During my recent brush with RPG theory, I´ve discovered a lot of new ideas regarding RPG´s and their structure. This, in turn, has made me analyze the way I usually write adventures for my group. I´ve realized that I always follow the same format for creating adventures, and that perhaps there are another ways of dealing with this.

Since I´ll be playing HQ next, I thought I´d ask how you people usually create adventures for your groups in the HQ system. It might be a bit too specific, but at the same time it seems easier to grasp these changes "inside" a set system. I have a VERY rough idea of GNS and I know little Forge jargon, so please kindly explain when you use terms such as "bang".

Regarding my "style of writting", I usually base my adventures on a plot. I choose a series of hard points (things that really should happen in the story) and soft points (things that could happen or not without greatly affecting the story). To give you a rough idea of our play style, from what I´ve read I guess we are mainly a narrativist bunch, with some of our members having a repressed penchant for gamist stuff  ;).

What I should do is to go find all the other times we've been over this. Because we've written a ton here on what works well for HQ as we read it. But, I think I can keep it short and to the point, and make it about the same amount of effort as linking everything here. That said, if anyone else wants to come up with some links, go ahead.

The first place to dig around here is regarding a scenario called "Well of Souls." And google up the final product using the title and the name Nordstrom.

There is really only one crucial rule to how we believe "adventures" should be written. And that's to write situations, not plots. Basically a HQ character sheet is brimming with potential for things about the character to develop, and it's a shame if the narrator writes up some "scenario" that's a set of scenes, and forces the players to follow along it. Even if it's well designed and aimed at the character's issues, the fact that it has a pre-determined ending is problematic for both player enjoyment, and even structurally. How do you deal with the fact that in HQ chacters are going to fail regularly.

So, if there's no set of scenes, then what do we prepare? Some people get the idea that one should just wing it entirely. Know what? That's better than having a plot prepared. But it's not what we advocate. There is a way to have good preparation ready, and not have the classic scene scenario waiting for the players.

And that's basically to set up a situation in which the characters find themselves, or will become embrioled that's quite complicated, and to have ideas for how it could become even more complicated.

There have been several techniques created to do this. Chris Chinn (of of the WOS authors), has written several good articles on some of these techniques on various sites. But largely these all boil down to having lots of NPCs who all have some sort of conflicting agendas into which the PCs become entangled.

So, quite simply, take the set up for any good plot, or RPG adventure, and then allow the players to decide where things go by their character's decisions. Let them drive play.

Now, is that it? No, though the narrator is not the leader in where the plot goes, neither is he the follower. He's a full collaborator in the process. What he does is to interject events into play that, again, complicate things. This is what he does for inter-session preparation, he thinks of things that the NPCs or environment might do that will make it so that the players must have their characters make decisions to move the plot forward. So, instead of the Narrator moving the plot himself, his job is to prod the players to move the plot. And that can take a lot of creativity to do well, so it's best done in preparation as much as possible.

This is what bangs are, by the way. Event ideas that the narrator has on hand for use if/when things slow down. These events only force the player to make some decision, but not which decision. That's the key. If you know what the player will do when presented with the event, it's not a bang. If he can walk away without making some statement about the character, then it's not a bang.

Have about 3 bangs per character figured out. The NPCs should be created solely for their likelihood in bringing these bangs about. The story is not about the NPCs, but about what the PCs do when the NPCs motives require the PCs to do something.

That's it, that's the basics.

Now, if you've never done this, it's not easy the first time. Especially if you're used to preparing plots. So what I'd suggest is that you post an example situation here, rife with conflict that relates to the characters you have, and then we'll look at doing the bang prep, and tweaking the situation.

What's that, haven't got any characters yet? If there's a downside to this method it's that it's best to have the characters already created so you can tailor the adventure material to them. Oh, you can come up with a general outline, perhaps, but you'll do less work if you start the prep with the characters in hand.

What's great about this sort of prep is that, when you get good at it, it takes only a couple of hours or so before the first session, and then about ten minutes between each session to keep up with the prep-work. Part of why you need little is because when you get going playing this way, you and the other players will be creating bangs in play with little effort, and you won't have to rely on much of the prep-work. But you can be confident, because you know it's there to fall back on.

Anyhow, that's all there is to it, really. Only practice will make you any good at it, though. Like anything else. :-)

Mike

As I happen to have them bookmarked, here are Chris Chinn's latest 'how-to' essays:

Flag Framing

The Conflict Web

and...

The Well of Souls

Charles

I'll boil down Mike's as always spot on advice even further...and go so far as to state that this method works for virtually any game, not just HQ.

1) Invent a bunch of very cool NPCs...you should be as interested in these NPCs as you would be in your own characters...cuz they are, but you should not have any vested interested in any particular outcome for any of them.

2) The NPCs should have their own goals and objectives.  What are they trying to accomplish?  Could be on a big conquer-the-universe scale, or a small all-in-the-family scale.  Frankly I think smaller scales work better because they involve more human connections that people can relate to.  The NPCs might be on teams, sides, factions, ad hoc alliances, blood enemies or any other relationship.  Whatever they are they are about to engage each other in a no holds barred cage match to get what they want.

3) Figure out how this web of conflicting goals will most likely play out if there are no PCs.  i.e. wind up your collection of NPCs and watch them go in your own mind.  Who kills who.  Who loves who.  Who betrays who.  Who robs from who.  Figure out what happens if the PCs never show up or simply walk away.  This way you always know what the NPCs are going to be trying to accomplish.

4) Now throw the PCs in the mix.  Ideally some of the NPCs are relationships already listed on the PC sheets as allies, family, hated enemies, mentors, whatever.  If the players care about those relationships (and they should if you all do your job in character creation) then some of them have a tie to that web of NPCs already.  In addition, create a matrix of NPCs vs. PCs (in your head or literally as desired).  Try to figure out for each NPC: given #3 above, what does this NPC want from that PC.  They may want assistance against another NPC.  They may want protection.  They may want the PC to help them kill someone.  They may want the PC to just get lost.  Its not necessary to tie every NPC to every PC but you should have enough of these connections that game prep is nothing more than figuring out which string to pull next.  Whatever they want they REALLY want it, won't take no for an answer and however the PCs respond it will have repurcussions (new friends, new enemies).

5) Don't hide your secrets.  Hunt the clue is no fun.  If you have NPCs who desperately want to accomplish something and desperately need the PCs help in doing it, then those NPCs are going to be coming to the PCs not waiting for the PCs to pay them a visit.  A good rule of thumb is to figure out what the NPC is likely to spill about what they know (intentionally or not) and waste no time in conveying that to the players.  Don't wait for the players to ask for it...force it down their throats.  And then spill more.  Always spill more than your instinct tells you to spill.  And then let the players take that information and interpret it or misinterpret it to their hearts content. 

6) After that its just constantly rewriting #4 based on events and the players actions; always keeping in mind what the NPCs wanted in #3.  Have no preconceived notion of which NPCs get what the want and which don't or which are the "good guys" and which the bad.  Keep the pressure up.  Have those NPCs yank the PCs six ways till tuesday.  Remember, the NPC is absolutely obsessed with getting what they want...and absolutely convinced that they need the PCs help to get it (or absolutely convinced that the PC is in their way).

OK, this will probably be a long one, so bear with me...

I currently have 4 players in my 7th Sea campaign. We´ve been playing for three years now, but since we do not meet as often as I´d like, you could say the characters are at about Journeyman status in their main skills & talents. 7th Sea´s "Theah" (earth) could be thought of very roughly as a musketeer & pirate world with some oddities here and there.

Now, onto my players...

Gabriel plays Diego de Herrera y Aldana, a Castillan (7th Sea for "Spanish") Knight of the Rose & Cross. This is a group of heroic & panache-y heroes who try to bring about the evolution of spirit through enlightment (think masons + templars but still religious & pious, trying to uncover the "power of human spirit" through heroism and good deeds). He is an orphan and lived with a fencing master before being introduced to the order. The campaign started with him runnning away from his Domini (that´s master or tutor; think of it as a master-padawan relationship) because of a letter he received indicating that someone had information regarding his parents. This served as the main adventure "impulse" during almost two years of play (see ahead). His character is heroic, charming and knightly, mainly when it comes to helping others even if it means delaying other pressing matters. He is a talented swordsman, a good investigator and has an attractive appearance.

Juan Pablo plays Remy, a Montaigne thief & knife fighter. He was a petty thief when young and then became an enforcer for a local crime boss, accidentally killing a man who owed money to his employer. He was terribly shocked by this and vowed to renounce his life of crime, fleeing to Castille, but he eventually took up stealing again. He would´ve been hanged in southern Castille if it hadn´t been for Fiorella, who saved his neck. He vowed to repay his life debt to her and has followed her track ever since. His character is your average rogue; ironic, not very talkative and good-natured. Though silent, he has an habit of cracking the group up with his dry wit. He has a knack for drawing, is incredibly agile and talented with knives.

