https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NewPages&feed=atom&hideredirs=1&limit=50&offset=&namespace=0&username=&tagfilter=
Guild of Archivists - New pages [en]
2024-03-29T09:56:27Z
From Guild of Archivists
MediaWiki 1.33.1
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Cabin_(disambiguation)
Cabin (disambiguation)
2024-03-04T16:45:00Z
<p>Pharap: Create 'Cabin (disambiguation)' page.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{disambiguation page}}<br />
<br />
The term ''cabin'' may refer to:<br />
<br />
* The [[Cabin, Myst Island|cabin]] on Myst Island<br />
* The cabin on [[Chroma'agana]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Why_My_Drive_Mad_Is_Better_Than_Yours
Why My Drive Mad Is Better Than Yours
2024-02-24T19:32:12Z
<p>TGMChrist: Spam</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Delete|reason=Spam}}</div>
CallumWanliss11
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/System_Glossary
Unwritten: System Reference Document/System Glossary
2024-02-21T07:16:07Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with ";Action :An attempt to accomplish something that meets opposition and may or may not succeed. There are four types of action: Overcome, Advantage, Discover, and Oppose. ;Activ..."</p>
<hr />
<div>;Action<br />
:An attempt to accomplish something that meets opposition and may or may not succeed. There are four types of action: Overcome, Advantage, Discover, and Oppose.<br />
;Active Opposition<br />
: Resistance to an action by an active entity, represented by an Oppose action which the character must exceed on a roll.<br />
;Advantage<br />
: A benefit received from a successful Advantage action, such as a new situation aspect or free invokes. <br />
;Advantage action<br />
: An action where a character creates something to help them, such as an aspect or free invokes on an aspect.<br />
;Aspect<br />
: A phrase that describes an important detail. Aspects are true, and can be justification for decisions and actions. Aspects can be invoked or compelled, as well.<br />
;Boost<br />
: A temporary bonus that can be used like an aspect with a free invoke. Boosts go away as soon as they are used.<br />
;Challenge<br />
: A sequence of events in a scene where many actions are happening at once.<br />
;Chapter<br />
: A series of sessions that contain coherent narrative.<br />
;Character aspect<br />
: An aspect attached to a particular character<br />
;Compel<br />
: The gamemaster can offer a compel of an aspect to require that the aspect be a source of complication for the character. The player can accept the compel and get a fate point, or pay a fate point to refuse a compel.<br />
;Conceding<br />
: In response to a dangerous action, a player may concede the action. The opponent succeeds the action and the PC is overwhelmed, but the character’s player decides how the PC is overwhelmed.<br />
;Consequence<br />
: A character aspect that represents a lasting impediment for the character. <br />
;Contest<br />
: A series of exchanges in a scene in which characters compete to gather points of progress toward a mutually exclusive goal.<br />
;Create Advantage<br />
: An Advantage action that can create a new aspect.<br />
;Dangerous Action<br />
: An action where a character would be overwhelmed as a result of fumble.<br />
;Declare<br />
: To create a detail in the story.<br />
;Deduction<br />
: A sequence in a scene in which players propose facts to be used in deciding on a truth of a mystery or unknown.<br />
;Detail<br />
: Any specific narrative piece of information.<br />
;Discover Action<br />
: An action where a character can ask questions about something.<br />
;Excel<br />
: To exceed the opposition of a roll by 3 shifts or more. Excelling indicates a higher degree of success.<br />
;Exchange<br />
: One turn of a contest in which all sides involved have a chance to make progess toward their goal.<br />
;Fate point<br />
: A point used by players and the gamemaster to pay for invokes, pay off compels, declare details, or activate certain stunts.<br />
;First Look<br />
: The first round of an investigation, where all obvious details are provided to the investigating characters.<br />
;Free invocation<br />
: An advantage attached to a particular action that can be spent to invoke that aspect. Free invocations are gained from an Advantage action. Also ‘free invoke’.<br />
;High Concept<br />
: A character aspect that described the primary concept or nature of a character.<br />
;Hint<br />
: An option to request that the gamemaster reveal an important detail. Hints are gained by excelling at Discover actions.<br />
;Interlude<br />
: A scene composed of actions that characters do ‘off-stage’, that is, not in real-time roleplaying.<br />
;Investigation<br />
: A sequence in a scene where characters work togther and use Discover actions to investigate clues and find out information.<br />
;Invocation<br />
: Using an aspect for a bonus or other helpful effect. Can be triggered by paying a fate point or a free invocation. Also ‘invoke’.<br />
;Issue<br />
: An important theme or situation in game creation that describes what the characters will be dealing with. Issues can be current issues or impending issues.<br />
;Journey Aspect<br />
: A character aspect that describes important details, separate from a character’s high concept.<br />
;Journey Roll<br />
: A roll made between sessions that reflects efforts that a character is doing ‘off-stage’.<br />
;Justification<br />
: An aspect can provide justification for making choices that the aspect affects, such as the need (or lack of need) for action rolls, the existence of story details, etc.<br />
;Ladder<br />
: The table of values used to measure skill levels and difficulties, Each ‘rung’ on the Ladder has a name and a value (e,g, Good (+3)).<br />
;Milestone<br />
: An event between sessions where the growth and change of a character are considered. <br />
;Oppose action<br />
: An action performed by a character in active opposition to another action.<br />
;Opposition<br />
: The resistance to an action that the roll much exceed. Opposition is either active or passive.<br />
;Overcome Action<br />
: A catch-all action describing an attempt to accomplish a goal by overcoming opposition.<br />
;Overwhelmed<br />
: An overwhelmed character is removed from the current scene.<br />
;Passive Opposition<br />
: A static value on the Ladder that represents the value a roll must exceed in order to be successful.<br />
;Progress<br />
: Points toward a specific goal, gained in a contest.<br />
;Recovering Consequence<br />
: A consequece that has been addressed by an action and will disappear over time.<br />
;Refresh<br />
: When fate points are refilled up to the character’s refresh level. Refreshes happen at the beginning of a session.<br />
;Refresh level<br />
: The amount of fate points a character refreshes to.<br />
;Reserved Aspect<br />
: A situation that is set aside to be used in a later scene.<br />
;Resource<br />
: A stunt that describes a location, gadget, or contact that a character has access to.<br />
;Result<br />
: The value of a roll after opposition is subtracted.<br />
;Roll<br />
: A roll of the dice in which the value of the dice is added to a skill and then compared to opposition.<br />
;Sacrifice<br />
: To choose a consequence in exchange for fate points.<br />
;Scene<br />
: A coherent bit of narrative.<br />
;Shift<br />
: A level of value in a dice roll. Shifts correspond to ‘shifting’ a value up and down the Ladder.<br />
;Situation aspect<br />
: An aspect that applies only to the situation or scene at hand.<br />
;Skill<br />
: An ability that a character uses in a roll. Skills are rated on the Ladder.<br />
;Story Arc<br />
: A series of chapters that form an overall narrative.<br />
;Stunt<br />
: A special ability or rules exception attached to a particular character. <br />
;Succeed<br />
: To exceed the opposition on a roll. When exceeding the opposition by 3 or more shifts, the action excels.<br />
;Take Advantage<br />
: An Advantage action where a character gains free invokes on an existing aspect.<br />
;Tie<br />
: To exactly match the opposition on a roll (i.e. a result of 0).</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Running_the_Game
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Running the Game
2024-02-21T07:12:44Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "==Fiction First== We’ll get to guidance for specific situations you may encounter below. But first, the guiding principle that you as a GM should always keep in mind can be..."</p>
<hr />
<div>==Fiction First==<br />
<br />
We’ll get to guidance for specific situations you may encounter below. But first, the guiding principle that you as a GM should always keep in mind can be boiled down to two words: Fiction First. As a GM you should always keep the narrative firmly in mind. Your rulings and decisions on when to apply rules should always be based on the needs of the story. From this we get the Golden and Silver Rules of Fate games (and thus Unwritten).<br />
<br />
'''The Golden Rule is: Decide what you are trying to accomplish first, then consult the rules to help you do it.'''<br />
<br />
This is more important than it seems at first glance, so we’ll go into it into more detail. You don’t pick up a hammer and decide you want to build something that involves nails. Instead you decide what you are making, then decide you need nails to keep it together. Similarly, the rules in this book do not always tell you how to do things or what you should do. Rather, they give you tools you can use for what you are trying to do.<br />
<br />
Some decisions will be easy. If you are trying to jump a chasm, that’s an Overcome roll. If you are dodging out of the way as that charging animal comes at you, that’s an Oppose roll. But a lot of situations may not be so clear. Don’t let that stop you. Try to boil down the action to its most basic expression and you’ll find that one of the rules you have will probably fit.<br />
<br />
And this leads to the next rule...<br />
<br />
'''The Silver Rule: Never let the rules get in the way of what makes narrative sense.'''<br />
<br />
The rules should not dictate how the narrative plays out. Once again, they don’t tell you what is possible; they just help you get to what you want to do. So, if the rules as stated don’t quite fit the situation at hand, make a ruling to modify how you apply the rules. Don’t change the story if it doesn’t neatly fit into the mechanics as they are presented here.<br />
<br />
You can see this philosophy throughout this book. Several mechanics, such as the rules for Writing or exploring, deviate from the particulars of the Four Actions. You should feel free to do so as well. For example, if it doesn’t make sense on an Advantage roll to give the character a Boost on a tie, then don’t do it. Look back to the spirit of the rule as a guide - a tie on an Advantage roll should be not quite what the character wanted, whatever that may mean.<br />
<br />
As always, applying these rules and any game mechanics are something that should be up for some discussion with the players if needed. Everyone should be on the same page.<br />
<br />
==Handling Aspects==<br />
<br />
Aspects are the pivot that the Fate system turns on. You have an important job in managing the flow of fate points to and from the players, giving them opportunities to spend freely in order to succeed and look awesome, and bringing in potential complications to help keep them stocked up on points. As a GM, understanding how aspects work is the most important skill you can develop.<br />
<br />
A lot of people get confused about what qualifies as an aspect and what doesn’t. The only difference between a story detail and an aspect is that an aspect is important. Pre-determined aspects are inherently important: character aspects are those details that the players want to be important, while the aspects you place on a scene are what you think the scene will be about. They are meant to ‘stick out’ so that you remember them, and so you can use them for invocations and compels. Not everything in a scene or a location will be notable. You don’t need to give a forest an aspect of Lush Forest unless you plan to actually use it. <br />
<br />
There is no way you can anticipate what players will find important, though. As soon as a detail becomes important to the story, it becomes an aspect. You should allow it to be used as an aspect as long as it makes sense. If a player says in the middle of an action, says something like , “Hey, this forest is pretty dense right? Maybe it has the aspect Lush Forest that I can invoke with a fate point,” you should consider it. Players can force this to happen through successful Advantage actions, but there is no requirement that an aspect has to come from an action.<br />
<br />
At the same time, if a detail just doesn’t come up, then it won’t become an aspect. If an aspect never gets used, then just drop it.<br />
<br />
This may seem really vague, with aspects popping in and out of existence. This is a strength of aspects - what is important narratively becomes mechanically important when it needs to.<br />
<br />
===Justification is Power===<br />
<br />
Justification might seem like the least interesting of the roles that aspects play. However, using an aspect to justify an action or a situation gets the most mileage out of anything you can use it for.<br />
<br />
Aspects are true. Because they are, they shape the game. Whether an action makes sense or not depends on the aspects that affect it. Dissecting a mysteriously dead animal makes perfect sense if you are a Former Medical Examiner or a Biology Major. Without that, it won’t fly.<br />
<br />
Situation aspects offer the same guidance. For example, if a character is trying to sprint quickly across a room with Cluttered Floors, it makes sense to ask for a roll before they can move. If there is no such aspect, just let them make the move and get on to something more interesting.<br />
<br />
===Invocations===<br />
<br />
We recommend that you don’t apply extremely exacting standards when the PC wants to invoke an aspect—you want them to spend in order to keep the flow going. If you’re too stringent on your requirements, it’s going to discourage them from that free spending.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, ask for more clarification if you don’t get what a player is implying, in terms of how the aspect relates to what’s happening in play. Sometimes, what seems obvious to one person isn’t to another, and you shouldn’t let the desire to toss fate points lead to overlooking the narration. If a player is having a hard time justifying the invocation, ask them to elaborate on their action more or unpack their thoughts.<br />
<br />
You might also have the problem of players who get lost in the open-ended nature of aspects—they don’t invoke because they aren’t sure if it’s too much of a stretch to apply an aspect in a certain way. The more work you do beforehand making sure that everyone’s clear on what an aspect means, the less you’ll run into this. To get the player talking about invoking aspects, always ask them whether or not they’re satisfied with a roll result (“So, you succeed with a result of 1 shift. You want to leave it at that? Or do you want to be even more awesome?”). Make it clear that invoking an aspect is almost always an option on any roll, in order to try and get them talking about the possibilities. Eventually, once you get a consistent dialogue going, things should smooth out.<br />
<br />
===Compels===<br />
<br />
During the game, you should look for opportunities to compel the PCs’ aspects at the following times:<br />
* Whenever simply succeeding at a skill roll would be bland<br />
* Whenever any player has one or no fate points<br />
* Whenever someone tries to do something, and you immediately think of some aspect-related way it could go wrong<br />
<br />
Remember that there are essentially two types of compels in the game: decision-based, where something complicated occurs as a result of something a character does, and event-based, where something complicated occurs simply as a result of the character being in the wrong situation at the wrong time.<br />
<br />
Of the two, you’re going to get the most mileage out of event-based compels—it’s already your job to decide how the world responds to the PCs, so you have a lot of leeway to bring unfortunate coincidence into their lives. Most of the time, players are just going to accept you doing this with minimal negotiation.<br />
<br />
Decision-based compels are a little trickier. Try to refrain from suggesting decisions to the players, and focus on responding to their decisions with potential complications. It’s important that the players retain their sense of autonomy over what their PCs say and do, so you don’t want to dictate that to them. If the players are roleplaying their characters according to their aspects, it shouldn’t be hard to connect the complications you propose to one of them.<br />
<br />
During play, you’ll also need to make clear when a particular compel is “set”, meaning that there’s no backing out without paying a fate point. When players propose their own compels, this won’t come up, because they’re fishing for the point to begin with. When you propose them, you need to give the players room to negotiate with you over what the complication is, before you make a final decision. Be transparent about this—let them know when the negotiation phase has ended.<br />
<br />
====Weak Compels====<br />
<br />
In order for the compel mechanic to be effective, you have to take care that you’re proposing complications of sufficient dramatic weight. Stay away from superficial consequences that don’t really affect the character except to provide color for the scene. If you can’t think of an immediate, tangible way that the complication changes what’s going on in the game, you probably need to turn up the heat. If it doesn’t give someone a sinking feeling, you probably need to turn up the heat. It’s not good enough for someone to be angry at the PC—they get angry and they’re willing to do something about it in front of everyone. It’s not good enough for a business partner to cut them off—he cuts them off and tells the rest of his associates to blacklist them.<br />
<br />
Also, keep in mind that some players may tend to offer weak compels when they’re fishing for fate points, because they don’t really want to hose their character that badly. Feel free to push for something harder if their initial proposal doesn’t actually make the situation that much more dramatic.<br />
<br />
====Encouraging Players to Compel====<br />
<br />
With five aspects per PC, it’s prohibitively difficult for you to take the sole responsibility for compels at the table, because that’s a lot of stuff to remember and keep track of. You need the players to be invested in looking for moments to compel their own characters.<br />
<br />
Open-ended prompting can go a long way to this habit in your players. If you see an opportunity for a potential compel, instead of proposing it directly, ask a leading question instead. Let the player do the work of coming up with the complication and then pass the fate point along.<br />
<br />
Also remind the players that they can compel your NPCs, if they happen to know one of that NPC’s aspects. Do the same open-ended prompting when you’re about to have an NPC make a decision, and ask the players to fill in the blanks.<br />
<br />
Your main goal should be to enlist the players as partners in bringing the drama, rather than being the sole provider.<br />
<br />
==Running Game Creation==<br />
<br />
As outlined in Starting a Game section, establishing setting details is often a collaborative effort between you and your players. In that sense, the best thing you can do as GM during the process is to be open to new ideas and be generous with your own, just like everyone else. Play off of and expand upon the suggestions that the others offer up. Your players will be more invested in the game if they feel like they’ve had a hand in building it.<br />
<br />
Of course, if everyone’s amenable, there’s nothing stopping you from showing up with a clear vision of exactly what you want to run. Just make sure everyone’s on board if you go that route. Even one player who isn’t into it, and doesn’t really feel inclined to get into it, can really affect the game.<br />
<br />
===Top Down vs. Bottom Up===<br />
<br />
Some like to start with the big picture first and drill down to the details, while others prefer to start with the here and now and develop the big picture as they go. These are often called “top down” and “bottom up,” respectively. Neither one’s better than the other, but each has its pros and cons.<br />
<br />
With the top-down approach, you’ll determine most of the setting in advance—stuff like who the movers and shakers are, the locations of important cities, the nature of important organizations, and so on. This has the advantage of providing a clear sense of how the world fits together.<br />
<br />
The downside, of course, is that unless you’re working from the default setting, it’s usually a lot of work on the front end. It also requires the players to show up with a pretty thorough understanding of it all, which can be daunting. But if everyone’s up to speed, it can make for an enjoyable and rewarding game.<br />
<br />
If you’re going bottom-up, though, you’ll start with whatever’s immediately important to the PCs. That might be anything from a few notable NPCs in their neighborhood to the name of someone the characters ran into in Ae’gura. Then the group figures out the details as the story goes along. There’s no need to have an idea of how things fit into the world, because everyone will make that up as you go. The world just spirals out from whatever you start with.<br />
<br />
The potential downside here is that it requires quite a bit of improvisation and thinking on your feet. That goes for everyone at the table, GM and players alike. For you, the GM, that might not be such a big deal—running a game almost always involves a degree of flying by the seat of one’s pants—but not all players are going to be ready for that sort of responsibility. In addition, if your players like to immerse themselves in their characters and see the game world through their eyes, they may find it jarring to occasionally break from that perspective to, say, invent a name on the spot for the Age they just found or tell you the history a cult of neo-D’ni fanatics that have been hiding out in an obscure cavern.<br />
<br />
===Mixing Epic and Personal===<br />
<br />
Small-scale stories concern events closely connected to the PCs, and probably within a very limited area: just D’ni and a few Ages. Large-scale games are the opposite: epic tales spanning dozens of Ages with world(s)-shaking consequences. Both types of stories can be a lot of fun. However, don’t be fooled into thinking the two are mutually exclusive. Here are a couple ways to combine them.<br />
<br />
* Start Small and Grow: This is the classic zero-to-hero story in which an unassuming individual with no pretensions to glory is suddenly swept up in events beyond the scope of his experience.<br />
* Peaks and Valleys: Here, you’re alternating the large-scale with the small, using the latter almost as something of a breather. Typically, the large-scale storylines will deal with epic threats, while the small-scale storylines will be of a more personal nature, with few if any connections to the earth-shaking events transpiring in the characters’ lives. The small-scale sessions serve as something of a breather between all that epic action, and give the players a chance to delve into some unexplored corners of their characters. Plus, if you want to connect the small- and large-scale stories down the line, you can—and the payoff will be all the more satisfying for the players.<br />
<br />
==Actions==<br />
<br />
Roll the dice when succeeding or failing at the action could each contribute something interesting to the game. If you can’t imagine an interesting outcome from both results, then don’t call for that roll. If failure is the uninteresting option, just give the PCs what they want and call for a roll later, when you can think of an interesting failure. If success is the boring option, then see if you can turn your idea for failure into a compel instead, using that moment as an opportunity to funnel fate points to the players.<br />
<br />
GMs, when considering a roll, you should consider the following questions:<br />
<br />
;Is the action is a reasonable action for the character to perform?<br />
:If the action is impossible, or just too improbable, then it doesn’t happen.<br />
<br />
;Is this an action that deserves dramatic attention?<br />
:Some things the characters want to do may be difficult. However, they may not be interesting. Stopping to roll the dice may interrupt the flow of gameplay unnecessarily. Or maybe failure or the cost of success will just have little effect on the flow of the story. If it doesn’t really matter, then let the player have the action and move on.<br />
<br />
;Is failure an interesting option?<br />
:Sometimes failure is just boring. Maybe failing here just stops gameplay completely to no effect. There’s no need to have the characters standing around and the players stumped. If you are in a situation where a character fails and a player would just decline to pay a price for success and ask to roll again, then it may not be worth making the player roll in the first place. However, if failure might lead to the characters making different choices or open up other avenues for drama, a roll could be a good idea.<br />
<br />
;Could paying a price for success be interesting?<br />
:Some things the characters are just going to succeed at eventually. The master cat burglar will eventually figure out how to get past the ancient D’ni security system - it’s what they do. However, what it takes to do that and what effects it has is ripe for drama. A roll can take advantage of that.<br />
<br />
;Is the action being actively opposed?<br />
:Any time two (or more) people are working against each other, we have drama. Both failure and the price of success have ramifications, so rolling the dice makes sense.<br />
<br />
===Deciding on Difficulties===<br />
<br />
Like most of Unwritten, choosing the level of opposition is driven by narrative factors, rather than any attempt to represent a reality. Base difficulties off of both the nature of the situation and its importance to the story. It’s more an art than a science, but we have some guidelines to help you.<br />
<br />
When deciding on passive opposition, look at how the PC’s skill level compares with the opposition. <br />
* Anything that’s two or more steps higher than the PC’s skill level—Fair (+2) skill and Great (+4) opposition, for example— means that the player will probably fail or need to invoke aspects to succeed.<br />
* Anything that’s two or more steps lower than the PC’s skill level—Fair (+2) skill and Mediocre (+0) opposition, for example—means that the player will probably not need to invoke aspects and have a good chance of succeeding with style.<br />
* Between that range, there’s a roughly equal chance that they’ll tie or succeed, and a roughly equal chance that they will or won’t need to invoke aspects to do so.<br />
<br />
Therefore, low difficulties are best when you want to give the PCs a chance to show off and be awesome, difficulties near their skill levels are best when you want to provide tension but not overwhelm them, and high difficulties are best when you want to emphasize how dire or unusual the circumstances are and make them pull out all the stops.<br />
<br />
Of course, there needs to be a good reason that backs up your choice in the story. It’s totally okay if that justification is something you’re about to make up, rather than something you know beforehand. Aspects are a great tool for this, especially situation aspects. It makes sense that a character with Just Not a People Person would have more trouble trying to communicate with natives who don’t speak their language. This is a situation ripe for compels, but if you aren’t specifically looking to throw a complication into the mix, adjusting the strength of the opposition makes sense.<br />
<br />
In fact, the need for more challenge for a particularly skilled player or set of players is a great chance to be creative and bring new details into play. Let’s say you want to make bypassing an old D’ni security system more of a challenge, and you have an NPC you have been wanting to bring in. You could decide that the NPC has upgraded the system, or is somehow interfering. By doing so, you’ve brought in a narrative hook and made things more interesting.<br />
<br />
You might also try using “out of place” difficulties to indicate the presence of unanswered questions during the game—for some odd reason, the store room you’re trying to break into has a +5 lock on the door. What could be so important in there that you don’t know about?<br />
<br />
Either way, don’t skip the justification part—either let the players know what it is immediately when you tell them the difficulty, or shrug mysteriously and then let them find out soon thereafter (as in, the time it takes to think it up).<br />
<br />
===Great Success!===<br />
<br />
Sometimes, a PC is going to roll far in excess of the difficulty, getting a lot of shifts on the roll. Some of the basic actions already have a built-in effect for rolling really well, like getting free invokes on an Advantage action.<br />
<br />
For others, it’s not so clear. What’s happens when you get a lot of shifts on a roll? You want to make sure those results have some kind of meaning and reflect how competent the PC’s are.<br />
<br />
Here are a few choice options.<br />
<br />
* Go Gonzo with the Narration: It’s important to celebrate a great roll with a suitable narration of over the top success. Let the success affect something else, in addition to what the PC was going for, and bring the player into the process of selling it by prompting them to make up cool details. “Three extra shifts on that attempt to get past the lock — tell me, is anyone ever going to be able to lock that crypt again?”<br />
* Add an Aspect: You can express additional effects of a good roll by placing an aspect on the PC or on the scene, essentially letting them an advantage for free. “So your action to chat up the ResEng succeeded with four shifts. She’ll let you into the DRC library, and she’ll also act as Available Backup if you should need some help later.”<br />
* Reducing Time: If it’s important to get something done fast, then you can use extra shifts to decrease the time that it takes to do an action.<br />
<br />
===Awesome Failure===<br />
<br />
Failure is a hard thing to make awesome, but it pays off in making interesting games. Fumbles are only dead ends if there isn’t anything interesting to be found by following up on it.<br />
<br />
====Blame the Circumstances====<br />
<br />
The PCs are competent people. They aren’t supposed to look like fools on a regular or even semi-regular basis. Sometimes, all it takes is the right description to make failure into something dynamic—instead of narrating that the PC just made a stupid mistake, blame the failure on something that the PC couldn’t have prevented. There’s a secondary mechanism on that lock that initially looked simple, or the contact broke his promise to show up on time, or the ancient tome is too withered to read, or a sudden seismic shift throws off your run.<br />
<br />
That way, the PCs still look competent, even though they don’t get what they want. More importantly, shifting the blame to the circumstances gives you an opportunity to suggest a new course of action, which allows the failure to forward momentum in your story. The contact didn’t make his appointment? Where is he? Who was following him to the rendezvous? The ancient tome is withered? Maybe someone can restore it. That way, you don’t spend time dwelling on the failure and can move on to something new.<br />
