Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="willpax" data-source="post: 262342" data-attributes="member: 1602">To continue on the elaboration of this theme by others: There is what might be described as "Hollywood style" saving the world, in which all the various threats are reduced to one very powerful individual or organization and the end becomes simple: defeat the villian, save the world. Simple, emotionally straightforward, and can allow the characters to focus on the complexity of means rather than the complexity of ends that makes real life occasionally frustrating. (note for the sensitive: I do not intend any belittlement of this plot through my reduction of it to formula; many classic stories fit the formula, and it does allow for as much or as little complexity of development as you would wish in terms of the nature of the threat, the manner of obstacles that need to be overcome, and so on). There is also what might be called an "incremental style" of saving the world, as when there are several large forces/population groups/ ethical standards that are engaged in a struggle, with dire consequences should the balance shift too far toward any one faction. Many people describe the "real world" in terms from this formula, but (for a fantasy plot) it does allow for more subtlety in terms of motivation, ethical ambiguity, and the occasional detour (events happen slowly enough that they don’t always have to be struggling against E-vil and so on). Saving the world may be no grander than "making sure the people who like self govenrment aren't overrun by the people who like dictatorships," for example. The beauty of something like this is that the battle is never over for good. Nevertheless, there are many other plots out there, as Morose has pointed out. I could conceive of excellent campaigns based around some classic stories: * the players are part of a large army that is trying to invade a grand city with formidable defenses and several allies in order to retrieve the king's kidnapped wife/ establish economic dominance / take all the treasure/ demonstrate that they are strong enough to do it. Skirmishes, supply raids, heated battles, and conflicts among the besieging commanders could all produce material for adventures. * the players begin far from home, and try to return. For additional fun, have them offend some powerful creature who will then attempt to stop them. * the players' homes are invaded by savage barbarians who claim that the players live on what is their holy land. A whole series of battles, resistance actions, rallying the peoples, and so on ensue. I hope this is more in the spirit that morose was hoping to inspire. Sadly, I am equally guilty: my current campaign fits into the "incremental save the world" style, although it is so far-reaching, slow-moving and subtle that the players only dimly suspect what's going on.</blockquote>

Verification