Struggling with Shared Narratives?

Foosball table ground view with two sides facing off over a D20, which has replaced the ball.
Kicking the story around doesn’t have to be stressful.

So you’ve decided to become a Storytelling gamer? Buckle up, it’s gonna get bumpy..

Creating great story’s together is one of tabletop rpg’s unique joys. The storytelling freedom ttrpgs naturally lend themselves to is one of the reasons why we’re drawn to it. “You mean I can do anything?” is a feeling that hits us all from the moment we pick up the dice. The shiny shiny dice..

Shared Narrative is a technique often used in storytelling centric games like Fate, Dungeon World, Ironsworn, or Monster of the Week, and can be a fantastic tool for coming up with truly inspiring tales. While games like Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder limit player agency mostly to their character’s actions, there’s still plenty of room for true shared narratives in any system.

But within this realm of unlimited spur-of-the-moment heroics and triumphant joys of describing the outcome of that critical success roll, there’s a shadow of despair always lurking. And no, it’s not a crit fail, even those can be great if you can turn them into cool story moments.

The shadowy truth is, creating shared narratives takes WORK.

The art of creating a story within a group has been a struggle for humanity since the dawn of time. No, I’m not being hyperbolic.. For RPG’s, allowing players more freedom to define core elements of the story can be especially scary, given the time and effort GM’s have put into preparing their epic questlines. “They could break my game!” cries the author-wannabe inside every GM.

Taking that leap, giving players control over the story, can be worrisome even for seasoned GM’s. It can often clash with nostalgic feelings around How Games Should Be Played(tm).

But it’s worth it for every GM to brave the murky waters of design-by-committee, if for no other reason that to give your poor overtasked GM brain a well deserved rest. Maybe also occasionally being surprised and delighted by the creativity of your friends, and letting them get a taste of what it’s like to be god.

Fear not brave role-players, here are some handy bulleted lists to guide you through the dark!

The Writer’s Tomb

If you’ve ever been part of a writer’s room for a creative project, you’ll know the highs and lows of collaborative brainstorming. Sometimes the ideas flow, and other times—well, you’re staring at a blank wall filled with little colored sticky notes for hours, shouting at each other over cold coffee.

The same thing can happen in tabletop shared narratives when the game hits a creative stall. Players might hesitate to take control, worried about stepping on toes or making a “wrong” move, and the GM might feel stuck trying to guide the group without railroading the story.

It’s icky tricky sticky human stuff. But we have a way through this metaphorical tomb.

Solutions

Collaborative Questioning: Use open-ended questions to nudge the group forward. Instead of dictating outcomes, ask, “What do you think happens when the villain escapes?” or “How does the town react to your sudden arrival?”

  • Question first – Ask later: It’s often best to try and pre-write these questions out ahead of time, to avoid getting locked down at the table. This also helps to keep the story somewhat on rails, as you can frame the questions to lean one way or another, almost like using NPC’s to drop lore..
  • Paint the Scene: A great example is the “Paint the Scene” format found in Brindlewood Bay, by Jason Cordova, which prompts the players with questions on the underlying truth of the scene or moment, what makes it narratively interesting, instead of just it’s visual or physical elements. “What makes this town appear to have once been prosperous, but is now almost dead?”

Frameworks and Scaffolding: Lean on game mechanics designed for improvisation. No one way is going to work for every group, you have to experiment to find what works for you.

  • Box Subtext: Let the players write the “Box Text”. Player takes turns setting up scenes and their details, using simple hooks for the location, key events, or dramatic stakes to spur their description.
    This ensures everyone has a chance to influence the story without the GM needing to come up with everything on the spot. The GM can always arbitrate what the Final Truth, but a “Yes, and..” approach inspires unbound creativity and fun across the group.
  • Inventing the Past: Build a timeline collaboratively, where each player adds events or details that expand on the history of the realm. You might zoom into a pivotal battle or step back to see how an earlier decision shaped the kingdom, as part of the intro to new scenes in-game.
  • You Are Here: Consider a journey unfolding along a map, with each stop providing a specific prompt: “Reveal a secret about your character, and why does this location reveal it?” or “What danger hides here, and what are they waiting for?” “Who died here and why were they important?” The journey itself becomes the story.
  • The Power in Names: Let players introduce small elements to the setting, like naming a local tavern or describing a unique piece of folklore. These contributions help them feel more invested in the world.

Start with Session Zero: Establish comfort with narrative control early. Discuss how players can add to the world without stepping on others’ creative toes.

  • The Story Bible: Begin by agreeing on themes, tone, and boundaries for the game. This is a normal part of any rpg session 0, but in shared narrative games this step is critical and benefits from more details.
    Spell them out, visual aids can help here! Decide if the story will focus on lighthearted adventures or dark, gritty drama, and clarify what topics are off-limits. Update this as the games & story continues!
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Dedicate time to collaboratively create key elements of the setting. Ask questions like, “What’s a unique tradition in this world?” or “What major event shaped this region?”
  • Family Ties: Have players develop relationships between their characters before the game begins. For instance, they might decide that two characters are childhood friends or rivals.

