Maybe you need more resources because your society used them all up too fast or because there was never much to begin with. Or perhaps a natural disaster destroyed them all. Or it could be that someone (or something) is taking them.

Maybe you need something else, a new or better solution, because you’ve nearly exhausted something you had relied on heavily.

Maybe your goal is the destruction of your opponents’ resources. Maybe there’s only one of this resource in existence. It could be controlling the flow or delivery of a resource, such as water into an area that has no other source.

Or it could be the reverse of that, where you’re defending your own resources against attacks.

It could be the expansion of your own resources—you just want more of something. And yes, money is a resource.

Sometimes you are just collecting whatever is available (scavenging), such as in the movie Waterworld.

Sometimes you’re stealing. Sometimes you’re trying to gather the components to manufacture the resource you want or need. Sometimes you are bringing supplies to someone (or people you care about), such as taking food into a dangerous area or doing air drops. Sometimes you are moving the resources, such as a cowboy cattle drive. It’s a common theme to squabble or fight over resources, and as you can see, there are many ways to use this concept to your advantage when brainstorming.

Someone wants to be a leader of a group.

Someone wants increased wealth (commonly, dramatically more wealth).

Someone wants influence (manipulation, or a voice in something, the ability to make changes, the power to force changes).

Someone wants to assassinate competition or to exile someone.

Someone needs to provide protection for someone else.

Becoming the new head of a household, clan, or brotherhood.

Discovering family secrets. Uncovering genealogy and researching the family tree. DNA testing. Who is really related to whom, and who isn’t really the person he’s pretending to be?

Creating or managing family fractures—either individuals or entire families.

Resolving/fixing broken family ties—either individuals or entire families.

Weddings/marriage/divorce/cheating/separation.

Deaths/loss/suicide.

Births/pregnancy/infertility/breastfeeding/contraception/handling a baby/babysitting/miscarriage/adoption.

Positive or negative relationships with parents/uncles/aunts/grandparents/siblings/etc.

Blackmail. The bad guys have something over the player.

Kidnapping. The bad guys hold an important hostage, and you may have to work with them or bargain with them to get the hostage released.

Loyalty. The bad guys helped the player out, and now the favor is due.

No-Choice Threat. The bad guys “make an offer” to do their bidding. But you know the “offer” is little more than a veiled threat. For example, they may say, “Do this for us,” but what they really mean is, “Do this, or we will reveal your secrets!” Or, “Do this, or your family dies!”

Trickery. The bad guys have misinformed the player, so the player cooperates with them, not realizing that it’s a setup.

Antidote. The player (or someone else who is important to the player) will die from some slow-acting poison. Only the bad guys have the antidote. (So it’s a slightly more specific form of blackmail.)

Something You Need. The bad guys have something the player needs to complete a sub-quest or the main quest of the game. It could be something physical, something magical, or even just something like a password, a tip on how to kill something (that’s very tough to kill), or a lead on how to find who or what the player is after.

Pay. The player might help the bad guys if he really needs the money or reward.

Justified. Maybe the bad guys are actually fighting the good fight, like fighting against a corrupt government or regime.

Get an Object. You have to retrieve an important object.

Get a Clue. You have to retrieve important information, either directly from a person, by stealing some evidence, object, or person that has the information, or by spying on the enemy.

Get a Life. You have to rescue someone.

Destruction. You have to destroy something (such as the crystal that is the source of the bad guys’ power, false evidence against the good side, or the mad scientist’s cloning laboratory).

Plant It! You have to leave something (such as a bomb, a listening device, or a message for an ally) or maybe you plant something that was previously stolen and must be replaced before it’s missed.

Transit. You want to gain access to another location that can only be reached through here. (And that transit can be difficult or awkward.)

Visit the Wizard. You need to talk to someone who can help you.

Find the Boss. You enter the place to find a boss protecting what you seek.

Trials and Tribulations. You must infiltrate the place to pass a test given to you by someone who can help you; see also the upcoming “Qualification Tests (Tests of Worthiness)” section.

Because It’s There. It’s there, and you like to challenge yourself. (Base jumpers do this all the time.)

Because You Can. Meaning you get unique access to somewhere other people could only dream of knowing, such as maybe you’re the president’s dog.

The Front Way. Walk in the front entrance.

The Hidden Way. Hide in a truck, wagon, Trojan horse, laundry basket, casket, and so on.

Up and Over. Climb a wall.

Down and Under. Go through the basement or tunnel under the fence.

Buy Your Way In. Bribe a guard or bring gifts.

It’s Not Me...Really! Go in disguise (such as dressing like a guard).

From the Air. Fly over and parachute, jump, or magically float in.

Poof, You’re In! Teleport inside.

You Can’t See Me. Use an invisibility potion or ability.

Shh...I Know the Secret. Learn the secret password, incantation, combination, or other secret of entry and use it.

Hey, Look Over There! Create a diversion, then sneak in.

Sleep Tight. Silently assassinate the guards that are blocking your path without anyone noticing.

Frontal Assault. Attack with superior numbers (usually not), firepower (possibly), or intelligence (more likely).

Cripple the Defense. Disable a key element, such as a source of power, leader, or mini-boss defender.

Kaboom! Aerial or long-range assault, heavy bombing, crippling the structure.

Sabotage. Infiltrate the troops, get someone inside to do the dirty work, plant a worm in the computer system, and so on.

The Art of Persuasion. Defection—get the bad guy’s minions to realize they are on the wrong side and to join you.

