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madwolf10
2015-07-13, 03:46 PM
Hey there folks.
Minor experience DMing, tons playing, a voracious reader of fantasy since age asap, especially trilogies-or-more with long running intricate plots … that’s me :smalltongue:

I would like some advice/feedback on one part of one plot hook of a major campaign I am planning for the not-so-near future (1+ years away, easy…)
4 players, all veteran players (2 also DMing, quote good at it too) of 20+ years. All very intelligent. All excellent roleplayers. Also, close friends for 15+ years.

I am wondering which of the following, given general human nature, might be a better trigger.. that is, which would peak curiosity, or raise some interest, or even be a Thing That Makes You Go Hmmmm:

1) A NAME popping up in history repeatedly, though from different time periods/eras, different regions, and for whom details do not come close to resembling each other (IE: the stories attributed to that name clearly sound like different people), or…
2) The same STORY or myth or folktale popping up in history repeatedly, though from different time periods/eras, different regions, and the name attributed to that legend is different from here to there.
??

The reasons I ask, for those not thinking too much into it yet, is because I am considering having the Subject be the same person, a special person, who had something special happen to them and they do not die. For plot reasons…
You are not us and your answers are based on you of course, but I am curious as to what any experienced DMs’ gut instincts on this are…

Thanks in advance!! :smallbiggrin:

Geddy2112
2015-07-13, 03:56 PM
Well, similar legends having different names is certainly more realistic in the real world, but so do names. "John" is a really common name, lots of people have had it ever since biblical times. Both could be just coincidence; it would have to be a really unusual name, but even then it could just be coincidence. Names are just parents choice, and since the people with the same names are going to be different people, Its leaning towards the latter.

So I would go with a set of mythos that seems more credible because the same legendary events seem to happen to all people. All cultures reported a great cataclysm, similar demons, devils, angels etc. The name changes, but the event/person is always the same.

Segev
2015-07-13, 04:12 PM
The same story with a different name would be better, unless people are expecting a "one Steve limit" in the game, because just think of how many people have the same name as a famous historical figure, and consider that they can all do something historically significant, too. I mean, if "Charles" comes up as the king and founder of an ancient Holy Empire and as the man who came up with the concept of Evolution and as a famous author of much-beloved stories of victorian England and as a famous blind pianist...all from different eras...

VoxRationis
2015-07-13, 04:17 PM
I'd argue same name, different stories, for four reasons:
If you expand the name beyond just a given name, the incidence of repetition (Louis the Nth notwithstanding) decreases significantly;
In a fantasy world with vampires and liches and potions of immortality and the like, the possibility of "is this one guy" will be very prominently dancing around in the heads of your players;
The inverse is so common to mythology that wily players will ignore it as the product of typical cultural diffusion;
Most players are honestly functioning under a One Steve Limit anyway, as unrealistic as it might be, because it's difficult remembering all the places and people in a setting.

Reltzik
2015-07-13, 04:19 PM
From my experience, I'd argue the same story over and over.

Because expecting my players to remember names is... overambitious. They have trouble remembering the names of the PCs in the party.

Slipperychicken
2015-07-13, 04:31 PM
Seconding story. As a player, my DM can count himself lucky if I remember the name of any NPC who isn't directly crucial to the plot. Even then, most of them end up in my memory with names like "that samurai dude", or "illusion guy" unless their names are obviously associated with their role.

Also, I personally enjoy seeing the same myth or story structure in multiple different places, even if a few details were changed for whatever reason.

Flickerdart
2015-07-13, 05:10 PM
Stories, for sure. "There was a dude named X and he blah blah blah" is far less memorable than "blah blah blah and then he dropped a mountain on the lich king and saved the kingdom."

neonagash
2015-07-13, 05:15 PM
I like option 2. Should be a little easier for the players to piece together

Spartakus
2015-07-13, 05:20 PM
A repeating name is not uncommon and can easily mistaken as due to a limited list of NPC-names on your side, so i would prefer the second option too.
But inspired by the film "The Gathering" with Chrictina Ricci let my suggest a third option:

Pictures!

