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Writing adventures is a full-time job!


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Man, I don't know how the rest of you do it. It's very taxing on me to plan adventure episodes.

 

I know all about sowing a plot seed and seeing where it goes, but I have real difficulty walking the razor-fine line between stringing the players along a storyline and revealing one little detail that has them jump right to the solution.

 

I'm trying to seed the first adventure that starts with a bar fight that leads to one of the players being arresting for murder, and ends when the players track down the real killer.

 

They'll (hopefully) interview a couple of people I've planted, but I'm always terrified they'll ask a question that I give a seemingly innocent answer to, but for the heroes, it leads them right to the killer too soon. I can't fill every plot hole.

 

Worse, if they track someone down, and are supposed to get a clue from them, they manage to overppower them, take them into custody, and gig's pretty much up, unless I magically pull an escape out of thin air.

 

And I have to have answers ready, even if I don't know who they're going to talk to.

 

Admittedly, I'm pretty new to the Standard Hero power level - I usually run low-powered supers games. And I'm pretty rusty at GMing - it's been ten years.

 

So, what I'm doing is writing out pretty much the whole adventure from the villain's viewpoint, and then dovetailing it with the players' presence. I've written most of a chapter now - virtually none of which even involves the heroes - just so the plot maintains some kind of consistency as it unravels.

 

At the same time, I am trying to avoid the problem I've had in so many past games, where I railroad the characters because I didn't have a backup plan in case they actually make too much progress. "Well, he escapes out the back door. " "Not with six coils of my lariat around him he doesn't." "Oh. Ah. Well, he uh ... bites and swallows a cyanide pill and dies!" : GM shreds notes for episode 2:

 

And so far, I haven't made it past episode one of the multi-ep adventure!

 

I should just stick to plain ol one-shot bank robberies...

 

NOW I remember why I had to give up GMing!

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I think you're on the right track in writing things down from the villain's point of view. I know I long ago stopped plotting adventures based on "what the characters will do" because player characters NEVER EVER do what you think they'll do. I'm not alone in using this approach, and I think it's helpful.

 

I decide who the bad guys are for the plot.

 

I decide what they want to accomplish, and how they plan to do so (what resources they have--men, material, information, etc), and a rough timeline. If the plan goes perfectly, how do they think it will play out? How will they avoid arrest? How will they prevent a successful investigation after the fact?

 

Since no plan survives contact with the enemy, I decide how they'll respond to interference. How will the bad guys react when the heroes get involved? Or the cops? Will they patiently retreat, regroup, investigate these new players and plan anew? Try to bribe/scare off/extort/murder them? Run away? (It depends on how experienced/motivated they are.)

 

I work out a few possible plot hooks so I can bring the players into the adventure.

 

And then...I play it by ear. Since I know how the bad guys will react to most likely complications, it's fairly easy to tailor events to what the players decide to do. It also means I don't have to hope the players will follow any given lead or path. If they go chasing off after a wild goose I will give them a nudge in the right direction to avoid a boring, pointless session, but otherwise I let them choose their own path. If you have a number of plots in play, sometimes the players can't stop them all, or must choose which ones to focus on. Sometimes that means the bad guys succeed at something; and that's not a bad thing, it gives your world some verisimilitude, and shows the players that their decisions have consequences.

 

And it's a lot easier on the GM than trying to anticipate the wacky thinking that PCs often engage in.

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All adventures are basically dungeons:

You go from scene to scene (or room to room) and there is some action.

Clues (doors) lead to the next scene (room).

Sometimes you find clues that lead into cul-de-sacs.

Sometimes you you find a shortcut (secret door) and so you don't have to do one scene (fight the monster) in between.

 

I run a lot of Mutant City Blues adventures - basically Superhero Cops in a world where 1% of the population has superpowers - and I draw a map for each adventure - a flowchart. That helps greatly. So you can decide which clues the players need to get the adventure rolling further.

And I also skip through scenes that are not important for the adventure.

 

Example:

Let's say the adventures surprise a smugglers' ring in a warehouse. This was supposed to be a warm-up for the adventure (start with action!) and to get them into contact with Policeman Jones who is supposed to be in the vicinity, hear the ruckus and arrest the beaten smugglers. He is then so impressed with the heroes' conduct that tells them about an observation that me made walking the beat lately (the hook for the adventure "Ghouls in the Sewer").

But then you have just for the heck thrown in that one of the smugglers looked Asian. And even before Policemna Jones can enter the scene our heroic investigators have wrongfully deducted that there must be something foul in Chinatown! And off they go!

 

So now what? Do you really have an adventure ready pitting our heroes against the foul plans of The Jade Mandarin, Secret Ruler of Chinatown?

Well, if you do - save the Ghouls for later!

