Plot writing for events

This is inspired by a  Larpers Bazaar blog post... (see the link in our favourites)

There are several ways to design the plot for an event -

1) It's mostly generic and folks interact or not with it - plus side of this is that the organiser's have much less work to do and don't make anyone feel out of the loop. The bad side is that the plot may not suit a character at all and they may not feel they have had value for money. This is the usual fest style.

2) It's personalised - each character has a bit of story for them. This is a lot of work for the organisers, and can make the actual event timings difficult. It can inadvertently lead to player versus player problems as their objectives can clash. Obviously though the players love this and they feel they have had good value.

3) It's personalised to particular "groups" - bit less work than 2. Runs the risk however of being way of the mark if the group fails to attend.

4) It's generic but each character has a "way in" and reason to interact with it, usually given as a brief or story before the event. it works well if the players are all happy to just be immersed in the same culture/style. Players often make their own plot and any other storyline that comes their way is seen as just a bonus to being there.

5) Old school linears - story line will often be linked to one characters "quest" and everyone else is along for the action (and experience points).

What is most interesting is that organiser's of events generally have one style and stick to it. My theory is that people run what they would like to play, and by my theory this means that constructive or negative feedback on the style of the event is always pointless. You either attend the events or not, because plot-style will always be run that way. DISCUSS! :)