Belen plays Fiorella Malatesta, an adventurous filosopher lady & andventurer. She was born in Vodacce (again, 7th Sea for Italy...boy do they like to invent new names ;) ) and managed to escape the repressive & chavinistic environment of her country. She learned philosophy and is now a published author, although the academic mainstream resents her a bit. Fiorella  is not your average scholar; she is more than capable of defending herself with a sword or without and has a sharp tongue. She is currently working on a study regarding the nature of the romantic hero in comparison to the medieval knight.

Ignacio plays Vassily Fyedorov, an Ussuran (Russian) ranger & woodsman. A bold & daring youngster, he was hero material right from his early years. He lived on the ussuran steppes until age twenty, becoming an accomplished hunter & survivalist. He later fell in love with the daughter of a local noble and vowed to travel across Theah to obtaing glory & honor in order to win her heart. He had a few adventures before running into the rest of the characters. Vassily is strong & resilient, comfortable outdoors, a bit naive and traditionalist. He is a good archer and proficient when fighting with two axes.

Starting in southern Castille, the group travelled north having countless adventures, following Diego in his quest to find his parents. He did not tell them that he was a Knight of the Rose & Cross at the beggining but the group eventually found out. After all their travels, they arrived at the Rose & Cross home city (where their home base is) in northern Montaigne, only to realize that the whole thing had been a trap to get Diego´s master (who had been trailing the group even since they left). Fortunately the group managed to escape the trap & send the villains packing, but Diego was trialed by the R&C and put on probation. During the trial, however, he found out who his parents truly where. He was then sent to Avalon (England) to continue his apprenticeship and the whole group followed him there.

They have had a few adventures in Avalon, and they are currently tracking half a dozen barrels of grey gunpowder (gunpowder almost 10 times as strong as the standard one, a weird ancient trinket found in Theah). They do not yet know that the ones who stole it intend to blow up the Scottish parliament and kill the Scottish High King, bringing the triple alliance between Avalon (England), the Highland Marches (Scotland) and Inismore (Ireland) to an end.

Since they´ve found a lot of troubling situations in the road, the group has split in two, with Diego & Fiorella ready to board a ship heading for Scotland and Vassily & Remy two or three days worth of riding behind (they took some time to help two towns solve some issues).

That´s roughly were we are standing right now. I´ll write some more info later.

Credit where credit is due, what Ralph and I are expounding about largely comes from Ron Edwards' game Sorcerer and it's various supplements. Ron talks very specifically about the "Relationship Map" and invented the term "Bang" in the definition that I used it as well. Most of the other methods for creating such situations come from this seminal stuff.

Anyhow, it looks like you've already got a ton of meat to work with, and I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of situation you develop out of what you already have. Shouldn't take much effort at all.

Mike

Who the hell is Nordstrom?

Love,

/Nordstrand

Hey, you're in good company, I recently mistyped Mark Galeotti's last name as Gagleotti.

In the name of disambiguation, and to answer your question Peter: Nordstrom's is a large chain of department stores here in the US: www.nordstrom.com

Just to make things easy (and actually be useful), however, here's a link to Well of Souls: http://www.geocities.com/doctorpeace/well.html

Mike

OK, let me try this a bit. I'm not sure I'm correctly applying these ideas, so bear with me...

REMY & VASSILY (montaigne thief & ussuran woodsman)

Remy and Vassily have just arrived at Escavalon, a town in Avalon which has experienced serious problems for the last months; crops wither and rot, cows die in the middle of the fields, milk goes sour from night to day, etc. When they both arrive, they realize that this people are in deep trouble, and that Diego and Fiorella passed by two days ago. Accusations of witchcraft & the like are starting to appear again and the place is in turmoil.

The first issue is whether to stay and help the town, effectively cutting themselves out from their friends, or riding on in order to join the rest of the group ASAP. That would be conundrum number one, a conflict stemming from their own friend/hero duality.

On the other hand, I do need someone opposing them in the town. Someone responsible for all of this. As a matter of fact, from the moment the characters arrive, he marks them as scapegoats. If they stay to help, he will try to destroy them or blame them. If they leave, he'll catch up with them on the roads and try to do the same.
The characters are unaware of who this person is (so am I, for now... ;) ).

DIEGO AND FIORELLA

I already set the ground last session for a duel Diego will be having with a noble he fought some time ago (a duel which was stopped by the timely arrival of another noble of higher station). After that, a friend of theirs in the Explorer Society has volunteered to help them reach the Highland Marches.

However, some time ago, this same friend fought a ship manned by Villanova's men (THE most dangerous & vile of the seven Vodacce princes). They won the battle and, against the PC's wishes, their friend blew the Villanova ship up (no people inside, but still...messing with a merchant prince's vessels). Old Villanova has been harbouring a grudge and the PC's will find a Villanova vessel at sea, out for revenge on the Explorer's Society. There will be battle and things can turn either way (depending on the PC's).

THE BIGGER PICTURE

I think I still need to flesh out the plot & motivations of the main villain spurring the whole gunpowder plot thing. The guy is King Piram, an influential Avalon noble who dislikes the Queen and plots under her nose to get her out of the throne. Still, I'm not sure on how my players fit in his plans. As a matter of fact, since Escavalon is in his territory, perhaps Vassily & Remy can confront one of his minions, the one responsible for all the town's problems.

This is a cool start, but you're not quite there yet, I think.

Let me zoom in on three things:

1.

Barna wrote:
Remy and Vassily have just arrived at Escavalon, a town in Avalon which has experienced serious problems for the last months; crops wither and rot, cows die in the middle of the fields, milk goes sour from night to day, etc. When they both arrive, they realize that this people are in deep trouble....

I do need someone opposing them in the town.  Someone responsible for all of this. As a matter of fact, from the moment the characters arrive, he marks them as scapegoats. If they stay to help, he will try to destroy them or blame them. If they leave, he'll catch up with them on the roads and try to do the same.....Old Villanova has been harbouring a grudge and the PC's will find a Villanova vessel at sea, out for revenge on the Explorer's Society. There will be battle and things can turn either way (depending on the PC's).

I do need someone opposing them in the town.  Someone responsible for all of this....the one responsible for all the town's problems....

Sydney's a genius at this, listen to Sydney.

The thing about your example is you're still thinking in terms of plot.  You're writing this story about crops and witches and picking in advance what issues the players will see as a conundrum.

Key Number 1:  Think in terms of people. 

1) Who's doing what to whom. 
2) How are those people going to approach the PCs.

There's basically a matrix NPCs on one axis, PCs on the other.  Each NPC may:
a) want the PCs to do something and either ask, bribe, threaten, trick, or steal to get it
b) want to stop the PCs from doing something...maybe even something the PCs haven't thought of doing yet.

Figure those things out (not every single box needs to be filled) and then as soon as the PCs are around you'll know what your NPCs are going to try and do to or get from them.  What those NPCs do and how the PCs react to it then BECOMES the plot.  People interacting in pursuit of their own motives...no pre planned sequence of events required

Key #2: Also, in a swashbuckling game of high adventure everything should be tied together with impossible coincidence.  I mean how likely was it really that Lady DeWinter just happened to be Athos's long lost wife?  How likely?  It was inevitable, of course because that's how these things work in swashbuckling stories.  Monte Cristo's just one long series of impossible coincidences.

So D&F are about to run afoul of Villanova?  Cool.  OF COURSE Villanova is involved in the problems of Escavalon...that's totally inevitable.  But not as the villains...that would be too easy.  That Villanova ship running around?  Its bringing food and medical supplies to Escavalon.  Why?  I don't know...lets go back and think in terms of people.  Figure out who the NPCs are...who in Villanova would want to ship food to Escavalon, who in Escavalon would want them to, who would be trying to stop it?

We could say the Villanova guy is just trying to make a profit by shipping food to starving Escavalon...ok...but that's boring...this requires some impossible coincidence.  Why THAT particular guy with THAT particular ship to THIS particular city at THIS particular time?  OBVIOUSLY there must be a reason, and it must be connected to something that touches on the PCs.  Because that's how these stories work.

So figure out what the people want and how they're going to get it from the PCs, sift in a bunch of coincidences to bring the NPCs you already have back in over and over.  Who knows.  What you thought was a throw away village with a little bitty problem could turn into the most memorable centerpiece of your entire campaign if the players find it engageing. 

Key #3:  Always let your players decide (by how they act and react both in character and out) what they find engageing.  Your job is just to throw stuff at them until something sticks.  If they are totally totally into something that you thought was a piddly thing...guess what...that piddly thing just got a whole lot more important.  Instead of trying to figure out ways to move them along and push them to where the cool stuff is...bring the cool stuff to them.  Those really cool events you had planned to spring on them when they got to the highlands...well maybe you need to rewrite them a bit and spring them in Escavalon if that's where the party is finding engagement.

On the other hand, if they totally couldn't care less, don't force them to stay until they uncover the cool stuff you had planned.  Save that cool stuff and rewrite it to use at some future point when the players are engaged somewhere else. 

