Creating Jump Points

Jump Points are starting situations that allow the story to hit the ground running. A good
Jump Points can be compared to the blurb describing an episode of a favorite sci fi show. It
sketches out the meat of the action/drama in the broadest strokes. This blurb employs vague
terms, foreshadowing, and leaves out the major beats and plot twists.

A Jump Point serves two purposes: to provide direction and momentum to the players, and to
alleviate preparation time from the GM. Jump Points create a strong element of surprise and
discovery for GM and player alike, and running the exact same Jump Point with different
groups can result in very different stories.

Anatomy of a Jump Point:

 A core element to be the focus or motivator of the story.
 A handful of secondary elements to act as obstacles or opportunities.
 A few initial prompts to flesh out the situation.
 An introduction to set the scene.

Creating a Jump Point – Core Element

When writing a Jump Point, start with a focus, a single story element that will be present and
central to the narrative, and an act the characters are called to perform. This core story
element will be the single-most important thing in the Jump Point, and all other story
elements will orbit around it.

Example story elements:

An object to find, claim, steal, deliver, analyze, repair, or destroy.

A cargo container, a sample of newly discovered ore, medical supplies, the corpse
of an alien infiltrator, a high security keycard.

A location to enter, escape, defend, seize, study, or wreck.

A backwater colony, a high-tech prison, an ancient temple, a derelict starship, an
alien hive, an abandoned asteroid mining facility, the armada’s capital ship.

A person/group/creature to protect, locate, interrogate, capture, or exterminate.

A double-agent, freedom fighters, a desperate fugitive, a popular cult, a faction
leader’s family, a prize pet, space pirates, a vile demagogue, a popular celebrity.

An event to endure, avoid, evaluate, experience, or disrupt.

A virulent plague, a political rally, a meteor shower, a massive celebration, a
scientific breakthrough, a plasma storm.

Building a Jump Point around a single story element provides direction and momentum to the
characters. It’s a focal point that gives them a clear goal, something to interact with. It also
provides strong but not restrictive guidance to the GM when introducing new story elements
during play (see page xx), since new elements will stem from this central narrative focus.
Creating a Jump Point – Secondary Elements

After deciding on a core element, add three or four secondary elements, which will act as the
initial obstacles and opportunities at the start of the Jump Point. They orbit the core of the
story.

Unlike the core element, the secondary elements aren’t defined by how the characters will
interact with them, but rather how they relate to the core story element. Active elements
(people, groups, creatures) will have an agenda relating to the core story element, while
passive elements (locations, events, objects) exert their influence on everyone and everything
in the scene.

Resist the impulse to add elements that are unrelated to the current situation. They add
unnecessary mental overhead while GMing, and can distract or confuse the players. The ill-
advised decisions and spectacular failures of the characters will already create more than
enough chaos as the game progresses.

Example secondary elements:

Core Element: A cargo container to steal.

Secondary Elements: Grav-train (carries the cargo container), guards (protect the
cargo), hostile environment (hazard), destination (expecting delivery of cargo,
rapidly approaching).

Core Element: A protégé to bring back home.

Secondary Elements: Stolen information (carried by protégé), cred-chip case
(payment for stolen information), clandestine agents (making the trade), secluded
location (meeting point).

Core Element: An abandoned colony to explore.

Secondary Elements: Communication array (non-functional), architecture
(colony’s purpose), shipping containers (local raw materials), local environment
(alien planet, weather) colonist corpse (cause of death).

Note that in each example, the secondary elements are very broadly defined by their role in
the story, rather than who or what they are. That’s as much detail as they need for a Jump
Point. Further details will be revealed through the initial prompts (see page xx).
Creating a Jump Point – Initial Prompts

A Jump Point needs between three and five strong prompts to kick things off.

Prompts are questions posed to the characters that define key aspects of the world. These
prompts are pivotal to the narrative, creating context and fleshing out the scenario in
unexpected ways. More importantly, it gets the players invested in the story, because they
have a direct hand in shaping the narrative.

To create the initial prompts that will shape the Jump Point’s narrative, consider a handful of
important unknowns about the story elements introduced so far (both core and secondary).

Establishing faction involvement or ownership is one of the more common

prompts, because each faction will lend its own politics and aesthetic style to the
story. A starship belonging to a merchant consortium will have a different look,
armament, and agenda, compared to a starship owned by space pirates.

