Storytelling Part 3: Theme & Structure: How to Boost or Accidentally Kill Your Game
Our series on RPG storytelling concepts and tools continues with us diving into the murky topics of theme and structure. These tend to be tools for authors and filmmakers, but tabletop roleplaying games have them too! They tend to be emergent, only becoming clear after a few sessions, and not so much prescribed like they are in traditional media. Being aware of your theme can be very powerful for players and dungeon masters alike. Staying true to the theme keeps a game alive, knowing how to build on or play with the theme can amplify a good game into greatness.
Story structure reminds us that all storytelling follows a structure but then we provide methods that each of us uses to create games. Rich talks about creating modules, Rob talks about creating short campaigns through a chapter approach and David talks about creating an epic campaign arch, which also contributes to world-building.
This episode was fantastic to record.
