Great GM: Creating a Master Plot for your Role playing game - RPG and GM Tips

You have created a massive plot that works for the epic world you have built for your rpg session but the player characters have decided to go on a side quest for carrots. Your master plot will ensure regardless of what adventures your players go on in your game, they will still follow your story and believe that you intended for them to go on a side plot involving sheep. Remember they don't know that it is not what you planned. Enjoy these game mastering tips.
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[@sparrowhawk4641]

Players : OMG YOU CAME UP WITH THIS MONTHS AGO THIS IS AMAZING Me, with one brain cell, forgetting that I already used the same glyph for another house, so now they think the two families are related : oh yes, I did, sure .

[@g.dalfleblanc63]

Maybe you have a second brain cell hiding in your head making genius decisions for you? :P

[@sparrowhawk4641]

@@g.dalfleblanc63 i might but the two are not aware of each other

[@asdasd-ty9se]

make them part of the same cult

[@RazzlePhoxx]

I've been GMing for a while now and I've always followed the mantra "Don't write plots, write worlds". Meaning what I have written down is the sequence of events that will play out assuming the PC's don't intervene, the main villains have a plan and they are going to go through with that plan because that's the whole point in why they are there. When the PC's intervene and block the plan they then adjust and react to situations just like a player would have their own plans and would have to react if a villain stopped them

[@NoGodsUnderStars]

This is exactly how I am writing out my first homebrew campaign and I think it's the best way. The players need to be involved (that's why everyone is at the table, after all), but it needs to be by their own volition. The world needs to move without them, in order for it to feel that much more real and immersive.

[@sedentaryscorpion]

Came for the advice, subscribed for the accent

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

'Whell, that's ah very khind of yhou.' Glad you sought advice, hope it was helpful, and here's hoping the accent lasts!

[@sedentaryscorpion]

Indeed. I found myself in my bed at 10:00 P.M., watching you and other's videos, keeping my girlfriend up, as I have a new campaign I am starting, and haven't GM'ed in many months. When she finally nudged me it was 1:00 A.M. XP

[@toby7161]

Sedentary Sneaky Stupid Scorpion Epic Gamer Moment

[@zuzegui]

Had me at Corrruprt

[@James-go6sf]

Bladdy prawn

[@Will-uu9kh]

It’s not sweat, he’s blessing us with creative juices.

[@Bigslam1993]

Sorry to tell, but the Mines of Moria (or whatever they are written like) where obiously the GM railroading the group. "Oh you want to go around my set path? Sorry, but Icetrolls and Spells and the cold and you are dying. Go through the mines or we are back at chargen."

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Hahahaha. One could look at it like that. Though I believe there was another path to the North? But eagles... Eagles!

[@TheAgnarr]

Lol, agree with you Big. Thought this video addressed the point in such a way to make to better serve the purpose of the video, for helping DM's. Many consider the wonder of LotR to be a horrible example of a D&D campaign (great setting, too many nouns, railroading plot too much focus on certain characters, etc.), but enjoyable as novels. Yet for many gamers, it is an IP that many can identify with nowadays.

[@kharnthebetrayer8251]

And then Gandalf saw the big boss Balrog, and stole all the Xp by killing it on his own, then shows up later with his fancy new robes and powers.

[@pinoarias8601]

This is especially true if you think as Gandalf as being a DM PC or a helpful NPC.

[@one_for_one]

Bigslam1993 yes, ive watched matt colville too XD

[@ian8084]

One does not simply fly into Mordor. Although flying to Gondor is totally within reason.

[@rcschmidt668]

Gandalf’s last words before falling in Moria were, “Fly, you fools.” This could arguably be a clue that Gandalf intended to lead the party to the aerie of the eagles, and they could have flown to Mount Doom in force. They only had to go a short way from the egress of the mines to reach the eagles. But without rest of the story happened.

[@rcschmidt668]

@GamerKat'71 True, although they were there for Bilbo and the dwarves, the 5 armies, and Frodo in the end. There are those where consider at least the ring bearer (especially a smaller creature) could have been flown to Mount Doom.

[@tankythemagnorite9855]

That's because Gondor isnt full of orcs trying to kill you, ringwraiths with fellbeasts, and having a ring that corrupts things to carry there.

[@domesticcat1725]

PC: Okay, we go through the mines DM: All according to keikaku

[@stormtoober2355]

Impressive display of pointing to the map without looking. showing off your medieval fantasy weatherman skills? Another great video for my world building thoughts, contemplations, and schemings... THANKS!

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Always happy to predict a little doom and chaos in the higher elevations with a 30% chance of PC blunders down south...

[@xeltanni8999]

30%? That is giving the PCs an awful lot of credit... =P

[@rashkavar]

There's also an example of him gesturing to the map when he says "whether it is set on a continent [which is accurate, he poked a landmass] or whether it is set in space [where he pokes slightly south on the same continent...unless there's a rift to deep space somewhere on that continent, I think he missed that time]"

[@toby7161]

rashkavar WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT THE RIFT?!???!??!!!

