Major Campaign Milestones: When Bigger Is Better

When a Fate Core game reaches a major milestone, it's a big deal. This is the time when the campaign's skill cap goes up, refresh increases, or even character's High Concepts change. It's the wrap up of multiple arcs, and oftentimes that means the game world (provided the next campaign will be in the same world) may change as well. This is all pretty well covered in Fate Core, so I don't have a lot to add to it.

If you think about it, though, changing a campaign aspect is a pretty profound thing. It's just a few words. A short phrase maybe. But going from:

When The Stars Are Right

to:

CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN

is freaking huge. The world is pretty much over, and just because some words changed.

So the next time I hit a campaign milestone, given of course that it's appropriate, I'm going to try to practice changing the campaign aspect in the smallest way that gives the most impact. It's really easy to succumb to the urge to keep adding aspects to the campaign - I think it's a lot harder to just change one and have it reflect all of the changes you want in the setting.

RPGBA November Blog Carnival - Treasonous Acts and Plotting

This is my entry for the RPGBA November Blog Carnival, with the topic of treasonous acts and plotting. I'm going to break down the elements that I think make a plot like this work, with a slight slant toward Fate Core (but really it's all usable regardless of system).

Harud grabbed the page by the collar, dragging him into a small alcove. "What are you doing here?" he hissed, the words echoing in the cavernous throne room. A servant glanced up and seeing Harud quickly returning to her duties.

"I..I was told to come here to warn you..." The young man turned ashen, surprised by the elder chancellor's strength.

"Warn me? About what?"

"The Queen's Guard...they..."

The massive doors to the hall opened, each pushed by one of the purple clad Queen's Guard. The Captain of the Guard strode past them purposefully, sword in hand, followed by a dozen Guards in two single-file lines.

"Harud, you traitorous snake!" She called out. "I will see your head on the end of a pike for this!"

Harud let go of the page's shirt, who stumbled back into the alcove. He stood tall in the face of the approaching warrior. "No, it is you who are the traitor, Laydel. I have served this court since before you were born, and served it well." The chancellor made a slight motion and archers emerged from the shadowed galleries above the hall, training bodkin-tipped arrows on each of the members of the Queen's Guard. "Not to worry, I had no intention of telling the Queen of your plot to put a pretender on the throne. I have other plans for you..." 

Anatomy Of A Plot
Whether it's a conspiracy to depose the King, a race to prevent a power-hungry dictator from staging a coup, or staging a mutiny aboard a ship, there are a number of simple elements that go into pretty much every one. Mixing and matching these can lead to a huge variety in possible situations for characters to get themselves in.

In Or Out?
The first thing that needs to be decided is if the player characters are a part of the plot or not. The assumption is that if they are involved then they are working toward seeing the plot come to fruition, and if they aren't then they are working against it.  They don't necessarily need to be aware that they are involved, either - meaning that manipulation or ignorance could enable them to work for or against it.

The Nature of The Treason
The next thing to do is determine what exactly the treason or plot is. By definition, treason is internal, even if the forces behind it are external. They are people that are within the government or organization, often with a position of some authority (historically, treasonous plots by people who don't have a lot of power don't evnd well for the plotters). Some common goals for this sort of treason are:

• Deposing a leader or government. This is the obvious one. The current leader, administration, whatever is in someone's way. They could be good, bad or just ineffective - but they need to be removed, killed, imprisoned, etc. Either way, taking them down needs to be carefully planned and kept secret - but once it happens, the whole world will know (even if the details remain hidden).
• Secretly taking control. Like the type of treason above, this one can be for good or bad reasons. Maybe the King is in poor health, and different factions are jockeying to control the realm. Maybe the goal is to effectively cut off the parliament from any ability to implement their decisions - or just muck things up so badly that nothing can get done. Regardless, the end result shouldn't appear to be much different than the current status quo.
• Only change one thing (or very few). Perhaps the treason isn't all that wide-reaching. Maybe it's specifically to cause or keep a certain event from happening. The goal could be kidnapping or assassinating a particular individual, or to deliver (or stop the delivery of) specific information. Regardless, the plot isn't to enact a sweeping change. These events might be part of the build up for a much larger plot.
• Personal reasons. Maybe the plot is hatched out of a personal vendetta, with the only purpose to ruin the target. Conversely, the plotters might be committing treason to cover up the malfeasance of an otherwise popular or well-liked leader.

