Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="maddman75" data-source="post: 1303422" data-attributes="member: 2673">Ranger_Wickett's thread on art of RP has inspired me to start another discussion.  I've been thinking a lot about pacing and such lately, mostly because I'm starting up a new group and want to make sure that I can really grab them.  I'm working on a basic plot formula in my head, and hopefully the good members of ENWorld can help flesh it out.  My goal is to come up with this basic formula along with some additions to apply variety to help us all make better adventures.One of my main inspirations is the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  There a lot of fans of the show around here, and a lot of non-fans as well.  If you don't like B horror, and a little comedy with your horror, Buffy is going to leave you cold.  But even if the exact flavor doesn't spark it for you, we can at least look at the structure.Why is this a good structure?  Many have said, and I agree, that one reason Buffy is so popular with gamers is that every episode is like watching a really well run RPG session.  Of course I'm just using this as an example.  These are not exactly new ideas, just well-executed ones.The first part is the Teaser.  This is generally some action, Buffy killing some vampires, a monster attacking some people, or some other immediately interesting event.  It not only grabs your attention but also gives you a hint as to what might come next.After this we have the conflict introduction.  We find out what the monster of the week is doing, what characters are involved, and so forth.  Generally after that there's some Exposition, where the characters do some research and find out what it is they are dealing with and come up with a way to defeat it.  Once that is done, Buffy goes and kicks the crap out of it for our Resolution.  Then there's generally some kind of conclusion.Contrast this to your typical RPG session.  IME, things rarely go this smoothly.  First, you wait for the table talk to die down and everyone to start playing.  Then there's some rough plot hook, and old man approaches with a treasure map or a rich merchant hires the PCs to guard his caravan.  The PCs follow this hook not because it's compelling, but because that's the nights' adventure.  So they go off and find some bad guys doing bad things but generally don't worry too much about what they are up to exactly.  A few dead bodies later they consider the problem solved.In fact pacing is rarely considered at all!  If in adventure 1 the PCs track the orcs back to their lair and get halfway through, for adventure 2 the DM will simply want to pick up right where they left off.  With no new conflict, introduction, or hook, this therefore may lack the exitement that a well paced story can bring. So I'll start the basic formula as follows- Teaser- Conflict Introduction- Exposition/Investigation- Resolution- ConclusionNow you can certainly add to that.  Subplots are a good way to do this.  But, you're likely to need some help from your players for this.  If you can get them to tell you what they'd be interested in, you can throw one of them a bit of their personal story along they way.  For instance, maybe the wizard is searching for secrets of a lost empire.  In the orc cave, he finds some old scrolls dating to that period that suggest a lost city somewhere in the area.  Its not much, but it add something for that player.  Just take turns with them, giving at least one of them some small piece every now and again.Another addition would be meta-plot.  Also known as a story arc.  Perhaps you want the overall theme to be that a warlord is gathering all the orc tribes together to form a massive army.  Maybe in one room instead of orcs they find a pair of humans.  They are emissaries from the warlord, sent to bribe the chieftan to join in the Dark Lord's army.  As the campaign progresses, they see more and more of this dark lord, eventually confronting him in the campaign equivelent of a 'season finale'.That is all well and good, but there's one thing standing in the way of your beautifully paced and planned plotline.  The players.  Unlike a character in a book, movie, or TV show they have a will of their own.  They are likely to go in directions you did not forsee, take options you were sure they would turn away from, and generally cause all kinds of problems.  This isn't a bad thing - for me it's what makes DMing fun.  If I wanted all my characters to behave as I expect them to, I'd be writing novels instead of running games.So while you have your formula, you have to stay loose with it.  Be prepared for the character to stray from the path and don't fight or punish them for it.  Don't be afraid to 'cut to commercial' to think about how you want to deal with something for a few minutes.  You taking five to gather your thoughts will be much less disruptive than letting the game founder for a half an hour.  And just because the exact thing you planned didn't work out well that doesn't mean that you can't do a similar thing.  For instance if instead of having a conflict with the Orc Chieftan and his Shaman, the PCs leave the dungeon chasing the fleeing emissaries of the Dark Lord.  Just roll with it - have them meet up with a band of the Dark Lord's minions just as they catch up to their quarry.  A powerful captain along with a cleric on his dark god.  In fact, if you used the stat blocks for the orc chief and shaman I'd bet $10 no one would notice <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.So, thoughts, questions, opinions?  Is the formula sound?  Do you do something like this in your games, or do you think its' a good idea?</blockquote>

Verification