Using Tropes with Intent ft. Paige Ford

Lean into the story shortcuts that will deliver powerful moments for your characters.

The group of adventurers pledging themselves to a dangerous mission...The guttural clicking of a monster stalking the party...A passing shadow that clues the party to look up, its source an enormous red dragon. All tropes! All Incredible moments! We were once resistant to the power of tropes, until we realized that you can't avoid them, and that they're actually a useful tool for running games. They're a shorthand that gets everybody into the moment because we all have a meaningful reference point. For this episode we have the talented Paige Ford joining us! She's used her favorite tropes, mostly horror and romance, to write a delightful plethora of gripping adventures for different TTRPG systems.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we cover the steps to using tropes to best effect in TTRPG's. First, you want to find the tropes that present themselves in the story and characters at the table. Next, identify their strengths, and explore how you can subvert or twist them. Finally, explore their themes, and pull as much roleplay potential out of them as possible.

In The Heroes Stage, we learn more about Paige's origins, skills, and gaming perspectives, and how they contribute to the romantically horrific, or horrifically romantic, adventures she creates.

Follow Paige and find her work:

Website: Paige Ford (paigefordgaming.com)

Twitter: OnePaigeRPG (@DnDnPaige) / Twitter

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