Today I want to talk about CHASING PLOT.
I love it. I live and breath to chase plot at LARP. My fun comes from figuring out the stories of the world I'm playing in. I’ve been doing it for a long time, and like to think I’m pretty good at it. But I see many people who also want to do that, but aren't sure how, or even where to start.
An "in" to a story isn't always easy to see. Staff work very hard to provide opportunities for every player to access the plot. It's not always perfect, but that is the goal. So... how do you recognize and grab on to that opportunity when it arises?
I will be talking about this in two parts. Part I: What you can cultivate internally to you, your character, and your playstyle. And Part II: We’ll talk more about how to cultivate things externally - how you interface with others to maximize your plot chasing.
So first, what is plot? And why chase it? Chasing plot means you want to be involved in the story. Whether that is the story of the weekend, the season, or just one particular group or faction. How do I get to help tell the story of the Grave Council? How do I get to affect how the Prison interacts with the town? How do I get to help defeat the Big Bad of the weekend? There are a ton of different plots of different sizes and complexities running all the time, and you want IN to make choices to drive more STORY!
And that’s pretty rad.
How is it some people always seem to know where to look for the plot? I'm glad you asked, hypothetical reader. Because I have some tips for you in your hunt to make big waves.
Have Overarching, and Specific Goals that Engage the Setting.
Having a specific and overarching goal for your character lets you continue to feel like you're making headway on a story even if there's no mods, ZOMS or NPCs being sent out about that particular plotline. It also gives your character a motivation to take the risks needed to advance the story-- to wander into the dark alone in pursuit of a goal, even if that isn't the "smart" decision a real survivor would make.
For example, when I first started playing DR, I decided that my character goal was to find out as much as possible about a particular thing. I made it an obsession. It was one of my overarching goals. Then I did SOMETHING every game (specific goal) to move in that direction. Even during events where that thing I was obsessed with wasn't featured, I was still asking and learning about it. Doing research, asking NPCs pointed questions. I checked every morgue at the beginning of every event (we had three, at the time.) -- so I was more likely to notice when something was different, off, or "weird". Most games, it just meant getting more steps in on my FitBit. But occasionally... it paid off. But either way, I was telling a story. This did a couple things: A: Let the people around me (players and staff) know I was interested in that thing, and B: Meant that I was more likely to know when content including that thing was happening, because I always had my ear to the ground.
The goal of all plot content is to engage the people who want to be engaged in it. If you're constantly talking about taking down Killhouse, or going to every criminal meeting (even the ones at the wee hours of the morning when you’re bone tired), you are more likely to get tapped when that plot content appears in the playspace, for multiple reasons: the people around you know you’re interested, the staff probably know you’re interested, and you just are actively listening for it. (disclaimer: some character goals might invite IG consequences if shouted about too loudly.. but consequences are story too! More on that later.)
In the same vein, choose one or two goals to focus on. Sometimes people feel they're not super involved on any plots because they're trying to be on all of them. Focus your enjoyment so your time isn't spread so thin, and you know what to prioritize. Min/Max your plot chasing.
This also applies to skills, you can build your character, mechanically, to be a plot magnet. There are several skills that can help you be involved in plot by their nature. Any skill that has an aspect of requesting a mod can help you find plot, because these mods are often tied into whatever is going on for the weekend. Master Criminal, Master Sailing, Master Financial, Master Hunting. If you are a newer player, and know you won’t have the build for these for a long time, find folks who already have them, and let them know you’re interested in going on those adventures. Most master skill mods allow for those people to bring others who have lower levels of the appropriate skill. Find which aligns with your character goals, and move your XP in that direction.
Recognize What Plot Looks Like
This is a big one... because often, what people are thinking of as plot is only the very tip of what plot can actually be. Plots build on themselves, and often the main parts that are visible are the BIG FLASHY moments. The big finale mod where the Big Bad is defeated (or isn’t). The moment people hit the ON switch on the terrifying and grotesque device. But what we don’t see as much is the multiple games of hustling the LCs did to GET to that moment, because it is, by its nature, not as obvious. But it is still essential to getting to those big cool moments, and can be very fulfilling in its own right.
Plot can look like:
Sitting in the library brainstorming research.
Running around town gathering resources.
Building/crafting specific items/ tracking down people (LC or NPC) for information.
Staying up way too late on the off chance an important NPC appears
… and much more.
Don’t avoid these less glorious tasks if you want to be eyeballs deep in plot! They are the stepping stones. They are your “ins” to the story. The people who seem the most embroiled in plot are often the people who are hustling to get these less obvious aspects of plot completed. At the climax of the story, the people who are most likely to be involved in it are those who did the grunt work to make the climax happen.
There is nothing wrong with not having interest in doing any one of these particular tasks. The staff try to include several modes of play in every plot to optimize engagement. Find the one you DO enjoy. Admittedly, not every plot can hit every mode. But that’s okay! Some will, and that’s where you can focus your energy.
Be Bold!
Be willing to take risks with your character. Go meet with the shady NPC alone in the dark. Sure they might stab you, but they might also give you juicy information.. Then also stab you. But the stab was probably worth it. Confront the Big Bad and encourage people around you to jump in. Make a deal with someone that you KNOW will probably end badly for you. Let your character make “bad” (read: non-optimal) decisions. The more you put your character out there and take risks like these, the more plot you'll find yourself involved in. Consequences are there to drive story. Don't try to avoid them. Steer into them! Use them to make cool moments, and drive your own character’s internal development.
All of these things will help you find those oft elusive plot cookies. And they are all things you can do with your character right now.
In Part II, we’ll talk more about the collaborative aspect of chasing down plot: How to chase plot with your other LARP buds and tell cool stories together, how to be in the right place at the right time, and what to do if the issue of plot gatekeeping arises.
Happy Hunting!