Copywriting Frameworks As D&D Story Starters

Use StorySeeds when your prep time is limited

As a DM, has this ever happened to you?

It’s 4pm and you haven’t prepared for your gaming session. Your players are arriving soon and you only have 2 hours to prepare.

You thought you’d have time later in the week but your boss threw an important and unexpected deadline at you.

You delivered your assignment to your boss on time, but you have nothing prepared for tonight’s gaming session.

What do you do?

The answer is simple: Don’t start with nothing. Use a StorySeed.

StorySeeds

StorySeeds are my specific term for a swipe file.

A swipe what?

A swipe file is term from the copywriting world.

Copywriting identifies a common problem or pain point to help sell a specific solution.

Great copywriters start with a swipe file.

Swipe files are a collection of tested and proven advertising copy, email templates, headlines, sales letters, and other marketing materials.

They’re built on proven frameworks and copywriters use these files as a reference and inspiration for creating new content.

The purpose of a swipe file is to provide inspiration and reference for marketers when creating their own campaigns.

How does this relate to D&D and what’s a StorySeed?

A StorySeed is a swipe file for your gaming campaign.

A StorySeed can have different structures. Here’s one using the framework I call SEQA.

It stands for: Situation, Evidence, Question, Action

An example:

“Plainsville will be a ghost town in a matter of days.”

Evidence

This sets the scene for your players.

• Crops have died

• Livestock have become ill

• Beloved pets have gone missing

• Trees, herbs, and bushes have burst into flame

• Even the town elders don’t know what’s happening

Question

The evidence helps prompt questions that can lead your players to take action.

What can you do to help this small town? It may have nothing to offer you as a place to stay for the night, but you may have what it takes to solve their mystery and show the world the heroes you really are. And perhaps be rewarded for your efforts.

Action

These are the actions your players take, which in some cases could be inaction.

The idea is to paint a picture of mystery and intrigue that they won’t want to ignore. It raises questions in their minds that begs for an answer and drives them to take action.

They don’t know the why of the situation, but as the DM you do. You can slowly reveal more clues as the PCs ask questions of the forlorn townsfolk. You can describe strange tracks in the mud that seemingly go in and out of the town.

Perhaps there’s a single tree that still looks healthy. But why?! What can the PCs learn from the healthy tree? Is it the soil, a parasite, or something else?

This is just one seed to spur intrigue in your campaign on short notice when you have little time to plan for your game session.

Here’s another example that you can use in your campaign.

The Vanishing Fishermen of Lake Serenity

"Lake Serenity, once bustling with fishermen, now lies eerily silent."

• Fishermen have disappeared without a trace

• The water has an unusual, ominous glow at night

• Villagers whisper of an ancient curse reawakened

• Boats found drifting, empty, damaged, and sunken

• Local wildlife is acting strangely, avoiding the lake at all costs

“Can you unravel the mystery of Lake Serenity?

Is this ancient curse real or imagined? If it’s real, what is its source?

Your bravery might not only save the village's livelihood but could also uncover long-forgotten secrets of the lake.

Glory and gratitude await those who dare to delve into its depths."

There you have it. No time to prepare? No problem.

StorySeeds are the answer.

I’ll have more examples of useful StorySeeds in my new book 👇

If you found my content helpful I’d appreciate it if you could forward this email to your friends and relatives who are gamers and storytellers.

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And if you would like more examples of StorySeeds, reply to this email and drop me a comment.

Thanks and happy gaming,

– Joe