Share your favorite Metaplot

[The_Universe]

A couple of other threads have got me wondering what people's favorite RPG metaplots have been. I don't want to get into an argument about whether metaplots are intrinsically good or bad, I'm just curious what people's favorite experiences with them have been (if they have any), and interested to know what they've been, as my own gaming experience has largely kept me from participating in any RPGs with extensive metaplots.

How did the old WoD work out? The new? Did you have a homebrew metaplot that worked like a dream? Is there a current setting (Forgotten Realms? Eberron?) that has a metaplot you're just dying to learn more about?

Spill the beans, and let's all settle in for story time...

 

[Henry]

My personal favorite of all time is the GDQ modules' metaplot: Simple mission becomes complex once you find out who's REALLY pulling the strings.

 

[werk]

What's a metaplot?

 

[iwatt]

What's a metaplot?

yeah, what is a metaplot?

 

[The_Universe]

My personal favorite of all time is the GDQ modules' metaplot: Simple mission becomes complex once you find out who's REALLY pulling the strings.

Can you elaborate on the basic details(as getting a run down of all the favorites is what I was hoping this thread would do)?

What's a metaplot?

A metaplot is a series of events that happen in a game world regardless of the character's actions. It's the over-arching thread of how the world changes itself even as the players change the world. White Wolf's various World of Darkness have a reputation for having extensive metaplots, and almost every D&D world has had one, as well. It's how borders "officially" change in Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms, and how you know that a new ruler is "officially" on the throne in Kingdom X.

I am sure that there are others that can explain it better than I, but that's my stab at it.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

What's a metaplot?

the over-arcing story.

For example, your group is busy going into dungeons, killing monsters, and taking their treasure. But you find that there are clues in dungeon 1 that lead to dungeon 2 and the guy who designed both of these dungeons are in dungeon 3. When you get to dungeon 3, he says the big bad guy's secret location can be found in dungeon 4, where you find out the location and then raid it in a climactic battle.

Published metaplots are a little different. The various suppliments tend to move various parts of the story forward. The most infamous case was Dark Sunwhich released a book and a module that advanced the metaplot within one month of the original core product. Ooops.

Personally, my gripe was always with the Shadowrun metaplot. They kept promising to "reveal the secrets" every year. They basically didn't, in my opinion.

 

[werk]

Ah, gotcha...no sir, I don't like 'em.

 

[EricNoah]

Forgotten Realms: the return of Bane and the death of Xvim.

 

[JimAde]

This should be interesting, as I think "metaplot" is one of those words that people use differently. Henry's example is, to me, just a plot. It's made up of several sub-plots, but it's still just the story of one group and their actions/adversaries.

I think a metaplot is stuff that affects everybody who uses a shared world. Agree? Disagree?

 

[JimAde]

Wow. Okay, everybody posted while I was typing.

Again.