The People Behind The Plot
The next thing to do is decide who is behind and/or against the plot - not necessarily the actual characters (yet) but what roles they fulfill. If it is primarily the PCs, it's still a good idea to figure out what some of the possible roles they might play in the overall scheme. Sifting through TVTropes yields quite a number of archetypes, but these are good general roles to start with.

• The Mastermind: Any plot is going to have someone behind it, or at most a very small group of people. Whether or not the mastermind is
• The Advisor: Many times an advisor, chancellor, councilor, etc. will be somehow involved in the plot. They are often in trusted positions within the upper levels of the government, and have the means and connections to get things done on their own. This doesn't just go for an advisor that is plotting treachery - an advisor can just as easily be aware of the plot and is trying to stop it, or is trying to avoid exposure to the traitors. It's not unusual for the advisor to be the mastermind.
• The Mole or Double Agent: This character isn't necessary, but when there is a renegade or splinter group that is either trying to stop the plot or bring it to fruition then there's a chance of a traitor among the traitors or the patriots. If the character is a mole, they will only work on funneling information or planting it - a double agent might actually take action to derail things.
• The Collaborators: While there is likely going to be only a small circle of people who are aware of the entire plot, depending on its scope there may more people involved in the periphery. A plot to assassinate or kidnap someone might not require too many more (if any at all), but a larger, complex coup might need dozens, scores, or even hundreds. A large number of them may know that they are part of some larger plan, but may not have any inkling as to exactly what that plan is.
• The Sympathizers: These are typically only brought about if the plot comes to pass, but they are the ones who are happy that things have changed. However, since they may be sympathetic with one side or the other they can act as red herrings for the people who actively trying to move the plot forward or stop it. One twist is that a character seems like a sympathizer, but in reality when they are brought into the fold they are nothing of the sort.
• The Starscream. This name was so good I had to lift straight from TVTropes. Essentially, they are an ambitious underling who has their own plans. They are likely to try to betray the leadership of the plot at the first opportunity, so they can grab the reigns themselves.

How Does The Plot Go Down?
I'm not going to try to outline a specific approach to actually structuring the treasonous plot, because there are a lot of possibilities. In general, though, the plot should have a Goal, Current Problem and a Price For Failure. All three of them are aspects, and can be summed up using a Mad Libs-style approach:

"We are committing treason because we want to __________________________, but first we must __________________________. If we fail, __________________________ will happen."

Once you've established these aspects, and have a measure of the characters involved and their motivations, the rest will likely fall into place pretty easily. One thing that can't be overlooked is the aftermath, or at least what various actors perceive of it. It's a fairly common trope in treasonous plots for co-conspirators or others who know too much to be disposed of by the people running the show. This is especially true of plots where the truth behind it isn't supposed to be known or can't get out. On top of that, there's always the belief that if someone was willing to betray their countrymen, king, loyalties, etc. that they are likely to do it again. Even in cases where the conspirators are relatively in the right, they may come to the conclusion that one of their own needs to be a sacrificial lamb in order to further cement their position (which is seen in Dishonoured). This kind of plot would probably be pretty boring without at least one reversal by a character. The "disposal" doesn't necessarily have to be killing people off either - discrediting them, imprisonment, exile, there are a lot of opportunities to be had.

Regardless, a treasonous plot is going to have repercussions within the campaign or the setting. I don't think they could work very well as a "crisis of the week" kind of thing (although patterning it after something like Scandal where there are constant crises of the week might work). The plot arc can be a welcome distraction (and possible twist) for a group that is used to more physical dangers.