I think I can see where you are going. Indeed, when I re-read my post later, I realized I was still thinking plot-wise.

I do have a few objections with some of the points you raised, mainly moral issues. While any genre can present the characters with moral conundrums, I beleive that the swashbuckling genre should use these sparingly. 7th Sea in particular does present the GM with a lot of options for moral "greyness" and debate, but the "bad guys" are still visible in Theah, and while some characters may be ambiguous (the people in the upcoming Montaigne -French- Revolution come to mind), there are some villains who are plain evil, even if they do have interesting personalities.

Still, I think I need to re-build the adventure following the system you suggest. How about the following:

NPC´s opposing the PC´s

King Pyram wants to kill James McDuff in order to send the Triple Kingdom into caos. He will of course try to hide any involvement and uses the Rilasciare (think Theah´s anarchists) in order to do his dirty work. Since he in inmensely powerful, the PC´s cannot go flinging accusations at him. The best they can do right now is try to stop his machinations.

Jeremiah Bosswin is an Avalon scientist. His wife was murdered by King Pyram´s henchmen by mistake. He is now trying to bring him down by causing unrest in his lands. A keen mind and suberb chemist, he chose Escavalon as his initial target. Poisoning the underground water courses with a powerful chemical product, he is slowly ruining the land and bringing chaos to the area.

Giovanni Villanova does not really care about some insignificant Explorer, but he needs to teach Michael Shaw a lesson. He mainly wants to kill or imprison the archeologist (whichever is easier) to set an example for those willing to meddle with his business. The Barbarossa is one of his flagships; it´s current payload is a large ammount of food & supplies for the town of Escavalon. Giovanni has a friend and spy in town, Father Luciano Martelli, who tends for the town and has been facing some difficult times.

How´s that for a start? I´ll post the "neutral" NPCs later

"Neutral" NPCs

Santino Villanova is Giovanni Villanova´s niece. He doesn´t really care about this Michael Shaw character and is only hunting him because his uncle told him so. He is quite "bribable" and if the PC´s are smart, the sea encounter could be solved without much damage or gunfire. He is not stupid, however, and will not close a deal which could give uncle Giovanni the slightest reason not to trust him.

Father Luciano Martelli is an oddity. A vatice (AKA catholic) priest in Avalon, he mas managed to become the spiritual leader of Escavalon, a trusted and respeted community member. He is also a spy for Villanova, something he does not consider at odds with his very honest religious motives (Vodacce mindset and all). He sent a letter to Villanova a few weeks ago requesting for his aide with food & supplies. He will be grateful of anyone who can help out the town.

The Escavalon townsfolk are the standard Avalon country people: generous, hard working and deeply supersticious. They will not ask the characters for aid, but the famine has become quite evident around the place, and so have the accusations of witchcraft and similar stuff. They will be a bit wary of strangers at first (specially Remy, since he is a Montaigne) but can warm up to the players if they decide to help.

Warning extremely long post!
Barna,
Here is an example of a game setup I put together using the information that the others have shared in this thread and in previous ones similar to it.
This is only really difficult at the beginning, after you start it basically writes itself. Now I’m still in my infancy when it comes to this stuff, so I expect I’ll see the same sort of critique you’ve been seeing.
Basically I put together a long list of characters since my game was meant to be an intro I didn’t want to confuse issues with character generation. Players where allowed a lot of leeway in customizing characters to make them their own. Any un-choosen characters drop into the pool of NPCs and possible hooks and bangs.
Then I created (probably way to many- but it does write itself) a list of important figures in the community and their goals and hopes and fears. Based on character selection I know which NPCs to introduce first. If these first introductions don’t spark the characters I introduce the next round till something happens. I don’t know what –just that something eventually happens.
This same list of characters can be coverted to NPCs if I want to allow the players to generate their own characters, then modify a handful of the NPCs so that they tie into the characters. The game was based on a Mongol/ Hun like nomad peoples.

Uighur Hoof-Touched  
Keywords: Char-Un, Nomad, and Follower of Sunishi, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Uighur is Hoof-touched, which is a polite way of saying he was kicked in the head as a boy, giving him spirit sight and epileptic visions. A winterwolf fang-gifted him and taught him to speak with wolf-kind. Uighur learned scimitar and shield fighting and many foreign ways when he fought Maresson’s wars. During these wars he earned the gratitude of a Lunar Noble and won the Fire-kissed barding upon Deathshead his ghost-horse mount. During his travels upon the Death Steppe he learned to make the Laughing Skull Grimace. Since most women fear him he hopes to take many fine slave women one day. Secretly Uighur fears his own death.

Orlokk Twice-Dead
Keywords: Char-Un, Cavalry Soldier (Heavy Lancer), and Follower of Tunal, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Orlokk is Hard-to-Kill; this is proven by the fact he has died twice! Some would say this and his powerful hulking figure are due to Troll lineage, just one of the many rumors about him. His father is noted amongst the clans for his horse breeding skills, and bred Laughs-at-Hurts for him. He served as a Lancer under a Lunar Officer, who paid him much gold and The Sack of Black Souls. Orlokk has two demanding and spoiled wives whose uncanny political savvy he hopes will make him Pan one day. Already he has many influential allies within the tribe.

Dog Boy
Keywords: Char-Un, Warrior, and Follower of Morgzil / Dua the Dog tradition, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

When Dog Boy was 7 he was taken during a raid of the Uradyn Tribe and thrown in the Dog Pit, where against all odds the boy asserted himself as Alpha Male. Dog Boy saw 8 more years as a Mastiff developing canine senses, and fought many battles along side his Mastiff brothers, after which he was adopted by the then il-Pan and became much loved among the warriors. Dog Boy keeps a pack of bloodthirsty war-dogs and the Skull Spirit of his il-Pan adopted father close at hand. Dog Boy fought the Maresson’s wars and learned the to wield a REALLY big club.

Storm Rider  
Keywords: Char-Un, Cavalry Soldier (Regular), and Follower of Sunishi, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Storm Rider is, by Char-Un standards, a hopeless romantic, which is frightful by most other cultures standards. His heart belongs to the daughter of the Pan. He is heavily scarred and tattooed with a rugged build, making him quite good looking. Having studied many fighting styles; he has learned to exploit the weaknesses of his opponents. In addition to fighting the Maresson’s wars, Storm Rider was student to a Kralori sensei, and is versed in Flying Dagger Kung fu. It was during his travels through Kralorela that he became embroiled in the intrigues of the Kralori Red Dragon Society and learned to summon The Dragon Fog.

Temujin    
Keywords: Char-Un, Cavalry Soldier (Regular), and Follower of the Sun Stallion tradition, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Temujin has a greater then usual kinship with horses and can speak to them with his mind; he is also a renowned trickrider. He developed a blood vendetta against the clan of a warrior of the Bagzil tribe while fighting the Maresson’s wars. He has an unusual two sword fighting style and uses the hereditary Seven Song Blades. He is quick of mind and body and is favored by the lo-Pan of Clan ma-Dua, who took one of his sisters as first wife. Temujin’s greatest ambition is to capture and tame a Pegasus and has learned much about them. He is also a poet and his extremely long beaded mustache is the envy of many men.

Burruk Knife Tongue
Keywords: Char-Un, Hunter, and Follower of Kargzant, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Burruk is an insightful fellow with a smoldering sneer. He has a sharp tongue and throws scathing insults at those he doesn’t care for. He carries a surprising amount of interesting and useful stuff, including a box full of petulant pixies. Burruk is an adept warrior who fought in the Maresson’s wars. He is fearful of his cannibal second wife, as are most people, but her ability to brew shrinking potions keeps him from killing her. Burruk has braved the Cave of Secrets and cut the eyes from the basilisk therein.  Burruk is hated by Wicker-Horse for a childhood slight.

Gepid Knowsalot  
Keywords: Char-Un, Warrior and Follower of Bonard the Wise, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Gepid is smart, so smart in fact that he can read with the aid of his finger and remember almost everything. He has studied at the Lunar Academy of War Magic in Glamour, and has many friends there. At the academy he learned to make weapons alight with magic fire and cause men to move with unnatural speed. Gepid also knows the trick Speak to Corpse, and has an ancestral spirit bound into a raven as a familiar. Gepid was cursed by a hag to have only female children and so has never taken a wife. In return for favors granted Gepid has acquired a large herd of horses, but he is also deeply indebted to Chagan, First Wife of the Clan Tukavech lo-Pan

Sabuti
Keywords: Char-Un, Cavalry Soldier (Skirmisher), and Follower of Sunishi, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Sabuti is also a member of the Green Devil Silk Cuts chumi, and is highly regarded by its members. He bears the Blue Face Tattoo, given to him when he left to fight Maresson’s wars. Sabuti is the proud owner of an intelligent and well-trained horse upon which rests the Hard-Luck Saddle. He has an impressive swagger and is boastful of his abilities. Sabuti is gregarious to a fault among the Char-Un. Sabuti plays Okrokok and can bring down a man at a ridiculous distance with his bow. He hates the Bear People, who ate his mother the ghost of whom still haunts him.

