Tapestry - Improv with Structure
This is an idea I've been noodling on for awhile and I'm hoping that by writing it down and sharing it with you all, we might be able to congeal it into something useful.
I love the improv aspect of Daggerheart, yet I have historically failed to capture it adequately at my table. Daggerheart should not be me, the GM, unfolding a mystery to my players who are consumers of this story. It should be more collaborative than that. To help me with this, I want to take the Campaign Frame and add a layer of structure to the over-arching plot based on the characters and their Connections. Something similar to the way Stonetop does prompts and questions that are very suggestive and intrinsically, explicitly tie the characters to parts of the story structure. Basically, a layer of narrative structure between the Campaign Frame and Connections that still leaves plenty of room for surprises and improvisation but helps me as the GM ensure I'm getting to the story beats. It would also help to focus players on their own character's stories.
What I'm envisioning is a sort of Mad Lib in 3 parts. Each part corresponds to the 3-act structure: Setup, Crescendo, Climax. Each part is a one-page Thread and is entirely themed to the Frame- its Themes and plot hooks. Together, the three Threads make the Tapestry. The GM sets a "Downtime" session to touch base with the players after Acts 1 and 2 of the actual campaign. This doesn't have to take very long.
The Setup Thread (which would occur during Session 0) is inspired by the Campaign Frame's inciting event, identifies the core conflict, sets up the BBEG, and ties the PC's to each other, the factions, and the stories. You can can the Connections directly in here.
The Crescendo Thread is more open-ended because of how many directions the story could have gone, so if it's not useful at that point, a GM may have to craft their own. That said, the blanks are bigger but the goal of this structure is to bring the dangling story threads toward each other. This may mean unifying certain threats, resolving the less compelling ones, or even starting a new one. Importantly, this act must feature some sort of Betrayal. It doesn't have to come from an NPC; it might be the betrayal of a concept, idea, or history that the characters believed. The point is to take something and flip it on its head to sew a new thread into the story.
The Climax Thread resolves. I think maybe this one is the most nebulous and GM-facing, though it would still need player inputs. Maybe the players provide inputs on things like the setting set pieces, a forgotten character is brought back from early in the story, a critical ally is lost. Critically though, it must identify the most important story threads to the players so that they can be resolved in the 3rd act of the campaign.
I'm fond of this idea because it's like a Session 0 but with additional campaign milestones to check in with the players and get their explicit input on the unfolding story. It feels very Daggerheart to me.