The 3 point plot

[csi]

I find the best adventures are at least partially improvised and largely expand upon the players actions. Being the evil DM that I am, a lot of my plot hooks are inspired from little things that the players let happen that they didn’t think were consequential… and expand upon them. Make the PCs create their own problems EG Not bothering to hunt down the goblin who ran away from the scare spell (it was taking up their drinking time) only to find him and his 200 cousins launching a massive assault on the town the next morning.... or throwing away/selling a near-useless magic-item which actually belonged to someone important and needs to be hunted down and retrieved to settle a dispute.

If things go wrong you can always throw in a twist. One time the players were hired to wipe out a local group of orcs who are raiding the town but were defeated and captured. A half-orc party member challenges the leader to a duel (the orc must oblige under orc custom) and wins, becoming the orc chieftain. Finding they now command 90 orcs the players themselves decide to defect and lead their orcs to capture the town for their own. The look on the mayor’s face as he sees his old mates leading the assault…

None of this you would find in a written adventure though. I would say be creative and don’t be afraid to get it wrong.

 

[BeholderBurger]

And anyone who quotes a suicidal megalomaniac in their sig is cool with me.

Hey thats me!!

 

[Janx]

I think it pays to vary the type of adventure. Use the 3 sided tango in a few games, for a longer story arc. Use the StarTrek dual-plot system for an adventure.

The StarTrek dual-plot system worked well for me when I ran LUG's trek game, as well as in my current campaign where I've got the players on a ship.

The basic model comes from ST:TNG, where the stories all followed a basic model. Which was, there were always 2 stories going on. A danger/problem for the whole ship, and a personal danger/problem for a few characters. Often they paralleled each other in that while the PCs naturally experienced the bigger problem to the ship, their personal problem was seperate, but mirrored the ship's problem. Either way, it was interesting, because the adventure didn't consist of just one main problem to solve. Heck, I had even made a random adventure creator for Trek based on that. It worked pretty well.

Janx

 

[adembroski3]

This sounds a lot like Tracy Hickman's approach to Dragonlance, where in there are three points (Good, Evil, Chaos) and the world of krynn shifting between them. The pattern repeats itself on many levels through the Dragonlance novels.

But anyways... my personal belief is that all plot does is destroy a good story. I create situations, and the players write the story.

 

[RFisher]

Or your own methods of creating adventures.

Two things I realized while reading REH:

(1) Have something supernatural for the PCs to encounter. This is the distinguishing element of a sword & sorcery story.

(2) It's all about action. Combat, chases, &c. I've even had a debate between a PC & NPC that I'd call an action scene. You want stuff other than action, but sword & sorcery is an action genre.

Something I realized while reading E.E. "Doc" Smith:

(3) Wheels within wheels: The answer to one mystery should often reveal a larger mystery.

And two things that I've found to be important elements of roleplaying games:

(4) Puzzles: Problems to engage the player's mind. (Call me a metagamer if you wish.)

(5) Delimmasrovide opportunities for the PCs to have to make tough decisions. Its good when there is no right answer.

I guess I have kind of a bottom-up method. I try to come up with something that'll have all those elements.