SITUATIONS FOR TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING SECOND SETWHAT THIS IS SITUATIONS 15 2 compilation of fve articles ~ methods for building situations for tabletop roleplaying. Each of the methods Is a simple procedure; by working through one of these procedures, youl generate the core ‘stuf? needed for 4 session oF two Of play. Thls isthe second set of five such ‘eles avaliable. 14 18 24 CONTENTS THE ESTATE assists in creating estates that characters can acquire, trouble included. THE DEVILS WE KNOW is for situations where one evil keeps another contained. EXPEDITIONS covers journeys by multiple ‘means, into odd places, to seek something. ‘ONE OF US is for when a player character Is ected by some manner of changed being. FUTURITY is for covering situations where something new has been invented ‘THIS IS A LIVING DOCUMENT. It might be updated every week for a month at some point; leigh sc dormant fora few years THERES MORE THAN THIS. Searching for Levi Kornelsen (that's me) on DriveThruRPG will yleld other game work, much of which is influenced by or connected to this in different ways. Ifyoure Inerested In Keeping up with me as I make things, search for me on Googie; ‘that’s my main channelTHE ESTATE THE CHARACTERS ARE SUDDENLY THE OWNERS or the lead personnel in some new place, after the former heads fof that ste are taken out ‘of the plcure. Sudden inheritances, military conquests, and_ other reversals of fortune are’often che cause behind this — though, In some ‘ase, these are ony the apparent cause behind the transfer. FIRST, GRAB THE SITUATION SHEET. The ttle setion there Is where youll lay down the basic concept, When illing out the tide box, the name should give a basic idea of what kind of functions it might have and be made to seve. Ifthe tle of the estate was "The Night Forres", that gives differing impression from *Tavall Hunting Lodge” or "Gravis Trade Station” Immediately following this should be the reason the player ‘characters wil value i This sa guiding point to the whole ~ ifthe troubles given overmatch the value, chen beleving the characters \would push through them is harder. If the valve wildly outmatches the troubles (and is the kind of value the system focuses on), e may be off-balancing in some systems. The estate Is: Eldwood Castle And is desirable as: A Aarti base in the Elder Wood. YOU MAY WANT A MAP, either of the estate itself or of the surrounding area. If yout! be using some form of resource ‘management system for maintaining and building up the estate later, then having this information avalable to be presented up front is handy as wellOTHER CLAIMANTS THE PLAYER CHARACTERS WON'T BE ALONE in having some kind of potential claim to the estate (whether on not hey ‘act on i, Clams can Include “I have an army nearby”, oF ‘chains of inheritance, or almost anything es. Deciding who else is potentially around with a claim and laying down a few colourful figures can give you a list of people that might be kllers hoping to Inherit, or just people present who ‘could be used by the characters 6r thelr enemies, or pure red herrings and colour. Some of these claimants might be secret or unknown to the ‘others If you feel lke a revelation ofa caim,can be fun. ‘Some might also be sf, for whatever reason. Some will likely be ‘central to the history of the place youll be waiting next, wile ‘others won't, Other Claimants __NAME_ DEMEANOR. CLAIM V Gunnar Stove Brother of Dana's PC. 2 sehia Bookish Estate owes her money, 3. getrane — Sneering Local noble; title reverts if.THE HISTORY MOVING ON TO THE HISTORY SECTION, the group or person wino previously held the estate is next up, followed by hhow they lost It "Mysterious uncle nobody, who died” is the direct trope here, but "The eullalen space empire, who were driven out by spaceeet s equally valid (especialy Ifthe player Characters ae spacefeet officers). ‘The executor Is the person or groups that contacts the characters and puts the estate Inco thelr hands. Ths could actually be the ‘executor of a wil It could be someone hiring the characters to ‘et Involved. Ie might be a commanding officer sending them to {his new posting. Whatever the case, this i often the ist ‘mouthpiece character; youl want an idea of who they are ‘The reason for the transfer answers “Why are. the player characters geting this estate”? For an inheritance, this answer is pretty easy: Transfer fs because you're the next of kin, or named fn the wil For a grant of land fom a-queen, it might be because the characters are the only ones the queen trusts {0 get the place back In order... Or Ie might be as 2 gamble to get these troublesome adventures out into the back country and nay from other afars. If you'd lke to have the actual reason ‘be nefarious, ust ln the reason che characters wil be told, and ‘ome back to ths later. Finally, the entallment is a basle condition of management that ‘mus be agreed to before the transfer is complete, a requirement Of the inheritance, posting, grant, or whatever form the Acquisition comes in. Classically, this the “To inherit the house, ‘you must lve there fora year” component, but may include any ‘other notes. *Maimain an embassy and good relations wich the focal allens on behalf of spacefleec” Is an entaliment, so is "As lords of Larfel, you must supply