Copyright 2006 by Rules |
What follows is a scrap of trivia . . . my collectionof RPG plots, in abstract form. I built this by examiningthe premises of hundreds of published adventures for all systems (includingthose systems dear and departed from print), trying to boil them down tocommon denominators. The results are presented here: arbitrary, and sometimesredundant. Nevertheless, I turn to this list when I'm stuck for a freshpremise for next week's session of my campaign, whatever that campaignmight happen to be about at the time. It helps me keep from falling intothematic ruts (my least favorite kind). With any luck, it might serve asimilar function for you. Note: The "plots" are arranged in alphabeticalorder by title. Since the titles are arbitrary, this serves no useful functionat all. And if you want shakespeareanfive-act hoozits, plot trees, ManVersus Himself and other Serious Literary Bunkum, try Writer'sDigest . This ain't Oxford, baby. Any Old Port in a Storm The PCs are seeking shelter from the elements or someother threat, and come across a place to hole up. They find that they havestumbled across something dangerous, secret, or supernatural, and mustthen deal with it in order to enjoy a little rest. Common Twists & Themes:The shelter contains the cause of the threat the PCs weretrying to avoid. The shelter houses a Hidden Base (q.v.). The PCs mustnot only struggle for shelter, they must struggle to survive. The placeis a legitimate shelter of some kind, but the PCs are not welcome,and must win hearts or minds to earn their bed for the night. Better Late Than Never Some bad guys have arrived and done some bad guy things.The PCs were none the wiser. The bad guys have now made good their escape,and the PCs have caught wind of it in time to chase them down before theymake it back to their lair, their home nation, behind enemy lines, etc. Common Twists & Themes:The bad guys escaped by stealing a conveyance that the PCsknow better than they do. The bad guys duck down a metaphorical (or literal)side-road, trying to hide or blend into an environment (often one hostileto the PCs). If the bad guys cross the adventure's "finish line"(cross the county line, make the warp jump, etc.) there's no way to pursuethem beyond it. Blackmail Usually through trickery (but sometimes by digging intothe PCs' past), an antagonist has something to hold over the heads of thePCs and make them jump. This could be any kind of threat from physicalto social, but it depends on the villain having something - even if it'sinformation - that others don't have. Now, he is pulling the strings ofthe PCs, telling them to do things they don't want to. The PCs must endthe cycle of blackmail, deprive the villain of his edge, and keep him temporarilysatisfied while doing it. Common Twists & Themes:The adventure hook involves the PCs doing the villain agood turn, which allows him to take advantage of them (very cynical!).To succeed, the PCs must contact other folks that are also being used.The PCs aren't the victims at all, but somebody they care about/are chargedto protect, is. Breaking and Entering Mission objective: enter the dangerous place, and retrievethe vital dingus or valuable person. Overcome the area's defenses to doso. Common Twists & Themes:The goal is not to extract a thing, but to destroy a thingor interfere with a process (kill the force-screen generator, assassinatethe evil king, stop the spell from being cast, wreck the invasion plans,close the portal). The goal has moved. The goal is information, which mustbe broadcast or otherwise released from the area as soon as it is found.The job must be done without alerting anyone. The PCs don't know the placeis dangerous. The PCs must replace the thing with another thing. Capture the Flag The PCs must secure a military target for the good guys.There are bad guys there that prefer not to be secured. The fundamentaltactical scenario. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs must assemble and/or train a force to do the jobwith them. The PCs are working with flawed intelligence and the targetzone isn't as described. The PCs must coordinate their own efforts withan ally group (possibly putting aside rivalries to do so). The target zoneincludes a population of innocent people, fragile goods, or some otherprecious thing that mustn't be harmed in the crossfire. Clearing The Hex There is a place where bad things live. The PCs must makeit safe for nice people, systematically clearing it of danger. Common Twists & Themes:The bad things can't be beaten with direct conflict. ThePCs must learn more about them to solve the problem. The Haunted House.The Alien Infestation. The Wild Forest. Delver's Delight The PCs are treasure-hunters, who have caught wind ofa treasure-laden ruin. They go to explore it, and must deal with its supernaturaldenizens to win the treasure and get out alive. Common Twists & Themes:The treasure itself is something dangerous. The treasureisn't in a ruin, but in a wilderness or even hidden somewhere "civilized."The treasure is someone else's rightful property. The treasure turns outto have a will of its own. Don't Eat The Purple Ones The PCs are stranded in a strange place, and must surviveby finding food and shelter, and then worry about getting back home. