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Plot Device: Difference between revisions
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{{trope|wppage=Plot device}}
[[File:Plot-Device-Red-Giant-Viral-
A plot device is an object or character in the story whose purpose is purely to drive the [[Plot]], maintain its flow, or resolve situations within it. It could be something everybody wants to obtain, a device that must be destroyed, or an annoying teenager who [[The
It may also be an object or gadget introduced early in the story for the sole purpose of [[Chekhov's Gun|solving a sticky situation later on]].
The term is commonly used in a derisory manner, on the grounds that the best stories are character driven, and using an object to make things happen is thus seen as a sign of bad writing. However, there are [[Tropes Are Tools|plenty of good stories]] which do indeed revolve around a plot device; equally, a plot device can very easily be used to generate conflict and thus spark a character-driven story.
Whenever someone uses the term derisively (if they are using the term properly), it is because there is a dissonance between it and the actual needs of the story. For example, the hero has a chance to stop the [[Big Bad]] but he is called away because his wife is [[Trapped
Subtropes:▼
▲'''Subtropes:'''
* [[Amplifier Artifact]]
* [[Artifact of Attraction]]: An item which magically causes everybody to [[Lust]] after it, generating conflict.
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* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: A plot device that gets the heroes out of danger.
* [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]: A plot device that gets the heroes into danger.
* [[Plot Coupon
* [[MacGuffin]]: A plot device which nobody actually uses, and whose nature and identity are basically irrelevant.
* [[Magnetic Plot Device]]: A plot device whose very presence causes things to happen.
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* [[Translator Microbes]]: A plot device that lets everybody communicate clearly.
▲=== [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshade Hangings]] and Other References: ===
''Almost by definition, stories have plot devices. Examples should be limited to lampshade hangings and references to the term.''
* There is a character in ''[[Sheep in The Big City]]'', literally called The Plot Device, which is a robot that can cause nearly anything to happen to advance the plot.▼
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Dr. Bill Ernoehazy, an ''[[Orions Arm]]'' contributor'', wrote another story with a [[Faster Than Light Travel]] system called the [http://www.kheper.net/topics/scifi/grading.html#note Plott-deVice drive].▼
* One ''[[Captain Mar
* One of the various [[MacGuffin|Mac Guffins]] that ''[[City of Heroes]]'' radio missions will ocassionally ask you to retrieve is a "P.L.O.T. Device." Its description:▼
{{quote| The [[Fun With Acronyms|Phased Linear Oscillation Transducer]] is a miraculous device, capable of producing such a variety of effects that many find it simply unbelievable. However, overusing a P.L.O.T. device can have serious consequences, and the more [[Egregious]] uses can strain the very fabric of reality. P.L.O.T devices have fallen out of favor overall, but many a young and reckless pioneer has picked up a well-used P.L.O.T. device and run with it.}}▼
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[The Dresden Files (
== [[Video Games]] ==
▲* One of the various [[MacGuffin
▲{{quote|
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Mr. Mighty of ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'' realizes that he can subject Matt O'Morph to a bit of [[Harmless Freezing]] with a [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=92146 carbon-dioxide fire extinguisher] ... which has a label on the side that reads, "Warning, Plot Device!"
* A literal plot device can be seen here in
* In ''[[Nip and Tuck]]'', when [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626201056/http://www.rhjunior.com/NT/00620.html a character complains of an obvious plot device] in the [[Show Within a Show]], someone else informs him it was [[Real Life]].
* [http://vimeo.com/24320919 This] short by Seth Worley features a device called [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|Plot Device]], which is a yellow box with large friendly letters reading "Plot Device" with a [[Big Red Button]] on its top and enables the user to turn his life in a movie and travel between different film genres.▼
== [[Web Original]] ==
▲* One ''[[Captain Mar Vell]]'' comic, starring Genis-Vell, featured a very clever Kree fellow named "Plaht," whose "device" cleared away several plot inconveniences.
▲* Dr. Bill Ernoehazy, an ''[[
▲* In ''[[The Dresden Files (Tabletop Game)|The Dresden Files]]'' RPG, certain characters are noted as being "plot device level" characters. Most of them are considered [[Plot Device|Plot Devices]] because they're so ridiculously powerful that no [[Player Party]] would ever reasonably be able to take them on directly, making stats meaningless, and thus would have to outmanuever, work around, or run away from them; these include the [[The Fair Folk|Faerie Queens]], [[Our Angels Are Different|Angels]], and [[Our Dragons Are Different|Dragons]]. A handful, however, are noted as being a [[Plot Device]] because they're so far down on the other side of the scale that they can only really provide one specific and specialized purpose, such as Elidee, a tiny pixie--even by pixie standards--who shows up briefly in one book to serve as a guide/flashlight for Dresden.
▲* [http://vimeo.com/24320919 This] short by Seth Worley features a device called [[Exactly What It Says
== [[Western Animation]] ==
▲* There is a character in ''[[Sheep in The Big City]]'', literally called The Plot Device, which is a robot that can cause nearly anything to happen to advance the plot.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Narrative Devices]]
[[Category:Omnipresent Tropes]]
[[Category:Narrative Tropes]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Plot Device]]
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