Opportunity Actions: A Thief is Vindicated

Lately, I’ve been noticing a trend in D&D/Role-Playing related materials, be they blogs, podcasts, and similar things. That trend is theft.

Please don’t mistake me here. I’m not accusing anyone of plagiarism. It’s not that kind of theft. I mean theft in the sense that any story idea is available, and there’s no reason not to lift things wholesale for your own games.

This sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? Where have I heard this before? Oh, right. Here. Yes, my previous writing on the subject of story theft has ironically been stolen. ( Not really. I understand that other people are allowed to have ideas, too. I can’t be the *only* genius in the room. Insert derisive laughter here.)

Some examples:

• James Wyatt published his last Dungeoncraft article in September, where he said, “If no one is paying you for writing your campaign material, plagiarize everything.”
• Just last month, Stephen Radney_McFarland published a Save My Gamearticle through the D&D website encouraging DMs to lie, cheat, and steal.
• Through Drive-Thru RPG, I found a podcast from RPG Showcase that outlined a method for stealing things. That piece referenced:
• The Fudge Factor. The writer described how he converted the opening of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope into a campaign hook, and all of his players had immediate buy-in. Now, this was written long before my post on the subject, but that’s no excuse for blatantly stealing from me (I hope everyone realizes at this point that I really don’t think anyone’s ripping me off. My snarkiness is purely a joke.)

How does this affect me, honestly? I go between two things:

1. It’s a good feeling knowing that my writing is in the company of other like-minded people, some of whom I greatly respect; and
2. If I was stolen from (which is extremely unlikely), I am proud to know that my material was good enough to steal.

What Does This Mean For You?

I’m sure that, if you’ve read this far, you’re wondering why you’re still doing so. Looking at everyone else’s examples of theft, I am now inspired to put a new twist on the principle, something you can use to make your own theft even more effective. This is what follows.

The Blender, or The Chop-Shop

I have told you before about stealing something from another story, but, like any good thief, I know that sometimes it’s more difficult to move stolen items in their complete state. Occasionally, it’s better to cut something apart, take out the pieces you want, put the rest aside, and put it together with things you’ve stolen from other places.

What I am proposing here is the mixing of ideas into something that works. Encounters are often made better when there’s more than one thing going on, allowing players to share the spotlight by doing different things that achieve the same goal. First, think of your favorite story. Then, think of another story. Think of how key events from either of these could connect, and give it a try. I’ll outline the process here.

1: Think of a Story

This one’s fairly easy. For the sake of argument, I’m choosing Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. There is a great array of moments in the story that can be taken and used for any campaign. A strong start.

2: Think of Another Story

Going for another high adventure tale, I’m pulling out Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Another pretty strong story. Let’s see what we can make fit.

3: Key Events

Ok, now comes the fun part. I’m going to take the end of Raiders, and the end of Pirates. In the end sequence of Raiders, the Nazis are trying to open the Ark of the Covenant. At the end of Pirates, the heroes are trying to defeat the undead pirates in their treasure hoard. So, in this encounter, here’s what I see:

The party has found the long lost key to the chest where worshippers of a benevolent deity have stored their holiest of items. Unfortunately, the item was broken in two, and an army of undead have stolen the chest with one of the broken halves still inside it, and they are keeping it in their inner sanctum. The heroes must go in there and defeat the guards that surround the chest, so they can open it, and send the undead army back to lands of the dead. The encounter starts with a fight where the undead come back after being reduced to zero hit points at the start of their next turn. The character holding the key who also knows the ritual to open it goes to the center of the room to open the chest. When the chest is opened, and the other half of the artifact is placed inside, it reforms. The power that keeps reviving the undead is dispelled, and any undead within a defined radius of the chest take an amount of damage. The fight continues with the undead now at a disadvantage, and the heroes ready to capitalize. They recover the chest, and return it to the temple it was stolen from. Of course, unknown to the players, a piece of one of the more powerful undead landed in the chest before it was closed again, leaving behind a corrupting influence that will appear again sometime in the future.

I took some liberties, but at its core, you can see what I’ve done, and how this could lead to another adventure somewhere down the line. It will be an exciting battle, and the repercussions will be very far-reaching.

Conclusion

So, my thievery has paid off. Others have written on the subject, and I now have taken it a step further. Are there some other examples anyone can think of? I’d love to hear them. So, please comment, and watch your threatened squares.

By the way, what do you think of my new logo? I’m interested in feedback.

Links (Updated 11/5)

• Mike, from Gutter Cult tried this out. Read it here. I’m impressed.