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs must survive only for a short period of time, untilhelp arrives, the ship and/or radio is repaired, or some such thing (in"repair" scenarios, sometimes the PCs must discover some factabout the local environment that will make such repairs possible). Elementary, My Dear Watson A crime or atrocity has been committed; the PCs must solveit. They must interview witnesses (and prevent them from being killed),gather clues (and prevent them from being stolen or ruined). They mustthen assemble proof to deliver to the authorities, or serve as personalministers of justice. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs are working to clear an innocent already accused(possibly themselves). The PCs must work alongside a special investigatoror are otherwise saddled with an unwanted ally. Midway through the adventure,the PCs are "taken off the case" - their invitation/authorityto pursue the matter is closed (often the result of political maneuveringby an antagonist). The climax is a courtroom scene or other arena of judgment.The scale is highly variable for this type of adventure, from a small-townmurder to a planetwide pollution scandal. Escort Service The PCs have a valuable object or person, which needsto be taken to a safe place or to its rightful owner, etc. They must undertakea dangerous journey in which one or more factions (and chance and misfortune)try to deprive them of the thing in their care. Common Twists & Themes:The thing or person is troublesome, and tries to escapeor sidetrack the PCs. The destination has been destroyed or suborned bythe enemy, and the PCs must take upon themselves the job that either thedestination or their charge was meant to do when it got there. The personis a person attempting a political defection. Safe arrival at the destinationdoesn't end the story; the PCs must then bargain with their charge as theirtoken (exchanging money for a hostage, for instance). The PCs must protectthe target without the target knowing about it. Good Housekeeping The PCs are placed in charge of a large operation (a tradingcompany, a feudal barony, the CIA) and must, despite lack of experiencein such things, make it work and thrive. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs are brought in because something big is about tohappen, and the Old Guard wants a chance to escape. The peasants, neighbors,employees, etcetera resent the PCs, because their method of inheritancelooks outwardly bad and everybody loved the old boss. Help is on the Way A person (church group, nation, galaxy) is in a hazardoussituation they can't survive without rescue. The PCs are on the job. Insome scenarios, the hook is as simple as a distant yell or crackly distresssignal. Common Twists & Themes:The victim(s) is (are) a hostage, or under siege from enemyforces, and the PCs must deal with the captors or break the siege. Thereis a danger that any rescue attempts will strand the rescuers in the samesoup as the rescuees, compounding the problem. The rescuees aren't people,but animals, robots, or something else. The "victim" doesn'trealize that he needs rescuing; he thinks he's doing something reasonableand/or safe. The threat isn't villain-oriented at all; it's a natural disaster,nuclear meltdown, or disease outbreak. The rescuees can't leave ;something immobile and vital must be tended to or dealt with at the adventurelocation. The PCs begin as part of the rescuees, and must escape and gatherforces or resources to bring back and proceed as above. Hidden Base The PCs, while traveling or exploring, come across a hornet'snest of bad guys, preparing for Big Badness. They must either find someway to get word to the good guys, or sneak in and disable the place themselves,or a combination of both. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs must figure out how to use local resources in orderto defend themselves or have a chance against the inhabitants. How Much For Just The Dingus? Within a defined area, something important and valuableexists. The PCs (or their employers) want it, but so do one or more othergroups. The ones that get it will be the ones that can outthink and outracethe others, deal best with the natives of the area, and learn the mostabout their target. Each competing group has its own agenda and resources. Common Twists & Themes:The natives require the competing factions to gather beforethem as pals to state their cases. The valuable thing was en route somewherewhen its conveyance or courier wrecked or vanished. I Beg Your Pardon? The PCs are minding their own business when they are attackedor threatened. They don't know why. They must solve the mystery of theirattacker's motives, and in the meantime fend off more attacks. They mustput two and two together to deal with the problem. