VIII. CHARACTER-DRIVEN STORIES
During the third component of adventure preparation, you want to determine the backgrounds and activities of the most important NPCs in your adventure or campaign. The paths and reactions of these NPCs flow like the lifeblood of the story and act as the sinew that binds the scenes and locations to the seed of the adventure. The actions of the NPCs move the rest of the story forward.
Consider a pool table filled with balls. As one ball collides with another it takes a new path, potentially colliding with another. The PCs are the most active balls on this table, smashing and colliding and rebounding all over the place. It is the actions and motivations of the PCs that will fuel the story.
Focus on three important ally NPCs
Sticking to three primary NPCs helps your group remember who they are and details of their idiosyncrasies.
Example: Yellowtop NPCs
- Lord Kanzlif Graystone: Lord of Yellowtop. Paid off by mercenaries. Displaced from his home and secretly hopes for revolution.
- Lavasque: Diplomat, alchemist, and “terrorist”. Led attacks and revolutions previously and is now in exile. Currently seeks heroes to displace the local mercenaries.
- Davins: Former businessman and salt miner. Seeks to overthrow the mercenaries.
Focus on one to three enemy NPCs
Good villains aren’t static; they have plots and plans. One is the perfect number for a story with one focus. Three villains are enough to have a lot of interesting twists and turns in a longer story.
Example: Yellowtop villains
- Theorn Whitescar: Noble mercenary with pencil-thin mustache. Brutal and dictatorial.
- Captain Blackhand: Leader of the Ashland goblinoid mercenaries. Looks forward to unleashing the trebuchets on the village.
- Father Moorland: A priest of a dark god who looks like a fat priest traveling with mercenaries. Lures in victims with kindness.
IX. TYING PCS TO THE STORY
Larger campaigns require that dungeon masters build and tie the story around the backgrounds and arcs of the PCs. Players will feel far greater connection to the story when it’s directly tied to their own PCs.
Chris Perkins describes the lessons learned in tying character backgrounds into your existing story with the following three points:
- Build on what the player gives you.
- Be willing to take your campaign in new directions.
- Suggest ideas that have future adventure possibilities.
As you plan your campaign, consider keeping a single 3x5 card for each of the PCs, with a few key words on their backgrounds, motivations, and potential ties to the ongoing organic story.
X. KEEPING THE END IN SIGHT
The worst thing you can do for a character-driven story is sell an ending you can’t deliver. Don’t pretend to have some detailed intricate plot thread that doesn’t actually exist.
The single-line campaign seed
Focus your campaign along a single campaign elevator pitch. Focus on a single event or outcome that helps drive your players forward.
The advantage of the mini-campaign: Keeping your entire campaign short (eight to twelve sessions) prevents the story from becoming too convoluted and makes it easier to tie up loose ends.
XI. WORLD BUILDING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Instead of the old “you all meet at a bar” technique, you can use Fiasco-style relationships to tie together each pair of PCs.
During the first session, use a list of twelve to twenty relationships. Each player rolls for a relationship between their PC and the PC on his or her left. This builds the bed for the whole rest of the story.
Example: Relationships of Yellowtop
- Former salt miners.
- Former mercenary soldiers.
- Nieces or nephews of Davins.
- Apprentices to Lavasque.
- Guards of Lord Kanzlif Graystone. …and so on.
XII. BUILDING FROM FRAMEWORKS
A framework is a character, story, setting, or physical area you can use as a model for a component in your game. Instead of building from scratch, use ones already built.
Character frameworks
Use favorite characters from movies or books as models for NPCs.
- Example: Using Mike Ehrmantraut from Breaking Bad as a grizzled war veteran advisor to a king.
Setting and Location frameworks
- Setting: Save time by choosing a published game world as your framework (like Forgotten Realms or Eberron) and focusing only on one particular region.
- Location: Use real-life locations. The Tower of London can make for a perfect dungeon.
- The Three Fs of Locations: Fantastic, Familiar, and Functional. Always add one “fantastic” element to a familiar location (like a talking painting) to make it feel like fantasy.