[@pakidara2000]

I use a technique called "key framing" when making an overarching plot. You come up with the scenes you want to play out. Don't even bother with them making sense or linking together. Don't bother including main baddies either. Just make what sound fun. Example: PCs fight a dragon on a sky-scraper roof, a forgotten God reappears and makes one PC a disciple, an organized army lead by an ancient golden dragon charges a coalition force of the local nationalities lead by death itself (victory is end of campaign). It is now your job to link these together. In my campaign, where these are taken from, I did the following: The dragon is part of history now. It raided and displaced a large Elf population who are still hateful of the event and wish to reclaim their "City of Glass". They are currently occupying land "rented" from dwarves who are too busy with their own matters to say no. The dwarves demand regular tribute. This tribute helps to fuel the dwarves attempts to contain an ancient evil, none but the dwarven rulers and military know this as appearing weak as a people is to invite disaster. The ancient evil is a literal God of death (slaughter, war, and suffering) and the foil to the forgotten God ( a God of death as well but of noble passing, sacrifice, and endurance). The duality of the ancient gods lead to a harsh confusion with other ancient religions which have since crossed the sea and developed. Thanks to prophesy and belief in a righteous cause, a golden dragon has taken the reigns of rulership over the people and is leading them back across the sea to reclaim their ancestral homeland from the gods of death. And that is the backstory. Now it is just a matter of filling in the gaps, adding some life and independence to the world, and running damage control after the Wrecking Ball known as player-characters.

[@buckwild9168]

I would pay for audiobook of all the Lord of The Rings by you.... Just saying

[@aaronsmith1790]

I've been running a campaign for over 2 years now and I don't have the same passion for it when I first started... I have gotten burned out with it. I don't have the heart to end it though because my players adore my campaign. Is there any advise as to how to get the spark back for that campaign of mine?

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Off the top of my head? Find something you do want to run. Then work out how to shift your game there. Wanna run more of a pirate game? Sailing time for your party. Wanna have aliens? A dimensional gate opens and Githyankie come out... find something you want to run and mix it into your campaign.

[@scottjcaldwell]

Take a break and become a player. Is anyone else willing to DM for a while?

[@aaronsmith1790]

Some players are, yes. But with the great tips I got from this channel they've become insatiable with my games. Luckily for me, due to circumstances the players made an opportunity in game where the choices they made caused a world re-write which involved some trans-dimensional space travel full of pseudoscience terminology. Funny thing is that I talk to some of my players on a daily basis and I'm like "Ok guys, just so your aware... I am taking a break for a while". Them: "Sure no problem" Goes to sleep Wakes up to room mate who plays game "So, did you have a long enough break?" xD. Me: "Nope"

[@Psychesrose]

What you could do is have a big change in location. Basically, a fresh coat of paint. A lot of people get burned out because they've run out of ideas for the situation the characters are in or they've gotten so used to it that is boring. You could have a few mini side quests where the PCs were accidentally transported to another plane like the water plane and transformed into creatures that fit that setting with the same stats. Or they could get killed and resurrected in the future by an amateur wizard that really can't control them. Having side quests where players can try out new environments can make things feel fresh for both you and the PCs without having to sacrifice the dynamic the party has or your overall story. And who knows, maybe you'll like one of those worlds better. So many dnd games take place in generic fantasy world when the dm guide gives plenty of options for alternative planes. Like what would the Feywilds and Shadowfell look like? Would the PCs like to be mer people for a day and ride sharks searching for Atlantis? How cool would it be to catch a Nightmare in the Fire Plane and make it your mount or stumble on a city where everyone transferred their souls to machines, so you're the only flesh and blood people? These don't have to be more than one shots, but they'll give you time to play around with new ideas while you're figuring out your main story again.

[@nicktheritter]

Watch Community and Rick and Morty by Dan Harmon. Those shows seem to do whatever they want while still belonging in their respective shows. Might give you some ideas.

[@Evan-ot1tb]

This is probably the most insightful, well thought-out GM advice channel on youtube. well-done!

[@sethkeown5965]

as meteorologist, yes, you are bad at pointing at the map behind you. but for real this was great and I'm super missing braxia, however brief the meeting was.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

So come back to us! Less sleep you bitch. :p

[@alundrajehuthy1801]

I have actually managed to construct a master plot that has been going on for nearly 10 gaming years now... (more if you count all the stuff that's come before taking place in the same universe). Honestly it's been a handfull at times, and it's been devided over many MANY different groups (taking over where others crashed and burned over the years) and I'm glad the end is actually in sight... in a year or two XD But last month, when I was able to finally lift up part of the curtain carefully woven before their eyes, and show them glimpses of how it all interconnected... Their reactions were priceless. I felt content. Beyond fulfilled actually. So it's worth it. Keeping at it and trying to complete a master plot to an epic (ingame) centuries-spanning game is difficult, sometimes frustrating, but oh so worth it.