Trojan Horse. Pretend to be an ordinary merchant, then sneak out at nightfall and open the gates, letting your army (or party, friends, or secret weapons) inside.

Downsize. Make it really, really small with a shrink ray or level it with a weapon or spell.

Find a Bigger Stick. Get someone else bigger than you or even stronger mad at your enemy and let them destroy the enemy base (for instance, a rival king, an alien emperor, or a giant).

That Sinking Feeling. Tunnel under it and sink it.

A Good Rinse. Destroy a dam and cause a flood to wash it away.

A Poisonous Plan. Send in poison gas or a plague to wipe out the guardians of the place.

Start a Panic. Watch the defenders flee as they anticipate doom.

Impairment. Get the defenders drunk (or drugged) and distracted or incapacitated.

The Guardian. While neutralizing the base, you must protect innocent citizens.

The Liberator. You must release or save prisoners, perhaps before you do anything else.

The Most Important Thing. You must find, steal, preserve (protect), destroy, or neutralize some important object.

Get the Boss. You must capture the monarch, alien presence, crime lord, or other big boss. You can’t let them die with the others (for any number of reasons).

The Clock Is Ticking. You must do it on a timer; for instance, a bomb has been set or another invasion is planned to coincide with your success.

The Clock Is Ticking 2. You must disable something, then escape on a timer, before the whole structure blows up or becomes poisoned, irradiated, or full of zombies

There Must Be a Way. The place is impregnable, and you have to find its special weakness (such as the Death Star).

Kill Them All! Clearing all bad guys/enemies/threats.

Target the Leader. Removing or disabling the leader or boss (or at least disabling his control).

On Guard. Bringing in guards or vigilantes (maybe even bounty hunters).

The Bad Seed. Destroying the source of the poison that’s killing all the crops or stopping whatever is making the environment toxic.

Faux Evil. Helping the “evil” creatures (who are, in reality, good)—in other words, removing a curse or finding a potion to turn the wolfmen back into normal people again.

Cleaning Up. Removing the nuclear ash or the virus that wiped everyone out or dispersing the gas cloud.

Hiding Evidence. Making everything seem normal so the enemies pass on through. You hide all your weapons, have everyone dressed in civilian clothing, and so on.

Neutralizing the Threat. For example, locating and disabling the system that managed control over everyone (as in Logan’s Run). Or just disarming a bomb.

Nonviolent Solutions. For example, leading everyone to a new, “safe” location or planting special plants or casting a spell that will neutralize the poison, curse, or whatever.

Fixing Something. For instance, fixing a dam that has broken and flooded the area or that is about to break and cause a catastrophic flood. (Getting it back under control.)

Putting Out Fires. For instance, putting out a forest fire or a fire in a city, but also, more metaphorically speaking, anything that is spreading and causing damage that you must contain—such as a plague, poison gas, or cloning machines that are spewing out minions and so on.

Sub-Quests. Sometimes making an area safe requires a secondary quest or even a whole series of quests; see also the upcoming “Delayed Gratification” section.

Not Being Ready. Sometimes you aren’t strong enough yet or you don’t have the necessary party members, skills, or objects/weapons to resolve the situation, so you will have to assess what is going on and come back when you are ready; see also the “Delayed Gratification” section.

Ally = Enemy. Sometimes finding the cause of the problem leads you back to someone you thought was an ally, and you will have to either become his enemy or find out why he is doing bad things.

Resource Assembly. The change requires resources you just don’t have, so assembling the resources (which can include people) is required.

Changing Conditions. The conditions change, so you are simultaneously cleaning up different problems.

29 Days to Doomsday. You have so many hours/days/months/years to complete your quest or all hell breaks loose and life as you know it will come to an end...or something even less pleasant will happen.

The Big Buildup. Similar to 29 Days to Doomsday, this occurs when the enemy is working to achieve a goal and you are racing time to complete some quest(s) before he achieves that goal. This could mean building an army, maturing some guardian creature or thing into its final form, discovering the secret formula of invincibility, or constructing the ultimate weapon.

Survive Until... The player is required by circumstances to stay in a dangerous location until some specific event occurs. Or something is broken, and you can’t move until it is repaired. Or you must guard an entrance until help arrives. Or the Mothership isn’t due for two days, and meanwhile man-eating plants are closing in on your party. Or perhaps you have to keep arguing until the governor grants a stay of execution and stops them from throwing the switch.

Every Friday at Nine. Something happens on a regular schedule, and it causes destruction or otherwise unpleasant results. If you can be there to stop it, you can avoid some of the damage. If you can find its source, you can stop it all together. As an alternative, it could be a good thing that happens—a portal to magic fairyland or a visit from the Wise Wizard, who heals you and grants you special powers.

The 30-Second Escape. The player does something that triggers a catastrophic event or other terrible consequence, but it will happen in x seconds/minutes. Usually, this is a reasonably short period of time; otherwise, it is 29 Days to Doomsday. Also, the timer for this kind of event is usually displayed on the screen to freak out the player as he tries to figure out how to get out or disable the threat before the timer reaches zero.

