How do you balance plot twists with collaborative storytelling?
I’ve run quite a few campaigns now, and I’ve always been really big on collaborative storytelling. Players suggest entire plot hooks, characters, how they think different factions would react, etc. I run, but we all write.
However, my next campaign is the first one to have an actual big plot twist, specifically the death of a long-running but background NPC. This NPC is an empress, and her death is going to really shake up the entire setting.
I think her death would be a very surprising and cool moment to get the players invested in the story, due to how much it changes, as well as the new characters who are thrust into interesting situations from the resulting power vacuum.
However, I can’t ask players about what they think would happen or ask them to build characters with interesting motivations or backstories that could make for more interesting roleplay in this scenario.
I am curious if any of you have ever been in a similar situation, and if so, how you handled it?