Quartz 4

10 - Constructing a Scenario

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Chapter 10: Constructing a Scenario

A scenario is a story where the gamemaster (GM) herself chooses the place, time, Archetype, and threats before the start of the game. Often, the GM picks Archetypes and Dark Secrets she detailed ahead of time, to integrate the characters’ backstories specifically with the scenario.

Scenarios are particularly suitable for beginning players, one-shot games, and groups who can only meet for a limited numher of sessions. They allow for more active playtime, but are more demanding of the GM’s time, as she will need to make preparations ahead of playing the scenario.

ASTAROTH

This is a list of items the GM can prepare before the scenario starts.

  1. Think of a scenario concept.
  2. Choose a theme for the scenario.
  3. Pick a setting (time and place) for the scenario.
  4. Think of a backstory.
  5. Select what Archetypes will be available to the players.
  6. Pick Dark Secrets and Disadvantages for the player characters (PCs) and integrate these with the scenario backstory.
  7. Detail the characters as the story requires, providing additional aspects to the characters, such as name, looks, Advantages, and relationships.
  8. Create threats connected to the backstory and the characters’ Dark Secrets.
  9. Create milestones for the threats.
  10. Consider and make notes of descriptions of important places and people in the scenario.
  11. Think about possible endings for the scenario.

Concept

Developing a scenario concept requires the GM to determine a vague idea of what the scenario is all about. For example:

  • The characters are employed at an excavation of Metropolis’ forgotten catacombs, located in the glaciers of Antarctica.
  • The characters are estranged childhood friends, who are haunted by the terrible crimes in their pasts.
  • The characters are evangelical congregation members in a small town threatened by demons.
  • The characters are police officers trying to stop a twisted serial killer.
  • The characters are tourists staying at a remote hotel, where the proprietor is looking to open a gate to Inferno.
  • The characters are unwittingly trapped in a purgatory, where a nepharite confronts them with their pasts.

Theme

The scenario theme is connected to the concept, and could be chosen before the concept is developed, if so desired. The simplest way to determine the scenario’s theme is choosing one of the Higher Powers in the game and focus the scenario around its Principles or goals. If there are several Higher Powers, the theme can be described as the conflict between them. For example:

  • The Death Angel, Sathariel, provides the theme, Exclusion.
  • The Archon, Geburah, and the Death Angel, Gamaliel, introduced into the same scenario makes the theme, Law versus Lust.

When preparing Archetypes, Dark Secrets, Disadvantages, and threats, the GM can consider how to best highlight the theme throughout the story.

Setting

The scenario’s setting - the time and place it occurs - affects the story’s mood and provides a varying range of possibilities for the PCs. Consider what works best with the concept. Should the scenario be based in a big city or elsewhere? Do you want to use an existing location or invent your own? What sort of locale works best to serve the goals and themes you have with the scenario? Some setting examples:

  • Big city
  • Small town
  • Countryside
  • The wilds
  • Isolated locale (e.g., a ship, an island, a prison, or similar)
  • A building (e.g., a hospital, asylum, school, etc.)
  • An event (e.g., the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong in 2014, the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, the MS Estonia disaster in 1994)

ASTAROTH

The scenario’s backstory doesn’t have to be novella-length, but you should consider and note down a few sentences about what previously took place in the scenario’s locations, and what events made the situation the way it is. The backstory will naturally take shape and be complemented by the other choices the GM makes while creating the scenario, so she should figure out the basics and occasionally return to flesh out the backstory.

For example, the Antarctic dig is operated by the company, Innovim Inc., which is controlled by lictors tied to the Death Angel, Nahemoth. They’re searching for a lost god, who is said to be sleeping in Metropolis’ catacombs.

Archetypes

The choice of available Archetypes affects the direction of the scenario. For violent threats, Archetypes like The Avenger, The Criminal, and The Veteran could be suitable. If you want more focus on investigation and research, The Detective, The Fixer, or The Seeker have Advantages which would prove useful. The Careerist and The Artist are suited for more social play, while The Prophet and The Scientist have Advantages providing the players more insight into the supernatural.