troops to the Queen” 7 The History le-was held by Dame Vanchell Who lost it by 2ying fighting the Beast of Eldiood. The executor is Lord Betrane Transfer Is because Dame Vanchell named Dana's PC As her heir, though they met only once The entalment is paying tax to Betrane, old debts, Fighting the monsters of the Eldwood.PRIZE AND LOYALTIES ALMOST EVERY ESTATE WORTH DESCRIBING either is, of contains, 2 ‘significant prize «something others will be taking the opportunity of the moment to tay and get hold of. If an estae is the home ofa billnate, for example, then the home and grounds may be the prize - and an inbercing player character might need to dodge one or more attempts to kill them. Often, though, the estate contains ‘some prize beyond that. The manor may be collateral on a dozen bad loans, but the horses In the stables are worth millions? Then the horses are the pre, Decide on whether the whole estate or something in itis the prize, and name I THE PREVIOUS KEEPERS of the estate no doubt had some agends for both the estate as a whole and for the prize in particular. Some wo remain on the estate may well remain tue to that agenda. | These characters are ‘typically not alles to the player characters, though they may pretend to be - or they may be perfect allies, but not ‘expect (0 be (allowing 2 reversal In elther case. Their loyalty isto the departed. ‘THE ESTATE ITSELF was bult to serve some purpose ~ foften the thing the characters value It for. | Many ‘characters on the estate wil that purpose specifically the mechanic. wino really mainly cares that things “work properly is one of the faldful. ‘The faithful are Mely ‘nare of the remnant and seekers, and know what the prize ofthe estate fs. But arent necessary loyal © the ‘characters. Their loyalty Isto the esare. [WHERE THERE'S A PRIZE, THERE ARE CLAIMANTS. The next in fine to inherit with murder on their minds The thieves hiding inthe Confusion, The fraudulent and fale, and. very possibly among. those responsible for deposing or disposing ofthe last keepers ofthe estate, The loyalty ofthese characters sto thelr own greed. Prize And Loyalties ‘The prize is the enchanted defences and armoury. ‘Those loyal to the departed want revenge on the beast Organized hunts for it ete Those loyal tothe estate want to keep holding the Line and holding the Eldwood at bay Those loyal to thelr own greed want £0 sei! armament From the keep to various noblesSTAFF AND STATEMENTS EVERY ESTATE HAS STAFF, ranging from housekeepers to chefs to mechanics to spacedock officers. OF these, 2 number will have strong postions as regards their loyalty, will interact with the characters, and have some clout in whatever institution the estate represents, This section of the sheet is for those People. ‘To fl this section out, youll kely want to make a generalist of the kinds of postions exist within the estate; ths might be a very simple ot very complex affair depending on the esate Ise. Then, choose from among those to decide which might be able to best pursue the prize of the estate, commit actions against the official heads of the estate, and otherwise be a major problem, Pick a few of those and assign loyalties to them, and five them names. ‘As you do this, don't limit yourself to olficially recognized Positions. The Malordomo of a fortress has a strong poston, But so does the spouse or lover of the Majordomo. Equally, 3 \welhentrenched power broker might have any offical job; tinker tll, soldier, whatever. NOW THAT YOU HAVE THESE PEOPLE, imagine what kinds of things they might be planning in order to take action toward their end ~ and especially how that action involves the player characters. This doesnt need noding down, You can etal it and have it happen in play or ignore it as needed ‘What you should have polished, however, is what theyll say to the player characters. ‘How wil they present themselves, and ‘what will they bring forward? Most critaly, wil they fe oF tell the ruth? Try to sum up what theyll try to get across asa statement they'll make. Then n pay, you have material posed fo throw at the player characters immediately, people can present their views and try to make impressions, even as they 0 about Serving thelr loyalties and creating trouble ofsage. Staff And Statements NAME POSITION LOYALTY STATEMENT THEY'LL MAKE Aschor Falconer Dame Vanchell We must get out there and kil chat beast! Dunstan Chatelaine Greed. Too many debts, no support. Sell tall, abandon it Bela Squire Eseate 1 think Dunstan iz stealing from the estate Fulmont Hedge Mage Greed. My pay is three months late. Pay me. Rai. Housekeeper Estate (whatever Ascher says: Ym ix love with her) Fulmont Cooper Greed /Vanchell Burn the beasts out, tame the Eldiwood for lumber:ESTATE The estate is ‘And is desirable as: Other Claimants The History Staff And Statements NAME DEMEANOR Ie was held by NAME _POSITION. _LOYALTY CLAM Who lost it by STATEMENT THEY'LL MAKE The executor Is Giving it over because ‘The entallment is Prize And Loyalties The prize Is ‘Those loyal to the departed want ‘Those loyal to the estate want 6 ‘Those loyal to their own greed wantTHE DEVILS WE KNOW SOME VILLAINS THINK OF THEMSELVES AS HEROES OF at least a5 2 terible necessity, because their actions prevent a greater ev. Sometimes, theyre right ~ or at leas, thelr belie