Plot ideas for role-playing game?

In My Humble Opinion
1

As I’m asking for input, I’ve put this here (instead of Cafe Society) - my apologies if incorrect:

I’m looking for some small real-life-type plot ideas for a role-playing-game. I’ve got the big quests, but I wanted some small side-items that might be funny, or just add some depth. For example, I’ve got:

-The “persistent potential date” idea, where a character will not leave the player alone because he/she/it wants to date the player-character.

-The “drunk-vegas-style-wedding” in case the player has too many drinks at the local tavern. (this one is my favorite - there is no good way out if this happens :slight_smile: )

-The “do these jeans make my butt look fat” question (this could get serious - another of my favorites)

-The babysitting job

-The ‘get the cat out of the tree’ quest

But, I need more!!! So please, throw some small silly true-to-life plot ideas my way, that could get a character into some trouble if mis-handled!! Thanks alot!

2

Hmmm…

-the ‘small grease fire in the kitchen’

-the ‘broken pipe causing flooding’ quandry

-the ordeal of Ordering Fast Food (I see a large potential for humor here, see this thread for inspiration

-lv

3

Small children thiefing things from the players.

4

the panhandler that keeps pestering the player for money

angry neighbor mistaking a player for the guy his wife is cheating with

The “having to go to the bathroom but all the bathrooms are occupied” problem

the “forgetting to put the parking brake on and the car starts rolling down the hill” dilemma

5

The Voynich Manuscript.

A book that nobody seems to know anything about but which may predate the 1600s, and contains about 200 pages written in a language which has never been seen before, nor has been translated.

It’s probably not quite what you’re looking for, but if that thing’s not a plot hook, I don’t know what is.

“This, gentlemen, is proof! Proof, I say, of life beyond our Universe! And they said I was MAD!”

6

What system you using? I use WoD. I’ve used a few of these…If you’re using a different system, I hope you can modify.Isn’t the supernatural just a kick? :slight_smile:

The odd request from a Werewolf to a spirt to teach a gift is always a gaurenteed good time. The spirit of courese, needs that favor before he teaches the gift.

The Prince asks the Group for just a “little” favor.

the Pack is being followed around by a troublesome ‘Humor Spirit’. I used a Coyote. Anything spoken can be taken out of context and used against them… ie: Mentioning “Silver linings” got one of my players precious undergarments.

A Nun to play on any possible guilt might be fun.

Family members popping up out of nowhere.

The chacing down and reaquisition of a once lost and long cherished item.

Do any PCs have Obsessions or Personal Quests?

Invite over a friend who is familiar with but not a regular player of your game.Give him specific instructions to be as annoying as possible to your players.(One night this went down in group history,as the running character of the “Harried Hotel Clerk” was born) Of course, your "Ringer will need a reward, as will your players for putting up with it.

It is reasons like this that I as a G.M. give extra “Character Creation” points to players who take character flaws I can exploit for future use. Sometimes, (horrors) I force one. I find players will tolerate alot of shenanigans by the GM in the name of humor.

Keep in mind, You are G.M. You are not God. You tell God what to do.

Have Fun.

7

The street corner preacher handing out religious tracts. The tracts appear to describe a bizarre religion nobody in the party has ever heard of, and the phreacher is nowhere to be found if they go back to look for him.

I’ve also found that www.warehouse23.com is a good place to look for inspiration for minor (or major) plot ideas.

8

I’m using D&D 3rd edition, for my PnP game - I’m also trying to write (some of) it into something for Neverwinter Nights.

Thanks, and keep 'em coming. I particularly like the ‘having to go to the bathroom’ bit.

9

–Catching the wrong people in bed.

–What happens when the PC gets slipped a mickey in the tavern.

–When your horse eats something wrong. Very wrong.

–The time you run into that ex boy/girlfriend.

10

How about pregnancy gags?

Is a character pregnant? Who’s the father? Is a baby due? Like a week ago?

StG

11

[Evil GM Hat On]

Surreality: Get your players into a tavern. Throw weirdness at them for which there is no explanation. No matter what they say, do, or roll, leave 'em baffled. Works best when the tavern/inn is midway between two major plot points, especially if the current quest is time sensitive.

  • Lemming of the BDA involves an NPC who will drop nonsensical code words and counter-signs to one or more of the players. “The fat man dines alone.” “A fuscia moon rises over the kennel tonight.” “I once ate an entire dracolich.”
    For bonus points, let 'em get a couple counter signs right, and have the ‘spy’ give them a magically sealed package they can’t get into or deliver properly. Make sure they can’t stay around long enough to figure out what’s really going on, ie: there is no resolution to the situation. The contents of the package can serve as a deus ex machina later on, if they keep it.

  • Nudge, nudge, grin, grin introduces a smarmy Pythonesque character, sitting at the bar. (Assuming you know the bit in question, of course.) Best fun to be had with this guy is if he’s seated next to a paladin-type, hinting about one of the female party members.

  • The Guest Spot is a character from some fictional work, related (or not) to your game theme. Keep the encounter brief and vague, so they don’t realize who they saw/drank with/slept with until they’re outta town. Let 'em run into Frodo singing on a table as they enter. Put a guy in blue and white painted chainmail at a table, eating quietly, and leave the capital A off of his forehead. Seat Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser at the bar. Stick Thomas Covenant into a dark corner. Elvira as a tavern wench. Aahz and Skeeve arguing about money in the first room the character(s) pass on the way to bed. The Fugitive persuing the One-Armed Man through the inn’s common room is fun, too.

