The 36 Plots
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
I took the time to type this up, maybe it will inspire someone to make a plot. This was posted on GM boards but its truly for everyone. Not just GMs can make plots so here you guys go:
It has been theorized that every story falls into one of 36 dramatic situations. People can use these as starting points of plots.
“The Thirty Six Dramatic Situations” were written by Georges Polit in the 1920s to address tragedies and dramas of the Greek era to the late 19th century. The following is a list of the 36 plots with regards to roleplay:
1. Supplication A request for aide. This plot involves someone of lower station approaching a guild or person to aide him or her. Characters and guilds have to find out what is important to them help for its own sake or for some sort of reward. Do they help someone beneath their station (an orc, a prostitute, a farmer) against some threat?
2. Deliverance A plot dealing with recovery or balance. A story where a wrong is righted is an example of this style. All deliverance scenarios need to be rescues (kidnappings, stolen items etc..)
3. Vengeance The most common theme in action adventures. Such a plot instantly motivates a group to lend aid. There are various vengeance plots to chose from: slain family member or ancestor, vengeance for internal injury (emotions hurt) or pursuit of criminals.
4. Vengeance taken for family upon family Inter guild or family tragedy. A guild member might be dishonored and sent out into the world for bringing harm to the guild only to come back later to haunt those that disserted him.
5. Pursuit Chases are difficult to tell. Such a story requires a fugitive and those chasing him. Is the individual pursued innocent or being hunted for the wrong reasons? Kinds of pursuit include: Criminal running from justice, running from love (from abusive husband or arranged wedding), running from a powerful force determined to see person’s death.
6. Disaster Large scale changes or upheavals that effect an area. Not entirely relying on mother nature (Magincia famine plot or ‘snowed in’ plots) but can involve an overthrow scenario where one guild or person claims the throne causing general havoc in the political circles.
7. Falling pray to cruelty or misfortune More personal than most other plots one or a few people fall pray to slander or ambitious intrigue. Greedy nobles bent on power forcing neighbours to sign treaties and pay tribute falls into this category.
8. Revolt A group revolts from an oppressor. This could be a conspiracy to overthrow a lord as well. Characters have to chose between moral rights and wrongs, loyalty versus ambition.
9. Daring Enterprise An expedition to find any real or abstract thing. This can range from anything such as plan a caravan, explore a frontier, or run a tavern night.
10. Abduction The flip side to deliverance, a guild or group must locate and snatch a certain person or creature. Why was the hostage taken? What do the abductors expect to get out of this action?
11. The Enigma A story where the characters or guild find themselves at odds with a riddle or other such problem that requires intellect. A mage curses a city with a rat infestation unless someone can answer his question etc..
12. Obtaining What makes obtaining different from other situations is that diplomacy and guile supercede action and force. In this plot a person or group acts as ambassadors or tempters to obtain something for themselves /him/herself. Often the thing that needs to be obtained is information.
13. Enmity of Kinsman Two family members or alliance members that hate each other. This can be a personal plot between two individuals or two guilds competing for power in an alliance system. This is malicious rivalry with a simple motive such as ‘vote with us or we’ll make things hard for you’.
14. Rivalry of Kinsman More emotional than enmity such a plot is rooted in the histories of the characters taking part. A childhood grudge or vendetta falls into this category. This is an all consuming rivalry were one side of a guild or alliance system tries to completely snuff the other out or it can be more personal ‘Father always loved you best!’.
15. Murderous Adultery Just as it sounds, one side of the marriage discovers the other is cheating and plots his or her death. This opens up moral issues and is perhaps the most serious of all plots. It should be used to either open or close a story.
16. Madness Murder, jealousy or dishonor can all drive a person mad. In such a story an individual or group has suffered from a traumatic experience effectively inheriting madness (think King Leer) Those around the person must find a way to comfort or drive the madness from the individual or group.
17. Fatal Imprudence
In a story where the virtuous act against virtue or commit an action that shows to others they have fallen from virtue. This sort of story can have a paladin destroy a loved one to fulfil an honor bound oath and have to deal with the consequences of his or her actions.