Terrain, weather, and/or location are also common prompts, since every
environment provides substantially different hazards and opportunities. A
clandestine meeting in a busy pub will create very different avenues of action,
compared to the same meeting in an empty shuttle bay. Escaping headhunters
through crystalline jungles presents a much different challenge than escaping the
same headhunters across acidic tundra.

As with all prompts, each initial prompt is formulated as a conversational, in-universe

question to the appropriate character or the table as a whole.

Example initial prompts (using the previous “A cargo container to steal” example, page xx):

Elements: Cargo container, grav-train, guards, hostile environment, destination.

 Looking out the window: “Makes you glad the grav-train is sealed. What kind
of hostile, alien terrain do you see out there?”
 Seeing the guards: “Considering how they’re dressed and equipped, it’s pretty
obvious who they work for. Which faction do the guards belong to?”
 Talking about the cargo container: “All you need to do is secure that cargo
container. Which faction hired you all for this job?” (note we’re not discussing
the contents of the container yet, that comes later.)

It’s also a good idea to jot down a couple of obvious prompts for events that will
likely happen later in the story:
 If/When they open the cargo container: “What do you see inside? What was
this cargo container transporting?”
 If the characters take too long: “Looks like the train is going to be stopping
soon. Very soon. What do you know about the destination?”
Creating a Jump Point – Intro

Completing the Jump Point is simply a matter of creating a short narrative intro. The intro
sets the scene and tone, clearly establishes the core story element, and drops the characters
right into the thick of the action.

Jump Points start in media res (lit. “into the middle of things”) to be springboards for action
and story. Don’t have the characters meet in a bar, talking about their plans. Instead, start the
Jump Point at a dramatic or tense point during the story:
 as the airlock seals.
 as first shot is fired.
 as the cable snaps.
 as the judge announces their verdict.
 as the truck pulls up to the security point.
 as the ship crashes down.
 as the traitor springs their trap.
 as the first clue is discovered.

Focus on the now, and keep that momentum going. Put the core element clearly in focus.
Layer on set dressing (sights, smells, sounds, textures) to reinforce the tone. Don’t leave the
characters standing around wondering what their mission is, or what they need to do next.

Example Jump Point intro (using the previous “A cargo container to steal”, page xx):

The grav-train has certainly seen better days. It must have been a marvel, once
upon a time. Now it rattles and shakes as it thunders down the rail. The air filters
just can’t seem to scrub out the stale smell of the passengers, past and present.

[Prompt 1] The wide, reinforced windows in the passenger cars are smudged,
scratched, and dirty. And the view isn’t exactly great. Makes you glad the grav-
train is sealed. What kind of hostile, alien terrain do you see out there?

[Prompt 2] Guards clomp down the aisles, glaring at the handful of passengers.
Considering how they’re dressed and equipped, it’s pretty obvious who they work
for. Which faction do the guards belong to? What seems to be their standard
equipment?

[Prompt 3] The guards swipe a keycard, and the heavy door between the train cars
grinds open. You catch a brief glimpse of the cargo area as they move through.
You’ve got the specs, the container ID code. All you need to do is secure that one
cargo container, and ping your contact for a pick-up. Who IS your contact, exactly?
Which faction hired you all for this job?

What do you all do? (Play begins here)

Running a Jump Point
Once the Jump Point intro has been run through, and the initial prompts have fleshed out the
scene, ask the players “What do you do?” and continue play from there. Follow the usual
flow of play, as laid out on page xx of the core Uncharted Worlds book:
 Present the situation, ask the players what they do.
 If what they are attempting faces opposition, roll to find out what happens.
 Update the situation, ask the players what they do.

Running a Jump Point – New Secondary Elements

One of the major consequences of failed and partially successful Moves is the introduction of
new threats and obstacles (see the UW core book, page xx). These are new secondary
elements.

Because they are so situational, it’s almost impossible to predict what kinds of new elements
might show up during play. Part of GMing an Uncharted Worlds game is keeping an eye out
for opportunities to add drama at just the right time.

Tips for introducing new secondary elements:

Create a causal link between the failed/partially successful Move and the newly
introduced element. For example, failing to stop a fleeing guard will likely add
“reinforcements” or “automated defenses” threats to the scene, or create a
“lockdown” obstacle. It probably won’t cause space pirates to attack or crash the
SectorNet uplink.

