Author Topic: Plot help  (Read 2507 times)

Offline Haru

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Plot help
« on: December 28, 2012, 09:24:51 AM »
I'm kind of stuck on a plot. My RL group is coming from a shadowrun background, so we get into heist like plots most of the time. The group consists of an aeromancer, a werewolf and a supernatural style mortal hunter.

After a one-shot demon hunting adventure, what I want to do is set up a GP style event, where lots of supernatural parties will attend for the players to meet. My idea was to have a piece of mordite up for auction, which would be bad in any of the parties hands. The piece is supposed to be from the private collection of a deceased hunter, who stored away all kinds of nasty things behind circles and wards and whatever he could think of. After his death, those things were just sold by his heirs, who didn't know what they were dealing with. The most dangerous piece, as I said, is a piece of mordite locked in a box similar to the one Ivy had. Or maybe exactly the one Ivy had, since I thought about having her give the job of retrieving the box to the hunter.

The werewolf killed a summer changeling last time. Admittedly he had his reasons, but it was by no means necessary, and I wanted to have the changelings big sister show up and push him into doing things. Even if she has no claim on him now, the werewolf is a partyanimal (literally), and it would be easy enough for her to push some faerie food on him to put him into enough debt to work for her. Probably something to counter winter, if they attend the auction.

(click to show/hide)

Now mostly I have two things I am stuck on:
First, I really like the idea of the auction and everything, but I am drawing a blank when I am thinking about everything around it. I was thinking about having either one of the vampire courts hold the auction (red or black, I think) or a dragon. The motivation for buying the mordite is quite clear, it is an extremely powerful weapon, and anyone who gets it will have an edge over the others. Should I give the players an opportunity to get the mordite before the auction even starts? Have them attend the auction as a stepping stone for future campaigns? Everything is kind of fuzzy around that. I would like to at least be somewhat prepared for whatever tactics they come up with eventually.

Second, a minor thing, but I can't wrap my head around it. The werewolf and the hunter have enough in terms of hooks that I can get them into gear. The aeromancer? Not so much. The three disturbed a demon summoning ritual together, and they disbanded and disposed of the corrupted brotherhood, the aeromancer used to belong to, when he developed his powers. Beyond that, he doesn't really have any connections to anyone or anything, or much of a personality for that matter. Not even the White Council, since the brotherhood was the only magical group he belonged to. The player is sort of a numbers player (so much, he called the phases and aspects a "hippie" game). Any ideas?
“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Offline JDK002

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2012, 05:24:23 PM »
First I would say absolutely give them the chance to steal the mordite before the auction if that's what the players decide they want to do.  If they succeed, then the people they stole it from come looking for them.  This gives you plenty of plot to work with.  Do they find the players and try and steal it back?  Or do they tell all the parties who were interested in buying, making it open season against the players.

If they fail then the fall back is to go to the auction and try and obtain it that way.

As for the aeromancer issue.  Talk to the player outside of the game.  Tell him that you both need to work on some new plot hooks for the character together becausehe doesn't really have any conflict or backstory anymore.  This games mechanics are so closely tied into narrative that personal plot hooks need to be there, otherwise you have less opportunity to compel him, which means he will struggle with fate points, and will have a much less dynamic experience.  Make sure he understands that without these things his character will turn into the "tag along guy".

Offline Deadmanwalking

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2012, 12:59:09 PM »
Well, for getting the Aeromancer involved, does the Aeromancer have more Lore than the others? If so, simply require them to see him for help on just about anything magic-related. If not, make it something air-magic related specifically. Having air-magic involved in whatever gets them involved in the whole auction seems reasonable.

And, as for plots generally, what do you want them to do? Heist, party and negotiate, or heist at the party? Depending on your choice, you can fairly easily make the other options so notably bad that they won't attempt them (or will be pretty much certainly captured if they do...which can lead them back towards your preferred method with a bit of finesse). If you really don't care, make all those options viable and see what they do.

Offline johntfs

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2012, 04:11:43 PM »
Did you ever watch The Shield?  What if the local Warden of the White Council is Vic Mackey?  The Aeromancer used to belong to a group of corrupt sorcerers, right?  Perhaps the Warden approaches the Aeromancer with the idea that if he helps out with getting this mordite, then the Warden will "forget" about the Aeromancer's associate with a group that might normally get him a date with decapitation. 

Offline JDK002

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2012, 04:45:30 PM »
Did you ever watch The Shield?  What if the local Warden of the White Council is Vic Mackey?  The Aeromancer used to belong to a group of corrupt sorcerers, right?  Perhaps the Warden approaches the Aeromancer with the idea that if he helps out with getting this mordite, then the Warden will "forget" about the Aeromancer's associate with a group that might normally get him a date with decapitation.
I really like that idea.  You could use that for way more than one scenario.  He would basically be in the wardens pocket forever, being blackmailed by the "good guys" and it would be fair to say some of the bad guys would still think he's part of the dark side so to speak.  You could go all kinds of places with that.

Offline johntfs

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2012, 07:02:51 PM »
Plus, you can take it the other direction, too.  Suppose the Warden is genuinely corrupt and begins pushing your Aeromancer into doing darker favors.  The bad guy is a Warden, so figure the White Council will believe him over the Aeromancer, which means that the Aeromancer (and his friends) will need to assemble proof.  Assuming they succeed in this, the Aeromancer might end up getting trained in the way of the Council and become a full wizard.  Perhaps even a Warden himself. 

Offline Haru

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2012, 07:59:22 PM »
Hmm, you're right, letting the players decide which way they want to go is probably the best way to go. I often forget that they can come up with all kinds of crazy stuff that I would not have though of in a million years. I'll just throw them the scenario and see what they come up with. The most problem I was having was thinking about the stuff in the background, the stuff the players might not even see depending on what they decide to do, but stuff that governs what might happen next. But I think I'm fine by now, it looks like writing it out wiggled something loose, and your comments did the rest. Tank you :)

As for the aeromancer, the player generally is a bit of a problem on the soft side of the rules. Like I said, he's a numbers guy, so he's got the mechanical side covered pretty quickly. The rest though, sadly not. A lot of his characters don't even have names, including this one so far, even though we played a session with him already. It's a bit weird, I can mostly work around it, but I'll have to try to convince the player that those things are not only important, but essential to fate. If only I knew how ???

I did not watch the shield, but he'd already been redeemed, since he helped take down the cult, once he knew they were corrupted (a dark sorcerer got in and took over). But This might be moot anyway, since the issue is actually a bigger one.
“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Offline Llayne

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Re: Plot help
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2012, 08:26:23 PM »
Helping take down the bad guys is not the same thing as being redeemed. I'm assuming he's not a full on Wizard level talent otherwise he'd be in the White Council already. The Wardens keep an eye on Sorcerers in general to make sure they don't turn Warlock... those that have already had a taste of the dark side are watched even more.

You may want to decide why he wasn't executed right off the bat. Anybody with Morgan's school of thought would have probably done it.

Have the laws been explained to the aeromancer, btw? In Character I mean?

The way I see it you can have the White Council get involved with him as mentioned above. (I'd also have the Warden call him 'Pup' or some other mildy derogatory nickname until he supplies a real name for his character)

You could also have his dark past return as well.  Minor practioners hear rumors that he was in a cult and put the leader down... now all these magical n00bs think he's the best thing since sliced bread and want to be in his cult.

Even if he says no they can form a cult anyway and do things in his name. If they catch a rumor that he thinks somebody should ward the library, they go and do it for him. If they think this aeromancer would take out badguy X, they try and go do it for him. Then other badguys can get pissed at him because 'his' cult tried to rough them up.