Coming up with Plots, Part 2: Filling in the Plot

by Dewayne Agin

In the previous article in this series, we talked about some resources to help the quest designer come up with plots. In this article, we are going to discuss ways to fill out that plot and make it ready for your quest.

In the first article, I picked out a plot from the Net Book Of Plots, 'Map of the Magician's Lair'. Here is a copy of the plot that I chose:

Map of the Magician's Lair

Author: Matthew Norman Carlson
Length: Short
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Exploration
Setting: Dungeon

The Plot:

The PC's find a map to an abandoned underground lair - including some description of the resident of the lair. They recognize the resident and know that he is long dead (perhaps a high level MU). The map details the caverns to a great extent (perhaps leaving out some key rooms). The map also neglects to mention the many traps set throughout the lair - or perhaps mentions one or two giving the PC's a false sense of security.

As for monsters, are undead boring? They still be around from the MU's days. Perhaps rodents, snakes, spiders as well. For the main villain a wight or perhaps a very minor demon (trapped on this plane with the appropriate wards - "You have entered a room with a large circle engraved on the floor. You notice this circle because it lights up as the fighter walks into it. The room suddenly becomes very dark and you hear a low growling laughter.").

Or perhaps the MU is not dead, only very old and quite insane - thus maybe he has neglected to memorise his higher level spells and sits quietly on his throne waiting to die (thus not such a formidable opponent). Or perhaps his last opponent turned him into an ogre or a doppelganger or whatever you want (maybe using divine intervention to end his spell casting ability).

The plot is pretty bare, so now we have to fill it out. First, let's come up with a goal for the quest. Quests should have a goal for the Heroes, some reason to entice them to risk their lives. There are many different goals that can be used when writing quests. Here are a few examples:

a) Exploration - maybe the Heroes are just checking out an area. General treasure hunting falls under this category.

b) Retrieval - the Heroes must find something in the dungeon.

c) Rescue - this can be a subset of Retrieval, since they are 'retrieving' a person. Usually, though, this type of quest is more than a Retrieval since the Heroes must also escort the rescued person out of the dungeon.

d) Timed Quests - the Heroes have only a certain amount of time to stop something from occurring; a ritual of some sort, an attack by Chaos, the transfer of a powerful magical item to a Chaos Lord, and so on.

e) Revenge - you seek revenge on Chaos, or a certain Chaos Lord, or a certain type of Chaos monster, because of something they have done to you.

I am going to write an exploration quest. This goes along with the theme of the plot that I am using.

Next, we need to come up with a "finish" for the quest pack. What do the Heroes have to accomplish to successfully end the quest? This can be a fight with a special monster or group of monsters, solving a particular puzzle, or finding a special item. For the finish of my quest I am going to put two special monsters that both must be killed.

Again, for my quest pack, I am going to look to the plot. It suggests that the Magic User may still be alive, and there may be a Demon in the abandoned lair. I am going to use both. The Magic User is a Necromancer, who summoned the Demon in a ritual. The Demon killed the Necromancer, who with his last breath uttered a spell. This spell brought the Necromancer back to life as a powerful Wight. The Wight and the Demon are both trapped in the Magician's Lair by the Necromancer's magic, and are battling for control of the lair. On the map found by the Heroes there is a room noted as 'treasure room'. To reach this room both monsters must be killed.

Finally, you need to decide how many quests you want your quest pack to be. The number of levels can help determine where you want your boss monster(s) to be. I am going to make my quest pack contain three quests. The third level is going to contain both the Wight and the Demon.

After finishing the items above, you should be able to write the 'Introduction' to the quest. The Introduction contains the basic story, to let the players know what is going on in the quest and what their Heroes are expected to do. Here is the Introduction to my quest:

THE NECROMANCER'S LAIR

Many years ago, while fighting a horde of Skeletons, you came across a map detailing an underground lair; the name 'Shantil' written across the top. Neither the name nor the dungeon was familiar to you, but you have kept the map ever since. At times you thought about getting rid of it, but the room marked 'treasure' has always sparked your interest.

During your wanderings in the service of the Emperor, you asked the people that you met if they knew of this hidden lair. You showed portions of the map to some; asked about 'Shantil' to others. Always the response has been negative.

Then one day, while sitting in the local inn of a small village, you mentioned the name of 'Shantil' to the barkeep. Expecting the usual negative response, you were quite surprised when he began sputtering and making signs to ward off evil. He refused to talk about the name, and threatened to throw you out of his inn if you continued to bring up the subject.

Intrigued by his reaction, you sat down at a corner table and discussed among your selves what your next step should be. Your talk was soon interrupted by a elderly man, standing by your table. He looked around to make sure no one else in the inn was paying him any attention, then said "You want information on Shantil? I know plenty about him. I will tell you all you need to know".

You looked at his shifty nature and disheveled appearance, and knew that he must be up to something. "Why?", one of you asked.

"Gold." was his simple reply. "Ten gold coins and all my information will be yours."

You paid the man his money [Game Master - be sure to deduct 10 gold coins from one of your player's inventory] and motioned for him to sit down.

"When I was younger", the man began, "I occasionally did some work for a magician that lived about a days journey from here. This magician was a powerful Necromancer, Shantil was his name. Most of the people hereabouts were afraid of him, but I carried supplies to him a couple of times a year, and he always treated me alright. He had dug his home out of the rock in a hillside in the middle of a forest..."

You interrupted his narrative to show him your map. "Is this his home?" you ask.

The man looked at the map, then says "Yah, that's it. Anyway, one day I was delivering supplies to him. I opened up the doorway, just like he showed me, and drove the wagon into his home. Usually when I arrived, Shantil was there to greet me, like he knew somehow when I was there. This time though -- no one. I poked around a little, didn't really know what else to do and I wanted to get paid. Well, I had came to the stairs down to the lower level. Never had gone down there before, and wasn't sure I wanted to now. Isn't too smart to get a Necromancer mad at you, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I had just decided that maybe I would call out to Shantil first, when up the stairs came the sound of a battle. Swords clashing, armor rattling, that sort of thing. Then came a roar like I had never heard before. Didn't sound like an animal, and the evil contained in that roar nearly drove me mad. I didn't waste any more time in there. Ran back to my wagon and drove back out. Closed the door behind me and have never been back since. You couldn't pay me enough to ever return, not after what I heard."

You talked to the man into the night, getting directions to Shantil's home, and the location of the secret switch to open the door. After he left your group talked long about what you might encounter in the Necromancer's lair, but put the old man's fears down as superstition. The next morning you bought supplies and made preparations to begin your hike to the location of the lair, eager to explore and discover the wealth contained within.

Next time: Designing the quest levels.