How To Work a Plotline

Traceroo

Rogue
Team Prometheus loves us some complex storylines with many moving parts, and sometimes elements which interconnect with other plotlines. We’ve noticed that PCs can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed by information overload, and you’re not sure how to make a roll on your Investigation skill to get a hint from the DM. Here are some thoughts on how to work a plotline:

Risk = Fun
Your real life is for smart decisions. Your fantasy life is for the exhilaration of taking risks. Risks are what lead to the best fun in a game like this. Let go, experiment, and see where that takes you.

PCs always have the best information.
If you’re interested in researching a topic, talk to other PCs. Chances are excellent that other PCs have already gotten some valuable clues, talked to the important NPC, or done some research in BGAs on this very topic. If you want to know something about an NPC or a story element, before you turn in a BGA or go to the Three Spires: ask other PCs.

Be the PC who shares the good information.
When you pick up an IG document with good information (what Plot calls a “text prop”), you talk to a knowledgeable NPC, or get a juicy BGA response with lots of details, share that information with other PCs. You may trade for it, charge for it, expect something in return for it later, but this is how you get in the loop. People will want to share info with you when you share it with them.

“But, Trace, I’m an introvert and I hate talking to people.”
This is why Al Gore invented the Internet! Write a cool letter prop and have the Acarthian Riders deliver it at an event. Send IG letters through email. Use the IG web forums. Buy Read/Write for your character if you hate talking to people in person – or find 1 single outgoing buddy, and get them to do all the talking for you both.

Role-Models
You know who’s really good at this? Mike Paxton. Check out some of Kendrick’s posts attempting to seek out and share information:

https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/ghul-information-and-the-cult-of-halixma.35693/
https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/new-materials-research.35071/

Baron Darius is also terrific at getting the word out to others:
https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/information-regarding-the-resurrection-difficulties.35210/

Puck doesn’t utilize the website forums, Puck uses their feet… to walk to every individual with whom they need to discuss elemental stuff, and get the word out!


What should I be looking for?
This is what CLUES from Team Prometheus often look like:

When you hear about…
  • A named person (“My friend Joe Smith knows more about this than I do.”)
  • A specifically described location (“If you go to the old mill southwest of New Acarthia.”)
  • A specific item (“My grandfather’s longsword with a green hilt, and runes on the blade.”)
  • A list of specific items to collect (“The recipe has the following 4 ingredients….”)
  • A specific date often means this plot is on a timer (“The eclipse will occur on Aug 21.”)
  • There is a specific time of day mentioned within the same weekend means this plot is on a very fast timer (“The lizardmen will attack at 5 bells.”)
Those things listed above are often clues that are open doors to “get into plot.”

How do I find out more?
Advice from an outgoing extrovert here. I give you magic words that work in every conversation with NPCs to squeeze information out of them, and also in your real life:

“Tell me more about that.”

You can vary it up if you wish, “I’m new to town. Can you tell me more about this ghoul problem we’re having?”

“I see that you appear to be one of the fae. Can you tell me more about fae?”

“Your friend Joe Smith knows more than you do, you say. Can you tell me more about Joe Smith?”

Or on the website, “I want to know more about elementals. Can anybody tell me more about that?”

Ways to Find Out If Others Have More Information
  • Is there a group dedicated to this topic? One of Acarthia’s guilds, or an established group like The Vigilant, or those with elemental marks? Ask that group about your area of interest. Don’t forget to ask the PCs in that group, not just the offstage NPCs through your BGA.
  • Talk to your team! If you’re part of a team, tell them how you’re using your BGA. Share the results from your BGAs. It makes the Baby Thunderlizard with Team Prometheus cry when, often, we see 1 teammate getting juicy info from BGAs, and another teammate banging their head up against a wall because “they can’t learn anything” about the same topic.

BGA Research: Be specific.
Oftentimes, PCs want to know more about a topic, but they don’t know where to start. PCs sometimes submit research requests through BGAs which have a one word topic – Let’s say, for example, “Vampires.” If you go to the right place in-game, and you tell Plot that you’re researching “Vampires,” we don’t really know what you want… so we’ll tell you a bunch of general info.

If you know that what you really want to know is, “How to become a vampire,” ask that. Or how about, “Can vampires be returned to life?” Or, “Do you become a vampire yourself if one feeds from you?”

