Exchange of Realities

Because of the relationship between the mentor and the student, it is very easy to use a mentor as a plot device of some sort. Certainly, there are plenty of ways to do it; the difficulty is just setting them up. Writers take note: Anything a GM has to set up for a PC, you’re going to have to explicate, so it’s good to pay close attention.

The most logical is, of course, the mentor as “quest giver”. Oftentimes, these sorts of situations are simple things like errand or message running, or taking care of a threat at point B; at the same time, though, this also covers epically long trials to prove readiness to learn a particular piece of lore… or simple errands that just snowball. This also covers situations in which the mentor is threatened, abducted, or otherwise put in a position to serve as the quest object, as the idea that the mentor would probably like to be rescued right now, thank you very much, is implicit in the plotline. Of course, whether the mentor actually agrees is another matter and could be potential plot-fodder in and of itself. What this sort of plotline usually requires is the assumption that a. the mentor is in charge, b. there is a reason why it would be better for all concerned to do the job than to not do it, or c. both. (Genuine attachment to the mentor can be substituted for either of these, particularly in the mentor-as-quest-object scenario, but it’s a harder one to count on in a game situation.)

Some people favor the mentor-as-antagonist approach. There are two forms I mostly see this one taking—explicitly at the beginning, or as a plot twist. In the case of the first, you’ll want a source of conflict, a reason why the student still has to put up with the mentor (or at least a few complications if the student splits), and the typical rounding of any characters under your control. The plot twist route, on the other hand, requires a different set of factors. Most people play it for shock and betrayal, which requires a strong, positive relationship between mentor and student for a proper impact (I’ll try to get to how later this week). If you don’t have that, odds are you’re going to end up with someone going “Sweet, she’s evil! I can kill her now!” And plot twists out of nowhere are both irritating and dubious drama, creating a need to foreshadow the twist subtly. Yes, this is difficult. Subtext helps.

Another, though I try to avoid this as a necessary plot point in game situations for numerous reasons, is the loss of the mentor. While this is usually played off of a positive mentor-student relationship for the angst value, it does not by any means have to be. The student looking fruitlessly for recognition, the vengeful apprentice cheated of his chance for comeuppance, the one striving to learn that one final secret and now missing the chance—while they might not be doing grief and shock the way the other student would, they’re certainly going to be feeling something. (Then there’s the one who’s just glad to be rid of said mentor, though he might feel cheated out of the opportunity to do her in himself.) While the relationship between the mentor and student on all of these will probably need to involve a strong emotion of some sort, note that the main thing that characterizes the above responses is lack of resolution. There’s nothing like a completely lost opportunity to bring out responses in people.

As is shown above, the mentor as plot device is workable, but requires work of its own. Put a proper effort in, though, and the results will be worth the work.