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PUM Quick Rules: Plot Tracks

The Plot Track at the top of your screen is the roadmap of your adventure. It keeps your story focused, controls the pacing, and prevents your game from wandering aimlessly.

Pacing and Structure

A Plot Track represents a sequence of Plot Beats—important moments or scenes that advance your story. Think of it as a roadmap for your adventure, from beginning to end.

  • Pacing: Each box on the track represents a scene, chapter, or major beat.
  • Traversing: Every time you complete a scene (by resolving a Plot Beat), you advance the active box on the track.
  • The Climax: As you approach the end of the track, the tension should rise, leading to a final confrontation or resolution of your story's main problem.
  • Concluding: When you reach the final box, resolve the main plot thread, mark the track as finished, and celebrate your completed story!

Curated Plot Track Types

During game setup, you can choose from several curated plot track types to guide your story structure:

  • Standard: A simple 3-stage structure: Exposition ➔ Confrontation ➔ Resolution. Perfect for beginners and short games.
  • Scenes: A straightforward 10-stage progression: Intro ➔ Scene 1 through Scene 8 ➔ Wrap-up.
  • Escalating: A 4-stage track that ramps up in intensity: Building up ➔ Problematic ➔ High stakes ➔ Cool down.
  • Dungeon: Structured for exploring high-security facilities or ruins: Entrance ➔ Room 1 through Room 4 ➔ Final room ➔ Way out.
  • Exploration: Focused on discovering new regions: Arrival ➔ 1st Area ➔ 2nd Area ➔ 3rd Area ➔ Conclusion.
  • Story Parts: A classic narrative structure: Intro ➔ Part 1 ➔ Part 2 ➔ Part 3 ➔ Conclusion.
  • Journey: Great for travel or quest-based stories: Exposition ➔ Rising ➔ Climax ➔ Falling ➔ Resolution.
  • Heroic: Based on the classic Hero's Journey: Ordinary world ➔ Call to adventure ➔ First threshold ➔ Enemies & obstacles ➔ A great challenge ➔ Reward ➔ A step back ➔ Climactic comeback ➔ The return.
  • Survival: Emphasizes danger and resourcefulness: Comfort zone ➔ Inciting incident ➔ Unfamiliar situation ➔ Adapt & survive ➔ Get a wish ➔ Pay the price ➔ Return to "normal" ➔ Perceive the change.
  • Crisis: For episodic, high-intensity adventures: Inciting incident ➔ 1st crisis through 4th crisis ➔ Climax ➔ Resolution.
  • Drama: For character-driven, emotional stories: Opening image ➔ Imperfect world ➔ Themed exploration ➔ Catalyst incident ➔ Debate or crisis ➔ Subplot kicks-in ➔ Promise delivered ➔ Plot twist ➔ All is lost ➔ ...

Tips for Using Plot Tracks

  • Be Flexible: Don’t be afraid to skip, repeat, or change beats as your story evolves. Use the track as a guide, not a constraint.
  • Freeform Play: It is also possible to play without a plot structure at all. You can play your stories totally unbounded and freeform by choosing "No plot track" or "Improvised".
  • Concluding: When Plot Tracks are concluded, the game will move to the completed games section automatically.

Next: Plot Nodes (World Elements)