Darkness Emergent Dev Blog 2

Dev Blog huh? Well, I shared a bit of how I like to approach plots on the Sunday after, but I'll go a bit more here. Keep in mind that this is solely my meandering thought process. In fact, this whole write up is a bit of a stream of consciousness. Also remember that every ST is different, so don't expect the same process from someone else. That's a good thing IMHO. It ensures variety

First, folks should understand that each game is given themes and all of us try to match one or more of those themes with our plots and casting. That's not strictly possible with all ideas, but we try. Those themes also give us some early direction. That's something we all got going for us though, so where do I go from there. 
I like to look at sheets. I don't look at individual character sheets, but rather the character sheet generally. What are things on your character sheet that might not get obvious play if a plot didn't call them out. In the course of "normal" roleplay, when is your Predator Type going to come up or your Lore Sheet or your backgrounds or your merits? In a chronicle game, you'd see natural opportunities for many of these as you deployed influences during downtime or went hunting to reduce hunger. Convention games are different. We need to make space for these aspect. As a result, Le Lys Fletri was sent investigating how people's Frenzies borked their Convictions or Touchstones all so they could learn about the Beckoning, the Iron Horsemen were collecting Allies and Contacts, Critias administered a salon discussing Convictions vs. the Ethics of the Path of Blood, and those few NPCs I managed were instructed to ask about Lore Sheets if they needed talking points. For me, this approach both rewards players for the thought they put into their characters and helps make plots feel more personalized without actually being personalized.

I look to canon for precedence, consistency, and general lore I can play with. For instance, Debatable Convictions partially mirrored Shabaqo's meeting with Hilal Al-Masaari. In canon Dark Ages, Shabaqo was looking for a Road that game him greater meaning than the Road of the Beast. Al-Masaari converted him to Islamic Road of Heaven and many Gangrel followed suit forming the Taifa Gangrel. Here, Critias hosted Najjar, a Path of Blood Preservationist (Banu Haqim separatist) and PCs were cast in the role of prospective teacher(s). In addition to the fabulous prizes, had the chosen teacher(s) been Anarchs, they would have gotten a chunk of the Banu Haqim to jump from the Camarilla over to the Anarch movement, mirroring Shabaqo and the Taifa Gangrel. This all also fit with how Critias operates the Eternal Academy to teach kindred.

I don't care about a specific outcome. When possible, I like to think of end results in terms of a 1D (line) or 2D (triangle) spectrum. Things start in the middle and then players will push and pull. Where does it end up? No idea! I will speculate and try to address what happens in each outcome I can readily foresee, but I don't actually know how things will end up, as players will always surprise you. That's part of the fun. Seeing how players make our story ideas their own and spin them in directions of their choosing is why we do this. Obviously, not all possible results can be so easily mapped. For instance, Red QRuestion has one end that is simple binary (people find the secret at the end or not) and one end that is completely open ended (what they do with the secret if they find it). I can speculate and try to plan, but there's only so much I can plan for.

Even with all that, I keep in mind that no plot survives contact with the players. You all will find ways to blow it up or take it in unexpected directions (e.g. what would happen if players used OOC knowledge that Portia is Helena and try to jump her?). I can brainstorm some of these branches and account for them, but I can't cover everything. Still, that brainstorming keeps me mentally limber, so that I can adapt to the chaos. Thinking about possible endings means I'm also thinking about how plots might impact the larger game. All the drama happens in the "main room". If you've got a side scene, cool. You need those, but how will that side scene then impact what's going on generally? What will those players take back and talk about with others during the game? It might be large or small, but it should still add something or at least have the potential for it. You can't force players to talk about their secret scenes after all.

Lastly, if possible, I try to automate my plots. I don't recommend this for every plot, as you need some side scenes in the game, but I still aim for it. For some plots, this is largely the intention (Faction plots). For others, this is super easy (Red QRuestion). The rest though require mental gymnastics and/or solid NPCs to carry the story.

I have been blessed to work with remarkable folks: Corrigan, Bob, and Brooce, just to name some off the top of my head. These people not only take the NPC roles and make them their own, but they take the time to read over the plot write ups and both ask questions and do some of their own research. I always worry if I overload them, but all the folks I've worked with have been really good about setting boundaries and letting me know if they feel they need or want more. Gushing over my NPCs aside, automating plots frees me up during the event. Events need at least one ST who is not hip deep in scenes, just as it needs STs running scenes. Players will come up with their own shenanigans and want someone to oversee a test, or they will have a question about a plot. Not being in [many] planned scenes means I'm available for that. It also means I can check in with players who seem like they're having trouble getting involved and folks in general to make sure they're doing OK.

Personal plot writing approach aside, I wanted to echo something Jimmy said about naming folks in epilogues. I get that some folks may want their names in lights, but others may not. More though, if we tell too much, that can close down post-event interaction. Everyone has stories to tell after an event. That might be the friends they have here in the Discord or the friends back home they want to encourage to get involved via their stories. An epilogue ideally strikes a balance. I normally err on the side of caution because I want players to have more space to tell their stories, but then Jimmy's all "you should mention this cool thing" and then I'm like "OK".