<br />
====Let the Player Do the Work====<br />
<br />
You can also kick the question back to the players, and let them decide what the context of their own failure is. This is a great move to foster a collaborative spirit, and some players will be surprisingly eager to hose their own characters in order to further the story, especially if it means they can keep control of their own portrayal.<br />
<br />
It’s also a great thing to do if you just plain can’t think of anything. “Okay, so, you fumbled that action by 2. So you’re working the lock, and something goes wrong. What is it?” “You missed that roll to keep your eyes peeled. What don’t you notice as you’re sneaking up to the queen’s chambers?” It’s better if the question is specific, like those examples—just saying, “Okay, tell me how you fail!” can easily stall things by putting a player on the spot unnecessarily. You want to let the player do the work, not make them.<br />
<br />
==Antagonists==<br />
<br />
One of your most important jobs as a GM is creating the NPCs who will oppose the PCs and try to keep them from their goals during your chapters. The real story comes from what the PCs do when worthy adversaries stand between them and their objectives—how far they’re willing to go, what price they’re willing to pay, and how they change as a result of the experience.<br />
<br />
===Take Only What You Need to Survive===<br />
<br />
First of all, keep in mind that you’re never obligated to give any NPC a full sheet like the ones the PCs have. Most of the time, you’re not going to need to know that much information, because the NPCs aren’t going to be the center of attention like the PCs are. It’s better to focus on writing down exactly what you need for that NPC’s encounter with the PCs, and then fill in the blanks on the fly (just like PCs can) if that NPC ends up becoming more important in the campaign.<br />
<br />
===The NPC Types===<br />
<br />
NPCs come in three different flavors: nameless NPCs, supporting NPCs, and main NPCs.<br />
<br />
====Nameless NPCs====<br />
<br />
The majority of the NPCs in your campaign world are nameless—people who are so insignificant to the story that the PC’s interactions with them don’t even require them to learn a name. The random explorer they pass in the Cavern, the archivist at the library, the DRC minions running around. Their role in the story is temporary and fleeting—the PCs will probably encounter them once and never see them again. In fact, most of the time, you’ll them simply out of reflex when you describe an environment.<br />
<br />
On their own, nameless NPCs usually aren’t meant to provide much of a challenge to the PCs. You use them like you use a low-difficulty skill roll, mainly as an opportunity to showcase the PCs’ competence. In conflicts, they serve as a distraction or a delay, forcing the PCs to work a little harder to get what they want.<br />
<br />
For a nameless NPC, all you really need is two or three skills based on their role in the scene. Your average security guard might have Athletics and Notice, while your average clerk might only have Research. They never get more than one or two aspects, because they just aren’t important enough.<br />
<br />
=====Nameless NPCs as Obstacles=====<br />
<br />
The easiest way to handle nameless NPCs is simply to treat them as obstacles: Give a difficulty for the PC to overcome whatever threat the NPC presents, and just do it in one roll. You don’t even have to write anything down, just set a difficulty according to the guidelines in this chapter, and assume that the PC gets past on a successful roll.<br />
<br />
If the situation is more complicated than that, make it a challenge instead. This trick is useful when you want a group of nameless NPCs more as a feature of the scene than as individuals.<br />
<br />
=====NPC First, Name Later=====<br />
<br />
Nameless NPCs don’t have to remain nameless. If the players decide to get to know that explorer or Restoration Engineer or whatever, go ahead and make a real person out of them—but that doesn’t mean that you need to make them any more mechanically complex. If you want to, of course, go ahead and promote them to a supporting NPC. But otherwise, simply giving that courtier a name and a motivation doesn’t mean he can’t go down in one punch.<br />
<br />
====Supporting NPCs====<br />
<br />
Supporting NPCs have proper names and are a little more detailed than nameless NPCs, playing a supporting role in your scenarios (hence the name). They often display some kind of strong distinguishing trait that sets them apart from the crowd: their relationship to a PC or NPC, a particular competence or unique ability, or simply the fact that they tend to appear in the game a great deal. Any faces that you assign to the locations or factions you make during game creation are supporting NPCs, as are any characters who are named in one of the PCs’ aspects.<br />
<br />
Supporting NPCs are a great source of interpersonal drama, because they’re usually the people that the PCs have a relationship with, such as friends, sidekicks, family, contacts, and noteworthy opponents. While they may never be central to resolving the main dilemma of a scenario, they’re a significant part of the journey, either because they provide aid, present a problem, or figure into a subplot.<br />
<br />
Supporting NPCs are made much like nameless NPCs, except they get to have a few more of the standard character elements. These include a high concept, one or more additional aspects, one stunt, and a handful of skills (say four or five). They have one mild consequence and, if you want them to be especially tough, one moderate consequence.<br />
<br />
Skills for a supporting NPC should follow a column distribution. Because you’re only going to define four or five skills, just treat it as one column. If your NPC has a skill at Great, fill in one skill at each positive step below it—so one Good, one Fair, and one Adequate skill.<br />
<br />
* Skill Levels: A supporting NPC’s top skill can exceed your best PC’s by one or two levels, but only if their role in the game is to provide serious opposition—supporting NPCs who are allied with the PCs should be their rough peers in skill level.<br />
* Concessions: Supporting NPCs should not fight to the bitter end, given the option. Instead, have them concede conflicts often, especially early in a story, and especially if the concession is something like “They get away.” Conceding like this serves a few purposes. For one, it foreshadows a future, more significant encounter with the NPC. Because conceding comes with a reward of one or more fate points, it also makes them more of a threat the next time they show up. What’s more, it’s virtually guaranteed to pay off for the players in a satisfying way the next time the NPC makes an appearance.<br />
<br />
Finally, it implicitly demonstrates to the players that, when things are desperate, conceding a conflict is a viable course of action. A PC concession here and there can raise the stakes and introduce new complications organically, both of which make for a more dramatic, engaging story.<br />
<br />
====Main NPCs====<br />
<br />
Main NPCs are the closest you’re ever going to get to playing a PC yourself. They have full character sheets just like a PC does, with five aspects, a full distribution of skills, and a selection of stunts. They are the most significant characters in your PCs’ lives, because they represent pivotal forces of opposition or allies of crucial importance. Because they have a full spread of aspects, they also offer the most nuanced options for interaction, and they have the most options to invoke and be compelled. Your primary antagonists in a scenario or arc should always be main NPCs, as should any NPCs who are the most vital pieces of your stories.<br />
<br />
Because they have all the same things on their sheet as PCs do, main NPCs will require a lot more of your time and attention than other characters. How you one really depends on how much time you have—if you want, you can go through the whole character creation process and work out their whole backstory through phases, leaving only those slots for “Crossing Paths” open.<br />
<br />
Of course, if you want, you can also upgrade one of your current supporting NPCs to a main using this method. This is great for when a supporting NPC has suddenly or gradually become a major fixture in the story. Players may fixate on a specific NPC, regardless of your original plans for them.<br />
<br />
You could also do things more on the fly if you need to, creating a partial sheet of the aspects you know for sure, those skills you definitely need them to have, and any stunts you want. Then fill in the rest as you go. This is almost like making a supporting NPC, except you can add to the sheet during play.<br />
<br />
Main NPCs will resist to the bitter end if need be, making the PCs work for every step.<br />
<br />
Regarding skill levels, your main NPCs will come in one of two flavors—exact peers of the PCs who grow with them as the campaign progresses, or superiors to the PCs who remain static while the PCs grow to sufficient strength to oppose them. If it’s the former, just give them the exact same skill distribution the PCs currently have. If it’s the latter, give them enough skills to go at least two higher than whatever the current skill cap is for the game.<br />
<br />
===Playing the Opposition===<br />
<br />
Remember, you want a balancing act between stonewalling the PCs and letting them walk all over your opposition (unless they are nameless NPCs, in which case that’s pretty much what they’re there for). It’s important to keep in mind not just the skill levels of the NPCs in your scenes, but their number and importance.<br />
<br />
Right-sizing the opposition is more of an art than a science, but here are some strategies to help.<br />
<br />
* Don’t outnumber the PCs unless your NPCs have comparatively lower skills.<br />
* If they’re going to team up against one big opponent, make sure that opponent has a peak skill two levels higher than whatever the best PC can bring in that conflict.<br />
* Limit yourself to one main NPC per scene, unless it’s a big climactic conflict at the end of an arc. Remember, supporting NPCs can have skills as high as you want.<br />
* Most of the opposition the PCs encounter in a session should be nameless NPCs, with one or two supporting NPCs and main NPCs along the way.<br />
* Nameless and supporting NPCs means shorter conflicts because they give up or lose sooner; main NPCs mean longer conflicts.<br />
<br />
It’s easy to fall into the default mode of using the opposition as a direct means to get in the PCs’ way, drawing them into a series of conflict scenes until someone is defeated.<br />
<br />
However, keep in mind that the NPCs can advantages just like the PCs can. Feel free to use opposition characters to scenes that aren’t necessarily about stopping the PCs from achieving a goal, but scouting out information about them and stacking up free invocations. Let your antagonists and the PCs have tea together and then bring out the Empathy rolls. Or instead of having that fight scene take place in the dark alley, let your NPCs show up, gauge the PCs’ abilities, and then flee.<br />
<br />
Likewise, keep in mind that your NPCs have a home turf advantage in conflicts if the PCs go to them in order to resolve something. So, when you’re setting up situation aspects, you can pre-load the NPC with some free invocations if it’s reasonable that they’ve had time to place those aspects. Use this trick in good faith, though—two or three such aspects is probably pushing the limit.<br />
<br />
Your opposition will be way more interesting if they try to get at the PCs in multiple venues of conflict, rather than just going for the most direct route. Remember that there are a lot of ways to get at someone, and that mental conflict is just as valid as physical conflict as a means of doing so. If the opposition has a vastly different skill set than one or more of your PCs, leverage their strengths and choose a conflict strategy that gives them the best advantage.<br />
<br />
==Obstacles==<br />
<br />
Drama suggests that the explorers encounter a series of obstacles that they have to overcome in order to see what is over the next hill. As always, what is interesting should guide you on what to throw in the explorer’s path and how much focus it deserves. Slogging through the swamps of Negilahn is difficult, but we only need to spend any time on it if the trek is interesting.<br />
<br />
Simple Overcome and Advantage actions will usually suffice. Failure should rarely simply cut off access to an area. Rather, it should be the chance for creative problem solving or diverting into interesting subplots. Success at a cost can leave the explorers hurt or resources depleted, for example.<br />
<br />
When it is time to zoom in on the drama of exploration, it becomes an exercise in problem solving for the characters. Rather than just simple obstacles, characters should face problems that they have to solve that require more than a roll of the dice to bypass. Teamwork, planning, and thought should be required. Dipping into action sequences like challenges and contests as a structure allow you to turn it into an adventure scene on all its own. Getting past a particular obstacle can even be the basis of a sub-plot or story arc, with gathering the information or resources needed.<br />
<br />
GMs, one thing to remember: once a problem has been solved, it is solved. Don’t make your players run through the sequence again when they head back or come that way again; that’s just boring. Unless the situation has changed significantly or there is a chance for additional new drama (such as an interesting compel), just let them walk by without further problem.<br />
<br />
===Hazards===<br />
<br />
Environmental hazards are a common hurdle for explorers to face. A simple passive opposition will often be enough. Situation aspects can be used for invocations and compels. A forest age may have aspects like Dangerous Predators or Poisonous Mushrooms Everywhere, for instance.<br />
<br />
However, hazards can be viewed as ‘characters’ with aspects and even skills. Playing a hazard like this makes it an active participant in the scene—the environment (or elements in the environment) can actively do things to characters. They become participants in scenes like contests.<br />
<br />
The environment may have an attribute that will affect the characters the longer they are exposed to it. A contest that is run through the scene can model this. The environment uses its skill against the characters and each characters resists with appropriate skills in return. If the hazard gets a three-victory lead over a character, then the character takes an appropriate consequence. If the character takes the same lead, they have bypassed the hazard and no longer have to deal with it. Remember that this is a contest between the hazard and each character. One character overcoming the hazard may not mean the others have as well.<br />
<br />
A scene that is just a contest versus a hazard has some possibilities, but combining the contest with other actions will be more fun. Interspersing contest exchanges with other activities (even other contests, such as running from an angry mob) adds another level of worry to the situation. A contest could be run across several scenes to reflect a pervasive threat that affects the characters the whole time they are in the area.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/The_Art_of_Gamemastering
Unwritten: System Reference Document/The Art of Gamemastering
2024-02-21T06:58:22Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "==What a GM Does== If you’re the GM, then your job is a little different from everyone else’s. This chapter is going to give you several tools to make that job easier dur..."</p>
<hr />
<div>==What a GM Does==<br />
<br />
If you’re the GM, then your job is a little different from everyone else’s. This chapter is going to give you several tools to make that job easier during play. We already talked a little bit about the GM’s job in The Basics, but let’s take a more detailed look at your unique responsibilities.<br />
<br />
===Portray the World===<br />
<br />
It’s your job to decide how everyone and everything else in the world responds to PC’s actions, as well as what the environment is like. If a PC fumbles a roll, you’re the one who gets to decide the consequences. When an NPC attempts to trap a PC’s friend, you decide how they go about it. When the PCs stroll up to a food vendor in a market, you decide what kind of day the vendor is having, what kind of personality he or she has, and what’s on sale that day. You determine the weather when the PCs approach that dark building.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, you don’t have to do this in a vacuum—you have a lot of tools to help you decide what would be appropriate. The process we outline in Starting a Game should provide you with a lot of context about the game you’re running, whether that’s in the form of aspects like current and impending issues, specific locations that you might visit, or NPCs with strong agendas that you can use.<br />
<br />
The PCs’ aspects also help you decide how to make the world respond to them. The best aspects have a double edge to them; you have a lot of power to exploit that double edge by using event-based compels. That way, you kill two birds with one stone—you add detail and surprise to your game world, but you also keep the PCs at the center of the story you’re telling.<br />
<br />
===Portray NPCs===<br />
<br />
When you have NPCs in a scene, you speak for and make decisions for them like the players do for their PCs—you decide when they’re taking an action that requires dice, and you follow the same rules the players do for determining how that turns out. Your NPCs are going to be a little different than the PCs, however, depending on how important they are to the story.<br />
<br />
===Create Environments and Scenarios===<br />
<br />
You’re responsible for making all of the stuff that the PCs encounter and react to in the game. That not only includes NPCs with skills and aspects, but it also includes the aspects on scenes, environments, and objects, as well as the dilemmas and challenges that make up a chapter of Unwritten. You provide the prompts that give your group a reason to play this game to begin with—what problems they face, what issues they have to resolve, whom they’re opposing, and what they’ll have to go through in order to win the day.<br />
<br />
===Arbitrate Rules===<br />
<br />
It’s also your job to make most of the moment-to-moment decisions about what’s legit and what’s not regarding the rules. Most often, you’re going to decide when something in the game deserves a roll, what type of action that is (Overcome, Discover, etc.) and how difficult that roll is. In challenges and contests, this can get a little more complicated, like determining if a situation aspect should force someone to make an Overcome action, or deciding whether or not a player can justify a particular advantage they’re trying to create.<br />
<br />
You also judge the appropriateness of any invocations or compels that come up during play and make sure that everyone at the table is clear on what’s going on. With invocations, this is pretty easy—as long as the player can explain why the aspect is relevant, you’re good to go. With compels, it can get a little more complicated, because you need to articulate precisely what complication the player is agreeing to.<br />
<br />
===Make Everyone Look Awesome===<br />
<br />
Get used to the word “interesting”—you see it again and again throughout this book. Fiction is about interesting things happening to interesting people in interesting places. Your job is to keep it coming.<br />
<br />
As protagonists, the PCs already live on the fringes of the probable. Exploit that so that cool things happen. Characters should have moments to shine. That not only means doing really cool things, but having challenges to overcome, because beating the odds is inherently cool.<br />
<br />
Don’t forget about yourself. Make places fun to explore and be. Secrets that are uncovered need to mean something, and have consequences. Give your antagonists chances to be, well, antagonizing. When your players are interested (there’s that word again) in the world, then you look awesome, too.<br />
<br />
==Principles of Gamemastering==<br />
<br />
===K.I.S.S.===<br />
<br />
K.I.S.S. stands for Keep It Simple, Storyteller (of course). There are lots of rules in this book; don’t get caught up in them. They are just a means. If you find yourself spending more time trying to figure out how something fits into the rules than actually playing it out, then you need to stop and rethink.<br />
<br />
When you strip it down to its basics, the rules just boil down to roll the dice, add skill level, and subtract opposition. If the player fumbles, it went badly. If they tie, it barely worked. If they succeed, then it worked. If they excel, then they did really well.<br />
<br />
That’s it. The rest is icing. Apply it when it makes sense and makes things more interesting.<br />
<br />
===Drama is Better than Realism===<br />
<br />
Don’t get too bogged down trying to maintain absolute consistency in the world or adhere to a draconian sense of realism. The game operates by the rules of drama and fiction; use that to your advantage. There should be few moments in the game where the PCs are free of conflicts or problems to deal with, even if it’d be more “realistic” for them to get a long breather.<br />
<br />
When you’re trying to decide what happens, and the answer that makes the most sense is also kind of boring, go with something that’s more exciting than sensible! You can always find a way later on to justify something that doesn’t make immediate sense.<br />
<br />
===“Mentor” is better than “Master”===<br />
<br />
Approach your position as arbiter of the rules by thinking of yourself as “first among equals” in a committee, rather than as an absolute authority. If there’s a disagreement on the use of the rules, try encouraging a brief discussion and let everyone talk freely, rather than making a unilateral decision. A lot of times, you’ll find that the group is self-policing—if someone tries to throw out a compel that’s a real stretch, it’s just as likely that another player will bring it up before you do.<br />
<br />
Don’t be afraid to direct the conversation honestly if you need to. If you see a potential problem with a player’s choice, bring it up earlier rather than later. Do so honestly and openly. Explaining the issue ahead of time is better than springing unexpected consequences later.<br />
<br />
Your job is really to have the “last word” on any rules-related subject, rather than to dictate from your chair. Keep that in mind.<br />
<br />
===Let the players help you===<br />
<br />
You don’t have to shoulder the whole burden of making up world details yourself. The more collaborative you get, the more emotional investment the players are going to have in the result, because they shared in its creation.<br />
<br />
If a character has an aspect that connects them to someone or something in the world, make that player your resident “expert” on whatever the aspect refers to. So if someone has Wrote the Book on Spelunking, poll that player for information whenever exploring caves comes up in conversation. Some players will defer back to you, and that’s fine, but it’s important that you keep making the offer so as to foster a collaborative atmosphere.<br />
<br />
A main use of the Advantage action is precisely to give players a way to add details to the world through their characters. Use that when you draw a blank or simply want to delegate more control. One good way to do this during play is to answer the player’s question with a question if they ask for information. Ask “What do you think it is?” and consider running with the answer. Deductions fit nicely into this role as well.<br />
<br />
Finally, when a player makes a suggestion (or even an interesting off-hand remark), you may want to roll with it. Instead of saying “yes” or “no”, try saying “yes, but...” or “yes, and....” Then, add your own twist. You can slip in something that you have been wanting to bring forward as part of going along. That makes transitioning plot elements smoother than just springing it on them. Or you can use a twist that gives the player a hard decision by making it one that could have unpleasant results. Make sure you let them know ahead of time, and give them the option to take it or leave it.<br />
<br />
===Fit the rules to the situation===<br />
<br />
Unlike most D’ni construction, the rules in Unwritten are not set in stone. You can represent a situation in many different ways using the rules you have; it’s okay to be creative in how you apply them. Base what rules you use off of the needs of the moment, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
For example, if a character is trying to deal with an angry crowd, you could represent the situation in several ways:<br />
<br />
* Use the crowd as background description.<br />
* Represent the angry crowd with a situation aspect; compel and invoke as appropriate.<br />
* Represent the crowd as a passive opposition for actions (Overcome action to convince them to calm down, for instance).<br />
* Describe the crowd as if they were an NPC: give them a few aspects and maybe a skill or two and attempt actions with them.<br />
* Use a Contest to model the attempt to sway the crowd in one way or another (if someone else is trying to sway the crowd in a different direction, they would be your opposition, or the crowd itself might be).<br />
<br />
Any of the above options can work, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. You don’t even have to use the same option for the crowd every time; let the needs of the fiction decide which you use at any given time. Focus on what the situation actually needs, even if that changes how you would normally handle it. As long as everyone at the table agrees, it should be fine.<br />
<br />
==Be “awesome” the Unwritten way==<br />
<br />
One of your jobs is to make everyone look awesome, right? Well, in Unwritten, “awesome” has a specific definition. That definition is based off of creativity, cleverness, and discovery.<br />
<br />
===Avoid force as a focus===<br />
<br />
Unwritten treats force as interesting. Sure, there are times when you just have to bash down a door, but that isn’t what this game is about. It’s focused on applying your mind to a situation. In a way, every situation is a puzzle to be solved—make that the foundation of how you present the game. <br />
<br />
In those cases where force is needed, don’t use a traditional RPG ‘combat scene’. Rather, de-emphasize force and violence by minimizing the attention it gets, both in terms of story and in mechanics. Resolve those situations with a single roll, or even considering just declaring them without dice. Move on quickly.<br />
<br />
Situations that require thought should be made the centerpiece of a session. Walk through the details of sneaking into that DRC compound, or the process the characters are using to build the machine they are working on. Ask questions: “How does that work?”, “Why do you do that?” and “What do you think the effects of that will be?” Weave those answers into the game as it goes along.<br />
<br />
===Reward creativity===<br />
<br />
The environments found in the Myst games are creative and inventive. Ideally, role-playing in Unwritten should be the same. Challenges the characters encounter should be designed to evoke thought from your players. You want them to approach the entire game as an exercise in problem-solving and thinking outside of the box. <br />
<br />
Why? Because creative solutions make better stories. Which game story do you want to tell your friends about: the time you pulled off this amazing off-the-wall plan, or the time when you did that same thing you always do? Characters lead interesting lives, so encourage your players to approach the game with that in mind.<br />
<br />
So, roll with those nifty ideas that your players come up with. Give them more time in the spotlight. Especially interesting solutions should end up with lower opposition than mundane ones. If it really wows the table, consider just saying “That’s so cool! It happens!”<br />
<br />
===The road to awesome is paved with curiosity===<br />
<br />
Think back to the horror movies you have seen; poking around in dark places is the worst thing you could do. Unwritten is the opposite of that—characters should be poking their noses into everything.<br />
<br />
Incentivize exploration. Spend more time on playing out situations centered around inquiry and exploration. Present more opportunities to the characters when they overcome obstacles on the way to uncharted territory. <br />
<br />
Sometimes a character might act risky, maybe even unwise, in that pursuit. Do not penalize characters for it. That doesn’t mean that players should get away with anything. Rather, actions rooted in a desire to know more should always lead to interesting situations. Curiosity shouldn’t kill the cat, but give it an even bigger challenge that it can step up to.<br />
<br />
===Keep adding questions to be answered===<br />
<br />
There is an old adage in games that when things get boring, you maintain the tension by bringing in someone who starts shooting. <br />
<br />
Unwritten’s version of this is to bring in a new mystery. If you have had something waiting in the wings, bring it into play. Describe something strange happening: a flickering light across the cavern, a strange book in a language no one can read, whatever. This is also a great time to look through the Age Library you created when starting the game and drop a Linking Book into play.<br />
<br />
New experiences are new opportunities for a character; encourage that theme. When you have a reasonable choice between going back to an old situation or place and a new one, choose the new one. If you go back to an old one, put a new twist on it; make it new and different.<br />
<br />
==Building Mysteries==<br />
<br />
When you put an unknown in front of the characters, it is a good idea to plan the details ahead of time. As players dig into those details, they need to remain consistent and need to provide opportunities for the characters to move forward. A mystery consists of an answer to a question (what you want your characters to discover) and a set of clues that represent that answer. The clues are what the characters will find first and are the pieces that they will have to use to put together the answer. <br />
<br />
Players will start off with scattered information and will be driving toward the truth. When preparing for them, start at the other end. Decide what the truth is (the answer that you want the characters to discover). From there, you decide what clues lead to your truth.<br />
<br />
===Crafting Clues===<br />
<br />
====Think about Evidence====<br />
<br />
The mystery has ramifications that express themselves through the clues available. When trying to determine what clues you should put in a scene, ask yourself “what effects would the mystery have had?”<br />
<br />
If an important event happened somewhere, you can walk through the event and come up with ideas of how that affected what was left behind. If someone has passed through an area, there would be traces of their passing. If someone was nearby, they may have heard something. For more abstract mysteries, the evidence may be occurrences that point to a pattern or are notable. <br />