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs have something that the bad guys want - but theydon't necessarily realize it. The bad guys are out for revenge for a deadcompatriot from a previous adventure. The bad guys have mistaken the PCsfor somebody else. Long Or Short Fork When Dining OnElf? The PCs are a diplomatic vanguard, trying to open up (orshore up) either political or trade relations with a strange culture. Allthey have to do is manage for a day or so among the strange customs withoutoffending anybody . . . and what information they have is both incompleteand dangerously misleading. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs were chosen by somebody who knew they weren't preparedfor it - an NPC trying to sabotage the works (pinning this villain mightbe necessary to avert disaster). Look, Don't Touch The PCs are working surveillance - spying on a person,gathering information on a beast in the wild, scouting a new sector. Regardlessof the scale, the primary conflict (at least at the start) is the rulethat they are only to watch, listen and learn. They are not to makecontact or let themselves be known. Common Twists & Themes:The target gets itself in trouble and the PCs must decidewhether to break the no-contact rule in order to mount a rescue. Manhunt Someone is gone: they've run away, gotten lost, or simplyhaven't called home in a while. Somebody misses them or needs them returned.The PCs are called in to find them and bring them back. Common Twists & Themes:The target has been kidnapped (possibly to specificallylure the PCs). The target is dangerous and escaped from a facility designedto protect the public. The target is valuable and escaped from a placedesigned to keep him safe, cozy, and conveniently handy. The target hasa reason for leaving that the PCs will sympathize with. The target hasstumbled across another adventure (either as protagonist or victim), whichthe PCs must then undertake themselves. The missing "person"is an entire expedition or pilgrimage of some kind. The target isn't arunaway or missing/lost - they're just someone that the PCs havebeen hired to track down (possibly under false pretenses). Missing Memories One or more of the PCs wakes up with no memory of therecent past, and now they find themselves in some kind of trouble theydon't understand. The PCs must find the reason for the memory lapse, andsolve any problems they uncover in the meantime. Common Twists & Themes:The forgetful PCs voluntarily suppressed or erased the memories,and they find themselves undoing their own work. Most Peculiar, Momma Something both bad and inexplicable is happening (racialtension is being fired up in town, all the power is out, the beer supplyis drained, it's snowing in July, Voyager still has fans, hordesof aliens are eating all the cheese), and a lot of people are very troubledby it. The PCs must track the phenomenon to its source, and stop it. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs are somehow unwittingly responsible for the wholething. What seems to be a problem of one nature (technological, personal,biological, chemical, magical, political, etc) is actually a problem ofan alternate one. No One Has Soiled The Bridge The PCs are assigned to guard a single vital spot (anythingfrom a mountain pass to a solar system) from impending or possible attack.They must plan their defensive strategy, set up watches, set traps, andso on, and then deal with the enemy when it arrives. Common Twists & Themes:The intelligence the PCs was given turns out to be faulty,but acting on the new information could result in greater danger - butso could not acting on it, and the PCs must choose or create a compromise.The PCs learn that the enemy has good and sympathetic reason for wantingto destroy the protected spot. Not In Kansas The PCs are minding their own business and find themselvestransported to a strange place. They must figure out where they are, whythey are there and how to escape. Common Twists & Themes:They were brought there specifically to help someone introuble. They were brought there by accident, as a by-product of somethingstrange and secret. Some of the PCs' enemies were transported along withthem (or separately), and now they have a new battleground, and innocentsto convince which guys are the good guys. Ounces of Prevention A villain or organization is getting ready to do somethingbad, and the PCs have received a tip-off of some sort. They