1 | "The Big List of RPG Plots" was created by S. John Ross from examining hundreds of TabletopRPG adventure modules and originally published as a supplement to his game ''TabletopGame/{{Risus}}'' in 1999. In 2002, he has uploaded an updated version of it to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110902100434/http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/plots.htm his (now archived) website]], but it is also available as a free PDF on [[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202670/Big-List-of-RPG-Plots DriveThruRPG]]. Owing to the nature of the source medium, these "RPG plots" are not {{Plots}} in the classical sense of [[{{Railroading}} rigidly structured sequences of events]], but combinations of {{Inciting Incident}}s and {{Plot Twist}}s that have to be adapted to and brought to life by {{Player Character}}s. The list is intended as an aid for {{Game Master}}s who need to come up with entertaining adventures on short notice. |
2 | |
3 | !!The Big List of RPG Plots |
4 | |
5 | # '''Any Old Port in a Storm'''. The PlayerParty seeks shelter in a place that turns out to [[OutOfTheFryingPan hide something dangerous, secret, or supernatural]]. ''Common twists'': The shelter contains the source of whatever they have been trying to avoid. It is the entrance to a '''Hidden Base''' (see below). They are {{Trapped With Monster|Plot}}. It is a HauntedCastle, a TownWithADarkSecret, etc. -- and [[UntrustingCommunity they are not welcome]]. |
6 | # '''Better Late than Never'''. The party gives SternChase to bad guys who try to escape after doing something evil. ''Twists'': The party is more familiar with the bad guys' means of escape than themselves. The bad guys pull a TryAndFollow move. If they manage to cross a certain line, the party must give up the chase, e.g. due to JurisdictionFriction. |
7 | # '''Blackmail'''. A villain {{blackmail}}s the party into doing his dirty work for him. ''Twists'': The players [[NiceJobBreakingItHero unwittingly hand him the leverage over them]] by pursuing a fake adventure hook. To thwart him, the party has to team up with other people he blackmails. Instead of the party, the villain [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure blackmails their friends]] or charges. |
8 | # '''Breaking and Entering'''. The party must [[TheCaper nab an object or a person from a secure location]]. ''Twists'': Instead of stealing (or kidnapping), they just have to sabotage (or to assassinate). The "object" is information that [[InformationWantsToBeFree has to be broadcast]]. The heist has to be a [[StealthRun Ghost Run]]. They don't know that the location is secured. The object has to be ReplacedWithReplica. |
9 | # '''Capture the Flag'''. The party must StormTheCastle. ''Twists'': They first have to [[AvengersAssemble muster additional forces]]. They have to plan with flawed or incomplete intelligence. They have to coordinate with allies or {{rivals|TeamUp}}. There are {{Innocent Bystander}}s in the combat zone. |
10 | # '''Clearing the Hex'''. The party must clear out a place where bad things live, such as [[MassMonsterSlaughterSidequest monsters]], {{rat|Stomp}}s, etc. ''Twists'': ViolenceIsNotAnOption. The party first has to learn more about them. A HauntedHouse. An alien infestation. |
11 | # '''Delver's Delight'''. A classic DungeonCrawling adventure. ''Twists'': The treasure the party is after is {{Cursed|Item}} or otherwise dangerous. It isn't in the dungeon, but [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle somewhere else entirely]]. It already belongs to someone by law. It has a [[EmpathicWeapon will of its own]]. |
12 | # '''Don't Eat the Purple Ones'''. A {{Robinsonade}} on a DesertedIsland. ''Twists'': The party only has to {{surviv|alSandbox}}e for a short time before they can be rescued. They have to discover some fact about the environment to complete TheGreatRepair. |
13 | # '''Elementary, My Dear Watson'''. A {{Whodunnit}} mystery. ''Twists'': The party or someone else is WrongfullyAccused. They have to work together with an InspectorJavert. They have to [[TurnInYourBadge Turn in Their Badges]] half-way through the investigation. The climax is a CourtroomEpisode. |
14 | # '''Escort Service'''. An EscortMission. ''Twists'': It's a LiveActionEscortMission or a MacGuffinEscortMission. The destination was destroyed or taken over by the enemy. It is a political defection. It has to be a StealthEscortMission. |
15 | # '''Good Housekeeping'''. YouAreInCommandNow of some large organization and must keep it running smoothly. ''Twists'': Old management knew something bad is about to happen and [[TheElitesJumpShip wants the party to take the fall]]. The party's new underlings resent them because they liked the old boss. |
