The Alexandrian

Most published adventures are designed around a structure that looks like this:

You start at the beginning (Blue), proceed through a series of linear scenes (Yellow), and eventually reach the end (Red).

Occasionally you may see someone get fancy and throw a pseudo-option into things:

But you’re still looking at an essentially linear path. Although the exact form of this linear path may vary depending on the adventure in question, ultimately this form of design is the plotted approach: A happens, then B happens, and then C happens.

The primary advantage of the plotted approach is its simplicity. It’s both easy to understand and easy to control. On the one hand, when you’re preparing the adventure it’s like putting together a scheduled to-do list or laying out the plot for a short story. While you’re running the adventure, on the other hand, you always know exactly where you are and exactly where you’re supposed to be going.

But the plotted approach has two major flaws:

First, it lacks flexibility. Every arrow on the plotted flow-chart is a chokepoint: If the players don’t follow that arrow (because they don’t want to or because they don’t realize they’re supposed to), then the adventure is going to grind to a painful halt.

The risk of this painful train wreck (or the necessity of railroading your players) can be mitigated by means of the Three Clue Rule. But when the Three Clue Rule is applied in a plotted structure, you run the risk of over-kill: Every yellow dot will contain three clues all pointing towards the next dot. If the players miss or misinterpret a couple of the clues, that’s fine. But if they find all of the clues in a smaller scene, they may feel as if you’re trying to spoon-feed them. (Which, ironically, may cause them to rebel against your best laid plans.)

Second, because it lacks flexibility, the plotted approach is inimical to meaningful player choice. In order for the plotted adventure to work, the PCs must follow the arrows. Choices which don’t follow the arrows will break the game.

This is why I say Don’t Prep Plots, Prep Situations.

30 Responses to “Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 1: The Plotted Approach”

  1. Jadoa says:

    You say spoonfeed, but I say railroad. As a player, nothing is more frustrating than my character’s decisions being meaningless. While I appreciate the necessity of having a story to have an enjoyable game, I do not appreciate attempts to dictate what my character does. I enjoyed reading this immensely.

  2. Jordan says:

    Hi,

    You probably already saw that, but I thought you might be interested. MWP have a brand new Leverage supplement : Node-Based Capers. http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/111583/Leverage-Companion-08%3A-Node-Based-Capers

  3. The Art of Narration – Part 1 | ars phantasia says:

    […] well to setting the tone and mood of a scene or encounter.  There is usually an intricate plot (or node) structure that interweaves various overlapping storylines.  Combat is deadly, and for that reason […]

  4. Lines, Trees, and Clusters | Non-Linear Reality says:

    […] of the concepts presented here are partly based on Justin Alexander’s node-based scenario approach to writing Pen & Paper RPG […]

  5. — #Теория — Структура игры, ч.12: Практическое использование игровых структур (перевод) says:

    […] Как и в случае других структур игр-загадок, тут я перехожу к проработке ключевых узлов сюжета, разбивая его на отдельные, легко управляемые и легко продумываемые части. […]

  6. Ролевое КБ имeни Карандаша и Бумаги | #Теория — Узелки сюжета, ч.1: Сценарный подход (перевод) says:

    […] The Alexandrian 27.03.2010 […]

  7. Entirely too serious for a gaming blog | Stylish Corpse says:

    […] yesterday, when the RPG post I did prompted me to re-read some old posts on blogs I particularly like, which led me circuitously — as internet rambles do — to a new blog (which I’m […]

  8. Creating an Adventure – Part 2 - Game Geekery says:

    […] types to use, and ultimately wrote down six as the “nodes” of the story (laid out in a most excellent post here). As a basic skeleton, I imagined the flow of the story going something like: start at […]

  9. My Next RPG Campaign – GM Resources | Concrete Chaos says:

    […] has proven invaluable to my most recent campaign (and likely to my next one). His series on Node-Based Scenario Design, Urban Crawls, The Art of Pacing are top notch. Really anything from his Gamemastery 101 is great […]

  10. New Year, New Post. | Words and Mettle, a blog about role-playing and heavy metal says:

    […] Now comes the more in depth methods of adventure prep, which can be short but more importantly are informed by the ideas written in the outline. I would write my own but honestly it’s been covered more thoroughly and better than I could ever do by The Alexandrian  […]

  11. The Ferryport Adventures – The Dead Gulch | RPG Blast – All the latest RPG releases! says:

    […] adventure is “node based“, which means that players can choose their own path, discovering locales and clues as they […]

  12. Tips for Convention Games - Game Geekery says:

    […] website The Alexandrian is chock full of excellent GMing advice, particularly their posts on “Node-Based Scenario Design.” Definitely worth checking […]

  13. Tales of the Hungry GM #1: Preparing L5R “Legacy of Disaster” – Abstract Reality says:

    […] be something of a mystery. As such, I can think of no better way to prep this adventure than using nodes, as detailed by The Alexandrian. Nodes are a fantastic tool for organizing important locations, […]

  14. L’Art du Rythme – partie 2 – quefaitesvous says:

    […] quand il faut s’arrêter et repasser à une scène. Je la trouve aussi très propice aux structures de scénario non-linéaires que j’utilise, parce que ça permet aux joueurs de continuer à intervenir tout en […]

