Have you ever wanted higher stakes and deeper meaning in your escape adventures?
Story Design Volume 5 – A breakout story involves a protagonist trying to escape from a situation that’s not of their choosing, and possibly not of their making. Their captivity can be literal, like being locked in prison or stranded on an island. It may also be figurative, like an abusive relationship or an emotional situation they remain in due to guilt or fear. It’s clear that no one else is going to break them free from their situation; they need to rescue themselves.
Examples of the breakout plot include The Count of Monte Cristo, Escape from New York, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Great Escape, Midnight Express, and The Prisoner of Zenda.
Story Design: The Breakout covers all of the elements you need to prepare in order to tell an escape story. It’s based on concepts explored in Story Structure for Writers and Roleplayers, also published by Dancing Light Press. It’s a big book that goes into greater detail on how to get the most out of the three-act structure, as well as developing a three-phase series (campaign, if you prefer) with a clear beginning, middle, and end. If you want to use your favorite roleplaying game system to tell stories with more depth than kill monster, get treasure, repeat (not that there’s anything wrong with that), it is worth looking into.
Story Design Volume 5 – A breakout story involves a protagonist trying to escape from a situation that’s not of their choosing, and possibly not of their making. Their captivity can be literal, like being locked in prison or stranded on an island. It may also be figurative, like an abusive relationship or an emotional situation they remain in due to guilt or fear. It’s clear that no one else is going to break them free from their situation; they need to rescue themselves.
Examples of the breakout plot include The Count of Monte Cristo, Escape from New York, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Great Escape, Midnight Express, and The Prisoner of Zenda.
Story Design: The Breakout covers all of the elements you need to prepare in order to tell an escape story. It’s based on concepts explored in Story Structure for Writers and Roleplayers, also published by Dancing Light Press. It’s a big book that goes into greater detail on how to get the most out of the three-act structure, as well as developing a three-phase series (campaign, if you prefer) with a clear beginning, middle, and end. If you want to use your favorite roleplaying game system to tell stories with more depth than kill monster, get treasure, repeat (not that there’s anything wrong with that), it is worth looking into.