Paintings, reliefs, statues, even illusionary immages from different times and different cultures all picturing the same man. Maybe look up some images of an actor of your choice from different movies and photoshop them before giving them to your players.

TurboGhast
2015-07-13, 07:37 PM
A repeating name is not uncommon and can easily mistaken as due to a limited list of NPC-names on your side, so i would prefer the second option too.
But inspired by the film "The Gathering" with Chrictina Ricci let my suggest a third option:

Pictures!

Paintings, reliefs, statues, even illusionary immages from different times and different cultures all picturing the same man. Maybe look up some images of an actor of your choice from different movies and photoshop them before giving them to your players.

This is a really good idea. If doing this, make sure to choose an actor that appears in enough different settings so that it is a lot of different, disparate times.

madwolf10
2015-07-13, 08:01 PM
Really like all the advice peeps, thanks!

But, maybe I should mention, as some responses seem to indicate this is not clear:
This would be for a D&D 5e campaign.
A FANTASY world. Homebrewed, somewhere between Greyhawk and the Realms.
And with my imagination and being as read as I am, NPC names *rarely* are repeated. If ever...

Does that change anyone's thoughts??...

A Tad Insane
2015-07-13, 08:59 PM
I would go with name. "Different" people doing the same thing over the world might seem weird, but it happens enough in the real world and the fiction it produces to simple be filed down as common archetypes.

Names on the other hand. Sure, a Charles being the pope and a Charles being the king of England wouldn't be weird, but Charles being a Japanese samurai, a west African chief, a Polynesian warlord and an Aztec priest? If your players can pick up on that, I would be amazed that they could remember your name.

Rockphed
2015-07-13, 09:22 PM
Honestly, having stories that tie together across the ages with different names is much, much more of a clue than having a name tie across the ages.

Consider Gandalf. He was known by many names across middle-earth, even without temporal spread. Consider how the hobbits would have identified someone as Gandalf if they happened across a book about him from a thousand years in the past. They might have found a book about an old man with grey hair who went about wearing grey. His eyebrows would have stuck out beyond the brim of his hat. He would have dispensed wisdom to the wise and derision to the foolish. He would have had an uncanny ability to control fire. He might have been smoking a pipe.

Flickerdart
2015-07-13, 10:37 PM
Sure, a Charles being the pope and a Charles being the king of England wouldn't be weird, but Charles being a Japanese samurai, a west African chief, a Polynesian warlord and an Aztec priest?
The words "England", "Japan", "Africa", "Polynesia", and "Aztec", as well as "pope", "samurai", "king", and so on all carry ridiculous amounts of information that is common knowledge to any minimally curious player.

Now imagine I replaced them with Waterdeep, Tashalar, Rashemen, Tethyr, Cormyr, and Mulhorand. And then I mentioned, in relation to each these but in a different age every time, the great Tanthul, or perhaps Zaknafein. Obliquely, once a month over half a year. Is that an unusual name for any of those places? I don't know. Sure, you could look it up and find out one is actually an ancient Netherese name and the other is from Menzoberranzan and it would be odd to encounter either of those names in any of the listed places. But you can't expect anyone to have formed the same associations with one of the, if not the most popular TRPG setting in the world, as we have with real world places, to say nothing of a setting the DM's going to be coming up with himself that the players are going to have had no exposure to ahead of time.

mikeejimbo
2015-07-13, 10:55 PM
I like the idea of the same name, mostly for the aforementioned reason that the same story popping up is so common in the real world I might think the DM is just putting some care into the realism of his setting. Then again, players are always wont to assume everything has meaning (not usually inaccurately, admittedly).

