JimMcClure's8StepstoBuildanRPGPlot

SourcedfromYouTubevideo:GMAcademyWorkshop#1:8StepstoBuildaPlot
AndupdatedbasedonMisdirectedMarkPodcast#2488StepstoBuildaPlotwithJim
McClure(Jim@GMJimMcClure,ChrisandPhil@
MisdirectedMark)
NotesbyJen@Pixelscapes

TableofContents
Step1:Determineametastructure

Step2:Whatisthedramaticsituation(s)

Step3:Howlongwilltheplotlast

Step4:Establishtheparticipants

Step5:WhatarethePCstryingtoaccomplish,whatisstandingintheirway

Step6:Establishthe"setpiece"scenes

Step7:Buildingafinale

Step8:Futureplottieins

Q&Afromthevideoandthenthepodcast
Designingmultiplestoryarcs?
Howdoyoumakeyourfinaleepicenough?
HasJimsstanceonimprovGMingchanged?
Howdoyougetplayerstocomeupwithacommonpartydrive?

Step1:Determineametastructure
Fourbasictypes
Linearplot(plannedbytheGM,doesn'thavetobethesameasrailroading)
Dungeoncrawl
Minisandbox(perhapscitysized,haswalls)
Fullsandbox(multiversesized,stillhaswalls)
Whatexperiencewillyoubegivingyourplayers?Buildfromthatfoundationup.
Step2:Whatisthedramaticsituation(s)
GeorgesPolti's36DramaticSituations
Othersdebatehowmanythereare,butthepointis,onceyouknowyourmetastructure...
youneedtoknowwhatstoryyou'retelling.Whatstorydoyouwantyourplayersto
experience?
Thesituationiswhatcausestheconflictbetweenopposingforces.
Keycriterion:thesidescan'tbothgetwhattheywant.

Step3:Howlongwilltheplotlast
Needstoryarcswithabeginningandend.
Ifyoudragitonforever,yougetplayerfatigue.
Marketingstudiesshowpeoplearetypicallyengagedfor12to15hoursinonestory.
(Moviesaretheexceptionbecausethey'resotunedto~2hours.)
Tabletopisslowersohestrivesfor16to20hoursperplot.
Dependinghowlongyouplay,thatcouldbe3to5sessions.
Foralongercampaign,stackarcs.
Sospend3to5ononearc,withtheunderstandingthatitwillkickoffthenextarc.
Eachproblemhad3or4stepstosolvetheproblem,andtheneachsolutionbuilds
tothefinalconflict.
Inthisexample,Phildidn'tdirectplayerswhicharctopickheletthempick("You
needallies,youneedanarmy,youneedthesetools....")
Don'tdecideyou'rejustgoingtoplayfromnowuntilforever.
Theyneedfinales,theyneedescalatinganddescalatingtension.Peoplearesubtly
taughttheseconceptsbyothermedia.
Whentheydon'tgetthat,theydon'tnecessarilyrealizeit,theyjustknowtheydidnt
enjoyitsomuch.
They'remissingsomethingthatthey'vebeensubconsciouslytaughtisgoodstory.
Step4:Establishtheparticipants

