I’m trying to set up hooks and arcs for my groups game, but I’m struggling to grasp how they’re meant to work, and fit together. It would be great to see some examples of what other people have done, to get a better idea of what sort of thing might work.
Would any of you mind sharing any arcs you’ve used, or general advice on what makes a good arc and good hooks?
Thanks!
I’ve got a lot of ideas, but I’m only now beginning my first Arc, so I’ll sub and listen for now.
Sure! This is gonna be long and come in parts. Hooks first.
So, the hooks are per-character, right? They are the dramatic poles that define the character’s story, and the NPCs who will most embody those poles. They last across arcs, if the game goes on that long.
Let’s say I have these three PCs (the game was actually a bit larger, but this’ll do):
The Legacy: Alicia Guì (Red Cloud Thunder)
Savior vs. Superior
Savior: Zhaleh Yazadi, daughter of Aafrin Yazadi, ROTC student, polisci wonk, and classmate of Alicia’s. She thinks that Alicia can use her powers in line with political and ethical legitimacy.
Superior: Her dad, Benny Guì, the Oathmaster. He knows that, as a member of the Oathmaster’s legacy, Alicia must not hesitate to make judgments that most people never would have to face.
The Beacon: Mark Kamaka (Blindside)
Danger vs. Mundane
Danger: Dan Kamaka, his dad. Mostly retired from his superheroics, he doesn’t blame his son for having no special powers; he just wishes that he would stop putting his life at risk out of a misguided desire to be like his dad.
Mundane: Phil Mason, rugby teammate and living embodiment of the Good Guy Greg meme. Thinks that Mark can totally be, like, just the star rugby player and that’s fine. We all like him, man.
The Transformed: Nathan Knight (Dragon)
Danger vs. Savior
Danger: Dr. Sanghani. A former student of Nate’s nemesis, who understands that the ritual that turned Nate into Dragon puts the world one step closer to her desired apocalypse.
Savior: Disruptor. An ambiguous villain/anti-hero who thinks that, despite his monstrous appearance and struggles with his temper, Nate may actually have the moral courage that he, Disruptor, has always lacked. And the ability to back up that courage with durability.
Arcs! I like to think of an arc as a “season”. I try to plan my Masks games to last one season, and if we all like it and want to go again, another season, etc. I tend to let an arc focus on some NPCs around one particular character, but that’s not necessary at all. This one largely focuses around the Legacy, Alicia, though it has characters that touch on all the other PCs too.
So:
Arc: “There’s no such thing as bad press”
Corruption: Twisted Truth.
Cast:
– Trocar Labs, working on immortality
– Blaine Overby, chair of the board of Trocar Labs
– Disruptor, artificial “superhero” made by Trocar
– Blackwater, mercenary organization
– Warfighter, maximum expert mercenary
Agenda:
“The Vandals are villains.”
Overby’s ultimate goal is to get the Oathmaster to disavow his daughter, or the public to disavow the Oathmaster. Frankly, an alien, a monster, a demon and a nobody hanging out with her are just bonuses.
“Trocar Labs is bringing the future now.”
Trocar promises clinical immortality to the richest clients. “The ultimate life insurance plan.” But the procedure actually offers them perfect leverage: you have to keep getting the drugs from them. So if the rich and powerful want to keep living forever, they will defend Trocar and its interests to the, er, death.
These clients will soon involve the highest political and business actors in the city.
Between these two prongs, Overby will de-facto control the city, and from there, who knows?
Phase 1
– Trocar will sell immortality to a few powerful clients.
– Overby will paint the Vandals as villains in the press.
– Disruptor will observe and doubt the heroes.
– Blackwater will lay clues to entice the heroes to B&E.
– Warfighter will assess their abilities and plan countermeasures.
Phase 2
– Trocar will threaten to withhold immortality unless these powerful clients align with Overby.
– Overby will attempt to get the Vandals legally implicated.
– Disruptor will double-down on his loyalty to Trocar.
– Blackwater will obtain a license to hunt the heroes.
– Warfighter will deploy his countermeasures in any confrontation with the heroes.
And I’m gonna leave off phase 3, as we’ve not gotten there yet! (Otherwise, this is nothing new to the players in that game, so.)
I hope that helps you think about hooks and arcs! I’ll happily talk more if you want.
Thanks, that’s really helpful.
I’m new to pbta games, and this kind of planning is a new skill I’m having to learn. I think one of the problems I’m having having lots of ideas floating around my head. What I need to do focus on one idea at a time and expand on it, so I’d better sit down and get on with it!
I see that some of your cast’s plans seem to be off-screen activities (Trocar’s phase 2, for example)- how do you make this relevant to the PCs and their activities? How do you resolve them or decide which ones work?
I’d also still be interested in seeing examples of what other people have done, if anyone else is willing to share, especially if anyone can compare their planned arc to how it played out with the actual players.
Off screen things depend on a few points. First, they’re no fun unless I telegraph them a bit: the players (and usually their characters) have to have a notion that these things are or could be happening. Then, when appropriate with an MC move opportunity, I can show the progress of off screen threats. Second, I have to give them chances to interact with these things. It can’t just be “well, this happened, too late now”. I think of the phases as approximately “what’ll happen if the PCs don’t do anything”, and expect them to be changed by the PCs actions, not a rigid guide. Put another way, they’re what the fortune teller would predict and the PCs would then struggle against.
In the particular case of Trocar’s phase 2, depending on what’s happened, a news item about the mysterious death of a principled prominent person in the city, or the heroes being approached by a major figure’s people to share their dirt on Trocar, or just the heroes finding subtle clues that this has happened, all possibilities. During phase 1, I’d drop indications that things might go that way.