Still, what I would do is have it be the same name, and have it be an odd name, one that wouldn't normally pop up a lot. But also, change the spelling for time and cultural differences. Depending how into etymology the players are, maybe even make the differences not obvious at first but clearly something that would have been derived from another language. Like Myrddin/Merlin. Drop the clues such that at first it seems like they could plausibly be different actors with similar names, perhaps one named after another, but when the name pops up enough maybe they'll start to reconsider. Do this alongside NPCs who are definitely named after other historical figures (mostly ancestors) but never have another NPC named anything close to this mythical figure. Eventually they'll start to wonder.

Granted that depends on how much time you have and what your players are like. But that is the kind of thing that would make me interested.

Algeh
2015-07-14, 03:02 AM
If you want to go the name route and you're willing to bend your setting a bit to help the players pick up on the idea that this repeating name is important, you might consider making it the only name in the setting with that particular starting or ending letter. That'll make it stick out more in your players' minds (particularly a starting letter), since I've certainly dealt with situations in which players said things like "we should go talk to that wizard guy again! I think his name was L-something? You know, in the town we were in a few weeks ago with the barges?", so if they're going to remember partial name information, it's probably going to be that. I wouldn't make it an in-universe rule that no one else has a name starting with that letter, I just wouldn't name any other NPCs with it until after the players caught on that Repeating Name Man was important.

madwolf10
2015-07-14, 07:19 AM
Hmm, all great insight here. Thanks so much!
Which is good and bad, helpful and… still confusing, haha.

Consider these examples then… to further clarify my thoughts and give some more specific example to what it would look like in my world:

1. Marko the AllFriend is known in Land X for being this adept skilled at just about everything from pottery to cooking to basket weaving to politics. But in this Land Y they have a legend of Marko the AllFriend as a helpful healer who worships no god per se but is as blessed as any priest. Over in Land Z Marko the AllFriend also pops up but as an unknown merc outa nowhere who comes and fights, and fights very well too, for the oppressed whenever they happen to need aid.
(same name, very different stories)
2. In Land X they tell of Able, a mysterious man of uncommon skill and vast knowledge who knows just about everything about anything and can heal plant, animal or mortal as well as any priest. Over in Land Y there is a similar story but name this person Perry the Wise. Yet in Land Z, legends tell of this skilled and brainy healer as a Zorda of the Good Heart.
(same stories, different name)

Now, seeing it in writing, I immediately ask whether my players will say,
“Oh, every land has their folktales of a hero who do this or that. This name must have been heard or was someone from the past so popular is just keeps popping up whenever there is some legend, no matter the story.”
or….
“Oh, of course every land has their folktales of a hero likes this, and the different names are simply from different lands and different authors or tellers, makes sense.”

And, as all of YOUR votes are near balanced too so far, lol, I can see players thinking both…I just have to figure out which they will tend to lean towards.
I will say this too: NONE of the 4 remember names very well at all. They are smart guys who are just lazy as **** when it comes to remembering names(hate keeping notes, I dunno why). Not sure how that will play into this… but it makes me lean towards #1/same name. The same name popping up will be easier for them to remember it, cuz they never remember it usually… make sense?? :smallbiggrin:

OH. And YES if using the same name, it will be a unusual name. Or at least not Bob, Jon, Duff or Lenn. Like a 3-4 syllable name with a hyphen or apostrophe in the middle... something cool or weird.

Bobb
2015-07-14, 08:09 AM
Option #3 the picture. Definitely picture.

If this figure has a different defining characteristic in each story (healer, muse, protector) you cannot do #2.

So, #1 and #3. But mostly #3


EDIT: How have your players reacted to unusual names in the past?

madwolf10
2015-07-14, 08:50 AM
Option #3 the picture. Definitely picture.

If this figure has a different defining characteristic in each story (healer, muse, protector) you cannot do #2.

So, #1 and #3. But mostly #3


EDIT: How have your players reacted to unusual names in the past?