Jimusesthe"7items"ruleforforces.(Notabsolute.Hesuggestsstartingtheretillyou're
comfortablewithitandthenbranchoutfromthere.)
Chrisuses3to5forcesinhisgame,sincehe'smoreimprovisational.
Good,Bad,Neutral,andWildcardforces.
Good/Badisreallyprotagonistandantagonistinrelationtotheparty.Butwe're
sayingGood/Badtosimplifythelanguageoftheexplanation.
Wildcard:wandersthrough...Usetoestablishyournextplot.Moreonthisinstep
8.Thewildcardisoneofthesixotherpositionsinanotherplotthathasbledover
intothisone.
Theseforcesmaybepowerfulgroups,factions,orindividuals.Aforcedoesn'thave
tobepeopleitcouldevenbeaneventorathing.
Force=ideology+objective.
YourPCscouldbeinanyoftheseslots.
Notethattheforcesmaypresentasgood/badandturnouttobetheopposite.(Badguys
usuallypresentasgood.)
 Basicstrategy:Theforcesofgoodguyslikeeachotherandworktogether,buthave
somewhatdifferentgoalsandmotives.Opposethebadguys.Samefortheoppositeside.
Totheneutralforces,arrowsgoonlyoneway.Theyarejustmixedupinthestory.
Good/badguysmaytrytoaffecttheneutralforcesorgettheneutralforcesinvestedon
theirside.
Examplefromrunninggames,PCsshowupintownandgetamission,liketocatchBad
Guy#1.Theydon'tknowBG#2yet.Astheyexplorethetown,theyfindoutthere'sa
merchantleaderandacaptainoftheguard(bothneutral,havetheirownthingsgoingon).
Guardmightnotlikethegoodguysbecausetheywerehiredinbythekingtodowhathe
can'tdo.Soeithersidecanmanipulatetheneutralstotryandhelpthem,butneutralsare
notinvested.
Neutralforceshouldbeonparpowerwiththegood/badguys,affectedbysituation,but
notdirectlyinvolved.
Forexample,ifit'sjustgoodguystryingtogetitemback,badguysfightthem,goodguys
win,theycomeback...thatisaverybasicstory,notmuchintrigue.
Jimlikesthe7becauseitsetsupadditionalconflict.Youcanhavetwogoodforces,and
theyhavethesameideology,orthesameobjective,butbothdon'talignandtheydon't
bothalignwithwhatthepartyistryingtodo.Sothey'rehelpful,butthere'sstillsome
friction.
Thepartycanbebothofthegoodforces,iftheyhavedifferentobjectivesorideologies.
Samewiththebadguys.
Badguyexample,lichandhislieutenantshareanobjective:destroythistown.Butmaybe
thelichwantstokilleveryonewhilethelieutenantwouldpreferthattheyescape.
Neutralpowerexample.Youneedcartstogetthroughtheforest.Cartvendorisneutral.
Nowviefortheneutralpower,buttheneutralpowerisjustacart.Maybetheplayersneed
moneyortodoatask,whilethebadguysmightsabotagethecartsorstealthemtostop
theplayers.
Neutralpowercanbetheoutsideinfluencethatthegoodandbadguysneedtointeract
withtoachievetheirgoal.
Chriscallsthemmotivations,needs,desires...ifthey'reafactiondoingtheirownthing...If
youknowwhattheywantandwhattheywill/notdo,youknowhowtoplaythem
consistently.Givesdepth,nomustachetwirlingbadguysorLawfulStupidpaladins.

Step5:WhatarethePCstryingtoaccomplish,whatisstandingin
theirway
Normally,yourdramaticsituationwillanswersomeofthatquestion,orallofthatquestion.
Beespeciallycarefulinsandboxcampaignsyoustillneedadirectgoalfortheplayers.
Thengototheantagonist'sgoal.Whataretheytryingtodothatisdirectlystandingintheir
way?
Youalwayswantdirectconflictbetweenforcesintheplot.
Onceyouhavethat,youcanseehowtheplaysessionswillplayout.
ChrissuggestsaFateapproach.Ifyouhaveissuesinthedramaticsituation,askyourself
questionsabouthowtosolvetheissues,thendriveplaytowardthosequestionstoget
themanswered.Thatway,youcanpushtheplayerstowardwhatthey'retryingto
accomplish.Alsodothattofigureoutwhatthebadguysdotostandintheirwayandwhy.
WhatarethePCstryingtodoandwhy?Whatarethebadguystryingtodoandwhy?
"becausehe'sevil"doesn'tbuildstory."becausehe'stryingtousetheirsoulstobuilda
portaltoescape"does.
Discussionaboutwhethertheylikeplayersplanningaloudatthegametableornot.It
dependswhattheplanningisaccomplishing.IfthePCsaresayingthecoolthingsthey
wanttodotoovercomethething,that'sfine,becauseitgivestheGMtheplayer'sgoals
andthentheGMcanfocusonhowtomakeithappen.Butifthey'rejusttryingto
preemptivelyoutwitwhattheythinkmightbegoingoninthenextscene,thenthatisjust
tryingtocircumventtheactualdiscoveryprocessandplayofthegamenotmuchpoint
there,theGMissittingrightthereandwillsetthechallengelevelhowevertheywant.
Asyouthinkaboutthisstep,makethegoaloftheplayersandthegoalofthepeople
standingintheirwaymutuallyexclusive.Bothcannotsucceedatwhatthey'redoing.
(Otherwisetheywouldbeabletodefusetension.)The36situationsaregenerallywritten
thiswaytobuildtension.