Fake 30-Second Escape. As with the Fake Emergencies (below), the player receives a message that something terrible is going to happen in x seconds/minutes; however, there is no real timer, and generally there are all kinds of visual and sound effects making it seem as if all hell is breaking loose, but really the situation isn’t changing at all. The screen may shake, and big boulders, girders, or other structural elements may be falling all around, but the player has as much time as he needs to escape or neutralize the threat. To be really clear, when it comes to faking I’m not suggesting you do this, but just know that it is done in situations where you just want to raise the stakes. There are times when a real time limit is fun. There are other times when just the impression of a time limit is sufficient, but players may have more to do than the time limit would allow. The trick here is that players may tend to panic and run for the exits, but in doing so, they may miss some cool opportunities (items, side paths, secret characters, and so on). So, in a game where the time limit is real, the player must run like hell, deal with any obstacles, and escape safely. With a fake time limit, they simply have the illusion of immediacy, but they might not know whether it’s real.

Fake Emergencies. The player gets a message that he must hurry before something happens. This often sounds like 29 Days to Doomsday or The Big Buildup, but in reality the game does not keep track of time at all. The big event will occur when (and only when) the player triggers a flag by, for instance, opening a specific door, crossing a specific point in the terrain, picking up a specific object, killing a specific enemy, and so on. (See also the upcoming “Ways to Trigger Events and Flags” section.)

Time Trials and Races. These are usually used in mini-games or tests to prove worthiness. For instance, the king will help you only if you prove yourself by breaking 21 barrels in 30 seconds or completing a complex obstacle course within a time limit (or beating his champion). Rewards for time trials and races usually involve special items, gaining favor from someone, or achievement of a specific rank or title that lets you do things in the game that you couldn’t do without that rank or title. In other games, such as racing games, that’s the whole game, but in RPGs these are never more than sub-events. (See also the upcoming “Qualification Tests” section.)

Cross the Line! The player crosses an invisible line within a region, causing an event to occur.

Enter It! The player enters an area (which could also mean a vehicle, room, teleporter, and so on), which triggers an event.

Open It! The player opens something (door, chest, cabinet), which triggers an event. This could also include solving a combination lock or hacking a code or password.

Step on It! Similar to Cross the Line, but in this case the player steps on a specific location—a pressure plate, loose rock, loose board, button in the floor or invisible spot—and the event is triggered.

Press/Push/Pull/Spin/Shoot/Hack It! The player messes with a button, lever, wheel, or other mechanical device, which triggers an event.

Talk about It! The player talks to an NPC and receives some vital information, which triggers an event. The event could be immediate or delayed, or it could just be a flag that allows the player access to some new aspect of the game.

Kill It! The player kills some specific monster, which triggers an event.

Complete It! The player completes a task, such as killing the last monster in a room, delivering a message to an NPC, or winning a race, which triggers an event.

Observe It! Just hearing or seeing an event can trigger another event or set a flag for something in the game to change.

You Can’t Touch Me...Yet. You can’t kill a certain enemy until you get a better or specific weapon, new skills, higher level, and so on.

You Can’t Get Me...Yet. You won’t be able to get that tantalizing chest high up on the cliff until you can either fly or find some other way to reach it.

You Have to Earn It. Some NPC has offered you a very cool reward (such as a powerful new weapon) if you can do a few “errands” for him.

Completing Levels. With level-based characters, every level achievement is an example of delayed gratification.

Strategic Planning. In a strategy game, often the results of your strategic movements do not become clear until later. For instance, you have chosen to build a lot of your aerial units, thinking to fly over the enemy’s defenses. But you don’t know what the enemy is doing, so the strategy might or might not be effective. Or, you decide to concentrate on exploration, resources, and technology, hoping to blow the enemy away with the most advanced troops and defenses. In any case, you won’t know if your strategy worked until the game unfolds and you see what the enemy has been doing and how effective your strategy was.

It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over. All long-term goals involve delayed gratification, so in that sense, almost all games have an element of delayed gratification.

Setting the Table. In complex turn-based games, you may make a dozen moves, but you don’t know what will happen until you hit the End Turn button (or its equivalent) and see what your opponents will do.

What Will It Be When It Grows Up? You’re training a creature, but you don’t know if your training choices will result in the kind of creature you want.

Dangerous Terrain. Without the right equipment, it can be nearly impossible to find your way or survive the environment. You remember the area, however, and come back when you have your special item(s) or skills.

Qualification Races. These can be in actual racing games but sometimes are used within RPGs as a test and way to give the player more experience with the controls.

Qualification Rounds. These are used primarily in various sports games to train the player and bring him up to the level of the actual game.

Guided Tutorials. These teach and test the player’s understanding and abilities.

Logic Puzzles. Sometimes these are used to require a player to solve certain puzzles before continuing the game. These puzzles often demonstrate a certain principle of the game—something the player will see more of in more complicated circumstances.

Bosses. In some ways, mid-bosses are qualification tests. If you can’t pass the mid-boss, you clearly aren’t going to get far in the game as it increases in difficulty.

Obstacle Courses. These are a great way to provide a variety of challenges and practice for players before they move into the real game. The Tomb Raider games included basic obstacle course trainers.

Special Challenges. Designers almost always include certain especially challenging obstacles that the player will have to get past in order to continue. This is similar to the mid-boss, but it may only be a particularly nasty group of thugs or muggers or an especially monster-infested area that must be navigated. This is an aspect of tuning a game and can be mostly transparent to the player who has mastered the necessary skills and difficult for players who are not sufficiently prepared. This also works well in Role-Playing Games, where a section can be tuned to be too difficult for low-level players, without creating any artificial barriers to prevent them from trying it.

The John Henry. John Henry (the “steel drivin’ man”) was really good at pounding spikes to set railroad tracks. In the legend, he races a mechanical engine to prove the superiority of man over machine. This is typical of a race to prove worthiness, although races can be more simple—just run/drive/ride and get there first—or even more complex—run, jump, ride, drive, swim, destroy, fight, rearrange something, swing, fly...and any combination thereof.

