Yes, the Random Plot Generator can be a lot of fun. However, most of the results are... well... unlikely to be ideas for actual stories. I have long pondered on a way to make a more narrative generator, and maybe making it a game too. (suggestions for a better name are welcome)
The ground idea for the game is simple: one determines from the start the main character(s) for the current story, their goals and a set of possible challenges, from hostile bandits to rampaging dragons, from locked safes to mysterious caves, from political intrigue to crime scenes, each represented by a card. Overcoming these challenges brings the main characters closer to their goal.
Let's start talking details.
Legend:
-I underlined capitalized terms when they're explained for the first time.
-Terms marked with an asterisk (*) are explained in the Other Keywords spoiler at the end.
-Blue sections are being scrutinized. Feedback on those parts is particularly appreciated.
Main Characters (MC for short)
Each Character would have a card describing their skills, divided in a set of Aspects, and possibly a few special abilities. Each Aspect can be Absent, Decent or Superior, and the value will be used to overcome relevant abilities; I may introduce an additional level for powerful oldwalkers, but let's keep it basic for now. A set of Aspects might be, for example:
Charmer: Charisma, intimidation, diplomacy, shameless bluffing... Charmers come in all shapes and sizes, but all can achieve great things if they're given a chance to talk.
Fighter: Combat skills. Violence is an universal language, and Fighters excel at that.
Investigator: Awareness, analytical skills, good old hunches... Investigators resolve mysteries and find hidden things.
Mystic: Arcane knowledge, often combined with a bunch of versatile spells. Mystics deal with complex enchantments, mysterious auras and cursed items.
Rogue: Stealth, lockpicking, misdirection. Rogues are skilled at getting where they want, picking up a few shiny baubles along the way.
In addition to Aspects, Characters have a bunch of Tags (like their race and color of mana) that might interact with some cards and some special abilities that further characterize their playstyle.
Let's try a few examples:
-Donagut, our dearest and drunkest dogged detective, is an exceptional investigator, as it's basically his job description. His job also requires an amount of sneaking around, and his violent past has proven useful in surviving a lot of scraps. His magic, however, is highly specialized to enhance his sleuthing skills, and while he can gather information well enough his near-constant grumpiness limit his social graces. So he's a Superior Investigator, a Decent Fighter and Rogue, and probably has abilities linked to his stubbornness and his experience in dealing with shady sorts.
-Dorn's training was very specific, making him a remarkable preacher and fighter, but his stout physique and rigid mindset make him less than ideal at sneaking around and unraveling convoluted mysteries. His knowledge about magic also seem more practical than theoretical. He'll be a Superior Charmer and Fighter, with no middling skills; his ability may hinder him when interacting socially with humans.
-Sharaka is an effective battlemage and, while not trained in diplomacy, her empathic abilities and sharp tongue give her an edge in social situations. She can also move sneakily, but her cunning is mostly limited to combat. So she could be a Superior Fighter, a Decent Charmer and Rogue (she can melt locks, after all). She could have special abilities that allow her to act as a Decent Investigator when it comes to tracking down people via scent, or some situational combat bonus.
To make representation quicker, Aspects might be indicated as the Aspect's initial in lowercase for Decent levels, and uppercase for Superior levels.
Donagut: f I r
Dorn: C F
Sharaka: c F r
complete examples
, Houndfolk
, ViashinoResolve
Resolve is a resource that measures a Character's capacity to power through difficulties. Each Character starts with Resolve equal to half the Keystones necessaries to win the game, rounded up. A Character may lose Resolve when failing in their endeavor, and can spend it to perform special actions or to improve their chances against overwhelming odds. Characters lose or gain a single point of Resolve at a time unless stated otherwise.
If a Character would lose or spend Resolve but hasn't any, the character becomes Exhausted. Exhausted Characters can only perform the Rest action, and cannot spend or lose Resolve; Exhausted Characters can't be chosen for effects (like Consequences) forcing "a Character" to lose Resolve.
