Goals and Dilemmas

The situation represents a dilemma, mission, issue or goal the characters have. Some classic adventure situations are:

Situation	Examples
Defenders	Something the characters hold dear (their country, their city, their own lives, their way of life) is under threat and they must defend it.
Guardians	The characters must prevent something or someone from escaping or being stolen or captured. Variation: They must do so while this thing or person is being taken somewhere.
Pursuers	Possibly as a result of failed guardianship, something or someone is loose/has been stolen/has been captured, and the characters must pursue and retrieve it before something bad happens.
Questers	The characters are going out to find something which they want for some noble or ignoble purpose, which is some distance off and may have Defenders or Guardians. Variation: They are trying to get rid of something dangerous (the Lord of the Rings theme).
Rebels	The characters are involved in an attempt to escape the domination of an oppressive force or person, or are imprisoned or captured and must break out.
Crusaders	There is a place which is in the wrong hands. The characters consider theirs to be the right hands. They attempt to capture the place and/or drive out the inhabitants.
Escape	The characters are stranded (or imprisoned) somewhere remote with minimal resources. There are vital reasons that they must get back to civilization.
Rescuers	A person or group is in trouble and must be rescued by the characters.
Explorers	The characters go to a remote and dangerous place “to see what’s there”.
Witnesses	The characters find out about a terrible plot. They must alert/convince the authorities and/or foil the plot.
Diplomats	The characters, by planning or accident, must represent their nation or group in a politically tense situation and prevent a tragic conflict breaking out.
Detectives	Something bad is happening or has happened. It is known or suspected that some person or group has caused it to happen deliberately. The characters must track down the perpetrator and stop them.
Competitors	The characters are competing in a contest, race, court intrigue etc. for important stakes.
Lovers	Some of the characters are in love with others of the characters in a non-symmetrical way, and/or in combinations which circumstances (such as social sanctions) put obstacles in the way of.
Avengers	Something bad has been done to you (or your group, or people you care about) and now you’re seeking vengeance.

Much of the above is inspired by S. John Ross’s Big List of RPG Plots at http://www.io.com/~sjohn/plots.htm. He describes the situations from a different angle to the above and provides a number of potential twists, so his treatment is worth looking at. (Note, however, that his “plots” are not complete plots, but situations which can lead to plots.) See also the Tennesse Screenwriters’ Association’s Twenty Basic Plots at http://www.tennscreen.com/plots.htm (to which the same comment applies).