Plot Components

[Mike Holmes]

Just thinking a bit today, and I realized that there is a simple and effective way of introducing a lot of plot and pacing to a game that uses the regular rules to accomplish these things. The technique is simple and I've seen it used a few times, and always to good effect. I wanted to mention it so as to show how one can expand the use of the regular rules without resorting to Gimmicks.

Essentially, the idea is that the plot itself is somehow purchased as a Component with Traits and Importance associated. To "defeat" the plot, it has to be eliminated just as any other Component would be eliminated. This is the way that most Conflict is added to Universalis, but usually people think of such Components in terms of things that are here, and now type objects. Instead one can create objects that are only learned of that provide the conflict.

The example that jumps to mind is the idea of a conspiracy. Just to be cliché, lets say I buy a Component called the Illuminati. To this is added Traits like Political Power, and Members, and Secrecy, etc. Later it can be revealed what they are after with Traits such as "Drive to obtain the Necronomicon". Etc. There can also be master components for Illuminati Agents that are Determined. As the Component is defined, the plot is further revealed, and the Complications that evolve can revolve around the problems caused by the "Plot Component" (if you will).

I also suspect that such can be further abstracted. For example, the plot could be created as a largely undefined or abstract problem. For example, I could create a Mysterious Cattle Disappearance component. This could later be determined to have the Trait "Caused by Aliens" or have "Vampires Involved". Or these other components can be revealed separately depending on how much you want the problem to revolve around the cattle disappearing, or the aliens that are behind it. It could turn out that they simply wandered away, which would require very little in the way of resolution to fix (with a low importance, it can be Reduced, and a fact as to the cattle's location can be introduced). But could lead to other things. Such components could also turn out to be good red herrings.

The point is that more abstract components can be introduced to give characters something to be worried about. The way in which they then deal with these Plot Components then becomes the plot of the story. If they eliminate the component (or otherwise deal with it), they resolve the plot in one manner. If they fail to resolve the Plot Complication, then perhaps a tragedy is created, or comedy, or again, maybe it was a red herring.

Hmm. That wasn't the best explanation. Do you get what I'm saying? Any comments on the concept, or questions?

Mike

[Bankuei]

Very interesting, Mike.  I see that you could also use the Motif idea from The Questing Beast as well.  Could players then set up a conflict of themes at the beginning of the game and have those be the larger conflict in which characters struggle?  For example, creating Love vs. Duty in a samurai game, using coins generated from conflicts to boost one theme or the other as play continues?

Chris

[Mike Holmes]

For example, creating Love vs. Duty in a samurai game, using coins generated from conflicts to boost one theme or the other as play continues?

Absolutely. I've always wanted to see someone create a component called Love, or Beauty, and give it traits that came into play when appropriate. I'm just not that artistic myself. But somebody will do it, someday.

Mike

[Tony Irwin]

Aww Shucks! I didn't even get the chance to post my idea for Universalis Themes!

Basically angling towards the same kind of idea (again its not really a gimmick, just using whats already in the rules). However a few added points.

You can create a Theme as a component within the game.

You should name it appropriately, eg Vampire Theme, War Theme, Who ate all the pies? Theme.

You can pay one coin to make it a master component and give it appropriate Traits. Traits would be any skills, events, facts you'd expect to crop up in a story with that Theme.

Vampire Theme: Pools of blood, seduction, immortal strength, solar eclipse
War Theme: Despair, cannons, cavalry, charge!
Who ate all the pies? Theme: Tasty pies, grumbly tummy, nimble fingers

This is the crunch - you can introduce a Theme into a scene just like any other component! For one coin I can introduce my Vampire Theme to the scene and start using its traits in events. Better yet I can draw upon the traits in a complication

Example of Play
Frankie: Ok, I'll spend one coin to say my army wheels round in a stunning flanking manouvre! Gimme a dice, we're gonna toast you guys.

Jonnie: Alright, I'll spend a coin to say that my Prussian Guard has the cavalry trait. Pass me a dice too! How do you like them apples?!

Tony: Guys, guys, guys! This is old school!. Watch the master - I'll spend one to introduce the Vampire Theme to this complication. First of all here's an event - Solar Eclipse: clouds pass over the sun, eclipsing it entirely! Secondly I'll activate the Immortal Strength trait - Jonnie some of your guards draw upon unusual resevoirs of strength today. Strength not known to mortal man! Here's a dice for your boys.

Jonnie: They're not Vampires!!

Tony: Heh, heh, heh - we'll see! Frankie, your army is petrified to see pools of blood all around the tents of the Prussian camp. I'll use that Pools of Blood trait to nick one of your dice.

Frankie: Grrrr...

Tony: Ok, finally the General of the Prussian Guards, hey she's a Baroness isn't she Jonnie?

Jonnie: Yep, she's called Babuska.

Tony: Ok I'll activate the seduction trait and say she licks her teeth at the opposing General. No dice, just poetry!

The use of the Theme traits could easily be challenged, Frankie and Jonnie could argue that the Prussian Guards aren't Vampires (heck if they had the coins they could just argue "Vampires suck, so quit it!") but as Tony hasn't spent many coins for this (just activated Traits) they'll probably be unwilling waste all their resources, especially in the middle of a big battle.

Importantly Tony isn't especially interested in one side winning the battle or in creating his own dice pool in order to narrate the outcome. He just digs stories about vampires and is getting the Vampire Theme involved.

Why not just spend coins to do everything he did? Well now that the Vampire Theme exists other players can introduce it to Scenes, involve it in complications and try and control it through Take-overs and interruptions. Even people who have been White-wolfed to death may come to appreciate the extra dice.

[Valamir]

Both of these ideas are very cool, and quite inter related.

I can see a great essay for the web site building upon the Story Elements essay, describing how to actually define the various story element as Components...Themes, Genres, Premii, etc, and using them.

One could create the "Jackie Chan Trope" as a Component and fill it full of Traits like "slap stick kung fu" and "zany prop tricks".  Introducing such a "Genre Component" into a scene would be a way to mechanically encourage adhereing to those tropes.

I love it.  

Care to write it up Tony?

[Mike Holmes]

Hmmm. I wonder if I was subconciously influenced by reading your Themes game design thread, Tony. Sorry if I stole any of your thunder. :-)

But as Ralph said, your idea is really cool, anyhow.

What did influence me for certain was the Enigma Trait thread, some of Ralph's earlier ideas on how to better incorporate plot into a game (and some ideas from before that), and ideas I had banging about about getting players more involved through plots.

Mike

[Tony Irwin]

Care to write it up Tony?

Sorry for not getting round to writing it up!

Three reasons for that:
Haven't played Universalis for quite a few weeks and I hate arm chair gamers who don't playtest anything (after having bought a game after reading a review recommendation, it was only when I went back and reread it that I realised he'd never actually played the game, just made up characters for it!) so it would be pretty naff of me to write it up without testing it lots.

Every time I try and test an idea in Universalis I get so caught up in the game that I forget about the idea I secretly planned to test!

Mike's write-up actually summed it up really well, and I think proved the point that the game as written already has room for play like that and naturally encourages it. I really want to try "The force of Honour" or something like that in one of our L5R games.

Closest I've come to trying something like that so far was to create a role "Ghost" who had "invisible" and "ethereal" as traits, and also "bless" and "curse". He would float about in scenes and bless (give a dice) to the character he liked and curse (take a dice) from the characters he didn't like.

Sounds like trouble eh?! Fortunately everyone indulged me, probably because I didn't try and go for blessx5, cursex5 and I used it to affect other people's dice pools instead of building a dice pool (and free coins) for my self in every single scene ;-)

Tony