Nov 2, 2015, 2:39 PM

Metaplot is a tool, like many. Its success or failure hinges both on being used properly, and it won't work at all if it's simply left there on some wiki pages abandoned but 'available'. Alas, it doesn't work like that.

My thoughts:

  • Games without metaplot are too sandbox-y for my tastes. There's no direction or theme, people just do things which are forgotten because they're forgettable.

  • Metaplot yields are based on investment. You can't just write stuff and expect that to be enough, you need to get your players to buy in. Its whole point is that the world you built has a point and a payoff, so they need to see and feel their actions deliver results.

  • Like any other game element, metaplot needs to be easy to access, hard to master. If it is dependent on reading and memorizing a small novel's worth of text people won't do it (good luck even getting them to remember your NPCs' names). If it's too shallow or predictable they'll mock it just to make themselves seem smart.

  • It can't be too restrictive. Players need to feel this is there for them, not that they are there for it. It's supposed to give them something to play with and draw story hooks from, then enrich. It may be your baby but if you want it to be theirs as well you need to let it evolve as they do.

  • Don't bite more than you can chew. This is really important, IMHO. If you start a massive story you're soooo excited about but you have two storytellers total including yourself and they also need to handle jobs, policies, etc then it won't go anywhere. Scale to your ability to keep things going.

  • Make it fun. You need to be entertained as much as your players. Burning out is a lose/lose proposition.