<br />
====Tailor Clues to the Characters====<br />
<br />
The clues are there for the characters to find, so make sure that it make senses for them to be discovered and understood. Look at characters’ aspects, stunts, and resources to guide you when deciding which clues to use. If none of the characters have experience with medicine, then a clue that requires medical knowledge would not make sense.<br />
<br />
If you are going to use clues that lie outside of your characters’ area of knowledge, make sure that you have other options for the characters, such as expert NPCs or devices that can get them the information they need. Options like this should be obvious; reveal them in previous scenes. An NPC may make a point of telling the characters that they have the right skills in a previous scene. Maybe a previous investigation already revealed the capabilities of the D’ni device the character found.<br />
<br />
====Use Clues to Show, Not Tell====<br />
<br />
A good clue doesn’t come right out and reveal its meaning. What piques the character’s interest and entices them to dig deeper.<br />
<br />
A clue should be descriptive. It implies things. The act of investigation is figuring out how that description fits into the larger context of the scene and the story. When designing a clue, there should always be one mental step from the clue to the meaning. You don’t need a huge leap of deduction for every clue; but there should always be at least a moment of thought required.<br />
<br />
If there doesn’t seem to be a good way to create that moment of thought, then the clue may not be an interesting device to use. Just tell the players the information. Or you may consider folding the information into a different clue.<br />
<br />
====Think Outside the Scene====<br />
<br />
Understanding a clue might require information that is not in the scene at hand. Research may be required. Or maybe the characters will need to consult with an expert.<br />
<br />
Hopefully this leads to an interesting scene for the players. If it looks like it might not, you have several options.<br />
* If one of the players has an aspect that would justify them knowing the information, then they know it.<br />
* The activity can be done during an interlude as an off-stage event.<br />
* A character can go off-stage while the other characters continue on stage.<br />
* If characters have KIs or other similar communications, they can contact others to do the research for them.<br />
<br />
Any of the above can use an action if you think it would add to the drama of the situation.<br />
<br />
====Keep Lists and Use Index Cards====<br />
<br />
Keeping list of clues can be incredibly useful. You can tie them to places, people, or scenes. Or you can have a pool of clues that you can draw on and insert into scenes as you need. You don’t have to use all the clues you come up with; your list can be mainly as inspiration.<br />
<br />
Index cards are a powerful tool as well. When a clue comes up, write it on an index card and put it in the middle of the table so everyone can see it. That way, clues stay in the players’ minds as they play out the scene.<br />
<br />
If you have a number of clues that might show up any time, you can put them on index cards and draw one at random when you need to add a little extra spice to a scene.<br />
<br />
==Using Puzzles==<br />
<br />
Throughout the Myst franchise, puzzles are the primary obstacle that game players face—you have to solve the puzzle in order to move on. Often, these are explicit puzzles that may or may not have any direct connection to the story or environment. <br />
<br />
The place of puzzles in your Unwritten game depends heavily on everyone involved. You as a gamemaster may be good at making puzzles and a particular group of players (such as veteran Myst fans) may like sitting down and solving logic puzzles, or decrypting scrambled clues. If that works, then that’s great.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, that may not be the case. You may have players who just aren’t good at puzzles. Some players may prefer that their puzzles stay in the video games or on sudoku page in the paper and their role-playing to be focused on other things. There are a lot of possibilities.<br />
<br />
If you will have puzzles in your game, the following discusses how to fit them in. <br />
<br />
===Puzzles are Story===<br />
<br />
Unwritten always comes back to ‘fiction first’ and that includes puzzles. The best puzzles are those that are both interesting to solve and support the game in some way.<br />
<br />
Your puzzle can say something about the setting, the narrative, or the characters. For example, the D’ni had an underlying fascination with puzzles and intellectual pursuits, so using a puzzle-based lock in place of something more secure says a lot about the D’ni. <br />
<br />
The right puzzle can encourage the sort of play you want to see in the game. If you want players to think on their feet, add time pressure to the puzzles. If you want to emphasize teamwork, everyone has to have a part in the solution. <br />
<br />
Puzzles can also support the themes of the game. Yeesha’s Journeys required players to explore and in doing so, encounter evidence of the D’ni’s folly. Guild training Ages were explicitly tests, so they can emphasize a character pursuing expertise as a personal goal.<br />
<br />
===You are on the Players’ Side===<br />
<br />
Like compels, puzzles should lead to interesting avenues of action. If a puzzle becomes a dead end or a source of frustration, that’s not awesome. You should rethink how you are using it.<br />
<br />
You want players to enjoy the challenge, so be aware of your players and how they are reacting to the puzzle. If they are struggling, remind them of the tools that Unwritten gives them. You can offer discover actions to the players so they have questions to use to get information they might not otherwise. Point out that excelling on a Discover action will give them a hint. If they don’t use it, then great, they get a fate point.<br />
<br />
Also, keep an eye out for situations where a few players are enjoying the puzzles while other players are bored or frustrated whenever they come up. Watching other people have fun when you aren’t is definitely not awesome. Make sure everyone has a type of puzzle that they or their character can participate in, or alternate puzzles with other activities that players find entertaining.<br />
<br />
If players are just at a complete loss, you can turn the scene around and make it a deduction. (“Okay everyone, this D’ni vault you are stuck in is really tricky. Let’s deduce how this works!”) That gives them the power in the scene.<br />
<br />
Or, you introduce a new element into the situation that may change the puzzle to something that your players can more easily handle. That might be as minor as declaring a puzzle is mechanical in nature so someone can bring their high Engineering to bear on it. Or it could change the situation entirely, such as adding in someone who has key information for getting past the puzzle. Then it becomes an issue of tracking down the person and getting the information from them.<br />
<br />
===No Puzzle Survives Contact with the Players===<br />
<br />
Players will surprise you on a regular basis. Be ready to accept creative player solutions; Unwritten rewards ingenuity. Don’t hold on too firmly to your puzzles or specific solutions. A player may come up with a creative idea that completely bypasses your puzzle. That’s fine — just roll with it.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/The_Great_Art_of_Writing
Unwritten: System Reference Document/The Great Art of Writing
2024-02-21T00:44:26Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "==Age Aspects== ===Age Theme=== Every Age has a theme. This is like the High Concept for characters. It encompasses the basics of the Age and what the writer was trying to a..."</p>
<hr />
<div>==Age Aspects==<br />
<br />
===Age Theme===<br />
<br />
Every Age has a theme. This is like the High Concept for characters. It encompasses the basics of the Age and what the writer was trying to accomplish when they were developing it. Like a High Concept, the Age’s theme is not the end-all-be-all of the Age. However, it provides a touchstone for the rest of the details.<br />
<br />
Themes will generally fall into two different types: environments and principles. Environments are aspects that describe the physical nature of the Age. The scope of an environmental theme will vary according to the nature of the aspect. Humid and Murky Swamps might be just what is in the ‘Written’ parts of an Age, or it might be the entire planet. An aspect like A Planet of Rolling Dunes Driven by the Wind would be less ambiguous.<br />
<br />
Principles are descriptions of the underlying forces at work. These may govern geological or cosmological forces. For example, aspects like Cataclysmic Natural Forces could describe an Age full of volcanoes, earthquakes and raging storms. Alternatively, a principle as a theme may indicate design principles that the writer was using as a guide for the Age. An Age designed to be an example of ecological interdependence might have a theme of All Life Depends on Each Other, while an Age written to be a source of resources may have a theme of Endless Natural Abundance.<br />
<br />
====Other Age Aspects====<br />
Besides the theme, an Age can have other additional aspects that embody important details about an Age.<br />
* Important Natural Features<br />
* Unusual Flora or Fauna<br />
* Notable Resources<br />
* Indigenous Populations<br />
* Key Settlements or Installations<br />
<br />
==Writing Systems==<br />
<br />
===Reading Books===<br />
<br />
Any Writer can understand the gahro-hevtee in a book. Getting a general feel of the nature of the Age it describes is relatively simple and should not require a roll. Given the complexity of the Art, however, any deeper understanding takes time and effort.<br />
<br />
Basic information should simply be provided to the investigating character, such as the Age’s theme aspect. Those who have stunts or aspects in specific areas should get a little more information relevant to that area without rolls (e.g. a Geology stunt gets you a Geology-specific clue).<br />
<br />
Further information requires digging deeper with discover actions. The passive opposition should be based on the complexity of the Age. Additionally, Ages that were written in ways to be intentionally deceiving (such as Books written to be traps) would have higher opposition values. Note that some skills that might not be useful in Writing Ages may be useful in deciphering Descriptive Books (especially those involving deductive logic or finding patterns).<br />
<br />
A character that does not have the Art of Writing stunt, but has some knowledge of the D’ni language, might be able to investigate a Descriptive Book. This is up to the GM to decide. If the GM does allow it, no details should be given without successful discover actions, even the Age’s theme aspect.<br />
<br />
===Writing Linking Books===<br />
<br />
Creating a Linking Book requires no rolls—the Writer just has to have the appropriate materials, a little bit of time, and be in the place the book will link to. That’s it.<br />
<br />
===Writing Descriptive Books===<br />
<br />
Writing Descriptive Books is another matter. Writing a viable Descriptive Book is a long process and never happens ‘on stage’.<br />
<br />
Before a new Age is linked to, writing an Age is a process of layering Age aspects. The first aspect attempted is always the Age theme. Additional aspects can be more thematic aspects, or aspects that describe specific areas or elements.<br />
<br />
====Stunt: The Art of Writing====<br />
A character with this stunt is a Writer (one who can Write Ages, not a member of the Guild of Writers). This represents a basic grounding in the methods of Writing and a working familiarity with the gahro-hevtee. Given the proper materials, the character has access to all of the systems listed in this section. As a side effect, this stunt implies that the character can read and write the D’ni language at least passably well.<br />
<br />
====Before The First Link====<br />
<br />
More aspects can be added to the Age in subsequent journey rolls, as long as no one has linked into the Age. Before that first link, the exact nature of the Age on the other end of the link is theoretical. But once someone links into the Age, it is no longer ‘under development’. The forces put into place by the writing of the Age move forward. Additional changes to the Descriptive Book fall under Writing changes to the Age.<br />
<br />
====The Writing Journey roll====<br />
<br />
The Writer uses a Journey roll to create an aspect in the Age, using the following steps:<br />
<br />
* Describe the aspect to be created<br />
* Determine opposition<br />
* Roll<br />
* Determine the outcome<br />
<br />
=====Describe the aspect to be created=====<br />
<br />
As noted above, Age aspects are broad brushes that describe the Age. This is especially true of aspects that are written into an Age. Aspects that reflect sentient beings are far too complex for any Writer, much less anything reflecting cultures or individuals.<br />
<br />
Aspects can be divided into two general types: explanatory (or ‘how’) aspects and declarative (or ‘what’) aspects.<br />
<br />
Explanatory aspects describe how something works. These descriptions can be of specific phenomena, or they can be high-level thematic aspects that describe general ‘design principles’ of the Age. These aspects are harder for the Writer to Write and they require more detail and consideration. A successfully Written aspect will operate how it says, though the actual details may vary.<br />
<br />
Declarative aspects describe what is there, but do not specify why it is there or how became that way. These are easier to write because they only describe the state of things in the Age at the time of first linking. However, the repercussions of that state of affairs are filled in out of the Writer’s control. It is up to the GM to determine what forces lead to that state of affairs, what details that haven’t been specified exist, and the future effects of those forces in motion.<br />
<br />
=====Determine opposition=====<br />
<br />
All opposition for writing is passive. The value of the opposition depends on the scope of the aspect and on the skill being used for the roll.<br />
<br />
Complex or specific Age aspects provide a higher opposition than more general aspects. Basic physical elements of the Age are the easiest, such as basic astronomical and geological details. Describing biological features adds to the difficulty, increasing as the complexity of the biology increases. Flora is much less complex than fauna, as a rule. Describing individual creatures is far too complex for even the most advanced writers.<br />
<br />
The knowledge of the Writer has a significant effect on the difficulty of explanatory aspects. The more general the Writer’s knowledge, the more difficult an explanatory aspect will be; general knowledge only gets you so far when describing complex concepts in an Age. Specific applicable knowledge will mean a lower difficulty and the more specific the better (e.g. Biology-related stunts for an aspect about plants, for example).<br />
<br />
=====Roll=====<br />
<br />
Like all journey rolls, a skill is chosen and bonuses from stunts are applied to shift the result. Character and campaign aspects can be invoked, as well as reserved situation aspects (at the GM’s discretion).<br />
<br />
=====Determine the Outcome=====<br />
<br />
If the roll fumbles, the Writer has an option to accept the fumble or to succeed at a cost. If they accept, the GM gets to decide what the new aspect is. This will be related to the intended aspect but will definitely have unintended results, probably unpleasant or unhelpful in some way.<br />
<br />
If the Writer chooses to succeed at a cost, then they get the aspect they want. However, the GM also adds a secret aspect to the Age. This is guaranteed to be bad for the character and is likely to become a significant plot point.<br />
<br />
If the roll ties, the aspect is created but with some minor difference that is slightly annoying or awkward. A slight modification of the wording of the aspect might be needed.<br />
<br />
If the roll succeeds, the aspect is created as intended. The GM and the player need to make sure that they are on the same page on what that means. Unintended effects of the aspect (specific results for explanatory aspects or root causes for declarative aspects) should be cosmetic or neutral.<br />
<br />
If the roll excels, then the Writer has a choice. They can specify some of the ‘unintended’ effects of the aspect. Or they can choose to let the GM define the effects in some beneficial way and surprise them with it during play.<br />
<br />
Now that his friends have secured blank Books and ink, Templeton is finally beginning his first Age. He’s interested in an Age that has lots of natural power - underground steam tunnels, geysers, etc.; lots of power there to be harnessed. He decides that the Age theme will be Endless Geothermal Power.<br />
<br />
He attempts his Writing action with Research, reflecting how much study he has put into the Art. He fumbles the action, however. Templeton is afraid of what a serious cost might when Writing an Age, so he accepts the fumble. Gwen tells him that the Age theme is actually Constant Volcanic Activity. Templeton decides he’ll have to work out how to insert some areas of stability and safety into the landscape the next journey roll.<br />
<br />
===Advanced Writing===<br />
<br />
====Writing changes into Descriptive Books====<br />
<br />
Making changes to a Descriptive Book is hard. The GM should carefully consider whether they want to allow it at all. Even more so than other decisions, how modifying a Book affects the Age it describes is a narrative one and is akin to the level of a plot device.<br />
<br />
If you are looking to make some rolls, a character can use Journey rolls to attempt to make changes. The passive opposition for such rolls should is Superb (+5) at a minimum. Fumbling the action will always have some unintended and negative effect. Success at cost should lead to some truly epic drama. Even a tie should indicate that the change didn’t work, but amounted to no ill effects.<br />
<br />
No matter what the decision, the process should be long and stressful.<br />
<br />
====Alternate materials====<br />
<br />
The D’ni used a specific set of materials and processes for constructing their paper, Books, and ink. But that’s not the only way to make usable Books. Later Writers like Atrus, Gehn, and Catherine were able to find substitutions of varying degrees of reliability. In some cases, these variant Linking Books require a power source to work properly. There are no hard rules on what sorts of materials could be used and how they work. Rather this is something that has to fit into the specific game and background. Discovering or developing these alternatives would probably fuel an entire set of stories in and of themselves.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Dramatic_Time_and_Milestones
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Dramatic Time and Milestones
2024-02-21T00:37:10Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "==Sessions== A traditional way to measure game time is in sessions. When everyone sits down to play, that’s the beginning of a session. The session ends when you and your f..."</p>
<hr />
<div>==Sessions==<br />
<br />
A traditional way to measure game time is in sessions. When everyone sits down to play, that’s the beginning of a session. The session ends when you and your friends pack it up for the night and go home. For most people, a session is about 2 to 4 hours, but there is no theoretical limit.<br />
<br />
Sessions do not necessarily reflect anything in the dramatic pacing of the story. However, it is a useful concept to use for pacing both player time and game time. At the end or the beginning of a session is a natural time for an interlude, either for wrapping up what has happened or preparing for the next round of the game.<br />
<br />
===At the Beginning of a Session===<br />
<br />
* Recap what happened the last session.<br />
* Refill all of the characters’ fate points up to their maximum refresh. If they have more than their refresh, they keep the extra fate points.<br />
* Remove any minor or moderate consequences marked as recovering. <br />
<br />
===At the End of a Session===<br />
* Go around the table and ask each player “As of right now, what is your character most interested in finding out?”<br />
* Each character gets a minor milestone.<br />
<br />
==Chapters==<br />
<br />
A chapter is usually 3 to 4 sessions and represents the shape of the story. Some plot point is resolved or significantly transformed in a chapter. Most of the time, a chapter will definitively resolve some kind of problem or dilemma presented by the GM, or wrap up a storyline. You can look at this like an episode of a television show.<br />
<br />
===At the Beginning of a Chapter===<br />
* When you start a new chapter, do the following:<br />
* Each player explains what their character has been up to since the last chapter.<br />
* Reset each character’s fate points to their refresh (extra fate points are lost).<br />
* Remove any consequences marked as recovering.<br />
<br />
===At the End of a Chapter===<br />
<br />
When you end a chapter:<br />
* Each character gets a significant milestone.<br />
<br />
==Story Arcs==<br />
<br />
A story arc is a long-term story made up of several chapters, usually between two and four. An arc typically culminates in an event that brings great change to the game world, building up from the resolution of the chapters. You can look at an arc like a season of a television show, where individual episodes lead to a tumultuous climax. You’re not always guaranteed to have a recognizable arc, just like not all TV shows have a plot line that carries through the whole season—it’s possible to bounce from situation to situation without having a defined plot structure.<br />
<br />
This is the place where characters really evolve and where the directions of their stories can change. The trials of yesterday simply aren’t sufficient to challenge these characters anymore, and the threats of tomorrow will need to be more adept, organized, and determined to stand against them in the future.<br />
<br />
===At the End of an Arc===<br />
<br />
When you end an arc, do the following:<br />
* Each character gets a major milestone.<br />
<br />
==Milestones on the Journey==<br />
<br />
A milestone is a moment during the game where you have the chance to change or advance your character. They are called milestones because they usually happen at significant “break points” in the action of a game—the end of a session, the end of a chapter, and the end of a story arc, respectively.<br />
<br />
Usually, those break points immediately follow some significant event in the story that justifies your character changing in response to events. You might reveal a significant plot detail or have a cliffhanger at the end of a session. You might resolve a plotline at the end of a chapter. You might resolve a major storyline that shakes up the campaign world at the end of an arc.<br />
<br />
Obviously, things won’t always line up that nicely, so GMs, you have some discretion in deciding when a certain level of milestone occurs. If it seems satisfying to give out a milestone in the middle of a session, go ahead, but stick to the guidelines here to keep from handing out too many advancement opportunities too often.<br />
<br />
Milestones come in three levels of importance: minor, significant, and major.<br />
<br />
===Minor Milestone===<br />
<br />
Minor milestones usually occur at the end of a session of play, or when one piece of a story has been resolved. These kinds of milestones are more about changing your character rather than character growth, about adjusting in response to whatever’s going on in the story if you need to. Sometimes it won’t really make sense to take advantage of a minor milestone, but you always have the opportunity if you should need to.<br />
<br />
In a minor milestone, each player can choose one of the following:<br />
<br />
* Switch the rank value of any two skills.<br />
* Replace an Adequate (+1) skill with a new skill.<br />
* Swap out one stunt for another stunt.<br />
* Rename a journey aspect.<br />
<br />
This is a good way to make slight character adjustments, if it seems like something on your character isn’t quite right—you don’t end up using that stunt as often as you thought, or you resolved a journey aspect you had and thus it’s no longer appropriate, or any of those changes that keep your character consistent with the events of play.<br />
<br />
In fact, you should almost always be able to justify the change you’re making in terms of the game’s story. GMs, you’re the final arbiter on this, but don’t be so much of a stickler that you sacrifice a player’s fun for consistency.<br />
<br />
===Significant Milestone===<br />
<br />
Significant milestones usually occur at the end of a chapter or the conclusion of a big plot event (when in doubt, at the end of every two or three sessions).<br />
<br />
Unlike minor milestones, which are primarily about change, significant milestones are about learning new things—dealing with problems and challenges has made your character generally more capable at what they do.<br />
<br />
During a significant milestone, a player can do everything that they could do during a minor one. In addition, each player can:<br />
<br />
* ...gain one additional skill point, which you can spend to buy a new skill at Adequate (+1) or increase an existing skill by one rank.<br />
* ...spend a refresh for a new stunt (you can never reduce your refresh to zero)<br />
* ...attempt a journey roll (see below).<br />
<br />
====Balancing your skill set====<br />
<br />
During character creation, you organized your skills into a pyramid. You don’t have to stick to that for character advancement.<br />
<br />
However, there’s still a limitation you have to deal with: skill columns. This means you can’t have more skills at a certain rank than you have at the rank below it. So if you have three Good (+3) skill, you must have at least three Adequate (+1) skills and at least three Fair (+2) skills to support them.<br />
<br />
The pyramid from character creation follows this rule already, but when you’re adding skills, you need to make sure you don’t violate this limitation. It’s easy to forget that if you use a skill point to upgrade one of your own skills, you might suddenly not have enough skills to “support” it at the new rank.<br />
<br />
So, let’s say you have one Good (+3), two Fair (+2), and three Adequate (+1) skills. <br />
<br />
After a chapter, you want to upgrade a Fair (+2) skill to Good (+3). That’d give you two Good (+3), one Fair (+2), and three Adequate (+1). <br />
<br />
That doesn’t work. You’re now missing the second Fair skill you’d need to be square with the rules.<br />
<br />
When this happens, you have one of two options. You can buy a new skill at the lowest possible rank—in this case, Adequate (+1)—and then upgrade it in subsequent chapters until you’re in a position to bump the skill you want to the appropriate level. Or you can “bank” the skill point, not spend it now, and wait until you’ve accumulated enough to buy a skill at whatever rank you need to support the move.<br />
<br />
So in the case above, you could buy an Adequate (+1) skill, promote one of your Adequate skills to a Fair (+2), then bump the original skill up to Good (+3). That would take three significant or major milestones to do. Or, you could wait, bank up three skill points, buy a new skill at Fair (+2), then bump the original skill up to Good (+3). It just depends on whether you want to put new stuff on your sheet or not in the interim.<br />
<br />
====Journey Rolls====<br />
<br />
Characters are often in the middle of all sorts of projects that they do in their spare time. This is where big things are done: scientific discoveries made or edifices built. Unwritten assumes that characters are in the midst of various projects. The actual projects themselves rarely intrude on the on-stage story until they are complete.<br />
<br />
The player should look to their character’s history and actions to inform this process. Aspects should especially be looked at as a source for things they might accomplish. However, this shouldn’t be a straitjacket, merely a guideline. As long as the player can reasonably rationalize their choice, that should be close enough.<br />
<br />
Journey rolls reflect the fruits of the character’s labor. A successful roll will have the intended effects, while a fumble may result in some particularly sour fruits. The effects will vary depending on what character is attempting to accomplish.<br />
<br />
=====Explore=====<br />
<br />
A character may go back to someplace they have been, or that is otherwise available to them, and explore. Through exploration, a character can reveal details of the area, modify existing details, or even declare that certain details exist.<br />
<br />
Because exploration can be such a detailed and laborious process, doing that in the middle of active play can end up being awkward. This is especially the case when the process would take a long time. However, journey rolls are perfect for such efforts.<br />
<br />
=====Gather Information=====<br />
<br />
The primary activity in exploring is to gather information about the place in question. Run the journey roll as a discover action. Questions and answers from such an invoke should be wider in scope than would happen in a scene. The character has spent a lot more time and effort, so they should be able to ask more complex questions and get more thorough answers.<br />
<br />
=====Declare a Detail=====<br />
<br />
There is always a lot unsaid about any location, and players can fill in these unknowns. A journey roll spent on exploration gives the player a chance to add to the background. The player may add something that fills in one of the blanks, or expands on an existing detail or aspect.<br />
<br />
Usually, declaring a detail in this way is handled similar to an advantage action:<br />
<br />
* Fumble - The detail or aspect is not created, or one is created that is definitely not what the character wanted. The player has success at a serious cost as an option; this choice should become a major plot point in the game.<br />
* Tie - The detail is created or expanded, but with some minor unexpected quirks or differences. The GM should devise something sufficiently annoying to be noticeable but not severe.<br />
* Succeed - The detail or aspect is created as the player described, or an existing aspect is changed to fit.<br />
* Excel - The detail or aspect is created as the player described, or an existing aspect is changed to fit. In addition, the player gets a situation aspect for use in the next chapter. The aspect should reflect something they learned while ‘discovering’ the declared detail.<br />
<br />
=====Practicing the Art=====<br />
<br />
Writing is a long and complicated process, one that can only be done using journey rolls. See the Writing Systems section of the Art chapter for exactly how that is done.<br />
<br />
=====Creating a Resource=====<br />
<br />
A player can attempt to create the resource using a journey roll. This is in addition to the regular stunt gain in a significant milestone—a resource can be created with a successful journey roll and a player can gain another stunt (including another resource) in the same significant milestone.<br />
<br />
