If you enjoy crafting your own stories inDungeons & Dragons, then you want the pivotal moments of the plot to be meaningful, likely adding a plot twist or two along the way. But playing a session of a TTRPG is not the same as watching a TV show, so it can be hard to get players invested enough to realize a twist has even happened.
There are a few tricks you can use to get the party invested, but it always depends on what the group wants out of the campaign. The story is being written by the entire group, so doing something that isn’t fun for everyone defeats the purpose of playing together.
1Set It Up Properly
It Isn’t A Twist If It’s Out Of Nowhere
Imagine this example: the party is investigating the murder of a King, and all the evidence points towards the royal advisor, but it turns out the murderer was actually the King’s brother. If the players didn’t even know the King had a brother, the twist had no impact since there was no way for them to know.
The risk in setting it up is that the players might discover the twist before it happens, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If your players manage to be one step forward from the plot, reward them accordingly, although feeling smart tends to be enough of a reward as it is.
2Make It Simple
Over Explaining It Can Ruin It
A good plot twist is one that’s easily understood, its impact on the story obvious at a glance. If, for example, a noble that the players were helping was actually a commoner all along, without proper context, it’s hard to have the players care about the ins and outs of an NPC’s life.
Now, if said alleged noble was key to the party gaining access to a castle, then the twist is easy to understand. Whenever you feel the need to make a twist that requires too much explanation, either simplify it or make that explanation happen during other adventures.
3Don’t Wait Long For The Reveal
No One Has That Much Attention Span
We all have that favorite show where something is set up in episode 1, and then 500 episodes later, it’s paid off in a gratifying way. D&D doesn’t work like that, and while you’re able to still have satisfying payoffs, you shouldn’t reference something from the beginning of the campaign at the end of it.
If you’re still adamant about making an epic twist that spans the whole adventure, then keep reminding players about the key components. If someone they’re working for is secretly evil, then have that someone show up regularly so the party remembers them by the time you unveil the twist.
4Take Something From The Party
Perfect For Non-Roleplayers
Not all D&D campaigns are story-heavy, and that’s perfectly fine; some groups just want to feel powerful while bashing monsters. A plot twist that can better serve these groups is one that affects them mechanically, like a long trek without mounts or an enemy that’s seemingly invulnerable.
Yet even in story-focused groups, taking something from them can be effective since it adds to the impact of the twist. Maybe their contact within a fortress is evil, and now they have to figure out a way out without their help.
5Use The Rogue Card
A Quick Twist Requiring Little Explanation
The Deck of Many Thingshas many wild effects within it, but one that can offer a twisting narrative to great results is the Rogue card. You don’t even need the whole deck since constructing a scenario where they’re forced to draw this card is simple.
The card makes it so an NPC is now hostile toward the party, and since this hostility is magical in nature, you’re able to turn a loved one into a lethal enemy. From there, the quest can be about finding access to divine or magical means to end the animosity, restoring that person to their harmless self.
6Have Positive Plot Twists
Not Everyone Should Be Backstabbing You
Most plot twists revolve around unmasking an evildoer or how a benevolent monarch turns out to be plotting nefarious schemes. To keep things fresh, you can also move it the other way around, having seemingly evil characters turn out to be the good guys.
This can have plenty of repercussions, especially if the party was slaying a group of seemingly evil cultists, only to realize the truth too late. On a more positive note, you’re able to have the group hunting a monster that turns out not to be evil at all, and now they’ve made a powerful friend for future adventures.
7Do The Expected If They Don’t Expect It
If They See It Coming, It Isn’t A Surprise
Each group has its own tastes, so not everybody expects the same out of D&D storylines. Certain groups love stories and get invested heavily, so they might be paying close attention to anything that gives away secrets hiding in the plot.
Now, changing the twist mid-way is bad taste, so you shouldn’t do that. But, if you know you’re dealing with players expecting a twist, you can use some red herrings to lure their attention one way and have the more obvious outcome happen instead.
8Don’t Over Do It
One Twist Is More Than Enough
If you have multiple twists throughout your campaign, the impact of each new one will be lessened as time goes by, so it’s best to have your efforts focused on a single, high-impact moment. If you have a cult leader who turns out to be a Dragon, only to later turn out to be Tiamat, it’s better to cut the middle man and have the cult leader be Tiamat.
If you’re a fan of convoluted stories and their plot twists, consider limiting them to one per overarching adventure. This will allow you to have more than one during a campaign but limited to it happening within the framing device of its containing story.
