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Author Topic: Story Mapping Method  (Read 1877 times)

VBWyrde

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Story Mapping Method
« on: June 18, 2008, 07:50:18 PM »
Recently, in conjunction with members of the Literary Role Playing Game Society of Westchester (LRPGSW) I  have derived what seems like a pretty neat way to map out both terrain and story elements together as a visual aid to Gamesmastering.  It helps in terms of keeping track of the general outlines of the stories, main characters (NPCs) and where they are generally in proximity to one another, without being too specific.   The reason I don't like to be too specific about where characters are is because it allows me, if I'm not, to gamesmaster more flexibly during the game.   For example, what I don't do is have a map that says "In room #5 there are five Orcs with these stats".   What I do is map out the rooms and have a general idea of which kinds of races and/or parties occupy them.  I preroll groups of creatures and parties, but don't place them on the map.   They are freefloating around until specifically met.  During the actual play I use a chart that has the various groups within an area, and another chart that has the kinds of activities they might be enaged in (sleeping, on a mission, gambling, fighting amonst themselves, eating, chores, etc).  When players enter an area I can roll to determine what's there and what they're doing.  It seems to work out pretty well.  

To see an example of a story map you can take a look at my blog post and click on the story map image:

http://elthosrpg.blogspot.com/2008/06/big-apple-con-success.html

Edit:  Note that this example is actually a post-game Story-Map (NYC Big Apple Con June 8, 2008) which shows everything a story map would, but adds to it the route that the adventurer's took through the campaign as well.  So this is what I would call a Historical-Story-Map, I guess.   Anyway, the only difference between this map and a regular Story-Map is that this one shows what specific Characters said during the game.   A regular Story-Map would not usually have quoted statements.

Thoughts?  Suggestions?
« Last Edit: June 18, 2008, 07:54:55 PM by VBWyrde »
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« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2008, 12:28:05 PM »
I tend to use three pieces of paper, and I don't do little drawings like you do.

One organises things spatially - it's a map of the area at hand, with rough notation of where various things are, or could be expected to be.

The second organises things temporally. It's a list of the main things I expect to happen, with a few notes on reaction. Sometimes I'll just jot this down on the side of another set of notes.

The third is my relationship map, like in Unknown Armies. It's a rough mapping of what people are trying to do in relation to one another and the main plot elements (the macguffin, the big bad, etc.) This is my "I don't know" back-up. If I can't remember what someone is supposed to be doing, I consult the map and remind myself. I also check it before smoke breaks, washroom breaks and other little interruptions to just remind myself what the NPCs are up to.
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Engine

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Story Mapping Method
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2008, 12:32:33 PM »
I'm so jealous of you people and your "writing" and your "mapping." 99 percent of my game prep is purely mental, and then the characters meet Loranis the Elder or whatever and I realize he has no stats. *sigh*
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VBWyrde

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Story Mapping Method
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2008, 05:03:38 PM »
Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;217545
I tend to use three pieces of paper, and I don't do little drawings like you do.

One organises things spatially - it's a map of the area at hand, with rough notation of where various things are, or could be expected to be.

The second organises things temporally. It's a list of the main things I expect to happen, with a few notes on reaction. Sometimes I'll just jot this down on the side of another set of notes.

The third is my relationship map, like in Unknown Armies. It's a rough mapping of what people are trying to do in relation to one another and the main plot elements (the macguffin, the big bad, etc.) This is my "I don't know" back-up. If I can't remember what someone is supposed to be doing, I consult the map and remind myself. I also check it before smoke breaks, washroom breaks and other little interruptions to just remind myself what the NPCs are up to.


Interestingly I made xerox copies of the base Story-Map for my current campaign "The Road to Goblinton" and on these I'm adding to each copy different sorts of interesting notes.  If I tried to add everything to the Story-Map it would be way to confused.   So in the next map I have "Interesting Asides and Places to Visit" such as "Mouse Hole" which is, yes, a mouse hole, that also is a very nice bed and breakfast for the Fey.   On another map I'm laying out the astro-tarot relationships in terms of areas.   This is an experimental concept I'm working on but it's showing some small signs of progress.   Basically the astro-tarot system is currently providing me with reference points for further elaboration on themes within the scenario.   For example the area near the Ant is noted with a glyph of Taurus, which in my system is related to a Tarot Card and a variety of correspondences (of which the Ant is one, which is why Taurus gets selected for this spot).  These correspondences are used to fill in blanks in the story if I should need them, and gives me clues as to alignment affiliations, as well as Allies and Enemies that fit within my overall Astro-Tarot System.  More on that another time, but I do have a separate map that has the various glyphs for this map printed in red circles and squares.   So far it's not well fleshed out in terms of how I want to use this, but it's been helpful in some cases, and with more work I think it will prove fruitful.   I hope so, anyway.

I like the relationships map also.  I'm working on something that does a similar thing but it's very simple.  Just circles with colored lines that shows who is friends vs enemies with who.