Break 10 Barrels. In this scenario, you must accomplish some physical task within a time limit, such as breaking 10 barrels with your sword in five seconds or killing x monsters before returning. Such trials often require you to complete several progressively more difficult challenges.

Practice Makes Perfect. Often, when characters have learned a new skill or obtained a new weapon, they are given specific quests or game elements designed to help them learn to use what they have just gained. A good example of this would be in the Zelda games when Link gets a new weapon; he is presented with a new dungeon in which that new weapon is required. It’s not a qualification test so much as a qualification practice.

You Da Man. You must go fight some champion or monster and return with its golden eyeball, silver dagger, or some token of your success. An alternative is that you must fight in an arena, gladiator-style, and beat all comers in waves until finally you beat the champ! Another variant is the one-on-one duel with the NPC in question or their champion. Defeat him, and you get what you want.

What’s In It for Me? Some tests of worthiness involve finding some rare item, substance, or object that will cure the king’s daughter of a mysterious ailment, stop people from turning into zombies, unlock a treasure chest, grant invisibility to the user, cause the magic tree to grow, and so on—anything that the NPC really wants badly enough to trade for what you want from him. This can be a physical object, accomplishing a specific task, or acquiring information the NPC wants. Sometimes this takes the form of a scavenger hunt, where you must bring back a bunch of stuff. Sometimes you are given the list at the beginning. Sometimes the NPC keeps adding items and sending you back out for more. Generally, however, once the task is complete, you are given what it was you set out to achieve or something of value that makes the test worthwhile.

Deliver the Message. This is just what it sounds like.

Find the Criminal. A crime has been committed, and the NPC will give you what you want if you can solve the crime. (See also the upcoming “Criminal Investigation” section.)

The NPC giving the task may be lying and planning to double-cross you once you complete the trial. This is rarely a problem. Just kill him. Of course, sometimes the NPC escapes, but you’ll get him later. This technique is good for making you hate the bad guy even more. (See also the “How to Make You Hate Them” section in Chapter 14, “Enemies.”)

What Happened? One or more crimes have been committed.

Whodunit? You have to find out who the criminal is.

Where? Find out where the crime took place.

When? When was the crime committed?

Motive. It helps to seek out the motive for the crime.

Gather Clues. This phase is where the detective work goes into high gear. Players must look for physical clues in and around the crime scene, and they must also talk to people and figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying.

Apprehend the Criminal. Once you figure out whodunit, go get ’em! There will generally be a reward.

Stripped and Demoted. In the course of the story, you might lose your special items, your rank and some abilities, your powerful weapons, and so on. Sometimes you even start very strong and feel practically invincible, then you suddenly become a wimpy newbie. This was a trick we used in Earthworm Jim. When he was in his cybernetic suit, he was a super-worm. Then, once the player was used to that feeling of power, we took the suit away. Suddenly, they were playing as a naked little fleshy earthworm! The reversal suddenly adds pressure and offers new gameplay challenges.

You Lose a Friend. A new party member joins you and is really useful because he is very strong or has some cool abilities. Then, for some reason, you lose that party member just when you’ve come to rely on him. This variation happens in both RPG parties and with “pets” or sidekicks. They commonly fight for you, so when they’re gone you really miss them.

The Party’s Over. Sometimes the circumstances of the story cause the party to break up. Either a key member leaves to pursue goals of his own (possibly returning to the party later) or the whole party separates, and you are on your own. This latter example is usually temporary, and the party will reform later.

Now What? You try to achieve a goal or complete a quest, but for some reason you fail. The object of the goal or quest may no longer exist or may be destroyed. The reason for completing the goal or quest may no longer apply to your situation, or the reward for completion is no longer useful.

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory. You think you have the upper hand in a situation, when the enemy reveals a trump card...a secret weapon or ability, or perhaps they take a hostage at the last moment, or enemy reinforcements arrive just as you are about to deliver the final blow.

Loose Backing/Sponsorship. The organization behind the party either stops supporting the party by choice or can no longer support the party. It could be that the company no longer exists, can’t afford the costs, legally can’t continue to be a benefactor, or one of many other reasons. This is different from the Now What? scenario due to the fact that the group and goals are likely still intact, but the “officialness” is gone, and the difficultly of the tasks increase.

Where’s Home Base? The safe location or meeting place is gone or compromised, and now the player/party has lost their safe haven.

Really, Really Dead? The quest seemed complete and the goal accomplished, but it’s not really over, such as defeating a boss that keeps getting back up or reappearing. (It’s the classic trick in movies, “Is he really dead?) So basically you thought you’d won, but don’t go celebrating just yet!

The Incompetent Cop. He’s assigned to you ostensibly to help you investigate a mystery, but he’s all thumbs and annoying to boot.

The King’s Brother. He’s someone connected to someone else who is important, but he’s no help and really doesn’t want to be there in the first place. He’s probably the most likely to betray you, given the opportunity.

The Loyal Idiot. It could be a dog, an alien being, Tinker Bell, or even a person, but basically, this is some creature that attaches itself to you and can’t be gotten rid of. It’s not particularly helpful, but for reasons known only to the game designer, you can’t get rid of it. However, often this annoying appendage will turn out to be very important toward the end of the story and may even turn into one of the most powerful characters.