The specific question won’t always apply. Sometimes you really do want to know just what’s out there, and that’s okay. But if you’re not getting the right results from your BGAs, always feel free to ask a knowledgeable character IG, or one of Team Prometheus OOG, for some advice about how you might approach that effort differently. (And for 2018, we’re thinking of restructuring our BGA form to ask a little more about what you’re hoping to get out of this – but that’s a different topic.)

Information without action doesn’t get you anywhere.
Gathering information and being part of a research team is really fun for many character archetypes. The information is only useful if it leads to action. Make sure you tell somebody about the information you’ve collected. Now how can you act on it to defeat your enemies, bolster the position of your allies, improve your own situation, and so forth? What will you DO with it?

  • If you know how to find the NPC, go talk to them
  • If you know about the special location, go investigate it
  • If you have info about the enemy’s defenses, use that when you fight them
  • If you now have the instructions on how to use the item, put those to use
  • If there is a deadline of date or time, take action quickly!

If you’re frustrated and don’t know what to do next, chat with Plot.
You may always feel free to pull one of us aside, grab one of us on Facebook or Slack, or drop a note to plot@alliancedenver.com to chat. If you’re hitting a wall in a specific plot, just lacking character goals, or you don’t know what to do next – let us know. We’ve chatted things like this out with several PCs. We have a different perspective than you do, and we might have new ideas about angles you haven’t pursued, or new directions for your character. That’s not metagaming, it’s not being greedy. It’s making our job of entertaining you easier, and we LOVE engaging in those conversations!


Hope these tips are helpful if you’ve been feeling not quite sure how to “get into a plotline.” Don’t wait for somebody else to give you an engraved invitation – Use these steps to get in there and get you some on your own!

P.S. Talk to other PCs!


Love & Kisses,
Trace Moriarty
Team Prometheus
2017 Acarthia Plot
 
I feel like this is great advice for everyone locally, as well as out of chapter! A lot of the time when starting out in a game it is hard to find your niche in what you want to do. These tips are REALLY good for getting you going, or progressing when you feel stuck! Thank you Trace!!
 
Team Prometheus loves us some complex storylines with many moving parts, and sometimes elements which interconnect with other plotlines. We’ve noticed that PCs can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed by information overload, and you’re not sure how to make a roll on your Investigation skill to get a hint from the DM. Here are some thoughts on how to work a plotline:

Risk = Fun
Your real life is for smart decisions. Your fantasy life is for the exhilaration of taking risks. Risks are what lead to the best fun in a game like this. Let go, experiment, and see where that takes you.

PCs always have the best information.
If you’re interested in researching a topic, talk to other PCs. Chances are excellent that other PCs have already gotten some valuable clues, talked to the important NPC, or done some research in BGAs on this very topic. If you want to know something about an NPC or a story element, before you turn in a BGA or go to the Three Spires: ask other PCs.

Be the PC who shares the good information.
When you pick up an IG document with good information (what Plot calls a “text prop”), you talk to a knowledgeable NPC, or get a juicy BGA response with lots of details, share that information with other PCs. You may trade for it, charge for it, expect something in return for it later, but this is how you get in the loop. People will want to share info with you when you share it with them.

“But, Trace, I’m an introvert and I hate talking to people.”
This is why Al Gore invented the Internet! Write a cool letter prop and have the Acarthian Riders deliver it at an event. Send IG letters through email. Use the IG web forums. Buy Read/Write for your character if you hate talking to people in person – or find 1 single outgoing buddy, and get them to do all the talking for you both.

Role-Models
You know who’s really good at this? Mike Paxton. Check out some of Kendrick’s posts attempting to seek out and share information:

https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/ghul-information-and-the-cult-of-halixma.35693/
https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/new-materials-research.35071/

Baron Darius is also terrific at getting the word out to others:
https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/information-regarding-the-resurrection-difficulties.35210/

Puck doesn’t utilize the website forums, Puck uses their feet… to walk to every individual with whom they need to discuss elemental stuff, and get the word out!


