Story Design: Curse Stories
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Add a sense of alienation to your metamorphosis stories and adventures.
Story Design Volume 11 - In a curse story the antagonist feels that the protagonist has done something wrong. Maybe they have¸ and the antagonist's actions are justified; maybe they haven't¸ and the antagonist's wrath is misplaced or unfair. As a result of the antagonist's need for justice¸ the protagonist is physically changed somehow. This does not have to be a literal curse; the changes can be the result of magic¸ medical experimentation¸ genetic manipulation¸ poison¸ radiation¸ or whatever else fits the genre¸ time¸ and place. The changes may offer some advantages¸ but they also bring significant drawbacks¸ and the protagonist will want the effects to be reversed.
Examples of the curse plot include Beauty and the Beast¸ District 9¸ The Fly¸ The Metamorphosis¸ Pinocchio¸ Thinner¸ and The Wolfman.
Story Design: Curse Stories covers all of the elements you need to prepare in order to tell a metamorphosis story. It's based on concepts explored in Story Structure for Writers and Roleplayers ¸ also published by Dancing Light Press. It's a big book that goes into greater detail on how to get the most out of the three-act structure¸ as well as developing a three-phase series (campaign¸ if you prefer) with a clear beginning¸ middle¸ and end. If you want to use your favorite roleplaying game system to tell stories with more depth than kill monster¸ get treasure¸ repeat (not that there's anything wrong with that)¸ it is worth looking into.
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