Step6:Establishthe"setpiece"scenes
Setpiecesarethebigeventsthathappeninthestory,thebigscenesoreventsthatare
goingtohappentothePCs.

YouasGMwanttomakethesesetpiecesgrand,large,andmemorable.Morethanjusta
fightinthestreetsabigevent.
Inthevideo,Jimsaysheusesa4actstructure(traditionally3act,buthedividesthe
middleintotwosteps)
Act1:Beginningandsetup,meet7participants,revealsetup.Dothisthroughan
encounter,somethinghappens,bigevent.
Act2:Furtheringofintensity.Playersgettingeverythingtheywant(kickingass,
gettinginfo).Thegoodguysstarttoengagetheconflictandwin.
Act3:Villaincomesbackinforce,strikebackwithreinforcements.(Headdsthis
step)CrusheverythingthePCshaddone.
Act4:Finale,everythingfrombeforetiestogetherintothebiggestsetpiece.PCs
overcomethenewadversity,strikeback,andfinallyachievetheirgoal(ornot)
Inthepodcast,Jimtalksaboutthe3actstructure:
Act1:Givingthembasicinformation,gettingthemhookedonwhatthey'redoing,
andeverythingthatneedstobeestablishedbeforetheend.Establishthatthe
otheropposingforcesarethere.Alloftherelevantinformation.Ideallyalsothe
physicallocations.WhenAct1ends,youshouldhaveapictureofwhat'sgoingon.
MMpointsoutideallyyoucanalsoforeshadowthetwists.
Act2:
StartswiththePCswinning,thingsgoingaccordingtoplan,theyget
information,succeeding.
Butinthesecondhalfofthatact,theplayersaregoingtolose.Butthisisn't
justlosingacombatencounter.Thinkaboutitnarratively:whatarethe
playerstryingtoaccomplish?Losingmeanstheysomehowfailto
accomplishthat.
Example:playerswanttoprotectatown.Badguysattack,kidnaptheking,
takehimaway.Youchaseafter,catchthem(that'sthefirsthalf).Badguys
 go,"Ohdoyou?BecauseIsentbomberstothedam,soyoucaneither
chasemedown,orgosavethetown."But,thischoiceonlymattersifyou
establisheditinAct1haveasetpieceatthedam,anotherontheroad.
Instorystructurewithrisingactionetc.,thisisthefallingactionsection.
Act3:Theplayersregroup,fightbackupfromthenarrativelowpoint,tothefinale.
Andthefinaleisstep7.

Step7:Buildingafinale
Howyoumakeyourgamefeelepic.Thebiggestofthesetpieces.Whatthey'vebeen
drivingto.
Tieallthepriorsetpiecestogether.
All7primaryforcesshouldbeinvolvedinthefinale.Theyhelp,theygethurt,theychange
sides.
Thereneedstobesomethingonthelinewhichisdefinedalreadybyyourdramatic
situation.Thefinaleanswersthequestionofwhathappenswiththedramaticsituationand
thethingontheline.
Followstepbystepanditnaturallyhappens,sinceforceshavebeenbargainingwitheach
otherforpower.
It'sdrivenbyfactionmotivation,plot,andshouldgivethemtheirsenseofcompletionand
accomplishment.
Youshouldalwaysbuildtowardafinale.It'llhavetochangebutalways,alwaysbuildto
one.
Important!Theplayersmustbetheonestoresolvethefinale.Notoneoftheotherforces.
Itmustbebasedontheplayersactions,theyhavetodetermineit,ortheyfeelcheated.
Toputitanotherway,wearegoingtofighttheimpossiblebigbad...wegettothefinal
fight,itkicksourass...andthensometerribleGMPCsweepsinandsavesthem.Sothe
playerscan'tdecidetheoutcometotheirownstory.
Thenyoucanstartthenextarc.

