Tent Poles
Mind out of the gutters, people. "Tent poles" is a term you hear a lot in story development circles. Basically, it is the key story points in your arc.
Most movies have 5-7 tent pole moments; these are the scenes you are most likely to see in the trailer. As the name suggests, tent pole moments are the key structural points of a story, and just as an actual tent would fall apart if you were to kick down one of its poles, so will your story’s structure.
Most movies have 5-7 tent pole moments; these are the scenes you are most likely to see in the trailer. As the name suggests, tent pole moments are the key structural points of a story, and just as an actual tent would fall apart if you were to kick down one of its poles, so will your story’s structure.
So how can we use this concept in RPG story creation?
Let’s start with the two key moments in any story: the beginning and the end.
All stories are about the resolution of a conflict, and the moment that this conflict is set into motion is known as the inciting incident. And guess what? This is our first Tent Pole.
So let’s think about what gets the ball rolling in our story, and then create a scene for it.
All stories are about the resolution of a conflict, and the moment that this conflict is set into motion is known as the inciting incident. And guess what? This is our first Tent Pole.
So let’s think about what gets the ball rolling in our story, and then create a scene for it.
Let’s say the main conflict of our story revolves around a plot by Izz’gard the Spoiled One and his plot to secure his inheritance through murder. How do we bring our characters into the story?
....
...nothing?
Oh, fine, I'll do it. How about, while our characters are minding their own business, they stumble across a dead body floating down the river, with evidence of murder abounds. Let’s write that down.
....
...nothing? Oh, fine, I'll do it. How about, while our characters are minding their own business, they stumble across a dead body floating down the river, with evidence of murder abounds. Let’s write that down.
Tent Poles
1. Inciting Incident - Characters discover dead body in the river
2.
3.
4.
5.
Okay, now that we know how it starts, how should it end? Well, I’ve had a hankerin' to try out a new monster, a Treasure Golem, so why not use this to build our climax? Let's plan an epic battle to take place in the royal vaults, where the party will have to battle the very gold that Izz’gard has been killing to secure.
Tent Poles
1. Inciting Incident -Discover dead body in the river
2.
3.
4.
5. Climax – Treasure Golem - Epic vault battle
So, a climax is where everything comes to a head. I said minds out of the gutters people! This is where the conflict of the story is resolved, either happily or tragically.
Okay, looking at our list we still have some blank spaces in there, so let’s find a good midpoint turn.
The midpoint turn is a term used to describe a reversal in the direction of the story, usually taking place in the middle (surprise, surprise) and setting us up for the turn of the climax. It’s usually the point where everything seems hopeless, or where victory seems within the heroes grasp just to find out that what he was seeking wasn’t what he was after.
The midpoint turn is a term used to describe a reversal in the direction of the story, usually taking place in the middle (surprise, surprise) and setting us up for the turn of the climax. It’s usually the point where everything seems hopeless, or where victory seems within the heroes grasp just to find out that what he was seeking wasn’t what he was after.
To bring it back to our game, let’s say that Izz’ard is the one who hired the party to investigate the murder, and our midpoint turn occurs when they discover they’ve been used to kill off the last man standing in the way of Izz’ard's fortune, and that he was the murderer the whole time. Unfortunately, this revelation comes as the party is dumped into the dark caverns of darkness from which not even darkness can escape.
So, let’s add it to the list.
So, let’s add it to the list.
Tent Poles
1. Inciting Incident - Party discovers dead body in the river
2.
3. Midpoint Turn – Izz’ard is the real villain! Thrown in Dark Cavern of Darkness.
4.
5. Climax – Epic vault battle
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The final two tent poles basically write themselves... well, with a little help from your creativity.Since the party killed someone for Izz’ard, we’ll need a place for that to happen. How about Tent Pole number 2? It makes sense.
Tent Poles
1. Inciting Incident - Party discovers dead body in the river
2. Rising Action - Track down killer & chase through streets!
3. Midpoint Turn – Izz’ard is the real villain! Thrown in Dark Cavern of Darkness.
4.
5. Climax – Epic vault battle
And number 4 can become the escape from the Dark Caverns of Darkness.
Tent Poles
1. Inciting Incident - Party discovers dead body in the river
2. Rising Action - Track down killer & chase through streets!
3. Midpoint Turn – Izz’ard is the real villain! Thrown in Dark Cavern of Darkness.
4. Heroic Rising Action - Escape from the DCD – Battle with Shadows
5. Climax – Epic vault battle
After this is done, it is just a matter of fleshing out the scenes, creating NPC, settings, clues, etc, until you have a well-structured story.
Now, before you start shouting about railroading, pre-destination, and all that, there are a few caveats about how you should use tent poles.
For starters these encounters are targets, and moving targets at that. They supply you, as the story teller, with destinations you can aim the players towards.
If your players circumvent, destroy, or flat out miss the target: you may have to create another option to put them back on track, or even scrap the original story and devise a new path.
For starters these encounters are targets, and moving targets at that. They supply you, as the story teller, with destinations you can aim the players towards.
If your players circumvent, destroy, or flat out miss the target: you may have to create another option to put them back on track, or even scrap the original story and devise a new path.
Tent poles are the iconic moments that you think of when someone mentions the game. Take a moment and think about some of the movies you’ve seen, and books you’ve read. What are the first scenes to pop into your mind? Odds are good these were the tent pole moments.
Good Gamin’
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