I recently heard about the Thompson motif index for folktales. I'm not a folklorist, so I don't know how it's used in practice, but upon reading the desc., it seems to me that it might perhaps be straightforward to apply it to RPGs settings (or scenarios) - given the pretty formal nature of these and the recurring themes or situations.

So, anyone familiar with it (or anything similar) ?

PS: I originally posted this to RPGnet, but somehow feels it's more appropriate here, so please reply here if you find it there.

A motif list could be used in several different ways. In a more traditional game it could be rolled against by the GM like the Random Dungeon Generator/Random Monster/Terrain Charts of the 1st Edition AD&D books for random "encounters" or even adventure design.

Second, any game that formally uses motifs as a base unit of story control or player power is ideal for this. Whether rolled or picked, defending and perpetrating motifs can create some very powerful stories.

The definitive work on this subject has historically been Vladimir Propp's "Morphology of the Folktale," one of the first real primers for the field of narratology. I know I consulted it extensively when I was beginning to work on Ever-After/Facedance.