Some new elements aren’t affected by the current events, but rather are merely a
matter of time, such as weather changes, battlefield power-shifts, disease
propagation, or stellar phenomenon. These kinds of looming, long-onset elements
are best suited as consequences of the characters wasting time. Give ample warning
to the characters beforehand by foreshadowing the impending element.
(Foreshadow Trouble, UW core book, page 38).

Leverage the answers to their prompts. For example, if the answer to “What terrain
is outside” was “vast oceans”, the train could be caught in a torrential storm if the
characters take too long, or begin to flood if they damage the train’s hull. On the
other hand, if the train was described traveling through “burning deserts”, the
cooling system could get knocked offline by combat or poor hacking skills,
threatening everyone onboard as the train overheats.
Running a Jump Point – Finishing Up

At some point during the session, the core element will stop being the focus of the story due
to mission success or failure. Either the characters have successfully “Done The Thing” they
needed to do with the core element (secure, kill, escape, etc), or the characters’ repeated
failures have put the core element outside of their reach (destroyed, escaped,
captured/secured by a third party, etc).

If the session has gone on for a satisfying length of time, this marks the end of this chapter of
the story, and provides a good opportunity for downtime (see page xx for more on
Downtime). Briefly tie up any loose ends without undue hassle. Feel free to summarize, and
skip forward (“It’s two days later, back on your ship…”)

Running a Jump Point – Keeping Things Going

Due to the fickle nature of the dice or the incredibly poor decisions of the characters,
sometimes the core element leaves play far too early and too easily. If an ending at that early
juncture would feel too abrupt or unsatisfying, the current situation can be extended by
turning one of the secondary elements into the new primary mission focus.

When the old core element of the story leaves play, one of the active secondary elements
becomes the new core element, and the scenario isn’t over until that new core element is dealt
with as well. The new core will often be a threat that needs to be handled or escaped.
Occasionally, the new core can be an opportunity that the characters were particularly
interested in, and can now pursue it.

When introducing a new core element, make it very clear that this is the new primary focus of
the scenario which must be dealt with. Weave its new importance into the conversation.

“The cargo container is safely away in the shuttle, but the train’s guards have
arrived with reinforcements. What do you do?” Here the “guards” secondary
element has become the core element of a much more immediate and violent
confrontation. Note the assumption that the shuttle only had room for the cargo, not
the characters too.

“The shuttle takes off with you and the cargo aboard, but the storm is
hammering the small vessel, straining its systems, and throwing the automated
guidance out of whack. What do you do?” Here the “weather/storm” secondary
element (introduced during play) becomes the core element of a tense
repair/piloting/navigation challenge. Most of the other secondary objectives will be
left behind on the train, and the storm will create a fresh batch of dangers
(malfunctions, danger of crashing, damages, and so forth). Note the assumption that
the shuttle is big enough for everyone.

It is entirely possible to chain several core elements back-to-back. This creates an arduous
series of encounters over the course of multiple gaming sessions, severely testing the
characters’ resources and resolve.

For more on running long-term campaigns, see Chapter XX on page xx.

 Checkpoint
Stealth, Combat, Chase

Resistance fighters smuggle a truck past a security checkpoint in a city under martial law.

Core Element: A cargo to deliver.

Secondary Element: Truck (carries cargo and allies), rebels/resistance (guard the cargo),
troops (guard, check ID, arrest/eliminate rebels), safehouse (destination).

The truck rumbles and sways as it makes its way down the dark, poorly maintained streets.
The sidewalks are devoid of people due to the strict martial law. Not long until the security
checkpoint.

 A rag-tag group of armed men and women are packed shoulder to shoulder in the back
of the truck. Who are they? Which faction is quietly sponsoring their rebellion?

 The resistance members are here to ensure that the truck’s cargo is delivered safely to
their hideout. What incredibly important cargo is being transported in this truck?

 Tall banners and iconography adorn the upcoming security checkpoint, the last major
hurdle before you get to the safehouse in the next district. Which faction runs this
checkpoint and the others like it, locking down the city?

 There’s a driver’s seat, navigator/passenger’s seat, and a dozen places on the benches
running the length of the truck’s interior. Where are each of you seated?

A simple metal gate bars your way. Something’s not right. The guards are too alert, too tense.
There are six of them, when there should be three. They have serious weaponry slung over
their shoulders, rather than just having their side-arms at their belts. One of them suspiciously
approaches the driver’s window. “Papers, please.” she growls.

