Cuckoo's Nest Wiki

Solutions To Adventure Breakers

Sometimes, the party just try to break your plot don't they? Here is a list of ways to avoid that sinking feeling when you just realise that your entire adventure hangs on one thing - and the party aren't doing it!

There are two sorts of problems here:

1. Ones which stem from the way in which the adventure is written
2. Ones which stem from the way the players behave on the day

Both of these are easier avoided if you have an idea in advance of who is going to be playing your adventure, but are sometimes unavoidable.
As a writer, you should try to predict game breaking problems and provide solutions within the text, this will always be easier to handle and probably better than a snap GM decision on the day. Sometimes as a GM, you will HAVE to make unusual decisions to make the adventure happen, but a good writer will have predicted and incorporated most of them already.

The suggestions below should be added to by anyone who wants, different people write and GM in different ways.

Problems to watch out for

• Your entire adventure relies on the players having one particular skill e.g. Courtier. What if the player with that skill is sick on the day?
  • Good solution: Write "X needs basic Courtier OR expert Scholar OR expert Bard. If no-one has these, Y can tell them the information, but he will dress it up with superstition and they won't know about Z, the thing that would have helped them later."
  • Bad solution: Just tell them everything anyway. This devalues the skill.

• Your entire adventure can be broken by the use of one skill. The classic example is the Murder Mystery attended by a Master Mystic, or someone with Speak with Dead as a spell.
  • Good solution: Don't do it! But if you have to... write into the plot the reasons why these spells won't work (e.g. the body has been dead too long or whatever). Make sure they don't seem too contrived, especially if they happen more than once ("er... this body's been dead too long as well...").
  • Bad Solution: Say "Your spell doesn't work." "Why?" "It just doesn't!"

• The world will end unless they use this magic sword/cup/thingy, and one of the party has decided to nick it/throw it away!
  • Good solution: Hum. A tricky one. Some would say let the world seem to end, then solve the problem with another adventure. Some would say, just let the world end. New characters for everyone!
  • Bad solution: "You try to throw it away, then decide you don't want to." "But, X managed it, and I've got Expert Iron Will!", "Well, you still can't."

• The odds are so against them that the party decide to turn back and ignore the adventure.
  • Good solution: Make their decision valid and have an actual game effect. This could lead to them sodding off home though. Try using their flaws to remind them to do it e.g. Your Heroic flaw means you can't abandon her to her death! You swore an Oath and you have to keep it!
  • Less Good Solutions: If the climax is a person, you could always try 'catching up' with the party. If it happens at a certain place where they're refusing to go, you're in trouble. One way to do it is to block the path behind them with a landslide or something. This isn't a great solution as it negates player decisions. But if they get a benefit from it, e.g. they get to buy more potions to help them or can catch the baddie unawares, it isn't so bad. Sometimes this one can't be solved though.
  • Bad Solution: Nix every idea they have. This sucks. They aren't your puppets remember, it's better that they break the story than feel like you are controlling their actions.

• Your plot isn't 'getting out'. Why is this? Have the monsters forgotten the brief? (If so, consider writing handy 'tear off' sheets for monsters next time). Is it because the players are confused and not asking the right questions? (Consider 'nudging' the monster to be a bit more forthcoming.) Is it because there is no actual outlet for your plot within the context of the cast of monsters you've assembled on the day?
  • Good Solution: Your adventure is NOT a novel! Think of it like a screenplay or a theatre show. Exposition HAS to be in monster dialogue and actions. There is little point writing an NPC brief and then putting at the end "... but he would rather die than tell them any of this...". This information will only come out if the PCs use divining magic or some other means to learn it. The only thing it will do is influence the monster's behaviour.
  • Bad solution: "You remember someone in the tavern saying X", "Eh? No-one in the tavern said that!", "Er, yes they did, you weren't listening, but that's what they said."

• The players wish to do something entirely unexpected, e.g. actually, instead of assulting the castle as planned, we are going to dress up as merchants and bluff our way in (easy to deal with) or Instead of rescuing the prince, we intend to kill him and then blame the murder on this lord that we don't like (somewhat more of a headache)
  • Good Solution: Roll with it. The players are the stars at the end of the day and, even if it means you have to change your long term plot or rush ahead and re-brief the monsters, the players will have enjoyed the adventure more for having had more of a direct say in game flow.
  • Bad solution: Fight it. Trying to convince the players that they want to do something else is the hardest thing you will ever attempt and they will likely end the adventure feeling quite annoyed.

• A particular monster (or, worse, your counterpart GM!) does not behave as he should, according to the adventure. The outcome of the encounter is threatened due to this, rather than how the players act.
  • Good Solution 1: If the encounter isn't critical, or if the variance is working reasonably well, don't sweat it. Just let the encounter happen and tut inwardly about how that wasn't meant to go that way.
  • Good Solution 2: If the encounter is critical, if the adventure will change too much as a consequence of what is ongoing, intervene. Gently remind the monster of their role and its remit. Try to limit any stoppage/intervention as much as possible.
  • Good Solution 3: After the encounter is over, try to improvise an appropriate replacement/redress with the assistance of the other GMs.
  • Bad Solution: Lose your temper. Remember it's just a game, and it's your responsibility to recover from disaster with the minimum of fuss. In order to continue with some success you need co-operation from all parties involved. You catch more flies with honey.

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