So what exactly is a Location-in-Motion or LIM for short? It’s a style of adventure design derived from Dungeon World (DW) concepts and hacked for use in some 4th edition games that I am involved in, although the concepts are generally applicable to most RPG’s. Certainly these concepts are not new or revolutionary, and I can’t take any kind of credit for their development or implementation. I first became aware of the LIM from a cat in my home game that was playing a ton of DW and had decided to create a little one-shot 4th edition adventure utilizing some DW concepts.
The way I think about LIM’s is that they are essentially mini-sandboxes. The DM picks a location that is kind of closed and then stocks it with various factions. Each faction is then given some over-arching motivations/goals that drive their actions and reactions. Following this is a list of “moves” for each faction that suggests potential actions a faction could take depending on the situation or to drive the game forward. Moves can be really general or very specific based on personal preference and whatever would be most helpful to you. For a faction consisting of Mutated Tieflings (from my Dark Sun game) a move could be very general and abstract like “sow destruction and anarchy” to more specific “attempt to kidnap Quell”. The idea is that if there is a lull in the action or the players do something you can look at your “moves” and either react to the players or use them to spur action.
The initial session starts with the players at the LIM and preferable in the middle of some action. This can be a good place to get some collaborative story telling going by asking the players what happened on the way or how they got where they are. Grim Portents is another concept that helps frame the setting and get the action rolling, usually a threat of some kind that may potentially happen without intervention. At this point the characters are left to interact with the location and factions as they see fit, prompting reactions from the factions in a very organic free flowing way.
Depending on the style of game you are running this frame work allows for a lot of narrative control to be given to the players such as adding motivations or goals to factions or adding story elements they want to see happen or accomplish. The DM is then able to build this into the story, perhaps even adding to the encounters and possibilities within the LIM. For example the DM in the game I was playing in mentioned that there was a temple with a hidden treasure on the island. The Githyanki warlock stated that the treasure must be a Spelljamer helm leading to the conclusion that there must be a ship hidden somewhere on the island that he could use to blast off to the astral sea. The DM was then able to incorporate this into the story adding encounters and motivations/goals to the factions that involved a starship. The “motion” part of the LIM comes not only from the fluidity of the collaborative story telling but also from the idea that the factions continue with their goals and motivations if left to their own devices which can have consequences (good or bad)for the players. If ignored a faction cam become a “front”, essentially a major pain in the ass that can continue in future adventures. For example, not stopping the cult who was planning on opening a portal to the abyss could have major consequences that could play out for a while or become a recurring motif in the game.
In terms of DM prep, this approach is frontloaded and takes some work to set up, but after that you can get multiple sessions out of that prep. With my Dark sun game I am looking at getting 5 to 6 sessions out of the initial prep which included creating factions/motivations/moves and generating a couple of maps and stat blocks. I think the discrete nature of the LIM makes it slightly more manageable than a full open world sand box style, although it is not that different from those types of games that start in a town then progress outward. The idea is that you can then string one LIM after another to create an ongoing campaign.
I think what spawned the LIM was some of the frustrations that can arise with plot-based linear adventures; namely railroading and lack of player choice and the associated awkwardness that can occur as players stumble around trying to find the plot or when the DM is invested in the outcome of an encounter/event in order to drive the plot/story forward. I think what is cool about this approach is that it’s not set in stone, in other words you can’t be accused of doing it wrong. I picture it like a spectrum with DM/player style dictating where on the spectrum in terms of narrative/plot control the LIM will fall in.
This post is getting a little out of hand, nothing like trying to articulate abstract concepts to make you want to jab something sharp in your eye, so I will end this one and continue next time detailing the LIM I set up in my Dark Sun game.
The Middle-Aged DM 