[@victorholmes7075]

Alundra Jehuthy sounds like the first time I orgasmed

[@O4C209]

Did you complete it?

[@wwfof]

again with the fucking eagles... THE EYE OF SAURON, THE GIANT EYE, PEOPLE!

[@NathanielNow]

Excellent video. I've already been doing this with my group, but it's nice to receive validation and some extra ideas. I'm at a point with my group that the master plot has progressed too far, and cannot be ignored. They're about to get a very rude awakening.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

MWahahahahaha! Roll the thunder, crash the drums together, it just go real. It's a great moment when your PC's start to link it all together.

I feel that like everyone knows that EVERY GM accidentally falls back on their feet, yet all the time players seem amazed that you seemed to have planned it all.. lol

[@yuirick]

How'd you draw that map? That's what I wanna know. Been wanting to get a map drawn of me own. :P

[@gtkall]

He has a whole series of videos on how to draw a map, go to the channel's page and search for the tutorial :)

[@yuirick]

Ohhh, nice! :D

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Thanks Gtkall. Indeed there is a series there - almost realtime so brace yourself! :)

[@Drakendottir]

I will be checking that out next because I'm currently designing a new world of my own and I need maps. Or just one map, but a very big one. The masterplan video was great too, however :), I'll have that in the back of my head whilst I draw the map ^^.

[@lucas23453]

Because I am both not very artistic and lazy I use a tileset I bought from Roll20 called Old World Style. It lets me just connect tiles together to make a very interesting world map in very little time.

[@beepbeeplettuce2239]

A really great example of a master plot is Spice and Wolf, for in the first book, the main character is just a traveling merchant. He almost immediately meets up with the wolf goddess of the harvest, who wishes to travel with him to have company after living alone for centuries, as well as returning to her northern home. This here is an example as to how a seemingly impossible match up can work well. Furthermore, subtle hints to a change of the silver content of a popular currency are given to the reader through an "NPC" in a church were the "party" stays the night. In the end, this party is directly involved with the Master Plot of the silver content change, with the help of a larger entity, the Medio Company. The novel is just great at representing the concept of a Master Plot, with a completely disconnected player plot not initially taking part, but eventually doing so later. You should honestly check it out, even if it seems unappealing at first, for it is a great novel, and (If I haven't said it enough) a very good example of the Master plot idea.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

That's awesome, thank you for sharing with us! Spice and Wolf! Will go check it out!

[@HighQualityLeftover]

i have seen a meme online that made a lot of sense towards "THEY COULDVE JUST USED THE EAGLES ALL THE TIME!": These eagles are actually a highly intelligent and powerfull race that would've most likely been corrupted by the ring, and would've taken it for themselfs

[@justineberlein5916]

Also, people overlook this part, but it was a stealth mission. Part of the reason they *only* sent 9 walkers as opposed to an entire army was that Sauron outmatched them and would have been able to stop a full frontal assault. Not only would eagles be the worst idea possible, but the breaking of the fellowship may have even been a good thing, because it allowed Sméagol to lead a minimally sized team of Frodo and Sam through a side entrance

[@AuntieHauntieGames]

Ooooooooo! I am watching one of these with headphones for the first time and let me say, well, I said it: Ooooooooo! Definitely picking up more room echo BUT the sound is otherwise so very, very clean. No fuzz or tin. Sounds like I am in the room with you. A very, very large room, perhaps, but still as crisp as if I were there. Secrets, please! ;D

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Shot on a Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Editing in Premier. The room is lined with softboard to break some of the echo, and fabric bedecks the ceiling. Does that help? Glad you like the audio!

[@AuntieHauntieGames]

That's madness.

[@MadeinHell2]

If you are going to do a "world invasion" campaign than I'm very curious how you manage battles that the PC's are involved in. It is a very difficult thing to balance since you want your players to be a big part of the whole endeavour without completely breaking it (unless they come up with something very clever ofc). Doing combat in a battle environment is always a challenge, you want it to seem large without dragging down the players with 50 "minion" enemies that nibble at their feet incessantly. Very interesting subject I hope you cover at some point!

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

I've been asked to do a video on mass combat and I think it's time to do it! We'll see what other videos need to be done first, but yes, it's a tricky question and one that must be answered fairly soon...

[@shino911]

This was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for helping me find my footing before starting my first big campaign as a gm.

[@KingAm0]

In summary: Have your villain be the head of a mysterious conspiracy. You’ll be fine.

[@sapientia_et_virtus]

Okay, finally - this is the kind of thing I've been looking for. This gets me pumped about DM-ing.