Oh yea, Bobb, will def use the picture/painting/statue idea! (credit to Spartakus for that originally :smallwink: )
However, would have to drop the story hints (or name, whichever I use) first once or twice before the visuals... cuz, well, a picture tells a thousand words so that would yes clinch their curiosity but also probably be the final straw in the "wait, this is the same damn guy, isn't it?" mystery.

But no, #2 would be the same story/details but different names... otherwise no it would not work.

Their tendency to remember names is directly proportional to how unique or weird it is. Long multi-syllable with unique spelling I described above, especially mentioned more than once, will stay with them.
Anything less than ALL of that, lol... not likely.
Oh, they will mutilate the name but they will get it close haha
Such as, even with Player Character names that are long or weird, they usually do what we do in real life: come up with a shorter nickname. But they do so intentionally. Thus, they are aware of the longer name.

Jay R
2015-07-14, 09:22 AM
They aren't two different things. How would a name keep popping up from history without a story?

So don't sweat the categories and start the repetition of stories with the name.

[In my game, one PC is about to see a 1,000-year-old frieze depicting a great hero carrying the same sword the PC inherited from his grandfather.]

madwolf10
2015-07-14, 03:51 PM
They aren't two different things. How would a name keep popping up from history without a story?

So don't sweat the categories and start the repetition of stories with the name.

[In my game, one PC is about to see a 1,000-year-old frieze depicting a great hero carrying the same sword the PC inherited from his grandfather.]

Uh thanks for the advice not to sweat. I rarely do lol :smalltongue:
But YES, they are 2 different scenarios.
Read my further explanation, with the 2 numbered descriptions, 4 posts up...

Knaight
2015-07-14, 04:07 PM
Between the two, I'd go with the story option. With that said, you could easily combine the two. There are a handful of legends that all share certain similarities, including a recurring character (maybe it's a name, maybe it's a title, maybe it's a description). There are also a handful of other more distinct legends that don't overlap meaningfully, with the notable exception of a very similar seeming character.

I'd also recommend going with something like a few titles that suggest relation or a motif in the description. I've had a lot of luck with titles being remembered. The only names that ever get remembered reliably are nicknames the players came up with, which may or may not bear much resemblance to the NPC's actual name.

madwolf10
2015-07-14, 04:23 PM
Between the two, I'd go with the story option. With that said, you could easily combine the two. There are a handful of legends that all share certain similarities, including a recurring character (maybe it's a name, maybe it's a title, maybe it's a description). There are also a handful of other more distinct legends that don't overlap meaningfully, with the notable exception of a very similar seeming character.

I'd also recommend going with something like a few titles that suggest relation or a motif in the description. I've had a lot of luck with titles being remembered. The only names that ever get remembered reliably are nicknames the players came up with, which may or may not bear much resemblance to the NPC's actual name.

Thanks, Knaight, the TITLE suggestion is superb!!

Slarg
2015-07-14, 04:34 PM
Could also go nameless and describe the character's armor set/Medallion/Sword.

"Just when all hope seemed lost, a warrior in gleaming armor and a hawk's metal countenance strode into the field to challenge the evil being".


I actually had a similar idea of using a sword that possessed it's wielder being the BBEG. Throughout the quest, they would be looking for this Anti-Excalibur thinking it was a tool for good and the only way to stop a Lich, though the moment any character picks it up he/she has to make daily Will Saves or be kicked out of the room, so the rest of the party has to fight/subdue that character with a +5 Vorpel Greatsword.