must investigateto find out more about the caper, and then act to prevent it. Common Twists & Themes:The initial tip-off was a red herring meant to distractthe PCs from the actual caper. There are two simultaneous Bad Things onthe way, and no apparent way to both of them - how to choose? Pandora's Box Somebody has tinkered with Things Man Ought Not, or openeda portal to the Mean People Dimension, cracked a wall at the state prison,or summoned an ancient Babylonian god into a penthouse. Before the PCscan even think of confronting the source of the trouble, they must dealwith the waves of trouble already released by it: monsters, old foes outfor vengeance, curious aliens who think cars/citizens/McDonald's hamburgersresemble food, and so forth. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs can't simply take the released badness to the mat;they have to collect it and shove it back into the source before it theadventure can really end. The PCs are drawn in to the source and must solveproblems on the other side before returning to this one. A secret book,code, or other rare element is necessary to plug the breach (maybe justthe fellow who opened it). A close cousin to this plot is the basic "somebodyhas traveled into the past and messed with our reality" story. Quest For the Sparkly Hoozits Somebody needs a dingus (to fulfill a prophecy, heal themonarch, prevent a war, cure a disease, or what have you). The PCs mustfind a dingus. Often an old dingus, a mysterious dingus, and a powerfuldingus. The PCs must learn more about it to track it down, and then dealwith taking it from wherever it is. Common Twists & Themes:The dingus is incomplete when found (one of the most irritatingand un-fun plot twists in the universe). Somebody already owns it (or recentlystole it, sometimes with legitimate claim or cause). The dingus is information,or an idea, or a substance, not a specific dingus. The PCs must "goundercover" or otherwise infiltrate a group or society, gaining thedingus by guile or stealth. Recent Ruins A town, castle, starship, outpost, or other civilizedconstruct is lying in ruins. Very recently, it was just dandy. The PCsmust enter the ruins, explore them, and find out what happened. Common Twists & Themes:Whatever ruined the ruins (including mean people, weirdradiation, monsters, a new race, ghosts) is still a threat; the PCs mustsave the day. The inhabitants destroyed themselves. The "ruins"are a derelict ship or spaceship, recently discovered. The "ruin"is a ghost town, stumbled across as the PCs travel - but the map says thetown is alive and well. Running the Gauntlet The PCs must travel through a hazardous area, and getthrough without being killed, robbed, humiliated, debased, diseased, oreducated by whatever is there. The troubles they encounter are rarely personalin nature - the place itself is the "villain" of the adventure. Common Twists & Themes:The place isn't dangerous at all, and the various "dangers"are actually attempts to communicate with the party by some agent or another.Safari The PCs are on a hunting expedition, to capture or killand elusive and prized creature. They must deal with its environment, itsown ability to evade them, and possibly its ability to fight them. Common Twists & Themes:The creature is immune to their devices and weapons. Thereare other people actively protecting the creature. The creature's lairallows the PCs to stumble onto another adventure. Score One for the Home Team The PCs are participants in a race, contest, tournament,scavenger hunt or other voluntary bit of sport. They must win. Common Twists & Themes:The other contestants are less honest, and the PCs mustovercome their attempts to win dishonestly. The PCs are competing for adeeper purpose than victory, such as to keep another contestant safe, orspy on one, or just to get into the place where the event goes down. ThePCs don't wish to win; they just wish to prevent the villain from winning.The event is a deliberate test of the PCs abilities (for entry into anorganization, for example). The event becomes more deadly than it's supposedto. Stalag 23 The PCs are imprisoned, and must engineer an escape, overcomingany guards, automatic measures, and geographic isolation their prison imposeson them. Common Twists & Themes:Something has happened in the outside world and the prisonsecurity has fallen lax because of it. The PCs have been hired to "test"the prison - they aren't normal inmates. Other prisoners decide to blowthe whistle for spite or revenge. The PCs are undercover to spy on a prisoner,but are then mistaken for real inmates and kept incarcerated. The PCs mustescape on a tight schedule to get to another adventure outside the walls.Take Us To Memphis And Don't SlowDown The PCs are on board a populated conveyance (East Indiaman,Cruise Ship, Ferry, Sleeper Starship), when it is hijacked. The PCs musttake action while the normals sit and twiddle. Common Twists & Themes:The "hijackers" are government agents pullinga complicated caper, forcing the PCs to choose sides. The hijackers don'trealize there is a secondary danger that must be dealt with, and any attemptto convince them is viewed as a trick. The normals are unhelpful or evenhostile to the PCs because they think the PCs are just making matters worse.Troublemakers A bad guy (or a group of them, or multiple parties) iskicking up a ruckus, upsetting the neighbors, poisoning the reservoirs,or otherwise causing trouble. The PCs have to go where the trouble is,locate the bad guys, and stop the party. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs must not harm the perpetrator(s); they must be baggedalive and well. The bad guys have prepared something dangerous and hiddenas "insurance" if they are captured. The "bad guy"is a monster or dangerous animal (or an intelligent creature that everybodythinks is a monster or animal). The "bad guy" is a respectedpublic figure, superior officer, or someone else abusing their authority,and the PCs might meet hostility from normally-helpful quarters who don'taccept that the bad guy is bad. A balance of power perpetuates the trouble,and the PCs must choose sides to tip the balance and fix things. The "trouble"is diplomatic or political, and the PCs must make peace, not war. Uncharted Waters The PCs are explorers, and their goal is to enter an unknownterritory and scope it out. Naturally, the job isn't just going to be surveyingand drawing sketches of local fauna; something is there, something fascinatingand threatening. Common Twists & Themes:Either the place itself is threatening (in which case thePCs must both play National Geographic and simultaneously try to escapewith their skin, sanity, and credit rating) or the place itself is veryvaluable and wonderful, and something else there is keen on makingsure the PCs don't let anyone else know. Other potential conflicts involvedamage to the PCs' conveyance or communication equipment, in which casethis becomes Don't Eat the Purple Ones. We're On The Outside Looking InAny of the basic plots in this list can be reengineeredwith the PCs on the outside of it. Either the PCs are accompanying othercharacters in the midst of such a plot (often being called on to defendthe plot from the outside, as it were), or they are minding their own businesswhen the others involved in the plot show up, and must pick sides or simplyresist. For instance, with Any Old Port In The Storm, the PCs could alreadybe enjoying (or native to) the shelter when a strange group arrives. Ifthe "the PCs are unwelcome" variant is employed, then perhapsthe PCs will be the only voice of reason to still the religious fervor,racial prejudice, anti-monster sentiment, or whatever else is the sourceof conflict. Common Twists & Themes:The PCs find themselves on the receiving end of the adventure.Take any of the plots here and reverse them, placing the PCs in the positionwhere NPCs (often the villain, fugitive, etcetera) normally are. Insteadof hunting, they must be hunted. Instead of fixing, they must avoid getting"fixed" themselves (ow). Alternately, leave a classic plot intactbut turn the twists upside down, making them twistier (or refreshinglyun twisty). Tips and Tricks Surrender yourself to metaphor.I've written the plots in the language of (typically veryphysical) action-adventure genres, because that's the basic form of roleplayingadventure - but if you're playing on more levels than that, the list canstill punch its weight. Just remember that every thing, place, and foecan really be a piece of information, person, and unhealthy attitude,as surely as a space station can be a dungeon and a magical residue canbe a fingerprint. Double up. Anice basic method is the chameleon game, where an adventure presents itselfas one type of story in the "hook layer" but reveals itself assomething else. Sometimes, the switch is innocent and natural - Don'tEat the Purple Ones, for example, makes a good hook for Runningthe Gauntlet, and Most Peculiar, Momma is a logical lead forPandora's Box. Sometimes, the switch is something more sinisteror deliberate, with NPCs selling the adventure as one thing when it's reallyanother. This can still be innocent, in its way, if the NPCs havebeen duped themselves, or if they're just desperate for help and worriedthat nobody will be eager to tackle the real problem. Throw yourself a curve. Yourplayers will, anyway, so practice early. Pick two random entries from theBig List and make your adventure on those, no matter what comes up - thefirst one is the hook layer; the second is the meat of the adventure. Ifthe same entry comes up both times, go with it! Two layers can have a similarstructure but very different roots or details. Double