[@DummyUrD]

I recently recruited 2 new players to my campaign and because of it had to think about how to describe my game. One of my players described it as "decisions and consequences", my own perspective is showcasing a world that is plausible. So this topic is very close to my heart. How I handle it is. 1. Figure out the goals of all different parties, specifically the "bad guys" if applicable. 2. Figure out what "operations" they would do about those goals 3. Figure out how and when their "operations" would resolve without player involvement With this plan I have a very sturdy foundation, that also makes it easy to know about local incidents of the various activities. I also add some mundane or unconnected local events since not everything would revolve around 1-2 things all the time. Additionally, this helps me to make players decisions count, although I sometimes fiddle with the timetables so my players don't arrive late or early all the time.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Perfectly said sir! Your break down is excellent.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

The master plot might go on without the PCs being involved. Surely the PCs are of some importance in the grand events of the world, but if they want to do something else, the plot might come to a different result. If the players just want to have some fun participating in a dungeon crawl while the gates to hell are open, let them do it. Afterwards they might see the town run by demons. (Not necessarily something bad, after all the PCs caused the gates to stay open.) The king has sent out the party to retrieve a magical artifact to cure his daughter of a horrifying sickness but the players want to explore the more shady parts of the imperial capital while getting drunk, let them do it. They might get robbed and have to get their stuff back while triying to explain to the king why they are not following the most important quest. The plot leads to bring an important document to prevent a war, but the players want to try out their sailing skills instead, let them. They might get shipwrecked and have adventures on that deserted island. After their return the kingdom is in ruins and nobody want to help them because more important matters are on the NPCs minds.

[@McCragge]

If I had to make a top ten list of my favorite videos of yours, this video would earn the top spot for sure! This came at a perfect time for my campaign and my issues creating a master plot. Thank you so much.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Yes! Top 10! Glad to hear it, and I hope it really does help. Let us know what your Master Plot is :)

[@McCragge]

I am currently creating my own sandbox campaign set in a desert world where the evil gods have conquered and imprisoned the good gods in heartstones and have them hidden and lost in the lands. Evil rules the three desert nations that are on the verge of warfare. The PC's are strangers in a strangeland as they are washed ashore after their ship was sunk. All their items lost at sea, and now the local fishing tribes have "mistakenly" identified them as the saviors that where prophesied to bring back the good gods and rid the land of evil

[@arlome]

Absolutely amazing video Guy! Thank you so much, as always, for the advice and suggestions. I feel like I grow exponentially and my players are truly the benefactors of your videos. I am a great Game Master because of your instruction!

[@kregorovillupo3625]

The power vacuum reminded me of a paladin in our campaign actually trying to defend a villain because (his words) " it is a necessary evil". Turns out the villain was indeed preventing greater evils from taking place... they shouldnt have slain that paladin.

[@davidjackson6119]

Lmfao this guy reads minds I totally have a master plot going on in my head that the players probably will never care about

[@jefferynicholas6765]

The examples from LOTR were excellent, thank you. Some good discussion.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

What about organizational tools for keeping track of main plots vs side plots? I've been experimenting with graphs and flowcharts for showing at least an abstract link among all the story points, possible side quests, allies, enemy factions, etc. I'm definitely an over-planning GM: I'll have a main story with Beginning, Middle, and End. Within each of those "acts" are 3 "scenes" - and within each of those scenes are 3 main encounters: one each of Tactical, Exploration, and Social. Then within each scene or act are some number of possible side quests (including any that I didn't preplan, but are player- generated). Some side quests are purely separate from everything else, but most will in some way link to or influence the main plot. The primary way I do this is to have each location have some representatives of each allied or rival faction, and have every faction linked together in some way, so even locations and characters or monsters that don't seem connected to the main plot still are in some way.

[@zephyrstrife4668]

Hehe... I actually have three master plots for my Pathfinder game I plan to run... 1. A necromancer in the east is amassing an army of the dead. For now he's been no bother and even sometimes hires mercenaries to collect strange corpses or ingredients. They are well-compensated for their efforts. 2. A branch of the Iomedae faith in the south is possibly corrupt behind the scenes. They are a Matriarchal faction and thus the positions of significant power, mages and heads of homes are typically women. Often they will address female members of the party as the leader unless corrected by said "leader" 3 In the northwest a town that used to belong to the Dragon-Born King is now under the control of a Goblin War Host who is... questionably allied with a Hag who occupies the remains of the burned Wizards Tower in the mountains. They haven't actively attacked any of the southern settlements yet... but the warriors of Iomedae grow more and more tense each day as scouts report back that the goblinoids are reaching greater numbers. If nothing is done about it soon, the goblins might just take over the whole region. Ok, so I also technically have a fourth (inspired by DragonForce's "The Last Dragonborn" song). The Dragon-Born are sorcerers of a draconic bloodline, aptly named due to the fact that rumors say each of the chromatic and metallic dragons have made deals with the family. Approximately a decade ago, the church of Iomedae led a crusade against the Dragon-Born King on charges of tyranny and claims of diabolism. None know whether these accusations are true, but in hushed whispers peasants tell of the (Prince/Princess, depending on the needs of the game) who managed to be rescued from the attack by a loyal retainer to the family. As such, the church of Iomedae distrusts arcane casters and specifically keeps an eye out for Sorcerers. This last one allows the PC's to potentially become a Major faction of the game if one of their number is a dragonblood sorcerer. With a martial character in the party being the person who inherited the duty of protecting the heir to the throne, the PC's have a member of their group who is a legitimate King/Queen and can try to take control of the whole region for themselves. Of course, if none of the PCs are a dragonblood sorcerer, the Dragon-Born Prince/Princess will make an appearance during the game with their bodyguard and become a quest patron for the group.