has strong justification, This situation builder is about designing villainous groups like that which wil end up ‘angling with the player characters. THIS SITUATION BUILDER AIMS to create situations where a group of villains exis largely to hold back something even worse, whether In Secret or very much out in the open. This setup Is then brepared to be destabilized in a few different ways, so that even If the player characters would choose to turn a blind eye to the whole thing, they wor’ be easly able to do so In the long run For a couple of media references, think ofthe flm “The Cabin In the Woods" for a secret organlzation doing this, or the long song in the Doctor Who episode “The Rings Of Akhaten” for an example of the ‘action taking place in public. Both of these trea the terble nightmare 23 semmystcal, but a broken starship sending sucide misons Into Tadioactive asteroid belts to gather fuel could potentially exist along the same lines (he nightmare” In such a case Ist consclou, of cours, but thats nor actually a strict necessity) ‘THE NIGHTMARE fs the first component of this scenario; the terrible being or scenario that (the vilans belleve) must be prevented at all costs. Give It a name, and describe whac it ‘ants to do; if ts not a conscious thing, then it "wants this the way water Wants to flow downhill, and that'll right. Then, fl In what It Is capable of doing; what kind of power it would possess or represent i e were loose in the world. Finally, name the thing that holds it back ~ the dam that retains, the ‘magical sea that contalns It, the lullaby vhat Keeps It asleep, whatever the case may be. The nightmare is. A fiery intelligence living in the roots of the world Tewants to awaken volcanoes, spread to the surface. And it can dxfluence massed pools of magical energy. Buti is held back by magic eneray being dispersed.THE VILLAINS WHATEVER THE NIGHTMARE SCENARIO IS, and whatever itis that’s holding it at bay, some kind of action ‘or maintenance is required to keep’ things stable. That ‘ction or maintenance Tell Involves doing bad things, people ned to be sciced or dace or held vo har Here, youll the name of the group who does those baad things, the thing. they do. to Keep the nightmare scenario at bay and what that actlon requlres... "and how the group obtains that “Then, flout afew details on that organization. Who leads It, who works for them, and what do they have in the way ‘of serious resources (Cems, ships, guns, armies, whatver- ‘AS YOU DEFINE THE VILLAINS, consider which pars ‘ofthis operation exis openly and which parts operate in secret. The vilans and the terible work may very well be public and sancifed as tual ~ bur backed up with secret police and agents chat deal_with dissent against the necessity. Or the actual work may be secret, but recruitment may be taking place openly under” fase pretences. les often handy to have at least a few pieces out In the ‘open where they can be easly interacted with, and a few. ‘others kept a secrets so that they can be revealed ater. Decide on the mix you want, and bulld for that. The nightmare is kept held back by villains. The Desparan Heresy, a widespread cult ‘Who maintain the seal by stopping organized magic Which requites zerrar and brutality Obtained by sabodage, Wmnchings, heads on pres LEADERS: RESOURCE USED TO Rito Pesparan Fe Hie the trafic of Brewery meetings in taverns Prine leaflets and FOLLOWERS: Temple A mob, some Printers | Heresy literature accult scholars‘Complications ‘The nightmare stil has some sway, sending dreams of Energy pools and tbatteres to magicians. ‘There's a group of would-be lberators, che Vulcano’, Who believe the mind below is benevolent Some ofthe vilains are truly corrupt, agiaeing For all magicians to be killed, "to be sure MAKING IT WORSE IF IT WERE JUST A TERRIBLE NECESSITY, the scenario 38 given might be acceptable to the player characters, prompting no action. To ensure that chs Isnt the case, ‘here are three easy complications to throw into the mix = and its recommended you fil out of them, even though you wort necesaily use them all. ‘THE NIGHTMARE HAVING SOME POWER means that the act of keeping it at bay is imperfect. If ics an ev entity sealed away, Isl has the power to tempt or touch the world in small ways. If is a severe shortage, then having there be small outages is likely. Having. this complication around gives the villains something to point at 10 prove that they'e needed, proves that theyre not femttely effective, and means that the vans might want the player character to help den deal with such incidents, WOULD-BE LIBERATORS may be people who dort know about or believe In the nightmare scenario (or atleast that ies not bad enough to justify what the villains do)... or they might be people who are falthfl co che nightmare Icelf ‘They might juse wane co see the current system burn down, to build something ese or not. Decide who they are, and how they hope to bring the villains down. Naturally, may also hope t galn the help ofthe player character, TRULY CORRUPT VILLAINS ate people among the villains that are elther on the side of letting loose the fighanare or who have found some way to personaly benef from the presence ofthe nightmare or the process by which ies kept at bay. Profiteers on supposedly nobly- ‘motivated forced