Today's episode of #WestMarchesWednesday is about subplots for your characters! Now, this is something equally useful for players and GMs, because unlike a video game, everyone gets to be the main character, a bit, but unless all the players are in on one person being the main character, we all like to feel involved.
A way to break this up and "gamify" this is to give everyone some options, based on their character background. Sure, a GM can do this, but breaking it into chapters can stop one player's background becoming bigger than everyone else's. Ideally, you want a player's "focus episode" subplot taking about one session, not a lot. It can be useful if you have a few players out for a session, or you're between planned sessions of a game. I would also break these into "minor", "moderate", or "major" subplots, depending on their impact on the plot and the character, and the challenge posed. A character meeting a sister they didn't know about, resolving a gambling debt, or gathering some relics of one character's knightly order might be a "minor" subplot to resolve, maybe just one or two encounters. Going on a short mission for a group, dealing with a romance or other deep relationship, or stopping a murder might be a "moderate" subplot, two to three encounters and some large effect on the character. A "major" subplot might be more than one session to fully resolve, but could potentially be broken up into a few different encounters or areas, like storming a keep to rescue someone, fighting a series of battles in an arena, or entering the Fade to save a lost soul. As well as the in-character benefits (meeting your sister, stopping a murder, or rescuing someone who was kidnapped), some mechanical benefits are appropriate. For example, granting proficiency in a skill, or a minor magical item, as a benefit for resolving a minor subplot; proficiency in a saving throw or a moderate magical item for a moderate subplot; and a feat or a major magical item as a benefit for resolving a major subplot. While these seem like they could be extremely powerful, they don't stack- a character who has gained a major benefit can't gain any further subplot benefits, except the in-character benefits. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 26 February 2020. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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