[@ironkeepgaming1936]

I’m making a d&d campaign that will use environmental hazards in combat, for example: cursed sandstorms, acidic swamp water, or even blizzards imbued with holy light. The main villan will be a Demilich who has a army of undead spread out over the multiverse

[@pieterduplessis7865]

WAIT A MINUTE! You're from SA too? I've been watching your stuff for so long now, and only realised this now.

[@Silrk246813]

I %100 agree with massive plots. I play with people who are all GM's in others games.. and they love the long, complex worlds have greater immersion.

[@Ariakin88]

So I've only played pathfinder 4 times but LOVE it and your vids are rly helping me GM for my nieces and nephews so thanks so much you've been a huge help! =D

[@r1n8k]

Galadriel is not "some daft bint in a white dress"! UNSUBSCRIBED

[@countsnowyofgwainn3996]

Hey um, so currently I have my players chasing after a teleporting book and one of them told me that she finds that kinda annoying, I have a reason for why the wizard that hired them couldn't help yet but she thought how I played out why she couldn't help seemed like the wizard wasn't thought out yet and she doesn't like the fact the book keeps teleporting away, what should I do?

[@PalleRasmussen]

You really need to read up on your Tolkien Lore. He had a Master Plot, but it is not as you describe, and then an even larger Master- Master Plot behind it.

[@literalcupoftea6299]

what if you're master plot is that the BBEG just wants to die so he needs the PCs to be strong enough to kill him......

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Yes the massive plan I have a plan that the players keep screwing up but it’s all part of the big plan they don’t know yet

[@DeadRobit29]

You've helped me out big time. I'm prepping to run a game now, and you've given me the inspiration to make an interesting campaign. Thank you sir.

[@PaintedAndTainted]

Fantastically clear explanation, I'll be listening a lot more of your videos as I plan my first campaign, thank you!

[@demonic_myst4503]

In the witcher books unlike the games the wild hint is more a master plot not really being an antaganist more a phenomenon rumours of people being kidnapped random hors riders seen taking people its more like a earthquake a natural ocurence that hapoens in the background

[@JackKnifeJedi3419]

Should I kick it off big, and then spread it out, or wait for them to discover just how big the plot is?

[@Victhor4]

The PC's are more likely to sell the clue than follow it. Spoken from experience I see.

[@roses_diary]

hii help im a semi-normal person that wants to do this stuff and there are people into rpgs that would be sweet to play with but i dont wanna make a fool of myself

[@Kouyou160]

Does anyone know where to find people to play rpgs with online? I dont know anyone irl who likes rpgs

[@RobotsPajamas]

I've been lucky to have a group that pretty much goes along with the plot, since each piece links together and they want to keep following those pieces to get to the next part of the story. My G.I. Joe game is a lot like an action movie where one clue leads to another until a final confrontation. It works pretty well. However, I don't want to be too much of an "on rails" gm, so I've been trying to use your tips to open up the game and give them more choices, starting with my Star Wars game. There's an overall story, but the players can move off the main thread and come back as they will. So thanks for all the tips!

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Awesome! Let us know how they respond that that kind of free-narrative. It sounds like you have a great group! What system do you use for the GI Joe game?

[@RobotsPajamas]

Well at first they were confused when presented with 3 plot hooks at once. But they recovered quickly. I'm using WEG's Star Wars (or Open D6 if you will) with a bunch of modifications. I have a facebook page for it if you're interested. (Changed the name from G.I. joe so I don't get sued. Look for SMF Wolfpack on face book)

[@PepicWalrus]

Instant Subscribe, Been interested in tabletop stuff for ages but never got involved when my friends did it. Recently joined my first campaign as a PC last month although we've only managed to get Two Sessions out for varying reasons. But i've already got sights of trying my hand at GMing, Looking to do a One-Shot of shadowrunner that'll be open ended for leeway into a proper campaign once the group has finished with our current DMs campaign. This'll be a great channel to chew through as well as Geek and Sundry Critical Roll! and Arcologypodcast.. oh boy i've got so much to get through now.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Well to be spoken of in such high company is indeed a compliment thank you. Glad you find the information useful! And welcome to the table, let us learn and grow together!