18. Involuntary Crime of Love A seduction, one man or woman is claimed by another, perhaps tricked without knowing it into a compromising situation. Becoming the property of another when already married or in servitude to a different lord is an example of such a plot.
19. Slaying of an unrecognized kinsman A story where one character or group kills someone they later learn was a friend or guild member. A sword drawn in drunken anger? The person or group has to come to terms with the mistake or cover up the crime..
20. Self-Sacrificing for Ideal Hard to fit into UO where you can just get rezed this plot involves a person sacrificing his or her life for a goal.
21. Self-Sacrificing for a kinsman A character dies saving another. One man taking the blame for another and committing sacrifice to lift the stain from his soul (Samurai anyone?)
22. All Sacrificed for Passion A person or guild gives up his/ their virtue or other such belief to pursue a goal or passion full force. Vows, duty, ideals can all be sacrificed in the name of passion.
23. Necessity of Sacrificing an individual In this plot a group realizes that a certain person must be killed or sacrificed to prevent a future event or to gain some sort of favour from an outside source. Tragedies are filled with stories of people sacrificing loved ones for the greater good.
24. Rivalry of Superior and Inferior Magician and his apprentice at odds, a noble at odds with the Regent, a new recruit with the guild master. Such a plot can often start personal but snow ball and force others to take sides in a future conflict.
25. Betrayal/ Adultery Just as it sounds, trust is broken and two individuals or guilds must find a way to rebuild their bond or end it.
26. Crimes of Love What would you do for your significant other? Such a plot often starts with one side being hurt and calling on a loved one to avenge an offence.
27. Discovery of Dishonor of a Loved one Very much like a soap opera in appeal, this situation involves shame wether voluntary or involuntary. The character or guild discovers a loved one or friend has committed a crime or has been violated. Such a story could reveal dark secrets about the past of the person who becomes dishonored as more probe into the situation.
28.Obstacles of Love If a marriage or union is disallowed it fits into such a plot. Imagine a man and woman from two rival houses falling in love and having to find a way to stay together. Romeo and Juliet kind of plot. 29. Enemy Loved Similar to obstacles of love, a paladin falls in love or becomes friends with a necromancer. How do they stay friends?
30. Ambition A group is asked to guard against a noble or other important person as they travels around the world fulfilling some other task. An ambitious lord would do almost anything to secure his or her own station and the guild in the crosshairs could be the biggest rival (at the time), Ambition often leads to war. Often ambitious villains become the source of their own demise as each successful move makes the villain more likely to take bigger risks.
31. Conflict with a God A guild or group is cursed or otherwise plagued by spirits or supernatural force that must be overcome. What caused the spirit or God to take revenge? How can the problem be righted?
32. Mistaken Jealousy A suspicious mind can conjure jealousy with or without provocation and even a platonic relationship can be mistaken for more than it is. In a sample scenario a messenger woman enters the house of a guild leader while his wife is coming home, she sees the woman and begins to think there is an affair.
33. Erroneous Judgement A character or guild that wishes to discredit another speaks out in court. Their words fall upon ears of those that can cause harm (courtiers or nobles) and no one is there to defend the honor of the individual or guild accused. The story could begin when the courts judgement arrives and the character or guild accused is dishonored. How will honor be regained? How will the accusation be made right? Examples: -Fake testimony presented at trial - Evidence gathered but the lord has incorrectly concluded its meaning
34. Remorse Lingering shame for committing a crime or other such act and the quest to clean your soul or gain acceptance in society.
35. Recovery of a Lost One This is not a rescue scenario. Rather, it is a situation where a character of importance returns after being missing for a long time. A Character that is gone for a long time may bring complications with them, the world changes quickly in UO and an old face can often cause dramatic shifts in politics and war. Who holds the seat of power now with the character’s return? Has the character aged? Where was he/she? Does he/she bring news of any kind?
36. Loss of Loved Ones The characters see someone they love get killed. They are faced with the tragic cause of discovering ‘why’, with no answers forthcoming. Characters deal both with the emotional side of losing a friend and the investigative side of discovering who was responsible.