Often a combination of Archetypes is preferable, and it’s usually obvious which Archetypes are appropriate for the scenario’s concept. The Archetypes’ specific Dark Secrets, Disadvantages, and Advantages are also important when considering this choice. If it’s important for the characters to hack into a security system during the story, the GM might choose The Seeker as one of the available Archetypes, due to its Hacker Advantage.

Dark Secrets and Disadvantages

As the PCs are the scenario’s protagonists, it’s important to connect their Dark Secrets and possibly even their Disadvantages to the scenario’s backstory.

For example, if the scenario revolves around a mysterious figurine, one of the player characters inherits it (Heir) and is affected by its Curse.

A boyfriend of one of the PCs used to be a researcher at Innovim Inc.’s Antarctic research station (Strange Disappearance). The character has applied for employment at the station to investigate what transpired.

The evangelical congregation struggling against the town’s demons are led by The Prophet, who has been Chosen by their god to protect the town from this evil.

Detail the Characters

How much detail the characters require in advance depends largely on how much control the GM wants to have over them and how quickly they want to start playing.

Allowing the players to choose many of their characters’ details themselves will directly influence the direction in which the scenario plays out, and the plot may take unexpected twists and turns, as a result. For example, The Detective the GM thought would serve as a crime scene investigator becomes a dreamwalker with Enhanced Awareness instead, and The Prophet becomes a truthsayer with a voice that whips crowds into a frenzy. In addition, even seemingly straightforward decisions can take some players a long time to make.

If the GM makes all the choices herself, she can prepare exactly the protagonists she wants for the scenario. However, this may inhibit player creativity and diminish their connection to the story.

A compromise is to allow the players to choose character options on their own, but impose constraints on their selections. For example, “You can pick three Advantages, but one of them has to be Crime Scene Investigator.”

If the scenario is intended to be short and intense, it’s wise to impose some control over the PCs’ relations to one another. Allowing the characters to familiarize themselves and build trust with the others can take a long time in game, and sometimes they don’t seem to want to cooperate at all. The GM can also use relations to create character motivations and ensure characters stick together. For example, “The Avenger rescued you from certain death, and this is why you’re helping her get her revenge.”

Threats

Threats are the scenario’s antagonists and represent most of the obstacles the PCs must overcome. It’s important to put some consideration into the nature of the threats and what in the characters’ lives they’re endangering. The GM will often have a few threats established from developing the scenario concept, backstory, and the characters’ Dark Secrets and Disadvantages. Note these down and consider what their goals and motivations are in the scenario. For additional threats, find inspiration by reviewing the entries for the Higher Powers you’ve selected for the scenario.

Some examples of threats for the Antarctic research station scenario:

  • Innovim Inc.’s CEO, de Arnán (Leader); lictor under the Death Angel, Nahemoth, who wants to awaken the Sleeping God.
  • The snow storm (Event); freezes everything to ice, cutting the base off from outside world.
  • Starvation (Event); kills the station crew, and compromises people’s reason and perception. The next shipment of food is delayed and the stocks are running extremely low.
  • The cult (Group); secret society among Innovim employees at the station, who worship the Sleeping God.
  • The dead children (Abominations); malicious spirits haunting The Veteran due to misdeeds in his past.

ASTAROTH

For some threats, the GM will author milestones - step-by-step plans leading up to their final goal. Not all threats need milestones, but they’re often useful for determining how the scenario should progress.

Each milestone can have a variable numher of steps before its goal state is reached. As a guideline, the GM should have three to five steps before the execution of the final goal. This gives the characters various opportunities to discover and interfere with the threat and its plans. Many more steps than this runs the risk of ending in over-planning and wasted effort, as the characters’ interference should cause the threat to adjust their plans.

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