Help me pick a plot

[zil2]

NOTE: Do not read this thread if you're following my ink review story.  (I know none of you are, but just in case.)

Backstory (SPOILER):

Our heroes (a wizard, a sphinx, and a snek with a lisp) have just finished a dangerous and very important mission for the High Wizard (the dude in charge of all wizards).  Upon returning, they learn that our wizard's father is still suffering from the effects of a "mold plague".  Our heroes figure the High Wizard owes them a favor so they decide to go ask him to help said father.

The Choices for What Happens Next:

• One option is that they arrive and the person they see is not the "High Wizard" they met previously.  Further, everyone says the dude presently being called "the High Wizard" has been in that role for years.  And this High Wizard doesn't acknowledge there was ever a problem or that these guys are owed a thing.  Oh no!  Now what do we do?
• The second option is that they arrive and the High Wizard (same person they met previously) claims not to have any idea who they are and has them thrown out!  Oh no!  What do we do now?

Which plot intrigues you more?

[Vort]

What if it's a different High Wizard, only they start getting convinced that maybe it's they that are wrong about the High Wizard?

...or maybe they really are wrong?

[Carborendum]

Either way.  The earlier High Wizard was an imposter (either changed to look like the real High Wizard, or was a completely different person).

The imposter actually had the heroes perform a quest that was ostensibly heroic, but fed into a larger more sinister plot.

[zil2]

8 hours ago, Vort said:

What if it's a different High Wizard, only they start getting convinced that maybe it's they that are wrong about the High Wizard?

...or maybe they really are wrong?

If we go with the "different High Wizard" option, it could be that the "new" guy's an imposter (supported by the high-ranking and bureaucratic* types around him) or that he is indeed the High Wizard and the person they met, who they believed was the High Wizard was an imposter.  Either option would work, and either could be a good or bad guy - at this point, any of these combinations would work.

*For some reason, I can never remember or re-figure out how to spell this word.  I have to google it every time.  Cursèd French.

 

2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

changed to look like the real High Wizard

Oh.  That might add a funny twist.  They show up, they recognize the HW, the HW doesn't recognize them at all.  They think they're being snubbed when really, they've never met the man and the man knows nothing about their mission.  Indeed, he dismisses them because he's got very important work to do - figuring out the reason for the change in magic everyone can sense (our heroes are the reason for the change - they saved magic from being permanently corrupted and killed the corrupter).

But this would also mix both possible plots, but without our heroes knowing there is an imposter HW to go find.  I'd have to find some other way for them to discover that.

2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

The imposter actually had the heroes perform a quest that was ostensibly heroic, but fed into a larger more sinister plot.

Hmm.  It was definitely a good thing that they did, no getting around that.  But I suppose the "fake" HW could have wanted the source of magic healed so that he would have the power to do something sinister.  I shall have to ponder.

[Carborendum]

16 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Hmm.  It was definitely a good thing that they did, no getting around that.  But I suppose the "fake" HW could have wanted the source of magic healed so that he would have the power to do something sinister.  I shall have to ponder.

The twist on the twist could be that the imposter was actually a good magician of some sort that was completely different than the wizards.  And the only way to have the heroes do what they did was to pose as the High Wizard.  And possibly, the wizards' guild has many questionable members which seem to be steering the caste into bad directions.

Or, if the wizards knew there was a problem.  But they were proposing a really bad solution.  So, the imposter "really knew" what was going on and gave the proper directions to fix it because the guild wouldn't approve.

If you've seen the series Person of Interest, you'll kinda get what I'm talking about.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Carborendum

[zil2]

One difficulty is my format - I get one paragraph (95-100 words) per week.  This does not lend itself well to complicated political machinations - or even complex plots.

Anywho, thank you, @Vort and @Carborendum, and please, everyone, if you have (more) thoughts, share them - I need some help getting my creative juices flowing!   And this is fantasy, so even the wildest ideas may well be perfect.   (I mean, we have a male sphinx (basically a creature roughly like a lion cub but with wings and a slightly humanoid face) and a talking snek (basically a small, cute snake), each of whom has their own magic, and a wizard, oh, and his staff is sentient, though it just looks like a staff with a crystal sphere on top.  Anything goes with our trio - quartet?)

Here's a link to a drawing of the sphinx (Makhabesh) by some artist (who I've never met).   This artist knows a fountain pen friend of mine and heard about my story through said friend, then drew his vision of my character.  (It's not how I see my character, but that's OK, love the drawing.)

 

1 minute ago, Carborendum said:

If you've seen the series Person of Interest, you'll kinda get what I'm talking about.

