the norm.

Game Trailers as Inspiration

So, I actually had a totally different post ready to go for today, but then I saw the trailer embedded at the bottom and immediately had to write about it. See, I have a bit of a quirk. I play videogames for their stories, but that isn't all, I really really like the game trailers. Not all of them mind, but some of them do just stand out. Deliver Hope for Halo Reach for example is an exceptional trailer, and one I have watched numerous times. Several of my house mates have been amused at the fact that I will sit down with the intention to watch trailers for entertainment. Can you imagine that? Sitting down to watch commercials? Especially for something you already own? Kinda weird huh? BUt the fact is, they're useful to watch. Here's why.

How Important Is A Defined Setting?

Forgive the break from the usual stuff here about Game Mastering and playing, instead I want to talk about settings and how important they are to come with an RPG. Now, this is an idea I balked at at first, especially as it just seemed like a whole lot more work to do for the game I am making. However, after thinking about it from a distance, I quickly came around to agree with the people telling me that setting is important, especially for an otherwise unestablished game. Why? Read on to find out.