History Literature / BigListOfRPGPlots

* RealityEnsues: The disaster at hand is too big to ''solve'', even [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything by the party]], so they are just asked to mitigate the consequences.

# '''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 [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FriendOrIdolDecision between continuing the mission and saving them]].

# '''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 [[MoralDilemma between continuing the mission and saving them]].

# '''Blackmail'''. A villain {{blackmail}}s the party into doing his dirty work for him. ''Twists'': His leverage was obtained by TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou. 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.

# '''Blackmail'''. A villain {{blackmail}}s the party into doing his dirty work for him. ''Twists'': His leverage was obtained by {{Playing the Player}}s. 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.

# '''Any Old Port in a Storm'''. The PlayerParty seeks shelter in a place that turns out to 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]].

# '''Manhunt'''. The party must track down a missing person. ''Twists'': The person was taken hostage (to lure the party). 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]].

# '''Good Housekeeping'''. YouAreInCommandNow of some large organization and must keep it running smoothly. ''Twists'': Old management knew something bad is about to happen and wants the party to take the fall. The party's new underlings resent them because they liked the old boss.

# '''Score One for the Home Team'''. The party must win a BigGame, a {{Tournament|Arc}}, etc. ''Twists'': 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.

# '''Any Old Port in a Storm'''. The PlayerParty seeks shelter in a place that turns out to 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 they are not welcome.

# '''Blackmail'''. A villain {{blackmail}}s the party into doing his dirty work for him. ''Twists'': His leverage was obtained by {{Playing the Player}}s. To thwart him, the party has to team up with others he blackmails. Instead of the party, the villain [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure blackmails their friends]] or charges.
# '''Breaking and Entering'''. The party must [[TheCaper nab an object or 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.

# '''Manhunt'''. The party must track down a missing person. ''Twists'': The person was taken hostage (to lure the party). They are dangerous and EscapedFromTheLab. They are valuable and 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]].

* SadisticChoice: The party must decide which evil to thwart, letting other bad guys escape.

# '''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.

# '''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.

# '''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.

# '''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.

# '''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]].

# '''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.

# '''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.
# '''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.

# '''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.

# '''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]].

# '''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.).

"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 must come up with an entertaining adventures for their groups on short notice.

# '''Pandora's Box'''. A SealedEvilInACan was released 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.