Stop Following Me! Some irritating and useless creature that follows you around and won’t go away. Like the Loyal Idiot, but more annoying and less useful, Stop Following Me almost never comes in handy. At best, this creature may, at a critical time in the game, show you where a secret entrance is or remember something useful. (This is the role of Donkey in the Shrek movies.)

Just Doing My Job. You must escort or protect an NPC, who temporarily becomes attached to your party. (See the following “Is It Safe?” section.)

Person/Creature. You must protect a person or other living being, keeping it from harm.

Vehicle. Especially in naval- or space-based games, but sometimes in other games, you must escort a particular vehicle safely from one location to another. Of course, there will be plenty of enemies trying to blow it up or hijack it.

Object. You must protect an object of importance, meaning it can’t be damaged, destroyed, or stolen while you are responsible for it.

Emplacement. You must protect a location, such as a bridge, castle, crime scene, throne room, cave entrance, or tree. This is a stationary location, where objects you protect would be mobile.

Point to Point. You must get the person/creature or object from one place to another safely. Failure can be devastating to the game.

Escorting the Fool. The person/creature you are escorting may be foolhardy and constantly getting in trouble or may be an Unwanted Sidekick who is simply annoying. He may be very weak, very brave, or very cowardly. In any case, he often makes your job very hard.

The Curse. An object you are carrying must be protected, but it’s cursed and causes you to slowly bleed to death or something equally unpleasant.

It’s Not Over ’Til It’s Over 2. You may get a key person/creature to the end location only to find that he can’t perform his function for some reason, and you’ll have to do it yourself. Or, a safe place where you were supposed to drop him off is no longer safe, and you will have to make it safe.

Escorting the Enemy. The person/creature you are escorting is really a bad guy, but you still can’t let anything happen to him. He may even try to get you into more hot water while you are trying to protect him.

Escorting a Prisoner. The person/creature you are escorting could be a prisoner who must be kept from harm but who must not be allowed to escape. He will do whatever he can to get away, although he’ll generally welcome your help in protecting him from other enemies.

Trade Item. The person/creature/object you are protecting is a key element in securing something you want—a bargaining chip. It may be a hostage or an item of special value, and it may buy the cooperation of someone, the release of a prisoner, or some other useful and necessary result.

Finding a Safe Route. The danger you are protecting someone from is natural, such as a landslide, flood, erupting volcano, or earthquake, and your job is mostly to find a safe route. This might also be true if the outside danger is from a distant enemy using bombardment tactics, such as artillery, aircraft, catapults, or other long-range projectiles.

Stealth Escort. The escort mission might not involve fighting or avoiding attacks, but it might involve preventing discovery. For instance, you might be attempting to lead someone to safety while avoiding discovery by surveillance equipment—escaping a penal colony or trying to move unseen through an enemy castle or a futuristic Orwellian city.

From a Distance. Instead of being right there between harm and the charge, shooting, redirecting, and other measures may be needed to protect the charge. Cover fire is the obvious example.

Bait and Smash. Lure the enemy into a trap and cut them down as a preemptive measure.

The Direct Plea. You meet someone, and he asks you to help him.

Obscure Messages. You receive some cryptic information that leads you to believe someone is in trouble—such as the holographic recording of Princess Leia in Star Wars.

Moral Choices. You can see that help is needed, but you have to decide whether it is the right thing to do. Perhaps these are brigands or otherwise disreputable types, or even minions of your enemy. Then again, helping them might result in something good for you in the long run. Or, it might cause further harm to the good folk. What to do???

Whether You Like It or Not. You are forced somehow to help someone, either by physical force, threats to others, or some other form of manipulation or mind control.

Get the Message. You get a message (which can be in any form) revealing the need for help. (It can even be a message in a bottle!)

Shipwreck. After the big storm or explosion aboard the ship, you find yourself washed up on a strange and unfamiliar shore.

Plane Crash. The plane crashes in an unfamiliar area—a deep forest, jungle, or desert, perhaps—almost certainly a wild and untamed region filled with dangers.

Unexpected Teleportation. Who knew that pulling that lever, pressing that button, or stepping into that beam of light would suddenly send you somewhere else?

NPC Action. With the wave of a wand or the press of a button, some NPC has sent you to a new world. You might know where you are going, or you might have no clue. You might have gone willingly, or you might have been sent there by an enemy.

Chutes and Ladders. Somehow, you trigger a trapdoor or you step on a slippery slope, release a powerful spring, or step onto a floating platform. In any case, you end up floating, flying, or falling into a new place. It may not be immediately obvious how to get back where you came from, but it will likely be pretty obvious that the new place is full of danger.

Missed Jump. You are jumping from one platform to another, but you misjudge the leap and fall. Do you die? Not this time. This time you end up way down below in an irritating area full of enemies and obstacles. You have to get back up to the top and try the jump(s) again. Sometimes there are minor power objects at the bottom or secondary routes.

Guidance System Malfunction. You’re out in space, en route to the Galactic Capitol to visit the Viceroy, when your guidance system malfunctions. You can be sure you’ll end up in a new location.

The Space Jump. This is the emergency button on a spacecraft for when you’re being attacked. There’s no time to plot a course, so you end up somewhere else in space, and you need to work out where.

Shanghaied. The bad guys got you! And they’re taking you somewhere (sometimes blindfolded). The next thing you know, you are in the dungeon, the prison, the jungle, tied up in a tent, in a pot of water over a blazing fire, in a rocket ship headed for parts unknown, in a soft canopied bed with servants all around...well, anyway, you’re somewhere else.

