[Twilight Time] Using Random Items to Complicate the Plot

[Heather Grove]

August 4, 2006--Using Random Items to Complicate the Plot
Volume 7, Issue 1

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Good morning!

I'm sorry there hasn't been an issue of the Twilight Time since last 
November (urk!). The reason's pretty simple, actually. We were so busy 
for a while there that we weren't roleplaying. When we aren't 
roleplaying, it's hard for me to write much about roleplaying. However, 
we finally have time to play again. We're continuing our old Stargate 
SG-1 campaign, and a friend of ours is starting up an AD&D first 
edition game next month that we're going to be playing in.

I've made a number of changes to the site over this time, so forgive me 
for taking a moment to fill you in. We now have several blogs 
associated with the site, including one for general musings, chatter, 
and site updates; one for writers' exercises (many of which roleplayers 
will find useful as well); and one for book reviews and such:

http://www.burningvoid.com/weblog/thoughts/
http://www.burningvoid.com/weblog/epiphany/
http://www.burningvoid.com/weblog/reviews/

We also started up a Cafe Press store for the heck of it, where you can 
find things like the hardcopy version of our 365 character questions 
pdf, as well as a bunch of t-shirts, mugs, etc. on themes of 
roleplaying, writing, and so on:

http://www.cafepress.com/burningvoid

Today's article is inspired by that friend who's starting up the AD&D 
campaign, and one of the techniques he uses in his games.

Best,
Heather


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Using Random Items to Complicate the Plot

Many game masters (GMs) prefer to stick to a pre-planned storyline, 
with as little deviation from that as possible. Many others, however, 
like to find inspiration in all sorts of unlikely places, introducing 
it at random to complicate the story and make life interesting for the 
party; this can help to keep the party on their toes and make it 
difficult for them to anticipate the direction of the plot. One way to 
do this is to have certain things pre-prepared that you can choose from 
randomly and drop into the game at will.


Courier Letters and Other Missives

This is the original idea that I picked up from the aforementioned 
friend. His campaign world is about 20 years old or so, and as detailed 
as you might expect after that much time (if not more so). He keeps a 
box of courier letters and other missives sent between characters that 
exist in his world, so if you get your hands on such a letter in game 
he can pull one out at random and give it to you. Some of them he 
actually wrote up to 20 years ago, so even he doesn't know what they 
say any more. And given his propensity for weaving potential plot hooks 
into absolutely everything, this is a great way to introduce something 
he can turn into the next plot, or a complication of the current plot, 
depending on circumstances.


Mysterious Maps

Why not do the same with maps? Draw up mysterious treasure maps, or 
maps to unexplored areas in your campaign world. Create maps that point 
the way to the entrances of underground lairs and caverns, hidden 
enclaves of wizards or cults, etc. Anything in your world that you've 
hidden away somewhere is fair game for a map. Ask yourself the 
following questions regarding any such map you create: who drew up this 
map, why did they draw it up, and how did it end up somewhere where the 
player characters (PCs) might get their hands on it?


Treasure with a History

Create treasure items, magical items, devices, etc. that come with 
histories, curses, odd magical abilities, mysterious engraved messages, 
and so on. Perhaps someone will come after the party once they acquire 
a given item, or it will innately attract trouble of one kind or 
another. Write up these items on index cards and shuffle them into a 
box or stack, then pull one when you need it and add it to any given 
trove of loot the characters might find.

Questions to ask about treasure or loot: Who else wants it? Why do they 
want it? What makes an item inherently interesting? How will the party 
discover the plot aspects of an item?


Lore

Create and write up interesting tidbits of history, legendry and lore 
for your campaign world as you go along, and try to work plot hooks 
into them. Keep these around for times when your characters encounter 
mysterious inscriptions, arcane libraries, ancient databanks, and so 
on.


Photos and Drawings

Photos and drawings (or other pieces of artwork) could be considered 
subsets of most of the above categories. They can count as messages 
(coded, perhaps, or the attempt of someone who can't read and write to 
communicate something). They could be considered treasure or loot. They 
could communicate aspects of lore. They could also act as more direct 
plot hooks and clues if a non-player character (NPC) was taking photos 
or making drawings of something important and interesting.

Who took the photo or created the artwork? Why did she feel the need to 
make a record of this thing? How can the party realize there's more to 
the piece of artwork than meets the eye and follow its trail?


Non-Player Characters

In a sense, GMs can also use NPCs as randomized plot complications. 
Write up a bunch of interesting minor characters on index cards. Make 
sure each one comes with the following: basic stats and equipment, one 
or two colorful personality quirks, an interesting description, a name 
(obviously), and at least one interesting plot hook. Shuffle the cards 
and keep them in a box or deck. Now and then, toss one into a plot, 
setting, or situation and see what happens. Plant one among the 
prisoners the party rescues from the bad guys. Have one fall in love 
with a party member (or idolize him, or vilify him). Have one move in 
next door to a PC.


Biasing Your Results (Categorizing and Coding)

In many cases randomization is the key--just as writers often use 
random word combination and/or association combined with free-writing 
in order to spur creative thoughts they might not otherwise come up 
with, it's the combination of random factors with your pre-existing 
party and plot that sparks new directions and ideas. However, not all 
random ideas will fit into all plots and situations. If you have ideas 
that you know won't suit all of the potential places you might insert 
them, then find ways to categorize your random factors. For example:

Place sticky-notes on your sealed missives with keywords or the names 
of the sender and recipient. If you know only certain types of missive 
will suit your current plot, then double-check the post-it before using 
the first missive you pick up, and if necessary exchange it for 
something else.

Use colored index cards to color-code NPCs, items, etc. For instance, 
NPCs intended to be party henchmen might be on blue index cards while 
NPCs intended to oppose the party appear on yellow. If you use a 
color-coding system like this,  you probably want to keep your players 
from seeing the color of the cards, of course.


If you create plot hooks that don't need to be pounced on immediately, 
then you can give yourself a little time to work them into your current 
plot and come up with any additional details you need. If you enjoy 
coming up with things on the spur of the moment to force yourself to 
get creative, then leave these plot hooks as open-ended as possible in 
order to mesh them with your current campaign and adventure.

If you have difficulty putting yourself on the spot, then do one of two 
things. Either make notes as to how you might integrate the plot hook 
into any given adventure (or use it to start off the next adventure) 
when you create the plot hook, or be sure to pull out your random cards 
*before* the evening's gaming begins, and make notes then.


Really this is just another tool to get those creative juices flowing, 
surprise your players, and shake things up a bit. Some parts work best 
for GMs with an extensive, pre-existing campaign world (such as the 
missives), but others (such as the NPCs) can easily be made generic 
enough that they can suit even a brand-new world.



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