When a DM wants to be smart and subversive by doing something like “oh the monsters were actually the good guys and the humans are evil” but they’re not actually a good storyteller. If you’re gonna diverge from the beaten path of knight punches dragon, saves village you need to actually be able to deliver on these themes and worldbuilding. You can’t just have a twist for the sake of a twist
IMO the most critical thing in delivering on this is foreshadowing. If the players feel like they should have known all along, then it's a good twist, if the players figure it out and switch sides, then it's also a good twist, but if the players get to the very end of a quest and then you suddenly reveal the truth it will feel like you've pulled it out of your ass and the players will be annoyed.
When a DM wants to be smart and subversive by doing something like “oh the monsters were actually the good guys and the humans are evil” but they’re not actually a good storyteller. If you’re gonna diverge from the beaten path of knight punches dragon, saves village you need to actually be able to deliver on these themes and worldbuilding. You can’t just have a twist for the sake of a twist
Story ideas are like revolutionary tribunals: all about the execution.
IMO the most critical thing in delivering on this is foreshadowing. If the players feel like they should have known all along, then it's a good twist, if the players figure it out and switch sides, then it's also a good twist, but if the players get to the very end of a quest and then you suddenly reveal the truth it will feel like you've pulled it out of your ass and the players will be annoyed.
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