I've been skittish about using it (As I doubt that player would enjoy being kicked out of the fight, even if it would flavorfully be awesome to have him come back in and have NO clue as to what just happened), but I figured that if I knew my players well enough, they would remember the stories about equipment they *might* get ahold of more than anything else.

noob
2015-07-14, 05:21 PM
" I actually had a similar idea of using a sword that possessed it's wielder being the BBEG. Throughout the quest, they would be looking for this Anti-Excalibur thinking it was a tool for good and the only way to stop a Lich, though the moment any character picks it up he/she has to make daily Will Saves or be kicked out of the room, so the rest of the party has to fight/subdue that character with a +5 Vorpel Greatsword."
With some disjunction happy players it does not works like "it is vorpel it cuts pels it must be disjuncted now because if we use one the gm will give one to each opponent and this enchants does not helps at all players while it helps a lot opponents and anyway we prefer our rapid +1 giant hammer(exotic 1d12 19-20 X4 critical) of bleed and of valor who is only +7 and who is far farfarfarfar far far better when we cast greater magic weapon and anyway the lich stuff is probably an artifact and we can disjunct it too and as we use lesser wish we can auto succeed the will save for avoiding the loss of spell-casting"

Slarg
2015-07-14, 05:31 PM
" I actually had a similar idea of using a sword that possessed it's wielder being the BBEG. Throughout the quest, they would be looking for this Anti-Excalibur thinking it was a tool for good and the only way to stop a Lich, though the moment any character picks it up he/she has to make daily Will Saves or be kicked out of the room, so the rest of the party has to fight/subdue that character with a +5 Vorpel Greatsword."
With some disjunction happy players it does not works like "it is vorpel it cuts pels it must be disjuncted now because if we use one the gm will give one to each opponent and this enchants does not helps at all players while it helps a lot opponents and anyway we prefer our rapid +1 giant hammer(exotic 1d12 19-20 X4 critical) of bleed and of valor who is only +7 and who is far farfarfarfar far far better when we cast greater magic weapon and anyway the lich stuff is probably an artifact and we can disjunct it too and as we use lesser wish we can auto succeed the will save for avoiding the loss of spell-casting"


I run my campaigns in the lower levels. I haven't DMed D&D yet, but my philosophy is "You are just a man. You will go on adventures, you will do great things, but it's your wits and your equipment that will carry the day."

Basically; my players probably won't get to level 7 before they start fighting Dragons and Lich (Liches? Lichii?), because if a mortal man wants to go against an all powerful Lich, he's going to need to find some Anti-Magic equipment. If he doesn't want to get burned, he better Dragonslayer that crap and get a Dragon Scale Shield.

My Experience givings are tight, but I generally give out a +1/+2 sword equivalents after the first or second dungeon.

Mind you, I'm the type of DM that plots out the dungeon, hands my players a sheet of paper and a pen and tell them to keep up :P It's HI-Larious to have a magic object teleport them someplace inside the dungeon and they have no idea where they are, only to start mapping the place out to realizing they've spent 5 minutes or so after the 20 minute "detour" remapping things.

Edit: Naturally, they know if I'm going to throw that crap at them; "Help us, a Dragon has been terrorizing our village!" or some such. Having them run into a Troll (CR 5/1800 exp) at level 3 is more of the stuff I'll just say "Deal with it" to.

Edit 2: For instance. A scenario I just thought up (to illustrate the point) is said Troll. Put him in the dungeon (As an optional encounter), and several rooms away put a pool of Acid (Or if you really wanted to be hilarious, Black Ooze. The PC's'll have fun with that one). Do the PCs encounter the Troll and;

-leave the dungeon, grab some Oil, and light it on fire with a Torch, thereby negating its healing and heavily damaging it?
-Make noise to lead it to the room with the Ooze, push it in to be devoured, then run back to the room it was in for loot?
-Try to sneak in there and loot the room without the troll noticing?
-Ignore the troll/try to lead something to the room to distract it?

If my players learn to use their heads, I let them learn to use the good stuff.

Jay R
2015-07-14, 06:42 PM
Use both, plus whatever else you can come up with. I promise you that you will not have given too many clues.

