So you want to be Plot?

Running Plot can be a richly rewarding experience. It tests your adaptability, your acting, your decision-making, and your ability to create a story that people enjoy. Whether you are an experienced plot member on a 3-year team or a rookie who has yet to run a single game, we could all use a few pointers on running plots. While the following list cannot possibly address all of the problems that a plot person may have, here is some general advice.

1. Know the rules. This is probably the most important guideline I could give. While there might be rules marshals present, as PCs or NPCs, make sure that you know all of the rules for the game before you come to the game. Whether the marshal is present or not, people will look to you first when it comes to a rules call, and a bad call by a marshal can result in bad feelings from the PCs, particularly if it effects a life-or-death situation. Make doubly sure to know any rules that you know will come up, such as rules around special effects that you are planning on putting in the game.
2. Estimate the PCs. When planning the module, remember that the storyline has to fit within something that the PCs can accomplish. Odds are, a group of PCs is not going to defeat a dragon when the average level is 5. Likewise, a group that averages around 24 might not like that your plot involves killing rats in a basement. You can play with stats a little, but players will enjoy a plot a lot more if you can estimate what sort of plot is at their level. Dragons that can be beaten by level 5 characters aren’t really dragons, and rats that are a challenge for level 24 characters aren’t really rats, and everyone is fairly aware of this. Likewise, estimate who is going to show up. Giving a group of cold-blooded murders a task such as “escort a child home,” might not be so fun for them, and they might decide not to do it. Giving a group of goody-two-shoes pacifists the task of “killing a small child,” might not be the best idea either. Estimate what they can and will do before you move on to deciding the mission.
3. Decide on a Plot. If you have a great idea for a plot line, then this is awesome. But a lot of times you don’t. There are a few good tricks to forming plots on the fly. One is to take a literary or cinematic device that you have seen before and apply it. In a plot that I ran once, the final room was filled to the brim with gold. A classic device is that if you touch the gold in the final room, when your objective is just one piece of treasure, that the gold will curse you, or be trapped, or both. The first thing I head was “Nobody touch anything” and I had to laugh. Another is to take a world event and base things around that. This works better if you want the PCs to do a bit of sleuth work, and you should only lightly base it on the event in question. For instance, if a senator is involved with a money laundering scandal, you could change it so that a minor lord has been accused of taking tax money from the local king. It’s a lie in this case, and he needs to clear his name by finding the bandits that stole the money from the coffers, which is where the PCs come in. Or it’s true, and the PCs have to investigate, looking for proof without being sure he is guilty. Or some other option. Maybe he is innocent, but is avoiding the investigation because he doesn’t want anyone to realize he’s a vampire, or somesuch. Keep in mind to change every detail from the fictional or non-fictional elements used, unless you WANT people to catch the reference, which you rarely do.
4. Take Care of Debriefing Immediately. Don’t wait, hesitate, or waste time. The more time you spend away from taking care of the plot, informing the NPCs, and making sure the PCs are ready, the longer it is going to take. When debriefing takes long, you have less time for game, people are less apt to get in character quickly, and you are forced to rush more later on. By taking care of debriefing, including treasure policy and making sure you understand the party’s capacity, early, you can make the necessary changes or additions to the module that you have designed.
5. Leave your Notes in the Car. Maybe not literally, but it sometimes helps. What this means is that the plot will probably, 9 times out of 10, not go a way that you think it will. PC interactions, morals, and ideas will likely change every aspect of the plot that you are going for. This is fine. Remember that the game is about the PCs, not about Plot. Most PCs don’t like being shoved in one direction, and more often than not it is seen as “railroading.” When confronted by an idea, strategy, or other situation that you haven’t planned on, you have to decide on a few things. Say you wrote that the Orks would attack the PCs, running once they knew they were likely to die. One of the PCs uses his Deadly Strike and hits the ground for “1000 Basic” before combat. All of the Orks know they cannot take that strike. They also know anyone who can do that can probably do several other things. As the Ork Leader (plot is often in a leader position in an encounter) you might stop the other Orks, deciding to talk to the PCs rather than die. Or you might scatter. Or you might think it’s a bluff, and go in anyway. Whatever you decide, it should be based on PC action. When in doubt, go for what will be the most fun for the PCs. When in doubt about that, go for the one that will lead to the most action. When in doubt about that, lean on the side of the PCs. When in doubt about THAT, go for realism. It’s not actually a process like this, but by learning to adapt, you can create games that are a lot more fun than ones that are not.
