RangerWickett
Legend
Some people say there are X primary plots in fiction, that if you ignore all the details, things end up as one of these elementary plots.
I recently had one of those late-night epiphanies that would have revolutionized the gaming world, but upon waking I only retained the general idea that it would be cool to think of what the most basic plots in gaming are, so that we can play around with them when designing adventures.
Ah, now I remember a bit of what sparked it. Someone was talking about Monte Cook's books as being 'templates.' The same way Mr. Cook loves half-Dragon ghost minotaurs, he loves making books that can turn a normal game into something special. Take a dungeon, toss in the Nexus from BoEM3, or Chaositech, or some Mindscapes encounters, and even a mundane dungeon becomes cool.
(It helps me that I'm listening to Tamashii no Rufuran, from EVA's soundtrack, I think).
So, let's think of basic adventure ideas, and then think of templates to toss on them so they become cooler.
In many of these entries, I'll mention 'MacGuffins.' This is a colloquial term that refers to an object (or sometimes a person) that is the focus of a story, but that has no direct effect on the story. It doesn't matter if it's a rare statue, or a suitcase of money, a cure to a disease, or an ancient text; it's just an object that people want.
Good adventure stories make the qualities of the MacGuffin meaningful. For example, in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Holy Grail actually gets used. It's not just an object to be sought.
Basic Adventures
Can you think of any others? Or perhaps for a more D&D-specific list, we define things by who the antagonist is:
Basic Templates
Take one of the templates below, and try to paint as much of the adventure with this. Locations, foes, MacGuffins. It could all be themed.
Hopefully we can refine things a bit.
I recently had one of those late-night epiphanies that would have revolutionized the gaming world, but upon waking I only retained the general idea that it would be cool to think of what the most basic plots in gaming are, so that we can play around with them when designing adventures.
Ah, now I remember a bit of what sparked it. Someone was talking about Monte Cook's books as being 'templates.' The same way Mr. Cook loves half-Dragon ghost minotaurs, he loves making books that can turn a normal game into something special. Take a dungeon, toss in the Nexus from BoEM3, or Chaositech, or some Mindscapes encounters, and even a mundane dungeon becomes cool.
(It helps me that I'm listening to Tamashii no Rufuran, from EVA's soundtrack, I think).
So, let's think of basic adventure ideas, and then think of templates to toss on them so they become cooler.
In many of these entries, I'll mention 'MacGuffins.' This is a colloquial term that refers to an object (or sometimes a person) that is the focus of a story, but that has no direct effect on the story. It doesn't matter if it's a rare statue, or a suitcase of money, a cure to a disease, or an ancient text; it's just an object that people want.
Good adventure stories make the qualities of the MacGuffin meaningful. For example, in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Holy Grail actually gets used. It's not just an object to be sought.
Basic Adventures
- Kill the monsters/bad guys.
- Find the MacGuffin.
- Protect the MacGuffin.
- Survive the dangerous place.
- Escape.
- Solve the mystery.
- Clear your names.
Can you think of any others? Or perhaps for a more D&D-specific list, we define things by who the antagonist is:
- Dungeon.
- Rampaging monster.
- Thieves' Guild.
- Cult.
- Politician, king, or noble.
Basic Templates
Take one of the templates below, and try to paint as much of the adventure with this. Locations, foes, MacGuffins. It could all be themed.
- The Twist - an ally is a bad guy, or vice versa.
- Ancient Evil - the plot focuses on something old and bad that is resurfacing.
- Alien Evil - the plot focuses on something completely new, from an unknown world.
- Nature - the plot focuses on plants, animals, and elementals.
- Elemental - pick an element, like fire, water, sound, or time. The plot focuses on that.
- Psionics.
- Dreams.
- Alignment - chaos, law, good, evil.
- Old School - things are deadly and may make little sense, and you try to avoid all things 'Extreme.'
- Extreme - describe every action like it's in slow motion in a Vin Diesel movie.
Hopefully we can refine things a bit.