16 | # '''Help Is on the Way'''. Someone is in danger and the party must {{rescue|Arc}} them. ''Twists'': It's a HostageSituation or TheSiege. Any potential rescuer risks [[BadassInDistress needing rescue themselves]]. The rescuees [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman aren't human]]. It's an UnwantedRescue. The danger isn't human, but a natural or man-made disaster, ThePlague, etc. The rescuees cannot leave because they are tending to something or someone immobile. The party starts off as rescuees themselves and have to BringHelpBack. |
17 | # '''Hidden Base'''. The party discovers a SupervillainLair and must either BringNewsBack or sabotage it on their own. ''Twists'': The party has to figure out how to use local resources to defend themselves inside the den of evil. |
18 | # '''How Much for Just the Dingus?''' Multiple factions, including the party, are after a MacGuffin hidden in the area. ''Twists'': The natives require all sides to present their need for it before them. It was being shipped through the area when the transport went down or [[HastilyHiddenMacGuffin vanished]]. |
19 | # '''I Beg Your Pardon?''' The party is [[ChandlersLaw attacked or threatened by an unknown party]]. ''Twists'': The attackers want something the party carries [[MacGuffinDeliveryService without realizing it]]. They are AvengingTheVillain from a previous adventure. They [[MurderByMistake mistook the party for someone else]]. |
20 | # '''Long or Short Fork When Dining on Elf?''' A party with NoSocialSkills must complete a diplomatic mission before PoorCommunicationKills. ''Twists'': Someone [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption set them up to fail]] on purpose, to sabotage the negotiations. |
21 | # '''Look, Don't Touch'''. TheStakeout or some other spying operation where the party isn't allowed to interfere. ''Twists'': Whoever they are spying on gets into trouble, forcing them to choose [[FriendOrIdolDecision between continuing the mission and saving them]]. |
22 | # '''Manhunt'''. The party must track down a missing person. ''Twists'': The person was taken hostage (possibly to lure the party into a trap). They are dangerous and have EscapedFromTheLab. They are valuable and have escaped from a GildedCage. They are written specifically to invoke LimaSyndrome with the party. They have stumbled into another adventure (as protagonist or victim). An entire group has gone missing. They aren't really missing -- the party has been hired to [[UnwittingPawn track them down on false pretenses]]. |
23 | # '''Missing Memories'''. One or more party members are suddenly {{Amnesiac Hero}}es. ''Twists'': They were pulling off a MemoryGambit or have otherwise deliberately RepressedMemories. |
24 | # '''Most Peculiar, Momma'''. VaguenessIsComing and the party must stop it. ''Twists'': [[NiceJobBreakingItHero They are unwittingly responsible for it.]] The big problem is of an entirely different nature (technological, personal, biological, chemical, magical, political, etc.) than it first appears. |
25 | # '''No One Has Soiled the Bridge'''. The party must HoldTheLine. ''Twists'': The party was given faulty intelligence. The enemy has a valid reason to want to destroy whatever the party is protecting. |
26 | # '''Not in Kansas'''. The party is NotInKansasAnymore and must [[TheHomewardJourney find a way back]]. ''Twists'': They were [[SummonEverymanHero brought there for a specific purpose]]. They were brought there by accident. Some of their enemies were transported along with them. |
27 | # '''Ounces of Prevention'''. The party learns of an EvilPlan in motion and must thwart it. ''Twists'': The initial tip-off was a RedHerring to distract them from the real plan. There are actually ''two'' evil plans underway, with [[SadisticChoice no apparent way to thwart both]]. |
28 | # '''Pandora's Box'''. A SealedEvilInACan was released and must be stopped. ''Twists'': The released evil cannot just be beaten -- it has to be rounded up and re-sealed [[GottaCatchThemAll piecemeal]]. A PlotCoupon is required to plug the breach. MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight is a related premise. |
29 | # '''Quest for the Sparkly Hoozits'''. The party goes on TheQuest for a MacGuffin. ''Twists'': It is a DismantledMacGuffin, and the remaining parts still have to be found. Someone else has taken it (stole it, legitimately owns it). It is not a physical object, but information, an idea, a formula, etc. The party has to [[TheInfiltration go undercover]] to obtain the MacGuffin with guile and stealth. |
30 | # '''Recent Ruins'''. The party must investigate an UnexpectedlyAbandoned place. ''Twists'': Whatever caused it to be abandoned remains a present danger. Its inhabitants destroyed themselves. It is a GhostShip (or spaceship). It is a GhostTown, but marked as a BoomTown on their maps. |