labour, press doubling the number of human sacrifice that keep the sun from going out so they Can use half of those co fuel ther own magic.MAKING IT MOVE THIS SITUATION IS LIKELY SEMLSTABLE, or only ‘egning 0 spiral out of control into chaos, withthe three ‘complication given causing regular incidents that need to bbe dealt within some way. Creating some incident that impacts the characters is the easiest way to drag them into the action. START THIS BY DECIDING WHAT HAPPENED out of sight ofthe player characters. This will usually be one of those complications acting out, leading to some problem. Having someone close to the player characters vanish, or Join one of the various sides of the scenario isan easy sar. DETERMINE WHO WILL CARRY THE NEWS ofthis to the player characters = someone who has at least some ‘dea of what has happened, and who may have some kind ‘of nex step that they could take. FINALLY, DECIDE ON A NEXT STEP, a thing that wll hhappen «6 more forceflly bring the player characters into ‘events if they're moving slowly. Having people come 19 ‘deal wich the bearer of the news fs an easy method, whether by wanting to have a frank discussion, to arrest. them al, to assassinate everyone Involved, oF whatever sults, Having anocher incident take place even closer to ‘home’ for the player characters Is also possible, they Imight even be present for and involved init directly. “These steps can be weak or strong ~ the fist incident and the news of it can be used putey 25 foreshadowing to an incident that catches up the characters, or the fist Incident can be a serious blow to the characters, which ‘they wil want to act on immediately. A Recent Incident ‘What already happened: A mob of extreme Desparan’ Burned GeotPs PCS tutor (the Witch Una) alive ‘The bearer of the news: Una’ other apprentice, who Barely escaped alive, wil bring the news. ‘What happens next: Some extremists are pursuing: Desparan is engaging ix internal aiciplnings YOUR GOAL AS GUIDE ‘ONCE THE CHARACTERS ARE ACTING, the goal Is to regularly present them with more information, having each ‘TOU present their side of affairs in the hopes of turing the characters to ther side. Doing so often requires a fat bit of improvising, you may want to prepate a pool of, ‘characters representing the various groups (or just alist of. names you can assign to whoever you need as you go). In the end, you'll want to push the characters to make and Fefine 2 final and informed stand on the situation ~ and then to try make it stick. Which stance they take Isr for you to decide.THE DEVILS WE KNOW The nightmare is. ewants 10 ‘And it can. But Ie is held back by ‘Complications ‘The nightmare is kept held back by villains... ‘Who maineain the seal by ‘Which requires Obtained by ‘The nightmare stil has some sway, ‘There's a group of would-be liberators, Some of the villains are truly corrupt, A Recent Incident LEADERS: RESOURCE USED TO rouowes. { ———— ‘What happened: ‘The evidence left behind: Rumour says:EXPEDITIONS LOST CITIES AND TOMBS TO RAID are often the subject of a fairly common format of expedition, and fone that difers from a plain quest in 2 number of etal This situation builder follows that format and lays i out for your use. The Journey To Find The Lost Sanctum of the Archmage Will take you into The forest of Kirthain To seek the old Fallen city of ces It was once held by the Archmage Oaina ‘And guarded by Her elemental legion The guide there Is An anciené map of Kirtharn Which we can find és storage ss the city prions ‘The guide surfaced recently when it was taken from a thieving intruder into the wizards guild THE GOAL for the player characters is typically 10 find a very specifi site or artifact, found within a larger place. if {this stumps you at all, ry putting everything in the same theme: The Book of the afterlife is found within the city of the dnd where te necromancer Kings once Ted wth ther THE GUIDE to this site can be an item or a person, something or someone thacs been tothe replon In question. Decide where that guide is now, and how Its that this guide ‘only recently came to be available (or only recently decoded, i you like. You may want to place this guide somewhere ‘that presents an obstacle in self, puting the Guide In prison, ‘or on display in a private and secure collection, or in the hhands ofthe enemies ofthe charactersTHE DESTINATION DETAIL THE DESTINATION BEFORE THE JOURNEY; this allows you to use the journey to foreshadow what wil be found atthe end, ‘The area around the destination wil always be held by something. This something Is most often an active agent ~ a population, 2 villain, a horde of monstrosles. Decide who this {s, and why this agent wants the area. Ifthe occupying power [sia thinking agen that wants things, give another reason why les there Instead of somewhere ele.” Additionally, lve some ote on what opposed the occupiers; what troubles or enemies do they face?