Well, if your answer is no, skip and tell the players: "After three days and nights in the dark and brooding alley of Chinatown you come home, tired and without a hot trail to pursue. Suddenly there is a knock at the door!" - ENTER - no, not the Dragon - Policeman Jones who was so impressed with the heroes that he found out where they live/ have their office/ hang out after their exploits.

Might be more difficult if they have a Secret ID or a hidden base. Well, then use the damn Batsign (that's what it is for!) or maybe Cop Jones put a contact ad in the newspaper.

 

Trust me - players want to play the adventure, not run around looking for clues that you haven't ready.

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So now what? Do you really have an adventure ready pitting our heroes against the foul plans of The Jade Mandarin, Secret Ruler of Chinatown?

Well, if you do - save the Ghouls for later!

Well, if your answer is no, skip and tell the players: "After three days and nights in the dark and brooding alley of Chinatown you come home, tired and without a hot trail to pursue. Suddenly there is a knock at the door!" - ENTER - no, not the Dragon - Policeman Jones who was so impressed with the heroes that he found out where they live/ have their office/ hang out after their exploits.

Might be more difficult if they have a Secret ID or a hidden base. Well, then use the damn Batsign (that's what it is for!) or maybe Cop Jones put a contact ad in the newspaper.

 

Trust me - players want to play the adventure, not run around looking for clues that you haven't ready.

 

Yes, but that requires having quite a few adventures all ready  to go.

 

 

Back the players into a nasty, tight spot, one where you have no idea how they could get out of it.

 

They will. Don't sweat that. Just try to be sure all of them has something important they can accomplish.

Easy to say.

 

Nasty tight spots suffer the same problem. The line between drawn-out and instant success can be a fine one. To make sure everyone has something to accomplish, you end up choreographing events (railroading).

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As far as dealing with potentially 'scenario derailment issues': A part of my GM 'toolkit' is based on my coming to RPG's after I had been involved for some while with theatre and particularly improvisation. One of the primary things I attempt to apply to my scenarios is the 'Yes, And' rule: that is that when a plot string is offered by someone, generally the best response is "Yes. And then...". I make an effort to use it when a player comes up with something unexpected at the table and while it is not always easy it has helped...at least, I think it has.

 

I think that your creation (as you mentioned) of what might be called backstories for your NPC's will help when faced with the 'Yes, And...'.

 

-Carl-

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One of the primary things I attempt to apply to my scenarios is the 'Yes, And' rule: that is that when a plot string is offered by someone, generally the best response is "Yes. And then...". I make an effort to use it when a player comes up with something unexpected at the table and while it is not always easy it has helped...at least, I think it has.

 

Yeah. I've used his technique.

 

I had a nemesis challenging the heroes once. He made his soliloquy, then turned and nodded without a word (as all well-practised villains do) to a henchman to go do something. The PCs immediately assumed their nemesis was using psychic powers to communicate.

 

Sure, I can roll with that...  :winkgrin:

 

(P.S. Anyone know why Mars and Jupiter are in the smileys menu? :mars:  :jupiter: )

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One book I found helpful in my GMing was "Play Dirty" by John Wick. It had a lot of interesting advice on how to have memorable gaming sessions without killing yourself with prep work. It's $5 on DrivethruRPG.com.

Looks intriguing but they're a bit coy about examples. I'd like to have seen at least one simple trick to understand how the book makes good on it promise.

 

I'll prolly purchase it when I get home.

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All adventures are basically dungeons:

You go from scene to scene (or room to room) and there is some action.

Clues (doors) lead to the next scene (room).

Sometimes you find clues that lead into cul-de-sacs.

Sometimes you you find a shortcut (secret door) and so you don't have to do one scene (fight the monster) in between.

 

--snip--

 

Trust me - players want to play the adventure, not run around looking for clues that you haven't ready.

At first, I was kind of dubious about this, but the more I thought, the more I agreed.

 

It helped that, when I downloaded and read through several of the Hero Plus adventures, I could see that they are constructed this way.

 

The trick, in your dungeon analogy, is not to try to control what happens in the rooms, you need only control how they pass to the next room.

 

And the analogy is figurative. The walls of each room are not barriers - in fact, each room can be the size of the whole countryside if you want to let the players wander it before stumbling on the next clue - but regardless of how large the room is, it's the doors that define the progress of the adventure.

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If things are at a lull, you can always do what Raymond Chandler would do in his novels and have one or more thugs with guns break down the door, since we are talking about a pulp story.

 

Make a box of NPCs you can use for such occasions. They don't have to be full write-up, just the bare minimum for combat and something distinctive about them. Pick an actor to play them to help with the description.

 

If you're feeling overwhelmed running a bunch of NPCs, have a player not in the scene play a bad guy. It helps when the party is split up.

