2008/05/26

Generic Three Layered Plot 0001 - Who will Follow the Leader

I envision this plot as a fantasy “War of the Roses”, but it could easily be the back drop for a Interstellar war of succession; gang war; guide war; or a struggle for power within a union.

Campaign Plot: A leader is failing and needs to be replaced: NPCs: Failing Leader; 2 advisors; A pretender; the apparent replacement; the best replacement.

Arc Plot 1: An advisor is trying to improve their status. NPCs: minor official.

Intro Story: The leader’s birthday celebration. In this story we feature the leader, and the major NPCs from Arc 1 & 2.

Story Plot 1: The small community is in conflict. The rural faction feels that they are being taken advantage of; the town faction feels that the rural faction is causing shortages and military leadership is conflicted. NPCs: Rural leader and several faction representatives; Town leader and faction representatives; Military representatives.

Story Plot 2: A third party is causing problems for the community by sabotaging installations important to each faction and leaving evidence that another faction is to blame. NPCS: as in story 1, with the addition of the third party agents (of arc 3 opposition).

Story Plot 3: End of season celebrations are disrupted by the destruction of property that is important to all three factions.

Interlude Plot 1: A plague starts in a small community and will spread unless the heroes intervene. NPCs: many hapless victims; Cure peddler and a removable cause.


Arc Plot 2: Corruption in the land. A set of officials are becoming wealth through nefarious means; NPCs: Officials, victims, and the official’s right hand.

Story Plot 7: Loyalist supports the current leader and status quo in a council meeting covering the issues of Arc 1. NPCs: Loyalists and corrupt loyalists; factions leaders from Arc 2;

Story Plot 8: The apparent replacement requests the heroes’ assistance in improving their position; the pretender’s forces are in opposition.

Story Plot 9: The failing leader is removed from power by a third party with evidence that the “Best Replacement” agents are responsible.

Interlude Plot 2: The leader is removed from power and the various factions established in Arc 1 & 2 vie to place their person in the seat of power. The corrupt loyalists side with the pretender; the honest loyalists side with the apparent replacement.

Arc Plot 3: The pretender has sold out to the third party and is setting the land up for conquest.

Story Plot 10: Open attacks by a fourth party (on the third parties’ behest). NPCS: Fourth party Army leaders, troops; Third party agents; Military leaders; the pretenders evidence of the pretender’s involvement is available but well disguised.

Story Plot 11: Turning the tide of the civil war in one of three main factions. NPCs: as story 10 with a greater emphasis on Third party forces. Evidence of pretender’s involvement becomes readily available.

Story Plot 12: The pretender and the third parties’ forces hound the heroes. The heroes’ success will remove the pretender and their third party allies as power players in the conflict of succession. Failure makes the climax more difficult.

Campaign Climax: A conflict between the apparent replacement and the best replacement and the third party.

Generated by hand from a home brewed tarot generator that used my article “Three Layered Campaign Design”.

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