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This article started out as a page of advice written to a neophyte GM who wanted to run a pulp-action style adventure with his group. It has been expanded on and reproduced here as an insight into what I personally look for in a fast-action adventure Fading Suns adventure. Please note, the rough-and-ready way of doing things presented herein will give those who love intricate storylines and three-dimensional NPCs heart attacks.
Caveat Emptor and enjoy!
Probably the best bet to prevent your players from getting bored and doing anti-social things like carving their initials into your furniture (or putting "Yes" on the stereo) is to keep them constantly on the go: remember folks, a busy player is a happy player. Alternate an action scene with an exposition scene which advances the plot another step. You don't necessarily want to make the exposition/plot scenes the most subtle and clever things ever, you could keep them to something as simple and quick as pre/post fight dialogue between protagonists and antagonists (technical terms for 'them and us'), thus allowing you to do the whole "We meet again Mr Bond" *schink* of sword being drawn thing.
It is not strictly necessary to alternate between action sequence and plot-development scene religiously, in fact it can get a little dull if you do so. The scenes can be switched and swapped so long as they remain in pairs. That way you're never be more than about 5 minutes from an action scene and the players are so busy following the plot they don't have time to go off on unplanned tangents, faff along for half an hour with party infighting (dialogue is good, but watch for the tell-tale glazed eyes from the other players) or whatever.
Example:
Your plot might pan out something like this:
A-E, E-A, A-E, E-A, A-EA - action scene (fight, chase, stunt, etc. - anything that'll get the adrenalin going)
E - exposition/plot advancement scene (dialogue - talking/arguing, spectacle - like the pan over Rome in "Gladiator", turnaround - "I am your father Luke", etc.)
When you feel confident about running a basic A-B-C-D plot (not that you ever let onto the players that that's the case, they worked out the clues to go to the next scene themselves! The fact you planted all the clues to point that way...) you can start throwing in complications in the form of subplots and distractions. Scenes related to the subplot can be dropped in to break up the basic alternating scene sequence and add more depth and complexity to the main plot. You can have any number of these subplots the go at once, but they should all be in some way linked to the main plot. If a subplot doesn't link to the main one, change it so it does or get rid of it! You can use the good idea in your next adventure...
Example:
Your plot (plus its subplot) might pan out something like this:
S, A-E, E-A, S, A-E, S, E-A, A-EA - action scene
E - exposition/plot advancement
S - subplot/counterpoint
I'll now undercut everything I've just said about plotting. The key to, and secret of, action adventures doesn't lie in the sequence of events which occurs, instead it lies in the *pace* of events. So long as interesting things are happening one after another (preferably too quickly for the players to spot flaws and inconsistancies in your plot) things are working. Get this scene done, then move onto the next. If the party miss a vital clue have it turn up again in the next scene, if they go off on a tangent drop the next scene in their path. The plot can be more or less linear so long as the players are kept too busy to realize they're being railroaded.
I have borrowed heavily from games like "7th Sea" and "Hong Kong Action Theatre" and films like "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" in measuring NPCs by their intended importance to the plot: minor, moderate or major. Minor characters crop up in one scene and are forgotten (your generic Stormtrooper or Jawa for example), moderate importance characters might crop up a few times in the story but aren't the main focus of events (think Boba Fett, Jabba or Lando Callarisian), major characters are usually the focus of the story and might re-appear in later adventures if they're popular with the players (Darth Vader is the prime example here). The table below provides some brief ideas on the level of depth you'll probably want to go into for each NPC.
| Importance to Plot | Example | Level of Depth |
|---|---|---|
| Minor | Swarm of thugs | 1 Number NPCs/Pawns |
| Moderate | Henchmen, recurring NPCs | Abbreviated character sheet (stereotyped/likely actions) |
| Major | The major villain | Developed NPC |
Sometimes a character will prove more popular than anticipated or you might see a way to have him pop up again later in the campaign. That being the case all you do is expand upon his existing statistics, motivations and character traits in the light of his new and fuller role in your campaign. That's how Badhu, Purveyor of the Exotic, went from being a minor 'one line in the show' character to being a recurring NPC foil and ally of moderate importance in my own "Fading Suns" campaign. Now, imagine if I'd written him out as a fully-fledged character at the start and he'd never been seen again; waste of a good NPC! Much more efficient to start simple and fill in the gaps as needed neh?
That's the basic model for an action adventure: plot, cool scenes occuring in a certain order, people to interact with. and now:
Theme's are remarkably easy to work into a plot. You just ask what motivates the characters (be they PC or NPC). No-one does things without a reason, not even Ming the Merciless. :-) If you want the theme to be revenge have the villain do XYZ to get back at someone he resents ("Your family ruined me, now I'll ruin all you've ever known!") and have one of the characters want to stop him for reasons of revenge ("You killed my father!"). If it's redemption have one of the characters as an old crony of the villain who wants to go straight. You can still have rip-roaring, heroic, downright daft action and a serious story, watch any John Woo movie if you doubt me!
Remember though: show, don't tell. If the players are doing something they can't get bored. Instead of having a character explain XYZ about the plot in a tedious "Ah, good to see you 007" exposition scene have a quick jumpcut or a flashback that the characters were involved in. Better than learning about XYZ from a convenient NPC have the players learn about it by having 2 characters argue because they each have only half the whole picture about the matter.
To throw in additional subplots ask why are the characters involved? The Afflictions provided for characters in "Fading Suns" are plot complications screaming to be used! If you can keep it from being too cheesy add soap opera tie-ins to the the characters lives to get them involved in things. The villain is character 1s enemy, 2s old boss, 3s mentor. 1 is hunting 2, 2 wants to kill his old boss, 3 wants to go straight. 1 & 3 are in love, 2 is fixated on 3 who hates him, 1 and 2 are brothers. I could go on here, but that's a start, and look at the amount of tension and drama within the party already. Now you add the villain of the piece and his plans...
A good action adventure is like a good song: it should rhyme, not repeat itself. The same thing over and over again gets boring, as does dead air (silent bits where nothing happens)! Make sure you keep the players interested and busy and they will soon start to 'sing along'.
Good luck.
This file last modified 04/03/2001.