31 | # '''Running the Gauntlet'''. The party must run a DeathCourse. ''Twists'': There isn't any actual danger, just someone attempting to communicate with them. |
32 | # '''Safari'''. The party must [[BigTropeHunting hunt down]] a large, dangerous creature in the wild. ''Twists'': The creature is ImmuneToBullets and to everything else the party has. Another group [[AnimalWrongsGroup protects it]]. Its lair contains a hook to another adventure on this list. |
33 | # '''Score One for the Home Team'''. The party must win a BigGame, a {{Tournament|Arc}}, etc. ''Twists'': [[OpposingSportsTeam Other contestants]] [[NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught cheat to win]]. The party's true goal is not victory, but something else pertaining to the contestants or to the arena. They only have to prevent the villain from winning. It is a SecretTest of aptitude. It devolves into a BloodSport. |
34 | # '''Stalag 23'''. The party must execute a GreatEscape. ''Twists'': TheGuardsMustBeCrazy because something happened in the outside world. The party was hired by the prison to proof-test it from the inside. Other inmates [[TheInformant alert the guards]] out of spite or revenge. The party was undercover but got mistaken for actual inmates. They have to escape in time to take on another adventure outside. |
35 | # '''Take Us to Memphis and Don't Slow Down'''. [[DieHardOnAnX "Die Hard" on a Vehicle]] with the party onboard. ''Twists'': The "hijackers" are [[GovernmentConspiracy actually government agents]] executing a caper. There is a secondary danger that the hijackers refuse to acknowledge. Other passengers are [[WeAREStrugglingTogether hostile to the party]]. |
36 | # '''Troublemakers'''. The bad guys are doing bad things, and the party must stop them. ''Twists'': The bad guys are [[BountyHunter wanted alive and unharmed]]. They have made preparations in case they got captured. The "bad guy" is a monster, a dangerous animal, or an intelligent creature everyone thinks is a monster. The bad guy has [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Good Publicity]]. The trouble is diplomatic or political, so the party has to [[ReconcileTheBitterFoes make peace, not war]]. |
37 | # '''Uncharted Waters'''. The party are {{Bold Explorer}}s scoping out unknown territory. ''Twists'': The territory itself is [[NatureIsNotNice dangerous]]. It is wonderful and valuable -- and something doesn't want [[IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou the party telling anyone about it]]. The party is stranded, cuing into '''Don't Eat The Purple Ones'''. |
38 | # '''We're on the Outside Looking In'''. Any of the plots above, but {{Inverted|Trope}} (e.g. [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted instead of hunting]] a beast, they are [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame themselves hunted]], etc.). |
39 | |
40 | !!The Little List of Nearly-Universal {{Plot Twist}}s That Work With Almost Any Plot Ever |
41 | |
42 | * ArchEnemy: The villain is a recurring foil. |
43 | * ChainOfDeals: The party finds others who'd help them, but only if they help ''them'' first. |
44 | * IAmWho: One party member is {{Really Royalty|Reveal}}, TheChosenOne, an AngelUnaware, etc., which is why they must get involved. |
45 | * TheInfiltration: The party must pretend to be someone else, to have switched allegiances, etc. |
46 | * InMediasRes: The party is thrown into action with little build-up or warning. |
47 | * InnocentBystander: The party must protect innocents who are caught up in the central conflict. |
48 | * ItsPersonal: The villain is someone a party member knows personally, respects, or even loves. |
49 | * KnowWhenToFoldEm: The disaster at hand is too big to ''solve'', even [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything by the party]], so they are just asked to mitigate the consequences. |
50 | * TheNeedsOfTheMany: The party must make a personal sacrifice for the good of everyone else. |
51 | * NoGearLevel: The adventure has to be completed without using the party's usual weapons, gear, superpowers, etc. |
52 | * PrecursorHeroes: Another group has already attempted to complete the same task, with their remains guiding the party. |
53 | * TheRival: Another party, equal in strength, competes to complete the adventure first, albeit with a different motivation. |
54 | * SadisticChoice: The party must decide which evil to thwart, letting other bad guys get away. |
55 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: The party must work together with their {{rivals|TeamUp}}, [[EnemyMine enemies]], or some InsufferableGenius. |
56 | * ViolenceIsNotAnOption: The adventure has to be resolved without fighting. |
57 | * WoundedGazelleGambit: The "victims" are actually the villains, and ''vice versa''. |
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