The roll is run as an overcome action. Character and campaign aspects, consequences, as well as reserved situation aspects, can be invoked to help on this roll.<br />
<br />
If the milestone is happening at the end of a chapter, fate points spent are still spent at of the beginning of the first scene of the next chapter.<br />
<br />
Here are the outcomes:<br />
<br />
* Fumble - The resource is not created.<br />
* Tie - The resource needs just a little bit more: possibly special materials, equipment, or knowledge. Maybe the character needs to garner the help or approval of particular people. The details depend on the project and the game, but it has to be something that requires effort. (Think of it as a side quest.) Once that requirement is met, the resource goes into effect immediately, even during regular play.<br />
* Succeed - The resource is created as expected.<br />
* Excel - The player has access to an appropriate situation aspect for use at the beginning of the next chapter (no free invokes are granted, however).<br />
<br />
=====Complete a Project=====<br />
<br />
Completing a project is an umbrella option for endeavors that would take a good deal of time and effort but, in the interest of drama, happen off-stage. If the GM feels that there should be an effort behind something the character was attempting and that failure has interesting dramatic implications, they can fall back on this mechanism.<br />
<br />
* Fumble - It didn’t work at all. The player may choose success at a serious cost. The cost should become a continuing thorn in the character’s side.<br />
* Tie - The project is a success... sort of. It is basically what you wanted, but there should be unwanted quirks or unexpected consequences. The GM should devise something sufficiently annoying to be noticeable but not severe.<br />
* Succeed - The project was completed just as the player had hoped.<br />
* Excel - The project exceeded expectations. The character should get an extra benefit out of the project. The result is particularly good quality, or useful in some additional way. Alternatively, the player can get an appropriate situation aspect in reserve for use in the next chapter.<br />
<br />
===Major Milestone===<br />
<br />
A major milestone should only occur when something happens in the campaign that shakes it up a lot—the end of a story arc (or around three chapters) or any other large-scale change that reverberates around your game world.<br />
<br />
On a major milestone, each player performs all of the actions that happen in a significant milestone. In addition, each player can:<br />
:...rename their character’s High Concept, if they want.<br />
:...increase their refresh by one.<br />
:...get the benefits of a journey roll as if they succeeded at the roll (this is in addition to the roll they get from the significant milestone).<br />
<br />
A major milestone is a pretty big deal. It should signal that lots of things in the world of your game have changed. Some of that will probably be reflected in world itself, but given the number of chances the PCs have had to revise their aspects in response to the story, you could be looking at a group with a much different set of priorities and concerns than they had when they started.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Discovery_and_Investigation
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Discovery and Investigation
2024-02-21T00:29:33Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "==More on the Discover Action== ===Choosing a Skill=== Almost all skills can be used in some way in discover actions. However, some naturally fit for particular situations...."</p>
<hr />
<div>==More on the Discover Action==<br />
<br />
===Choosing a Skill===<br />
<br />
Almost all skills can be used in some way in discover actions. However, some naturally fit for particular situations.<br />
<br />
===Experiment vs. Notice vs. Research===<br />
<br />
The obvious trifecta of skills to use on a discover action is Experiment, Notice, and Research. Each of these skills fills a different role in discovery; understanding those roles will prevent a lot of confusion. <br />
<br />
Experiment is the skill used for experimentation. It is an active skill that takes some time to utilize. Use Experiment when you are actively testing, checking, and re-checking. An easy trap to fall into is to use Experiment for any process of mental evaluation, but Experiment is not suitable for situations that require quick decisions, or that rely on significant amounts of digging through information.<br />
<br />
Notice is your skill for things that happen quickly: perception that happens on the fly while other things are happening. What you notice is colored by your aspects and stunts, of course; someone with the aspect Trained Paleontologist will notice things that a Former Beat Cop would not, and vice versa.<br />
<br />
Research revolves around hitting the books. In general, Research is a procedure that takes a long time. You will be digging through archives, comparing texts, asking experts, etc. You will use it in interlude scenes more than anywhere else. However, a gamemaster may allow you to use Research to represent the knowledge that you have already accumulated. Once again, your aspects and stunts will affect this and reflect the sort of knowledge you are assumed to have.<br />
<br />
====Other Skills====<br />
<br />
The three above are the foundation of discovery. However, other skills can be used and will have more specific areas of application. Craft and Engineering will be used for discovery on crafted items or machines, Surveying is used on the lay of the land, Survival on the elements of an environment, Medicine on medical subjects, etc. Each of these skills can be used in place of Experiment, Notice, or Research as appropriate.<br />
<br />
===Asking Questions===<br />
<br />
As part of the Discover action, you will be asking the GM questions to tease out information. You want to make your questions count, so keep the following principles in mind.<br />
<br />
Your question should be rooted in what your character is capable of doing. If your character is an engineering expert, asking a question that involves mechanical details of a machine makes sense. It will not make sense if their expertise is in linguistics and not in any way mechanical.<br />
<br />
Refer to the skill you used, as well as relevant aspects or stunts, when you ask your question in order to frame the context of the question and tune the information you will get.<br />
<br />
Explain your intent with the question. Don’t assume that the GM is following your specific train of thought. You are more likely to get a useful answer if the GM knows what you are aiming for.<br />
<br />
Don’t ask questions for which there is an obvious answer. You want questions to reveal new information whenever possible.<br />
<br />
====What if I don’t know what to ask?====<br />
<br />
Even the cleverest people draw a blank sometimes. So when you don’t know what questions to ask, try one of the following strategies.<br />
<br />
* Open it up to the others at the table for suggestions.<br />
* Ask for more information on an aspect or existing detail.<br />
* Pick a question from the suggestions under each skill description.<br />
* Force a hint.<br />
<br />
====Forcing a Hint====<br />
<br />
Excelling on a discover action allows you to request the GM reveal an important bit of information, so if you are ever stuck, this is your out. You just have to engineer a situation where you excel. The easiest way to do this is to use Advantage actions to create situation aspects and build free invokes up until you can ensure that you excel at the action. The teamwork rules may help as well.<br />
<br />
====Uncovering Aspects====<br />
<br />
Generally speaking, we assume that most of the aspects in play are public knowledge for the players. The PCs’ character sheets are sitting on the table, and probably the main and supporting NPCs are as well. That doesn’t always mean the characters know about those aspects, but that’s one of the reasons why the create an advantage action exists—to help you justify how a character learns about other characters.<br />
<br />
However, GMs, we know that sometimes you’re going to want to keep an NPC’s aspects secret, or not reveal certain situation aspects right away, because you’re trying to build tension in the story. Questions can reveal aspects as answers reveal information. <br />
<br />
Known aspects can change as a result of the questions you ask as well. If there is an aspect on the scene of Signs of Forced Entry, for example, and questions reveal that the doors bear the marks of D’ni stone sculpting devices, change the aspect to Telltale Marks of D’ni Sculpting Devices or something similar.<br />
<br />
You should never have to use a question to ask “Is this an aspect?”; the GM should just tell you.<br />
<br />
==Puzzles==<br />
<br />
Puzzles are the cornerstone of all of the Myst games, and you will likely encounter them in your Unwritten games as well. You may stumble upon obvious puzzles like you’d find in a Myst video game, or they may be integrated into the environment as a situation that you must use cleverness to resolve.<br />
<br />
===Solving Puzzles===<br />
<br />
When solving the puzzle in front of you, you and the gamemaster will be acting out the situation. You ask questions about what you see, and try different things out to see what happens. Some of the things you attempt may require actions to complete, but a lot of what you will do will just be talking back and forth with the gamemaster.<br />
<br />
There are pitfalls to this approach, however. Sometimes you just draw blanks on a particular puzzle, or you are in a situation where your character would know what to do, but you as the player do not. That can bring the game to a screeching halt. When this happens, you have a few tools available.<br />
<br />
====Asking Questions with a Discover Action====<br />
<br />
When you need guidance, you can use the questions gained from a discover action to help you out. Ask questions that give you information you might not be able to get through role-playing. This is ideal for characters who have expertise that you do not (“My character is a trained physician, what would they think made sense when dealing with this plant?”)<br />
<br />
You can also use questions to double-check the solving process. Describe how you think something works and ask if you are correct. Or, ask if a particular detail you are looking at is relevant. Even on a tie, the gamemaster should tell you if you are ‘hot or cold’.<br />
<br />
====Aim for a Hint====<br />
<br />
When you get stuck, you can aim for excelling by carefully choosing a high skill, creating situation aspects and free invokes to use, spending fate points, etc. When you engineer the situation to get that hint, ask for what you have been missing. Or ask the gamemaster to consider letting you solve the puzzle using the hint.<br />
<br />
====Change the Situation====<br />
<br />
If you just can’t get past the puzzle, think about how you can change the situation to your advantage. Is there a way you can move the focus of the situation to one of your higher skills, or where you might be able to invoke relevant aspects? Also consider if there is a way for you to spend a fate point to declare a minor detail that will give you an opportunity to use your skills and aspects more effectively.<br />
<br />
==Investigations==<br />
<br />
The questions you ask as a part of a discover action will often be enough to uncover any information you need so you can get to more interesting encounters. But there will be situations where delving into the unknown is what is interesting. Like in the scenes of a police procedural or a Sherlock Holmes investigation, the ‘action’ is all about the inquiry itself. In these situations, how you discover the truth is as important as what you discover.<br />
<br />
An investigation is a sequence of actions that focus on the process of discovery. As the investigation progresses, your character will discover clues and ask questions in hopes of finding out more information about the situation in front of them.<br />
<br />
Leading to the truth is a set of clues: sign-posts lead to information, and that information leads to the truth. You can think of it like a tree: the root of the tree is the truth, and it splits off into branches that end at leaves. The characters start with the leaves of the mystery. From there they follow the branches back to the source.<br />
<br />
===The Process===<br />
<br />
An investigation consists of the following steps:<br />
* The first look<br />
* Action rolls<br />
* Asking questions<br />
* Digging deeper<br />
<br />
====First Look====<br />
<br />
An investigation begins with a first look. We assume that the first question your character will have is “Because of who I am and what I know, what do I notice?” If it makes sense that a clue would be obvious to your character, the GM tells you the clue. That’s it. No rolls involved. You can mention why you think that an aspect, stunt, or high skill is relevant to the investigation, but the GM won’t base the first look entirely on that.<br />
<br />
So how do you know if ‘it makes sense’?<br />
<br />
* Aspects - If you have an aspect that implies that you would know about the subject or that the clue would be apparent to you, that is justification enough.<br />
* Skills - If you have a high enough appropriate skill, then the GM can decide that it would make sense that you would see the clue.<br />
* Stunts - You may have a stunt that makes certain clues easier to find. Or a stunt that implies knowledge that might justify discovering a clue.<br />
<br />
Each involved character gets a first look at the situation.<br />
<br />
====Action rolls====<br />
<br />
After the first look, all of the characters involved declare what they are going to be doing:<br />
<br />
If you are looking for answers, you describe what you are doing and how. Then attempt a discover action.<br />
<br />
If you are assisting others, you describe what you are doing toward that end. You can then attempt overcome or advantage actions to reflect that.<br />
<br />
The actual order in which these actions are taken is flexible. If you are attempting advantage actions to give other investigators an edge, or overcome actions to remove obstacles, then you will want to do those first so those benefits are available to those performing discover actions.<br />
<br />
====Asking Questions====<br />
<br />
At the end of the action rolls, your characters will have a set of questions to ask. Each player asks their questions. Keep in mind that the questions you ask must relate to the process that you described when making the action rolls—if you were taking samples for chemical analysis, then you won’t be able to ask questions about the demeanor of the frightened explorers that were found near by.<br />
<br />
It’s likely that all of the PCs will be working together on the mystery in front of them. You can as well. Questions can be asked in any order, and you should use the answers to inform what question you or another player asks next. Build off of each other’s work. If anyone has hints available from excelling at a discover action, they can be spent during this time as well.<br />
<br />
Questions continue until all the players involved run out of available questions or feel that they have uncovered enough information.<br />
<br />
====Digging Deeper====<br />
<br />
What happens if you have used up all of your questions, but you still want to know more? You have the option of digging deeper by changing the situation.<br />
<br />
You and the other players must do something to change the situation at hand in order to justify another round of questions. Some options are:<br />
<br />
* Change things in the scene using an overcome or advantage action, such as setting up specialized equipment, performing extra experiments or tests, or sweet talking someone who doesn’t want to talk any further.<br />
* Take a scene to go perform research or collect relevant information and support.<br />
* Spend a fate point to declare a relevant minor detail based off of one of your aspects.<br />
<br />
The GM decides what would be appropriate. It should be something that requires thought, effort, or time (or a combination of the three).<br />
<br />
Once the change has been made (and the GM is satisfied), go back to the Action Rolls step and start the process again.<br />
<br />
===Avenues of Investigation===<br />
<br />
====On-the-scene investigation====<br />
<br />
The most obvious example of an investigation is where you arrive on the scene where something has happened and try to divine the details. Skills and aspects that allow on the spot observation will help you find clues on the first look. Clues in this kind of investigation will most likely be the description of details that are significant and out of the ordinary. These will usually presented as the details themselves without much context.<br />
<br />
=====Advantages in Investigations=====<br />
<br />
You can create advantages by doing preparation work. Setting up additional equipment and doing research ahead of time make an excellent basis for rolls and a way to bring in skills that may not have direct investigative uses into play.<br />
<br />
Costs for success can include accidentally destroying evidence, otherwise cutting off access to other clues, or angering others involved in the situation. <br />
<br />
Clues may or may not be aspects, but an advantage action could make one more relevant by making it a situation aspect. Reserve the aspect and it will continue to be useful, maybe in subsequent investigations.<br />
<br />
====Questioning====<br />
<br />
People may have witnessed important events or may know critical details. Exactly how that plays out depends on the questions that the characters are asking and how they are doing it. If the characters are simply asking the locals general questions, then they can just state that without needing to go into detail. Questions and answers can be done in vague terms. Clues from a first look would reveal details one could discern from the person’s dress or demeanor. <br />
<br />
Additional details will come from the usual process of questions and digging for more information. How they exactly get there will depend on the tack the characters take with the NPC. Clever role-playing should be rewarded with clearer answers and possibly the revelation of extra clues.<br />
<br />
The ramifications of the discussion should linger with the characters. Not only are the characters digging for information, they are establishing relationships with others. Notably dramatic and entertaining interactions should lead to the questioned character becoming a returning character. If the PCs are nice to a downtrodden native of an Age, that native may be more likely to help them later on. However, if they subject someone to an intense interrogation, they may have earned an enemy.<br />
<br />
This is also an excellent excuse for character development. How the PCs act and react in these discussions will go a long way toward rounding out their characters. These should also be kept in mind during interludes when looking at a character’s aspects. A character’s actions might prompt the player to adjust an aspect to reflect allies or enemies made, for example.<br />
<br />
=====Advantages in Questioning=====<br />
<br />
The characters involved can use advantage rolls to butter up, outwit, or intimidate others and use invocations to get people to talk. Character aspects on all sides of the interaction are ripe for invocation. Compels are also appropriate, more so in these cases than in other types of investigation.<br />
<br />
Previous clues can be used as leverage in trying to get someone to talk. You can use an Advantage action to bring up the clue successfully and use fate points and free invokes to press your advantage. GMs, roll with the invocations and be creative on fumbles and costs. <br />
<br />
=====Contests in Questioning=====<br />
<br />
It’s possible that you might end up trying to get information out of an unwilling subject in a more confrontational way. This could be an intense bit of back and forth, or it could be a full on interrogation. One way to model this is through a contest between you and the other person instead of an investigation. Run the questioning as various exchanges based off of social skills. You should be describing what you are doing and including bits of dialog with each exchange.<br />
<br />
If you win the contest, then you get the information out of them. You might be able to push the contest a few more rounds in order to get more advantage actions in, if the GM is willing. If you lose the contest, then you aren’t getting any information out of them; they’ve won the battle of wits. Even if the subject is confined and can’t get away, you can’t go back and press the issue. You’ll have to change the situation enough (get a new bit of information, find some different leverage, wait a chunk of time) before you can go back in.<br />
<br />
===Research===<br />
<br />
In many cases, a character will need to hit the books for answers. Authoritative sources, research materials, and expert commentaries are a wellspring of useful information. This is especially the case when dealing with scientific, anthropological, or archaeological mysteries. Characters with access to appropriate libraries, databases, etc. can ask questions.<br />
<br />
Research will rarely happen ‘on-stage’ as it is a slow and often boring process, narratively speaking. Characters who want to do research should do it during interludes or opt out of scenes while other characters do on-stage activities.<br />
<br />
====Advantages in Research====<br />
<br />
There is not much maneuvering to research so it is not an interactive process. Nor is it one with much drama and of itself. Advantages used in research will most likely reflect helpful situations set up beforehand (consequences or situation aspects reserved in previous scenes) or character aspects and stunts.<br />
<br />
==Deductions==<br />
<br />
There are mysteries that you will encounter that require you to come together and consider the facts, one that are key to the direction of your story. Deduction is required.<br />
<br />
Where an investigation is a method for you to uncover what the gamemaster has hidden, a deduction is a chance for you to shape the story. You and the other characters gather together, consider the facts around an unknown for several rounds and devise what is the truth of the situation.<br />
<br />
Whenever there is an open question on the table, the gamemaster can decide to put you in the driver’s seat. <br />
<br />
===The Process of Deduction===<br />
* Frame the deduction<br />
* Establish the participants<br />
* Initial round of consideration<br />
* Next round of consideration<br />
* Final round of consideration<br />
* Reveal the truth<br />
<br />
====Frame the deduction====<br />
<br />
To start off, you need to frame the deduction by clarifying what the question is, and then deciding who will be involved in the deduction.<br />
<br />
The question itself should be stated simply, such as “How does this strange contraption work?” or “What is the explanation for all of the weird phenomena we have been experiencing?” Write it down. <br />
<br />
Now, each character who wants to be involved in the deduction presents a reason they can contribute to the deduction. Usually this will be an aspect, but anything that makes sense will do.<br />
<br />
====First round of consideration====<br />
<br />
Next, everyone involved choose a skill and rolls against a passive opposition of Good (+3). The character that succeeds at the roll by the highest amount has won the round. <br />
<br />
First, record progress on the deduction:<br />
<br />
* If the winner excelled on their roll, then record two points of progress.<br />
* If the winner succeeded, then record one point of progress.<br />
* If the winner tied, record one point of progress and the group pays a minor cost.<br />
<br />
Now, the winner declares a situation aspect as a fact. This fact is now absolutely true. It must derive from the skill the winner used, relate clearly to the situation, and must be stated as an objective piece of information. It may or may not be something that has been previously established in the game so far.<br />
<br />
The fact should not be a potential answer to the question, however. Rather, it’s one of the steps toward the answer.<br />
<br />
If two or more characters tie for the highest total, each gets to establish a fact, but only one records points of progress.<br />
<br />
If no one wins the first roll, no facts are established and no progress made.<br />
<br />
====Next round of consideration====<br />
<br />
The discussion on the question continues and proceeds much like the previous step did: everyone picks a skill (either the same skill or a new one as makes sense) and makes a roll. <br />
<br />
This time, the passive opposition of this roll is the result that won the previous round. So if the previous winner rolled a Great (+4) for their win, then that is the passive opposition this round. If no one won the first round, then the opposition remains Good (+3).<br />
<br />
The winner of this round records progress and establishes a fact just like in the previous round.<br />
<br />
====Final round of consideration====<br />
<br />
This last round runs like the previous one, now with the passive opposition as the winning result from the previous round, or Good (+3) if there was none. <br />
<br />
====Reveal the truth====<br />
<br />
If the characters have made at least three points of progress, then someone has divined the truth. All who are involved pick a skill and roll one last time. Whomever rolls the highest (no opposition) wins.<br />
<br />
The winner devises an answer to the question that takes into account all of the established facts. The answer is now true and becomes an aspect. The three established fact aspects are subsumed into this new one. <br />
<br />
The new aspect gets a number of free invokes depending on the progress made during the deduction:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
| 3 points || no free invokes<br />
|-<br />
| 4 - 5 points || one free invoke<br />
|-<br />
| 6 points || two free invokes<br />
|}<br />
<br />
If the characters have not made at least three points of progress, then the question remains unanswered. Any established facts cease to be aspects.<br />
<br />
No matter what happens (a successfully answered question or not), the established facts remain true—they are just no longer aspects.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Playing_a_Scene
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Playing a Scene
2024-02-21T00:08:10Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "Characters do lots of things. They jump chasms, they negotiate with antagonistic leaders, they decipher strange inscriptions on the ruins of D’ni outposts, etc. This all hap..."</p>
<hr />
<div>Characters do lots of things. They jump chasms, they negotiate with antagonistic leaders, they decipher strange inscriptions on the ruins of D’ni outposts, etc. This all happens in scenes.<br />
<br />
A scene is a coherent bit of game play, usually one that happens in a particular setting. It is the amount of time it takes to resolve a conflict, deal with a single prominent situation, or accomplish a goal. Scenes vary in length, from a minute or two if it’s just a quick description and some dialogue, to a half hour or more in the case of a major set piece. Taken together, the collection of scenes you play through make up a whole session of play.<br />
<br />
You can look at them as the foundational unit of game time, and you probably already have a good idea of what one looks like. It’s not all that different from a scene in a movie, a television show, or a novel—the main characters are doing stuff in continuous time, usually all in the same space. Once the action shifts to a new goal, moves to a new place related to that goal, or jumps in time, you’re in the next scene.<br />
<br />
==Doing Things in a Scene==<br />
<br />
Playing out a scene is just a conversation between everyone at the table in which the story and the details of the scene unfold as the conversation continues. Most of what your character does is not all that interesting. They are not particularly difficult things to do, nor are they points of drama in the character’s story. Even when they need to be commented on, your character just does them. <br />
<br />
In Unwritten, much of what you do just happens, as long as it makes sense. If it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t happen. This is a call made by the people around the table, with the GM as moderator of the discussion. That’s not to say that every action needs to be reviewed by committee; but everyone at the table should feel free to bring up relevant points at appropriate times.<br />
<br />
However, there are times when the stakes are higher. At these times, you can still succeed, but potential failure is interesting. Even more so, what you are willing to do to ensure success is interesting and a dramatic moment. When that happens, it’s time to break out the dice and take an action. <br />
<br />
==Actions==<br />
<br />
An action represents something interesting that your character does. By ‘interesting’, we mean that what the character does has a possibility of failure or complication that that leads to further drama. It may lead to a failure that has ramifications later on, or it might require you to make a hard choice, or pay a price.<br />
<br />
An action does not tell you exactly what happens; rather it provides the skeleton of what happens. It places constraints which you can then flesh out with juicy narrative details. Depending on the outcome of the action, you and the GM will be asked to describe how your character failed or succeeded. Use that to your advantage to make your actions flow with the story better.<br />
<br />
One of the constraints that may come up is just what price is required for success. You will be presented with a choice to fail at your goal, or to succeed at a cost to ultimately attain your goal for a price.<br />
<br />
===Time Is Flexible===<br />
<br />
An action represents as much time as makes sense. This means that an action can represent a variable amount from one time to the next, or even in quick succession. If you spend an action to see if you can find a way to escape an oncoming avalanche, that action may only take a split-second. Taking an action to dig yourself out of the avalanche that you just got caught in may take a lot longer.<br />
<br />
===The Action Roll===<br />
<br />
Taking action boils down to:<br />
<br />
* Establish the nature of the action<br />
* Choose the skill and type of action<br />
* Determine the opposition<br />
* Determine the outcome<br />
* Resolve action<br />
<br />
====Establish the Nature of the Action====<br />
<br />
The first step you perform on an action is to determine the nature of the action. The character performing the action is the actor and you establish what the goal of your action is, and how you plan to get there.<br />
<br />
Before anything else, ask yourself “What is the character trying to accomplish?” You may want to jump straight to describing what your character is actually doing, but resist that temptation. You need to have your intention figured out before you can effectively continue—it is the linchpin for what your character actually does and how well it turns out for them.<br />
<br />
