Let's Talk About Story Telling and Running a TTRPG

 The time has come. You are finally in control of the entire Universe, and it is subject to the wealth of stories and characters that you dream of creating. You want your players to bask in the coolness that is your imagination. After all, you've been told that being a good writer is a great quality in a game master. 

That's all great, but you've also read a lot of posts online about not forcing your players into doing what you want them to do. You've heard how unpleasant it can be for players to lose options and freedom in the game. So, you ask yourself how can you run the game and still tell your story?  

Storytelling or fiction writing are great skills to bring to being a game master, but now you have to learn how to leave the hinge points open. The hinge points are positions in your narrative when players must make moderate to crucial choices that determine what direction the plot takes. Some of these can be up to chance as well if the dice roll can decide player's direction. A hinge point can be whether the players make an alliance with a certain group, or whether they defeat an enemy, or if they choose to investigate something important to the story. Every story has them and you need to learn to keep them open. 

Doing this requires a different story board than you would normally use. As a game master you have to remember that you're creating a living story! The major difference is that the 'how' of the story cannot be fixed. This means that you may or may not get to engineer the cool scenes you have in your head, but the overall conflict can still be your vision. This is actually better than a fixed story, because you get to watch it unfold just like the players! Also, on this story board the plot structure is circular instead of linear. You can even have multiple rising action threads leading to different climaxes. When those climaxes end and you resolve them, it will always give way to a new call to action. 

That all sounds great, but what do I actually do with my game?

Okay, you get the concept of not railroading players, but you're still unsure of how to plan your games. Let's talk actual design. To do that, let's look at an example: 

Ivan has a gripping tail to tell about a town torn apart by a family feud. They want to take the players through an adventure that showcases some tragic backstories but will have the players bring peace to this poor town. Ivan has planned their first three quests: 

1. First, the players witness a murder, but when they catch the murderer they are swayed by the NPCs sorrow filled back story and must help defend the killer by proving the horrible thing the victim did to her. 

2. Second, the players have discovered that this is no simple revenge, but this murder was part of a family feud going back generations. As neutral parties the players must coax the leaders of each family to reach a peace agreement. 

3. On the cusp of getting both families to agree to piece, the players discover someone is intentionally trying to sabotage peace efforts and they must bring this person to justice. 

Ivan has planned an emotional role-playing experience and is excited to take their players through it. What Ivan doesn't realize is that they have multiple hinge points that could seriously change the game they have planned. The three points that I've highlighted in green are hinge points. 

Right off the bat, players may easily not be swayed by the killer's sad story and not decide to help her. Before the adventure even begins, it could be "ruined" as far as Ivan's plans go. Okay, well even if they don't help defend her, Ivan can move on to the next quest to barter peace between the families. Well, that may be a reasonable expectation, but the players could also decide that one of the families is right and the other is wrong. They may take sides and never reach the third quest at all. 

So, let's look at how Ivan can approach this differently.

Quest 1: Players witness a murder. IF they catch the murderer then she gives them a tragic reason for revenge and appeals to their hearts. Players may be swayed to defend the killer from the death penalty or players may not help her and invite the spite of her whole family. IF players do not catch the killer, then guide them into the feud and coax them toward helping.

Quest 2: IF players decide to help then they must get the family leaders to talk peace. The plan can work and bring peace, but if they blow it there will be all out war in the streets and everyone targets the players. Players must get out of town alive. IF the players choose not to help then skip to them being blamed for the saboteur under suspicion of being hired thugs by the opposing family.  

Quest 3: IF peace talks work, then introduce a saboteur. Players may catch the saboteur and solidify peace or be blamed for treachery and fight to get out alive.  

Notice that the new plans are completely centered around possibility instead of a solid sequence. The IF statements are a part of forward thinking. The green highlights recognize the hinge points in your story. Notice that the overall story has not changed, but the how and outcome are left to the players. There are still plenty of opportunities for showing off your creativity and character building skills. This time your plans or story can't be thrown off course. Notice that in the hinge points I planted alternate events that the players HAVE to deal with. Some hinge points can lead nowhere, but there must always be at least 1 or more choices that will shove players in a new direction where they will encounter new hinge points and so on. The game should never fall stagnant if the players don't make the expected choice.  

I hope everyone has learned a little something about planning their stories for players. If you have any questions, please feel free to send them in. This blog can be followed on Twitter @Flayer85 or Tumblr at DungeonDoctor.tumblr.com or Facebook at Dungeon Doctor | Facebook. Come on back for more tips, tricks, and advice on running a TTRPG!