  15. Let’s Build A Campaign: The Railcrawl – Loot The Room says:

    […] that can appear dependant on the Point of Story the party are working towards. This goes back to node-based scenario design, and particularly the inverted three-clue rule; each PoI will provide clues that point both towards […]

  16. RPPR Episode 149: Labyrinths and Mazes – Linear and Nonlinear Scenario Design | Role Playing Public Radio says:

    […] Node Based Scenario Design: Good blog article on the episode’s topic. […]

  17. A Brief Interlude about Node-Based Scenarios | The Cool Mama says:

    […] and summarize the concept, but if you want you can read the whole thing on his site, starting with Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 1: The Plotted Approach. Since we have been talking about the sandbox section of Lost Mine of Phandelver, and since a […]

  18. Kaique says:

    Hi Justin. I’ve been reading this series and your post about prepping situations instead of plots. How can I distinguish a node and a situation when prepping my game? I understand the concepts and have the feeling that they can really improve my game, but I’m still struggling to work with them combined. In my prep notes, should I think about the story in terms of nodes, and them prep every node with situations, is that it? Or the opposite?

  19. Justin Alexander says:

    Nodes are a way of thinking about how the PCs can conceptually navigate a scenario. The simplest example is the clue pointing to a location: Knowing X lets them go to Y.

    “Prepping a situation” is about rejecting the idea that an RPG scenario is about a predetermined sequence of events (a “story” or “plot”), and instead embracing the idea that an RPG scenario is a collection of tools or toys that the GM actively plays during the session (the same way that the players are actively playing their characters).

    The two techniques can overlap: The nodes you prep can OFTEN double as the toys/tools you’re actively playing (proactive nodes are a really clear-cut example of this); or they may usefully group them together (all of Mafia Joe’s goons are in Node 3: Mafia Joe’s Den of Goons, or whatever).

    Similarly, although the mentality of “story” can influence the design of a node map, my first step in design a node-based scenario is generally to just look at the SITUATION in the game world: Who knows each other? Who’s working for who? What are people trying to do? Where are they doing it?

  20. Gamemastering with Airtable - Unpossible Journeys says:

    […] surrounding scenario writing and plot preparation. This led me to one of my favourite essays ever: Node-Based Scenario Design, written by Justin Alexander, aka The Alexandrian. I highly recommend reading it before continuing […]

  21. Nate says:

    I have been struggling to prepare adventures with locations and details that worked with each other. I was able to run a homebrew murder mystery at a Sun Monk monastery thanks to your help outlining the node system and three clue rule. I had all the tools I needed to move on the characters’ actions and it was really memorable for them.

    Thank you. Because of these essays, I can take steps to facilitate games my players look back on fondly.

  22. Behind the Curtain: A Game Master's Notes - The Barrow Home says:

    […] the first time, I incorporated node-based scenario design into my campaign planning. In terms of tabletop RPGs, the three nodes can be locations, events, or […]

  23. Thoughts on Node-Based Scenario Design for Tabletop RPGs - The Barrow Home says:

    […] aren’t familiar with it, you can read the original post series on The Alexandrian by clicking this link. To summarize, however, NBSD generates a limited “choose your own adventure” style of […]

  24. Újramesélni egy legendát 7. – Egy saját Dragonlance modul születése: A rejtélyek sárkányai (Dragonlance Reloaded) – Kavicsok a margón says:

    […] ezt a kalandot írtam már ismertem Justin Alexander klasszikus Node-Based Scenario Design című cikkét (eredetileg a magyar fordítást olvastam. Köszi Urban!), de különösen a […]

  25. Lost Mine of Phandelver Remix Part 10: Sandbox – Old Owl Well | The Cool Mama says:

    […] need to go through the parts and update some of them. I’ve read Alexander’s articles on Node-based Scenarios a few more times, and the followup articles he’s written. I think I have a better […]

  26. Thoughts on Node-Based Scenario Design for Tabletop RPGs – On Wings of Summer says:

    […] aren’t familiar with it, you can read the original post series on The Alexandrian by clicking this link. To summarize, however, NBSD generates a limited “choose your own adventure” style of […]

  27. Behind the Curtain: A Game Master’s Notes – On Wings of Summer says:

    […] the first time, I incorporated node-based scenario design into my campaign planning. In terms of tabletop RPGs, the three nodes can be locations, events, or […]

  28. Az egy ötlet nem ötlet elvről – Kavicsok a margón says:

    […] valahol Alexandrian three node structure/csomópont alapú kalandtervezés című cikkéből ered (angol eredeti, a megvilágító erejű példa és a magyar fordítás: első és második). Ezt a cikket a saját […]

  29. The Bone Orchard – Kill your darlings – Imperious Rex says:

    […] when you need node-based scenario design. Created by Justin Alexander on his Alexandrian blog the method focuses on linking together nodes, […]

  30. “Houston, we have a problem:” running “technical” sci-fi RPGs – Trashed Tabletop says:

    […] and running a technical problem like an investigation (using techniques like the Three Clue Rule, Node-Based Design, Relationship Maps, and Progress Clocks) actually makes some sense. If we want to take it as step […]

Leave a Reply

Archives

Recent Posts


Recent Comments

Copyright © The Alexandrian. All rights reserved.