Here's a close up of one section of the the current map:



Once they go over the bridge the Golden Sheaf Society members very gradually began shrinking, and didn't perceive it, except to say that the tunnel was getting larger and larger and the terrain rocky and difficult, until they came to Dead Leaf which they were passing under when realised that something was very "wrong" about that house-sized structure (only being able to see part of it by torchlight).   After that they encountered an Ant, and then had a battle with a mosquito.   Needless to say they have a long way to go before they get to Goblinton, or out of the caverns for that matter.  :)
« Last Edit: June 19, 2008, 11:22:00 PM by VBWyrde »
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« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2008, 11:33:38 PM »
I must admit, I favour more information on the relationship map, rather than less. I try to keep it to three short phrases on either side of the relationship line. One phrase is how they feel, one is what they want to do to them, and the third is what they why. Each NPC/plot element gets one side (if appropriate). That way, it's all off-loaded to the paper, and I can free my mind for other things.

Engine> I've done it both ways, and I find that doing at least some of the prep beforehand makes it a lot smoother in actual play.

Also, if you have it written down, you can recycle it. Just erase "Asskicker McWizard" and two games down the line, when you need a spell-slinging badass again, you can write in "Scrotknocker McWizard" and you're ready to go. I'll recycle my old characters' spell lists as enemy spell lists whenever possible too, because I've already done the work making sure they're awesome spells twenty sessions ago. It's all about modular elements.
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The Pernicious Light, or The Wreckers of Sword Island;
A Goblin's Progress, or Of Cannons and Canons;
An Oration on the Dignity of Tash, or On the Elves and Their Lies
All for S&W Complete
Playing: Dark Heresy, WFRP 2e

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VBWyrde

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Story Mapping Method
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2008, 12:21:05 AM »
Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;217714
I must admit, I favour more information on the relationship map, rather than less. I try to keep it to three short phrases on either side of the relationship line. One phrase is how they feel, one is what they want to do to them, and the third is what they why. Each NPC/plot element gets one side (if appropriate). That way, it's all off-loaded to the paper, and I can free my mind for other things.

Engine> I've done it both ways, and I find that doing at least some of the prep beforehand makes it a lot smoother in actual play.

Also, if you have it written down, you can recycle it. Just erase "Asskicker McWizard" and two games down the line, when you need a spell-slinging badass again, you can write in "Scrotknocker McWizard" and you're ready to go. I'll recycle my old characters' spell lists as enemy spell lists whenever possible too, because I've already done the work making sure they're awesome spells twenty sessions ago. It's all about modular elements.


Yeah, I basically use this as a jumping off point for improvisation rather than a set piece definition of what's going on.   What I won't do is move elements to different locations, for example the bridge over Blackwater Brook is going to remain where it is, though that location is loosely specified in terms of distance.  It is down Long Tunnel before you get to the Shrinking/Growing Tunnel.  That's as much definition as I need or want.   Improvisation might come in play all along the way however.   The improv might be, for example, they run into an Ant, and the Ant as it happens is on a mission for a Fey to find something important because the fey are spying on the Spiders who have captured a number of the Fey's favorite Pill Bugs ... or some such.  In other words the storyline in terms of "what is going on in the cavern today" may change, but the basic set of creatures will remain the same, as will the relative locations of Important Places and the paths that lead between them.   So it's a flexible setting, but has some roots and foundations.  I figure the group I'm playing with now could easily spend a month in this area without getting bored, or even discovering everything there is to find out about.   A good three months of play and I think they'd get around to seeing it all.   But long before that I imagine, if they live, they'll have already gotten out of the cavern regrown and back home.   So when they venture this way again, if they do, there will be more to discover.   Or if they go someplace else and happen to get shrunk (or shrink themselves which they may well do once they figure out that once shrunk they can see and communicate with the fey much more easily), I can pull elements out from here and throw them in the new place.   Ants and mosquitoes, ticks, mites, pill bugs, etc, are all possible encounters (among many many others).   Anyway, the Story-Map helps me to keep track of and remember the basic elements without overly tying me down.   Seems to be working so far.

As for the drawing ... well, yeah, I do practice and since I like to keep the results and will eventually compile them into *something* I try to make them pretty.  :)
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MoonHunter

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Story Mapping Method
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2008, 04:01:37 PM »
This is kindred to how I run every game.  

I am striving for a movie or book feel normally in my games. To achieve that, I keep Hitchcock's rule in mind:  A movie/game is just like real life, except with all the boring parts edited/ narrated out.  You are making a movie/ story, not a documentry of the character's life. So you don't go through "the waking up monage" every morning.  If you search a room with 100 boxes, we won't go through every one. You get some narration about what sorts of things you find, and then, "When you get to box 67, you find....."

So I block out every important scene for my upcomming session. Every scene in a game, like in a movie, should have some purpose. It is there to "grant information/tool", "Foreshadow upcoming events", "forward the main plot", or "forward a subplot".