Time Warp. Suddenly, you find yourself as you were in the past or as you will be in the future. Even if you’re technically in the same physical place, things are different now.

Character Switch. You’re deep into the story. You just gained a new, much more powerful weapon, and you’re feeling ready for anything. Then the scene shifts, and all of a sudden you are playing a cute little creature that’s a cross between a Pekingese and a gopher, and its only attack is a weak head butt. Well, now what do you do?

La-La Land. You become unconscious/die and are all of a sudden in a trancelike state. This could be either where you previously were or somewhere you have never seen before. Either way, you are clearly no longer in the “normal” world.

The Hospital. Beaten to a pulp: You have passed out or fallen asleep only to wake up someplace else, where people are tending to your injuries.

The Race. The object may be hidden or easy to find. In any case, you must get to it before someone else does. This scenario can be very straightforward. You simply go faster than your rival(s). Or it can be much trickier. For instance, you have to fight your way past some minions, but while you are fighting, your rival runs by and gets ahead of you. Maybe you would have been better off to let him go first and fight the minions?

What, That Old Thing? The precious object is in the possession of another group. They don’t think it’s all that important. If they knew it was, they would make it far more expensive or they would simply keep it. So you must find a way to get it from them without letting them know its value.

That’s Impossible. There’s no way you can figure out how to get the object. However, your rivals may be able to get where you cannot. In this scenario, you let someone else get the object, then you steal it.

Too Late! Someone else got it first. You will have to steal it, purchase or trade, or convince him to give it to you.

Prove Yourself. You aren’t the only one who wants something, and the owner decides to set up a test to see who is most worthy of it. (See also the “Qualification Tests” section earlier in this chapter.)

Even Trades. The object you and your rivals want is controlled by someone else. They don’t want it, but they won’t give it to you unless you do something for them, which could be to trade for another object or do some kind of errand for them. In any case, your rivals have an equal chance to accomplish this task, so you must prevent them from succeeding and accomplish the task yourself.

Unknown Object. You need to obtain an object in order to progress. (See the “Delayed Gratification” section earlier in this chapter.) However, you do not know what the object is or where it is until later in the game. Time is ticking, as you know you are not the only one after this object.

Lost and Found. You had it, now you don’t. Time to get it back.

Mistaken Identity. They mistake you for someone else.

Secret Identity. You are really someone important (a prince, the savior, the sword bearer, the eyewitness), but you don’t realize it. Your enemies do, however.

It’s Just My Father’s Rusty Sword. Something you are carrying—preferably a family heirloom—is incredibly valuable or important, and the bad guys will stop at nothing to get it. Probably, at this point in the story, you have no idea of the immense power contained within the thing, but this is your first clue.

Stolen Goods. You innocently picked up something interesting, perhaps taking it out of a locked chest in a small retreat in the woods. How were you to know that someone would take offense? Of course, it can all be worked out, and once you explain yourself, your attackers will enlist your aid in going after the real enemy. Alternatively, taking the object has upset the balance of the universe, and now you must repair the damage you have done.

Town without Pity. Commonly, you will enter a town or village that just seems depressed. The people won’t attack you directly, but they are hostile, surly, and uncooperative. Of course, all you have to do is clear some monsters, remove a curse, vanquish a boss or monster, or make the sun shine again (see the previous “Is It Safe?” section), and they will all be friendly and happy again.

Oops! You’re standing around, and suddenly a big boulder drops on your foot, or something like that. Then some doofus comes along and says, “Sorry.” But then it turns out that the doofus tells you some story that sounds like a quest in the making, and away you go. The doofus may or may not join your party.

The Old Folks. A sick and deranged old person is missing. Find him and return him safely, perhaps with a cure for his ailments.

The Kids Are All Right. Some little tyke has turned up missing. He was last seen running after a DayGlo orange butterfly that flew into the deep, dark woods. Oh please, go find my little boy/girl/cub/calf/nestling/etc.

Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? Yes, someone’s pet is missing. Perhaps finding it will lead you to something interesting. The reward is probably not too spectacular, but you never know what the dog has dug up or what future rewards a good deed can reap. Of course, this could be any other pet creature, not only a wayward pooch.

Kidnapped. Sure, someone is missing. He has been kidnapped. Perhaps there’s a ransom note. Or maybe he is just missing, and you have to find out that he is being held hostage or scheduled for execution, and so on.

Personal Quest. Someone is missing, and you follow the trail. It turns out that the person is on a quest of his own. To get him to come back, you may have to join him in his quest and help him complete it.

Still Missing. Sometimes someone is missing, and you have no clues at all. Or the clues lead you to somewhere far away. In such cases, the one who is missing will probably turn up later in the story, after you’ve pretty much forgotten that you are searching for him. Finding this kind of missing person seems like a random encounter, but it’s generally pretty well scripted into the flow of the story. This is also an example of delayed gratification.

Should Have Arrived by Now. Whether left behind or split up, the persons in question have not arrived when they were expected. Now you have to go find them.

Save the Princess. Well, save someone who needs saving. (As a twisted alternative, devious and not so hero-like, you could arrange for someone to be kidnapped or otherwise threatened, then move in and save the person.)

Money Talks. You can sometimes buy your way in with gold or with something of great value.

Be Impressive. Do something that shows how powerful you are, such as defeating a 100-foot dragon in single combat.

Veiled Threats. This is not the preferred method, but you can subtly suggest that cooperation is preferable to the alternative. Few RPG heroes would resort to this, except under duress and when dealing with really bad guys.