The Reservoir (Spooky Spots #2)

March 16th, 1938 was a dark day for Haidale County, MA. On that day the township of Sefield was accidentally submerged under over 30 feet of water as a dike for a nearby reservoir completely failed. The small valley where Sefield was located flooded, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives and the complete decimation of the entire town. While the dike was repaired, the resulting lake was not drained - leaving the flooded town in a relative state of preservation underneath the surface. The tops of dead trees that have not succumbed to the water jut from the surface of the water and, depending on the water level, occasionally the rotted spire from the church tower can be seen.

Today, the area around the lake is fenced off and the larger area is part of a national forest, administered by the US Forestry Service. A small monument with a plaque commemorates the tragedy that occurred, and there is a small museum - really little more than a cabin - that contains a few historical artifacts and exhibits. It's maintained by one of the flood's survivors, a spry 80-year old named Helen.

Source

Inside the fence, numerous warning signs dot the area to warn off people from entering the water. The remaining submerged structures, murky water, and fluctuating water depth makes the lake dangerous when boating and swimming. Still, the lake is a magnet for teenagers, the curious and occasionally criminals. Thrillseekers love to dive down to get mementos from the town below, or just boat out over the decayed buildings and streets. Only one death on the lake has been confirmed - a college student who became trapped while diving - but multiple unsolved disappearances are suspected to have happened on the lake. Very few agencies are willing to venture into the water to try to solve the cases. The Forestry Service doesn't have the manpower or the inclination to police the area too vigilantly. They have an informal agreement where when they do find interlopers on the lake, they just call the local Sheriff. Typically the Sheriff just drops the trespassers off at their car or (in the case of minors) their home, letting them off with a warning.

Venturing on to the lake at night is even more treacherous for obvious reasons. Beyond those, local legends say that on some nights the town underneath the surface appears as it did before the tragedy struck. Streetlights illuminate and ghostly figures can be seen walking the streets. The legend has built up over countless campfires, adding on elements such as waterlogged corpses wandering up on to the shore. A very common warning is to never enter the water at night, or else the spirits of the townspeople will drag the interloper down to be drowned. Some claim that even sticking their fingers or hand in the water at night can trigger a strong pulling sensation. Helen is also rumored to be at lake at night on occasion (usually during a full or new moon), leading to rumors that she is a witch or even a ghost herself.

At least one local historian, Ray Carman, disputes the claim that the dike which flooded Sefield failed. A professor at a local college, he points to evidence of a scandal surrounding Ingram Leighton, a local council person. Carman believes that the flooding was engineered to cover up...something. The descendants of the council person's family - one of the most prominent in Bellbrook, the town that was founded shortly after the accident - dismiss his account as muck raking, pointing to their ancestor's establishment of a trust for the survivors and a campaign to drain the lake and recover the remains of the deceased that continued until he passed away. On the subject of the scandal, Leighton, and what might actually be going on on the lake, only one person might be able to clear up the mystery - Helen - and she isn't talking.

North Hall (Spooky Entry #1)

Last week I touched on the types of places that I felt made good creepy locations for RPGs, so now I'll continue with an example. I already kind of tipped my hand with this one in the previous post, so I'm going to see what I can do to add a twist to it.

North Hall is one of the oldest buildings at the High School. It's a two story building with a basement, consisting of classes and offices on the first floor and more classrooms on the upper floor. It is representative of the late 1800s and early 1900s architecture that comprises the older parts of town - solidly constructed of stone, aesthetically pleasing but still functional. Along with the auditorium, library and science building, it is a defining edifice for the school. It has had a few minor renovations but still retains a lot of vintage elements - radiators in the classrooms for heating, hardwood floors, door locks with keyholes, etc.

Source

The basement is used for records storage and consists of a short hallway with two rooms. The larger of the two rooms contains jumbled stacks of old school desks. A door - welded closed - is located at the far end of the room, behind the desks. Officially, the door leads to a section of the basement that was used during World War II by the Army, who maintained a training garrison on campus (which, at the time, was actually a college). The area is considered off-limits due to structural concerns. It's thought by many, and backed up by historical records, that the area is a much larger sub-basement connecting to other buildings on the campus. It's known that there are also sub-basement entrances in the library and science building.

