Nonfiction: On planning your plot, a tabletop discussion.

On planning your plot!

Starting a new campaign is super exciting as a GM, however, it can also be daunting. Using pre-written modules can be a great tool for lightening the load, but personally, I find more fulfillment out of building my own worlds and adventures for my players to galavant through.

One of the strongest tools in my GM’s toolkit is a rather simple notion of how plots can develop. There are as many ways to tell a story as there are people telling them, but tabletop, being collaborative storytelling at its heart, takes an open minded and adaptive approach. My advice is this: let the player character’s motivations, and the non-player character’s motivations, dictate the plot. Not the other way around.

I have heard the tale a hundred times: plans, intrigues, vignettes, and monologues, all laid out neatly beforehand. I have seen many a GM come with polished notions of what is going to happen in the session… followed by the players doing nothing a sane person could expect they would, and flipping the GM’s hard work and planning on its head.

Now, there is a lot to be said on the topic of GM’s and players coming to the table with an understanding of each others expectations. However, tabletop offers an avenue for freedom of expression and imagination that is unrivaled in any other entertainment medium. No GM could possibly account for every possible road the players could choose to walk. As long as everyone is having fun, and nothing is being done in a negative spirit, every good GM should allow their players the opportunity at creative expression.

So how do you come together tell a story? Frankly, I prefer to let the story tell itself. It can be hard as a GM to let go of your preconceived notions of what will happen during your campaign. Railroading is a common trait in newer GM’s. Some GM’s never grow away from it, and it works for some groups. But being driven along a predefined path, with marginalized impacts on the outcomes of encounters because the plot requires it can be very frustrating as a player. A GM should work with his players to tell the best story possible.

Character motivations are one of the most crucial elements to any story, no matter the medium. Understanding your character’s motivations is the first step to stepping away from murder-hobo syndrome. While killing monsters for loot and levels can be a hell of a good time, quality tales and epic adventures can evolve from simply understanding who your character’s are and why they do what they do. This is not just advice for player characters.

Traditionally, though there are systems that play with the dynamic, a GM wears a lot of hats. The GM is the game system, they adjudicates rolls and rules, they give voice to every character that isn’t a PC, they handle the loot and the dungeons, and they craft the world as the players interact with it. Game mastering is an immensely rewarding role, but it is not without it’s challenges. Crafting NPC’s can be one of the most entertaining parts of preparing for a session. You create the character mechanically, its statistics, its abilities, its alignment, however, the most important component of any NPC is the same as a PC: what are its motivations?

Understanding a character’s motivations can become the drive behind every interaction at the table. Does the shopkeep need that extra ten percent profit on top of the base price because he loves to gamble and needs to feel like he’s a winner? Maybe his daughter is sick and needs the medicine, and he is a family man who loves her deeply? Maybe he is simply angry and frustrated with his lot in life, and has chosen to take it out on the party? This can dictate how the party goes about getting a better price.

Know who your NPC’s are, or make it up on the fly, but the more specific you are, the more fleshed out the characters become. It doesn’t stop at shopkeeps. A common thread that can tie game sessions together is working together as a party to stop the evil machinations of some fiend. Often referred to as your big bad evil guy.

Knowing who your BBEG is, and why they are doing what they are doing is the kernel of truth at the center of any heroic plot. Who are they? And what means do they have to accomplish their nefarious goals? If you understand the who and the why, the what, where, and how can all fall into place on the fly, in response to the decisions of your party.

If they are an evil warlord, bent on conquering the globe and subjugating it to their will, you have a start. If they are a third son, risen to leadership by usurping and undermining their elder siblings because of their inferiority complex and lust for recognition, you suddenly know a lot more about who that character is. Be specific. The more specific you are, the more interesting that character becomes to your players, and to you.

After that, you need only define to yourself what means this villain has to complete his goal. Remember, good villains are smart. Dumb villains become henchmen and expendable. If the party bumbles into the villain’s plans, a smart foe should be able to come up with ways to deal with his foolish nemesis. Does he have an army of orcs? A powerful, loyal wizard? Does he have a lover who would betray him? Why? Who are they and why do they follow? All of these pieces can move independently, and should act according to their own motivations.

The decisions the players make should be the primary drive for your plot, secondary to that, the decisions your NPC’s make should control the direction, the lefts and rights, the ins and outs, and the ebb and flow of your story. Making your character’s decisions requires you understand what they would do and why they would do it, not because the plot says they should.

The players bring their character’s to the table to tell a story with you. You bring your NPC’s for the same reason. It’s not about winning the battles or encounters as a GM, its about bringing interesting characters and events that drive memorable interactions for everyone playing. If at the end of the day, if you brought your players to another place, and they had a great time, then you win.