Flickerdart
2015-07-14, 08:22 PM
I actually had a similar idea of using a sword that possessed it's wielder being the BBEG. Throughout the quest, they would be looking for this Anti-Excalibur thinking it was a tool for good and the only way to stop a Lich, though the moment any character picks it up he/she has to make daily Will Saves or be kicked out of the room, so the rest of the party has to fight/subdue that character with a +5 Vorpel Greatsword.
That's pretty standard for a high-Ego intelligent weapon. If you want to be a little subtler, consider creating a Legendary Weapon (as per Unearthed Arcana) or Legacy Weapon (as per Weapons of Legacy) that is also an intelligent item, and have it encourage the player into picking up more levels of either its Legendary Weapon class or Legacy Champion. Hell, make it both and have Legacy Champion progress its own legacy stuff and also the Legendary Weapon. Though it seems like a powerful choice, the abilities gradually get more and more sinister...

goto124
2015-07-14, 10:31 PM
Players have bad memory? I would use a short, memorable name with letters that pretty much don't come up in other names (e.g. Zaxar).

I would also use the same story, or at least similar stories where the names and small details of locations, monsters and characters are tweaked but the general plot is always the same (Zaxar the Knight slays the dragon and returns the princess to the king.)

Slipperychicken
2015-07-14, 10:40 PM
What if you had the same story, with a similar name, depicted as a (semi)-historical account? Name would be kind of like the difference between Guinevere and Gwenhwyfar, or Alexander and Al-Iskantur.

Knaight
2015-07-14, 11:29 PM
What if you had the same story, with a similar name, depicted as a (semi)-historical account?

Similar is tricky, particularly as what is similar is somewhat subjective. For instance, if you didn't already know that Avicenna and Ibn Sina were the same person, would the names cue you in? What about Confuscious and Kung Fu Zi? Both are just slightly different transliteration efforts, with the former in each example representing a sound that's been transferred through a language or two, and the second representing a more direct transliteration into a language which still doesn't quite have the right sounds.

Once you add in the extent to which names are forgettable anyways, the way that just gets worse when they're names in an RPG, and the amount of stuff going on in the RPG in the foreground, the odds of this getting noticed are less than ideal.

Lorsa
2015-07-15, 02:36 AM
This question is very tricky to answer without knowing your players. Will they immedietely see the red flag that says "DM plot here", and if so, will they brush it aside as their characters might think it a coincidence? The same story DOES show up in mythologies all across the world (like the giant flood with one special man surviving), and the same goes for names.

What you could do is to have all these stories having a different name involved, but the names are all anagrams of each other. There is really no way THAT would be a coincidence.

madwolf10
2015-07-15, 07:03 AM
This question is very tricky to answer without knowing your players. Will they immedietely see the red flag that says "DM plot here", and if so, will they brush it aside as their characters might think it a coincidence? The same story DOES show up in mythologies all across the world (like the giant flood with one special man surviving), and the same goes for names.

What you could do is to have all these stories having a different name involved, but the names are all anagrams of each other. There is really no way THAT would be a coincidence.

Bingo, Lorsa, already working on that one!! :smallwink:

Jay R
2015-07-15, 09:25 AM
What if you had the same story, with a similar name, depicted as a (semi)-historical account? Name would be kind of like the difference between Guinevere and Gwenhwyfar, or Alexander and Al-Iskantur.

It's very clever flavor. I would use it if I actively wanted to postpone that plot point from coming out. But in this case, it's adding more barriers between the players and a plot point you want them to find. I'm all for adding flavor in ways that serve the plot, or at least don't detract from it, but this is in the way of the game you want.

Spartakus
2015-07-15, 09:44 AM
will def use the picture/painting/statue idea!