[@bridgeburner92]

Guy, is tricking PC agency into plot ethical in your opinion? Is there more to what you're describing than how I'm describing it? I know you did the video about campaign brainstorming and talked about a 40k campaign and discussed doing so, but it seems either sketchy or hard to do artfully and seamlessly to my mind. Am I overthinking this? An example of how this could be less than desirable is the whole '3 forked paths in a dungeon' trope where each path ends up on the one the GM wants for sake of plot

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Ethics speak to a manner of treatment of someone else's dignity / personal rights. One of our jobs, and I almost consider it our highest job - is to entertain our players by giving them am amazing adventure / story. I'm not defrauding my players if I present them with an ever twisting plot that purposefully uses their own actions against them, or that sets up 'options' but knows all those options lead to the same area. Every film, play, TV show, computer game made relies on the storyteller coming up with a narrative twist. This isn't a game of PC versus GM and if the GM's plot is outsmarted by the PC's the GM awards XP and moves on. This is a game (in my opinion) where the GM and the PC collaborate to make a fantastic story. The GM's role is to take what the PC's are doing and use that as one of many tools to accomplish that. What would be unethical in my thinking would be to DENY a PC choice because it doesn't fit in your story. That removes the 'option' sensation in a direct but closed manner. Is that what you're asking?

[@_TestBot]

"They've allied themselves with a dark bint in a white dress"

[@CeeLoGreen666]

Checkers at Ms. Miggins Pie Shoppe sounds fun

[@narnization]

Wow... I just recently got into DMing and I've made all these smaller quests at the start, but you have really got me to think about how I can tie smaller things into something much larger. As the players Ive been dming for just started new characters and are at lvl 1 I was struggling on how I could tie that into an epic narrative per se. Out of all the videos and guides I've looked at, none have given me very unique and good advice as i got from this one. Seriously... nice video. By far the best Ive seen. I will for sure be checking out more of your stuff. THANK YOU

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Welcome to the table! Stay a while and listen... lol, and interact and talk and ask questions! Glad to have helped a bit, let us know how your game goes!

[@KingAm0]

A master plot transition I’ve always wanted to try is: The PCs finally defeat the arch wizard, but his ritual is broken in the middle of the process. The major magic leak breaks everything and causes some form of thing to appear. Cue new villain.

[@ForTheGoldenOak]

My god. This video just helped me realise why some of my plots are so dull. Thank you so much!

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Glad to be of help! Let us know how your plots move forward!

[@VndNvwYvvSvv]

It seems like not so much how to create a plot but how to hook into it.

[@WagallLynkx]

Curious .... you kindda use the same methods as me ...

[@brainer4194]

You really are in south africa huh

[@Liam-B]

Node chart software can be great for cross reference BTW!

[@NeoRush]

Hello :) I'm looking for advice on making a mainstory. You talk about a video of yours where you speak about that around 1:45 or so, but I cannot seem to find it. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

[@Grimsikk]

My cyberpunk/dreamscape tabletop game is the first rpg game I've ever made, and I have the "epic" bug. I have a full master plot of a race taking control of many continents as well as opening portals to other dream realms to invade them. The main dream realm has this overarching story of betrayal, big corps controlling everything, even the police and military, I already have a ton of npcs with backstories, motives, stats, and relations/connections to other npcs. It's a grand story of the player unlocking their psyche, becoming fully lucid of the dreamscape, and becoming powerful enough to drive out the evil invaders and dark beasts. My players are building a garage and killing beetles out in the middle of the desert.

[@diegoreds]

Can you do episode on how to run Plot where your players are the Villians or Anti Hero’s. Like “Suicide Squad,”. (tainted shadowlands in L5R, Wrym in Werewolf, or Hydra in Marvel? Thanks

[@89taklung]

The people I play with are more of the "small intimate game" and no, checkers wouldn't be the same we are still adventurers we want to explore that world not to change it from bottom to top. Also we have frequentlyy changing GMs since everyone of us actually prefers playing PC so having such a grand plot is really no ones goal ^^* But now I just started a new group in the "tha dark eye" setting (gen 4) and I really want to make an epic story out of it so I think I'll use that advice ^^ For the first adventure I had them be tested by the gods in a kind of Labyrnith, the second is a mini campaign but maybe I can use that to come up with a bigger plot as the giant evil seasepent Hrangar, arch enemy of any decent hzuman being, was involved It could be making its plans.... hmm let's see where this train of thoughts leads me XD It would something else then alwaays the same badies from that world, the nameles who tries to break free, borbarad returning from his grave to rule over everything or some arch demon making his plots, I don't think Hrangar ever got a major bad-guy-role.... this could really be intetesting ^^ thanks for the advice I think I'll revisit this video some time when I am stuck with my masterplot ^^

[@Benjome]

2:27 An alternate example may be R A Salvatore's quartet "The Legacy of The Drow" (books 7-10 of The Legend of Drizzt).

[@ijbindustries7923]

"the fellowship could have continued on the mountain path" um... not rly.. "Or the wizard could have simply **whistles** called the eagles!" oooooh, you're playing a dangerous game buddy boi.

[@j.d.1856]

You know something funny, my master plot revolves around a dead Paladin who was betrayed by the party. He became a Death Knight and they don’t know why he’s following them. It’s the best thing ever, since it’s been like 30+ sessions since it happened they have no clue.