Haven't seen it.  But I get it.  And yes, our heroes would not have done all they did had they not believed the character was the HW.  Now I just have to decide whether he was, and if he wasn't, who he really is.

[Carborendum]

2 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Haven't seen (Person of Interest)  But I get it.  And yes, our heroes would not have done all they did had they not believed the character was the HW.  Now I just have to decide whether he was, and if he wasn't, who he really is.

You gotta watch at least the first few episodes.  The first three seasons are really cool.  It gets weird in Season 4. 

Abrams decided to go a different direction because he thought it was too formulaic. He made the same mistake with Alias and destroyed both shows.

[zil2]

3 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

You gotta watch at least the first few episodes.  The first three seasons are really cool.  It gets weird in Season 4. 

Found on IMDB.  Apparently I can watch it on Amazon with ads (no Prime required - good thing, cuz I don't have it or want it).  I'll ponder.  I have zero time at the moment, but I occasionally feel the need to binge something.  Bookmarked.

[Carborendum]

15 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Found on IMDB.  Apparently I can watch it on Amazon with ads (no Prime required - good thing, cuz I don't have it or want it).  I'll ponder.  I have zero time at the moment, but I occasionally feel the need to binge something.  Bookmarked.

Just to whet your appetite:

• A man invented a machine to give to DHS which reviews all digital data throughout the United States and anything connected to that network.
• The government gets "relevant" numbers which are people of interest in some major terrorist attack or such.  The back door provides "irrelevant" numbers (common murders for private reasons).  No further information other than the number.
• This man hires a retired govt assassin/operative who has become a homeless man.  This agent becomes the secretive bodyguard of certain individuals who are either going to be a victim or a perpetrator in a murder.  Sometimes, just a witness.  But they need to find out who is who.
• They work with a couple of cops and a few other individuals. But they basically work outside the law to protect a victim.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Carborendum

[askandanswer]

Pick a plot

Any plot

They would all make a fine, final resting place for your story 

https://assets.ctfassets.net/ud83ml8x57b0/3dkCO43AMmTo6NM6kTxQZ1/7ad58ea580412012160eda5b9a5a8354/Healesville_Cemetery_Price_List_2020-21.pdf

[zil2]

Ugh!  Hate waiting for newbie first posts to be approved (even if I totally understand the reason)!  Welcome, @MichaelMoulton!  I look forward to reading your reply once @pam has approved it!

[Carborendum]

So, I got to thinking about the Wheel of Time.  

"Saving magic" was exactly what the wizarding guild wanted to happen.  But the imposter was evil and gave a procedure to the heroes that would "taint" magic.

It could be used by evil people to do evil things.  But when it is used for good, something evil always comes with it (Monkey's Paw).

[zil2]

43 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

So, I got to thinking about the Wheel of Time.  

"Saving magic" was exactly what the wizarding guild wanted to happen.  But the imposter was evil and gave a procedure to the heroes that would "taint" magic.

It could be used by evil people to do evil things.  But when it is used for good, something evil always comes with it (Monkey's Paw).

Hmm.  Probably not.  Remember, I'm not writing a 700 page novel, I'm writing 95-100 word scenes that people will get once per week.  Complexity won't survive that format.    People forget what happened last time too easily, unless it's action.  But it's now planted in the back of my brain, so heaven knows what will eventually come out.

[pam]

21 hours ago, Carborendum said:

So, I got to thinking about the Wheel of Time.  

"Saving magic" was exactly what the wizarding guild wanted to happen.  But the imposter was evil and gave a procedure to the heroes that would "taint" magic.

It could be used by evil people to do evil things.  But when it is used for good, something evil always comes with it (Monkey's Paw).

My son keeps telling me I need to watch this. I haven't even made it past the first episode. So far hasn't caught my attention. But he says to stay with it.

[The Folk Prophet]

1 hour ago, pam said:

My son keeps telling me I need to watch this. I haven't even made it past the first episode. So far hasn't caught my attention. But he says to stay with it.

If you want to watch woke garbage that pretty well destroys the source material....sure.

[Carborendum]

23 hours ago, pam said:

My son keeps telling me I need to watch this. I haven't even made it past the first episode. So far hasn't caught my attention. But he says to stay with it.

No, no, no.  The books.

I agree with @The Folk Prophet, the Amazon series is just plain garbage.

[zil2]

1 hour ago, Carborendum said:

No, no, no.  The books.

I agree with @The Folk Prophet, the Amazon series is just plain garbage.

But if you're like most folks, you'll have to work hard to make it through book 10 and then you'll just go on fandom.com and read the very detailed chapter-by-chapter synopses to save yourself the slog through the remaining books - sorry, but once you've read something faster paced, you just won't have the energy or will-power to keep going through WoT.