# `=this.file.name` `=this.link` 'Don't prep plots, prep situations' Justin Alexander proclaims. Plots are linear and they require players to stick to a set path. Situations are just circumstances, which are designed to easily fit into a wide range of different directions the story could go. Situations create a toolkit that you can draw from regardless of what your players do. Instead of prepping spots on a storyline, prep a situation where the players are confronting the bad guys, prep a situation where the bad guys are running from the players, and prep a situation where the players have been captured. There's no specific order to these—heck, none of them even have to happen—but they exist as 'tools' that you can pull out as needed. ^90ab84 Do note that this is separate to prepping contingencies. Prepping contingencies is *way* more work, and doesn't really give the players freedom of choice—you're always trying to put them back [[Alexandrian--The-Railroading-Manifesto|on the rails]]. Instead, if you know what your opponents goals and overall objectives are, you can just react to what the players do when they do it, using your toolbox of situations as templates that only need minimal tweaking to fit in with this new direction the players are going. ## Related - [[Alexandrian--RPGs-Are-Not-Movies]] talks about the trap of linear storytelling in RPGs - Justin Alexander compares this to the Lord of the Rings, saying that the GM should [prepping the One Ring, instead of prepping the journey](https://twitter.com/hexcrawl/status/1480203153194856448) - [[Alexandrian--Dont-Prep-Plots-Tools-Not-Contingencies]] goes into more detail about the 'toolbox' nature of Don't Prep Plots. - [[Harper--Lady-Blackbird]] is an excellent example of prepping an adventure with situations instead of a plot. - The very first sentence in the GMing section is > When you're the GM, don't try to plan what will happen. Instead, ask questions... - The a list of 'obstacles' function as situations.