[@cosmoreverb3977]

This is some great advice actually, I really like it.

[@legonerd162]

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS!!! This video answered a lot of my questions but it also answered my main question that I hadn't found any other videos talking about!

[@PinkSkunkSleepy]

There's something to be said of more intimate stories. This video is nice for the kinds of stories you like to run, and I don't really have a problem with you dismissing less grand narratives since they aren't your thing. But generally, it seems like it's a good idea to handle stories in RPGs like you would handle them in writing(though obviously much less rigidly, since players and dice). In a story that doesn't hold the world at stake, characters are going to be a lot more important. The duke players might interact with to secure a deal against the Dark Lord(TM) in a wider game might be someone the players hear about but don't get to meet until quite a while in. And in the mean time, the players are faced with the lives of the people under the duke's governance(and of course their characters' lives may be among them). Not every smaller quest is obtain five goblin hides then return them to Mildred at the tavern for 30 gold per hide. Mildred is a real person in universe, as are others in the place where she lives. Their stories can be just as engaging as stories of saving the world. The politics, religion, etc. of their lives matter if the GM makes it so the players take an active role in those things. But in the end, it's up to the GM and players to do things like that. I don't have a lot of experience with table top games, though I do like stories and storytellers. I can't be as knowledgeable about RPGs as those like yourself right now, but I think it's still worthwhile to leave something about more intimate games in case someone else hasn't.

[@nathanmichael167]

Great video as usual but I have to correct the eagles theory in LOTR. The eagles were never a viable means of transportation for lenghty times. The eagles are, according to tolkien in his other works, a powerful as dragons. The ring's abilities are amplified by its user's race, thus hobbits, being the weakest, wouldnt give the ring too much power (invisibility). But if it got into the hands of a dragon or those eagles, we'd be looking at god like powers, and we all know how tempting the ring is when you're near it. The point not to use the eagles was a conscios one.

[@Xaelyn]

I do have my own World (as I've been working on a Video Game for about 2-3 years in my free time now) and im planning on running my first ever campaign in that world. It is still in it's early days, as my players are working on their characters currently, while I am figuring out what they could do within the World. As the VG has a Master Plot and two of the PCs appear to be directly involved in it (Imagine a Skyrim-like War, but with one side loosing due to a loss of their magic power for reasons unknown to them). The third, however, probaply won't have a connection and I worry this might split the Party. There are other side-goals and Stories I've built, but the main plot is an issue the two PCs cannot overlook. Are there any general suggestions you can give me? If needed, I can go into more depth about the World.

[@tonypintarelli877]

I would love to see a follow up to this video. How did your various campaigns progress through the master plots? How did you incorporate the aspirations and goals of individual PCs into the master plot? Did you ever interweave your separate campaigns and have them crossover with one another MCU style?

[@Juxtavarious]

I'm right up there with you. I can only manage epic styles. Need something big and overreaching. Plots and contrivances. Those are my favorite.

[@mada1082]

Since we're talking about the villain doing other stuff in the background and the players being inconveniences here and there, is it "railroading" too much if the "conquer the planet" thing happens in the background and the players then finding themselves to want to fix it? I have a villain who wants to shut off the planet from the Gods because he's being told to by this god-level entity that is earthbound, but must execute its desires through people either by persuasion or brainwashing. The villain is the later. To get my "epic finish", I wish the world to be cut off from the Gods while the players are doing something else, (75% of the players draw on divine power so it's in their interest to fix it.) They've met and tangled with the villain before. Is it unfair to let his master plan come to fruition without giving the players a REAL chance, or is stopping him AFTER his plan is in action enough of that "fair go" at stopping him?

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

I would have at least a giant pile of clues and incidents that could have lead the PC's to stopping him cut off the world before you did it without their ability to alter it. Like - seers asking for help, their own divine powers fluctuation - you need to let them know that someone is stuffing around with the gods and that no one else is trying to stop him. Then cut them off, laugh madly, and have them have to fix it. But give them lots of rope to hang themselves with first, otherwise it will feel very forced, and vindictive since most of them are divine casters.

[@mada1082]

Yeah, essentially one of the characters internal plot is to find something that I've decided is a hindrance to the villain so they meet him via that and they'll bump into him here and there.

[@The_Custos]

My master plot star wars game has been coming along well over a year. Soon to end in a few months, we are getting to many consequences, players are having real influence on the galaxy, but I need more on the villain of the rebel alliance to wrap it up nicely. It turns out, they harmed a seriously bad group of rebels recently, which will be the henchmen to the final villain. 10 years passed in downtime, so it would be a shame if rebels attacked their families and the businesses they started.

[@ryangandalf]

You are an absolute genius - a word I never use... I bought your book - holy smokes should cost so much more. Thank you so much - outstanding! I am enjoying every page and cannot wait to start getting into the writing of the campaign, plot, sentence, etc, etc. Also your recommendation of DGNFOG - brilliant! Top of the pops you are my friend!