Make It Safe. Resolve some problem that besets the NPC or the area. (See also the previous “Is It Safe?” section.)

Enter the Contest. Enter a local contest and win. (See also the “Qualification Tests” section earlier in this chapter.)

Friends of Friends. Sometimes the best way to get someone to cooperate with you is to get a recommendation from a friend or an important family member. Go do something nice for one of the NPC’s allies or his daughter or brother. When you return, you have the friend/daughter/brother’s recommendation; even better, that person may have become one of your party.

Flattery Will Get You Anything. Yes, make a monument to the person you want to impress. Build a statue in his honor or just pump him up with his own self-importance.

Look What I Did for You. Do something helpful for someone, and he will be more likely to trust and like you. This can apply to the good folk or to the bad folk, depending on whose trust you want to gain.

Enemy of My Enemy. Though possibly a complete stranger, he will team up with you to take down a common foe.

The Mysterious Past. Your character (or one of your party members) has a mysterious past. You (or the party member) can’t remember what it is, but it is important. Often, little vignettes and cut scenes will help you piece together the story over the course of the adventure. Other times, you may actually go back in time to play your former self and uncover the mystery. Usually, you (or the other party member) lost these memories due to some traumatic event—usually, the loss of your family at the hands of the bad guys. Sometimes there’s another NPC who you must find. This NPC is the only one who can help you, and you may have to prove yourself before he will.

Power Lock. You may remember your past well enough, but you don’t know how to unlock your immense potential power. Learning the keys to your potential is a big part of your quest.

Intentional Erasure. Somewhere in your past, you erased your memories for your own good. Perhaps it was an act of conscience because you had too much power and misused it. But now you need to regain your powers in order to save the world. Fortunately, you’ve left yourself clues that will lead you to the truth. Hurry!

Forgetful Spells. Someone casts a spell and makes the player (or a party member) forget what he knows. This can affect the character’s abilities—for instance, causing him to forget spells he knows or combat skills, and so on. This is usually something temporary and reversible, but you probably have to live with the effect for a while until you find the cure. In extreme cases, party members may be turned into blithering idiots, useless for anything until cured.

Forgotten Detail. Sometimes success depends on the smallest of details. Whether the time has passed or has yet to pass, that one detail can complicate matters. How do you remind the player of those details without being obvious?

Your Fault. The problem is the direct result of something you have done.

Beware the Obvious. The cause of the problem appears to be simple but is actually something far less obvious. For instance, the problem is that everyone in town is divided over an issue that seems fairly unimportant. The obvious solution is to sit down and talk it over. The actual problem is being caused by a spell cast by a nasty witch, or it’s from a saboteur who has been sent in to stir up trouble.

This Is Normal? There is no problem. This is how they always act. Or they really are pigs!

Relapse. You already thought the problem was solved, but apparently it wasn’t, because the same thing is happening again.

He Did It! Somebody did something terrible, and the only way to fix it is to go into the past.

You Did It! You did something terrible (obviously without realizing it), and you can only fix it by going to the past.

It Happened! Nobody did anything terrible, but something terrible has happened in the past, so you have to go back and prevent it.

Stop Me Before I Do It! You’re about to do something terrible in the past, but your future self can travel back and warn you not to do it.

Time Pursuit. The bad guy escapes to the past or future, and you have to follow him.

Its Former Self. There’s an ancient carving that has the key to the whole mystery, but it’s worn out and unreadable. Why not travel to the past, before it got worn out, and read it there?

Warning from the Past. You witness a prophecy that shows your future. It isn’t good. You use a time machine (or a time-travel spell) to go there and argue with yourself. If you win, your future changes.

Gifts from the Past. You find out something that could alter the future, but you know you can’t use it now. You travel to the future, where people will understand its importance and act on it.

Bring Back the Future. The technology doesn’t exist to travel in time, so you have to wait until it is developed, travel back in time and give it to yourself, then develop it so you can travel through time.

The Riddle. A shadowing, menacing figure has been stalking you. You keep escaping it, but it is relentless. Finally, years later, you find out it was you from the future trying to catch up with you, but you successfully eluded yourself and got freaked out in the process, completely affecting the rest of your life, up until the time when you got older and traveled to the past to tell yourself it was all right, but failed to do so.

Dead Sleep. You get knocked out and are suddenly in a dreamlike past. The only way to awaken from this dream is to complete some sort of quest and/or kill/defeat someone/something.

The Sneak. You must sneak into an area, avoiding all contact with the natives and avoiding surveillance devices. You must observe but not get caught.

The Infiltrator. You must enter an area and observe what is going on. You are under cover. You must not act in any way to blow your cover.

The Stakeout. You know something is wrong, but you have to find out what it is. You suspect that someone in town has been tampering with the water supply, so you find a hiding place and wait. Once you see your suspect dropping little green pills into the local well, you have your culprit.

The Audience. You just have to be there for some reason, which will ultimately become clear. For instance, perhaps you will gain a clue or see something happen and later meet the people involved, knowing what they did or did not do.

Dangerous Journey. You have to get an urgent message to someone. To get where you’re going, you have to walk/run/fly/hop/skip/jump/ride through a hostile terrain. Generally, you don’t have time to stop and fight everything that attacks you, so you have to avoid fighting whenever possible while also avoiding other obstacles, of which there will be many.

Testing. You are being tested by having to complete an obstacle course. See the “Qualification Tests (Tests of Worthiness)” section earlier in this chapter.