_Doing this leaves open the option for the player characters t© uy and deal with the occuplers by some means ‘other than strict stealth or main force; theres something to negotiate over, or some other side to take, Finally for the destination, determine what became of the cofignal guardians of the site, and how chey sill act to uphold thelr old duties. They may have been transformed or transcended, have gone underground as a secret society, oF any ‘umber of other options ~ but this exists as a further obstacle if It feels to you The the player characters deal with the main ‘ccuples too quickly for your pace, an ally Ifthe occupiers are ‘specially ful, or some other kind of twist when and as you Teel the need to bring one in (On Arrival The area is held by Ghanrana, the bandit queen, and ber army of bandits and scume Who want it for The sanctum, and as a great seeree base ~ a whole ruined city! ‘They're opposed by rhe elementals and wildemess. The original guardians became settled into the area, but are waking up more and mare Who stil guard the site as natural dizasters when eutside: they incarnate in the sanctum.THE JOURNEY ‘THE JOURNEY ITSELF fs fay simple; spt the travel Into three sectlons, each of wiich goes over differing terrain, and determine the best way t0 ) travel each of them. ‘This may be fay simple, in some settings; trains are naturally timited, for ‘ecample. For characters that have access co ying. vehicles, Including 2 segment of underground cavel can break things Up — oF even jst denying ‘them places to land in the ending zone. Swampy regions can break up what ‘would otherwise be 2 lot of horseback riding, and travel to caves and cities ‘deep under the ocean dicate similar courses of travel ‘Once you have your three sets of terrain, and know the means of travel, determine how the characters wil go about acquiring those methods of ‘getting around (if such an acquisition Is needed). These may be fun places to Insere small scenes Lastly, decide what will threaten the travellers on each leg of the journey, linking these to the destination and the point of origin wherever possible. If the landscape grows thomy and barren in the second leg, and fled with ‘undying things in the third 26 the group enters the city of the dead, the players wil be wel-tuned tothe theme by the time they ative The Journey The fist leg isto The forest edge The third legis to The sanctum. istleg sto * The second leg i to_7he fallen ct ae = Best travelled by Horsebac Best travelled by more Aik saldnaiaauiais Best travelled by Hiking with packs aaa ‘Acquired from The city stables. ‘Acquired from - a ‘Acquired from oo The threat this legis ity chveves: Seana ‘The threat this legis anit!EXPEDITIONS On Arrival ‘The Journey To Find “The area shld by Wil cake you into aero ‘Who want It for Iwas once held by ‘And guarded by iTrepreeeeenes aoe ‘The original guardians became ‘Which we can find The guide surface recently aera The Journey m fst legs to ae us third esto est wravelled by rei est travelled by ‘Acquired from Sara ‘Acquired from The treat hile is STE “The threat this eisONE OF US MONSTROUS INFECTIONS like lycanthtopy and vampirism are a staple of fantasy and horror movie, and even more extreme transformations are often ‘explored on the horror side of that equation. In many of these storles, 2 community of transformed individuals exists and attempts to pressure those they've infected into joining them, wiile those infected also struggle with the seemingly-ineviable decline into thelr new condition. This situation bullder ‘ests to put those pleces and pressures into 2 game with relate ease, for whatever Condition you decide to dream up If you already have a transformative condition in mind, stare this situation bulder withthe group thats spreading it. The example to the left gives quick notes'on a setup using vampires, which 15 easy ‘enough to handle. If you need to design a new condition ftom the ‘ground up, skip to the bits on defining the condition and do that fist, then come back to this, To define the group, you'll need to give the name for your type of altered people, a line on how theyre organized (a churche, covens, Tamils, a secret ster) the Kind of people chat they ty to recrult from (street people, strong ones, nobility, elvest), how they infect ‘others, and how this might happen to a player character. ‘There ia group of wamaires Who are organized in covens serving cheir makers ‘And recruit among #he power and capable ‘They change others by feeding chene maker's blood. ‘A character may be changed when iting an i or coher place vampires contro. Some of these entries might not match their tes perfect If gargoyle attacks always work to petify those subjected to them, but Only afew survive long enough to start being changed into gargoyles themselves, that's not exactly ‘recruitment. Stl, it goes in the spot; ont fel like your notes need to match the proms perfectly‘The changed will know them by ehe ack of heartbeat ‘And will offer them che dio ritual that condrole Stigma. But they must accept che auchorty of heir maker I they refuse, thei: mater i expected to kil them The supposed cure Isto fil our maker: ‘Trying i will require « ghe. betrayal. et ‘And may result In decomvig a tater nse ‘THE CURE for this condition should almost always be a chancy, badly-understood story something the afficted can attempt but Which, requires action, components, Ingredients, and rik. ‘Additionally the cure should not be certain; Ie should be possible for {aking the cure to result in transforming the condition rather than actualy iting it CONTINUING TO DEVELOP THE CHANGED, yout! need to determine hiow the aready-altered wil detect those that they