Turning the Hat Over...

It's been a rather busy week at Olde House Rules, and not just because of Fallout 4, either!  But thinking about games has really gotten us mulling over all those recurring themes...

You know the drill; rescue the princess, etc.  Fun stuff, but I always liked to turn the hat upside down and switch things out from time to time.  Here's a few examples:

BREAKING IN: Once, I had a thief hired to break INTO a prison to assassinate an inmate before the city could do the job!

BREAKING UP: Another time, an agent of a powerful dragon approached the characters to remove a captured princess who had become unbearable and REFUSED TO LEAVE!  She was a demi-goddess, so our intrepid party had to proceed with due caution!

Turning the hat on its head can
result in varied and interesting adventures!

HELPING THE DEAD: Finally, the servants of a lich, known for being generally solitary and reclusive, approached the characters to enlist their aid in beating a RIVAL PARTY trying to take him down and loot his wealth!  This one had an "interesting" ending.

In all of the above, the players found themselves either entering situations they normally try to avoid/escape or helping enemies against people they would normally support!  Doing this introduces a degree of moral ambiguity (no shortage of that), but also expands the campaign, as the characters must work with traditional foes who make strange bedfellows at best.  Interesting stuff!

If you haven't done this yet, give it a try.  Somehow, we suspect you already have, so feel free to share your experiences...

At least until Fallout 4 sucks us all into its inescapable trap!