Step8:Futureplottieins
Wildcard(seestep4)hastwofunctions:
Seedsthenextthingthathappens.
Addsuncertaintytothestory.
Somebody,organization,orsymbolthatdoesn'tseemtofitwitheveryoneelse.
PCswonderedaboutthemystery,butitdidn'tseemtiedtoanythingelseyet.Thenyou
bringitbackupandtheygo"Wait,sowhatisthisabout?"
Oneofthesixotherrolesfromadifferentplot,letsthemdigintothatnextplot.
Thatgivesthemthesensethattheworldisgrowingbiggerandbigger,thattheworldis
alive.
Thenextstoryhasitsownwildcard,andsoon.
Thenyoucirclearoundtothebeginningandstartagainatstep1.Playersgetasenseofa
giantinterconnectedworld.
Typesofwildcards:
Personoutofplacethattheyrememberandgetacallback.
Othereventhappeningintheworldoutsidethecurrentplotarc,notasrelevantor
importantseemingasthecurrentissue.
Maybeit'ssomeoneuninvolvedwhohelpsresolvethecurrentsituation,thenpops
upagainlater.
Jimgivesanexample.Everyonetheywerekillinghadaweirdredcoinonthem,andit
wasn'timportanttothatstoryarc,buttheywerereallypuzzledaboutit.Thatwasthetiein
tothenextstory.
Whendoingalongercampaign,Jimdoesn'tplanthenextarcuntilthecurrentarcis
finishing.He'llpickasubplottotieintotheoverallmetastory,thentiethatintotheoverall
finalefinaleofmetastories.
Ifexecutedproperly,it'samazing.Forexample,Jim'sL5Rcampaignbuiltupover3years
tothefinalfight,andithappenedexactlyhowhewanted...crying...hatredforthebig
bad...everythingwasthere.Verysatisfyingtodeliverexactlywhathewastryingtodeliver.
Checkoutthebook"Plotto:TheMasterBookofAllPlots"byWilliamWallaceCook.How
tooutline16chapterbooksandthenwritethemveryquickly.
Onimprovandmodifyingmetaplotstructure
 Ifyouwantamoreimprovstylegame,okay,whatdidtheydoinact1?Whatdid
theyfindmostinteresting?That'swhatyouhavetobringbacklater.What'sthe
dramaticsituationthey'regoingfor?
Onceyouknowthesepieces,youcanuseittotellanytypeofstoryyouwant,
seriousornot,improvornot.
Philpointsouthefollowedthisforalongtimeandsowellthatitgotboringforhim
asaGM.That'swhyhewenttomoreimprov.It'sagreatsystemthough.
Jimsayswhathedoestokeepitfreshforhimis,letmebreakthemoldthisway,
thatway,let'schangethelengthofthearc,changethenumberofforces,howdoI
makethatwork?Youhavetochallengeyourself.
Philaddedmechanicalclocksandcountdownstotakedecisionmakingawayfrom
himselfasaGM.He'dsetitupbutnotcontroltheoutcome,justseewhathappens.

Q&Afromthevideoandthenthepodcast

Designingmultiplestoryarcs?
Youtube:Howdoyoudesignmultiplestoryarcs.4,5sessionsandthengofromthere?
Guidingstructureisfinaleoffinales.Hefigureshehasabigfinaleeachyear.Sohe
focuseson,howdoImakesomethinginterestingorengagingforthis15to20hours.
IfImakesomethingengaging,noteveryonewilldie...somecharacterswillsurvive,while
theypursuethenextwildcardintothenextplot.Eachplothassurvivors.
Bythetimewegettothefinaleoffinales,itbuildsitselffromthesurvivorsoftheprevious
plotstheyfitintothe7rolesofstep4.Tagteammatchvs.PCsinfinaleoffinales.
Youdon'thavetobethatintentionalof"I'mgonnagethere"...youcangoplottoplotand
getinspirationasitcomes.Aslongasthey'reengaged,you'llhaveplentyofmaterialby
thetimeyougetthere.