Zabu-Tizka
Keywords:  Char-Un, Cavalry Soldier (Regular), and Follower of the Foilen the Slayer tradition, Fangs of Winter Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Zabu cuts an imposing and unsettling figure whose presence causes flocks of carrion birds to take flight and cloud the sky at opportune times, and the Death Dirge Choir follows him. His gravelly whispers are easily be heard by those he wishes to hear them.  Requiring no sleep he is the ever-vigilant watchman, the years of sleepless nights honing his senses razor sharp. A geas prevents him from crossing water facing forward, and he has an irrational fear of griffons. In battle he prefers a wicked sword staff that he wields with blinding speed. Trolls granted him the use of the Dark Mother’s Quiver.  His heart belongs to the daughter of the Pan

Akha
Keywords: Char-Un, Nomad, and Follower of Sunishi, ***** Brotherhood, of the Kokkochur Tribe, Clan Tukavech

Akha is quite jovial, and why not? He’s wealthy, having a great herd, five wives, and many bountiful and lovely daughters, his son Akhaishi is considered a promising warrior and respected Rider and everything he owns is of the highest quality, the spirits smile upon him. He is blessed in that the spirit of his great grandfather, a mighty follower of the Sun Stallion tradition, lives in his flint tipped spear.  His unbridled laughter during battle is disconcerting to others, and only horse racing and wrestling bring him greater joy. Akha is a boastful and proud, particularly of his strength.  He schemes to add the lo-Pan’s sacred Golden-eye horses to his herd.
“Who rules the Char-Un? Those who can!”

Clan Tukavech
Tukavech translates to “bringers of war” or “bringers of life”, it’s hard to tell since the Char-Un word “vech” means both life and war. The clan is primarily traditionalists, although some of it’s warriors have returned with cattle and slaves to herd them from the Maressons wars with the Orlanthi barbarians, although they would never dare eat them, they are occasionally sold (along with the Orlanthi slaves) after cattle drives to the cities in the south.  The clan feels the sting of the tribal Pan’s favoritism of another clan.

The lo-Pan’s Yurt, Clan Tukavech

Nurgai Many Handed,  Clan Tukavech lo-Pan
A follower of the Sun Stallion Tradition Nurgai is very tall, well bearded and mustached. He is unhappy with the shameful praise heaped upon the lo-pan of clan Sabutishi by the Pan Gi-Shang, and envies his prominence in Tribal politics. He is sterile and has taken only one wife whom he neglects. The lo-Pan is a strong traditionalist with a proud spirit, and well trained in the feats-of-war. He bears the Watchful Eye in his glittering left socket, and none have ever caught him unawares. Nurgai is noisy and boisterous, given to jibes and mocking.

Uha,  Clan Tukavech il-Pan
Most feel Uha is the best hunter of the clan, wise in the ways of the wild, and never missing with a bow. Yet to marry, Uha, is fatherly towards the young hunters of the clan. He has taken the Wanderlore Rite. Uha hates the Bear People. Uha earned his place as a bear-skinner by stalking Ivar’s killer. The lo-Pan chose Uha over the other warriors, and some doubt his experience and his youth, suggesting Nurgai chose him out of friendship. Uha still must prove himself, with his Stallion Storm Swagger and confident ways.

Chagan, First Wife of the Clan Tukavech lo-Pan
Chagan is the finest healer in the clan. Her skill with herbs and leech craft has saved the lives of many of the clan. Her tolerance and patience are legendary, and her medicine bag is a clan treasure and source of pride.  Her grace and charm have attracted the attention of Oddi Twice-Outlawed, and she despises her husband, and secretly seeks to replace him with an “able” husband. Her brothers in the Sabutishi clan are committed to her endeavors. She is an able knife fighter.

Enq, bodyguard of the Clan Tukavech lo-Pan
Fair hued and with a crooked nose, Enq is ill favored in looks, yet he is much loved by the clan. He is a big strong man, with skillful hands and strong riding skills. A talented swordsman, he strikes so swiftly with his scimitar that three blades seem to flash at once.  He enjoys hawking and Okrokok, and he can share his hawk’s vision.  

Part 2
The Tukavech Camp

Oddi Twice-Outlawed
Oddi is a killer, who has twice been outlawed for kin slaying. Hotheaded and impulsive he is also a indomitable warrior. He is widely traveld from his years in exile, and has many trophies to show for it. Including a fine metal hauberk and silvered sword. Oddi has sworn to see Ingishi beg for his death.

Akhutai, Clan Elder
Akhutai barely qualifies as an elder, although you’d never know due to his constant kvetching. He is notorious amongst the clan for his cantankerous opposition to everything not his own idea. In his day he was a strong and proud warrior. He has managed to sell all but one of his daughters off to influential warriors of Clan Sabutishi, including one of Chagan, First Wife of the Clan Tukavech lo-Pan’s brothers,
allowing him insight into that clan’s politics and movements.

Primanus,  Missionary of the Seven Mothers Cult
Primanus is an ex-Lunar soldier gone native, who became enamored with Char-Un culture after his unit fought along side the Fangs of Winter Chumi in the wars to conquer Sartar. He fights dirty and is ferocious in battle. He’s been blessed with the ability to tell the proximity to 11 o’clock and locate the nearest brothel where he has learned many libidinous stories. Primanus is friend of Gargor and has a set of loaded dice. He witnessed the slaughter at Dundelos and knows how to beg for his life in many languages. So far Primanus is the only Lunar missionary allowed any long term presence within the Tukavech clan He is not trusted by  other missionaries (with good reason) who fear his Char-un ways. He is adopted brother to Ingishi

Yenisey,  Tattooist
Yenisey is one of the clans two tattooists, although not the best of the two he has taken many apprentices.
He likes his Kumis just about any time of the day, and is fond of mudfoot gin. At heart he is a coward, but a big talker and throws idle threats about. He is sneaky and prone to backstabbing when violence is called for. He is a wanted man within the Empire, and many provincial governors seek the bounty placed on his head. He carries the Venomous Dagger and wears the Ring of Serpents

Ingishi,  Throat Singer
Some praise Ingishi and some curse him, for he puts his beautiful voice to use to harangue the Pan of the Kokkochur Tribe as a betrayer of his people. He knows the oldest traditions and stories, and the root of all Heroquests. His dance and prairie dog skull rattles can bring a tear to the eye and fear to the heart. His family have adopted Primanus as Brother, and the two are rarely apart. He is quick and slight of frame, as well as being renowned for his riding and horse racing. He has taken an unnatural attraction to mud-foot females that many blame on Primanus.

Conchaka,  Yunal Shaman
Conchaka was born a woman, but became a man, her swagger and mustache shames the men of lesser clans. The power of Yunal is strong within her and the clan is honored to have her among them, and she alone feeds the ancestor spirit skulls of previous lo-Pans. She was gifted a trained Carnivorous Carmanian Warhorse, much bigger then the steppe ponies of the Char-Un people, that she feeds human flesh. Her loyalty to the lo-Pan is unwavering. She seeks permission from the tribal shamans to undergo the Heroquest to impregnate herself and bear children.

Doquez-khatum,  First Wife of Aguchu the Brave
Doquez-khatum is of the ma-Dua clan and the hostage of I-ichi. She is treated well, but resentful of her loss of freedom.

Husun,  Rider
Husun is a Rider nearing his initiation to adulthood and the warriors life. He has already killed a man of the ma-Dua clan who sought to steal from his fathers herd; many feel he has a bright future. Husun is a tall strong young man, truehearted and guileless, but rather too ready to listen to flattery. He has many friends among the riders and is much loved by his relatives. His father holds Doquez-khatum hostage to prevent retaliation for his killing of the ma-Dua.

Jangg,  Pig Pan
Jangg Pig Pan is a rabble rouser and pig herder. Jangg is always complaining, hotheaded, and fractious. He resents his lot in life but is too lazy to change it. The lo-Pan tolerates him because he is cunning with a spear and a good horseman, yet he would rather take the easy way and go against tradition. More and more though, people of the clan take to his tasty pork.

The Pan’s Yurt

Gi-Shang,  Pan of the Kokkochur tribe, and Clan Tukavech
Gi-Shang is of the Tukavech clan, he has 3 sons and 5 daughters.
Gi-Shang is an old man, perhaps early 50’s. He is tough and built like a blacksmith. An astute pragmatist, he holds no illusions about the nature of power or those who would try to oust him. He has maintained his position as Pan through his ability to discern character, competence, and earn the loyalty and trust of good men. He has led well and rarely shown weakness. He has managed to keep his rivals at bay by predicting their moves and always having a trick up his sleeve. He has always supported his allies and made them powerful and rich.
Gi-Shang is a good Pan and the tribe has prospered under his rule, although he is more sly then warlike-fighting is not his strong suit, but double-dealing and assassination are. Those faithful to him gain many rewards; those who would oppose him do so in secret, Gi-Shang’s spies are everywhere. Gi-Shang has a way of easily seducing people to his side, and is very charismatic. The lo-pan of clan Sabutishi is favored by Gi-Shang and currently wields a fair amount of power within the tribe.

