What's the Difference: Plot and Lore

Lore in my campaigns is the history and back story of what has gone on in the game world before the adventurers arrive in it. Plot it the hook that draws the adventurers into that game world.

 

I play a lot of fandom RPGs so canon lore is usually a big factor with those, but I do appreciate the addition of staff-driven plots on top of lore (canon or original). I like play by post games where staff actually push narratives forward, as opposed to just passively moderating.

 

Lore for us is the basis of and growing knowledge base of the world and how it works—history, religion, geography, etc. some of which isn't revealed right away.

Plots are the story lines, whether they are the main chapters or player-led arcs. They tell the tales based in the foundation of the Lore.

 

I'm a worldbuilding artist so I often have categories and levels of lore. On my site, Canon Lore is everything on our wiki. It's lore about stuff like different animals, fighting styles, the different nations etc. This stuff is set in stone to a certain level and won't change too much as the game itself much like a -tabletop- game is a continuity of play that uses the lore.

Now the plot is whatever the players make up or whatever little bit of story we use to get the ball rolling. Most of the noble Houses have a starting to "give them a taste" so that each time a player joins a new family it's a different story to tell. The character organizations, and actions of the characters themselves over time will also form a lore. Much like it when your favorite campaign for DnD remembers the actions several sessions ago, this is Mythos for us.

I know this sounds a tad complicated, but we set it up this way so that players can feel like they are changing the world. At the same time it allows my staff to carefully manage a game in case we suddenly lose a player or an entire plot just refuses to go anywhere.

 

From where I've played I see plot as something you can ignore if you don't wish to participate whereas lore is the bible everyone should not depart from IC and OOC.

I think the expression of some other poster here that plot can also create new lore is somewhat applicable here since once it reaches that point, people wouldn't want to ignore it anymore even if they wanted to.

 

I prefer plot instead of lore.

Plot is more nutshell / basic like storyline of an rp description.

Lore is a novel post of rp description that explains history / background on it before even getting to start, and a lot of reading, and expectations to follow in landscape stuff. From so much being expected from the rper's characters posts a lot of people avoid lore rps.

 

Plot in my mind is the entire site plot, Lore to me is the site's lore based on the city, member groups, etc. I see them as different things.

 

Personal Opinion Alert:

Lore: All the history, things about the world, the magic and such.

Plot: what is basically going on right now, and why.

I personally prefer character driven stories, those stories where the players shape the story of what is going on with interaction with one another. Strong lore is needed to help with that. Directing characters to a plot finish line isn't my cup of tea.

 

A plot to me is a specific story in which characters are actively participating in.
Lore is more like... what the universe is made of, the culture.. the skeletal construction of the world around the plot.

 

I think that lore is information your character has learned while developing a skill. Or interacting with the environment.

an example is like dual wielding or blade twisting could be considered a lore of say Armed Combat Sword

Sweeney Tod makes damn good meat pies. But what if those pies were made of something not uhh on the usual menue. Youd need specific lore to know that

 

To me the plot means the overarching storyline and direction the board has or intends to go. Whereas the lore would be more specific to the types of creatures and fantasy elements that are apart of the forum.

 

I'd have to agree with this definition. Lore is very much the building blocks a player is given in order to build their characters and their place in the world the lore has built. I also prefer places leaning more towards lore and player freedom than some railroaded plot that needs to be followed. However, in that same vein, if there is just lore and nothing for a player to do, it can lead to a lot of wishy-washy threads that don't do anything or build on something. Possibly tremendously fun for what they are, but no meat to them, if you get me.

A good solution to that is "scripted" events, something happens and players react to it. It's not plot so much as lore being enriched with something happening, and players can place themselves in the plot or they can choose to observe it. This, of course, means that whoever is running the game needs to stay on top of things and supply these at regular intervals to keep people engaged and to keep evolving the lore next to the players. With "lore driven" places, the core is always the fact that members can join in on evolving or defining new lore within the bounds of what's already there.

 

I've always thought about it as this:
Plot: The story
Lore: The worldbuilding

The plot is what the characters are 'doing' while the lore is the 'world' in which they perform the action. A fight is plot but lore is the mechanics of the fight.

 

Lore is definitely more the history of the world, whereas the plot is the current ongoing affairs.