Foreshadowing Without Plans

[Rechan]

Sure, but I think of it more as fishing than foreshadowing- drop in some bait and see what the players bite on. If they like it, then I'll develop it.

Well I'm not using it as a HOOK. I'm just "Here's something odd. Players see it, poke at it, then move on."

For instance, last session the PCs found a solid circle of black snow. Nothing magical. Nothing overtly done to it. Underneath there was a collapsed hole.

I don't know what it means, I just tossed it out there to be Ominous.

 

[SiderisAnon]

I do this sort of thing all the time. Truth is, I get the best stories when I don't even know what I'm dropping hints for. Maybe it's because I can't telegraph to the players, maybe it's because I adapt more to where they're going rather than railroading them, or maybe it's just more exciting that way; I'm not sure.

Plus sometimes it's just fun to paint yourself into a corner and then have to figure out a "what happened" to explain it all away. Just keep throwing out clues over time and then string them all together later.

 

[Asmor]

Shhh! You're gonna let the secret out!

DM: [Totally random off-the-cuff thing]
Player, later: Hey, remember [that thing]? I bet [cool idea].
DM: Yes, that's exactly it...

 

[Ahnehnois]

It's easier than trying to foreshadow with a plan.

 

[Lanefan]

Anyone ever drop foreshadowing things into an adventure when you have nothing thought up to be what it is?

You just drop a random event that pops into your head, but you don't know what it will be until long after you've dropped it in there?

Yep. And I don't remember any of 'em, because they never got used later.

I've also done the reverse: run an adventure and only later (sometimes when the players pointed it out in mid-adventure in character) realized that something random that had come up several adventures earlier happened to have been perfect - if completely unintentional - foreshadowing for what I was doing now.

The trick is to pretend it was intentional all along...

Lanefan

 

[the Jester]

You've just described my entire campaign.

Step 1: Drop a ton of potential plot hooks that you haven't yet defined.

Step 2: mumble mumble mumble

Step 3: Profit!

Well put. That about sums it up for me, too.