Glad you liked the idea. For the rest of the planning you could try a different approach:

1. General plot idea. You've got that already covered. An immortal man (there's propably more than just beeing immortal but let's stick to that one)
2. Generate some settings where he lived and had an impact huge enough to be remembered. Those one will propably come right from your selected pictures. If you choose for example pictures from a young charlton heston you get a ton of costumes from ben hur and ten commandments allone.
3. Now step back from imagining a plot and pretend to be that man for a moment. You just left your last life behind, propably because people started to wonder why you haven't aged oin the last 20 years or so. Now in a different land you choose a new name for yourself. It has to fit in your new culture but you have to remember it easily. So you choose an anagramm or something similar to your birthname. Use the pictures as inspirations.
4. Depending on what makes you special beside from being immortal imagine a reason why you get involved in special events on a regular basis (and so you've got a reason why people keep writing about you and paint pictures of your heroic or villainous deeds. By doing it this way you avoid creating huge plotholes. If your players wonders "Why on Earth has Mr X done this?" you already have the answer.

Now you have all three variants. Similar names, similar stories and pictures. Depending on your skills in photoshop/creating anagramms and stories you get enough similarity to draw a connection but not enough to be recognized on first sight.

5. Get back to plotwriting. Create a plothook for the players and maybe a false trail. I'm imagining an NSC who realized similarities in the stories but falsly assumed a powerfull spell or artifact to be the reason. On his search he discovered two or three of the stories but only one of the pictures (a very obscure one, maybe a church-glass-window)


The more I think about it the more i like the idea. Going to do this myself in some future campaign :smallbiggrin:

madwolf10
2015-07-15, 10:27 AM
Glad you liked the idea. For the rest of the planning you could try a different approach:

1. General plot idea. You've got that already covered. An immortal man (there's propably more than just beeing immortal but let's stick to that one)
2. Generate some settings where he lived and had an impact huge enough to be remembered. Those one will propably come right from your selected pictures. If you choose for example pictures from a young charlton heston you get a ton of costumes from ben hur and ten commandments allone.
3. Now step back from imagining a plot and pretend to be that man for a moment. You just left your last life behind, propably because people started to wonder why you haven't aged oin the last 20 years or so. Now in a different land you choose a new name for yourself. It has to fit in your new culture but you have to remember it easily. So you choose an anagramm or something similar to your birthname. Use the pictures as inspirations.
4. Depending on what makes you special beside from being immortal imagine a reason why you get involved in special events on a regular basis (and so you've got a reason why people keep writing about you and paint pictures of your heroic or villainous deeds. By doing it this way you avoid creating huge plotholes. If your players wonders "Why on Earth has Mr X done this?" you already have the answer.

Now you have all three variants. Similar names, similar stories and pictures. Depending on your skills in photoshop/creating anagramms and stories you get enough similarity to draw a connection but not enough to be recognized on first sight.

5. Get back to plotwriting. Create a plothook for the players and maybe a false trail. I'm imagining an NSC who realized similarities in the stories but falsly assumed a powerfull spell or artifact to be the reason. On his search he discovered two or three of the stories but only one of the pictures (a very obscure one, maybe a church-glass-window)


The more I think about it the more i like the idea. Going to do this myself in some future campaign :smallbiggrin:

Awesomeness, Spartakus... cuz, your 5 points more or less match the process I've been in the last 48 hours! :smallbiggrin:
Thanks again!!

Lorsa
2015-07-15, 12:38 PM
It's very clever flavor. I would use it if I actively wanted to postpone that plot point from coming out. But in this case, it's adding more barriers between the players and a plot point you want them to find. I'm all for adding flavor in ways that serve the plot, or at least don't detract from it, but this is in the way of the game you want.

It depends how quickly he wants the plot to come out. Perhaps it is an overarching back-adventure, that the players will deal with a lot of small adventures until they finally figure it out as some sort of great revelation. :)

madwolf10
2015-07-15, 01:31 PM
It depends how quickly he wants the plot to come out. Perhaps it is an overarching back-adventure, that the players will deal with a lot of small adventures until they finally figure it out as some sort of great revelation. :)

:smallbiggrin::smallwink::smalltongue:

Spartakus
2015-07-16, 09:56 AM
You're welcome :smallsmile:

looking forward to see/reed the final results:smallwink: