Story Arcs

As a DM prepares for each weekly meeting, its important that they consider the ongoing plot of their campaign. D&D is a form of collaborative storytelling and "story" is a vital part of a healthy campaign. The campaign plot is hard enough to track, but there can also be any number of side-plots affecting a party. Each of these plots is an "Arc:" the building blocks of a compelling story. Arcs come in different sizes and weave together to form the central story of the campaign. This week, I'm going to look at the different kinds of arcs.

Personal Arcs
Personal Arcs are neither the smallest nor the largest arcs in a campaign, but they have foundations that stretch into time before the "main" story gets started. A personal arc is the story of a specific character. When you get started, the size of a personal arc depends on how much effort the player was willing to put into their back story. Similarly, personal arcs can only grow if the player is willing to invest the energy to determine how their character reacts and is ultimately changed by the events of the campaign.

Encounter Arcs
Each encounter is a story, albeit a short one. The story of the average encounter is little more than "The party enters a room. Holy crap, monsters! The party exists the room." Every now and then, however, the stakes are a little higher. The encounter takes place on a rooftop or a platform slowly sinking into a lake of lava. The party may need to dispatch foes quickly or discretely to ensure the safety of a hostage. Once in a great while, the party will finally corner a hated foe for an epic battle to the death.

Quest Arcs
A Quest is a string of encounters that share a common purpose. Usually, this is a goal such as "recover the artifact," "find the missing person," or "get rid of that really big bear." The encounters that build into a quest arc tend to occur uninterrupted so that the goal or purpose can be fulfilled (or unfulfilled) as quickly as possible. On their own, quests do not contribute a tremendous amount to the campaign's story. When looked at together, however, one can see the tiny themes and hints that build into something greater.

Adventure Arcs
Adventure arcs are formed by quest and encounter arcs (and sometimes personal arcs) that share a common theme. The theme may be subtle, like a common monster type or more obvious, like a shared uniform. This theme will tie seemingly unrelated events together and point the party towards a greater foe. As the adventure arc continues, the party will learn more about their enemy and work towards a confrontation. These arcs tend to conclude after such a confrontation, but not before the party learns that it was all part of a greater plot.

Campaign Arcs
The campaign arc is the granddaddy of them all. It can and should bring together personal, quest, and adventure arcs into a cohesive story. As the party works through the campaign, this arc should always make appearances. The more disjointed events seem in the beginning, the better. As the story progresses, the characters should put together the pieces and realize what will be waiting for them at the end of their adventures. It should be apparent what's at stake should the heroes fail: nothing less than the end of the world as the characters know it.