Once you have gotten a handle on what you are trying to accomplish, then you describe how you want to get from here to there. Think about what your character would attempt based off of what they know and what strengths they would rely on. If you have a detailed idea of exactly your character will be attempting, then go ahead and describe it. However, if you aren’t sure on the details yet, don’t worry. Just make sure you have a general idea of what your character will be doing. We’ll settle the details when we resolve the action.<br />
<br />
====Choose the Skill and Type of Action====<br />
<br />
First, you choose which skill you will be using as the basis for the action.<br />
<br />
Next, we classify what the character is doing into one of four different actions. Which action you choose determines what the actual outcomes signify and how they are resolved. There are four different actions.<br />
<br />
=====Overcome=====<br />
<br />
This is the action for overcoming opposition. When there’s something between your character and their goals, you use the overcome action to deal with it. Look at it as the “catch-all” action—if it doesn’t fall into any other category, it’s probably an overcome action.<br />
<br />
Success in an overcome action means you have gotten past whatever was in your way.<br />
<br />
=====Advantage=====<br />
<br />
Advantage actions are focused on aspects and using them to help you. You can create advantage or take advantage.<br />
<br />
Creating an advantage means that you have created something that your character can use to help out in other rolls. Sometimes, that means you’re doing something to actively change your circumstances (like attaching pulleys to a set of heavy stones or setting something on fire), but it could also mean that you’re discovering new information that helps you (like scouting out the lay of the land). If you are successful, you can place an situation aspect on a person or scene.<br />
<br />
Taking advantage of something means you are using something you’ve previously observed (like an antagonist’s predisposition to a bad temper). Success means you can create free invocations on an existing aspect.<br />
<br />
No matter what type of advantage action you are performing, if you are not successful then you may inadvertently accomplish something that hinders you instead.<br />
<br />
=====Discover=====<br />
<br />
The discover action is how a character (and thus a player) learns about the world around them. They may be examining a building, digging through dusty tomes, or talking to people in the know. A successful discover action gives the player a chance to ask the GM a specific number of questions dependent on the outcome.<br />
<br />
=====Oppose=====<br />
<br />
A oppose action is what your character is doing when you are acting as active opposition. You may be the target of a Create Advantage action or otherwise providing actively getting in the way of some action. Unlike other actions, an oppose action is a reaction to another’s action. However, it is also resolved during the resolution phase of an action.<br />
<br />
====Determine the Opposition====<br />
<br />
The opposition to the action determines how effective a character’s roll is and the results of the action. If someone or something is actively working against the action, then the opposition is active. Otherwise, the opposition is passive. In either case, the type and amount of opposition is determined before the actor rolls.<br />
<br />
If a character is the target of an action, that is the actor is trying to do something to the character, then that character is actively opposing the action as long as they are capable of doing so (not unconscious, etc.).<br />
<br />
=====Passive Opposition=====<br />
<br />
Passive opposition represents the general resistance to an action. It is represented by a static rating. In some cases, the GM may decide that the opposition is coming from an active source, but may consider the source unimportant or uninteresting and just use a passive opposition for brevity’s sake.<br />
<br />
=====Active Opposition=====<br />
<br />
Active opposition signifies someone or something putting out effort to oppose the action. The opposition gets an Oppose action, which they roll before the actor rolls. Like an actor, they will choose a skill, collect any relevant bonuses from stunts, and add both to their dice roll.<br />
<br />
====Determine the Outcome====<br />
<br />
Now we get down to the nitty-gritty and determine the outcome of the action.<br />
<br />
# The actor rolls the Fate dice, adds up the pluses and subtracts the minuses.<br />
# The actor adds the value of the chosen skill.<br />
# The actor totals up any applicable stunts and adds that.<br />
# The opposition total is subtracted from the actor’s total.<br />
<br />
If the final result is...<br />
:...negative, the action fumbles.<br />
:...zero, the action ties.<br />
:...positive and the result is 1 or 2, the action succeeds.<br />
:...positive and the result is 3 or greater, the action excels.<br />
<br />
====Invoke aspects====<br />
<br />
If the involved players or the GM are not satisfied with the roll, they can now invoke aspects (either using fate points or free invokes) for bonus or to re-roll the dice. Boosts can also be spent for bonuses at this time. You can invoke several different aspects using fate points, but each aspect can only be invoked once for this action by fate point. However, multiple free invokes can be used on the same aspect in this one action (on top of a fate point, if needed).<br />
<br />
Players and the GM can go back and forth spending fate points, free invokes and boosts as much as they like. Once they are done, the outcome is figured out again and the action is resolved.<br />
<br />
====Resolve action====<br />
<br />
So, what happened? That depends on the type of action, listed below. Also, if the action was actively opposed, the oppose action is resolved as well.<br />
<br />
You’ll notice below that in some cases, you have the option of turning a fumble or tie into a success by incurring a cost. We’ll discuss the nature of costs after we discuss the outcomes of each type of action.<br />
<br />
=====Overcome=====<br />
<br />
;If you fumble...<br />
:Choose one of the following:<br />
:* Describe how you fail to overcome the situation at hand. <br />
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you succeed and how the cost affected the success.<br />
<br />
;If you tie…<br />
:Choose one of the following:<br />
:* Describe how you fail to overcome the situation at hand. <br />
:* Succeed at a minor cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you succeed and how the cost affected the success.<br />
<br />
;If you succeed...<br />
:Describe how you overcome and obtain your goal.<br />
<br />
;If you excel...<br />
:Describe how you overcome and obtain your goal particularly well or with flair. Receive an appropriate boost to reflect how well you did in overcoming the action.<br />
<br />
An obstacle that has been overcome successfully is no longer an obstacle for that character. Unless the situation changes, you should not have to overcome the obstacle again and again. For example, if you have managed to get across the menacing chasm in your way, you shouldn’t have to roll overcome every time you come to it again; overcoming it is no longer interesting. But if there was a earthquake, or someone has been tampering with the rope bridge you set up, it may be time for another overcome action.<br />
<br />
=====Advantage=====<br />
<br />
If you attempted to create an advantage, resolve the action as follows:<br />
<br />
;If you fumble…<br />
:Choose one of the following:<br />
:* Describe how you failed to make a change to your advantage or failed to recognize a potential advantage. <br />
:* Describe how you create a situation aspect that is not what you intended.<br />
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you created your advantage, and how the cost affected the success.<br />
:In any case, the GM can give a free invoke to someone else who would benefit from how things went badly for you.<br />
<br />
;If you tie...<br />
:Describe how you created or recognized something to your advantage, but only get to use it momentarily. You receive a boost to reflect this.<br />
<br />
;If you succeed...<br />
:Describe how you created an advantage or recognized something to your advantage. Place a situation aspect and receive a free invoke on that aspect.<br />
<br />
;If you excel...<br />
:Describe how you created an advantage or recognized something that was distinctly to your advantage. Place a situation aspect and receive two free invokes on that aspect.<br />
<br />
If you chose to take advantage of an existing aspect, resolve the action as follows: <br />
<br />
;If you fumble…<br />
:Choose one of the following:<br />
:* Describe how you failed to utilize the situation to your advantage. The GM can give a free invoke to someone else who would benefit from how things went badly for you.<br />
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you succeed and how the cost affected the success. Receive a free invoke on the aspect.<br />
<br />
;If you tie or you succeed...<br />
:Describe how you take advantage of the aspect in question. Receive a free invoke on that aspect.<br />
<br />
;If you excel...<br />
:Describe how you take advantage of the aspect in question particularly well. Receive two free invokes on that aspect.<br />
<br />
======That's going to leave a mark======<br />
If you excel at creating an advantage on a target character, you can spend one of your free invokes to place a minor consequence on the target instead of a situation aspect. If the target has no open minor consequence slots available, it "rolls up" to the next available empty slot. If your target has no empty consequence slots, they are overwhelmed.<br />
<br />
=====Discover=====<br />
<br />
;If you fumble...<br />
:Choose one of the following:<br />
:* Describe how you are unable to find any useful information. <br />
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Describe how your search inadvertently damages something helpful or important. Ask the GM a single question.<br />
<br />
;If you tie...<br />
:Choose one of the following:<br />
:* Describe how you are unable to find any useful information.<br />
:* Choose to succeed at a minor cost. Describe how your search causes an inconvenience and ask the GM a single question.<br />
<br />
;If you succeed...<br />
:Describe how you are seeking information. Ask one question for every shift you succeed by.<br />
<br />
If you excel...<br />
:Describe how you cleverly (or luckily) discover information. Ask one question for every shift you succeed by. You also have the option to ask the GM to reveal an important detail or hint. If you do not use that option during the scene, you receive a fate point.<br />
<br />
Your discover roll represents all of the details you can get out of the situation as it is. That means once you run out of questions, you cannot simply attempt another discover action to get more. Instead, you have to change the situation before you can dig further. Changing the situation is anything that would allow you to approach the question from a different angle. Ultimately, what qualifies as a sufficient change is up to the GM, but here are some suggestions:<br />
<br />
* Change the environment with a create advantage action, such as performing an experiment or setting up helpful equipment. A nice side-effect of this is that you get a free invocation to help out with your roll.<br />
* Get someone to help you using the Teamwork rules (someone different if you had help last time).<br />
* Go away to do research, or go off to clear your head. It should take you out of play for a little bit of time.<br />
* Provide a really detailed description on how you are approaching the problem differently that impresses the people at the table.<br />
<br />
=====Oppose=====<br />
<br />
Oppose is the mirror of an attempted action, so it is mostly resolved by the resolution of the action itself (if you succeed, the actor fumbles; if you tie, the actor ties, etc.). Describe your part in the action.<br />
<br />
However, you can excel at your opposition when you beat the actor’s roll by 3 or more shifts. When you excel at opposition, describe how you manage to turn the tables momentarily. Receive a boost to reflect this.<br />
<br />
===Resolving costs===<br />
<br />
Costs can be considered to be either minor or serious. The GM should consider the nature of the action and the failure to come up with an appropriate and interesting cost.<br />
<br />
A minor cost should add a story detail that’s problematic for the character, but isn’t really a danger, nor does it negate what the character was trying to do. Some examples of minor costs include:<br />
* Introduce a new wrinkle to the situation that complicates things a little<br />
* Present the player with a tough choice as part of the success<br />
* Give an NPC a boost<br />
* Place a situation aspect on the character<br />
<br />
A serious cost should make the current situation worse. Some options include:<br />
* Introduce a new wrinkle that complicates things a lot<br />
* Reinforce the opposition or bring in new opposition<br />
* Place a Minor consequence on the character (or the lowest empty consequence slot the character has available)<br />
* Give an opponent an advantage with a free invoke<br />
* Delay success so it will take much longer than expected<br />
<br />
===Teamwork===<br />
<br />
Characters can help each other out on actions. There are two versions of helping in Fate: combining skills, for when you are all putting the same kind of effort into an action (like using skills together to push over a crumbling wall), and stacking advantages, for when the group is setting a single person up to do well (like causing multiple distractions so one person can use Stealth to get into a guarded camp).<br />
<br />
When you combine skills, figure out who has the highest skill level among the participants. Each other participant who has at least an Adequate (+1) in similar skills adds a +1 to the highest person’s skill level, and then only the lead character rolls. So if you have three helpers and you’re the highest, you roll your skill level with a +3 bonus.<br />
<br />
If you fail a roll with combined skills, all of the participants share in the potential costs—whatever complication affects one character affects all of them, or everyone has to take consequences. Alternatively, you can impose a cost that affects all the characters the same.<br />
<br />
When you stack advantages, each person takes a create an advantage action as usual, and gives whatever free invocations they get to a single character. Remember that multiple free invocations from the same aspect can stack.<br />
<br />
===Dangerous Actions===<br />
<br />
The GM can declare that an action is dangerous: the action represents something that could have significant repercussions if you fumble your roll. If you fumble a dangerous action, you are overwhelmed, and are no longer an active part of the scene. (See Overwhelmed below)<br />
<br />
In an action that is being actively opposed, an action can be dangerous for both sides. This means that whichever character fumbles the action will be overwhelmed. However, the GM may declare that only one side of the action is dangerous. For example, you may be leaping from a high overhead balcony to cut off an escaping opponent, meaning it is dangerous for you, but not them. If you fumble, you are overwhelmed (you landed badly); but if they fumble, they are simply cut off and they continue to be active in the scene. <br />
<br />
====Conceding Dangerous Actions====<br />
<br />
Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor. When you are facing a dangerous action, you can interrupt it at any time before the roll is made to declare that you concede the action. This is critical—once dice hit the table, what happens happens, and you deal with it. <br />
<br />
Concession gives the other person what they wanted, or in the case of more than two relevant participants, removes you from the scene. You are overwhelmed, period.<br />
<br />
But it’s not all bad. First of all, you get a fate point for choosing to concede. The fate point may be used once this scene is over.<br />
<br />
Second of all, you get to avoid the worst parts of your fate; you have a say in how your character is removed from the scene. Yes, you lost, and the narration has to reflect that. You can’t use this privilege to undermine the opponent’s victory, either—what you say happens has to pass muster with the group. It may mean that you have a choice between dire consequences and merely dangerous consequences. But sometimes that is better than nothing.<br />
<br />
==Interludes==<br />
<br />
Interludes are a special scene that represents important dramatic moments and details, but happen outside the flow of the main action. This is a chance for characters to do other things, have some downtime, or to put some dramatic spotlight on things that don’t fit into the main story. You could think of them as happening ‘off stage’.<br />
<br />
The GM can choose to call for an interlude at any time that seems appropriate. During an interlude, the characters have a chance to go about their own lives for a bit. Each player has a chance to do some little things on their own and refocus themselves. The actual amount of time this type of interlude represents will vary. Sometimes it is just a few hours, sometimes it could be days or weeks.<br />
<br />
==Overwhelmed==<br />
<br />
Normally, you leave a scene whenever makes sense. However, sometimes circumstances conspire to make you irrelevant. When you are overwhelmed, you are no longer an active participant in the scene. You have been trapped, fallen unconscious, chased away, or any other result that would remove you from the action. In some scenes, such as an investigation, it might be that you simply has gotten so confused that you are no longer helpful. <br />
<br />
You are overwhelmed when:<br />
* You are required to take a consequence and you have no empty consequence slots left.<br />
* You fumble a dangerous action.<br />
<br />
Whatever the case, you are no longer a part of that scene, even if your character is physically present. The person who caused you to be overwhelmed (player or GM) describes how you are removed from the scene.<br />
<br />
==Ending the Scene==<br />
<br />
Once the subject at hand has been dealt with, whatever that may be, the scene ends and the following things take place:<br />
* Remove any minor consequences that are marked as recovering.<br />
* Any consequences that have been successfully addressed during the scene are now marked as recovering.<br />
* Any fate points earned from invokes are given to the players.<br />
<br />
==Zooming in on the Action==<br />
<br />
A single overcome action is sufficient to deal with a straightforward goal or obstacle—you needs to pick this lock, disarm this ancient security system, sift out a vital piece of information, and so on. It’s also useful when the details of how something gets done aren’t important or worth spending an intense amount of time on, when what you need to know is whether the character can get something done without any setbacks or costs.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, however, things get complicated. It’s not enough to pick the lock, because you also have to avoid the falling rocks and set up the device that’s going to signal for help. It’s not enough to disarm the trap, because you also have to land the crashing blimp and keep the unconscious scientist you’re rescuing from getting hurt in said landing. It’s time to zoom in on the action.<br />
<br />
When you want to zoom, in, you have four different ways to do so:<br />
<br />
* Challenge - A lot of different actions all happening at once<br />
* Contest - Characters compete over mutually exclusive goals<br />
* Deduction - Players build an answer to a mystery<br />
* Investigation - Characters dig for information<br />
<br />
Deductions and Investigations are detailed in the Discovery and Investigation chapter. The other two are detailed below.<br />
<br />
===Challenges===<br />
<br />
A challenge is a series of overcome actions that you use to resolve an especially complicated or dynamic situation. Each overcome action uses a different roll to deal with one task or part of the situation, and you take the individual results as a whole to figure out how the situation resolves.<br />
<br />
GMs, when you’re trying to figure out if it’s appropriate to call for a challenge, ask yourself the following questions:<br />
<br />
Is each separate task something that can generate tension and drama independently of the other tasks? If all the tasks are really part of the same overall goal, then that should be one overcome action, where you use those details to explain what happened if the roll goes wrong.<br />
<br />
Does the situation require different skills to deal with? Holding off the crazed animals (one skill) while pushing down a barricade (another skill) and fixing your broken wagon (a third skill) so that you can get away would be a good instance for a challenge.<br />
<br />
To set up a challenge, simply identify the individual tasks or goals that make up the situation, and treat each one as a separate overcome roll. (Sometimes, only a certain sequence for the rolls will make sense to you; that’s okay too.) Depending on the situation, one character may be required to make several rolls, or multiple characters may be able to participate.<br />
<br />
To conduct a challenge, call for each overcome action in whichever order seems most interesting, but don’t decide anything about how the situation turns out until after you’ve collected all the results—you want to have the freedom to sequence the events of each roll in the order that makes the most sense and is the most entertaining. Players, if you get a boost on one of your rolls, feel free to use it on another roll in the challenge, provided you can justify it.<br />
<br />
GMs, after the rolls have been made, you’ll consider the successes, failures, and costs of each action as you interpret how the scene proceeds. It could be that the results lead you into another challenge or a contest.<br />
<br />
If you have any boosts that went unused in the challenge, feel free to keep them for the rest of this scene or whatever scene you’re transitioning to, if the events of the challenge connect directly to the next scene.<br />
<br />
====Advantages in a Challenge====<br />
<br />
You can try to create an advantage during a challenge, for yourself or to help someone else out. Creating an advantage doesn’t count towards completing one of the challenge goals, but fumbling the roll could create a cost or problem that negatively impacts one of the other goals. Be careful using this tactic; advantages can help complete tasks more effectively and create momentum, but trying to create them is not without risk.<br />
<br />
===Contests===<br />
<br />
Whenever two or more characters have mutually exclusive goals they are attempting to resolve at the same time, they’re in a contest. Races or other sports competitions, and public debates are all good examples of contests.<br />
<br />
GMs, answer the following questions when you’re setting up a contest:<br />
* What are the “sides”? Is every character in the contest in it for herself, or are there groups of people opposing other groups? If you have multiple characters on a side, they roll together using the Teamwork rules.<br />
* What environment does the contest take place in? Are there any significant or notable features of that environment you want to define as situation aspects?<br />
* How are the participants opposing each other? Are they rolling against each other directly (like in a straight sprint race or a poker match), or are they trying to overcome something in the environment (like an obstacle course or a panel of judges)?<br />
<br />
Now you can get started.<br />
<br />
A contest proceeds in a series of exchanges. In an exchange, every participant gets to make one action roll to determine how well they do in that leg of the contest. This is basically an overcome action. If you are rolling against each other, you will be comparing your rolls to each other’s. If you are rolling against an environmental factor, you will be each be rolling against a passive opposition.<br />
<br />
Players, when you make a contest roll, compare your result to everyone else’s. If you have the highest result, you win the exchange. <br />
* If you’re rolling directly against the other participants, then that means you have beat the result of everyone involved, and you win by how much you beat the next highest opponent.<br />
* If you’re all rolling against something in the environment, it means you have the most shifts out of everyone after rolling against passive resistance. If no one succeeded in the exchange, this exchange is over. <br />
<br />
Winning the exchange means you gain a point of progress (which you can just represent with a tally mark or check mark on scratch paper) and describe how you take the lead.<br />
<br />
* If you excel and no one else does, then you get to mark two points of progress.<br />
* If there’s a tie for the highest result, no one gets any progress, and an unexpected twist occurs. This could mean several things depending on the situation—the terrain or environment shifts somehow, the parameters of the contest change, or an unanticipated variable shows up and affects all the participants. GMs, you should create a new situation aspect reflecting this change.<br />
* The first participant to achieve three points of progress wins the contest and describes achieving their goal.<br />
<br />
====Advantages in a Contest====<br />
<br />
During any exchange, you can try an advantage action before you make your contest roll. If you’re targeting another participant or someone can interfere, they get to oppose normally. <br />
<br />
Doing this carries an additional risk—fumbling an advantage action means you forfeit your contest roll, which means there’s no way you can make progress in the current exchange. If you at least tie, you get to make your contest roll normally.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Stunts_and_Resources
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Stunts and Resources
2024-02-20T23:45:19Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "While character aspects describe important facts about a character and skills describe general capability, stunts represent specific situations where the rules work differentl..."</p>
<hr />
<div>While character aspects describe important facts about a character and skills describe general capability, stunts represent specific situations where the rules work differently for a character. This can represented by bonuses in certain situations, small exceptions to rules, or rules that apply to just that character in specific situations.<br />
<br />
You’ll find guidance on here on building your own stunts; GMs and players are encouraged to work together to build stunt that add the right flavor to the character. We have also provided a list of stunts that you can use as inspiration or just use as-is.<br />
<br />
Stunts can represent more than just a character’s personal capabilities. They can represent external entities, called resources. A resource could be a place the character has access to, an item they have, or someone they know who helps them in a specific way. A resource works like a stunt, except that its trigger is being able to access the resource in question. <br />
<br />
==Creating a Stunt==<br />
<br />
There is no definitive list of stunts. Rather they are created by players and the GM working together to find things that add the right flavor to the character. Use these general categories and examples as guidelines for building what you need.<br />
<br />
===Adding a Bonus to an Action===<br />
<br />
The most basic option for a stunt is to give a skill an automatic bonus under a particular, narrow circumstance, effectively letting a character specialize in something. The circumstance should be narrower than what the normal action allows, and only apply to one particular action or pair of actions.<br />
<br />
The usual bonus is +2 to the skill total. However, if you want, you can also express the bonus as two shifts of additional effect after the roll succeeds, if that makes more sense. Remember, higher shifts on a roll allow your action to be more effective in certain ways.<br />
<br />
You can also use this to establish any effect worth two shifts as an additional benefit of succeeding at the skill roll. This might be Fair (+2) passive opposition, the equivalent of a 2-point hit, a mild consequence, or an advantage that takes Fair (+2) opposition to remove.<br />
<br />
:'''Special Forensics Training.''' You have been trained to gather detailed physical evidence and tease out as much detail as you can. If you succeed at a discover action while initially examining the scene, you get two additional shifts added to your successful result.<br />
<br />
:'''Backwoods MacGuyver.''' You’ve got a flair for whipping up things (traps, simple contraptions, etc.) with just materials you find in nature. You get a +2 bonus on actions using Craft while in the wilderness that involve you making things on the fly.<br />
<br />
:'''Explosive Intellect.''' You are particularly good at making machines malfunction in messy, distracting ways. If you succeed at a Create Advantage action using Engineering, you place a distracting situation aspect on an area and you automatically create a Fair (+2) opposition for the next person who attempts any action in that area. (Normally you’d have to invoke the aspect somehow, but this is for free).<br />
<br />
===Adding an New Action to a Skill===<br />
<br />
Another use for a stunt is to allow a skill to do something that it normally can’t do. It adds a new action onto the base skill in certain situations, for those with this stunt. This new action can be one that’s available to another skill (allowing one skill to swap for another under certain circumstances), or one that’s not available to any skill.<br />
<br />
:'''Mind of the Creator.''' Using Craft or Engineering, you can analyze an item in order to tell you something about the creator as a discover action.<br />
<br />
:'''Master of Bluster.''' You may use Provoke instead of Deceive when making a scene in order to distract onlookers from some other action.<br />
<br />
:'''Biofeedback Training.''' You have studied how the body reacts to stress as well as strategies for alleviating it. You may use Medicine instead of Will to oppose Provoke actions that target you.<br />
<br />
===Creating a rules exception===<br />
<br />
Finally, a stunt is a single exception for any other game rule that doesn’t precisely fit into the category of an action. There are all sorts of different little rules about the circumstances under which a skill can be used and what happens when you use them, for example. Stunts can break those, allowing your character to stretch the boundaries of the possible. Additionally, your stunt may simply be narrative with no specific system effects.<br />
<br />
The only limit to this is that a stunt can’t change any of the basic rules for aspects in terms of invoking, compelling, and the fate point economy. Those always remain the same.<br />
<br />
:'''Friendly Face.''' You immediately come across as a likeable person, no matter the situation. NPCs are favorably disposed to you when you first meet them until you give them a reason to feel otherwise. This works even if you do not share a language.<br />
<br />
:'''Useful Little Things.''' Your pockets are full of useful little things. Whenever you need something, you have it, provided it’s not something too unusual or too large to fit in a pocket, belt pouch, or backpack. When you say you have something, the GM should be likely to agree.<br />
<br />