Ti-Shang,  First Son of the Pan of the Kokkochur tribe, and Clan Tukavech
Ti-Shang is in a precarious position, Char-Un do not inherit their fathers position upon their deaths. It is rumored that Ti-Shang has coveted the title of Pan and wished it for himself, but this is hardly a substantiated rumor beyond Ti-Shang’s enemies. He is a strong warrior and heads the Murderous Crow Chumi, and has many spirit allies, he and his men are bullies and have little problem brutalizing their own people and betraying tradition when it suits them and hiding behind it for protection when necessary, some would say this is the Char-Un way. He and his Four Swords swagger about the camp like street toughs. The black moods and tantrums are born of his immaturity, and are well suited to a follower of Tirgzant. His attitude toward women has earned him the enmity of the clan’s females

Guli-Shang,  Second Son of the Pan of the Kokkochur tribe, and Clan Tukavech
Guli-Shang is not Pan material, he has enjoyed the benefits of being son of a Pan though. He is shifty and sneaky and not a strong warrior. He is fond of poison, and hiding vipers in the bedrolls of his enemies, of which he has many, some would say this is the Char-Un way. He is far from an adherent to tradition. All this is not to say he is not an influential member of the tribe, he is. Of the three sons he shows the most political savvy and has contact throughout the clans and tribes and even in the cities of the empire. A honeyed voice, persuasive speech and long sighted planning are his strengths.

Iti Shang,  Third Son of the Pan of the Kokkochur tribe, and Clan Tukavech
Slate-blue skin and white hair mark Iti-Shang as being of the Indigo Warrior line by the Blue Woman. He can leap great distances and over great heights and from a horse at a full gallop, even in full war gear. His Gold-Tip spear has shattered many shields and his arrows rain like hail. Iti-Shang prizes loyalty above all else. A lusty man who spreads his rain wherever he can, he has angered many husbands and wives. His great belly laugh has raised many low spirits.

Taniki,  First Wife of the Pan of the Kokkochur tribe

Suli,  Second Wife of the Pan of the Kokkochur tribe

Third wife

Jardani the Bull,  ill-Pan (Warchief) of the Kokkochur tribe
Jardani is of the ma-Dua clan
Jardani is getting old, and likely in his last season as il-Pan. He is short of words and gruff when he uses them at all. Jardani is regarded as one of the wisest and shrewdest of all the clan who is not a woman or gifted with foresight. Kargzants 5 winds ward him, and several shamans assist him. It is also known that his bloodline boasts several failed aspirants to the title of Pan.

Tolok,  bodyguard of the Pan
Of Clan Sabutishi
Tolok is a proud but aged warrior, whose body is so covered in scars and tattoos that very little of his flesh is visible anymore. He is a strong traditionalist and member of the Murderous Crow Chumi. He has acted as bodyguard to Gi-Shang since he became Pan.

Wicker-horse,  bodyguard of the Pan
Of Clan Chinghiss
Wicker-Horse is a strong warrior who has trained to fight in far away Teshnos and Karloria, in addition to mastering the Char-Un ways of battle. He is surprisingly urban and sophisticated and is the yang to Tolok’s traditionalism. His brother is an influential member of the Suns of the Sons of Panishi Chumi.

Unnek, Head Shaman of the Kokkochur tribe
Shaman of the Panishi the Founder Tradition
Unnek holds the title of Dishi Shaman (loosely translated as “Oldest Shaman”)

Soulless Lancers of Gold Chumi
The Soulless Lancers of Gold are an elitist brotherhood of warriors sworn to the protection of the Pan of the Kokkochur tribe. They are wealthy and usually the best warriors of the tribe who take vows severing their ties of kinship and to their clan, serving only the Pan- the reality of this is often much different then the ideal. The Chumi is 50 strong by ancient tradition drawing 10 men from each clan, of those 10 one must be a Shaman. The Chumi’s guardian spirit presents itself as a half sized warrior of gold and is housed in an unbreakable spear of gold shod iron.

I think you're getting somewhere, now. A few suggestions:

- I'd make Bosswin almost mad with grief over his wife's death, and have him argue persuasively that if the deaths of a few innocents now is what it takes to overthrow Pyram, that will save many more innocents later.
- I'd play up Father Martelli's absolutely sincere faith in God, his absolutely sincere desire to help his people, and his absolutely sincere loyalty to the authority set over him by Almighty God, namely Lord Villanova -- why would anyone think these are contradictions? (He probably doesn't think of himself as a "spy" at all, just as someone who is necessarily discreet about the coded letters he passes on to his superior. This is especially true if Avalon is generally repressive of Catholics, as I think the setting implies).
- I'd make Giovanni Villanova really, really cool. Darth Vader cool. Patrician Vetinari of Ankh-Morpok cool. The Godfather cool. Make him the kind of villain your players look at and think, "man, he's evil. But part of me wants to be like him when I grow up.... and hey, we could make a deal with him this one time..."
- I'd make Santino Villanova a scumbag. And annoying. And smug. (Think Christopher -- the Michael Imperioli character -- from The Sopranos, if you've seen it). Make your players feel, "Ugh! It's only because this guy's such a slimeball that we can bribe him to let us get away -- but it's almost worth staying and fighting against overwhelming odds just to wipe that smirk off his face."
- I'd give King Pyram a motive. Think Cardinal Richelieu in Three Musketeers: Sure, he's an evil, manipulative, merciless, self-serving bastard, but he's also the only thing holding France together. He's not just "throwing the Triple Kingdoms into chaos"; that's just one step in his long-term plan to make the world a better place, you betcha, and he has such withering contempt for anyone who can't see that a little evil is the price of the greater good, and that swashbuckling heroism ultimately hurts more people than it ever helps, that the players begin to doubt themselves, just for a moment -- which makes them all the more on fire to prove him wrong.

Barna wrote: While any genre can present the characters with moral conundrums, I beleive that the swashbuckling genre should use these sparingly

Thanks for the comments! Onto them:

-That´s exactly how I´d thought up Bosswin; willing to risk some innocents in order to bring Pyram down.

-Good call on Martelli. I think that´ll suit my story. A bit of moral ambiguity (from the PC´s POV at least)

-Giovanni is a "canon" caracter of the setting (appears in books and all) and indeed VERY cool. Darth Vader cool, as you put it.
THE master planner, with power, cunning and swordsmanship to back it up.

-Regarding Santino, I think you are right. He needs to be depicable.

-Pyram has a motive: he wants to rule the Triple Kingdom. All his machinations have one objective: to bring Queen Elaine down. He was the most powerful Avalon lord until Elaine appeared with the Grail and everyone swore allegiance to her.

Regarding the Man In the Iron Mask thing, that is a cool moral conundrum, but I do not think the swasbuckling genre has as many of this situations as other genres. After all, Richelieu is Evil. I think that HQ´s Glorantha is largely about cultural POVs and religious differences, while Theah has a much clearer view on good and evil, even if moral dilemmas appear frequently.

Yeah, the original Three Musketeers is pretty black-and-white, as I recall -- though there's a certain chillingly gleeful amorality captured in the amazing 1973 movie version (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072281/ -- Raquel Welch as Constantine! Faye Dunaway as DeWinter! Charlton friggin' Heston as Richelieu!). Iron Mask is much later in the series. Count of Monte Cristo does actually have some interesting moral dilemmas in it, as the protagonist struggles with how far to pursue his revenge. Heck, even Pirates of the Carribean has the "bust one pirate out of jail to rescue my love interest from another pirate" moral dilemma, as well as a touch of the ever-popular "my friends or the treasure"?

I'm going to push back a little on the swashbuckling / moral quandry issue.  Not to turn this into a literary debate but just to highlight some opportunities that might be overlooked.  I think its true that the characters in a swashbuckling story don't spend alot of screen time agonizing over moral decisions...but I think they're making them ALL the time.  I think Three Musketeers is one never ending series of Moral Quandry Bangs that while much of the time the characters take an "act first, worry about it later" approach #1 that doesn't mean the players do and #2 that approach is, itself, a thematically interesting choice.

Take Three Musketeers.

Is Buckingham a villain?  He's clearly an enemy of the state.  He's also presented as a pretty all around good guy and certainly to an extent the musketeers are helping him.

Is the Queen the damsel in distress?  She's cuckulding her husband the KING with an enemy of the state...this is pretty much treason by any definition.  The musketeers know that Cardinal R. is out to get them.  The only the personal patronage and protection of the King keeps them from being disbanded...and they choose to help the QUEEN?

