Why a GM Should Buy Eureka (by a Biased Co-Author)

Full-disclosure right here at the beginning of this article – the more copies of Eureka that are sold the more that I will gain. After a certain number of sales I will begin to receive money, and there are also the immeasurable benefits that come with being part of any successful project.

So take what I say with a grain of salt. It is still all true. 🙂

Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters, which is available now for pre-order from Engine Publishing, is 501 awesome plots that are system neutral and a whole lot more. Whether you need a one-shot, a complete multi-session adventure, or a whole campaign of multiple adventures you can use Eureka to create interesting and fun stories for your games.

You get a chapter of solid GMing advice that explains how the book is structured and how it can be used in various ways. From following the plot as written to using a plot as a seed for your own ideas the GMing advice chapter covers it all. This chapter and the whole book itself are written by the Gnome Stew crew (both past and present) and those guys know a thing or two about GMing.

There are three chapters of plots that each focuses on a different staple genre of RPGs: fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. That is over 160 plots for each of the main genres! On top of the three big genres each plot also lists various sub-genres that you can easily adapt the plot to. For example, a sci-fi plot might be easily adapted to a supers game, or even a high-fantasy game. With 22 sub-genres this is one versatile collection of plots.

The final chapter is a collection of numerous indexes (sub-genre, tags, title, and author) so that you can find what you are looking for that much faster. Here is where the tags really help a GM out, because if you need a plot that centers on say robots just start flipping through the ones tagged with “artificial life forms” and pick the plot that fits best.

So why should a GM buy Eureka? I mean, 501 plots are great but the book is $34.95 and you can buy a new RPG for that much. Why is Eureka something that every GM should own?

Simple – RPGs and supplements are mainly about mechanics. Sure you might get some setting material or a bit of fluff for favor, but the majority of the material is going to be mechanics. Mechanics are like car parts. You can use them to build a pretty sweet ride, and there is nothing wrong with that.

But Eureka gives you a road to drive on! It lays out the terrain before you and gives you something to explore. What good is a vehicle if it just stays in the garage all of the time? With Eureka you have somewhere to go in that sweet ride of yours. With 501 road trips packed in 311 pages and who knows how many alternatives once you start adapting the plots to other subgenres you have years of travelling ahead of you.

I have seen plot seed books, but nothing out there is like Eureka. These plots are complete adventures that can be used for any RPG. Based on the 36 dramatic situations by Georges Polti and co-authored by 9 experienced GMs Eureka’s plots are all unique yet usable. This is the kind of reference that does not have a shelf life. Eureka will be as fresh ten years from now as it is on the first day that you crack it open.

And did I mention that if you pre-order the book you get instant access to the fully bookmarked and hyperlinked PDF for free?

In the end, a sample is going to make a better argument for you to buy Eureka than I ever could. Luckily for you Engine Publishing put one together. Check it out, and if you like it buy the book and start your journey.