I have do digress a moment. Every plot line is made up of key scenes. So the "Avenge my Dog" plotline would have the key scenes of "finding the dog dead", "Finding The Big Clue as to who did it", "Tracking him down - to the next town over.", "Dodging his friend - a bar where his burly friends are", and "final confrontation, in which I plan on happening in the rain and being on the roof of the bar where the dog fights are held"  Of course you will add scenes to help transition between the key scenes - important bits to get you from there to there, and maybe a few scenes to transition between the added scene.  (The scene when you get into the next town over and ask someone where "HE" is, and they point you to the bar..)

So every character has a plotline or three, so I grab some possible scenes from those, I grab the scenes for the main plot, and I try to choose something that will give everyone a little air time (and allow them to show off their specialties if possible).   From there, it is just sorting a rough order.  I figure out any transitional scenes that might be needed and work on trying to tie together various lines together (Oh both of you are supposed to have sewer scenes.. welll...).   This gives me my scenario.  This is a rough plan, as no plan servives contact with the players.  Now back to what we were talking through before.

So we narrate through all the boring parts, and narrate to either a point of decision or to the next scene.  We play out scenes, and they choose their next course of action.   (I can then either follow that action, or take a cut scene to some other characters doing something else).

Now I run dungeons, and shadowruns, spy infiltrations, and so on, the exact same way.  I do Indiana Jones, cut to the action scene dungeoning. (See the Crawl, http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1787 ) So instead of hours of checking traps, advancing slowly. They follow their general rules of conduct, and we get to "the exciting spot" ... "As you shift the rocks aside, you see it. It gleems even in the near darkness. At the far end of the gloomy darkness that is the room. ....
« Last Edit: June 26, 2008, 04:04:55 PM by MoonHunter »
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VBWyrde

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Story Mapping Method
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2008, 10:14:18 AM »
Quote from: MoonHunter;219824
This is kindred to how I run every game.  

I am striving for a movie or book feel normally in my games. To achieve that, I keep Hitchcock's rule in mind:  A movie/game is just like real life, except with all the boring parts edited/ narrated out.  You are making a movie/ story, not a documentry of the character's life. So you don't go through "the waking up monage" every morning.  If you search a room with 100 boxes, we won't go through every one. You get some narration about what sorts of things you find, and then, "When you get to box 67, you find....."


Very much so.  The idea basically is to keep things flowing toward the action and plot twists, skipping lightly over the mundane parts - but not excluding them entirely.   I just don't dwell on them.   But for atmosphere sake I think it pays to include things like "... it was a sweltering day in the bad lands as the party trekked across the dry riverbed... hungry, sweating, and pestered by black flies they are making their way toward the distant brown hill where the mysterious cave entrance was said to be located by the townsfolk..."   That's enough to set the mood, atmosphere and background.   Don't take much, but it's important from a story perspective, I think.

Quote

So I block out every important scene for my upcomming session. Every scene in a game, like in a movie, should have some purpose. It is there to "grant information/tool", "Foreshadow upcoming events", "forward the main plot", or "forward a subplot".


Makes sense.   Of course "Introduce Sub-Plot" would be on the list as well.  :).

Quote

I have do digress a moment. Every plot line is made up of key scenes. So the "Avenge my Dog" plot-line would have the key scenes of "finding the dog dead", "Finding The Big Clue as to who did it", "Tracking him down - to the next town over.", "Dodging his friend - a bar where his burly friends are", and "final confrontation, in which I plan on happening in the rain and being on the roof of the bar where the dog fights are held"  Of course you will add scenes to help transition between the key scenes - important bits to get you from there to there, and maybe a few scenes to transition between the added scene.  (The scene when you get into the next town over and ask someone where "HE" is, and they point you to the bar..)


The tricky spot here is to do something along these lines, but *not* railroad the story.   What if the main character actually decides that he doesn't *want* to avenge his dog?   What if, instead, he wants to go on the next caving expedition to see if he can find the chest of gold ingots mentioned four adventures previously?   In the sandbox (freestyle) mode the Characters can do whatever they want, and the GM doesn't try to "Guide the Story", but instead goes with the flow of the Player decisions... even when they happen to be bad choices, or ones that the GM doesn't think makes for "good story".  That's the rub there.   And it's not a trivial issue.  

The problem is that the Players may not care about "good story" nearly as much as the GM (or vice verse, actually).  They might instead really only care about combat, tactics, treasure and upping Levels.  But the GM is all engrossed with the wonders of his World and the back story and how "everything all fits together and makes sense and is a wonderful story".  

You may also run into another potential problem where all sides very much care about "good story" but don't agree on what "good" actually is.   What if the GM thinks "good" is where the Characters get hacked to pieces by frightening supernatural creatures - The End.   So differences in people's opinions as to what constitutes a "Good Story" also has a bearing on how well this works out.  Ideally, of course, the GM and Players agree on that.  