up, part two: Somevery satisfying adventures weave two separate (or thematically-related)plots together. An easy way to make this work is to make one plot physicaland the other plot personal. That way just one of the plotsputs demand on the PCs' location, while the other one can tag along anywhere.For example: the PCs are hired to escort a prince to a summit so he canappear before the masses and end a war (a physical and simple example ofEscort Service), but on the way, they realize that the poor guy is suicidalbecause state obligations have ruined his love life, and must preventhis self-destruction by either fixing the problem or convincing him toshoulder the burden (a personal and metaphorical example of Ounces of Prevention).Don't Panic. Alot of GMs come to the Big List only once they've begun to panic.Don't crucify yourself just yet! In particular, don't fuss too much overplot, as many GMs do. All of the plots here can provide a tried-and-true,simple structure, and structure is all you need a plot forin a roleplaying game. Remember to play to the strengths of the medium- most all of which are about character, not plot. Only in anRPG can you experience a fictional character on a personal, first-handlevel. Outline your adventures to make the most of that. Any plot thatcontains more than a basic structure is more likely to pull attention awayfrom character, and that's burning the bridge for firewood. All youneed to do is be ready to roll with the curves and have fun hamming itup. Relax. Game. And finally, here's The LittleList of Nearly-Universal Plot Twists That Work With Almost Any Plot Ever:The PCs must work alongside an NPC or organization they'drather not pal around with (those who are normally rivals or villains,or just a snooty expert sent along to "help" them, etc). Thevictims are really villains and the villains are really victims. The PCsmeet others who can help them, but won't unless the PCs agree to help themwith their own causes. The villain is somebody the PCs know personally,even respect or love (or someone they fall for, mid-story). The PCs mustsucceed without violence, or with special discretion. The PCs must succeedwithout access to powers, equipment, or other resources they're used tohaving. The villain is a recurring foil. Another group comparable to thePCs has already failed to succeed, and their bodies/equipment/etc provideclues to help the PCs do better. There are innocents nearby that the PCsmust keep safe while dealing with the adventure. The adventure begins suddenlyand without warning or buildup; the PCs are tossed into the fire of actionin scene one. The PCs must pretend to be someone else, or pretend to bethemselves but with very different allegiances, values or tastes. The PCscan't do everything and must choose: which evil to thwart? Which innocentsto rescue? Which value or ideal to uphold? The PCs must make a personalsacrifice or others will suffer. The PCs aren't asked to solve theproblem, just to render aid against a backdrop of larger trouble: get ina shipment of supplies, sneak out a patient that needs medical help, orso on. One of the PCs is (or is presumed to be) a lost heir, fulfillmentof a prophecy, a volcano god, or some other savior and/or patsy, whichis why the PCs must do whatever the adventure is about. There is anothergroup of PC-like characters "competing" on the same adventure,possibly with very different goals for the outcome. Printer-Friendly Version AvailableThis revision of the Big List is the result of severaladditional years of gaming, game writing, and what hopefully amounts toaccumulated wisdom. It's also the result of letters from several readerswho poked me in the ribs when I had overlooked something important! Anysuggestions for expansion to this list should be directed to me via email,and they will be welcomed with open arms and slobbery kisses. You can alsodownload this article in a spiffy Adobe Acrobat file by visiting the OffsiteDownloads Page. If you've enjoyed this article, wander around thesite a little, or visit my electronic game-publishing venture, CumberlandGames & Diversions; I've got well over a hundred gaming-relatedpages you might like, and piles of free files for download!![[The Risus Companion - Click Here!]](http://www.io.com/~sjohn/plots.htm/biglistpromo.gif)
The Big List of RPG Plots is dedicated to themany, many fans who've let me know how helpful it's been, and especiallyto those who've helped make it better: Peter Barnard, Glen Barnett, ColinClark, David Lott, Jason Puckett, Marc Rees, Carrie Schutrick, and JeffYaus, plus a few mysterious heroes who never let me know their true identities.This is for all the GMs out there logging the hours to give their playersan enjoyable game.All contents of this page Copyright©1999, 2002 by S. John Ross
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