Howdoyoumakeyourfinaleepicenough?
Youtube:Withinthefinale,whatistheultimategoalofthesetpiece?Howcanyoumakeit
epicenough?
Gofor100%playerimmersionincharacter.Investmentinthestory.
 Sure,youcouldhavethevolcanoeruptorepicsetting...butwhatyoureallywantis
engagementandthreadtieinfromeverythingthathappenedpreviouslyintheplot.
Whathereallywantsisanemotionalreactionfromtheplayers.There'snodirectanswer
tothat,butyouhavetofeeloutyourplayersandgivethemstructure.Seewhatthey're
doing,whatthey'renotdoing,whothey'reengagingwith.Thenusethattolegitimatelytie
backtogetherintoonetruemomentofconflict.

HasJimsstanceonimprovGMingchanged?
Podcast:Angasks,Jim,hasyourstanceonimprovGMingchanged?
Jimputs2or3hoursofprepintoa1620hourgame.Storyandlocationfluiditymakes
prepveryeasy.Ifyou'regoingtorunintoanNPC,heiswhereveryougo...butthat'san
entireothertopic.AllJim'sgames,everypieceofitislikethat.
ChrispointsoutSchrodinger'sPlotPointisarguablyaformofrailroading.
Jimrespectfullydisagrees.Maybethey'llcoverthatinsomefutureepisode!
JimsayshedoesenjoyimprovGMing,butinhismindthere'salwaysprepgoingon.
Example,TearableRPG.Itgoescrazyquickly,youcan'treallyplan.Butwhathedoesis
ingameprep.He'sdoingitoffthecuff,butlookingatwhattheplayersaredoingand
puttingitintotheformula,andkeepingitmoving.Whathe'snotdoingisbeingreactionary,
he'sbeingproactivetoguidethemintothestory.
Chrissaysthatisimprov:buildinguponwhatisthrowndown.
Jimsayswhenherunsanimprovgame,act1isanimprovgame.Bythenhehasthem
hookedonthestoryhe'sdecidedshouldbetold,andthentheytypicallyfollowalongwith
that.
Chrissayshefocusesonhavingtheplayersanswerthequestionofwhathappens.

Howdoyougetplayerstocomeupwithacommonpartydrive?
Podcast:JimJerrymanderasks,Jim,gettingdisparateplayerstocomeupwithacommon
drivehasbeentoughformyrecentgroup.Somehavegoalsandmotivationsthatare
perpendiculartotheparty.
Jimhastwoanswersforthis:
 #1.Onthefirstplaysession,tellthem:theruleisthis.Here'sthedramaticsituation.
Youwillbringacharacterwho'sinterestedincompletingthatdramaticsituation.If
thatcharacterisn'tinterested?That'sfine,setthatcharacterasideandrollup
someonewho'sinterested.Theplayerdecides_why_they'reinterestedin
resolvingtheplot,notif.("That'sthemeansideofJim."Theylikeit!)Thatsaid,
therearethingstheGMhastodo.Setthatexpectation.Tellthem,thisisthegame
we'regoingtoplay.Tellthembeforeyoustart.Anddon'ttrickthembychanging
whatkindofgameitis.
#2.Thepartymaybecomethesetwodifferentgoodforces,buttheystillneedto
drivetothesamething.Useincharacterandoutofcharactercoachingonthis.
"Tellthepartywhyyouwanttodothis?Explainitincharacter."Thenoutsidethe
session,checkwiththeplayerandsay"hey,yourcharacterseemsuninterestedin
thiscastle.That'sthedirectionwe'regoing,soisthisthecharacteryouwantto
play?"BecauseastheGM,Ishouldbefoldingallthesemotivationsintothestory.
Clarifyingthequestion:Theyweredesigningtheircharactersanddoingcooperative
worldbuildingatthesametime.
Chrissays,theimportantthingtounderstandiswhatissuestheplayerswanttodealwith
inthegameandmakesurethey'realignedsomehow,thattheyconnectsomehow.The
goals/motivationshavetoalignsomehow.Askquestionsaboutthedisparatethingsthat
pushtowardhowthesethingsworktogether.
PhilsaysthiscomesoutoftheSessionZero.Howtheirgoalsrelatetogether.Otherwise
youcouldhaveaimlessorcompetingcharacters.

IfyoufoundJimsadvicehelpful:
Thank@GMJimMcClureonTwitter!
GobacktheSatanicPanicRPGonKickstarter(Ihadtheprivilegeofplayingthislastyear,
itsgreat)
SeeotherofferingsfromT
hirdActPublishing,includingtheexcellentRPGReflections