What should I be looking for?
This is what CLUES from Team Prometheus often look like:

When you hear about…
  • A named person (“My friend Joe Smith knows more about this than I do.”)
  • A specifically described location (“If you go to the old mill southwest of New Acarthia.”)
  • A specific item (“My grandfather’s longsword with a green hilt, and runes on the blade.”)
  • A list of specific items to collect (“The recipe has the following 4 ingredients….”)
  • A specific date often means this plot is on a timer (“The eclipse will occur on Aug 21.”)
  • There is a specific time of day mentioned within the same weekend means this plot is on a very fast timer (“The lizardmen will attack at 5 bells.”)
Those things listed above are often clues that are open doors to “get into plot.”

How do I find out more?
Advice from an outgoing extrovert here. I give you magic words that work in every conversation with NPCs to squeeze information out of them, and also in your real life:

“Tell me more about that.”

You can vary it up if you wish, “I’m new to town. Can you tell me more about this ghoul problem we’re having?”

“I see that you appear to be one of the fae. Can you tell me more about fae?”

“Your friend Joe Smith knows more than you do, you say. Can you tell me more about Joe Smith?”

Or on the website, “I want to know more about elementals. Can anybody tell me more about that?”

Ways to Find Out If Others Have More Information
  • Is there a group dedicated to this topic? One of Acarthia’s guilds, or an established group like The Vigilant, or those with elemental marks? Ask that group about your area of interest. Don’t forget to ask the PCs in that group, not just the offstage NPCs through your BGA.
  • Talk to your team! If you’re part of a team, tell them how you’re using your BGA. Share the results from your BGAs. It makes the Baby Thunderlizard with Team Prometheus cry when, often, we see 1 teammate getting juicy info from BGAs, and another teammate banging their head up against a wall because “they can’t learn anything” about the same topic.

BGA Research: Be specific.
Oftentimes, PCs want to know more about a topic, but they don’t know where to start. PCs sometimes submit research requests through BGAs which have a one word topic – Let’s say, for example, “Vampires.” If you go to the right place in-game, and you tell Plot that you’re researching “Vampires,” we don’t really know what you want… so we’ll tell you a bunch of general info.

If you know that what you really want to know is, “How to become a vampire,” ask that. Or how about, “Can vampires be returned to life?” Or, “Do you become a vampire yourself if one feeds from you?”

The specific question won’t always apply. Sometimes you really do want to know just what’s out there, and that’s okay. But if you’re not getting the right results from your BGAs, always feel free to ask a knowledgeable character IG, or one of Team Prometheus OOG, for some advice about how you might approach that effort differently. (And for 2018, we’re thinking of restructuring our BGA form to ask a little more about what you’re hoping to get out of this – but that’s a different topic.)

Information without action doesn’t get you anywhere.
Gathering information and being part of a research team is really fun for many character archetypes. The information is only useful if it leads to action. Make sure you tell somebody about the information you’ve collected. Now how can you act on it to defeat your enemies, bolster the position of your allies, improve your own situation, and so forth? What will you DO with it?

  • If you know how to find the NPC, go talk to them
  • If you know about the special location, go investigate it
  • If you have info about the enemy’s defenses, use that when you fight them
  • If you now have the instructions on how to use the item, put those to use
  • If there is a deadline of date or time, take action quickly!

If you’re frustrated and don’t know what to do next, chat with Plot.
You may always feel free to pull one of us aside, grab one of us on Facebook or Slack, or drop a note to plot@alliancedenver.com to chat. If you’re hitting a wall in a specific plot, just lacking character goals, or you don’t know what to do next – let us know. We’ve chatted things like this out with several PCs. We have a different perspective than you do, and we might have new ideas about angles you haven’t pursued, or new directions for your character. That’s not metagaming, it’s not being greedy. It’s making our job of entertaining you easier, and we LOVE engaging in those conversations!


Hope these tips are helpful if you’ve been feeling not quite sure how to “get into a plotline.” Don’t wait for somebody else to give you an engraved invitation – Use these steps to get in there and get you some on your own!

P.S. Talk to other PCs!


Love & Kisses,
Trace Moriarty
Team Prometheus
2017 Acarthia Plot
This is amazing and I am going to have to share it with everyone. Cause it is really really really good advice.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Thank you very much, Embrawk! Please feel free either to post a link or reshare with your local players in San Francisco. :)

Trace
 
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