Sandy Mountains of Madness

Shared storytelling sometimes falters when there’s no cohesive truth to build toward.

Our noble GM feels like they’re climbing a mountain of sand, but every step crumbles beneath their boots. Then, out of nowhere, the Narrative Hydra appears, each of its heads shouting different ideas about whether the mountain even belongs in the story. Our hero swings their mighty bibliographic-blade, trying to cut through the contextual chaos, but before they can breathe, the Sandstorm of Ambiguity whips up and blinds everyone. To make matters worse, a giant Plot Hole Maw opens up right underneath, threatening to swallow the campaign arc whole.

Without a solid foundation the GM and group ends up stuck, battling these monsters over and over without getting anywhere.

Solutions

Lay the Foundation: Introduce fixed narrative pillars. These can be shared worldbuilding elements agreed upon during Session Zero or recurring NPCs/events that tie the story together. The important part is that they are outside the range of what’s mutable within the shared narrative. They are the exclusive tools of the One True Author; downloaded PDFs.

  • McGuffin with Cheese: Decide early on that some specific thing exists that drives the story. No matter how the players approach it, this McGuffin remains a central thread that affects the story, and is firmly in the GM’s control.
  • The Deep Magic: Establish a fixed set of Lore for the setting, like a recent war, that all the players can reference and build from. Let the players add their own elements, but keep this central lore as a fixed point that creates stable narrative grounding for your stories.
  • The Clean Up Crew: Create recurring NPCs who acts as touchstones, giving advice, providing quests, correcting assumptions, sharing new information, or just serving as a reminder of the larger narrative.

Everyone gets a Shovel: Instead of just asking for recaps or for players to ‘take notes’, assign each player an area of narrative responsibility, giving them distinct roles guiding specific parts of the storytelling process. These roles encourage accountability and provide structure.

  • The Historian: One player takes on the role of ensuring continuity by documenting key events, maintaining a timeline, and reminding the group of unresolved story threads.
  • The Foreshadower: Another player is tasked with introducing subtle clues or elements that hint at future twists or themes. These are intentionally vague, and the GM can twist them as they see fit.
  • The Challenger: A third player might be in charge of creating obstacles, moral dilemmas, or rival factions for the group to face.
  • The Visionary: Someone else could be responsible for painting vivid scenes from the player’s actions, describing settings, or fleshing out the sensory details of the world.
  • The Mediator: Another player might take on ensuring player ideas and contributions are balanced, helping resolve any conflicting visions for the story.
  • The Wildcard: Lastly, someone could be tasked to introduce unexpected twists after scenes end, to keep the narrative fresh and exciting.

Check-Ins: Regularly pause the game to align on the story’s direction. Ask questions like, “Are we all on the same page about the stakes here?”

  • Consent is Key: After a major plot twist, confirm with the group: “Does everyone understand why the villain is targeting this NPC?” or “Are you okay with this town being all underpants gnomes?”
  • Tie off Loose Threads: Before a new session, recap and clarify unresolved threads: “Do we want to find the missing heir, or should we deal with the rebellion first?” Talk outside of character about this, giving players – not just their characters – agency in where things go in the story.
  • Rule #1 – Is it Fun: Use moments of downtime in the story to ask: “How is everyone feeling about the story so far?” “Is this fun, or too much work?” “Is there anything we could do different?” Share the process, not just the results.

It’s all fun & games until the Clowns show up..

Creating stories together over a table covered with glorious plastic gemstone polyhedrons can be truly a magical experience when everyone feels heard and invested.

But let’s face it: group projects are hard. Someone always wants to rewrite the entire plot halfway through, someone else thinks we need “goblins made of cheese,” and there’s always that one player who turns their character into a sad undead HR violating clown named Chuckles.

The good news? With the right tools and approach, and deep respect and trust for your friends around the table, you can turn your chaotic brainstorm sessions into the most epic quest of all, the consumption of vast quantities of snacks. Oh, and you’re games will be killer too. Bonus.


New Games to Try!

These games all focus on shared narrative or co-opted storytelling as a key element in their gameplay. Giving these games a go can help get a feel for what may work better for you and your group.

  • Fate Core: Players use aspects to collaboratively define the world and their characters’ struggles, making every detail a shared narrative piece.
  • Dungeon World: The GM and players co-create the world on the fly with mechanics like GM Moves, and “Ask Questions and Build on the Answers.”
  • Ironsworn: A solo or cooperative RPG where players use oracle tables and vow mechanics to drive the story collaboratively.
  • Brindlewood Bay: Players unravel cozy mysteries, with narrative control shared through theorizing mechanics that define “what really happened.”
  • Monster of the Week: Uses a mix of player-driven moves and GM prompts to build episodic, monster-hunting adventures together.