:'''Carefully Concealed.''' When you use Stealth to create a Carefully Concealed (or similar) advantage on something, you can always actively oppose any overcome rolls to discover the item (also using the same skill), even if you’re not there. (Normally, if you weren’t there, the investigating character would roll against passive opposition, making it much easier to discover.)<br />
<br />
==Resources==<br />
<br />
A resource could be a place the character has access to, an item they have or someone they know who helps them in a specific way. The rules for a resource are exactly like those for a stunt, except that to use the stunt, you must have current access to the resource.<br />
<br />
===Locations===<br />
<br />
There are all sorts of places in the Ages that a character can turn into useful resources. These might be hidden strongholds, ancient ruins, or fields of useful materials. The key commonality is that the benefits that such a stunt gives you require you to go to the location in order to use them.<br />
<br />
:'''Extensive Library.''' You have a library full of useful books and research. You get a +2 on actions using Research while you are there.<br />
<br />
:'''Garden of Exotic Herbs.''' You have cultivated a garden of plants with unique medicinal properties. If you have access to your garden, I get a +2 on actions using Medicine.<br />
<br />
:'''Restored D’ni Pub.''' You are the proprietor of a new little restored pub in the D’ni city; it’s a great place to sit down and hash things out. You get a +2 to actions that involve getting people to cooperate while you are dealing with others there.<br />
<br />
===Gadgets===<br />
<br />
Engineers build all sorts of things, and the D’ni left all sorts of technology lying around as well. Any of this can be the basis for a stunt. Remember that standard items usually don’t give any special benefit or only serve narrative purposes, such as standard KIs and Linking Books. These would not be stunts unless they are special in some way.<br />
<br />
The trick to gadgets is that, since they are items, they can be stolen or damaged. Gadgets represented by stunts can’t be taken away from you permanently, however. At the end of a chapter, at the very least, you’ll be assumed to have repaired it, built a new one or recovered the item in some way.<br />
<br />
:'''Incredibly Useful Multi-Tool.''' You get a +1 on actions involving Engineering or Craft when using it.<br />
<br />
:'''D’ni Atlas.''' You get a +2 to discover actions in the cavern or well-traveled D’ni Ages when it is on hand.<br />
<br />
:'''D’ni Sounding Equipment.''' You’ve salvaged some portable D’ni sounding equipment—it’s like a personal sonar kit. You can use it to detect people or large items on the other side of walls, buried inside the ground, or in complete darkness with an overcome action.<br />
<br />
===Contacts===<br />
<br />
And other times, it’s all about who you know. Contacts represent people or organizations that you can call on for specific favors. The stunt represents the relationship you have built with your contact and the arrangements you have made.<br />
<br />
Contacts are specific, like all stunts. If you want the relationship to reflect story elements, you should use an aspect instead of, or in addition to, the stunt.<br />
<br />
:'''Joey DeAngelo, Carlsbad Pawn Shop Owner.''' Joey knows people who know people, ya know? You can spend a fate point and go see him to get unusual equipment. Really unusual items may take a long time, or the GM may veto them entirely.<br />
<br />
:'''Friends in the Guild of Greeters.''' You know a lot of people in the Guild of Greeters. When you can go chat with them, you get a +2 on discover actions focused on rumors in the cavern.<br />
<br />
:'''Apprentice.''' You have someone you are teaching your craft to. Pick a skill that you have at Great (+4) or above. You can give your apprentices tasks that use that skill to do while you are doing other things. Their level in that skill is Fair (+2), but you roll the dice. The results are available to you next session. <br />
<br />
==Balancing Stunt Utility==<br />
<br />
If you look at most of the example stunts, you’ll notice that the circumstances under which you can use them are pretty narrow compared to the base skills. That’s the sweet spot you want to shoot for with your own stunts—you want them to be limited enough in scope that it feels special when you use them, but not so narrow that you never see them come up after you take them.<br />
<br />
If the stunt effectively takes over all of the skill’s base actions, it’s not limited enough. You don’t want a stunt replacing the skill it modifies.<br />
<br />
The two main ways to limit a stunt are by keeping its effects to a specific action or pair of actions (only creating an advantage or only Oppose rolls), or by limiting the situations in which you can use it.<br />
<br />
For the best results, use both—have the stunt restricted to a specific action, which can only be used in a specific in-game situation. If you’re worried about the situation being too narrow, back up and think of the ways the skill might be used in play. If you can see the stunt being relevant to one of those uses, you’re probably on the right track. If you can’t, you may need to adjust the stunt a little to make sure it’ll come up.<br />
<br />
You can also restrict a stunt by only allowing it to be used once in a certain period of game time, such as once per conflict, once per scene, or once per session.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Skills
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Skills
2024-02-20T23:39:54Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "A skill describes a broad family of competency at something which your character might have gained through innate talent, training, or years of trial and error. Skills are the..."</p>
<hr />
<div>A skill describes a broad family of competency at something which your character might have gained through innate talent, training, or years of trial and error. Skills are the basis for everything your character actually does in the game that involves challenge and chance (and dice).<br />
<br />
Skills are rated on the Ladder. The higher the rating, the better your character is at the skill. Taken together, your list of skills gives you a picture of that character’s potential for action at a glance - what you’re best at, what you’re okay at, and what you’re not so good at.<br />
<br />
==Athletics==<br />
<br />
The Athletics skill represents your character’s general level of physical fitness and strength, whether through training, natural gifts, or other means. It’s how good you are at using your body and a popular choice for nearly any action-y character.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Outrunning charging animals, lifting heavy things, dodging poison darts fired from ancient temple traps, jumping chasms, climbing to the top of trees<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''You can use Athletics to overcome any obstacle that requires raw physicality. This can be feats of strength and endurance as well overcoming obstacles that require physical movement: jumping, running, climbing, swimming, etc.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''When you’re creating an advantage with Athletics, you’re jumping to high ground, running faster than the opponent can keep up with, or performing dazzling acrobatic maneuvers in order to confound your foes. <br />
* '''Discover:'''Athletics does not have much of a role in discovery. It’s just not a skill about information. However, you might be able to use it to size up a person and guess their physical capabilities, or gauge how athletic someone would have to be to perform some physical task (jump a chasm, for instance).<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** Is this person capable of jumping that chasm/lifting this stone/climbing up this cliff?<br />
** How physically fit is this person?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''No Pain, No Gain.''' You have an extra Minor consequence slot that can only be used for physical consequences. <br />
<br />
'''Hardcore Parkour.''' +2 to overcome actions with Athletics if you are in a chase across rooftops or a similarly precarious environment.<br />
<br />
'''Grappler.''' +2 to Athletics rolls made to create advantages on a target by wrestling or grappling with them.<br />
<br />
==Craft==<br />
<br />
Craft is the skill of making things out of other things. Craft is focused on making things from ‘scratch’. It’s all about hands on work with materials and tools. While there is some overlap with Engineering, Craft is more likely to focus on ‘simple’ machines and hand-made items. Activities like carpentry, carving, blacksmithing, and sewing fall under Craft, as do many artistic endeavors that use those skills.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Building rope bridges, repairing shredded clothing, shoring up old wooden walls, making tools out of found materials, finding the one load-bearing beam that if destroyed will bring the whole building crashing down<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:''' Crafts allows you to build, break, or fix things, presuming you have the time and tools you need. Often, actions with Craft happen as one component of a more complex situation, making it a popular skill for challenges. For example, if you’re just fixing a broken door, neither success nor failure is interesting; you should just succeed and move on. Now, if there are wild animals scrabbling at the door, rolls will probably need to be made.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You can use Craft to create aspects representing features of a piece of crafted item, pointing out useful features or strengths you can use to your advantage (like Rugged Construction) or a vulnerability for you to exploit (Flaw in the Cross-Beam, Hasty Work).<br />
* '''Discover:'''Craft is a good skill for discovering details about how things are built and how they can fall apart. Someone with Craft is likely to know what is required to make an item, or identify Craft specific materials or techniques. Like Experiment, Craft might be used to create advantages that can be invoked for help on uncovering clues and explanations.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** How is this object made?<br />
** What purpose does this object serve?<br />
** What would it take to repair this object?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Always Making Useful Things.''' You don’t ever have to spend a fate point to declare that you have the proper tools for a particular job using Crafts, even in extreme situations (like being imprisoned and separated from all your stuff). This source of opposition is just off the table.<br />
<br />
'''Better than New!''' Whenever you excel on an overcome action to repair an item, you can immediately give it a new situation aspect (with a free invoke) reflecting the improvements you’ve made, instead of just a boost.<br />
<br />
'''Expert Witness.''' Pick a craft (woodworking, jewelry making, etc). You can use your Craft skill instead of Experiment or Research in regards to your specified craft.<br />
<br />
==Deceive==<br />
<br />
Deceive is the skill about lying to and misdirecting people. Deceive is the skill you use for determining if a disguise works, whether on yourself or others. You’ll need to have the time and supplies to create the desired effect. (This is subject to GM approval—the GM may require a stunt for this in some games).<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' lying, cheating, stealing, passing yourself off as someone who is supposed to be there, convincing someone that you are on their side when you aren’t, passing along misinformation<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Use Deceive to bluff your way past someone, to get someone to believe a lie, or to get something out of someone because they believe in one of your lies. For nameless NPCs, this is just an overcome roll, but for PCs or named NPCs, it requires a contest, and the target opposes with Empathy. Winning this contest could justify placing a situation aspect on your target, if buying into your lie could help you in a future scene.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''Use Deceive to create momentary distractions, cover stories, or false impressions. You could do the whole, “What’s that over there!” trick to give you a Head Start when you run away. You could establish a Cover Story. You could trick someone into revealing one of their aspects or other information.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Deceive is more than likely to be used to oppose discover rather than support it.<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Lies upon Lies.''' +2 to create a Deceive advantage against someone who has believed one of your lies already during this session.<br />
<br />
'''Mind Games.''' You can use Deceive in place of Provoke on an advantage action, as long as you can make up a clever lie as part of the action.<br />
<br />
'''The Long Con.''' When you create an aspect on a target that shows they believe one of your deceptions, you can spend free invokes on that aspect to make it last like consequences do: 1 invoke for Minor, 2 invokes for Moderate and 3 invokes for Severe. These aspects recover just like consequences do, but do not count towards consequences for filling up consequence slots.<br />
<br />
==Empathy==<br />
<br />
Empathy involves being able to spot changes in a person’s mood or bearing. It’s basically the emotional and social Notice skill.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Watching how a person reacts in a certain situation, getting a feeling for what someone thinks is important, checking out the social dynamics of a group, talking a friend through an emotional trauma, detecting lies<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''You don’t really use Empathy to overcome obstacles directly—normally, you find out some information with it, and then use another skill to act. In some cases, though, you might use Empathy like you would Notice, to see if you catch a change in someone’s attitude or intent. Empathy is the main skill you use to help others recover from consequences that are mental in nature, as well.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You can use Empathy to read a person’s emotional state and get a general sense of who they are, presuming you have some kind of interpersonal contact with them. Most often, you’ll use this to assess the aspects on another character’s sheet, but sometimes you’ll also be able to create new aspects, especially on NPCs. If the target has some reason to be aware that you’re trying to read them, they can oppose with Deceive or Rapport.<br />
* '''Discover:'''When it comes to sussing out a person, Empathy is your main skill. Like Notice, this is an observational skill. It’s passive and you won’t use it to directly do something to another. However, you can use it to reveal clues and create advantages that will help Rapport, Provoke and Deceive rolls.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** How does this person feel about this event/situation/other person?<br />
** Who seems to be in charge of this group of people?<br />
** Who seems not to fit in?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Lie Whisperer.''' +2 to all Empathy rolls made to discern or discover lies, whether they’re directed at you or someone else.<br />
<br />
'''First Impressions.''' When you meet a person for the first time, you can ask the gamemaster one question about that person, no discover action needed.<br />
<br />
'''Psychologist.''' Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence of an emotional nature by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re treating for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.)<br />
<br />
==Engineering==<br />
<br />
Engineering is about machinery and making big complex things. This is the counterpart of Craft, but focuses on mechanics, electronics, computers, and things with lots of buttons and levers. Powered items fall under Engineering as well. At the simpler levels of machinery, it overlaps with Craft.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' jury rigging machines, fixing an engine, operating heavy machinery, setting up delicate equipment, wiring power to a building, sabotaging a vehicle, diagnosing problems with your car<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Engineering allows you to build, break, or fix machines, presuming you have the time and tools you need. Like actions with Craft, these actions are usually one component of a more complex situation.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You can create the same sorts of advantages with Engineering that you can with Craft. Rolls involving setting up complex experimental equipment could create aspects that can be used to assist in Experiment or Notice rolls as well.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Engineering can be used in situations where you normally would use Experiment when the subject matter is the machines involved and clues that involve how machines operate. <br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What does this gadget do?<br />
** How do I turn this on?<br />
** What can I do to repair this? <br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Monkeywrench.''' You gain +2 on advantage actions that involve negative effects on a technological device.<br />
<br />
'''Duct Tape and Chewing Gum.''' You can repair a machine without the appropriate materials and tools on a successful Engineering roll. However, it gains an aspect like Unreliable or About to Fall Apart.<br />
<br />
'''High-Tech Detection.''' If you get a chance to set up complicated diagnostic equipment, you can use Engineering instead of Experiment on discover actions.<br />
<br />
==Experiment==<br />
<br />
Experiment is science in action. It’s the skill of scientific method and experimentation. This skill doesn’t necessarily imply specific knowledge; instead Experiment is used to tease out information through testing and trial-and-error.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' trial and error, examining the composition of samples, analysing unknown plants, setting up lab equipment, neutralizing chemicals leaking from strange device, checking for background radiation<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Experiment overcomes the obstacle of not knowing. Lab work and working with unknown devices and situations to see how they work qualify as uses of Experiment. The pure logic required for puzzle solving fits under this skill as well.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''Experiment is a versatile skill you can use to create an advantage. As long as you’re willing to take the time and make some tests, you can discover nearly any detail about a place or object, or make up aspects about nearly anything in the game world that your character could reasonably unearth. Creating advantages using Experiment can be used as a set-up for key actions where information is revealed. These would represent experiments that allow an investigator to dig deeper.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Experiment is one of the cornerstones of investigation. This is an active skill; if you are using Experiment, you are doing things, comparing results and verifying hypotheses. This is in contrast to Notice, which is a passive skill of observation, and Research, which is focused on previously discovered knowledge. Be prepared to describe the method of your analysis, at least in general terms.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What is the most likely cause of this?<br />
** How are these details interconnected?<br />
** What is the most likely result of this particular action/experiment?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Shield of Reason.''' You can use Experiment as a defense against Provoke attempts, provided you can justify your ability to overcome your fear through rational thought and reason.<br />
<br />
'''Specialist.''' Choose a field of specialization, such as herbology, criminology, or zoology. You get a +2 to all Experiment rolls relating to that field.<br />
<br />
'''Expert Opinion.''' When using Experiment in combining skills on an action (see Teamwork rules), you provide a +2 bonus to the lead character instead of +1.<br />
<br />
==Finesse==<br />
<br />
Finesse is the skill of hand-eye coordination and fine motor control. Where Athletics deals with agility of the entire body, Finesse is about how well you can use your hands, how steady you are, and how good you are with your reflexes.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' balancing a book on your head, sleight of hand, undoing complicated knots, performing delicate movements with your hands, swapping a bag of sand with an idol that is sitting on a pressure plate, getting out of bonds<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Any situation that requires nimble fingers can be overcome with Finesse, like snatching an artifact out of a complex trap or sleight of hand.<br />
* '''Advantage:''' Finesse can be used to perform a wide variety of maneuvers. This includes moves that require careful aim, or feats of manual dexterity. <br />
* '''Discover:'''Finesse doesn›t have any direct application to investigation, except in comparing another’s capability to your own (“Man, that guy has fast hands!”).<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** How agile/dexterous is this person?<br />
** Is this person more agile than me?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Steady Hands.''' If you tie when making a Finesse roll to do fine manual work, it is treated as a success instead.<br />
<br />
'''Uncanny Accuracy.''' Once per scene, stack an additional free invoke on an advantage you’ve created to represent the time you take to aim (like In My Sights).<br />
<br />
'''Quicker than the Eye.''' When using Finesse to conceal a small item in your hand or covertly grab something, you get a +2 to your skill.<br />
<br />
==Intrusion==<br />
<br />
The Intrusion skill covers your character’s aptitude for defeating security systems and getting into places that are off-limits. This can be anything from hacking security systems and disabling alarms to defeating ancient locks and traps intended to ward off tomb raiders. It also covers your ability to create obstacles to prevent others from intruding, as well as getting out of places.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Finding weaknesses in security systems, breaking into a building, picking locks, setting up traps, escaping out the window, investigating the scene of a theft, installing a safe, cracking a safe <br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Intrusion allows you to overcome any obstacle related to theft or infiltration. Bypassing locks and traps, pickpocketing and filching, covering your tracks, and other such activities all fall under the purview of this skill.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You can case a location with Intrusion, to determine how hard it will be to break into and what kind of security you’re dealing with, as well as discover any vulnerabilities you might exploit. You can also examine the work of others to determine how a particular heist was done, and create or discover aspects related to whatever evidence they may have left behind. Finally, you can use Intrusion to shore up the defenses and security systems of a location you are trying to protect.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Use Intrusion to find clues of intrusion and to examine systems meant to prevent it.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** How does this lock work?<br />
** What would prevent someone from accessing this place or object?<br />
** What is the safest way to escape this location?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Always a Way Out.''' +2 on Intrusion rolls made to create an advantage whenever you’re trying to escape from a location.<br />
<br />
'''Security Specialist.''' You don’t have to be present to provide active opposition to someone trying to overcome security measures you put in place or worked on. (Normally, a character would roll against passive opposition for that.)<br />
<br />
'''Black Hat Hacker.''' Use Intrusion instead of Engineering on actions involving computers or advanced electronics.<br />
<br />
==Medicine==<br />
<br />
Medicine is the skill of making people better. Unlike many other skills, Medicine implies specific areas of knowledge: anatomy, pharmacology, human bio-chemistry. In those limited areas, Medicine can be used instead of Experiment. The big difference is that Medicine is also an applied skill—you can use it on people directly.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' treating injury, diagnosing diseases, examining biological remains, preparing medications, preparing antidotes for poisons, determining cause of death<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Use Medicine to help with recovery from physical injuries, dealing with medical emergencies and the like. An overcome roll using Medicine can be used to justify the recovery process starting on physical consequences.<br />
* '''Advantage:''' You can use Medicine to get a general sense of their health. You can use this to assess the aspects on another character’s sheet that involve their physical state, but sometimes you’ll also be able to create new aspects, especially on NPCs.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Medicine is the Experiment skill of all things involving the human body, everything from analyzing blood samples to examining a corpse. Experiment or Notice can be used for this as well, but Medicine is explicitly focused on these topics.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What is the state of this person’s health?<br />
** What medical issue is this person affected by?<br />
** Is this material toxic?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Field Medic.''' You get a +2 to treat medical issues provided they happened in the current scene.<br />
<br />
'''Flora Analysis.''' Given a little bit of time, you can tell if a particular plant (from any Age) is dangerous to ingest and you can spend a fate point to ‘discover’ a medical use for it.<br />
<br />
'''Don’t Worry, I’m a Doctor.''' You can use your Medicine skill instead of Deceive to convince someone of a medical declaration.<br />
<br />
==Notice==<br />
<br />
The Notice skill involves just that—noticing things. It’s a counterpart to Experiment, representing a character’s overall perception, ability to pick out details at a glance, and other powers of observation.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Avoiding ambush, looking for details that stick out, examining a location for clues, observing things from very far away, looking for patterns<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Notice is used in a reactive way: noticing something in a scene, hearing a faint sound, spotting the concealed gun in that guy’s waistband.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You use Notice to create aspects based on direct observation—looking over a room for details that stand out, finding an escape route in a debris-filled building, noticing someone sticking out in a crowd, etc. When you’re watching people, Notice can tell you what’s going on with them externally; for internal changes, see Empathy. You might also use Notice to declare that your character spots something you can use to your advantage in a situation, such as a convenient Escape Route when you’re trying to get out of a building, or a Subtle Weakness in the enemy’s line of defense. <br />
* '''Discover:'''Notice is the on-the-scene investigator’s best friend. You use it to justify uncovering clues and questions based off of observation. You can roll Notice to create free invokes on clues so you can ask more questions. Notice is a passive ability and something that happens quickly. Once it becomes an active process of testing out ideas, you’ve moved into territory for Experiment instead.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What detail is the most out of place?<br />
** Where would something be hidden here?<br />
** What here is dangerous?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Danger Sense.''' You have an almost preternatural capacity for detecting danger. Your Notice skill works unimpeded by conditions like total concealment, darkness, or other sensory impairments in situations where someone or something intends to harm you.<br />
<br />
'''Body Language Reader.''' You can use Notice in place of Empathy to learn the aspects of a target through observation.<br />
<br />
'''Eavesdropper.''' On a successful Notice roll to create an advantage by eavesdropping on a conversation, you can discover or create one additional detail or aspect (though this doesn’t give you an extra free invocation).<br />
<br />
==Provoke==<br />
<br />
Provoke is the skill about getting someone’s dander up and eliciting emotional response from them—fear, anger, shame, etc. It’s the “being a jerk” skill. To use Provoke, you need some kind of justification. That could come entirely from the situation, or because you have an aspect that’s appropriate, because you’ve created an advantage with another skill (like Rapport or Deceive), or because you’ve assessed your target’s aspects (see Empathy). Alternatively, Provoke can be used to evoke strong positive emotions, such as boosting the morale of a crowd.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Staring down an opponent, inciting a riot, looking intimidating, badgering someone until they give in, dispersing an angry mob, goading a person into making a mistake <br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''You can Provoke someone into doing what you want in a fit of emotional pique. You might intimidate them for information, goad them into acting out, or scare them into running away. This will often happen when you’re going up against nameless NPCs or it isn’t worthwhile to play out the particulars. Against PCs or important NPCs, you’ll need to win a contest with three victories. They oppose with Will.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You can create advantages representing momentary emotional states, like Enraged, Shocked, or Hesitant. Your target opposes with Will.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Provoke’s main use in discovery is getting people to talk by unbalancing them into revealing something they wouldn’t otherwise. For example, you can use it to place aspects indicating fear so you can really ramp up the pressure, or for someone else to play off of in a ‘good cop, bad cop’ way.<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Double Dare.''' You gain a +2 on Provoke rolls to convince someone to do something dangerous, embarrassing, or unwise.<br />
<br />
'''Draw Ire.''' When you create an advantage on an opponent using Provoke, you can use your free invocation to become the target of that character’s next relevant action, drawing their attention away from another target.<br />
<br />
'''Okay, Fine!''' You can use Provoke in place of Empathy to learn a target’s aspects, by bullying or bothering them until they reveal one to you. The target opposes this with Will. (If the GM thinks the aspect is particularly vulnerable to your hostile approach, you get a +2 bonus.)<br />
<br />
==Rapport==<br />
<br />