Actions
Each Character can perform an action per turn. Every Character can perform one of the following actions:
-Face a Challenge: the Character tries to overcome a Challenge.
-Heal: the Character spends Resolve to lose up to two Wounds.*[/color]
-Rest: the Character is no longer Exhausted if they were. A Character can rest even if not Exhausted.
In addition to these, Characters and cards may grant special actions. Note that unless explicitly stated, one of those actions can be performed instead of, not in addition to, one of the basic actions.
In addition to Resolve, Characters might have other things to track.
-Positive traits include Wealth, which measures... well... the wealth of the Character. A Character can use Wealth to buy equipment and bribe corrupt individuals, among other things. Characters lose or gain a single point of Wealth at a time unless stated otherwise. Wealth can be moved from a character to another before or after any Action is performed.
-Negative traits include Wounds, which measures how bad the Character's body is messed up. A Character Facing a Challenge has a Disadvantage for every Wound they have.
Goals
What's the Character(s)' aim? To retrieve an ancient artifact? To investigate a mystery? To topple a tyrant? To save the plane from impending doom? The Goal will determine some of the difficulties the MC will face, and describe what victory will look like. From a game standpoint, there will be two kinds of Goals: Random and Streamlined. Both kinds of Goals define victory as the achievement of a certain number of Keystones, pivotal moments like retrieving a map of the mysterious forest, piecing together evidence in a murder case or getting a powerful ally during a political gridlock, but the appearance of the Keystones varies a lot between the two types of Goal:
-In Random Goals Keystones will consist of a set of cards to be shuffled in the Plot deck (see below); Characters will naturally encounter Keystones as they work through the Plot deck, and failing to satisfy those cards' condition can end the game prematurely with a loss. These Goals can be chosen and shuffled in the deck at random (hence the name), and discovered by players and characters at the same time.
-In Streamlined Goals Keystones are a fixed list of challenges to be overcome in a certain order, some of which will interact with the Plot deck. When the game begins, the first Keystone is the active one, and all the others are ignored; when the conditions of the Keystone are satisfied, the next Keystone becomes the active one. Failstates are also described explicitly. These Goals have more guaranteed narrative cohesion, but limit the creative freedom should the game be converted in a story.
Random goals (0)
Streamlined goals (1)
Plot deck
MC have to follow the Plot to get to their Goal. To be more specific, each round the player(s) will reveal a card from the top of the Plot deck for each Character in the game. The Plot deck is put together at the beginning of the game; a deck will be composed by the Goal-related cards (if applicable) and setting-related cards. Each notable plane will have its specific card set (or maybe more than one in case of particularly large or diverse settings), though one could come up with a custom deck based on personal preference. Most Plot cards have Tags, indicated immediately below the card's name. The Plot deck will contain the following kind of cards:
Obstacle: Something blocking the MC's advance, often presenting Challenges. Some Obstacles provide a Reward if overcome. Not overcoming these is dangerous: every Obstacle that hasn't been overcome by the end of the round impose their Consequences to the MC. Obstacles, overcome or not, are discarded at the end of a round unless stated otherwise.
Opportunity: A potential advantage, like stumbling on a magical spring or perusing the wares of a surprisingly well-stocked merchant. These cards offer the chance to earn some kind of advantage, but usually can be safely ignored if the MC are not up to it. Opportunities, exploited or not, are discarded at the end of the round if not stated otherwise.
Event: Something that will happen whether the MC like it or not, like a harsh winter or a royal edict. Some of them affect single Characters, while others have broader effects. The duration of these events also varies.
Challenges
Challenges are one of the most important parts of the game, determining how successful the MC are at reaching their Goal. In game terms, Challenges are usually needed to overcome Obstacles and exploit Opportunities. Each Challenge is related to a number called Threshold and one or more Aspects: if the Challenge names multiple Aspects separated by a slash, the Character will choose one of them to be the relevant Aspect for that specific Challenge; if the Aspects are separated by a plus sign (+), all those Aspects are considered relevant.