Your players will either love you or hate you for this treatment, of course. Generally both, as they pelt you with dice/cheeze doodles/popcorn, and simultaneously crack up. :smiley:
[/Evil GM Hat On]

12

The weekend in Tijuana scenario.

13

Well, I’ve always liked the “Head of Vecna” story…how about something like “Your party has been hired to transport the body of a wealth nobleman/chieftain/warlock/whatever back to his family/hometown/clan/whatever, the corpse is accidently destroyed, and a substitute corpse must be procured lest your party incur the wraith of the deceaced’s family/hometown/clan/whatever.” Bonus “points” for using mummification or other advanced cadaver-preperation techniques. Another bonus if you DON’T end up killing an innocent person/peasant for the corpse, still more of a bonus if you end up killing some detestible villain for the corpse.

That story IS a little involved, though…I’ll try and think up something better.

Ranchoth

14

The shotgun wedding in Fallout 2 was a classic scenario.

When I used to have a gaming group we played GURPS, and had a few good ones. We came up with drunk driving rules for Autoduel, since they weren’t covered in the manual.
The “clone bank malfunction” was always a good one to pull when a high level character got a little too cocky.

15

Cool. A Weekend at Bernie’s RPG.

16

What about the “Annoying next door neighbor”? Especially if it’s an Urkel-esque type.

Or the “Tag along kid.” You know, like the kid in Six String Samurai, who you rescue, and then NEVER LEAVES THE GROUP ALONE!!! So, suddenly when danger arrises, not only do you have to save your ass, but suddenly the kid falls out of your saddle bad, and now you have to head back and save his ass from the hoard of trogladites…which just makes him idolize you more.

The battle for Prom King and Queen.

Rabid pet scenario. Little Jimmy starts playing with a new Kobald and gets bit, but who know’s where that thing’s been? A city wide chase is on!

Meeting the parents and having to explain the horrible things you’re doing to “Daddy’s Little Girl.” Complete with sit down conversation between you, Daddy, and Daddy’s crossbow collection.

17

A character wakes up in a morgue, with no memory of who he is.
Oh wait, that’s been done.

18

I’d like to second that “Battle for Prom QUeen and King” suggestion. Mixing High School Trials and Tribulations with a genre full of sword-wielding crusaders just sound VERY promising.

Though I’d like to add another suggestion…ever seen the “Hot Springs Planet Tenrai” episode of “Outlaw Star”? :wink:

Or you might set your adventurers on a mini-quest into the Labyrinth of Pacemoni (which contains the tomb of the warlock Namco) to collect as many of the gold coins scattered throughout the hallways as you can. The Labyrinth is haunted, however, so you’ll have to be sure to find the legendary “Fruit of Iwatani,” which allow the bearer to slay ghosts and send them back to Namco’s burial chamber…for a time, at least.

:smiley:
Ranchoth
(“How did he get past the water lizards?”)

19

Cross genre polination.

I.e: the party keeps getting harassed by someone with abilities that appear to be magical in nature but the person doesnt set off any magic detectors. Ultimately they discover that the guy is actually a cyberneticist from an alternate world. Watch them suck down some high technology for a change. Or better yet make the guy a mage from the WoD

Or my favorite: the Attack of the Gazebo!

This is a story that was repeated to me by a good roleplaying friend.

DM: You step through the tree line and are confronted by a large white gazebo. !0 feet high and five feet wide at the base.

Playa1: Hmmmmmmm. Does it look impressed by our vast array of weapons?

DM: No. It’s a gazebo.

Playa1: Eeek this thing sounds pretty tough.

Playa2: Still we dont know that it’s hostile maybe we should attempt to communicate with it?

DM: ummmm… guys…

Playa1: No! Thats exactly what he (points at DM) wants us to think!

Playa3: I’m with you! I say we fuck it up!

Playa1: Right lets go! Playa2 you cast dimensional anchor so it cant teleport away. Playa3 you cast ‘blind’ so it cant fight back. I rush up and smack it with my +3 life draining sword. (rolls dice) YES! a critical hit! This bitch is going down!

DM: (uncomfortable pause)

Playa1: do I get any life from it?

Dm: No. It’s a gazebo.

Playa1: Damn! Must be undead or elemental. Well I’ll hit it again! (rolls dice, scores big numbers) Well? Did my strikes seem to hurt it at all?

DM: NO! It’s a gazebo.

Playa1: What?! Sweet Jesus and Mary! What have you unleashed upon us this time you bastard?

Playa2: fuck this! I’m retreating to a safe distance. If we ensnare it then it wont be able to follow.

Playa3: Done.

Playa1: Alright fine I break off and retreat.

The players then spent the better part of a day hurling fire and molten rock and poisoned arrows and acid down on the poor defensless gazebo. All the time recasting ensnare (or something like it) to keep the hellish creature at bay.

One final idea: HIV.

Have a defeated enemy make a suicidal attack in order to stab one of the party with a completely innocuous weapon. It is only later when they start getting flu-like symptoms and spots that they realise they are developing full-blown AIDS.

Nasty.

20

After the gazebo thing, make sure the owner comes running out with a hose and sprays them for fucking up his gazebo (I just love that word…gazebo)
What about the “We gotta get tickets to the greatest rock show of our generation…BUT IT’S SOLD OUT!!!” scenario?

WHat about the “First day on the job suffering from two hours of sleep and one massive mother fucker of a hangover” scenario?

the “Sneaking some of dad’s beer/keg/barrel tap for the party” set up.

The “finding out the woman you slept with last night is the ex-wife of one of your battle party, who happens to be very heart broken, jealous, and VERY beligerant” scene.