What do you do? (Play begins here)

Tips for running this Jump Point:

The characters will need to provide documentation to pass the checkpoint. Have them explain
how they previously secured these documents and make the appropriate Face Adversity
(usually +Interface or +Influence). Any Get Involved moves can either have happened in the
past (while obtaining the documents) or in the present, at the character’s discretion.

If the documents pass muster, the guard will ask to inspect the truck. They’ll need to be given
a damn good reason why not. Underline the tension of the guards. They’re suspicious. They
may have gotten a tip-off. If all goes well, there’s still the problem of the potential traitor.

If either the documents or the inspection fails, the guards will try to arrest everyone, and the
resistance fighters will fight back, which will escalate the violence dramatically. The guards
are armed and armored as appropriate for their faction, and will have at least one available
vehicle (armored sky-car, hex-rover with heavy weapon turret, riot control mech, etc)

The resistance fighters count as a Class 1 Crew (Gang, Armed) with weapons appropriate to
the faction that’s funding them. They can be Commanded, and will need to be Commanded to
not immediately engage the guards at the first sign of trouble.
 Ghost town
Investigation, Suspense

The characters arrive at a remote colony only to find it deserted. What happened here?

Core Element: An abandoned colony to investigate.

Secondary Elements: Asset (person or resource to recover), communication array (non-
functional), architecture (colony’s purpose), local environment (terrain, weather hazard).

The hab-module doors hiss open. Another empty hall. Still no sign of anybody. There should
be thousands of people in this colony, but so far you’ve been greeted by silence, empty
rooms, and automated systems. Even the comm-link is devoid of chatter. The colony’s
communications array is non-functional, so no satellite uplink or local broadcasts.

 The area surrounding the colony seems as quiet and uninhabited as the colony itself.
Your starship is parked on a landing area a few kilometers out of town, and you
certainly didn’t see any signs of people on the passenger-rail ride over. What kind of
terrain surrounds the colony? What’s the temperature and general environment
like?

 With the help of the occasional guide screen you’ve got a pretty good idea of the
colony’s layout by now. Aside from the towering comms array, what are the large,
important structures here? What is this colony’s purpose?

 You certainly didn’t come to this colony just for a vacation. Who or what were you
contracted to pick up from this colony? Which faction is expecting your return?

It’s unknown whether you’ll be able to complete your mission, given the state of the colony.
But even if you can’t, a number of factions have a vested interest in this colony, and they
would want to know just what happened here.

What do you do? (Play begins here)

Tips for running this Jump Point:

Since the fate of the colonists is not known to you, pay careful attention to the suppositions
and musings of the characters as they investigate. Introduce evidence that supports their
suspicions. If they aren’t voicing their suspicions, prompt a character with “do you have a
theory yet?” or “ever seen something like this before?” or “what are your instincts telling
you?” depending on the kind of character they are (analytical, experienced, instinctive). Keep
the characters moving to the next point of interest, don’t let them dither or turn in circles.

Example secondary elements to introduce during play:

 Colonist corpses (Prompt: “What state is the corpse in? Can you tell how they died?”).
 Bad weather (Prompt: “The colony’s automated weather warning system blares loudly
over the speakers. What environmental hazard about to hit the colony hard?”).
 Automated defenses/haywire robots (If the colony had high security).
 Alien flora/fauna (Prompt: “It’s unlikely that the colonists willingly allowed this
infestation. What are they? What do they look like?”).
 Administrative AI (potential source of answers).
 Debris
Rescue, Salvage, Starship

The characters discover the wreckage of a massive starship in a lonely, backwater sector of
space. A ping sounds in the darkness.

Core Element: A wrecked starship to explore.

Secondary Elements: Debris field (hazard), exposed fusion reactor (hazard), ship’s contents
(assets, data), an escape pod (tangled in wreckage), pod’s occupants (unconscious, injured).

The subtle hum of your starship changes pitch as you drop out of Jump space, only to be
replaced by the sound of dozens of shield impacts. Proximity alarms flash on the navigation
screens, as chunks of twisted metal scrape and crackle off the forward shields.

This was supposed to be a quiet, backwater sector between Jump lanes, uninhabited and
rarely used. An aging dwarf star and a handful of gas giants. Instead the view ahead is
dominated by the carcass of a massive starship, blown open like an overripe fruit. Its innards
flashes with yellow-green light, the massive fusion core unmoored and spilling radiation.