have infected, what theyll offer those being changed, what they demand, and how they punish those who refuse t agree to their demands THE SYMPTOMS of the condition being inflicted are the ‘most commion means of detecting those altered, but ies possible that whatever. sensory. abilites given’ by the ondion will play a parc. In the example, vamplres will, detect the changed by their lack of a heartbeat, since Te already decided that vampires can feel or hear héarbeats at range. ‘THE OFFER that the altered will make is most generally some ‘means of controling the condition ~ since, if uncontrolled, it leads to becoming lost in some way, How can the condition be kept from progresig, or kept under contrl, and how does the group keep some degree of control over it ‘ACCEPTANCE of whatever price the group places on their help is most often some form of joining the society of the changed. This might be swearing an-oath, accepting. an apprenticeship, claiming and malnalning tertcory according to Some set of sirictures, and so on. Whatever the case, this should be a heavy price ~ something serious enough’ that characters will chafe under ic constant, Teading to elther Attempts to get out from under it, seek 2'cure, or end up in regular confit withthe group. REFUSAL should aso entll some significant punishment, and 's often a straight description of the procedure by which the _70up kills those who refuse to jon‘THE COMPULSION STARTS AT @ STIGMA You become constantly pt: the Acar stops. sun hurts ‘And whenever you ssi comeane Hadi You are compelled t0 fz on and kil the source sali which state yow deal +3 biting damage Resist forthe scene by mating a walfower check Mark +1 stigma if you succumb to the compulsion. ‘THE BENEFIT STARTS AT @) STIGMA You become constantly rides ‘And whenever you dirk bod thom a person Nou gain strength +2 (al day), heal any one cwAnd mark +1 stigma, HE CONNECTION STARTS AT © STIGMA You can always sense Acarchats within 20 feet Ifyou fcus on the ane whe changed you You feel che aircon to them, and be fle x return swAnd can learn whse chair emotional sence i YOU ARE LOST AT STIGMA DESCRIBING THE CONDITION BUILDING A CONDITION that slowly escalates and transforms the character can be done using the righthand side of the situation sheet. The basle mechanic here Is *lgma”. "When the character [s Infected, they galn 2 point of stigma as the condition progresses, they gain more and ‘more stigma points until they are eventally Tost. ‘There are four ters of stigma; these are compulsion, benefit, connection, and becoming lost. COMPULSION AFFECTS the character so long as they hhave any points of stigma. Anything that removes all stigma cures the condition; actions that only conto it should never reduce the sigma to less than one point. ‘A character at this stage has some symptoms, writen in ater the “you become constanty”. Is the afflicted character pale? Blackeyed? Constantly hungry? ‘A character at this stage of affiction also has some form of trigger, and when faced with If pushed to take some form. ‘of action for a time. A. gargoylecursed character might want to curl up in bright sunlight, while a lycanthrope might feel the urge to tear at their own crawiing flesh tunder the light of the fll moon. When a character gives into their compulsion, they are effecvely thrown into 2 diferent state. They. might be feeding madly, be transformed into stone for the day oF Ino a beast forthe night, or whatever fis the condition. ts abo possible to ress the compulsion, at least for a time. This might be a single check to block out the Incident, or the compulsion may escalate and require constant, and harder resstance to malnaln over ume, forcing the character ro get out of the scene, the sunlight, away from the temptation, or into a cage before they are overtaken.DESCRIBING THE CONDITION, 2 ‘THE SECOND TIER of the condition will start a some level ‘of stigma you choose. Decide how many points are needed for this to occur based on how quickly you want It to hhappen and and how common the compulsion tigger is Iikely to be presented to the character, While affected by this tler of the condition, all the effects of the fst ter remaln, land more appear. [At this ter, you've got room to add an addtional symptom ‘or group of symptoms, showing the progression of the condlion. ‘Also at thls ter, those withthe condlkion have the ability to fain some benefit from It. Doing this requires aking some kind of action (which Is offen, but not always, strongly related co the trigger for thelr compulsion), and generates 2 point of stigma, IF stigma can be strongly controlled, then the benefit here should be relatively light and the action triggering i can be commensurately simple. I stigma cant be controlled by golng along withthe society of che altered, and progresses as 4 one-way trp nto nastiness if f’s not cure, then the benefit here should be deeply impressive in order to present an actual temptation. AT SOME POINT, THE CHARACTER WILL BE LOST. This typically means that the character Is locked Into compelled action, tured permanently to stone, or ‘otherwise effectively out of action. Ik might be possible to retrieve a lost character and bring them to recovery by reducing thelr stigma, orto effect the cure on them even In this state; decide how this works and