Ludovic ChabantJan 27, 2023

"Metaplot" is often a dirty word around TTRPG players, and I just don't understand this negative attitude. Here are some ways to deal with them (the metaplots, not the players with a negative attitude), all of which I've done to some degree or another except the last option. #TTRPG

https://ludovic.chabant.com/blog/2023/01/27/dealing-with-metaplots-in-ttrpgs/

Dealing with Metaplots in TTRPGs

Metaplot is often a dirty word around TTRPG players, and I just don't understand this negative attitude. Here are some ways to deal with them (the metaplots, not the players with a negative attitude), all of which I've done to some degree or another except the last option.

The Stochastic Game
Show threadLizard

@ludovic Props for Ye Olde 18th century spelling of "musketeer"! (I googled, it's a legit archaic form of the word.)

When I hear "metaplot", I hear "The setting we sold you last year has now changed; King Goodguy is dead, Baron von Evilstein is on the throne, the city of Clicheopolis has been destroyed by a meteorite, and a spell gone wrong has given elves beards and made dwarves hairless all over. Yes, even there, perv. And if you want to use any of our next batch of supplements, you need to incorporate these changes."

I'm sure you see why this was met negatively. Your description is much more central to the individual game. It's one thing if *I* decide to nuke Clicheopolis. I don't have the publisher trying to control the flow of my campaign or undoing any foreshadowing or planning I might have done. #ttrpg #metaplot

Jan 27, 2023 at 8:12pmWeb
Show threadRakuno 🐀Jan 27, 2023

@LizardSF @ludovic I agree with Lizard on this and usually have the same reaction.

My first contact with the metaplot was with Vampire: the Masquerade Revised edition. If I recall correctly it was then that the clans Gangrel and Brujah decided to leave the Camarilla but the book never quite explained the whys. I think the explanation for that was in one of the novels of something which just made me salty. (1/2) #ttrpg

Show threadRakuno 🐀Jan 27, 2023

@LizardSF @ludovic Vampire: the Masquerade 5e was even worse for me. There were a bunch of good ideas but there were so many other lore changes that just felt completely arbitrary that made me not want to deal with that edition.

Ironically, I am fine with metaplots and changes to the setting's lore if they are made through official adventures, for example Shadowrun with the whole dragon president thing.

(2/2) #ttrpg

Show threadLudovic ChabantJan 27, 2023
@LizardSF I had some paragraphs to address this in a earlier draft. I don’t see a difference between a publisher evolving the setting after the fact, and someone, say, playing a Star Wars campaign in the 80s while the movies are still being released. The difference is only whether you start playing while the material is still coming out, or if you start playing after (which you wouldn’t know until more material comes out!)
I might write a follow up post specifically for that