Mastering the Game: Metaplots

 Hello and welcome back to Mastering The Game, where I prattle on about how to run RPGs and the like.

Today, I’d like to take a minute to talk about metaplots and how to include them in your games. If you’re not familiar, a “meta plot” is an overarching plot in a game or setting. If you’ve played any sort of video game, you’ve experienced a metaplot. Hell, even watching a movie, reading a book, or what have you, is just watching a plot play out. As you might imagine, a lot of people starting out running a game is probably going to try to include one and it usually goes bad those first few times. When people talk about “railroading” this is something they’re talking about, because the plot wasn’t done right. So, let’s talk about how to do it right.

City of the Spider Queen is a great example of an epic adventure

When thinking about a metaplot in your setting (be it one that you’ve created or a setting you’re running your game in), I want you to understand that your adventures are going to have rails in them. However, unlike a railroad, where you’re passively watching things roll by, you should think of it as a roller coaster. Sure, they both have rails in them, but one is an experience. One that people will seek out. I have good experiences with metaplots in games I enjoy. In fact, the three games/settings I have enjoyed the most in my time with RPGs have had metaplots and each one of them has handled it differently. My first love in RPGs, Deadlands, has a massive metaplot that spans three different games and two different planets. Recently, I’ve been getting into the Wasted West and the Way Out West (you’ll be seeing a review of that last one soon, if not already) and that means studying the metaplot the creators mapped out from the start. Not to get into too much detail, this plot is entirely unstoppable. You can’t stop it from happening, but no matter what game you play in the setting, your characters will be involved and WILL make a difference in what happens. Sure, sometimes they can’t stop what’s happening, but they are there and they are involved in the events. The prime example is the second part of the Devil’s Tower Trilogy, the Bloody Sunday event. Before this part of the adventure, the posse has been involved in a tense rescue of someone and then arrive too late to stop demons from invading the cathedral in the center of Lost Angels. And while they don’t get to stop the Big Bad Demon, they can fight the smaller ones and help save people as they flee. They feel like their actions have an effect on the world, even if it’s mostly a small one in the grand scheme of things. In the case of Hunter: The Reckoning, there’s a whole lot going on that the players and their characters have no idea about. However, Hunter isn’t about the metplot, it’s about small, Pyrrhic victories on the street level. And while they’re not going to stop things on the large scale, that isn’t what the game is about. And it isn’t how you should run the game. The characters aren’t Buffy the Vampire Slayer (although it does make for a good analogy) nor are they the Winchester brothers. The problem with something like Supernatural is that as the show went on, they had to fight larger and larger threats. While Buffy did the same, they were still in Sunnyvale and that makes a world of difference. The final metaplot I liked was in the original or older versions of the Forgotten Realms. While the modern incarnation of FR seems to have gone way off the original rails that were there, the old ones were great because you didn’t need to be port of the solutions to the problems. That’s what the novels were for. If you wanted to be a part of the Time of Troubles, there were official adventures for that. If you didn’t, you just let it play out in the background. The players could have epic adventures without causing massive, continent wide changes in the setting. And with all of that out of the way, let’s talk about the two best ways I’ve found with including a metaplot in games:

Number One: The players and characters are directly involved

For this one, I strongly suggest you have a session zero and you be up front about the metaplot and how they’re going to be involved. Let them know, in general terms, what kind of campaign you want to run and what sort of things the characters are going to be involved in. If you’re running a published metaplot, let the players know that yes, there will be rails in this game, but remind them that they’re in for a roller coaster and not a railroad. If the adventure needs a certain type of class or character, be up front that this is required and someone needs to play it. You have to have a player play this character, because otherwise, you’re going to end up just having conversations with yourself and the players WILL be on a railroad. Instead, make sure that this is a player’s role and that they’re comfortable with it. And make sure that everyone else gets a moment to shine, too. If you’re coming up with everything on your own, make sure that each player’s character has a place in the plot, either from the character they are playing or by the type of character they’re playing. Some plot points shouldn’t be tied to the priest in particular, but a priest in general, and then will grow in importance as the campaign continues. That way you can be okay if someone drops out or switches characters. You always have to prepare for that. In my opinion, this is the best way to run a metaplot. Everyone should be aware of what is going on and can work together to make it happen. The best metaplots can also be developed cooperatively, so don’t feel like you need to have it all mapped out. Maybe you’re thinking that the good king is under threat from his evil uncle and you want the evil uncle to win. You explain this to your players and one them really wants to be a spy for the evil uncle or has an idea about how to prevent this from happening, because they really don’t want the evil uncle to take over. So, you talk with everyone about it. Maybe you agree that the evil uncle won’t win in the end, or that you’re willing to leave it open ended, but now the uncle has a backup plan of causing a rebellion against the king instead and he’s at the head of it. Don’t feel like you have to give everything away but be open to change based on what the players want. If they don’t want the political intrigue, then focus more on the action on the plot. If they want the political intrigue and you don’t, there’s got to be a way to meet in the middle. Remember, roller coaster, not railroad!