set che amount of stigma where this event takes place. THE CONNECTION ter wil alo have some level of stigma where it kicks in, adding further to the condition the characteris operating under. ‘The point 3t which it comes Ino play can actually be 2 lower number than that of the bene, if desired (can also be set at one stigma, and be part ofthe inital package). ‘Ac this ter, the character galns some additonal sensory Information'of some kind. This might be very specific; an incipient gargoyle might always intuitively know how fong ‘isto sunrise. Or it might be a much broader extension ff a sense, such as a lyeanthrope galning a permanentiy Improved sense of smell ‘Additionally, a this ter, the character gains some kind of ‘new sensory ability that they can focus on to gan further Information. A character that has been infused with a labolical presence might be able to tap Into that presence {sense the goodness orev or know the sins of those they ‘meet, while someone that has been Injected with woll blood might be able to sense the meaning behind anyehing troll expresses, resardess of language. Doing ths always ‘come with some strange sensation ~ vertigo, a chill rushing ‘through the character, the Internal movement of an angry beast... And doing so normally increases the number of stigma point the character has (though, as in the example, this can be struck out as desired).IN THE COMPANY OF THE CHANGED IF THE OFFER IS ACCEPTED, you'l need at one Guide character prepared to represent ‘the already-changed to the player character or characters that have been afflicted. If thie is 4 villain or mastermind of some sort, and the others with the condition are merely their underlings, then theyre kely al you need.” Ir theres a more complex soclety of those with the condition, however, you may well need 0 prepare an_ entire second. situation to describe. whats happening among them, potentially using another siuation generator to do that. For that second situation, consider the type of beings involved and the opportunity you want to be presenting 10 the character — are they getting tipped headlong. into lnrigue (Long Knives), brought in on the losing side of a ‘power strugle Broken Places), or something else yet? SITUATIONS FOR THE CURE ‘A SECOND SITUATION might also need to be prepared forthe cure, depending on just what ics. If es a rare and ‘powerful thing, then an expedition of dungeon might stand Between the acted and acquiring that cure. If fs in the hhands of some specific person, they might demand that some problem be taken care of before theyre willing to do what's ‘eeded to lit the problem, ‘Additionally, being cured might lead into further situations; ‘those leading the afficted might want everyone involved in the cure to vanish, while others might aso hope to be cuted. Ia side effector transformation of the cure includes limmunity or resistance to the source of the affliction, the Cured may suddenly be in a poston to troubleshoot Ksues felated to that condition ~if those who have been cleansed by exorcism are the best warriors against the diabolical, 53.ONE OF US There Isa group of Who are organized in ‘And recruit among ‘They change others by A character may be changed wien ‘The changed will know them by ‘And will offer them But they must accept they refuse ‘THE COMPULSION STARTS AT Gq) STIGMA ‘You become consta ‘And whenever Resist forthe scene Mark +1 stigma if you succumb to the compulsion. THE BENEFIT STARTS AT © STIGMA ‘You become constantly ‘And whenever you You gain wAnd mark +1 stigma, THE CONNECTION STARTS AT @ STIGMA, ‘The supposed cure is Trying it will require ‘And may result in ‘You can always sense Iryou You feel ‘And can learn _-Mark +1 Stigma when you do this YOU ARE LOST AT © STIGMAFUTURITY HOOK IN THE PLAYER CHARACTERS IMMEDIATELY, If they're not already the instigators. Have one of them be felated to the Inventor of gunpowder, or have the Inventor be a clove associate of one of thelr direst and strongest ‘enemies. Positive, nezative, or just plain weird, give them a sake right from the start of the setup, so you know what thelr roe isn things to come. GRAND SCIENCE, NEW MAGIC, STRANGE ANACRONISMS. ‘These are all familar ables and acts at many gaming tables However, the followup to the creation of the Impresive new technology or arcana is often litle too simple and onesided, simply Because the creation and its implications are not given centre stage. This suaton generator alms to shift chat ‘TO GET STARTED, FILL IN THE CREATION. Whatever new thing has been created goes rghit up top. Follow that up with whoever is producing It, and who they're distributing it fo. If the new creation isa service or action (sch 8.2 spel), then fill in who is performing it and who benefits fom or i subjected to It, IF one of the characters is crating alchemical grenades, which are new to dhe setting, but only handing them out tthe other player characters, thats a pretty sll loop, but its a production and distribution group even so. Jc won't expand unal the group leaves some wimesses who have ‘the presence of mind and ability to collect some of the residue and take Ito another alchems, but thats fine. Someone has recently created An arcane ergstal matric allowing long-range telepathy Ieis curently produced by che moun ef Magers ‘And distributed