6. Take Charge. Once at the game, everyone will expect you to take charge. Do so. If someone comes to you with a question and you don’t know the answer, make sure you know who you can ask for the answer. Other Plot people are good for this, rules marshals are even better. Try to take care of things as quickly and fairly as possible, and make sure people are following rules of safety and courtesy. Don’t worry about being bossy, people expect the plot person to take charge. Don’t worry about taking control of characters that are out of line, but players that are out of line can be a problem and you should make sure that you know what is happening. When in doubt, consult someone who has a lot of plot experience.
7. Don’t play favorites. This can be a hard one, both from and IP and an OOP angle. On the OOP side, you are usually friends with some of the people you LARP with, and you might even be enemies with a few of them. As Plot, you *HAVE* to be able to put that behind you. I can’t stress this enough. Plot members who play favorites with a PC or a group of PCs can develop a horrible stigma. People may not want you to run plot again, or may actually stop attending games where they know you will be plot. It can affect NPCs as well, causing them to not take you seriously, and other plot people will question your judgment. OOC favoritism can be harder. I personally like adventurous good-guy characters. A lot. Pro-active, smart, good-guy PCs are perhaps my favorite type of character. As Plot, you have to be able to adapt to what the PCs are doing. If the PCs can’t complete the module, or wouldn’t go on your module, because they are not of a certain character type, then a good measure of fun goes out the window. Players usually try to make their characters adaptable, but if they go off in a direction that you weren’t expecting, roll with it, and follow them. Some things aren’t favoritism, however. If you are in the middle of a city, and one PC shoots an innocent man 20 times, both before and after he is dead, saying that someone over “there” screams and calls for the cops is not wholly unrealistic. PCs can still be held accountable for their actions, and often the players want to be, but the more of a stretch something seems, the more likely it is that the players won’t be having fun.
8. Provide an adequate challenge. An ideal game for some is one where you go in, easily defeat the opponents, get a bunch of treasure, earn your blanket, and call it a day. This isn’t actually true for most people I’ve met. Most gamers come to games to try and solve the problem of the day. Sure, their characters want easy missions, good money, and a safe life (usually), but the player probably will walk away from a game feeling unfulfilled if it is too easy. Likewise, an adequate challenge isn’t impossible. Now, if the PCs *want* an impossible task, give it to em. After all, there is no real harm in that. But the best kind of challenge is the one where the PC thinks they will die, but can come up with a plan or strategy (or use one they already know) to save the day.
9. Work equals rewards. If the PCs do work, they should be rewarded. Granted, sometimes you’ve built up an item, or a treasure hoard, or something else, to be so grand, that the PCs won’t possibly be able to earn it in one adventure. Or there may not be enough points to give out even a minor item. This is often the case with powerful scrolls and special items. If there aren’t enough points to give something worthwhile, don’t worry about it too much. PCs know those items are rare and won’t be too disappointed if they are missing from a mod, or even from a few. If you are saving up for some important treasure, keep 2 things in mind. First, tinkers and engineers (and in cases of damaged equipment, other PCs) require cash to play. If their characters are broke, they lose all of their skills. Make sure you give out at least some cash during a game for this reason. Second, make sure the PCs know they are working toward a big treasure. Most PCs are fine with getting less treasure for a while, as long as they know that a big pay-off is coming up. Third, try your best to make sure that the PCs who did the work get the credit. It can be hard with characters moving in and out of play, but a big treasure hoard absolutely sucks if the last 5 modules of treasure were put into it, and a person is out of luck because they missed that sixth game. Especially don’t make one group work and add to treasure policy and then turn around and give that treasure to another group. It happens sometimes and PCs really hate it.
10. If you don’t know, don’t be afraid to ask. I have yet to hear anyone laugh at a plot person for asking about a rule they didn’t know. In fact, I have yet to hear anyone laugh at a rules marshal or even a rules developer for asking about a rule they didn’t know. When in doubt, ask, and don’t worry. PCs would rather see a rules call get done right after a 3-second question than feel the need to argue and complain because a plot person got a rule wrong.

Tony Parisi