North Hall has more than its share of unusual occurrences - odd sounds, electrical malfunctions, random air currents, etc. All pretty standard fare for an older building. Students over the years built up quite a bit of lore around the happenings within the building and the school in general. Beyond typical stories about the ghosts of students that have died on the campus, there are a number of legends regarding the door in the North Hall basement. The most persistent are students who claim to have heard knocking, banging or rattling coming from the other side of the door - one story goes that if you knock on the door, something on the other side will knock back. Another is that the door was welded shut after a group of students were found in a state of catatonia just inside the door.

Source

Exactly what is behind the door depends on the nature of the campaign. In conspiracy-oriented campaigns, the rooms behind the door might hold information needed to solve some other mystery. Older faculty or staff may be aware of the content of the rooms, or might possibly even be actively trying to keep it a secret. In a horror game, the rooms beyond might harbor some supernatural threat - spirits, a demon, vampires, whatever works best for the campaign. In survival-horror game, the PCs might even be trapped or held captive within the sub-basement - possibly by whoever originally built it.

A connection to the Army presence on the campus holds quite a few possibilities. There had to be a good reason that they would set up some kind of operation underneath the campus, and using the school as a training garrison is questionable (and probably full of a number of holes). Perhaps it's tied to the location of the school, and what was underneath was already there. The Army operation was to unearth or otherwise utilize whatever could be found underground. It may have been a simple retrieval operation, and whatever is left only holds clues. Experimentation might have gone on as well, and depending on who or what the subjects were, they might still be around.

October Blog Carnival Post: Spooky Spots

The October RPG Blog Carnival topic is spooky spots. I think I'm going to do several of these.

Growing up in the Inland Empire (aka The Valley of the Dirt People aka The 909), there were plenty of spooky spots. Old buildings, in particular, are some of the creepiest. On top of having history, they tend to have architectural features that more modern Southern California buildings don't - basements, boilers, cellars, tunnels, sealed off rooms, etc. Remodeling and renovations can lead to anomalies in a building that makes you wonder, "Why is that there? Where does it go?". Out of those older buildings, high schools are prime real estate for creepy goings on. This is usually because there are a lot of hormone-riddled, over-imaginative kids filling them who like to make shit up. Rumors and stories get started by the upperclassmen to freak out the freshman, and coupled with a dash of truth, these places can be very creepy indeed.

The original Chaffey College building has creepy written all over it

Chaffey High School in Ontario, California is very definitely one of those places that can be very creepy. There's a huge, well-outfitted auditorium complete with trap doors under the stage and a sub-basement with prop rooms, and a building with a clock tower that was permanently closed off. Up until relatively recently, a boiler room sat in the middle of the campus - the remains of the mechanical plant - which means there have to be steam tunnels running to the older buildings. Rumors persist of a bomb shelter underneath the campus - for sure, there are basements in at least two of the buildings. Some doors in those basements are locked or welded shut. When I was going to school some friends and I tried to find ways to get into the tunnels, including being in buildings at night (the statute of limitations is seven years, right?). Renovation of one of the buildings unearthed rooms dating from World War 2 that contained cots, rations, medical supplies and even an indoor shooting range . The high school had an aeronautics department starting in the 1930s, and I've seen pictures of army bivouacs on campus and remember reading the Army Air Corps trained mechanics there (but oddly can't find any confirmation of this). The Army presence on campus isn't too far-fetched though, because Chino Airport - only a few miles away from Chaffey - trained pilots during the war. This place is totally Mazes and Monsters-ville.

So, over the next few weeks I'll use rampant conjecture and a few facts to spruce up a few roleplaying locations inspired by my own experiences. I might even try out some of the cool mapping tutorials I've seen lately to provide some visual aids.

Locations, Fate Core Style: Part II

In my last post I went over some of the guidelines I use when creating a location for a game. Today I'm going to step through the process with an actual location that fits in with Fate of Vimary: the desecrated Shrine of C'nawa.

Locations, Fate Core Style: Part I

If one were to ask me what things are critical to bringing an rpg "to life", I'd say: characters and locations. Nearly everything else is secondary, including the greater world. You need the characters to have roles to play, and the locations to interact with.