Getting an event site can be hard. But you still want to throw a plot and event. What can you do? Is it even possible to throw an event without an event site? Yes, it is.
The first thing to realize is that you will need the help of other eventholders, or at least their permissions. The basic premise here is you will throw your plot during other eventholder’s events. You will approach other eventholders and ask them if they are willing to allow you to run one of your encounters during their event. Assuming the eventholder allows you, you will then run one encounter at that event.
As an example, Folkestone’s first quest plot was run over a span of about 2 years, all without having a site of our own. The first thing we did was get permission to release a magic item in the name of another eventholder, which was granted to us by someone who was not planning on releasing an item at his next event. Next we gained permission to bury the magic item on his property, the site of his upcoming event. Thereafter at other people’s events we released clues to where the magic item was buried, one clue per event. About a year later the magic item was unburied.
From there we would run attacks against the PCs at other people’s events as our “big bad guy” tried to recover the previously buried magic item. We did this over the course of many other eventholder’s events. Eventually we managed to get our own event site and we finished up the plot there.
Think of this style as running an event’s set of encounters over an extended period of time and over several events instead of doing it all on one weekend. The net effect is the same; you will have thrown your event.
Some things to keep in mind…
You are a guest. It is not your event. If the eventholder changes their mind or wants to put limitations on what you are doing then you must abide by their wishes. These limitations can be such things as no combat, limited combat, encounter length limits, specific times you can run your stuff, etc. This is not to say they can change your plot; all they can do is prohibit you from doing what you want to do.
Accept No. Not all eventholders are willing to allow you throw your plot at their event. There could be many reasons for their choice, such as they feel it may be disruptive or not in the theme of what they are trying to accomplish at their event or they want nothing to distract the players from their event. Be gracious about their refusal. They may never allow you to throw plot at their event, but by remaining civil and understanding they may change their mind down the road; they may even try and work your plot into their next event.
It is your plot. Even though you are a guest of the eventholder, it is still your plot. If the eventholder starts to make demands of your plot and its encounters beyond simple logistics then you can always walk away and throw your plot at someone else’s event. It is better to wait for another time to stay true to your plot than to alter your plot into something you do not like or want.
Be clear. When asking an event holder you need to be precise about what you are planning to do. If you are planning some combat then make sure the eventholder knows that, as well as the scale of the combat (a single assassination is different than an attack by 20 NPCs). This goes beyond combat. If you are planning anything that is time intensive, such as a difficult puzzle, make sure the eventholder knows the expected total time your encounter will take. By being clear you will avoid the eventholder needing to put a stop to what you are doing because your encounter is disrupting his event in unexpected ways.
Limitations. You will have them. You may want to build a grand structure but the majority of events will not allow such a thing, not to mention it is highly unlikely you will access to the site long enough to build what you would like. Accept the limitations and you will still be able to throw an awesome plot.