 Debris spreads out in all directions for hundreds of kilometers, some chunks bigger than
your entire ship. Which faction’s symbol can you see, painted larger-than-life on the
twisted bulkhead? Who did this ship belong to?

 Despite the incredible damage, it’s still possible to make out this gigantic ship’s original
form. There are few enough ships of this size that it doesn’t take long to find it in your
database. What was this ship’s name? What was its purpose?

The [ship name] isn’t listed as missing. Whatever happened here, it happened very recently.
It remains un-salvaged, undisturbed. Amid the proximity alerts and radiation warnings, a
single, lonely distress beacon pings from an escape pod tangled in the debris.

What do you do? (Play begins here)

Threats and Opportunities:

 The debris field will be a significant threat if the characters bring their own starship
close to the wreckage, requiring significant piloting skills (aided by shield engineering
and point defense gunnery).
 Shuttles and extravehicular activity will expose characters to the radiation bursts of the
damaged core. Radiation burns and sickness will be the most likely consequence for
failed Moves.
 The question of “what happened to the ship” can lead down a few different story
branches. It could have been an honest malfunction, sabotage, or a new super-weapon
developed by an opposing faction. The survivors or the ships data banks will know.
 The crew in the escape pod will provide further story hooks, if they survive. One of
them may be the traitor/saboteur (if there is one).
 The cargo bays contain assets appropriate to the type of ship. The goods are marked as
belonging to the faction, so selling them off as salvaged goods will require subtlety.
 Another faction will eventually arrive in force to assess the wreck. Prompt the characters
to find out which one.
 Bar Brawl
Violence, Non-Lethal, Chase

A contact has arranged a meeting with the crew to hand over a very valuable data disc. But
the bar he chose as a meeting place erupts in a full-blown bar brawl.

Core Element: A data disc to retrieve.

Secondary Elements: Bar brawl (gets in the way, causes harm), old rival (wants to pummel
one of the characters), mugger (steals data disc), Taphan Ti’Kor (injured informant).

The sound of yells and smashing glass is almost drowned out by the bar’s speaker system,
pumping out the latest Anthrovox beats. A heavy, mirrored table is flipped, drinks crashing to
the ground. A punch is thrown, and the bar erupts in a full-blown brawl.

 A hefty bar-fly is unceremoniously flung over a table, slamming up against the window,
bouncing off and landing on floor in a heap. What’s outside that window? Where is
this bar located? A city? A backwater? A station? (If a city: what district? If a
backwater/town: what terrain/climate? If a station: what’s the station’s purpose?)

 A ridiculously muscle-augmented patron named Regina Syne casually wrenches a bar

stool out of its mooring. She shoves her way towards you through the brawling crowd,
holding the bar stool like a club. Where do you know her from, and why is it entirely
justified that she wants to cave your head in with that heavy metal stool?

 You catch a glimpse of your contact, Taphan Ti’Kor, trying desperately to get to a safe
corner. They have the data disc they promised you. What’s on that disc that makes it
so valuable?

A mousy young woman with chrome-cable hair shoulder tackles Taphan in the stomach. She
pushes away, slipping something into a pocket of her military-chic leather tac-vest as she
weaves her way through the brawl, heading to the exit.

Your contact is holding his hand to his stomach, a shocked look on his face. He looks down
at his palm. It’s hard to tell in the shifting blacklight, but his hand and stomach look smeared
with blood. The brawl heaves forward, knocking him to the ground. You lose sight of him.

What do you do? (Play begins here)

Tips for running this Jump Point:

The brawl is a constant, repeated hazard for a character attempting to do anything in the bar
area. Whether they try to help Taphan, catch the mugger, or deal with random drunken
attackers getting in the way. Though they will cause Minor injuries, they can theoretically be
ignored or stepped over. If one of the characters wants to get physical with Launch Assault,
throw in a couple more hapless brawlers and let the character go to town.

The mugger is a Shiv (local street trash for hire) who goes by the name Whipcord. She’ll try
to flee, either on foot or by stolen vehicle, depending on the location. If a character
apprehends and convinces her to talk, she’ll reveal her client. Prompt the characters to find
out what they discovered from Whipcord: “What did she end up divulging about her client?
Which faction or powerful group took a personal interest in your data disc?”
Passengers
 Politics, Starship

Four important, temperamental, abrasive passengers have booked transit to a neighboring star
system, a few days away. One ends up dead.

Core Elements: Three passengers to transport.