As a Player I like the Sandbox mode.  As a GM I like it too, but it presents challenges.   How do I create back story enough so that I can be flexible and go with the Player's decisions, while still providing myself enough detail to hang a hat on, yet not so much that if the Players go the other way, I don't feel I've wasted a ton of development time for naught?  Tricky.   This however, is where the Spiral Method and some of the other related methods we've mentioned on the LRPGSW come in handy.  

The Story Mapping Method is yet another tool in the arsenal.   The key to the Story Map is that nothing is set in stone, distances are vague, characters are not located in set positions but simply represented as "People who are involved with the area".   From this it is not difficult to be flexible and let the Players go ... wherever.  

However, the other thing to note is that the Story Map is limited and confined by some boundary.   In the current case it's a cavern.   To get to another Story Map they have to leave the cavern which would take at least one adventure.  If they do I have other Story Maps for wherever in the area they would want to go.   Some of them are large area maps that show the overview of the region, and others, like the cavern, zoom all the way down to the Fey and Insect-sized adventures.   The key is to have enough Maps at various levels available so that when the Players say, "We head West for no reason" you can go there and know "... ah yes, in the west are the Iron Hills where the Ogre Chieftain is still licking his wounds from the war, and the goblins are restless..."  

The other key is to use the Spiral Method .  Basically what I do is keep handy sets of generic groups of people and monsters for general usage.   ie - the Goblin Troop A.  The Kobold Troop B.   The Wolves.   Etc.   I associate them to areas, rather than specific locations.  That way I can throw them into the adventure as needed.

Quote

So every character has a plot-line or three, so I grab some possible scenes from those, I grab the scenes for the main plot, and I try to choose something that will give everyone a little air time (and allow them to show off their specialties if possible).   From there, it is just sorting a rough order.  I figure out any transitional scenes that might be needed and work on trying to tie together various lines together (Oh both of you are supposed to have sewer scenes.. welll...).   This gives me my scenario.  This is a rough plan, as no plan servives contact with the players.  Now back to what we were talking through before.


Yes, I confirm:  no plan survives contact with the Players.

Quote

So we narrate through all the boring parts, and narrate to either a point of decision or to the next scene.  We play out scenes, and they choose their next course of action.   (I can then either follow that action, or take a cut scene to some other characters doing something else).

Now I run dungeons, and shadowruns, spy infiltrations, and so on, the exact same way.  I do Indiana Jones, cut to the action scene dungeoning. (See the Crawl, http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1787 ) So instead of hours of checking traps, advancing slowly. They follow their general rules of conduct, and we get to "the exciting spot" ... "As you shift the rocks aside, you see it. It gleems even in the near darkness. At the far end of the gloomy darkness that is the room. ....


Thanks.  Interesting suggestions!  Thanks!  :)

Mark
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« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2008, 12:21:51 PM »
The tricky spot here is to do something along these lines, but *not* railroad the story.

Actually not that tricky. When we create a character in my campaigns, each character is designed to have a set of motivations, why are they adventuring.  From there, each character has three plotlines attached to them.  The first one is one the player comes up with and wants to pursue. The second one is something I, the GM, comes up with and let the player know that that it exists. This is usually tied to the central story arc of the campaign. The third one is the secet one, based upon their character's motivations, modified by the player's drives. More plot lines can be hung on the character, providing them more to do.  These extras are normally things the players want to do.

Thus the character and the player decides on what will be, generally, in the campaign.

If their is a mission or encounter structure in this, while your goal is stop the evil emperor you end up finding a wrong that needs to be righted or just something to do with the cash, you can follow the same struture.. with this new "mission" being its own series of scenes.  If they digress or leave that story path, it continues on without them.  

We have had players go "Oh shit," a few sessions later when they realized they bailed upon an encounter or mission and the unchecked results come back to bite them or complicate their lives.  After all, NPCs have their goals and scenes as well. If they PCs don't interfere, their lives proceeed.

But if they go off the beacon so to speak for some odd reason or chase down that red herring as if their lives depend on it, you just adlib. Create some new scenes to give yourself some breathing space and let them have fun.  This is why you have good setting design. You know your world and the local setting well enough that you know what is around for them to play with.

They might instead really only care about combat, tactics, treasure and upping Levels.
Then their plotlines have to do with treasure and combat. Or their plotline is designed to provide them "tricky tactical situations" for them to puzzle through.  "Ah your archer/ sniper is now dueling with the Master Villian's Archer Sniper in this maze of old buildings."   In reality, I create just some "cool places to fight" for the character, so they can show off their prowess and the other players might enjoy being tactical in. When someone else is having a combat/ conflict to further their plot lines, I find an appropriate one from the "tactical player's list" and use that. Since I have already prepped those scenes, I have the fun bits and any special rules on hand for quick play.

