Once I have the basic idea (my scenarios are usually 5-8 sessions long), I plug it into the

following outline with three acts and five turning points:

Act 1:
· Set Up (10% of scenario, 1/2 to 1 session)

· Ends with turning point #1 – The Opportunity

· New Situation (15% of scenario, 1/2 to 1 session)

· Ends with turning point #2 – The Change of Plans

Act 2:
· Progress (25% of scenario, 1-2 sessions)

· Ends with turning point #3 – Point of No Return

· Complications & Higher Stakes (25% of scenario, 1-2 sessions)

· Ends with turning point #4 – The Major Setback

Act 3:
· Final Push(15% of scenario, 1 session)

· Ends with turning point #5 – The Climax

· Aftermath (10% of scenario, 1/2 to 1 session)

Stage I: The Set Up

During this stage, I introduce all the player characters and we learn what they’ve been up to.
Individual PC subplots are role-played out, and the players are whisked away from the everyday
and drawn into the game setting.
At the end of stage one, we reach turning point #1 – The Opportunity. This is where I present the
PCs with a plot hook to pursue. However, this is not the main goal of the scenario. It only brings
them to The New Situation.

Stage II: The New Situation

This is often a new location in the game setting. Depending on the projected length of the
scenario, it can take all of session 2, or the latter half of session 1.
In “The New Situation”, the PCs go to the new place where they interact with some NPCs and
fight some minor baddies.
At the end of the New Situation there is turning point #2 – The Change of Plans. This is where I
reveal the main goal of the scenario with a clearly defined end point (stop the evil plan, get the
dingus, save the kidnapped person).
Once the goal of the PCs is clear, the players quickly jump into the third stage: Progress.

Stage III: Progress

During this stage of the scenario, the PCs uncover clues and start to work toward the scenario’s
main goal.
At this point, I always introduce a couple of obstacles (1-2 combat or role-playing obstacles)
which can take up 1-2 sessions depending on the scenario’s projected length.
I make sure the PCs are able to overcome most obstacles during this stage, which brings them to
turning point #3 – The Point of No Return.
Up to this point, the PCs had the option of going back to what they were doing in the Set Up. But
now the players realize they must fully commit to the goal of the scenario.
Of course, the PCs press on and this is where the shit starts to really hit the fan as they enter
Complications & Higher Stakes.

Stage IV: Complications & Higher Stakes (1-2 game

sessions)
This is where I start throwing everything I can at the PCs. Everything is harder and more and
more things get in the PCs’ way.
Plus, I try to raise the stakes making the consequences more dire if the PCs fail to reach the goal.
This is also where I’ve found the game starts going off script and I start winging it as a GM.
The players usually start doing things to reach the goal that I haven’t thought of. Still, I always
think of a few ways for the players to reach the goal and defeat the baddies.
This is where I throw in the really tough combats too (where the PCs can die). As the PCs have
to deal with more and more challenges, it all reaches a boiling point, turning point #4 – the Major
Setback.
At the Major Setback, I try to make something happen to the PCs to make it seem all is lost and
failure is certain.
Now in Hollywood, it’s easy to have the Major Setback. It’s just written into the script at the
75% mark, no matter what the movie. It’s always there (just watch any movie and figure out the
75% mark and voila, there it is, EVERY TIME).
But RPGs aren’t scripted and by this point in the scenario, my PCs are usually doing all sorts of
crazy and unpredictable stuff. But I try to throw something in at the 75% point where it seems
certain the PCs are going to fail or at least have a hard time.
Of course, the PCs overcome this obstacle to enter The Final Push.

Stage V: The Final Push (1 game session)

After pushing past the Major Setback, the PCs have only one option, a do-or-die effort to save
the world, defeat the baddies, get the girl.
During this stage, the pace in my game gets ridiculously fast, and the conflict is intense. I run
action-adventure genres (Super Heroes, Hollow Earth Expedition) and there is constant action
during this session, usually for the entire session (not always combat, but constant action, death-
defying feats, piloting vehicles through hazes of gunfire, explosions and the like).
This all builds until turning point #5 – the Climax, where the PCs defeat the baddies once and for
all and accomplish the goal of the scenario.
After all the dust has settled, I move onto the Aftermath.

Stage VI: The Aftermath (1/2 to 1 game session)

This stage might take a whole session following the session dedicated to the Final Push. Or it
might take just an hour at the end of the scenario.
During this time we see the PCs living their lives after achieving the goal. A few subplots may be
handled, especially if the main plot affected any ongoing individual PC subplots. This is also a
great place to plant the seed for the next scenario and gets players excited for the next time you
GM.

Conclusion
After many years of GMing with no sense of plot structure, I’ve found this Hollywood formula
to work very well. It keeps the pace moving and helps me with writing block when I’m trying to
figure out what happens next as I write down scenarios.
I’ve found I am able to somewhat script the first half of a scenario, and then sort of ad lib the
second half to a large extent, with the complications being reactions to the PCs actions (I only
detail locations, baddies actions/reactions, and time-based events at this point).
I’ve also found that the Hollywood formula works for any length of scenario. I recently applied
the Hollywood formula to a three session adventure, and have applied the formula to a long over-
arching campaign where each scenario is a stage in the story arc.
One of my campaigns, for Hollow Earth Expedition, consists of eight scenarios that are each 5-8
game session in length. For example, the first scenario of the campaign was just The Setup.