The Overpopulated Dungeon. You’re in a dungeon. At the bottom is a power crystal that controls the whole Evil Empire. You must fight your way to the crystal through hordes of enemy minions.

Battle Runner. You’re in the midst of a great battle and must get to one of the generals. This means running through the entire battle, avoiding enemies and friends alike.

Asteroid Belt. You’re in a spaceship, traveling at high speed. Between you and your destination is an asteroid belt filled with spinning, twisting rocks that could pulverize your puny ship with a single blow. To make matters worse, strange forces are affecting your guidance systems, so you’ll have to fly on manual controls. Maybe you can shoot some of the smaller asteroids out of the way! Alternatively, there’s the cliff walk where you have to jump gaps while dodging falling boulders and dive-bombing birds.

Collapse! Everything is collapsing around you; you must avoid the debris and make it out. (Note: This can also be weather related, such as a tornado.)

Sensing Motion. There are automated systems to keep prisoners in. You’ll have to work out how to defeat the systems and get out.

Look Up. Snipers are on the rooftops; helicopters (or drones) are in the air. The eyes are in the sky, and you must make it through a well-protected area.

The Evil Dungeon. The bad guy has captured you and thrown you into his dungeon. Don’t worry—you’ll escape, but you’ll likely find someone down there to join your party, not to mention some cool stuff.

The Good Dungeon. The good guys don’t know who you are yet, so they throw you into the dungeon. You’ll have to escape, of course, but you might get help from an unexpected ally.

Intentional Incarceration. You get yourself thrown in the dungeon on purpose to spy on someone, to rescue someone, to find something that you believe is there, and so on.

The Break-In. You break into the dungeon to rescue someone or find something.

The Locked Room. You’re locked in a room—not a dungeon, but somewhere hard to get out of.

Paralysis. A wizard has cast a paralysis spell on you, and you must watch helplessly as he prepares his master plan for world domination.

How Did That Get in Me? Something has taken up residence in your head or your body (or both). You’re trapped while it runs the show.

Cut Off. Due to changes of circumstances, you have no apparent way out of your current location. For instance, you arrived on an island by boat, but the boat sank when you arrived or was stolen.

The Friendly God. All your actions are being watched and guided by a godlike entity. The entity doesn’t actually do much for you, but it appears from time to time to say that you are on the right (or wrong) track.

The Friendly Voice. You sometimes hear a voice in your head. It warns you of upcoming dangers. It tells you to do things. If you do what the voice tells you, good things appear to happen.

Big Bad Boss. The main bad guy seems to have godlike powers. He’s going to be tough. But he must have a weakness, if only you can discover it and live long enough to exploit it!

Oh, the Power! Somehow you are turned into a veritable god, and you wield enormous powers. This is usually very short lived, toward the end of the game, or countered by an entity even more powerful than you.

You Are the God. In certain games, you are, in effect, the god of that world. This includes so-called “god games,” such as Populous and its variants, or SimCity and other sim games where you truly have a top-down perspective and godlike control of the world. Of course, if you want to accomplish the game’s goals (or the goals you set for yourself within the game), you will have to learn to work within even a god’s limitations. If you had no limitations at all, it wouldn’t be much of a game.

Toying with You. You are the god’s entertainment—an unwitting court jester, in a sense. Whatever it does, it does for its own amusement. Annoying wrinkle: If it gets bored with you, it will kill you, so you have to stay amusing or die.

The Bystander. You were not a part of its plans, and it had no intention to harm, hinder, or help you. But you blundered into a situation that is of interest to a godlike entity, and you just have to deal the hand you’ve been dealt.

False or Incomplete Info. The player is given information or receives a quest that sets a particular goal. However, some time during the completion of the quest, the player discovers that the real story is quite different and has to change focus. For instance, the player learns that the Wise Man on the Mountain can reverse the weather and return peace to the land. But at the top of the mountain, the player discovers that the Wise Man on the Mountain is dead or is a fraud, or maybe that the weather doesn’t need to be fixed at all.

The False Friendly Voice. Some NPC or godlike voice has been guiding the player, offering good advice that, when followed, leads to good results. However, in reality, the NPC or the godlike voice is the enemy and has lulled the player into believing his information. Now the player will blindly follow, and the NPC can lower the boom.

Choosing Paths. The road less traveled? When coming to a junction in a path, one will look much more promising than the other. Sometimes, it’s the less-promising path that leads to the most important location.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving. A magnificent weapon is encrusted in barnacles. It looks worthless. If the player takes it to the smithy, he’ll discover its true value. A beggar is really a prince. A beautiful woman is treacherous while her surly stepsister has a heart of gold. Usually, the bigger the enemy, the stronger, but sometimes you can get hammered by a tiny creature with a heavy attack. Or you can roll right over some giant clod. And so forth...

Containers. Something really awesome is hidden in a plain-looking chest, cabinet, or desk drawer. Something with little perceived value is hidden in the ornate chest or other container. Don’t always assume the most useful item will be the most obvious. You might give the plain items some real value, such as using the peanut butter sandwich to bribe the troll that blocks the bridge. If you took the golden necklace instead, he’ll realize where you got it and attack. Teaching the gamer to pause and think before doing the obvious can be fun, but be careful to give him a decent chance to be right.

The Smoking Gun. Just because you caught Uncle Ronald with the murder weapon doesn’t necessarily mean “he done it.” See also Chapter 22, “Game Conventions and Clichés,” because playing with the clichés can be a great way to create misdirection.