As a Player I like the Sandbox mode. As a GM I like it too, but it presents challenges.
These paths come pre-approved by the players, so this is the sort of things they want.  And if they opt out of their specific plotlines, there are always a couple of event plotlines we can follow. We call them, "And the Ninjas attack!" plotlines. So the world become stormy and their is this flood. What do you do, that magic sword really does not cut it when a 12' wall of water is heading towards you.  Or, there is a Soccer Riot "Damm, I meant to get tickets for that game". Or, plague. Or, the stampede. Or that girl you bedded last night want to  know when you are going to be married. Well you get the idea. And lets face it, most PCs are not designed to handle these thigns.

My players realize that if they are not "doing things", that things will be done to them. Most of the time they are "interesting", like above. When the PCs have opted to dig their heels in and wait for the adventure being presented to them, we shift to "mundane time".

To quote some players, "What can he do to us?" Terrible things. Things you were not meant to game. Things you can't fight. "  "I can fight a plague or a flood, or something. We have taken those."  "No, those are easy.  I am talking your mother in law shows up. I am talking, nothing happens. I mean nothing. Days upon days, session upon session, of minutia. We roll for brushing our teeth. For BRUSHING OUR TEETH!. "

They soon get bored and go do something.

Once, just to test, they decided to give up foiling the Evil Plot to take over the Country. That plot continued without them. Then on the radio, they hear their leader turn power over to "The Evil Mastermind." and his goons begin to goose step in the streets, backed up by giant robots.  The other players, realizing that I was going to play this out until they died under the rule of "The Evil Mastermind", had a Coup d'état  against their ringleader, and began a rebel campaign. We generated some new plotlines, recycled some of the old, and we had a blast.
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VBWyrde

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« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2008, 11:16:38 AM »
Quote from: MoonHunter;220877
When we create a character in my campaigns, each character is designed to have a set of motivations, why are they adventuring.  From there, each character has three plotlines attached to them.  ... Thus the character and the player decides on what will be, generally, in the campaign.


I haven't tried that method, though I have read about it.  Sounds interesting.  I have a bit of a hard time visualizing exactly how it works though.  Do you mean that before the game begins the Players say things like "My character wants to take on Pirates and defeat an Evil Mastermind"?  Or how does that work?

Quote

After all, NPCs have their goals and scenes as well. If they PCs don't interfere, their lives proceeed.


Definitely.  I do the same.  My NPCs are out and about doing stuff.  If the PCs decided to live lives of ease at the local pub getting drunk the NPCs would continue doing the nasty... until one drunk day the pub was over run by the Orc Horde, or some such.  

Quote

But if they go off the beacon so to speak for some odd reason or chase down that red herring as if their lives depend on it, you just adlib.


Ad Libbing (improvisation) is a critical and necessary GMing skill, in my opinion.   Without it the World becomes flat, boring and a bit of a chore.  I've seen that before with GMs who don't quite feel comfortable with improvisation.  Sometimes it's a matter of just not knowing their worlds well enough... so they hesitate and come off flat.   Other times they are just bad at it generally.   Either way, Improvisation is one of the most important skills for a GM.  Well worth the effort to get good at.

Quote

They might instead really only care about combat, tactics, treasure and upping Levels.
Then their plotlines have to do with treasure and combat.... In reality, I create just some "cool places to fight" for the character, so they can show off their prowess and the other players might enjoy being tactical in. ...


Good idea.  Similar to the Spiral Method Approach but with terrain rather than characters.  I do the same.  :)

Quote

As a Player I like the Sandbox mode. As a GM I like it too, but it presents challenges.
These paths come pre-approved by the players, so this is the sort of things they want.


That sounds convenient.  Again, I'm not clear on how it works at this point, but at least in concept it sounds reasonable.   The player says "I want to defeat the evil overlord... "  so you throw him at an evil overlord.  ... is that basically it?

Quote

My players realize that if they are not "doing things", that things will be done to them.


Indeed.  I run things very similarly in that respect.  :)

Thanks for the thoughts!
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MoonHunter

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« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2008, 12:55:14 PM »
Quote from: VBWyrde;221097

When we create a character in my campaigns, each character is designed to have a set of motivations, why are they adventuring. From there, each character has three plotlines attached to them. ... Thus the character and the player decides on what will be, generally, in the campaign.

I haven't tried that method, though I have read about it.  Sounds interesting.  I have a bit of a hard time visualizing exactly how it works though.  Do you mean that before the game begins the Players say things like "My character wants to take on Pirates and defeat an Evil Mastermind"?  Or how does that work?


This starts in the begining. See Starting The Campaign the MoonHunter's Way
http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1461

Yes, all my big prep work is done in the one week between character creation and the campaign starts. In some ways, this annoys others. They ask me "When do I do all this prep work for the game," and I tell them, "This stuff? about 5 months ago."

