B-Plots

At the tabletop, maintaining everyone’s attention and interest can be a difficult task. Both here at the blog, and among tabletop gamers in general, there tends to be a heavy focus on the “A plot.” The overarching quest in your game’s (or story’s) campaign or adventure. Going to Mordor, for instance, to destroy the One Ring in a volcano is a classic example of an A plot. We should take some time to talk about "B plots," though. These secondary moments might take the form of their own side-quest or just something a small taken on by fraction of the group or even a single character. The reforging of a broken sword or a side-trip to recruit an army of ghosts. What makes for a useful secondary plot point, though and how can we use them most effectively in our tabletop game sessions? Join Never Say Dice this week as we take on B plot of our own  to ponder these questions.

This time it’s personal!

The most common B plot in a tabletop campaign is likely one that involves the player character(s) personally - something from their backstory, quest, or even a goal that they’ve set for themselves. This probably isn't something that can be covered in a single session, and will be spread out in bits and pieces of the course of a campaign. You might consider each step towards that personal goal a B plot in and of itself. Going back to the Lord of the Rings example, one could argue that both Aragorn reforging of Narsil ("the Sword That Was Broken," a physical representation of his shame in his ancestry) and quest to successfully recruit the ghosts of the men of Dunharrow are that character's personal B plots. In a gaming context, personal goals like these could be considered the B plot of single adventure session. Over the course of a campaign, though, personal achievements like these are part of the larger character B plot of Aragorn ultimately becoming King of Gondor. How useful is this framing the tabletop? With Aragorn, while both the larger plot and the individual goals making it up are personal in nature and help the character grow, they're also beneficial to the overall story of the War of the Ring. The same applies to our own gaming sessions. The character hook of a technician following their dreams to invent new piece of technology or a rogue in the process of investigating their heritage can not only keeps the player themselves engaged, but also brings developments for their characters and can also support the structure of the main plot.

The side quest

Your B plot might also be something you have planned out as a side quest for the whole party. This might take over a single entire session or be only a short jaunt on the way to other things. In terms of advancing the A plot, this is probably the most useful kind of B plot, so it should be planned in terms of the both the immediate goal and in the way it supports the larger story. One way this can happen is through direct support: recruiting necessary assistance, acquiring an important weapon, or establishing contact with an important NPC. Another way is a little less obvious: your B plot side quest can provide a tonal shift within  the game. It could, say, be the comic relief support to a serious A plot. We often see this in television shows and movies. Of course, a side quest could stay just as serious as the A plot, but players can certainly use a wacky break now and again.

Spontaneity

Another type of Plot B you often run into is the spontaneous one. The one you haven’t been able to plan for. Sure, you might have a really cool dungeon ready for the players to explore,but you threw a shadowy figure into the crowd they passed by for flavor, and now a few members of the group are really finding out what his deal is. Or half the party wants to investigate the mysterious glowing orb  locked behind glass that they find partway through, while the rest want to continue on with the main journey. These spontaneous plots can often lead to interesting and humorous ends themselves. The danger here though is that you risk not engaging everyone. If some players are more interested in the B plot distraction than others, try to provide some focus for the other players who want to be doing something else  - ideally connected to the main plot, if that's what's holding their interest. Even if you don't have anything planned out, if you know the players (and their characters) well enough, you should be still be able to improv something for them to do during the session. And if you don't know them well, pay attention to the kinds of things they ask about or say they're looking for - you can always custom-build something on the bee fly.

The revenge of B

One word of caution, though. Before you’ve started coming up with B plots, whether they're persona, planned, or spontaneous, there's something very important to consider. Is the B plot going to be better than the A plot? This happens all the time in print and digital media. In a standalone work like a book or movie, it's more of a concern when this happens than when it happens in something more episodic, like a television show or tabletop game sessions. We want players to be engaged in what's happening around them, even when it isn’t central to the main plot of the game. I'd advise to let the players enjoy the dalliance, and before long you’ll be in another session and back to your main A plot. But try to keep in mind what it was about the B plot that caught their interest, and consider how you can incorporate those elements into future sessions.

B plots may not be the thing that keep us coming to the table, but they can still be an important part of longer campaigns and occasionally even shorter adventures. If you can, work in a player’s backstory , or at least something that helps support their main quest. Improv when you have to, but it's key to have an idea what will be helpful to the characters (and their players). And don’t get too worried about your players enjoying that B plot too much, either - they’ll move on from it eventually. So until we go back to our blog’s current A plot of moving Fantasy Forward, enjoy your hives tables... now get out there and break some dice!

- A

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