 Number Two: The players aren’t involved in the plot at all

Maybe you’ve got a group of players that will make Sherman Bowties (they’re a real thing from Sherman’s March to the Sea, look them up) out of any attempt by a GM to have a set idea for an adventure. While I personally feel like these are idiots and assholes, I suppose there’s different strokes for different folks. Of course, it could also be that you started with a solid crew of six players and characters that were all set for the campaign, and then players have dropped out, new ones have joined, and there’s been so many character deaths or changes that there’s no one left who’s invested in the plot. In that case, it’s okay. You know why? Because now they’re not going to be there to stop the demon lord from opening the portal to the underworld, they’re just going to have to live with the consequences of that happening. Now that they have to fight for their lives everyday, you can circle around to making an effort to close the portal or just have a campaign about the dying light of humanity and freedom. In less extreme examples, the good king is replaced by his evil uncle and now the party has to deal with living under his thumb. They can become freedom fighters, or smugglers, or just leave for another kingdom and let things get worse there. In that last situation, you can have a lot of fun creating and expanding an evil empire in the background that will slowly take over the world. The players should be heroes, to some degree and in most games, so just keep letting things get worse and worse until they have no choice but to tackle the problem. The players and characters have agency, just like we do in the real world. We all have the ability to vote, but if you don’t (or you did and the other person lost) and someone terrible gets in office, now you can take other actions to stop the spread of evil. It’s up to you to figure out what that is… 

 Now, with all of that said, I want you to remember that every published adventure has a metaplot or narrative in them. From the lowest of killing rats in the basement to the epic heights of killing gods, every adventure you run or make up has a plot to it. There’s no such thing as an RPG without a plot. You can’t just make everything up on the spot (unless you’re really good or you’re just one of those people), so you need something to hold everything together. Don’t be afraid of making your roller coaster.

Blast From The Past: Deadlands - Lost Colony

 

If you haven't noticed, each one of these logos is slightly different

The West has been Weird, then Wasted, and now it's time to go to the Way Out West!

Before I get into the meat of this review, I do want to talk about something: this is NOT a stand alone game. It requires that you have the HOE rule book, be it the original Deadlands system or the d20 version. Because everything had a d20 port. Which was the style at the time.

As such, this is really more of a supplement than a stand alone game.

 Deadlands: Lost Colony is the final part of the original Deadlands trilogy and was mentioned in the Hell On Earth books. It takes place on Banshee, earth's first colony on another world, where Ghost Rock eventually was discovered. And history repeats itself...

You see, when humans arrived on Banshee, they found a primitive species there. If you've played the Weird West, or know something about history, you know what happened next. The advanced humans ended up wanting to move into the areas that the aliens, the Anuoks, were living in. After some conflicts, there was a treaty made between the humans and the Anouks. And then the humans broke the treaty, were made to move back into the treaty area, and then moved back. When there were more conflicts, they tried to make another treaty and then another treaty, but the miners and homesteaders kept breaking it. So, the Anouks do as colonized people do and started fighting. Lots of humans and aliens died in the ensuing conflict. Some of this backstory is explored in the Wasted West books, mostly the Syker book, as they were part of the main force that broke the Anouks resistance, before the Last War heated up and then Judgment Day came.

Anyway. This book is about the people who are now stranded on Banshee and the Anouks who were there first. Unlike the Wasted West, the people in the Faraway system (where Banshee is located) aren’t living in the ruins of civilization, but they are recovering from a cataclysm. You see, about a year after all contact with Earth was lost, Banshee suffered from the World Storm. Seeing as Banshee is named after the winds that whip around, this was a really, really bad storm and some of the settlements and cities were destroyed and a lot of people died. But the society is still functional. They might be stranded and dealing with living on a hostile world, there’s still hope here.

Beyond Banshee, there’s stations in orbit and in the asteroid belt nearby. There’s miners in the belt, pulling out Ghost Rock from the rocks, which means there’s also pirates. Around the brown dwarf planet/star, there’s a few stations and colonies there as well. The power groups in orbit are Hellstromme Industries, run by Vanessa Hellstromme, and the Untied Nations EXFOR, commanded by Confederate General “Overkill” Warfield. HI is the economic powerhouse of the Banshee system, with their high technology and private military forces. While they’re not in total control of everything, it’s not for a lack of trying. They’re also on the cutting edge of technology, with the invention of nano-technology, which allows people to “transmute” things. On the other hand, the UN is in nominal control of the Banshee system, but not really. When the Tunnel failed and there was no communication from Earth, General Warfield recalled his forces to the flagship in orbit and has been waiting up there ever since.