[@gennarocirillo9608]

It's still summer here in south africa?

[@Grimsikk]

I am hooked on your channel, I'm watching every video so that I can improve my original tabletop rpg game and my GM skills. You teach in a very informative, yet not restricting manner, it's awesome.

[@MichieHoward]

I love you, thank you, I have been having a horrible time with this huge plot and how to in a subtle way work the party in tiny bits a time. Thank you, biggest tip you helped me with, my world is NOT on Pause waiting to the party to hit Play with the arrival or major actions! Thank you thank you thank you. THANK YOU!

[@noirSONNE]

I was about to ask where you where at because you were sweating quite a bit, but right at the end you said "...summer in South Africa". That heat must be awful.

[@fantasticmr.dungeonmaster742]

I'm a new Dungeon master and I'm doing something Similar to your cataclysm plot in a homebrew however my homebrew is based on urgency subtly hinting to where my pcs go and my master plot which makes it easier for my story and it makes them think it was their idea to do the quests through their side quests.

[@Lithimlin]

I'm currently trying to create a world for some campaigns but I can't think of an overall Master Plot that happens there. Any tips on how to get good ideas apart from watching/reading Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and that stuff?

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

There is a video here or on Bacon RPG which talks to strengthening your Imagination through the four aspects of it. I'd recommend watching that, because you're on the right path!

[@Lithimlin]

Which of your do you mean exactly though. There are so many, I can't find it ^^"

[@danielpryce7126]

If you are good at BS then it's easy. Also, sometimes your players will play if the incentive is end of days Demi-godlike contenders.

[@JacobColeman10710]

I can't get enough of your videos. You've drastically improved the way I think about and execute my D&D campaigns!

[@SoralTheSol]

Thank you. I am going to be proper first time DMing a Pokerole game in a few weeks, and I needed structure for how to actually build the story. This helped a great deal.

[@99zxk]

I'm starting to get back into RPG's after a few years break, and you've been a real inspiration. I thought it was interesting how you're plot is to have a coming war and then a full war. Mine is a brewing civil war and then the actual civil war. Then when the kingdom is at its weakest, the ancient lich of lore that has been secretly sowing dissent and influencing the big players shows their hand and unleashes the apocalypse. Plot, journey to plot, discover not plot.

[@fitnessteacher1845]

"some daft bint in a white dress" 🤣🤣🤣

[@DavetheLeg]

Any advice on how you can foreshadow Adventures planned for the future when the players are more powerful without making them try too hard to pull on those strings before they're ready. What time is good or should you just avoid then seeing mpc's or other hooks 2 Adventures they're not yet ready for?

[@Black_pearl_adrift]

I remember doing this by complete accident when I would make up interactive stories with my younger siblings. They always wanted to go completely off the rails and take the story to places I hadn't thought of. So I always had a secret story that would play alongside their random quests, and in the end, it all worked out. I got to flex my narrative muscles and they got to have fun in a world that seemed to be so much bigger than them.

[@DungeonSlasher]

So what I got out of this: When the PCs decide to go explore cave C when you had planned for them to go to castle X, have them find something that ties into your story, but don't make it obvious it ties into said story right away?

[@TheBurningOnyx]

This video was an excellent guide for a new dungeon master such as myself. Really helped me break through that tunnel vision, and aided me in planning out the rest of my campaign. Thanks :)

[@DevilWearsAdidas]

so simple, so basic. Very well organized. For a second, I was like "I wasnt really.... looking for a story about lord of the rings" but then I started connecting what you were saying with what I wanted to do and bam it hit me. Thanks for the advice. Very well put together.

[@plastictouch6796]

Didn't not use the eagles because the ring would be too tempting to them. And so if the eagles got the ring it would be really bad.

[@lightning0938]

I've been thinking about DMing a game. The master plot is this demon Lord wants to be resurrected so he uses people to provide him the necessities to be revived. Need to build around it but this video helped me out, thanks.

[@pjaypeere9981]

I just want to take a moment here to thank you for all your hard work. I started watching your footage months ago, also bacon battalion. I had wanted to play DnD for years, but could never make sense out of it, never found anyone to play or explain it. When I started watching your movies it really launched me. I now have 3 groups that I GM for and I am loving it. so here it is again: THANK YOU !!!!!

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

That's fantastic! Glad to hear it and thanks for sharing with us! I really appreciate it and am super happy that you found 3 groups.

[@gamelab781]

Great video! Really useful and inspiring for putting together a master plot.

[@HowtobeaGreatGM]

Glad to hear it!

[@Nate_McD]

I’ve been binging your videos the past 2 days. I love how direct your are with your information as well as the fact you provide common examples. Thanks so much for the confidence you have given me through these videos! I plan on building a character and begin planning a world when I get home tonight!!

[@thomasgovens5622]

Saying I haven’t learned anything from your other videos would be a lie. However this video I feel has taught me the most!