Making it personal – the plot that is

As a GM we’re frequently called upon to build worlds, vast organizations, and plots that literally shake the very foundations of what we build.

But what about something a bit closer to home, something aimed more at a singular character as opposed to the whole planet?

That’s the topic of A.L.’s post, Crafting A Personal Plot – Initial Design.

This is one of those areas that can be a challenge to get right as it needs not just your own thoughts about how to add it to your campaign without detracting too much from your main plot line, but it also needs input from your players as well – after all, it’s their character right?

The post includes the typical area to go digging first, the character’s backstory. In some games this is part of the character generation process (I remember the fun time we had with the background generator in the Star Trek game) but in many others it isn’t. To be honest this is an area that I’ve often struggled with, getting the players to give a background for the character, even if you tell them you’re going to be using it for ideas.

After that there are a couple of ideas that you may not have thought of, advantages, disadvantages, and player conversation. I have to admit I hadn’t thought of mining the character sheets for ideas before, now it gives me another reason to ask for copies. Many players add notes, comments, and other tidbits to their character sheet which can be pulled to help build personal plots so it’s worth a look.

It’s worth the quick read and there’s a planned follow up article on Wednesday to address what to do about the other characters. I’m looking forward to that one as I can remember more than a few times as a players sitting around waiting to do something while a personal plot was being played out.

May your dice roll well.

Crafting A Personal Plot – Initial Design via Reality Refracted.