t0 mouneain ef fasoesses and hol ‘The player characters are mages chee trade lore with the Magiters: a matric ie delivered a6 gfIts also understood by aif che Magiters, basicaly ‘And canbe understood by the Acs. any archomage Itempowers musicians af al sores: Who will use that power to coorstinace: fight the Desparans. This will supplant courier crows Which i-made-by- ore loaf trun no guide. Making and using it requires (os of quartz Which comes from ivarven mines Heavy use of it also creates pool de currents ix ambient magi Which affects che nightmare of the Desparan heresy A MOTIVATED CAST ‘A NUMBER OF PARTIES WILL BE AFFECTED by any Significant Invention, This section is for breaking that down and naming them, ‘Who Is capable of duplicating the invention immediately, and who ould potentially become capable if they had the right information, plans, ingredients, or other materials to work from? ‘Who would the Invention hep, and what would Ic help them do If delivered into thelr hands?” This may be people who would use i directly, oF those with a lot of users working for them ~ a queen, for example, might not use anew weapon, but has an army.. ‘What older technology or arcana isthe invention enough of an Improvement on that Ie will le a ot of business, and who rune ‘that business Ifthe Schoa trans all the scribes and is paid a tithe ‘oftheir wages, they may have opinions onthe printing press. ‘What kind of supplies, especially rare one, are involved in making. and using che invention?” If the supply is limited or expanding ‘would involve exploiting resources the folders don't want to ‘explo, that's something. Ifthe munitions use charcoal, which Is ‘made By the poor, that’s something too. ‘What side effects can be expected If the invention is used heavy? Is there an environmental, magica, or other smal effect that taken ‘cumulatively may become 2 significant Issue (or benefit) that people wil care about?) Who?‘An attempt to isolate It for specific use will be made by: ‘The Overlords of the Mountain Elves ‘Thelr want it to be solely for Mawnenin Fuse ‘And for the current producers to de consented They will attempt to seize che Magister, ending its Independence: seize any loo! matrices ‘An attempt to duplicate production will be made by: The Dwarven Runethanes They will try to entice ehe player characters to jain them ‘An attempt to halt all production will be made by: The Desparan Heresy They want co destroy this new arcana completely ‘And forthe current producers to dit, as « warning They will do this by rable rousing ix emer, sending both Mobs and mercenaries to do the job I wil be put co some surprising use by: The Vuleanos They use i for contacting their god and relaying ts words. Which will meet broadly with far and aisbelie FACING THE WORLD WHILE THE CHARACTERS PURSUE THEIR PLANS for the Invention, whatever those may be, and you adjudicate thelr success, the world wil algo react tO the existence of atv serious invention in a least afew of the ways given. For the ‘most part, the cast created In the lst step wil become the Instgatos ofthese actions ‘Attempts to isolate production include things tke tying 10 federalize 2 technology, reserve Ic for miliary use, absorb It ino a secure monopoly oF guild, and so on. Such plans may well inchide conscripting everyone involved in. production; they may even be presented as good offers, though they always limit the freedom of the current producers to do 3% they lke. ‘Attempts to duplicate production are just what they sound, lke. Ifthe characters are Keeping production and the results, 2 closed affair, word of their feats may stil get out. If so, Such an attempt may begin wich them belng followed around, stopped and searched, stolen from, and evidence ‘athered up behing them. ‘Attempts to halt production are often intended to destroy the technology entirely, including all exiting examples if possible and either locking up or klling everyone able to produce ft Ths kind of action fs normally only taken by the extremely powerful or extremely desperate, and requires significant resources to pull off — assassins, goverment Influence or private milary power, and so on. Finally, a least one wild card wil likely occur at some point where’ an expanded, excellent, or heinous use for the invention is found. This may Be some adaptation of it, of simply a larger-scale use than the player characters would hhave considered. Inventing a new weapon and intending to Use Ie to. fight evil can sll lead to an_atrocky being ‘committed with one's work, once it has gotten loose into the worl,FUTURITY Someone has recently created {cis currently produced by And distributed 10 The player characters are ‘An attempt to isolate i fr specific use will be made by: ‘Their want it to be solely for ‘And forthe current producers to ‘They will attempt to It's also understood by ‘And canbe understood by ‘An attempt to duplicate production will be made by: They will ry to entice ‘An attempt to halt all production will be made by: Ttempowers ‘Who will use that power to ‘They want ‘This will supplant ‘And for the current producers to Which is made by ‘They will do this by Making and using it requires Which comes from Ie will be put to some surprising use by: Heavy use of i also Which affects They use Ie for Which will meet broadly with