2) Poll your players I: While I am presenting various campaign trailers to my troupe, I start to work on the actual campaign we will run. I ask each player for one to five "bits" they want to see in the campaign. Each bit is a campaign element, character types, major NPCs (or type of NPC), types of story lines they want to see, the kind of settings, type of adventures they want to see, types of opposition, important elements (magic, tech, skills), genre and subgenre. From these elements, I can usually tell which campaign trailer they are most interested in. Sometimes, I will create new movie trailers based on their answers.

By doing this, I make sure that there are things in my campaign that will interest my players. So if they want to have "cool fight scenes", I plan to have conflicts in interesting./ exotic locations (and start watchign a lot of Kung Fu movies). If they want to crush Evil Wizards, I make sure there is an Evil Wizard working for the Bad Guys.  If they want "City Adventures", we plot things in the cities.  If they want romance, I make sure there is a pretty princess for them to woo. etc. etc.

7) Casting: We have Casting Parties. In these group sessions, we work out all our characters together.
When we do this, it becomes a big idea session. The party becomes balanced. People weave their histories together and look for comonalities. We also make sure that everyone's character would be together.

First and foremost, all players must have a motivation besides being rootless waunderers without connections to the world about being involved in things. This provides their motivation beyond mere greed/ quest for xp. Characters without a motivation to be involved will simply be "left in the bar" and never involved in the game. The players are warned and make things appropriate.

At the casting party....
This is the time we create the plotlines for the character. In games with disadvatages or flaw or lifepaths, this is easier.  They have this "something" in their past. That something should be involved in the game. You come up with a story about it.  If not, the players have to dig in and create more of their characters than they are probably used to.  I make sure the characters have ties to "the rest of the world", a religion, a clan, their guild, their mentor, the guy that their mentor liked better than them, the army, and so on.  That way, they have links to the world, resources to access, and contacts to use... plus motivational elements to borrow.  

So, you took a 20pt 11- hunted... okay.. tell me about them.

Oh, fear of snakes....GM begins to plan having snake people in a plotline

"Your Religion, okay. You are part of this sect. It is centered out of this city. Petros the Strong is the Head of the Sect there.. and he hates you."

Everyone has things they want to do or want their character to do. You simply tap into that.  

"You want to marry the princess, well lets see.. okay, you can try."  

"You want social challanges at court so you can show off all those social skills, contacts, and charisma?  We can do that.

"I want to be the big Bad Ass of the area. Okay, well your chief rival for that is the Temple Guardian of the local Buddhist Temple.. so you just can't "call him out" without being disowned by the entire community.

So, at minimum, there is one plotline they come up with (and the GM agrees to), there is one plotline the GM says, you should take (and the player agrees), and one GM created plotline that should fit the game and the character, but the PC is unaware of it.  This is that bit of "unexpected" to keep it spicy.   There is also the Big Story Arc, the central one for the campaign. These character plotlines are woven into the Big Story Arc.


Okay, the Hunted are the primary tools of the big bad.  They will have to spend some time at court, so we have romance the princess and the Evil Mastermind is there (though it will take some time for them to realize he is the big bad.) Oh The Big Bad can be the Courtier's main verbal sparring partner. No, better yet, they are on the same side... allies in court. They are against this pompous ass at court.  Won't that be a turn of events.  We hide the magical dingus everyone is looking for under The Buddhist Temple, so we will have people attacking the temple, and the PCs sneaking in.. so we can mix it up with the temple guard. In fact, the temple is being infiltrated by The Snake People. The Snake People are untrustworthy allies of the Big Bad. They have their own agenda, but it co-incides with his.. for now.  And the magic Dingus in the temple, it control a Giant Monster. That will make Tom happy, he always likes Godzilla creatures in games.. even though he never says it.

From there, we make various key scenes for the plotlines.. each key scene having a purpose (like drop the clue about the snake people), something to do, and what has to happen before it can happen.  

So by the time I am done, I have about 18 plotlines, each with about five key scene.  Those 90 scenes make the game. Everything else is just to get them to those scenes (transitions, minor key scenes so they can get to the key scenes, fun things to do for distractions).  Figure one to three Key scenes a game...  30 weeks of gaming fun.. all set up.. almost ready to go.. just after character creation.

(And remember, these are scenes to grab as appropriate to the game, the pace might change.. certain plot lines might get used up early.. others might lag. You do have to adjust your story pacing to what is going on in your game and with your players).

Now the party normally does it on its own, but some times I have to nudge.  I make sure that each character has at least one primary relationship in the party and a secondary one.  The primary link is their friend/ family member/ friendly rival that binds them to the group. The secondary one, is like the first, but it is another relationship in the group... should something happen to a primary.    

This means, often times, you will be doing odd things "for your friend".  "Why are we in sewers?  Remember, Toth is our friend and he needs some back up on this "mission of his".  I know, but is he "a slog through sewer" kind of friend or just a "I will help you bury the body" kind of friend?"