Is the Cardinal a villain?  The movies typically portray him as such, but the book isn't nearly so negative.  He's responsible for running France while the king bankrupts the state on futile wars and frivolity.  France is besot by enemies on all sides and here's the QUEEN for God's sake consorting with the enemy?  Is really a villain for trying to root out a traitor to the nation?

One could go on about how the Musketeers essentially become fugitives from the law in their pursuit of DeWinter and probably would have gotten themselves executed as traitors if they'd failed.  Or how the execution of DeWinter was essentially a lynching.  Or how dueling with the Cardinal's guard is not only illegal and against the direct order of the king (whom the ostensibly serve) but also creates great hardship for their captain to deal with the messes they create.

IMO one could make a compelling case for and against each of the above.  The whole story is a mine field of moral choices...loyalty to the band vs. loyalty to the king.  Loyalty to France vs. personal honor...etc.etc.etc from first page till last.  Negotiating these choices at every turn is, to me, what makes the story so compelling.  Far more than descriptions of flashing blades and moonlit horse chases.

YMMV, of course, but don't think moral choice has to involve some earth shattering angst.  There's a moral choice in every decision a swashbuckler makes.

That's an interesting viewpoint indeed. Perhaps the "moral choices" aspect is indeed a part of the Swashbuckling genre, but it's own rather quick pace & rhytm tend to keep out angsty moral discourses and debates. All the moral questions the PC's face have to be solved now. As you say, perhaps this is what makes the genre attractive.

As a matter of fact, I do want to include this sort of moral issues in my game. Keep the angst out but include more choices (& consecuences) in each situation. I now see that this alternative way of creating adventures is much more friendly for this purpose.

Now, the last batch of NPC's...

Friendly NPCs

Michael Benning is an old friend of the PCs, a member of the Explorer's Society (thing archeologists with a twist). They have been on many adventures together; it was during a sea trip when he blew up Villanova's ship after they killed many of his men in the prior battle. He is devoted to his job as an archeologist and a faithful friend, although his temper sometimes gets the best of him.

Yup, not a lot of friendly people in this adventure...

(Note, cross-posted with Arturo)

What Ralph said.

Quite often, even with a villain who is obviously there to hate, however - yes these do exist at times in swashbuckling and elsewhere. In my HQ game, I have a classic dark villain: he's a sorcerer who lives in an evil woods, who is actually a disembodied head on a mass of tentacles, who keeps people to torture eternally, and who worships an even more loathsome Cthulhuesque god. There's nothing morally questionable about this character. But the key is that the quandries in the game aren't "should we kill him?" He's unassailable in his fortress of madness in a dark dimension deep in his demon infested woods. The game isn't about whether or not he can be killed, it's about what you may have to do to survive him.

The moment where Vader tells Luke that he's his father and asks him to join him is the most classic bang ever, yes. In my IRC game, I had the sorcerer send a demonic emmisary to ask one of the leaders out of the PCs if she would like to rule in his name, making all of the threat go away. It was also a bit like Frodo offering the One Ring to Galadriel, another classic bang. I think it's key to note that we never, ever see Sauron even once. We just feel the projection of his badness through his all-seeing eye, and that alone sets the stage for the moral quandries to form. 

The villain is the villain because he forces moral quandries on the main characters. I think the clearest example of a dilemma bang that I can think of is in the movie Batman Forever, where Jim Carey's Riddler has batman's girlfriend and sidekick in two, side-by-side deathtraps, and actually explicitly asks the moral question. Who do you choose?

Note, however, that there are actually three choices here, and Batman takes the unstated third one. Note also that this is not cheating, because in order to save both, he has to risk all three of them to do so. Batman's answer? I don't have to choose as long as I'm willing to take the risks of having both lives.

Something to keep in mind is that dilemmas are just one form of bang. And all bangs tend to morph in action into other things than you expect. Even if you set up a dilemma, you may get a different sort of revelation about the character than you expect. So it's not merely about having morally ambiguous situations. Even how the character handles a situation says something about his values.

What Ralph et al are saying is that it's just as effective to have a villain emerge as to select one before hand as the "real" villain. Let it come out in play. As the players hate a character more and more, have that character behave to their expectations. That is, if they've made the moral decision to go against character X, then you can drop having him be at all sympathetic, and move him to classic villain at that point. But only do so after the players have decided that this guy is the one that they're going to love to hate.

This is an advantage that RPGs have over literature, in that you don't have to craft the villain to be hatable to start. You can let him evolve in to hateableness.

If you have a Richlieu in your game, then he must remain unassailable, and distant. There are always too many palace guards just around the corner to take him on. He's a MacGuffin. The action isn't about defeating him, it's about doing the right things when people like him are in control. He's backdrop, context. No more a character for these purposes than an erupting volcano that sets things up so that the characters must act.

And, yeah, sure, in the end the PCs may get to kill him. But, even then, the drama won't be about whether or not they get him, but why they're fighting him right then. It'll be because he's threatening something that the PCs care about, and it's that potential loss that we worry about. Not about whether the villain lives or dies.

The story's not about the villain. It's about the PCs. The villain exists only so that he can be what he needs to be to make it so that the PCs have something to fight for that we, the players, care about. We've been taught to think of NPCs as characters in their own rights, with their own goals, motives, etc. And they should have those things. But the reason that they have some particular motive is not to suit some particular vision of that NPC, but to hightlight something about the PC.

This is the reverse of what we're normally taught: make a world, stick the PCs in, and see what happens. Instead, do the reverse, look at the PCs, make the world such that it draws them out, and see what happens.

Mike

OK, status update. Right now I've got a handful of NPC's divided into three categories (opponents, neutral, allies) and with their goals & objectives fleshed out. I also have a VERY sketchy list of "scenes & conflicts". It's basically stuff like the following

Duel between Diego and the noble from Lamolle, Martin Bissete du Gloyure. The noble may be enraged is Diego wins and may try to duel "to the death". See how Diego handles the risk of being killed if he does not use lethal force.

I beleive I got the gist of the whole "scene framing" thing, but I still feel a bit unprepared to actually run the adventure. What other gimmicks can I plan out in advance while continuing with the conflict-based approach to adventure design?

Waitasec. You just made a wrong turn here, I think.

1) This conflict seems to come out of nowhere. Where'd this Martin Bissete guy come from? Why's he duelling Diego? Is this a character from earlier in the campaign that's showing up again? If so, fine, you just need to tie him in -- assuming Diego's player really does care about this guy (as an enemy, presumably) and enjoy roleplaying scenes with him (beating him up, presumably). If not, then how does this Martin character tie into anything else you're setting up? More importantly, how do you get the players interested in him?

2) This conflict is still just a fight. I mean, there's a bit of a moral decision, "do I kill him dead or run a slightly greater risk of harm trying to put him down nonlethally," but it's not a big Bang, especially not if the NPC in question has no history (real-play history, now, not backstory) to make the player care. Now, if Diego had some obnoxious petty noble trying to pick a fight with him while Diego was about some other urgent business -- saving the village, escaping Villanova, whatever -- then there's a bit of a Bang: do you let this guy insult you and walk away, or do you teach him a lesson at the risk of delaying everything else you're doing? But even so, it's not much of a Bang until we know why Martin Bissete is after Diego -- hey, maybe Martin is in the right, maybe Diego slept with his wife or something, which ups the options to "fight, run, or apologize."

3) Finally, here's the big thing I want to emphasize:

Barna wrote:
....I've got a handful of NPC's divided into three categories (opponents, neutral, allies) and with their goals & objectives fleshed out.....

Martin Bissete du Gloyure once duelled Diego in the town of Lamolle after the PC's exposed him as a corrupt gobernor. The duel was interrupted by a noble of higher station and Martin and Diego agreed to finish their quarrel someday. It's mainly a matter of honor, which is quite important to these sort of characters.

Regarding allies & opponents, I mainly want to categorize their initial stance towards the PC's. The adventure starts with a number of set relationships between the NPC's and the PC's, which as you say can change depending on the PC's choices.

I've just read the "Well of Souls" adventure and I think I understand the idea a bit more, but it's still a bit foggy. I feel I haven't yet written all the stuff I need for the adventure.

Barna wrote:
OK, status update. Right now I've got a handful of NPC's divided into three categories (opponents, neutral, allies) and with their goals & objectives fleshed out.

I also have a VERY sketchy list of "scenes & conflicts".

Duel between Diego and the noble from Lamolle, Martin Bissete du Gloyure. The noble may be enraged is Diego wins and may try to duel "to the death". See how Diego handles the risk of being killed if he does not use lethal force.

What other gimmicks can I plan out in advance while continuing with the conflict-based approach to adventure design?

Glad you posted Mike, I was starting to think you were leaving me all alone with this Narrative monster breathing on my back ;).

