One of the most common complaints in any LARP is how to get your hands on more plot. Plot being defined as compelling connections to the greater world or the overarching themes or wider narratives of the game. It involves being able to make a meaningful connection to how the game plays out. Being involved in plot is a two-way dance between GM creations and player actions and if you want to become more tied within the weave you can take some of the following steps.
First check if you have any plot. You don’t have any plot? Are you sure? Sometimes it’s worth checking with the GM if you think you have no plot as you may be surprised at the large plot hooks that your character may have which you may have forgotten about or overlooked. Significant chunks of time between sessions can often leave key facts by the wayside. Seriously I’ve seen players overlook massive game-changing information and connections they had because time had obscured its relevance.
If you really don’t have any plot, contact the GMs (ideally between sessions) and ask them if there’s anything your character could be connected to or even suggest certain plotlines you’d like to be tied into. Your best bet is to be relatively vague about this because GMs will be trying to find ways to connect you to existing plot even if in an unexpected fashion rather than create something entirely new. If they create brand new plot for you, great!, but they might not be able to do so in a way that is immediately relevant.
Contacting GMs can also be useful because sometimes they will have made general offers of plot that you might have turned down or never responded to and if that happens a few times then they’ll assume you want them to take a hands off approach with your character. If that’s the case, then that’s absolutely fine. Some folks prefer making their own fun! But if it’s not the case then you may have to let them know.
Finally, if you want to tap into plot be mindful that the essence of all story is conflict. This means that plot of all kinds will have its benefits and its drawbacks, its pain and its enjoyment, and that it may interact with your character in unexpected ways. If you want to maintain complete control of your character then you’ll need to focus on either engaging central plot (stories affecting the entire room) or leverage the plot affecting other characters. Asking GMs to weave your character into the plot might just not be fun for you otherwise.
In the next article we’ll talk about barriers to engaging with plot and then we’ll talk about what to do with plot once you have it.