And every few weeks I poll the players (related to 8), looking for things they want in the game.  "Oh I like that NPC, I want to see more."  I hated that guy, want him dead.  I want more of those monsters, they were cool.  I don't like this girl in my romance plot. Can we do something to her?   We need more Giant Monsters. No we don't Tom. (evil GM smile).

This is related to the above section. So you will have about 12 things that people will want to see in the campaign. You can alter some of your pre-work, or jsut sprinkle things into your campaign as needed. You wont always be able to give them everything they want, but you have to try.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2008, 01:01:39 PM by MoonHunter »
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VBWyrde

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Story Mapping Method
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2008, 06:57:36 PM »
Quote from: MoonHunter;221480
This starts in the begining. See Starting The Campaign the MoonHunter's Way
http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1461


Ok that makes a lot more sense to me now.  I'm not sure how I would respond to that system as a Player, but at least I understand what the system is.

The bottom line of course is that if everyone likes it and is having fun then dang toot, you're on the right track.   For me, I am not sure how I would respond because I'm more into exploring the GMs world than providing input into what the story should be.   It creates a sense of mystery for me to *not* know what is around the bend.   So long as the GM's world is interesting in its own right, which has usually been the case in the worlds I've played in, I'm ok with having my contribution be simply the Plot-Line added by the actions of my character - without prescripting the sequence.

Of course, your method may result in better stories overall.  That's entirely possible.  What would be perfect in my mind would be where we get the best of both worlds.   Mystery along with great story.   But that takes, I suspect, a very special set of skills and knowledge on the part of both the GM and Players to pull off.
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« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2008, 12:38:46 PM »
The players are not really making much of the world. Most of the information on the world is in the basic world pack (http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1274 ). they recieved. Sure I will add twists and details to that information based on the characters. They are stones dropped in the pond, their existance causes ripples... details and pieces of information needed to support their existance (you want to be a House Assassin? okay.. need a noble house now.. and a training process for you...).  These things might of been hinted at or completely glossed over in the world packet. They only come to the fore and get detailed out because of a certain character or player.

And even if there is a mystery, just because you gave me the basics of a plot, does not mean you will know what it is.  Sure certain players have tried to detail out the entire plot they want to live. I have always back away to a "high concept" description of their plot.  Then gone back to my hiddyhole and plotted out things. Just because your plotline is a mystery (I want to find the stolen family signet ring), does not mean you are going to know where the plotline will go (and who is involved? Peter (other PC), you stole my family's signet ring?! Oop. Well yes, the hooded man paid me pretty well. Sorry about costing your family its entire fortune and noble rank. I didn't know any of that would happen. If you don't kill me... I can help you get it back. I will know the hooded man's voice if I heard it again. Fast thinking on his part, I thought.)


It really does come down to what bits you want to see. In your case, your bits would be:

1) I want to explore the world some, beyond what it is in the world packet.
The packet gives you everything that is "common knowledge". There is always more to learn or explore, but it gives you a basic working knowledge of the world.

2) I will help my friends and family, and go where the wind takes me.
No matter what, Everyone comes from somewhere. In character creation, you will have points of origin, group associations, and a history.  As long as you have ties to the world, I can get you somewhat involved.

3) Can you make a plot line for me?
I am of two minds about this.

In some ways, this is a cop out. Someplayers do this because they don't want to invest anything into the game, just want to have someone entertain them. The GM investests hours and hours into the game, can you give me 20 minutes worth of work or just a few ideas?

Some people do it because they really do not know.   So in this case, I would create some plotlines that I think you would like.  

If I have to make your plotlines, I will also use your character like a tool, making sure that their nemesis/ flaws/ etc, make them a cog in the mechanism of the plot. Some people will all of a sudden find themselves so deep in the plot they are drowning. Well, possible.  

My response has always been, "Sure I will, but you have to not complain about what you get in terms of plotlines or things that happen to your character.  You had your chance to choose some of your options and you are abdicating your responsibility. So I don't want to hear you complain about it later. Can you do this?"  
Over 10 years of gaming, only one person did complain. He lost all the EPs for that session and the next. Nobody in the troupe ever did it again. And that player had a bucket load of ideas for his next character.


4) There are other little things, but you can see from there.   And remember, I only require one plotline from you, the player. And I do tell you to expect this other plot line.  There will be other little subplots that will be woven into your character's life over time that you don't know much about.


In many cases, the world is technically a sand box. The "main plot line" really can be quite minimal. (The main plot is then just the "flow of history" for the world.)  It is the characters (with their and the player's motivations) that are driving things for the troupe. Their giving me plotlines, ensuring that things are in place that they want to do.. and they make the choices about when those plots advance (in most cases).   And if they go off the beacon, so to speak, I can just make new plot lines for them.. and follow those new sets of scenes.