Meanwhile, back on Banshee, there’s only one real authority, the Colonial Rangers. Modeled after the Texas Rangers, they’re very thin on the ground but very effective at one they do. They try to maintain law and order, as well as the treaty, but they can only do so much. Mostly because of a lack of numbers and equipment. On the flip side, you have a group called the Reapers, who follow a madman Communist/Socialist named Nikolai. They want to unite the humans and Anouks in some socialist uptopia. By force if necessary. 

I could almost see people thinking this is what the game is

But let’s talk about the Anouks. They’re seven feet tall, purple, and look like reptiles but they’re actually warm blooded. The men type are usually warriors and the female types are the shamans. The culture is presented through a human lens and resembles a simplified version of a Native American monoculture. However, I will give them some credit here, as we find out in the Marshal’s Handbook that their culture was conquered some time again and these are the decedents of the liberators, so that would cause their culture to be simplified to some degree, and they didn’t really have enough room to give us much more. But it kind of sucks to have two tribes, one good, one bad, and mention of some other groups. The interesting thing about the Anouk is that they are all psychic to a degree and have a special connection to a type of rock on the planet. While the inclusion of the Anouk is neat, I do think that it’s a missed opportunity.

Moving on, let’s talk a bit more about Banshee herself. The planet has two continents, called One and Two. One is where most of the humans are and where the focus is. Two is left more mysterious, which I’m sure was going to be expanded on later, but that never really happened. Oh, and if you noticed, I gave the planet a gender, because it is alive. No joke. And that’s also why the majority of shamans are women. Anyway, much like other core books for Deadlands games, there’s only the basics covered so you can get started, with the details usually filled in later. But later never really happened with this one before Pinnacle fell on hard times and eventually everything was rebooted under the various versions of the Savage World systems.

So, at the end of the day, there’s a fair amount of problems with this book. One of my first problems with it is that it feels very much like a large source book for Hell On Earth, rather than a full fledged stand-alone game. In part, that’s because it’s a soft cover book, rather than a hardback, which is what they usually did with the core books of their games, but this was in the process changing when this one came out. The other part is that you have to have the HOE core book, or the D20 HOE book, which makes it feel a little tacked on. And the other problem is that inclusion of the D20 conversion rules. As I mentioned, this was the style at the time for games. I could go on about this, and I think I have a few times before, so I’m not going to on about it. Except for one point: The inclusion of the D20 rules reduced the amount of room the book had for other information. You might not think it’s that much, but don’t forget that not only did they have to add the classes, but also the various DC over TN stuff, reprint the spells in D20, stats for equipment, and so on. All of that adds up. My unscientific estimation is that the book loses about 25% of its space to the D20 conversions throughout the book. And that took a lot away from what it SHOULD have included. And that’s the thing that probably did the most damage to it. And, in my opinion, it feels a little rushed and incomplete compared to everything else. Maybe that’s because they had to have it ready when The Unity adventure dropped. Which also felt kind of the same.

Anyway. All of that said, I like this setting. I kind of liked it when it first came out, as there was all of this classic sci-fi stuff in there, aliens, spaceships, weird science, and so on, but with that unique Deadlands flavor. Unfortunately, that unique flavor isn’t enough to make it something that will make people seek it out. The Wasted West was a post-apocalyptic game for Deadlands fan. The Way Out West is science fiction is for Deadlands fans. But the Weird West is a wild west game and not everyone drawn to that is going to be drawn to the rest of it. Like the friends I used to game with, back in the day. Because they didn’t like the Wasted West and Way Out West (and never really got into the Weird West beyond Doomtown), I think it’s why I never gave this Deadlands setting a chance. And it’s a shame. There’s some good stuff in here. A colony cut off from Earth, with this weird mix of magic and technology, and surrounded by an alien race that is varying degrees of hostile could be a really good time. And since everything isn’t filled it, you could fill it in yourself. There’s some good bones here, even if you ignore the metaplot and the fact that The Reckoners have been dropped on the planet by Dr. Darius Hellstromme and they might be weak enough to be killed. Oh, did I forget to mention that until now? Funny that…

And a final note: I do have a few books for Deadlands Noir but I’m not sure yet if I’m going to review it. If you want it, let me know.