By: LabLazarus
We speak of TTRPGs as collaborative storytelling, the GM is even referred to as the storyteller in many systems, but often do so without considering what that really means. Humans are instinctive storytellers, in fact, some people even claim that the act of storytelling is what makes us truly human. In this respect, a lot of RPG players simply follow their instincts regarding the structure and plot of their stories. However, ask any writer or storyteller and they will talk to you about the importance of structure to telling better, more impactful stories. One of the best ways to strengthen narratives at the RPG table is to look at narrative structures, how they work and why they work.
Below you will find five common narrative structures and what they will bring to your game: Act Structure, Hero’s Journey, A-Plot/B-Plot, Ring Structure, and Non-Linear Stories. Keep in mind that these can work together, a good storyteller can mix Hero’s Journey and Ring Structure, or land the beats of Act Structure within a Non-Linear Story.
Act Structure
Your favorite book or movie is likely in what we call the Act Structure. Three- and five-act stories are widespread in Western literature. Most American and European films or plays follow them in some form. They work well for stories that you want to feel cinematic, that have a strong linear model, and that focus on the narrative, rather than the characters.
Three- and five-act structures share a general “shape” of increasing tension leading to a climax, with differences in how that curve is split into sections or acts.
In a five-act structure:
Act I introduces the characters, their situation, and sets up the stakes and tension.
Act II presents the beginning of the central conflict.
Act III complicates the conflict and raises the tensions. There is usually a major revelation or twist here.
Act IV brings the conflict to a head in the climax, the highest moment of tension and action in the play.
Act V is the denouement, resolving the conflict, tying up loose ends and showing the aftermath.
Three-act structure merges Acts I and II into Act 1, and Acts III and IV into Act 2, with Act V being equivalent to Act 3.
The original Star Wars films trio is a good example of the three act structure. The beginning movie A New Hope introduces us to Luke, Leia, Han, Darth Vader and the main conflict of the story, with the destruction of the Death Star. We know they have won the battle, but not yet the war. Movie two, The Empire Strikes Back adds the twist of Luke’s heritage, and all seems lost for our heroes! In movie three, Return of the Jedi, the conflict between Luke and Darth Vader comes to a head, side-kicks are saved, there is a huge battle, and in the end, good triumphs.
This general structure is very common in all types of Western story genres and will be familiar to most players.
Keep in mind that in both structures, each act has rising tension throughout, and usually ends with a small climactic moment that carries weight and breaks some tension before the next act. These help keep the action moving and hold audience attention.
Hero’s Journey
The hero begins in a mundane, boring world. They embark on a quest with supernatural help. They travel into a new world of mystery and darkness where they find a mentor and helpers. At the center of the story, the hero dies and is reborn, literally or symbolically. That death is a revelation that lets them discover power, often called a “magic sword” and transform themselves. With this they can defeat the darkness and return to the world.
Developed by Joseph Campbell, the Hero’s Journey or Monomyth is an arc that shows up again and again in myths and legends from Gilgamesh to Lord of the Rings. It is suited to epic stories that focus on the development of the characters rather than the wider world. In particular, it works for stories with a single or small group of protagonists.
Familiar examples of this are the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Star Wars: A New Hope. In Star Wars Luke begins on Tatooine, travels to rescue Princess Leia with Han, Chewie, and Obi-Wan and becomes trapped on the Death Star. Obi-Wan dies after having taught Luke to use the force (and literal magic sword) and remains as a spirit to support him. The heroes escape to the Rebel base on Yavin. The Rebels attack the Death Star and are nearly defeated until Luke uses his newfound magic powers and surprise support from Han to destroy the station and save the galaxy.
A-Plot / B-Plot
This set up follows two (or more) stories at the same time. It’s something you see often in sitcoms and other television, but it also comes up in heist movies. Jurassic Park uses this, along with almost every episode of the TV show Seinfeld. It works well for stories that are meant to feel complicated, that want to contrast two sets of events, especially where players are in on information that the fictional characters lack. It also works for parties that split up often, or groups that want to give different parts of an ensemble their own space to shine.
In Jurassic Park the narrative splits just before the park’s systems go offline. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Harding stay back while Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm and the kids continue their tour. When the power goes out, Sattler heads back to the command center and works with the remaining staff to understand the situation and restore the park. Meanwhile Grant and the kids race through the park trying to get to safety. The story switches back and forth between the two at key moments like switching on an electric fence the children are currently climbing.
The stories can follow any structure, though often they have a three-act or other simple structure to reduce complexity. Often, the two plots connect at major story beats, such as plot twists in one plot that have a bearing on the other plot. They usually come together at or slightly before the climax.
Ring Structure
This is a structure where events in the first and second half of the story mirror one another. It’s also known as chiastic structure. It appears in traditional stories like myths and fairytales. It works well for stories that want to emphasize themes or ideas and make events feel significant beyond simply moving forward the narrative.
Ring stories have an event near the beginning that seems insignificant until it is recalled near the climax. That is often followed by events that have similar callbacks later in the story. Depending on the story, these may reemerge in the order they happened or jumbled, and the callbacks can be explicit, such as hearing a story that is the answer to a riddle, or more indirect, such as a repeated motif or image.
The Lion King, the Harry Potter series and Dracula all follow this form. I’ll use the plot of Dracula and number the pieces to show the form. (1) Jonathan Harker travels to Dracula’s castle, where he is trapped. (2) Dracula abandons Harker and leaves his servants to kill him. (3) Dracula travels to England. (4) We meet Harker’s social circle who all compete and argue. (5) Dracula hunts Lucy (6) and uses her to learn about the heroes, and turns her into a vampire. (7) Van Helsing and the heroes hunt down, find and destroy her. Here the story turns.
(7) Van Helsing and the heroes hunt for Dracula. (6) They find Renfield and try to use him to learn about Dracula. (5) Dracula attacks Mina (4) inspiring the heroes to band together and nearly defeat Dracula. (3) Dracula escapes back to Transylvania. (2) Where the heroes battle his allies. (1) And defeat him at the castle where the story began.
Nonlinear Story
These stories don’t run in purely chronological order. They generally adhere to one of the other structures, but combine and connect events in order to make the structure work, rather than tell it in order. They work well to maintain an air of mystery about events or show the connections between things that happened at different times. This can allow the players to discover the mystery together.
Sometimes, this works with a central narrative interrupted by flashbacks, memories, or dreams. This can be very helpful to reveal relevant parts of a character’s backstory and motivation. The story can also be constructed of vignettes that jump between time periods like a collage. In other cases, the story has 2 or more narratives that run in parallel with key moments of connection like an a-plot/b-plot story. Blades in the Dark uses this not only as a major narrative component, but actually builds it in as a mechanic. When something goes wrong during the game players can switch to flashbacks where they were preparing for this eventuality.
Some examples of this structure are Pulp Fiction, Memento, and Kill Bill. Pulp Fiction consists of 3 stories, a mobster taking his boss’s wife out to dinner, a boxer double crossing a mob boss before becoming trapped in a basement with him while trying to flee, and two mobsters accidentally killing a man and needing to hide the evidence. All of it is framed with the mobsters from the first and third stories being caught up in a robbery in a diner. Each story is told in a series of vignettes that interconnect. Some are flashbacks, some jump ahead, but they work together to create a narrative arc.
Using the Structures
Using established narrative structures purposefully may seem daunting. It can seem challenging to ensure that an adventure or campaign follows an established structure. Players are notorious for thwarting GM plans and wandering off to do what they want. Dice add another level of complexity, presenting moments where the hero’s great victory turns into a fizzle or the villain’s evil schemes fall apart to a few well placed 20s. However, there is a reason these structures endure over time, and they can be used purposefully to great effect.
To get around some of the challenges inherent to telling a story through TTRPGs, some GMs railroad their parties, forcing their players to follow the narrative they want to present in one way or another. This doesn’t have to be negative as long as it’s handled delicately. The story of heroes reacting to events beyond their control can be compelling, and subtle nudges to follow the story can feel more like road signs than shackles for some groups. All good stories have a plot of some kind, and the alternative is to have a meandering pointless adventure.
GMs can make use of the illusion of choice here to support player agency without sacrificing control. If the party needs a specific piece of information to move the plot forward, a GM can provide multiple ways to give that to them, research in the library, a rumor in the market, or a stolen object in the thieves’ guild. The party has a choice on what they want to do next, but whatever they choose, they will get that information and move to the next phase of the plot.
Similarly, a plot that unspools in the background can keep a narrative connected with a structure without forcing the players to take specific actions. Especially with a powerful villain, having the antagonist’s actions happen offscreen, with the players primarily witnessing their outcomes, can keep agency for players while giving the GM control of the overall plot.
Alternatively, a GM can provide a lot of latitude to players by keeping the story beats loose. Rather than focusing on specific events or checks, focus on the narrative purpose of those events. In this method, the story would not specifically require that the party fail or succeed at something like stealing a magic amulet; instead it requires that through whatever interaction the party has at the place that houses the amulet, they recognize the lich knows what they’re up to. By focusing on narrative function over specific events, a wide range of outcomes can be embraced.
Finally, emergent storytelling can add narrative even in sandbox style campaigns. Rather than having a GM decide what all the story beats or narrative will be ahead of time, the GM keeps a lookout for significant moments and builds those into the story. The party finding interest in a random encounter leaves open the possibility that the enemy behind it has a bigger role to play. Randomly spotting a creature in the forest becomes a motif the GM can play with later in the story. This is a lot of on-the-fly work and requires a GM with experience and good instincts, but can create stories that feel rich and engaging without being forced.
Conclusion
While this isn’t exhaustive, I hope it gives you a sense of how structure can support storytelling in your game. GMs have a lot to do, and so often just wing it or run on instinct in terms of their stories. The reality is, GMs are falling back on their experiences of narrative structures whenever they run a game. Why not do it on purpose? Think of it as part of your preparation, a narrative structure gives you a framework which makes planning the session easier, while also making the story more compelling and gives you opportunities to try telling stories in ways you may not have considered doing previously. That takes practice, though, and specifically working within the frameworks is a step in building up those skills. Over time, consciously using these structures will become second nature. Your stories will naturally follow them, and you will be able to adapt and adjust on the fly.
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