When Everything Falls Apart
I recently watched the amazing Korean movie Parasite, and it got me thinking about something that is a ton of fun in games. That point when the PCs plan falls apart. No spoilers, but in Parasite, when things go off the rails, it’s spectacular. I believe this is one of the things audiences are reacting to when they love the movie.
If you haven’t seen it, seek it out. It’s not supernatural or science fiction, but it is an explosion of deception, stealth, surprises, violence, and bad planning. Sound like an adventuring party?
Why it Works
I’m not talking about the situation where things are obviously too difficult for the party to handle. I’m talking about when the party has a plan, the PCs are successfully executing the plan, everyone’s feeling confident, and then it all goes sideways.
In a game of Fiasco, it’s called the Tilt. In The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady it’s when either a mountain starts flying and becomes a moon or an eldritch “god” forces it’s way into the player’s world.
For the full effect it’s best if the characters are already skating on thin ice. Perhaps they are running a con game, sneaking onto a star destroyer, or investigating a creepy ruin. The PCs are in (potentially) hostile territory, but by their wits and skills, they’re succeeding.
Having things fall apart for the party is great fun at the table. All the cool competence and smugness gives way to panic and improvisation.
Setting Up the Tilt
You could just rely on your game system’s rules and wait for a player to flub a roll. Suddenly the merchant sees through the con, a stormtrooper raises the alarm, or the invisible spirit alerts it’s dark master. But, as a game master, you have other tools to make your player’s efforts more likely to fall apart.
When Plans Collide
When the focus all the party’s efforts is in one direction—fooling the merchant and her family, sneaking past the guards on the star destroyer, investigating the clues in the ruin—introduce a third party with their own hidden agenda. A servant in the merchant’s house is stealing food for the monster in a secret room. Droids on the star destroyer are under the control of a thief who needs a big, splashy distraction. A cultist of the dark master in the ruins has a hidden agenda: to awake a different, darker master.
Make sure these third parties work in plain sight of the PCs. Give the PCs opportunities to act, in this and all your other tricks. The players (and you) are the audience, keep the big stuff on stage.
Copycats
Someone thinks, hey, if the PCs are pulling off this caper, how hard could it be?
The PCs run into another group who shouldn’t be there. These outsiders have some cover story (“We got lost?”) but actually are on a similar mission as the PCs.
The outsiders could get into a heated argument with the PCs at the worst possible time. “We’ve been working on this for months. This is our con/infiltration/investigation. Get out before you spoil everything!” “Shhhh!”
This new group just isn’t as good as the party, and if they get caught, it will bring the hammer down on everyone.
The new group has already done something the PCs know to be stupid. Killed the wrong figure, taken the wrong treasure, opened the wrong crypt. Now the PCs must deal with these idiots and fix or cover up the mistake.
Secrets
The more secrets there are, the more likely the PCs haven’t uncovered all of them. Secrets could be social (the merchant has a secret twin and they regularly trade places), tactical (the star destroyer is transporting imperial assassins), or physical (the ruins are infested with traps).
It’s All Fine
Sometimes your players will take your surprises and roll with them. That’s fine. If it happens every time, just increase the difficulty. If they never succeed on their plans, back off a bit; let things go right for once.
Most of all, watch your table. Are they having the time of their lives scrambling when it all falls apart? Or is it frustrating them? Mix it up so they have fun but never know what will happen next.
And get ready for that next tilt.
