Author Topic: Looking For some advice on fleshing out a sub-plot  (Read 4596 times)

Offline Falar

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 714
  • A veritable treasure trove
    • View Profile
    • Falar + Sha
Re: Looking For some advice on fleshing out a sub-plot
« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2011, 04:45:44 PM »
That's my experience so far too. Spent last night filling out my location and city sheets, and have found myself with more than one page worth of faces and a handful of casefile hooks.
Seriously, this is so true. Once city creation is done, you have a whole bag of hooks just waiting to be used. I was amazed that when we got done with the Twin Cities corebook just how many plots immediately presented themselves. And, if your players made sure to tie their characters into the setting, it's practically automatic how they get involved.

This is one of my favorite parts of this system.
Lead Creator of Terror in the Twin Cities - winner of the 2010 Borden DFRPG Award for Best Location

Offline Set Abominae

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Give us a kiss.
    • View Profile
Re: Looking For some advice on fleshing out a sub-plot
« Reply #16 on: July 10, 2011, 04:58:31 PM »
Seriously, this is so true. Once city creation is done, you have a whole bag of hooks just waiting to be used. I was amazed that when we got done with the Twin Cities corebook just how many plots immediately presented themselves. And, if your players made sure to tie their characters into the setting, it's practically automatic how they get involved.

This is one of my favorite parts of this system.

Completely agreed, and one of the things that had me feeling that I was on to something golden once I started reading the core rulebook. My knee-jerk reaction was "What? We're starting the book with GM stuff?", but once I read through and started applying the process, I was saying "Brilliant!"
No, ma'am. We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we're aware of. May we come in?


Offline bibliophile20

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 426
  • Mmmm.... BBQ.
    • View Profile
    • Gaming Group Wiki: UR-Talarius
Re: Looking For some advice on fleshing out a sub-plot
« Reply #17 on: July 11, 2011, 03:01:41 PM »
I like the various thoughts, and I'm definitely filing some away for future use, but I think I'm going to go with the following:

Last year, a UK member of the White Council went off the deep end out of despair (possibly helped along by a discreet WCV) and began commiting familicide (descendant-cide?) after the death of one of his beloved great-grandchildren.  Not wanting to have to face that pain again, he came to the deranged conclusion that it was best to just make a clean sweep of it, all at once, and save himself the future pain.  He got through about 3/4 of his extended family before he found out that the derided coppers of his own youth have left their own highly capable successors who have definite thoughts on little things like hostage situations, serial killers and possible domestic terrorism.  And, as he only believed (and was thus magically capable) in killing his own descendants, the police shot first in a tense situation.  Wizard dies, the Wardens are a little late to the party, but they're occupied with the Red War and they at least engage in a little clean-up and coverup. 

Now, one of his great-great-grandsons, living across the Atlantic in the US, has an accident; a fatal one.  And his 13-y.o. son and two preteen daughters managed to survive in the back of the car, but he and his wife were killed when they swerved out of the westbound lane and into the front fender of a Mack truck in the eastbound at a combined speed of about 150 mph.  The survival of the kids is being called a miracle (of car safety design).  The kids do have some latent talent--all of them--that comes through their mother's side, but they had a bit of help. Their maternal great-grandmother, also a magic user (but not a full wizard, sadly) made a bargain with a Black Shuck (a semi-benevolent black dog spirit of the UK) to watch over her line. 

As a result, witnesses to the scene will report--erroneously--that the car swerved to avoid hitting a large black dog on the freeway; this should hopefully make the spirit's job alot harder and the ghost's easier.  (And given some of what else I have planned for the main plot--that should be more than enough possible complications to keep PCs occupied)
Tips for the Evil Henchman:
#12. If the seemingly helpless person you have just cornered is confident and unafraid despite being outnumbered and surrounded, you have encountered a Hero in disguise. Run while you still can.

DFRPG Resources Wiki