The Rapport skill is all about making positive connections to people and eliciting positive emotional responses. It’s the skill of being liked and trusted. Performing artists would also use Rapport to communicate using their art.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Diplomacy, making friends, getting a person to talk, making an honest deal, haggling, gaining someone’s trust, interviewing a person politely, getting someone to see your side of the story<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Use Rapport to charm or inspire people to do what you want, or to establish a good connection with them. Charm your way past the guard, convince someone to take you into their confidence, or become the man of the hour at the local tavern. For nameless NPCs, this is just an overcome action, but you may have to enter a contest to sufficiently ingratiate yourself to a named NPC or PC.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''Use Rapport to establish a positive mood on a target or in a scene or to get someone to confide in you out of a genuine sense of trust. You could pep talk someone into having Elevated Confidence, or stir a crowd into a Joyful Fervor, or simply make someone Talkative or Helpful.<br />
* '''Discover:'''This is the skill you use to get people to talk. Provoke can be used as well, but it is a blunt hammer in relation to Rapport’s more nuanced approach.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What topic does this person seem to be avoiding?<br />
** What topic are they most interested in?<br />
** What is this person most worried about/happy about?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Best Foot Forward.''' Twice per session, you may upgrade a boost you receive with Rapport into a full situation aspect with a free invocation.<br />
<br />
'''Demagogue.''' +2 to Rapport when you’re delivering an inspiring speech in front of a crowd. (If there are named NPCs or PCs in the scene, you may target them all simultaneously with one roll rather than dividing up your shifts.)<br />
<br />
'''Revealing Questions.''' When using Rapport to question someone in an investigation, you get two extra questions when succeeding or excelling.<br />
<br />
==Research==<br />
<br />
Research is the skill of discovering and leveraging the knowledge that others have collected. It represents the act of actively looking for previously recorded information as well as applying education.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Digging through scientific journals, checking the library for what has been written on a certain subject, remembering facts you had studied before, reading and interpreting books, translating from one language to another, discovering documented strengths or weaknesses of an item, doing your homework before a debate <br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''You can use Research to overcome any obstacle that requires applying your character’s knowledge to achieve a goal, assuming there is an aspect or stunt that justifies that you would have that knowledge. For example, you might roll Research to decipher an ancient D’ni inscription if you have had exposure to the language before. Also, if you need to dig through archives, Research is used to determine the quality of the information you discover.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''Research provides many flexible opportunities to create advantages, provided you can access relevant records. More often than not, you’ll be using Research to get a story detail, some obscure bit of information that you uncover or know already, but if that information gives you an edge in a future scene, it might take the form of an aspect. Likewise, you can use Research to create advantages based on any subject matter your character might have studied, which gives you a fun way to add details to the setting.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Investigation is where Research really shines. It can be used to uncover clues that can be found in existing records, and to piece together new insights out of existing details and research. Using Research to get free invokes on clue aspects is relatively common.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What research has been done on this subject?<br />
** What are the important details to look for when a particular situation occurs?<br />
** Who are the experts on this subject?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''I’ve Read about That!''' You’ve read hundreds—if not thousands—of books on a wide variety of topics. You can spend a fate point to use Research in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, provided you can justify having read about the action you’re attempting.<br />
<br />
'''It’s all Greek to You.''' Using Research, you can use a Create Advantage roll to confuse someone with a flood of obscure gobbledygook.<br />
<br />
'''Linguistic Prodigy.''' You can spend a fate point to get a basic idea of something written or said in a language you have never studied before.<br />
<br />
==Stealth==<br />
<br />
The Stealth skill allows you to avoid detection, both when hiding in place and trying to move about unseen.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Sneaking around. hiding valuables, staying hidden in the shadows, avoiding pursuit, eavesdropping on conversations<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''You can use Stealth to get past any situation that primarily depends on you not being seen. Sneaking past sentries and security, hiding from a pursuer, avoiding leaving evidence as you pass through a place, and any other such uses all fall under the purview of Stealth.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You’ll mainly use Stealth to create aspects on yourself, setting yourself in an ideal position for further action. That way, you can be Well-Hidden when the guards pass by and take advantage of that, or Hard to Pin Down if you’re being followed in the dark.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Stealth doesn’t really have investigation uses.<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Face in the Crowd.''' +2 to any Stealth roll to blend into a crowd. What a “crowd” means will depend on the environment—a subway station requires more people to be crowded than a small bar.<br />
<br />
'''Slippery Target.''' Provided you’re in darkness or shadow, you can use Stealth to oppose Finesse actions from actors that are not immediately near by.<br />
<br />
'''Voice from Nowhere.''' You can use Stealth instead of Provoke to engender fear, provided you are hidden from view. Any aspects created in this manner go away if you your hiding place is discovered.<br />
<br />
==Surveying==<br />
<br />
Surveying is the skill that is about investigating the lay of the land and exploring unknown places. Maps (using and creating) fall under this skill as well.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' reading maps, navigating on land, sea, or air, cartography, examining natural features, designing structures such as dams or roads, civil engineering, uncovering the effects of weather on the terrain<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Use Surveying to overcome large scale obstacles that block your progress. You can use it to get around cave-ins and plan treks the wilderness.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''Advantages created using Surveying will relate to understanding the local topography. You can discover details about the local geology or the layout of ancient ruins, or make up reasonable aspects about the local area. Mapping an area can create aspects that can be used later.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Surveying lends itself well to investigation. Looking for hidden passages is covered by Surveying, as well as making deductions based off of maps and blueprints. Anything that involves the large-scale examination of an area could be uncovered using Surveying.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What is the best way to get from here to there?<br />
** What geological features might not be immediately apparent?<br />
** How safe is this structure?<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Unerring Direction.''' You always know which way is north (or the local equivalent) and you get a +1 on navigation rolls made with Surveying.<br />
<br />
'''Cut ‘em Off at the Pass.''' Once per contest or similar situation, you can make a Surveying roll to catch-up with someone you are following provided you have a map or are familiar with the area.<br />
<br />
'''Seen One Tomb, Seen ‘em All.''' When investigating a place of the type you’ve seen before (Maintainer installation, Egyptian burial chamber, etc.), you get an extra free invocation on any advantage actions you place on the location, due to your familiarity with the style.<br />
<br />
==Survival==<br />
<br />
The survival skill is about making it in the wilderness. You use it to live off the land, to weather the elements and stay safe in the face of Mother Nature (whether it’s your Mother Nature or not). Dealing with animals falls under survival, well as hunting, riding and tracking.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' scavenging for food, hunting, fishing, building makeshift shelters, tracking a person through the wilderness, dealing with animals (tame and wild), avoiding natural hazards<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''Following someone (or something) can be done with Survival, as well as overcoming elements of the environment. You use it to make it through a blizzard or find food in the desert.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''Survival can be used to discover details about the local environment or about various animals. You can use it to place traps or create aspects to make a camp safer. When dealing with animals, you can use Survival instead of Empathy, Rapport, Provoke, or even Medicine.<br />
* '''Discover:'''The role of Survival in investigation will be in teasing out information from the wilderness. Clues that indicate the activity of animals or weather could be revealed using Survival, as well as leading clues which tell you which direction someone has run off.<br />
* '''Sample Questions:'''<br />
** What weather/features can I expect from this environment?<br />
** What animals have been through here recently?<br />
** Is this plant poisonous? <br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Blend into the Scenery.''' Once per scene, you can vanish by ducking into the wilderness by spending a fate point. This places the Vanished boost on you. While you’re vanished, no one can target you in an action until after they’ve succeeded at an overcome roll with Notice or Survival to suss out where you went (basically meaning they have to give up an exchange to try). This boost goes away as soon as you invoke it, or someone makes that overcome roll.<br />
<br />
'''Hard to Shake.''' +2 to Survival whenever you’re tracking someone through the wilderness.<br />
<br />
'''Native Child.''' Choose a type of environment when gaining this stunt (jungle, desert, tundra, etc.). Any Survival overcome actions involving resisting the elements or finding food are automatic successes when you are just taking care of yourself. Spend a fate point to apply it to yourself and one companion for a scene.<br />
<br />
==Will==<br />
<br />
The Will skill represents your character’s general level of mental fortitude.<br />
<br />
'''Potential Uses:''' Enduring pain, maintaining focus amid a chaotic environment, resisting emotional manipulation, defending deeply-held beliefs, standing up to threatening people<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
* '''Overcome:'''You can use Will to pit yourself against obstacles that require concentration. Use Will when it’s only a matter of time before you overcome the mental challenge, and Experiment if it takes something more than brute mental force to get past it. Many of the obstacles that you go up against with Will might be made part of challenges, to reflect the effort involved.<br />
* '''Advantage:'''You can use Will to place aspects on yourself, representing a state of deep concentration or focus.<br />
* '''Discover:'''Will won’t reveal much in a discovery action. However, it works as an excellent support skill when trying to uncover information in situations that have a lot of distractions.<br />
<br />
===Example stunts===<br />
<br />
'''Strength From Determination.''' Use Will instead of Athletics on any overcome rolls representing feats of strength.<br />
<br />
'''Hard Boiled.''' You can choose to ignore a mild or moderate consequence for the duration of the scene. It can’t be compelled against you or invoked by your enemies. At the end of the scene it comes back worse, though; if it was a mild consequence it becomes a moderate consequence, and if it was already moderate, it becomes severe.<br />
<br />
'''Indomitable.''' +2 to oppose Provoke actions specifically related to intimidation and fear.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Aspects_and_Fate_Points
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Aspects and Fate Points
2024-02-20T22:59:54Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "==Defining Aspects== An aspect is a phrase that describes something unique or noteworthy about whatever it’s attached to. They’re the primary way you spend and gain fate..."</p>
<hr />
<div>==Defining Aspects==<br />
<br />
An aspect is a phrase that describes something unique or noteworthy about whatever it’s attached to. They’re the primary way you spend and gain fate points, and they influence the story by providing an opportunity for a character to get a bonus, complicating a character’s life, or shifting another character’s roll.<br />
<br />
==Defining Fate Points==<br />
<br />
GMs and players, you both have a pool of points called fate points you can use to influence the game. You represent these with tokens, as we mentioned in The Basics. Players, you start with a certain number of points every scenario, equal to your character’s refresh. You’ll also reset to your refresh rate if you ended a mid-scenario session with fewer fate points than your rate. GMs, you get a budget of fate points to spend in every scene. When your aspects come into play, you will usually spend or gain a fate point.<br />
<br />
==What Aspects Do==<br />
<br />
In Unwritten, aspects do two major things: they tell you what’s important about the game, and they help you decide when to use the mechanics.<br />
<br />
===Importance===<br />
<br />
Your collection of game and character aspects tell you what you need to focus on during your game. Think of them as a message from yourself to yourself, a set of flags waving you towards the path with the most fun. GMs, when you make scenarios for Fate, you’re going to use those aspects, and the connections between aspects, to generate the problems your PCs are going to solve. Players, your aspects are the reason why your PC stands out from every other character who might have similar skills—lots of characters might have a high skill in some science, but only Victor Laxman is a DRC Expert in D’ni Technology. When his specialization in D’ni technology comes into play, or the DRC takes action, it gives the game a personal touch that it wouldn’t have had otherwise.<br />
<br />
The game aspects do something similar on a larger scale—they tell us why we care about playing this particular game in the first place, what makes it concrete and compelling to us. We can all say, “Oh, we like games about exploring new places,” but until we drill down to the specifics of a universe where There is Always a Surprise Over the Next Hill, and where D’ni Left Their Mark Everywhere, we don’t have anything to attach our interest to.<br />
<br />
Situation aspects make the moment-to-moment interactions of play interesting by adding color and depth to what might otherwise be a boring scene. A scene in ancient ruins is generic by nature—there are a lot of ancient ruins around D’ni, after all. But when you add the aspect Huge Bronze Statue to the scene, and people bring it into play, it becomes “that time we were at the Bronze Statue, when I was blocking the door and you were deciphering the inscription.” The unique details add interest and investment.<br />
<br />
===Deciding When to Use Mechanics===<br />
<br />
Because aspects tell us what’s important, they also tell us when it’s most appropriate to use the mechanics to deal with a situation, rather than letting people decide what happens just by describing what they do.<br />
<br />
GMs, this comes up for you most often when you’re trying to figure out whether to require a player to roll dice. If a player says, “I climb this ladder and grab the idol,” and there’s nothing special about the ladder or the idol, then there’s no real reason to require an action to grab it. But if the situation aspects tell you that the ladder is a Rotting Rope Ladder and the idol is Protected by Deadly Traps, then you suddenly have an element of pressure and risk that makes it worth going to the dice.<br />
<br />
Players, this comes up for you most often when invoking your aspects and considering compels. Your aspects highlight what makes your character an individual, and you want to play that up, right? So when the opportunity comes up to make your character more awesome by invoking, go for it! When you see an opportunity to influence the story by suggesting a compel for your character, do it! The game as a whole will be much richer for it.<br />
<br />
==Game Aspects==<br />
<br />
Game aspects are permanent fixtures of the game, hence the name. While they might change over time, they’re never going to go away. If you’ve gone through game creation, you’ve already defined these—the current or impending issues that you came up with. They describe problems or threats that exist in the world, which are going to be the basis for your game’s story. Everyone can invoke, compel, or create an advantage on a game aspect at any time; they’re always there and available for anyone’s use.<br />
<br />
==Character Aspects==<br />
<br />
Character aspects are just as permanent, but smaller in scope, attached to an individual PC or NPC. They describe a near-infinite number of things that set the character apart, such as:<br />
<br />
* Significant personality traits or beliefs (Argues at the Drop of A Hat, D’ni is the Epitome of Civilization).<br />
* The character’s background or profession (Top of His Class at West Point, Just a Working Stiff).<br />
* An important possession or noticeable feature (Mysterious Ancient Pendant, Built like a Sherman Tank).<br />
* Relationships to people and organizations (Wanted by Surface Authorities, Heir to a Fortune).<br />
* Problems, goals, or issues the character is dealing with (I’ll Never Amount to Anything, Determined to Master the Art).<br />
* Titles, reputations, or obligations the character may have (World-Renowned Physicist, I Promised to Look After My Sister).<br />
<br />
You can invoke or call for a compel on any of your character aspects whenever they’re relevant. GMs, you can always propose compels to any PC. Players, you can suggest compels for other people’s characters, but the GM is always going to get the final say on whether or not it’s a valid suggestion.<br />
<br />
==Situation Aspects==<br />
<br />
By default, a situation aspect is temporary, intended to last only for a single scene or until it no longer makes sense (but no longer than a session, at most). Situation aspects can be attached to the environment the scene takes place in—which affects everybody in the scene—but you can also attach them to specific characters by targeting them when you create an advantage. Situation aspects describe significant features of the circumstances the characters are dealing with in a scene. That includes:<br />
<br />
* Physical features of the environment (Freezing Winds, Humming Crystal Shards).<br />
* Positioning or placement (Behind Cover, Poised to Strike).<br />
* Immediate obstacles (Piles of Rubble, Crumbling Bridges).<br />
* Contextual details that are likely to come into play (The Natives are Restless, Walls Covered in Ancient Symbols).<br />
* Sudden changes in a character’s status (Blinded, Off-Balance).<br />
<br />
Who can use a situation aspect depends on narrative context— sometimes it’ll be clear, and sometimes you’ll need to justify how you’re using the aspect so it makes sense based on what’s happening in the scene.<br />
<br />
GMs, you’re the final arbiter on what claims on an aspect are valid. Sometimes situation aspects become obstacles that characters need to overcome. Other times they give you justification to provide active opposition against someone else’s action.<br />
<br />
===Reserving situation aspects===<br />
As a rule, situation aspects last as long as makes sense. Rarely does this extend past the end of the scene (though occasionally you create aspects for use in the next scene). Situation aspects are transitory by design.<br />
<br />
You might want to make something that lasts for longer. Maybe you want to set up something that you might use later, but not necessarily in the next scene. Another possibility is that you want to take some situation aspect and extend its usefulness.<br />
<br />
You can choose to ‘reserve’ an aspect for later usage by spending a fate point. That aspect sticks around. When you invoke the aspect, it becomes active; the clock starts ticking. It will be available for use but may go away soon like any other active situation aspect.<br />
<br />
Unused reserved aspects go away at the end of the chapter. Or a character can release the aspect at any point. Additionally, a change in the situation may nullify the aspect. Something might have happened to counteract it, or it simply might not make sense anymore. It goes away. Here is the tricky thing: reserved aspects can still be compelled. And a compel does not necessarily activate the situation aspect like invoking it does.<br />
<br />
Boosts cannot be reserved—they are simply too momentary.<br />
<br />
==Consequences==<br />
<br />
A consequence is more permanent than a situation aspect, but not quite as permanent as a character aspect. They’re a special kind of aspect a character might take in order to avoid getting overwhelmed in a conflict, and they describe lasting injuries or problems that you take away from a conflict. Consequences stick around for a variable length of time, from a few scenes to a chapter or two, depending on how severe they are. Because of their negative phrasing, you’re likely to get compelled a lot when you have them, and anyone who can justifiably benefit from the consequence can invoke it or create an advantage on it.<br />
<br />
Consequences come in three levels of severity—mild, moderate, and severe. Each one has a different shift value: two, four, and six, respectively. On your character sheet, you have a number of available consequence slots.<br />
<br />
A character can receive a consequence as a result of one of the following situations:<br />
<br />
* Being the target of an excelled Advantage action (see p. 135)<br />
* Succeeding at a cost (see p. 143)<br />
* Making a sacrifice<br />
<br />
===Making a Sacrifice===<br />
<br />
When you are out of fate points and want to make one final effort as a last resort, you can make a sacrifice. To make a sacrifice, you describe what you are doing to push yourself beyond your ordinary limits. Then, you place a consequence on yourself that fits the situation at hand— he GM gets a free invoke on the consequence. In exchange, you get a number of fate points. You can only take a consequence in an available slot (i.e. if you only have one Minor consequence slot, you cannot take another).<br />
<br />
Consequence Fate Points<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
| Minor || 1<br />
|-<br />
| Moderate || 2<br />
|-<br />
| Severe || 3<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Naming a Consequence===<br />
<br />
Here are some guidelines for choosing what to name a consequence:<br />
<br />
Mild consequences don’t require immediate medical attention. They hurt, and they may present an inconvenience, but they aren’t going to force you into a lot of bed rest. On the mental side, mild consequences express things like small social gaffes or changes in your surface emotions.<br />
<br />
Examples: Black Eye, Bruised Hand, Winded, Flustered, Cranky, Temporarily Blinded.<br />
<br />
Moderate consequences represent fairly serious impairments that require dedicated effort toward recovery (including medical attention). On the mental side, they express things like damage to your reputation or emotional problems that you can’t just shrug off with an apology and a good night’s sleep.<br />
<br />
Examples: Deep Cut, First Degree Burn, Exhausted, Drunk, Terrified.<br />
<br />
Severe consequences go straight to the emergency room (or whatever the equivalent is in your game)—they’re extremely nasty and prevent you from doing a lot of things, and will lay you out for a while. On the mental side, they express things like serious trauma or relationship-changing harm.<br />
<br />
Examples: Second-Degree Burn, Compound Fracture, Gaping Wound, Crippling Shame, Trauma-Induced Phobia.<br />
<br />
===Recovering from a Consequence===<br />
<br />
In order to regain the use of a consequence slot, you have to recover from the consequence. That requires two things—succeeding at an action that allows you to justify recovery, and then waiting an appropriate amount of game time for that recovery to take place.<br />
<br />
The action in question is an overcome action; the obstacle is the consequence that you took. If it’s a physical injury, then the action is some kind of medical treatment or first aid. For mental consequences, the action may involve therapy, counseling, or simply a night out with friends. For social consequences, you may need to do some ‘damage control’ to counteract the consequence.<br />
<br />
The difficulty for this obstacle is based on the shift value of the consequence. Mild is Fair (+2), Moderate is Great (+4), and severe is Fantastic (+6). If you are trying to perform the recovery action on yourself, increase the difficulty by one.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind that the circumstances have to be appropriately free of distraction and tension for you to make this roll in the first place—you’re not going to clean and bandage a nasty cut while an out-of-control fire rages around you. GMs, you have the final judgment call.<br />
<br />
If you succeed at the recovery action, or someone else succeeds on a recovery action for you, you get to rename the consequence aspect to show that it’s in recovery. So, for example, Broken Leg could become Stuck in a Cast, Scandalized could become Social Damage Control, and so on. This doesn’t free up the consequence slot, but it serves as an indicator that you’re recovering, and it changes the ways the aspect can be used while it remains.<br />
<br />
Whether you change the consequence’s name or not—and sometimes it might not make sense to do so—mark it in some way at the end of the current scene, so that everyone remembers that recovery has started. <br />
<br />
Then, you just have to wait the time.<br />
<br />
* For a mild consequence, recovering consequences go away at the end of a scene.<br />
* For a moderate consequence, recovering consequences go away at the end of a session.<br />
* For a severe consequence, recovering consequences go away at the end of a chapter.<br />
<br />
===Overwhelmed===<br />
<br />
If a consequence is ever placed on you and you have no empty consequence slots, you are overwhelmed.<br />
<br />
==Boosts==<br />
<br />
Boosts are temporary, free-floating invocations that happen when you get a momentary benefit that isn’t lasting enough to be an aspect. You get a boost when you’re trying to create an advantage but don’t succeed well enough, or as an added benefit to succeeding especially well at an action (notably defending). You invoke boosts just like you would for an aspect, for the +2, reroll, or other effect that requires an invocation. As with aspect invocations, you need to describe what’s happening that makes that boost relevant to your action.<br />
<br />
Once you invoke the boost, it goes away. They go away on their own fairly quickly—usually after the next action when you could use them—so use them as soon as possible! If you want, you can allow another character to invoke your boost, though it needs to be relevant to their action and could help them out.<br />
<br />
When you earn a boost, give it a name like you would an aspect to help you remember where the boost came from and how you can use it. Don’t dwell on coming up with something clever, since it doesn’t last long.<br />
<br />
Just remember that a boost isn’t a full, “grown up” aspect—you can’t compel with it, use it as permission for extras, pay a fate point to invoke it again, or other things that manipulate aspects or that aspects affect. But you can promote it to a full aspect; see Promoting Boosts below.<br />
<br />
===Leaving Boosts Unnamed===<br />
<br />
If you’re struggling to name a boost, let it be unnamed and continue playing—boosts aren’t worth stopping play to name! If you do, though, you’ll have to keep track of the situation that created the boost, which some people find difficult to remember.<br />
<br />
===Promoting Boosts===<br />
<br />
Sometimes when you’re creating a new aspect, you find that there’s a boost in play that’s exactly the aspect you want to make, turning a momentary benefit into a lasting one. Great! That’s called promoting a boost. Just declare an aspect you’re making to have the same name as a boost in play, and you’re done. If the action gives this new aspect a free invocation, it has two instead thanks to the boost being active. If you haven’t named the boost yet, now’s the time to do it.<br />
<br />
For example, say I am trying to wrestle a Book from your grasp and get a boost from that Oppose action, and we say that you managed to get me A Little Off-Balance. On your next action, you follow-up by saying that you want to keep me off-balance by creating an advantage. You roll for the advantage, succeed without needing to use the boost, and then name the advantage A Little Off-Balance with two free invocations (or three if you succeeded with style—essentially one extra free invocation).<br />
<br />
Even if you’ve used a boost already, nothing says you can’t bring that idea back around as an aspect later in the scene if it’s appropriate. There’s no special rule about that, just something to keep in mind. In our example above, you could still create the A Little Off-Balance advantage, even if you use the boost on that roll or on a past turn.<br />
<br />
===Boosts are not full Aspects===<br />
<br />
Unlike aspects, you cannot compel a boost or pay a fate point to invoke a boost (including invoking it against its owner). Any other rules that require an aspect to exist or be used don’t count for boosts. Don’t let the fact that they’re often given names mislead you.<br />
<br />
==Making a Good Aspect==<br />
<br />
Because aspects are so important to the game, it’s important to make the best aspects you can. So, how do you know what a good aspect is? The best aspects are double-edged, say more than one thing, and keep the phrasing simple.<br />
<br />
===Double-Edged===<br />
<br />
Players, good aspects offer a clear benefit to your character while also providing opportunities to complicate their lives or be used to their detriment. An aspect with a double-edge is going to come up in play more often than a mostly positive or negative one. You can use them frequently to be awesome, and you’ll be able to accept more compels and gain more fate points.<br />
<br />
Try this as a litmus test—list two ways you might invoke the aspect, and two ways someone else could invoke it or you could get a compel from it. If the examples come easily to mind, great! If not, add more context to make that aspect work or put that idea to the side and come up with a new aspect.<br />
<br />
GMs, this is just as true of your game and situation aspects. Any feature of a scene you call out should be something that either the PCs or their foes could use in a dramatic fashion. Your game aspects do present problems, but they also should present ways for the PCs to take advantage of the status quo.<br />