Western Game (pity this one never got off the ground) had a couple of these. Someone wanted to be part of a posse. Someone wanted to make their ranch prosper. Someone wanted to be Sheriff eventually (thought they wanted to start as the town drunk).  So I came up with plot lines that would be challanges, should they go those directions.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2008, 01:18:33 PM by MoonHunter »
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« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2008, 10:32:03 PM »
The players are not really making much of the world. Most of the information on the world is in the basic world pack (http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1274 ). they recieved. Sure I will add twists and details to that information based on the characters. They are stones dropped in the pond, their existance causes ripples... details and pieces of information needed to support their existance (you want to be a House Assassin? okay.. need a noble house now.. and a training process for you...).  These things might of been hinted at or completely glossed over in the world packet. They only come to the fore and get detailed out because of a certain character or player.

And even if there is a mystery, just because you gave me the basics of a plot, does not mean you will know what it is.  Sure certain players have tried to detail out the entire plot they want to live. I have always back away to a "high concept" description of their plot.  Then gone back to my hiddyhole and plotted out things. Just because your plotline is a mystery (I want to find the stolen family signet ring), does not mean you are going to know where the plotline will go (and who is involved? Peter (other PC), you stole my family's signet ring?! Oop. Well yes, the hooded man paid me pretty well. Sorry about costing your family its entire fortune and noble rank. I didn't know any of that would happen. If you don't kill me... I can help you get it back. I will know the hooded man's voice if I heard it again. Fast thinking on his part, I thought.)


It really does come down to what bits you want to see. In your case, your bits would be:

1) I want to explore the world some, beyond what it is in the world packet.
The packet gives you everything that is "common knowledge". There is always more to learn or explore, but it gives you a basic working knowledge of the world.

2) I will help my friends and family, and go where the wind takes me.
No matter what, Everyone comes from somewhere. In character creation, you will have points of origin, group associations, and a history.  As long as you have ties to the world, I can get you somewhat involved.

3) Can you make a plot line for me?
I am of two minds about this.

In some ways, this is a cop out. Someplayers do this because they don't want to invest anything into the game, just want to have someone entertain them. The GM investests hours and hours into the game, can you give me 20 minutes worth of work or just a few ideas?

Some people do it because they really do not know.   So in this case, I would create some plotlines that I think you would like.  

If I have to make your plotlines, I will also use your character like a tool, making sure that their nemesis/ flaws/ etc, make them a cog in the mechanism of the plot. Some people will all of a sudden find themselves so deep in the plot they are drowning. Well, possible.  

My response has always been, "Sure I will, but you have to not complain about what you get in terms of plotlines or things that happen to your character.  You had your chance to choose some of your options and you are abdicating your responsibility. So I don't want to hear you complain about it later. Can you do this?"  
Over 10 years of gaming, only one person did complain. He lost all the EPs for that session and the next. Nobody in the troupe ever did it again. And that player had a bucket load of ideas for his next character.


4) There are other little things, but you can see from there.   And remember, I only require one plotline from you, the player. And I do tell you to expect this other plot line.  There will be other little subplots that will be woven into your character's life over time that you don't know much about.


In many cases, the world is technically a sand box. The "main plot line" really can be quite minimal. (The main plot is then just the "flow of history" for the world.)  It is the characters (with their and the player's motivations) that are driving things for the troupe. Their giving me plotlines, ensuring that things are in place that they want to do.. and they make the choices about when those plots advance (in most cases).   And if they go off the beacon, so to speak, I can just make new plot lines for them.. and follow those new sets of scenes.

Western Game (pity this one never got off the ground) had a couple of these. Someone wanted to be part of a posse. Someone wanted to make their ranch prosper. Someone wanted to be Sheriff eventually (thought they wanted to start as the town drunk).  So I came up with plot lines that would be challanges, should they go those directions.
MoonHunter
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"The road less traveled is less traveled for a reason."
"The world needs dreamers to give it a soul."... "And it needs realists to keep it alive."
Now posting way, way, waaaaayyyy to much stuff @ http://www.strolen.com

VBWyrde

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« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2008, 12:16:55 AM »
Quote from: MoonHunter;221975
The players are not really making much of the world. Most of the information on the world is in the basic world pack (http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1274 )...


Regarding World Packs (see link above):

Interestingly, I've been doing something along these lines... except what I'm doing is taking my adventures as the Players are playing it out (Actual Play) and writing those up as stories.  You have seen some examples on the LRPGSW, Moonhunter.  Those might serve the purpose of introducing the Players to the world.

That said, I also really like the idea of World Packs, and am working on a system for that as well.  The tricky part for me is that the GM when creating his world may want to keep some things private GM Only info, have some things as General Information that all people in the World might know (capital cities, nature of the culture, etc), and then some things that only specific characters know (details of histories, local info, whos-who, etc).   I'm working out how to handle that.  Your post on the topic has helped clarify some of these issues.  Thanks!

Cool site, btw.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2008, 12:18:16 AM by VBWyrde »
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