To Face a Challenge, the Character adds 2 for every relevant Aspect they have at Decent degree, and 4 for every relevant Aspect they have at Superior degree, to the result of a six-sided roll (d6 for short); if the result is at least equal to the Threshold, the Character has overcome the Challenge, otherwise they have failed. If the Character has Advantages in that Challenge, she rolls an additional die (or roll the same die an additional time) for each Advantage they have, keeping the best result. Disadvantages work similarly, but in reverse: the Character rolls additional dice and keeps the worst result. Each Advantage cancels and is canceled by a Disadvantage.
At the end of a roll, if not satisfied by the result, the Character can grit their teeth and try again, spending Resolve to repeat the roll with the same amount of Advantages and Disadvantages. They keep the last result if beneficial, or decide to spend more Resolve to repeat the roll additional times.
Again, examples to make the concept clear.
-[Generic Obstacle] Bored guards: Charmer 4/Fighter 4/Rogue 4 Challenge. Consequences - Kept for questioning: A Character loses Resolve.
-[Keystone Opportunity] Well-Protected Safe: Rogue 6 Challenge. Reward - Two handful of jewels: Gain Wealth.
-[Jakkard Obstacle] Corrupt Ridder: Fighter 8/Rogue 8 Challenge. Corrupt: can be overcome consuming Wealth. Consequences - Left for dead: A Character loses all Wealth, loses all Resolve and gains a Wound.
generic obstacles (1)
generic opportunities (1)
Let's put things together in a...
Round
A round is made of three phases:
1. Reveal the Plot
Draw a card from the top of the Plot deck for each Character. Events are immediately applied.
2. Heroic Advance
Character take turns at performing Actions until no Character is able or willing to perform Actions.
3. Show Must Go On
The round has ended: Consequences are applied, if any. Then Obstacles and Opportunities are discarded unless stated otherwise, and Events whose duration has ended are also discarded.
Sample round
Alessa and Sharaka are the Main Characters, looking for a mysterious artifact. The Plot cards they reveal are Bored Guards and Well-Protected Safe. Sharaka easily overcomes the guards with any result of the die (being a Superior Fighter gives a +4 bonus to the roll that alone matches the guards' Threshold); after she does, Alessa takes care of the safe. Alessa, as a Superior Rogue, adds 4 to her die roll; only a result of 1 would cause her to fail (4+1=5, against a Threshold of 6), so when she rolls a 3 each Character overcomes their Obstacle, and the story goes on without unpleasant surprises. Narratively, it's easy to imagine a rich aristocrat having an enchanted compass (essential to the search) in his safe: the safe it's the best the money can buy, but his guards are chosen more for their looks than for their actual skills. For Sharaka is then easy to mess with them all evening, playing pranks on them and even knocking out a few as Alessa opens the safe undisturbed and liberates the compass and some extra resources for the greater good. A Keystone secured and Wealth earned, all in a night's work.
Additions
Once the base game works, the possibility to enrich it are almost endless: Obstacles that require Characters to join forces, temporary Ally cards representing positive/neutral Characters lending a hand, interfering Rivals altering Obstacles or directly hindering the heroes (as cards or as opposing players), dramatic Goals that add harder Obstacles to the deck as the players earn Keystones (which could be called Acts), longer games bringing the players from plane to plane (with brand new Plot decks each time) chasing down a villain, punishing mods where Characters die if they have too many Wounds...
Optional Rules
Tutorial: When you reveal Plot cards at the beginning of a round, draw an additional card, then discard one of the revealed cards.
other keywords (2)
Settings
Jakkard
Other resources
Main characters
, Centaur, Corrupt, Law, Living
, Living, Outlaw, Snakefolk
, Burglary
, Oldwalker
