RMMV Plothole Mending

[Ragpuppy87]

I've come incredibly far in my project, but have discovered a rather big plothole in my story. At this point it's too late for me to go back and make major changes, so I'm looking for suggestions.

Spoiler

Very basic plot rundown.

The main character's pet cat is kidnapped by an evil sorcerer thus triggering a quest through an ancient temple to retrieve it.
Several attempts to kill the player are made by the evil sorcerer in boss encounters.
It is revealed towards the end of the game that the sorcerer actually needs the player alive in order to accomplish his goal...

"So why did he attempt to kill the player in those boss fights?"

I can provide more plot details if needed, but hopefully that's enough to establish what my issue is.
If anyone can toss me a rope to climb out of this plothole I've dug for myself, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.

 

[bgillisp]

It could be a test, a test to make sure they are powerful enough to be used as they need to.

 

[Wyrelade]

What bgillisp said.

Or maybe the sorc just needs the cat alive? Human trying to stop his plans aint good.

 

[Vis_Mage]

One way you could write it is that, from the player's perspective, the evil sorcerer was indeed trying to kill them, while in actuality, the evil sorcerer was just trying to weaken him to the point he could be restrained and captured.

The characters wouldn't know about his plans, or that he needed him alive, so from their perspective, he was trying to kill them in battle.

 

[CraneSoft]

You just had to give justifications that makes sense, something like:
1) The bosses are just there to test the player / weaken them whatever / and doesn't intend to actually kill them. After all, being KO-ed in an RPG doesn't usually equals death.
2) They are necessary to convince the player that he is not playing right into the sorcerer's hands, after all, if there's no resistance, the player would realize right away they are being played.

If you've played the original Metal Gear Solid...then you know the drill.

 

[Grunwave]

First piece of advice, always remove "in order" from anything you are writing.

 

[Wavelength]

the sorcerer actually needs the player alive in order to accomplish his goal...

This is very vague - perhaps if we know what the sorcerer's goal is or how the player's being alive is a necessary part of that goal, we could give you a better, cooler, more specific way to tie everything together.

A few ways to resolve it based on what's there right now:

• The Sorcerer was just trying to incapacitate the Player (this would still read as a Game Over if accomplished, as the villain is achieving their goal) so that they could force them to do their bidding, expend them in a ritual, whatever.
• The Sorcerer was trying to kill the Player, and was going to revive them afterwards as a vessel/zombie/puppet to use them afterwards.
• There are actually two Sorcerers (maybe twins?) - one is trying to use you for horrible purposes; the other is trying to kill you to make sure the first one can't accomplish their dastardly goal.
• The Sorcerer only realized after trying to kill the Player that they're worth more to him alive than dead because the Player's talents can be commandeered if the Sorcerer can manipulate him.

 

[Ragpuppy87]

This is very vague - perhaps if we know what the sorcerer's goal is or how the player's being alive is a necessary part of that goal, we could give you a better, cooler, more specific way to tie everything together.

A few ways to resolve it based on what's there right now:

• The Sorcerer was just trying to incapacitate the Player (this would still read as a Game Over if accomplished, as the villain is achieving their goal) so that they could force them to do their bidding, expend them in a ritual, whatever.
• The Sorcerer was trying to kill the Player, and was going to revive them afterwards as a vessel/zombie/puppet to use them afterwards.
• There are actually two Sorcerers (maybe twins?) - one is trying to use you for horrible purposes; the other is trying to kill you to make sure the first one can't accomplish their dastardly goal.
• The Sorcerer only realized after trying to kill the Player that they're worth more to him alive than dead because the Player's talents can be commandeered if the Sorcerer can manipulate him.

Spoiler

The sorcerer needs the player alive because of a ritual. The player is reunited with his cat at the game's climax.
In order to revive his dark master the sorcerer needs the player to sacrifice his cat. The cat represents a bond of love and by forcing the player to sacrifice it to the sorcerer and save his friends, he will corrupt that bond.

"Yay! I found my cat!"
"Oh no! It's the sorcerer! He's captured my other party members!"
" Mwa ha ha! Give me your cat willingly to kill or watch your friends die!"
"I'm sorry kitty! I can't watch my friends die!" - hands over the cat.
"Mwa ha! I have forced you to sacrifice this thing you love! Now I shall kill it to revive my master!"

The ritual required the player to actually hand over the cat. So the sorcerer kidnapping it at the beginning wasn't enough. because the cat was taken forcefully. The ritual would not have worked that way. He only did that to set things in motion so to speak.

 

[Ragpuppy87]

First piece of advice, always remove "in order" from anything you are writing.

Why?

Edit: Double posted! Sorry.

 

[Boonty]

The sorcerer knows a spell which can revive the player. And it is easier for him to kill the player and then revive him when and where he needs the revival to be done. And by this way, he erases/controls a potential threat.

 

[Wavelength]

@Ragpuppy87 Based on your explanation, I see a more refined way to mend the plothole (and you already got 90% of the way there honestly) - explain somehow that what would cause the ritual to work was the player having so much love for his cat that he braved mortal danger to get it back. That if the player had (for example) willingly sacrificed the cat as a favor to the sorcerer at the beginning, the ritual wouldn't work, but once the sorcerer had put the player through the risk of death, and the player was still willing to brave that risk to save his cat, the bond of love grew so strong that it became capable of invoking divine (and/or unholy) power. Kind of similar to Harry Potter, and how Harry had no special powers until Lily's very knowing sacrifice to save Harry's life was what gave him immunity to the killing curse.

 

[Ragpuppy87]

@Wavelength That's pretty good. I may use that! Thanks for your help!

 

[TheKeeper]

Or it can be something as simple as the sorcerer finding out, later, that the player is actually needed alive. It can be an "oops!" kind of moment. Like, "Wow! I was really mad at how incompetent my minions were, but, hey, turns out it worked out, because I actually needed this person, in the first place! lol!" Not everything has to be perfectly planned out. Kinks in the plan often happen.

 

[Restart]

The sorcerer hasn't been putting out the hits on the player at all.

It was the cat all along.