I think I now understand what Sidney and you mention. True to tell, it´s hard for me to think in terms of conflict only, without attaching it to a scene. However, I´ll give it a try. I´ll stock up on bangs so that I can throw those at my players if things get dull, and see how it goes. Also, I think I´m gonna add half a dozen other NPC´s since many of the original ones I wrote about are actually "powers behind the scenes" and will not be interacting directly with the characters in this adventure (Villanova and King Pyram for example). I´ll try to flesh out the ship´s crew a bit more (since they had already decided to go by ship to the Highland Marches) and flesh out both a few folks from Escavalon and other inhabitants of the area, just in case the characters decide not to stay in town.

So, in order to recap: NPC´s (lots of those), Bangs (again, lotsa) and generic reminders and suggestions on how to tie the former to the later. That pretty much sums the writting I need to do, right?

My exams at college are killing me, but as soon as I get a chance I intend to test this new approach. I am really excited to see how it can change the way me and my group roleplay. Besides, writting adventures is definetly much more interesting for me in this format. It gets SO dull sometimes having to weave plots and locations one after the other.

I just want to echo Mike on one key point:

Mike wrote: even if their goals are the same as the PCs, and if they're sympathetic to the PCs, NPC "allies" should still be used to produce conflict for PCs....

Well said, Sydney. I've been reiterating a lot lately that failure is best if it means more conflict, but, as you're pointing out, success should mean more conflict, too. Conflict is what drives play, after all, and gives us things to play to.

As far as what to write, you've got the idea. Just keep in mind that NPCs are important only such that they can create a bang, or are likely to be affected or prodded into action by the result of a player's character responding to a bang. If you can't see how they are either the source of a bang, or will get involved after play begins because of player decisions, then they're superfluous.

Only write in NPCs such that you can see how they'll get entangled in the action. That's why the "relationship maps" and such - these show how if NPC A is affected, NPC B will do something about it.

Mike

How exactly does one write a relationship map? I made a few experimental tries following the general directions of one of the pags linked on this thread, but I suppose there´s more than one way to go at it. This page suggested linking characters with a line having a figure in the middle; circles were shared goals, triangles were opposing goals and blocks were relationships of authority or the like.

On the other hand, I´m still a bit shy on the whole Bangs thing, so I´ll post a few of them, just to see if they are indeed what you suggested.

Diego duels to the first blood with an opponent who, if beaten, will try to fight to the death.

Fiorella finds out that the study she wrote and an opponent stole has bene published with great intellectual acclaim by her opponent. However, the Inquisition has deemed it heretic work and wants to punish it´s creator. Will she try to claim ownership?

One of Michael Benning´s men is severely wounded. Michael snaps and tries to execute the enemy who wounded the man, even though he has surrendered.

Vassily & Remy must decide if they help the town of Escavalon, sacrificing any chance to catch up with Diego & Fiorella.

Vassily & Remy find out that Father Martelli is a spy for Prince Villanova and has been informing him on the whereabouts of their friend Michael Benning

More to come later, if inspiration strikes.

The term Relationship Map was formalized by Ron Edwards for Sorcerer (in, IIRC, Sword & Sorcerer, though maybe it's Sorcerer's Soul). Those are very specific in some ways, and most other techniques have some similarities. For Ron's method, you take a set of characters, write their names on a piece of paper (or equivalent), and then draw solid lines between the ones who have relationships of blood or sex. That is, only the characters who a character is closely related to (mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, etc) or with whom the character has had sexual relations, get a solid line between them. The actual relationship is usually listed along the line or otherwise indicated. Other characters are listed around this core, and you can connect these with dotted lines, or otherwise indicate any connections they may have. But very specifically, the term "relationship" here refers to the specific relationships of blood and sex because these are inalterable facts about a character. A father can decide that he no longer likes his son, but he's still his son's father. You can't take back the fact that you've had sex with somebody.

And that's really about all there is to the physical process. To come up with the characters and their relationships in a way that's potentially problematic, a technique that Ron suggests is stealing such maps from books, movies, whatever media. The classic example is Romeo & Juliet. You have the two star-crossed lovers in the middle of the map, and then their familes each radiating off of them.

In play, it's simple to see at a glance the line between Juliet and her father who we know wants her to marry the Prince, and who we know will be outraged if/when he finds out about her being involved with Romeo. That is, if something happens to threaten Juliet, we know that her father will step in to do what he thinks is right for her.

So, in play, when a PC does something to threaten the Juliet character, father will step in, right? The map simply serves as a reminder of those links. Oh, there's Tybalt over there, we should put him into action as well after he hears about Romeo.

Now, here's the tricky part, setting it up at the start, and not playing out the plot. That is, one time I used Twelvth Night to set up my relationship map, and it's a good one. But then I proceeded to have all of the bangs just be events from the play. Big mistake. You don't want the plot to revolve around the NPCs. So how does a R-Map not end up driving the plot?

First, give everyone "Hamlet Syndrome." That is they're all hesitating about whatever the current conflict is about. As such, instead of dealing with things directly, they latch onto the PCs as a means to try to move forward. It's this grabbing the PCs that attaches the PCs onto the relationship map.

The example that Ron gives that I recall is that he often uses detective novels, because these almost always have this sort of set-up. The detective runs into somebody on the R-Map who needs them to do something, and once they've impacted the map, the entanglements have them off and running, getting more and more involved with the NPCs on the map.

Now, there's another technique out there called "Storymapping." It's probably too late in your game to use this, but it'll illustrate a point. This method was invented by the estimable Seth Ben-Ezra for the game Alyria. In that game, before play starts, all the players brainstorm some set of characters that have a central conflict going on. In some ways it's like they create something like a relationship map. But then the players decide on which of these characters they want to play. So instead of having to "grab" the PCs, the PCs are already intertwined on the map by default. They shouldn't have "Hamlet Syndrome" because they are the PCs, and therefore the center of the story.

The Story Mapping method doesn't emphasize the "blood and sex" relationships so much (though these are often used, of course), but instead relies on the characters being related to each other through all having an interest in a common conflict between them.

A similar method is what Chris Chinn advises people to use in creating scenarios, especially ones where you don't know who the characters are going to be to start. He and Peter Nordstrand used this method in creating the Well of Souls scenario, and I refer to it as the "Centralizing Conflict" method. Basically you have something like an R-Map in that it has a number of NPCs on it, but like the Story Map method, they're related to each other by being involved in some central conflict. Everybody on the map has an interest either directly in the central conflict, or an interest in somebody else who has an interest in the central conflict. These people then, like the R-Map method, need the PCs to move forward with achieving their goals in terms of the central conflict.

You'll note that these three methods all overlap and have strong similarities to each other. I have my own similar method that involves creating rather huge maps of characters, not unlike Verheaghe's set of characters above. What these amount to are conglomerate maps composed of multiple Relationship Maps, and Centralizing Conflict sets of NPCs. This is good for more serial long term play, whereas R-Maps and Story Maps are better for more episodic play. R-Maps, to be clear, are designed pretty much to go one "story arc" if you will, or, rather in Sorcerer mechanical terms, until the character reaches (or decisively fails to reach) his goal. Something like 5 sessions, perhaps.

Using the conglomerate mapping idea, I've managed to get more than 50 sessions out of one map. That includes having entirely new segments arrive on the map at times. Generally this is what you do with all of these techniques if you want to extend play, you introduce new NPCs that introduce new problems for the PCs.

And, again, this is what's critical. These NPCs are created solely for the purpose of finding a way to put focus on the PCs. Grabbing PCs onto the map is only the first part of this. As play progresses, bangs are typically formed by some NPC presenting the PC with some decision to make.

We like to make Jargo out of the term "Grab" to make it opposed to "Hook." This is important to understand. In typical scenario design, there will be a list of ways to Hook the character into play. The most common one is to simply have somebody offer the character money. And it makes sense, too...would the character turn down a chance to make money? Probably not.

But, let's look at Ron's detective novel example again. It's a cliche for the main character PI to say, "I knew she was trouble, and the money wasn't going to cover the danger I was getting into. But I also knew I'd do it anyway. I'd always had a soft spot for a blonde dame in high heels."

But I'm not saying here that one needs to make the appeal personal. That's often the solution, but it may occur that for some particular player with the right character, that, in fact, money is the right way to "Grab" the player.

And that's the key: notice above I say "grab the player." Not "hook" the character. Often, in fact, players abhor their characters being hooked. In fact, players so used to being jerked around by hooks often tend to file their characters down so that there are no rough edges to hook. As I always say, this explains the high rate of PC orphans in RPGs. If you don't have a family, the GM can't hook you with, "You return to find out that your sister has been kidnapped."

Grabbing means looking at what interests the player about the character. Fortunately in HQ, there are some straightforward indicators set down right there on the character sheet. Why did the player select "Sympathy for Commoners?" Well, likely because he wants that to come up in play.

Money is often used to hook because everybody wants money. But if a player didn't put "Greedy" on his character sheet, then his character is only as greedy as everyone else, and the player probably won't be grabbed by an offer of money. If he does have Greedy, then money is where it's at.