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Since you posted this thread in the Pulp Hero sub-forum, I'm assuming pulp is the genre you're running now. If adventures are what you're lacking -- and you wouldn't mind using Fifth Edition HERO materials -- the Hero Games website store has a literal dozen quality pulp adventures in PDF form, dirt-cheap: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/category/16-pulp-hero/

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Since you posted this thread in the Pulp Hero sub-forum, I'm assuming pulp is the genre you're running now. If adventures are what you're lacking -- and you wouldn't mind using Fifth Edition HERO materials -- the Hero Games website store has a literal dozen quality pulp adventures in PDF form, dirt-cheap: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/category/16-pulp-hero/

Oh, I've got most of em.  :winkgrin:

In fact, they've been helping me construct my own in a way that doesn't cost me sleepless nights.

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I think you're on the right track in writing things down from the villain's point of view. I know I long ago stopped plotting adventures based on "what the characters will do" because player characters NEVER EVER do what you think they'll do. I'm not alone in using this approach, and I think it's helpful.

 

I decide who the bad guys are for the plot.

 

I decide what they want to accomplish, and how they plan to do so (what resources they have--men, material, information, etc), and a rough timeline. If the plan goes perfectly, how do they think it will play out? How will they avoid arrest? How will they prevent a successful investigation after the fact?

 

Since no plan survives contact with the enemy, I decide how they'll respond to interference. How will the bad guys react when the heroes get involved? Or the cops? Will they patiently retreat, regroup, investigate these new players and plan anew? Try to bribe/scare off/extort/murder them? Run away? (It depends on how experienced/motivated they are.)

 

I work out a few possible plot hooks so I can bring the players into the adventure.

 

And then...I play it by ear. Since I know how the bad guys will react to most likely complications, it's fairly easy to tailor events to what the players decide to do. It also means I don't have to hope the players will follow any given lead or path. If they go chasing off after a wild goose I will give them a nudge in the right direction to avoid a boring, pointless session, but otherwise I let them choose their own path. If you have a number of plots in play, sometimes the players can't stop them all, or must choose which ones to focus on. Sometimes that means the bad guys succeed at something; and that's not a bad thing, it gives your world some verisimilitude, and shows the players that their decisions have consequences.

 

And it's a lot easier on the GM than trying to anticipate the wacky thinking that PCs often engage in.

 

My approach is pretty much the same as this, I know what I am like as a player, especially for thinking no where near the box (depends on my character of course) and looking for unusual ways to do things.

 

I also take in to account that as GMs and players differ in their intellect/cunning that the characters they represent I feel I have to make allowance for this when I GM - if the villian is a super-scientist with high IQ, then there is plenty of things that he will think of that I (as humble average-IQ none-sciency-type) will not be able to think of. The question then comes down to how clever are the PCs by comparison.

 

This has to be 'by ear' as the players think of things to do, could/would the villian have thought of this - even if I did not - then act accordingly.

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My approach is pretty much the same as this, I know what I am like as a player, especially for thinking no where near the box (depends on my character of course) and looking for unusual ways to do things.

 

I also take in to account that as GMs and players differ in their intellect/cunning that the characters they represent I feel I have to make allowance for this when I GM - if the villian is a super-scientist with high IQ, then there is plenty of things that he will think of that I (as humble average-IQ none-sciency-type) will not be able to think of. The question then comes down to how clever are the PCs by comparison.

 

This has to be 'by ear' as the players think of things to do, could/would the villian have thought of this - even if I did not - then act accordingly.

Nothing like a GM who looooooooooves inventing puzzles matched with a group of players who hate solving puzzles.

 

I That GM spent far more time crafting the props than writing the adventures. One of my his favorites was a hand-sized cardstock, spaghetti, glue and paint gold medallion with 7 concentric rotating rings, each covered in indecipherable markings. If the players found the appropriate shaped key-piece, the rings would line up and reveal a map to the treasure. The real genius was in beveling the rings so that the entire thing held together while still allowing independent rotation of all the rings.

 

Or so I'm told.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nothing like a GM who looooooooooves inventing puzzles matched with a group of players who hate solving puzzles.

 

I That GM spent far more time crafting the props than writing the adventures. One of my his favorites was a hand-sized cardstock, spaghetti, glue and paint gold medallion with 7 concentric rotating rings, each covered in indecipherable markings. If the players found the appropriate shaped key-piece, the rings would line up and reveal a map to the treasure. The real genius was in beveling the rings so that the entire thing held together while still allowing independent rotation of all the rings.

 

Or so I'm told.

 

I'd love to play in a game like this.  I'm lucky if the GM converted the AD&D module we were playing out of ahead of time.

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