concurrent storylines

[zebuleon]

All the research I've looked into and having read the books, the main plot takes place over about a 2 to 3 year time period.

How do you other GMs plan to work your stories so they flow along with the metaplot, (if you plan to have that happen in your game) and not have to play out every single day with something happening.

do you plan to stretch out the metaplot events to allow for players to be a part of it or do you plan on them happening even if the players are stuck on a boat traveling somewhere or some other trivial event that time or distance prevents them from getting involved.

even if their not major players in the events I'd like them to see the events or be a part of them. Like being an unsuspecting guest at the Red wedding, or being at the coronation of the new king etc. Without having to railroad them to the event if they wanted to do something else first that took some time.

so any ideas?

[Parzival]

I do not have the RPG yet. But my understanding is the games default period is before the events in the series...I could be wrong, however.


The whole "metaplot" issue causes me to be leery of playing games based in well known fictional worlds.

It's not only being boxed in by the authors plot, or characters playing second fiddle to the key characters. It's players who consider them selves "Experts" on the setting.

In the cas of SoI&F, I am lucky. None of my players have read or are likely to read any of the books. I only read the first book my self, and that was a while ago. But to be honest I am more interested in the system then the setting.

So with that in mind, I am gonna do what I wanna do with it. I don't have to worry about some one nit picking something, because in book X on Page Y person Z did 1,2 & and said 3.

And I don't have to spend time doing metal gymnastics trying to conform to the novels.

In other words, I intend to ignore the series all together.

[LordofSaxony]

I'm not using the main plot for 3 reasons..

1. If some of my players have read the books, they would already know what will happen, which isn't too fun. If they haven't read the books, I wouldn't it to spoil it for them.

2. I doubt my players would just want to be "along for the ride" if we're going by the main story. I think they would rather have direct influence in what happens.

3. Due to the fluid non-scripted nature of how I run my campaigns, it would be virtually improbable to have it flow in the same path as the main story.

[inmygravenimage]

I've been running for 2 years, once a month; this has equated in game to about 6 months, from late 294 to early 295 (so from 4 years before AGOT). There's been interaction with majors - Robert, Cersei, & Jaime in the first game, Stannis briefly, the Starks at Winterfell - but more often than not tangental. You can also play with people's expectations - the sheer terror on the player's face when he twigged that he was getting employed by Varys, for example, was hilarious. And then, you can really mess with their heads by "killing" someone they know is alive in the post 298 timeline...

[Arcmagik]

The key is to focus on your own plot and let the metaplot play out as it will if your characters are not involved or have a small part focus on them if they are involved. Apparently news travels fast and more accurately by Raven then the books would have you believe because every major event in the books is known by other characters within the subsequent chapters.

Or you can ignore the metaplot altogether and create a "alternate story" game even stealing ideas from the original metaplot but allowing your characters to alter the course from the novels.

[kckolbe]

Remember that when the game begins, AGoT has not. I'd say your characters have a year before the death of Jon Arryn. Granted, some schemes have been going on for years prior to AGoT. Cersei's incestuous children had already been born, Littlefinger had probably already started weaseling his way through the ranks and buying informants, and Jon Arryn may have already begun *wondering* about the royal offspring, though I highly doubt he had begun investigating.

My point is that one year prior to AGoT, a new nobe house (yours)actively and aggressively making plays. A lot can happen in a year. It is entirely possible that by the time Jon Arryn dies (prevention kind of unlikely), Ned Stark may have his hands full with other matters, or some other lord may have caught Robert's eye and been picked as the next Hand. My point is that this campaign *should* introduce some game-changing variables to the story.