But don't simply offer money if they have Greedy, that's still a hook. All "Grabs" to get a character in contact with a R-map should have one of two other qualities to them:
1) The situation should just throw them into things without the player able to decide anything about whether or not to participate. This sounds like railroading, but that's a term with problematic definition. Without going into that, the point is that as long as you as GM are leading a player to something interesting, then they'll appreciate this use of GM authority. So, with the Greedy example, simply start out saying, "Your character accepted this large payment from this guy and is now checking into something for him." As long as you then move immediately on to some action he likes (probably a bang for narrativism), the player will appreciate this.
2) The "Grab" should be a bang itself. By definition this means more than one player option. But it also means in this case, to be a grab, that no matter what the player decides, he's still stuck to the map. Just stuck in different ways. A classic example for the Greedy character would be for both sides of a conflict to offer him essentially the same job working against the other side. Even if he says no to both, then each side suspects him of colluding with the other side. Call this the Yojimbo bang. The player here has several ways to go: he can decide to take side A's money, he can decide to take side B's money, he can decide to try to stay neutral...but it doesn't matter, because no matter which he chooses, he's now intertwined.

Now, sans knowing the players and their characters, it's not easy to come up with grabs. Well of Souls, as a scenario written for any characters who come along, has this problem to some extent (though in part solves it pretty elegantly, too). So the suggestion we give is to do all this prep only after you have the characters. You do in this case, so you should be able to get the full impact of the techniques. In fact, you have a bonus that most don't have in this sort of prep at the start of a game which is that you have seen the players playing these characters for a while already. Just looking at the character sheet is only the beginning of trying to find out what players like about playing their characters. Knowing the players helps a lot, too. But the most information comes from watching the players respond to play. When you see what they're enthusiastic about with regards to the characters, this all becomes much simpler.

So look back at your previous play. What do the players like most about their characters and their issues? What's dramatic to them? Take this sort of value or issue, figure out bangs that hit that, and then figure out NPCs and whole maps of them that will tend to provide these things. Again, that's the reverse of normal prep.

Normal
1. Design Plot.
2. Design NPCs
3. Figure out how to hook the character to the plot.

NPC Mapping
1. Figure out what the player is interested in, in terms of the character.
2. Figure out how to grab the players interest situationally in play.
3. Design NPCs that can create these grabby situations, including maps of them that will create more reactions once play begins.

I can't honestly say that I create every NPC thinking only of them in terms of how they can grab the PC...really you only have to think of how one will. So I often take maps wholesale (I find Operas work well for some reason), and then once I have them mapped out, I alter at least one NPC until he is able to grab the player's interest well.

Now, this all said, I think you've followed these rules fairly well not even having heard them. These are not new ideas, really, simply a formalization of them that you seem to have already picked up on pretty well. Let's look at the bangs individually:

Diego duels to the first blood with an opponent who, if beaten, will try to fight to the death.

Fiorella finds out that the study she wrote and an opponent stole has bene published with great intellectual acclaim by her opponent. However, the Inquisition has deemed it heretic work and wants to punish it´s creator. Will she try to claim ownership?

One of Michael Benning´s men is severely wounded. Michael snaps and tries to execute the enemy who wounded the man, even though he has surrendered.

Vassily & Remy must decide if they help the town of Escavalon, sacrificing any chance to catch up with Diego & Fiorella.

Vassily & Remy find out that Father Martelli is a spy for Prince Villanova and has been informing him on the whereabouts of their friend Michael Benning

Thanks Mike, that cleared things up a LOT. If it ain´t much of a problem, I´ll ask you for your opinion on some more bangs later (and re-think the ones you found lacking). I specially agree with the one regarding "helping the village or leaving", it brings about a problem if the PC´s dont. But on the other hand, I have already added a few NPCs further down the road (physical road here ;) ) whose reactions depend of what the PCs did. I´ll see how to rehash it. 

I´m truly starting to enjoy planning my sessions, which is also a good thing. Apparently is everything goes well I will be meeting with my group on Sunday the 11th. We´ll se how it goes.

I think that part of the ease of this style of prep, yes, is about the fact that figuring out ways to hose the PCs is a ton of fun. And make no mistake, that's what you're going to do. Most of this sort of decision that you're throwing before the player is of the "Choose one way, and lose the other," sort. Interestingly the players will appriciate it. It's the same thing as throwing monsters in front of them in D&D, giving the players some interesting problem to attend to.

Mike

Mike wrote:

Vassily & Remy must decide if they help the town of Escavalon, sacrificing any chance to catch up with Diego & Fiorella.

This is a good bang, technically, but it's a bad grab. In that one of the decisions is, essentially, to walk away from the map. Ah, but wait, if the village has some reason to feel vengeant against the PCs if they don't help, or something like that, then maybe things can be entangled. Actually, the "Roads to Rome" solution here is for them to discover, should they decide to persue Diego and Fiorella that the pair haven't left. That's dangerous, however. If you do enough of this sort of shenanegin, players tend to get the idea that you're manipulating their decisions through plotting. What you don't want is for the player to feel, "OK, I get it, you want us to help the village first."

Better is if you can get it such that Diego and Fiorella are somehow related into something that's happening in the village, so that no matter which decision the player's make that it'll mean more trouble.

Vassily & Remy find out that Father Martelli is a spy for Prince Villanova and has been informing him on the whereabouts of their friend Michael Benning

This sounds like a good grab, but only if it's a good bang first. That is, once they find out that he's a spy, what choices do they have? Is there any reason that they wouldn't try to remove him? Or is it simply a question of how they remove him? If, in fact, there was some reason that the PCs would not want to harm Father Martelli, then this is a bang.

Beware of the choice that's not a choice.

If you offer "choose A or your friend dies" its not really a choice if you know full well the players will not let their friend die.

Now, if your players are perfectly happy to take actions that will wind up killing off other PCs...then this could be a really good choice.

I understand what you mean. Thing is, the choice the PCs take will shape their relationship to Father Martelli during the adventure and their following actions.

If they choose to help the town from the start, they will see the good side of the priest. They might find out that he is a spy for Villanova, but neither of the characters is so naive to think that politics (specially in Vodacce) are outside a priest's sphere. Only at the end will they realize that they have been betrayed, and by that time they willbe forced to run to Diego before the poison kills him. Their revenge, if any, will have to wait.

If they choose not to help the town, the blatant blackmailing from Father Martelli will probably make them see him as a villain; even if they try to help the town, there's a strong possbility that they try to get the antidote from him through either force or subterfuge. Those options alone will change the whole dinamic of their stay in Escavalon and will also bring forth the questions of how far they are willing to go to save Diego, and if they will follow the priest's directions in order to avoid physical confrontation or get medieval with the Father.

It does sound like railroading, but in a way it's not. The characters are not trapped into the situation by some GM sleight of hand, but rather by the consequences of an in-game situation (the Father's mischief). And even so, the PCs may not trust the Father or even reject his blackmail and try to reach Diego anyway, trusting their ability to find alternative cure. Which would be really interesting too.

As I've said, the definition of railroading is problematic. So it's best just to skip it here. The only question is whether or not you're leaving options for the players to choose, so that they have an input into how the game goes. If they do, then no matter how heavy-handed you're being elsewhere, it's good play.

Now, that said, there is a technique called "All Roads Lead to Rome" ("Roads to Rome" for short). I'm not sure if it applies here, but it's worth mentioning. It's usually used by GM's to give an illusion that the players have a choice, but in the end the results are always the same. Usually what the GM does is set up a branching situation that splits off into several possible avenues, but all of which eventually lead to the same event.

Now, there's a fine difference between "Roads to Rome" and just thowing in events when they're good to throw in. You may have a bang that's really good and you intend to throw into play at some point no matter what. This is not quite the same thing. The "problem" with Roads to Rome (for Sim play, it's actually excellent technique), is that the players may figure out that they're being funneled at the end. This sort of thing, along with other such "Illusionism" techniques can cause harm to this form of play if and when they are discovered to be in use. And players are ever so capable of determining when a GM is manipulating them. What happens is that the players become informed that their choices are really irrellevant, and that they might as well "play along."

The point is that you have to keep play "open" to potential changes in direction. In fact, the more it's obvious that you're running to keep up with the players choices, the better. Because then they know that they've got real authority to drive the direction of play. And that's when they start taking proactive steps.

It's ironic how many GMs using Illusionism or Sim methods complain that their players don't take the initiative to have their characters get proactive or do anything. This is simply because the methods in question make player additions to direction irrellevant in many or all cases. So why should they try?

This is what you want to avoid. Some times it comes down to simply being open with a player. If he asks, "What'll happen if my character leaves?" and you reply, "I haven't the faintest idea, but I'll make something up. Do what you find most interesting for your character." Consider that as general advice for this sort of play, take time to discuss things out of character, and make sure that the player knows things that the character does not. This is often difficult because other forms of play tell us that this is very bad form. But for this sort of play, it's very good form.

Mike