Secondary Elements: Hakhan Talla (reviled), Qu Sing (faction representative), Junn Tyo
(dangerous), Galav Sunfisher (corpse), Galav’s cargo container (mysterious contents).

Three passengers sit around the table your starship’s cramped communal mess hall, eyeing
each other suspiciously.

 Hakhan Talla is well known, and a significant number of people would love to put a
bullet in their head. Why is Hakhan so reviled?

 Sitting next to Hakhan is Qu Sing, an important, hardline faction representative. She

isn’t just a spokesperson, she is an embodiment of the faction and their ideals. Which
faction does Qu represent?

 Across from them is Junn Tyo. Though her personality isn’t quite as abrasive as the
other two, she is undoubtedly the most dangerous person onboard. What makes Junn
such a danger?

 The fourth passenger, Galav Sunfisher, lies dead in his rather tiny passenger quarters.
Given the arguments over the past few days and the way Galav was killed, it’s pretty
obvious which of the three passengers killed him. Who killed him, and why?

The other passengers are demanding action from you, while the killer argues that no one else
has anything to fear, that this was a private matter. You still have three days of Jump travel
before you reach your destination, and the situation is getting rather tense.

What do you do? (Play begins here)

Tips for running this Jump Point:

When prompting for the three passengers, infer personality traits from the answers. Be sure to
write them down, so that you can keep each one distinct. Play up the personalities of the three
passengers to the hilt, larger-than-life. Have them talk to the characters individually, get the
characters on their side. Remind the characters of their day-to-day ship-board routines.

Each day of travel presents a new challenge:

 Day 1: The two passengers angrily demand that the murderer be “dealt with”. The
murderer offers assurances that they are not a threat, offers bribes/promises, or drops
veiled threats, depending on their personality. The day ends when everyone is
temporarily appeased.
 Day 2: One of the passengers (or the murderer, if they haven’t been dealt with) wants to
access Galav Sunfisher’s sealed cargo container in the cargo hold. They may try
sneaking in, or might convince one of the characters to open it for them.
 Day 3: If the murderer is still alive and onboard, one of the other passengers will take
matters into their own hands and try to kill them. If the murderer isn’t present, the two
passengers get into a fight that will quickly turn deadly.
 Hunted
Combat, Survival, Alien

A murderous alien creature is on the loose, preying on the locals. The characters are next.
Kill, or be killed.

Core Elements: An alien creature to kill.

Secondary Elements: Hunting grounds (hiding spaces, hazards), victims (cause of death,
creature abilities).

A scream, cut short. The sound of gunfire. The horrible fleshy sound of a body hitting the
floor. By the time you get there, the creature has already moved on, leaving another corpse in
its wake. It’ll be hunting you next.

 You’re still on alert, watching every shadow, but it looks like things are clear for now.
So far the creature has kept to this fairly restricted area. It’s obviously chosen this as its
hunting ground. Where are you? What kind of place is this? What’s the layout?

 So far you’ve only caught glimpses of it. Garbled descriptions from terrified witnesses.
A few poorly lit pict-captures. Give a general idea of the creature’s form. What does
the creature look like?

 From the spent shells and mangled remains of a previous group of armed mercs, it’s
obvious that conventional weaponry isn’t enough to take this creature down. Why?
What makes this creature so hard to kill?

 This latest victim is particularly gruesomely killed. Aside from its more obvious
natural weapons, what unexpected attack has the creature employed to kill a
number of its victims?

You hear it again. It’s moving. It’s close. You’re next. Kill, or be killed.

What do you do? (Play begins here)

Tips for running this Jump Point:

This scenario is part survival, part puzzle. The characters have to figure out how to harm,
disable, and finally kill the creature, while avoiding the creature’s attacks. Make it abundantly
clear that the creature cannot be defeated by a simple “Open Fire” or “Launch Assault”.

Use noise to reinforce the danger it poses, based on its description: roars or screeches,
stomping or clattering or slithering. Play up its strengths, make it threatening. Kill off random
npcs.

Depending on the shape of the creature and the location of the hunting ground, have it use
and change the terrain. Smash through doors, burrow up from the dirt, drop down from the
ducts or branches, melt walls, knock over trees, and so forth.

If you have the Far Beyond Humanity expansion:

This Jump Point can make excellent use of the optional rules for Villains (FBH, page 36),
Overwhelming Foes (FBH, page 38), or Horror (FBH, page 39).