Have *you* ever ruined your own plot hook?

[Shallown]

I have had two side plots collide and make a huge time consuming plot.

I had what I thought were two semi unrelated plots, though they occured in the same area I didn't think ahead to them interacting.

One was the Local "hero of the border town" wizard was found out to be a planted mole for the bad guys and since the character's had been working with and trusting this bad guy I assumed they would take swift and sure revenge. Which they did, pretty much as I thought they would.

The second was one character brought a Succubus disguised as a young girl to the same above mentioned town allowing her to escape his uncles depraved servitude. He did this like 3 months before so now she had a pretty tight grip on the town slowly taking it over in her guise as a little girl.

So characters kill local wizard and go to town to let them know what and why they had done this. Of course the servants beatthem to town and told the town militia/mayor aboutthe "murder". Teh young succubus takes this chance to sway the whole town against the characters.

Characters arrive saying hey we killed your wizard and the town said well you come in here and we'll do whatever we have to to arrest you but since you are so powerful we can't do anything else about the crime. The extends into two sessions or moral discussion on what they should do about this since the hero's homestead is just outside of the town (and had been picked clean by charmed followers of the succubus). It killed two sessions for two plots that should have taken 10 minutes or so apiece.

Not a total screw up but near enough for me.

Most my other plot failures is due to foregtting some high level spell or ability the players have and not being prepared to deflect it or prepared to deal with it within the bad guys resources.

Later

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

For what it's worth, here is how I try to handle problems that arrise with a complex plot campaign.

After a session, I type up a very brief overview of what happened in the last game. Based on that information, I type up another few paragraphs giving me an overview of what the NPCs are doing based on what the PCs did.

I then figure out what the NPCs will now TRY to do. Based on what they are going to attempt, I brainstorm and try to come up with the most likely directions the PCs are going to go in. I then type up a series of questions and answers such as:

Q. What if the PCs do not escape from the ambush?
A. They will be captured and taken to a small cell where they will have two days to escape before execution. (I might then write down a few details about this scenerio.)

I have found this helps A LOT! The actual process of putting my thoughts on paper helps to solidify them and work out the kinks. In addition, if I have the NPCs well thought out, even if the PCs go a direction I didn't anticipate, I'll have a pretty good idea what the ramifications of their actions are.

But, of course, leaving out NPCs and important items is still a problem...

 

[JesterPoet]

I rely on the "everybody remembers events differently" excuse a LOT. My party has gotten used to the idea that there's no way to figure out what REALLY happened two thousand years ago -- they're only ever going to get various people's subjective observations on what happened.

Okay... I'm using that now.

 

[der_kluge]

In a long campaign I ran several years ago, the players finally caught up the BBEG, and he escaped through a portal to SIGIL, and then onto Baator. The players traveled to SIGIL, and followed the trail until they realized it led to Hell.

Then they stopped, and said, "screw this. We don't want this guy that badly", and went back home.

So, I guess I didn't really screw anything up, but there is a lesson to be learned there.

 

[Salad Shooter]

Yep. I had a nice lovely plot hook all planned out. I introduced a small sidetrek adventure to add a little color and variety to the campaign flow. Damned if the players didn't find the sidetrek more compelling than the plot hook. And try as I might, I couldn't steer them back to the original plot hook as they were firmly convinced that the side trek diversion was the main event. If I tried any harder, I would be outright 'railroading'

**Sigh** So the sidetrek became the primary story plot.

Moral: Don't make the sidetrek more tantalizing than your primary plot line.

In our game up here at school my DM had these books in an odd language that were writing themselves...had NOTHING to do with the plot, were just props...but now, a dozen or so sessions later, we're STILL heavily involved in a plot involving these books because one of the characters decided to go looking for more of them...

 

[Mystery Man]

I don't write anything down for my campaign. Never, unless I'm running a dungeon, so a couple of times I have told myself before the game 'I need to introduce plot NPC hook #431 at this point in the game to provide foreshadowing or something else rather important..." Then, during the game, I forget about the NPC until after the game. Damn.

Kind of promotes the argument for writing things down eh?

If I don't write it down its like I never had the idea in the first place. Memory of a goldfish.

The only really stupid thing I did was set up an encounter where this orc the players were chasing released some rust monsters to slow them down. It all went to plan. I described the sound of metal grating on metal and the slam of large doors being heard as the cages came down. They ran into them, fought them and lost some items. One of my players says "hey, if these are rust monsters what was to stop them from just eating their cages and getting free?"

Man did I feel like a dumbarse. Had to do some fast talking, something about the cages being a magically reinforced wood, with hidden chains on a release mechanism "upon closer inspection" or something to that effect. Hey, it was my first rust monster encounter, oh well.

 

[MerakSpielman]

This would be impossible. I'm the King of Lazy DMs. I let the players write my plot for me. I put out tantalizing clues with no idea, personally, what they mean, then I listen in on their guessing, pay attention to what they try to do, and let the plot build itself from there.

 

[Lu Wei Fong]

Well, in my first attempt at DMing a campaign, which turned out horribly (I'm better now though, really ) the PCs were tracking down a "mysterious beast" that had been ravaging this country-side. Anywhos, at one point, one of the players asked a question about it's tracks or something. I meant to reply with "The beast's tracks -something, something". Instead I said "The dragon's tracks -something, something". After finishing the sentance I paused for a moment and then just groaned as all the players laughed.

 

[Trainz]

I once ruined my BBEG.

I had set up the dungeon so that the PC's would explore-plunder-devastate the place, only to find the boss and some henchmen waiting for them outside once they completed the dungeon. There was a pseudo-BBEG in the last room, with some treasure. I wanted to hit them when they thought "Misson Accomplished", when they exited the lair.

I totally forgot the BBEG.

They were back in town, going through their treasure, when it hit me and I yelled F$$K !!!. They all laughed at me when I explained my outburst.

I could have picked up the slack then and there, sending the BBEG after them, but I just gave up...

 

[barsoomcore]

I totally forgot the BBEG.

I SO share your pain, dude.

I have done that exact same thing (with pretty much the exact same reaction) myself.

DMs have to be egomaniacal control freaks or else they'd be so friggin' insecure from screwing up all the time...

Or maybe that's just me. Or maybe I'm just an egomaniacal control freak trying to JUSTIFY my ego and freakiness...