<br />
===Say More Than One Thing===<br />
<br />
Earlier, we noted several things that a character aspect might describe: personality traits, backgrounds, relationships, problems, possessions, and so forth. The best aspects overlap across a few of those categories, because that means you have more ways to bring them into play.<br />
<br />
GMs, for your situation aspects, you don’t have to worry about this as much, because they’re only intended to stick around for a scene. It’s much more important for game and character aspects to suggest multiple contexts for use.<br />
<br />
===Clear Phrasing===<br />
<br />
Because aspects are phrases, they come with all the ambiguities of language. If no one knows what your aspect means, it won’t get used enough. That isn’t to say you have to avoid poetic or fanciful expression; Just a Simple Farmboy isn’t quite as fetching as Child of Pastoral Bliss. If that’s the tone your game is going for, feel free to indulge your linguistic desires.<br />
<br />
However, don’t do this at the expense of clarity. Avoid metaphors and implications when you can get away with just saying what you mean. That way, other people don’t have to stop and ask you during play if a certain aspect would apply, or get bogged down in discussions about what it means.<br />
<br />
If you’re wondering if your aspect is unclear, ask the people at the table what they think it means.<br />
<br />
===If You Get Stuck===<br />
<br />
Now you know what makes for a good aspect, but that doesn’t narrow down your potential choices any—you still have a nearly infinite set of topics and ideas to choose from. <br />
<br />
If you’re still stuck about what to choose, here are some tips to make things a little easier on you.<br />
<br />
====Sometimes, It’s Better Not to Choose====<br />
<br />
If you can’t think of an aspect that really grabs you and the other people at the table, you’re better off leaving that space blank, or just keeping whatever ideas you had scribbled in the margins. Sometimes it’s much easier to wait for your character to get into play before you figure out how you want to word a particular aspect.<br />
<br />
So when in doubt, leave it blank. Maybe you have a general idea of the aspect but don’t know how to phrase it, or maybe you just have no idea. Don’t worry about it. There’s always room during the game to figure it out as you go.<br />
<br />
The same thing is true if you have more than one idea that seems juicy, but they don’t work together and you don’t know which one to pick. Write them all down in the margins and see which one seems to really sing in play. Then fill the space in later, with the one that gets the most mileage.<br />
<br />
====Always Ask What Matters and Why====<br />
<br />
We said above that aspects tell you why something matters in the game and why we care about it. This is your primary compass and guide to choosing the best possible aspect. When in doubt, always ask: what do we really care about here, and why?<br />
<br />
The events of your Journey should help you figure out what your aspect should be. Don’t try to summarize the events of your Journey or anything like that with your aspect—remember, the point is to reveal something important about the character. Again, ask yourself what really matters about the phase:<br />
<br />
* What was the outcome? Is that important?<br />
* Did the character develop any important relationships or connections during this phase?<br />
* Does the phase help establish anything important about the character’s personality or beliefs?<br />
* Did the phase give the character a reputation?<br />
* Did the phase create a problem for the character in the game world?<br />
<br />
Assume that each question ends with “for good or ill”—these features, relationships, and reputations aren’t necessarily going to be positive, after all. Developing a relationship with a nemesis is as juicy as developing one with your best friend.<br />
<br />
If there’s more than one option, poll the other players and GM to see what they find interesting. Remember, you should all be helping each other out—the game works best if everyone’s a fan of what everyone else is doing.<br />
<br />
====Vary It Up====<br />
<br />
You don’t want all your aspects to describe the same kind of thing. Five relationships means that you can’t use your aspects unless one of them is in play, but five personality traits means that you have no connection to the game world. If you’re stuck on what to pick for an aspect, looking at what kinds of things your other aspects describe may help you figure out which way to go for the current phase.<br />
<br />
====Let Your Friends Decide====<br />
<br />
We’ve talked before about the fact that the game works best if everyone is invested in what everyone else is doing—collaboration is at the heart of the game, and we’ll probably say it a lot more times before the end of this book.<br />
<br />
You always have the option, especially with aspects, of simply asking the GM and other players to come up with something on your behalf. Pitch them the events of the phase, and ask them the same questions they’re going to be asking of you. What matters to them? What are they excited about? Do they have suggestions about how to make the events of the phase more dramatic or intense? What aspect do they think would be most interesting or appropriate?<br />
<br />
You have the final decision as to what your character’s aspects are, so don’t look at it as giving up control. Look at it as asking your ever-important fan club and audience what they want to see, and using their suggestions to jumpstart your own train of thought. If everyone has a bit of input on everyone else’s characters, the game will benefit from that sense of mutual investment.<br />
<br />
==Invoking Aspects==<br />
<br />
The primary way you’re going to use aspects in a game of Unwritten is to invoke them. If you’re in a situation where an aspect is beneficial to your character somehow, you can invoke it.<br />
<br />
In order to invoke an aspect, explain why the aspect is relevant, spend a fate point, and you can choose one of these benefits:<br />
<br />
* Shift the result of your current roll by +2 after you’ve rolled the dice.<br />
* Reroll all your dice.<br />
* Pass a +2 benefit to another character’s roll, if it’s reasonable that the aspect you’re invoking would be able to help.<br />
* Create an obstacle worth passive opposition of Fair (+2) that represents a complication caused by the aspect. <br />
* Add +2 to any source of passive opposition, if it’s reasonable that the aspect you’re invoking could contribute to making things more difficult. <br />
<br />
It doesn’t matter when you invoke the aspect, but usually it’s best to wait until after you’ve rolled the dice to see if you’re going to need the benefit. You can invoke multiple aspects on a single roll, but you cannot invoke the same aspect multiple times on a single roll. So if your reroll doesn’t help you enough, you’ll have to pick another aspect (and spend another fate point) for a second reroll or that +2.<br />
<br />
The group has to buy into the relevance of a particular aspect when you invoke it; GMs, you’re the final arbiter on this one. The use of an aspect should make sense, or you should be able to creatively narrate your way into ensuring it makes sense.<br />
<br />
Precisely how you do this is up to you. Sometimes, it makes so much sense to use a particular aspect that you can just hold up the fate point and name it. Or you might need to embellish your character’s action a little more so that everyone understands where you’re coming from. (That’s why we recommend making sure that you’re on the same page with the group as to what each of your aspects means—it makes it easier to justify bringing it into play.)<br />
<br />
If the aspect you invoke is on someone else’s character sheet, including situation aspects attached to them, you give them the fate point you spent. They don’t actually get to use it until after the end of the scene, though.<br />
<br />
===Free Invocations===<br />
<br />
You don’t always have to pay a fate point to invoke an aspect—sometimes it’s free.<br />
<br />
When you succeed at creating an advantage, you “stick” a free invocation onto an aspect. If you excel on the action, you get two invocations. Some of the other actions also give you free boosts. You also get to stick a free invocation on any consequences you inflict in a conflict.<br />
<br />
Free invocations work like normal ones except in two ways: no fate points are exchanged, and you can stack them with a normal invocation for a better bonus. So you can use a free invocation and pay a fate point on the same aspect to get a +4 bonus instead of a +2, two rerolls instead of one, or you can add +4 to another character’s roll or increase passive opposition by +4. Or you could split the benefits, getting a reroll and a +2 bonus. You can also stack multiple free invocations together.<br />
<br />
After you’ve used your free invocation, if the aspect in question is still around, you can keep invoking it by spending fate points.<br />
<br />
If you want, you can pass your free invocation to another character. That allows you to get some teamwork going between you and a buddy. This is really useful in a conflict if you want to set someone up for a big finish—have everyone create an advantage and pass their free invocations onto one person, then that person stacks all of them up at once for a huge bonus.<br />
<br />
==Compelling Aspects==<br />
<br />
The other way you use aspects in the game is called a compel. If you’re in a situation where having or being around a certain aspect means your character’s life is more dramatic or complicated, someone can compel the aspect. That aspect can be on your character, the scene, location, game, or anywhere else that’s currently in play. We’ll start with character aspects, and then talk about situation aspects in a bit.<br />
<br />
In order to compel an aspect, explain why the aspect is relevant, and then make an offer as to what the complication is. You can negotiate the terms of the complication a bit, until you reach a reasonable consensus. Whoever is getting compelled then has two options:<br />
<br />
* Accept the complication and receive a fate point<br />
* Pay a fate point to prevent the complication from happening<br />
<br />
The complication from a compel occurs regardless of anyone’s efforts— once you’ve made a deal and taken the fate point, you can’t use your skills or anything else to mitigate the situation. You have to deal with the new story developments that arise from the complication.<br />
<br />
If you prevent the complication from happening, then you and the group describe how you avoid it. Sometimes it just means that you agree that the event never happened in the first place, and sometimes it means narrating your character doing something proactive. Whatever you need to do in order to make it make sense works fine, as long as the group is okay with it.<br />
<br />
GMs, you’re the final arbiter here, as always—not just on how the result of a compel plays out, but on whether or not a compel is valid in the first place. Use the same judgment you apply to an invocation; it should make instinctive sense, or require only a small amount of explanation, that a complication might arise from the aspect.<br />
<br />
Finally, and this is important: if a player wants to compel another character, it costs a fate point to propose the complication. The GM can always compel for free, and any player can propose a compel on his or her own character for free.<br />
<br />
===Types of Compels===<br />
<br />
There are two major categories for what a compel looks like in the game: events and decisions. These are tools to help you figure out what a compel should look like and help break any mental blocks.<br />
<br />
====Events====<br />
<br />
An event-based compel happens to the character in spite of herself, when the world around her responds to a certain aspect in a certain way and creates a complicating circumstance. It looks like this:<br />
<br />
You have ____ aspect and are in ____ situation, so it makes sense that, unfortunately, ____ would happen to you.<br />
<br />
As you’ll see with decision-based compels, the real mileage is in the complication itself. Without that, you don’t really have anything worth focusing on—the fact that the PCs continually have complicated and dramatic things happen to them is, well, exactly what makes them PCs in the first place.<br />
<br />
GMs, event-based compels are your opportunity to party. You’re expected to control the world around the PCs, so having that world react to them in an unexpected way is pretty much part and parcel of your job description. Players, event-based compels are great for you. You get rewarded simply by being there—how much more awesome can you get? You might have a difficult time justifying an event-based compel yourself, as it requires you to assert control over an element of the game that you typically aren’t in charge of. Feel free to propose an event-based compel, but remember that the GM has the final say on controlling the game world and may veto you if she has something else in mind.<br />
<br />
====Decisions====<br />
<br />
A decision is a kind of compel that is internal to the character. It happens because of a decision they make. It looks like this:<br />
<br />
You have ____ aspect in ____ situation, so it makes sense that you’d decide to ____. This goes wrong when ____ happens.<br />
<br />
So the real dramatic impact from these kinds of compels is not what decision the character makes, most of the time—it’s how things go wrong. Before something goes wrong, the first sentence could be a prelude to making a skill roll or simply a matter of roleplaying. The complication that the decision creates is really what makes it a compel.<br />
<br />
The decision part should be self-evident, and something a player might have been thinking about doing anyway. The same goes for players trying to compel NPCs or each other’s PCs—make sure you have a strong mutual understanding of what that NPC or other character might do before proposing the compel. <br />
<br />
Players, if you need fate points, this is a really good way of getting them. If you propose a decision-based compel for your character to the GM, then what you’re basically asking is for something you’re about to do to go wrong somehow. You don’t even have to have a complication in mind—simply signaling the GM should be enough to start a conversation. GMs, as long as the compel isn’t weak (as in, as long as there’s a good, juicy complication), you should go with this. If the compel is weak, poll the rest of the group for ideas until something more substantial sticks.<br />
<br />
===Compelling with Situation Aspects===<br />
<br />
Just like with every other kind of aspect use, you can use situation aspects (and by extension, game aspects) for compels. Because situation aspects are usually external to characters, you’re almost always looking at event-based compels rather than decision-based ones. The characters affected each get a fate point for the compel.<br />
<br />
===Retroactive Compels===<br />
<br />
Sometimes, you’ll notice during the game that you’ve fulfilled the criteria for a compel without a fate point getting awarded. You’ve played your aspects to the hilt and gotten yourself into all kinds of trouble, or you’ve narrated crazy and dramatic stuff happening to a character related to their aspects just out of reflex.<br />
<br />
Anyone who realizes this in play can mention it, and the fate point can be awarded retroactively, treating it like a compel after the fact. GMs, you’re the final arbiter. It should be pretty obvious when something like this occurs, though—just look at the guidelines for event and decision compels above, and see if you can summarize what happened in the game according to those guidelines. If you can, award a fate point.<br />
<br />
GMs, remember that a player is ultimately responsible for everything that the character says and does. You can offer decision-based compels, but if the player doesn’t feel like the decision is one that the character would make, don’t force the issue by charging a fate point.<br />
<br />
Instead, negotiate the terms of the compel until you find a decision the player is comfortable making, and a complication that chains from that decision instead. If you can’t agree on something, drop it.<br />
<br />
If you offer a decision-based compel, and no one can agree on what the decision part should be, it shouldn’t cost a fate point to counter—just drop it. Countering a decision-based compel should only mean that the “what goes wrong” part doesn’t happen.<br />
<br />
==Aspects and Roleplaying==<br />
<br />
Finally, aspects have a passive use that you can draw on in almost every instance of play. Players, you can use them as a guide to roleplaying your character. This may seem self-evident, but we figured we’d call it out anyway—the aspects on your character sheet are true of your character at all times, not just when they’re invoked or compelled.<br />
<br />
Think of your collection of aspects as an oracle, like a tarot spread or tea leaves. They give you a big picture of what your character’s about, and they can reveal interesting implications if you read between the lines. If you’re wondering what your character might do in a certain situation, look at their aspects. What do they say about your character’s personality, goals, and desires? Are there any clues in what their aspects say that might suggest a course of action? Once you find that suggestion, go for it.<br />
<br />
Playing to your aspects also has another benefit: you’re feeding the GM ideas for compels. You’re already bringing your aspects into the game, so all she has to do is offer you complications and you’re good to go.<br />
<br />
GMs, you’ll use your NPCs aspects the same way, but you get an additional way of “reading the tea leaves”—you can also use them as a way of figuring out how the world reacts to the characters. Does someone have the aspect Strongest Man in the World? That’s a reputation that might precede that character, one that people might know about and react to. People might crowd in to see that character when he’s passing through. Also, it suggests something about that character’s physical size and build. You know that most people are going to give that character a wide berth in a crowded space, might be naturally intimidated, or might be overly aggressive or brusque as overcompensation for being intimidated. But no one’s going to ignore that character. Inserting these kinds of aspect related details into your narration can help your game seem more vivid and consistent, even when you’re not shuffling fate points around.<br />
<br />
==Removing or Changing Aspects==<br />
<br />
Game and character aspects change through milestones. If you want to get rid of a situation aspect, you can do it in one of two ways: roll an overcome action specifically for the purpose of getting rid of the aspect, or roll some other kind of action that would make the aspect make no sense if you succeed. (For example, if you’re Grappled, you could try to get away. If you succeed, it would no longer be Grappled anymore, so you’d get rid of that aspect.)<br />
<br />
If a character can interfere with your action, they get to roll active opposition against you as per normal. Otherwise, the GM sets passive opposition or just allows the player to get rid of the aspect without a roll, if there’s nothing risky or interesting in the way.<br />
<br />
Finally, if at any point it simply makes no sense for a situation aspect to be in play, get rid of it.<br />
<br />
==Unlocking Aspects in Play==<br />
<br />
In addition to your character aspects, game aspects, and the situation aspects that the GM presents, you have the ability to create, discover, or gain access to other aspects as you play.<br />
<br />
For the most part, you’ll use the Advantage action to make new aspects. When you describe the action that gives you an advantage, the context should tell you if it requires a new aspect or if it derives from an existing one. If you’re bringing a new circumstance into play—like throwing sand in someone’s eyes—you’re indicating that you need a new situation aspect. Questions from Discover actions can make aspects available as well.<br />
<br />
With some skills, it’s going to make more sense to stick an advantage to an aspect that’s already on some other character’s sheet. In this case, the PC or NPC you’re targeting would provide active opposition to keep you from being able to use that aspect.<br />
<br />
If you’re not looking for a free invocation, and you just think it’d make sense if there were a particular situation aspect in play, you don’t need to roll the dice—just suggest it. If the group thinks they’re interesting, write it down.<br />
<br />
==The Fate Point Economy==<br />
<br />
For the most part, the use of aspects revolves around fate points. You indicate your supply of fate points by using tokens, such as poker chips, glass beads, or other markers.<br />
<br />
Ideally, you want a consistent ebb and flow of fate points going on throughout your sessions. Players spend them in order to be awesome in a crucial moment, and they get them back when their lives get dramatic and complicated. So if your fate points are flowing, you’ll end up with cycles of triumphs and setbacks that make for a fun and interesting story. <br />
<br />
===Refresh===<br />
<br />
Each character has a refresh rate, which determines how many points they receive when their pool of fate points are refilled. Refreshes usually happen at the beginning of a session, though the gamemaster can decide to declare a refresh at other times.<br />
<br />
During a refresh, your fate points refill up to your refresh rate. If you have more fate points than your actual refresh, you don’t lose the additional points, but you don’t gain any either.<br />
<br />
At the start of a new chapter, you reset your fate points to your refresh rate no matter what. You lose any extra fate points you have.<br />
<br />
===Spending Fate Points===<br />
<br />
* You spend fate points in any of the following ways:<br />
* Invoke an aspect: You can spend a fate point to invoke an aspect. <br />
* Declare a minor detail. You can spend a point to declare a minor detail as true, related to the aspects in play. <br />
* Power a stunt: Some stunts are potent, and as such, cost a fate point in order to activate. <br />
* Refuse a compel: Once a compel is proposed, you can pay a fate point to avoid the complication associated with it.<br />
<br />
===Earning Fate Points===<br />
<br />
You earn fate points in any of the following ways:<br />
<br />
* Accept a compel. You get a fate point when you agree to the complication associated with a compel. As we said above, this may sometimes happen retroactively if the circumstances warrant. <br />
* Have your aspects invoked against you. If someone pays a fate point to invoke an aspect attached to your character, you gain their fate point at the end of the scene. This includes advantages created on your character, as well as consequences. <br />
* Concede in a contest or dangerous action. You receive one fate point for conceding in a contest or dangerous action.<br />
* Make a sacrifice. If you choose to make a sacrifice and take a consequence, you get fate points in exchange for the sacrifice.<br />
* Avoid using a hint. If you excel on a Discover action, you can request a hint from the gamemaster. If you do not use your hint, you receive one fate point. p.<br />
<br />
===The GM and Fate Points===<br />
<br />
GMs, you also get to use fate points, but the rules are a little bit different than the rules for players.<br />
<br />
When you award players fate points for compels or concession, they come out of an unlimited pool you have for doing so—you don’t have to worry about running out of fate points to award, and you always get to compel for free.<br />
<br />
The NPCs under your control are not so lucky. They have a limited pool of fate points you get to use on their behalf. Whenever a scene starts, you get one fate point for every PC in that scene. You can use these points on behalf of any NPC you want, but you can get more in that scene if they take a compel, like PCs do. You reset to your default total, one per PC, at the beginning of every scene.<br />
<br />
There are two exceptions:<br />
* You accepted a compel that effectively ended the last scene or starts the next one. If that happens, take an extra fate point in the next scene.<br />
* You conceded a conflict to the PCs in the previous scene. If that happens, take the fate points you’d normally get for the concession into the next scene and add them to the default total.<br />
<br />
If the immediate next scene doesn’t present a significant interaction with NPCs, you can save these extra points until the next scene that does.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Character_Creation
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Character Creation
2024-02-20T22:39:30Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "Character creation can be collaborative or a mix of individual work and collaboration. If your group has fun sitting around the table and working on each other’s characters,..."</p>
<hr />
<div>Character creation can be collaborative or a mix of individual work and collaboration. If your group has fun sitting around the table and working on each other’s characters, then roll with it. If everyone needs some time to digest everything and think about their options, take a break, order pizza, and give everyone time to mull things over. You might even want to wait until the next session.<br />
<br />
Not every decision needs to be run past the group, but there should be a lot of communication going on. Doing at least some of this together builds a strong foundation of communication between the players and GM, and this process has a number of ways to establish connections between the characters and the setting. Remember that you are all players working together—everyone is there to help each other be awesome.<br />
<br />
==Your Character Concept==<br />
Character creation starts with a concept for your character. It could be modeled after a character from a favorite novel or movie, or it could be based around some specific thing that you want to be able to do (like decipher ancient languages, make deals with other explorers, etc.). Just like we did with game creation, we will interweave some brainstorming in with tying down some details.<br />
<br />
Player characters should be exceptional, interesting, and engaged. You must figure out why your character is going to keep getting involved in challenging situations. If you don’t, the GM is under no obligation to go out of her way to make the game work for you—they’ll be too busy with other players who made characters that have a reason to participate.<br />
<br />
===High Concept===<br />
Your high concept is a phrase that sums up what your character is about—who he is and what he does. It’s an aspect, one of the first and most important ones for your character.<br />
<br />
Think of this aspect like your job, your role in life, or your calling—it’s what you’re good at, but it’s also a duty you have to deal with, and it’s constantly filled with problems of its own. That is to say, it comes with some good and some bad. There are a few different directions you can take this:<br />
<br />
* You could take the idea of “like your job” literally: Investigative Journalist, Civil Engineer, Corporate Drone.<br />
<br />
* You could throw on an adjective or other descriptor to further define the idea: Tireless Investigative Journalist, Curious Civil Engineer, Bored Corporate Drone. <br />
* You could play off of an important relationship to your family or an organization you’re deeply involved with (especially if the organization is well-known or one of the factions created earlier): DRC Restoration Engineer, Faithful Follower of the Children of D’ni, The Explorers’ Favorite Gossip.<br />
<br />
These aren’t the only ways to play with your high concept, but they’ll get you started. But don’t stress out over it—the worst thing you can do is make it into too big of a deal. You’ll come up with four other aspects after this one—you don’t have to get it all nailed right now.<br />
<br />
High concepts can have overlap among the characters, as long as you have something to distinguish how your character is different from the others. If high concepts must be similar among all the characters, such as if the <br />
<br />
==Your Journey==<br />
Unwritten characters are driven to know and discover things, whether it is about the universe, about life, or about themselves. They are on an on-going experience in which they have grown and changed, and will continue to do so in the future. This is their journey.<br />
<br />
You define your journey by the steps that you take along the way. Your character is already on their path, so now you will describe what has led them to who they are now. Then, you will use these as the foundation for choosing your remaining aspects.<br />
<br />
===Steps on the Path===<br />
These are key experiences that have shaped who your character is now. They depict what they are seeking, what has happened to them, and what matters to them.<br />
<br />
Choose two options from below and answer the prompts. You do not need to go into great detail on these right now—just a sentence or two will do fine now. If you want to go into greater detail later, feel free.<br />
* Choose something your character desires above all else. Describe an event where your character has done something extraordinary in hopes of achieving that goal.<br />
* Choose a belief your character holds dear. You can decide if this is a religious belief, an ethical principle, or just something that your character clings to tightly. Describe when that belief formed or when it crystallized as so important to them.<br />
* Choose a belief your character holds or held dear. Describe a moment where that belief was tested or challenged. Explain how your character responded to the challenge and how it shaped them. You can choose the same belief as the step above, or a different one. It is your choice whether your character continues to hold that belief or not.<br />
* Choose something or someone important to your character. Describe how it came to mean so much.<br />
* Choose an issue you have never resolved. Describe an incident where you struggled to deal with it.<br />
* Choose an Age that your character visited. Describe the Age and what happened there that affected your character deeply.<br />
<br />
===Crossing Paths===<br />
Your Journey also includes the other player characters in the game. You share experiences with them that bind you together.<br />
<br />
You will be working collaboratively with other players on this section. Start with a random player. That player chooses another player to work with to create an experience that their two characters shared. Then the player who was chosen gets to choose the next player to do the same thing and so on until the last player left creates an experience with the first. This creates a circle of connections throughout the group, which each character being connected to two others.<br />
<br />
For each experience, choose one of the following prompts:<br />
* Describe an event where their character helped yours in a time of need.<br />
* Describe a tragedy you weathered together.<br />
* Describe a moment where you disagreed strongly in a way that has never been resolved.<br />
* Describe someone you both knew and cared about or respected greatly.<br />
* Describe when a problem their character had or caused impacted your character as well.<br />
<br />
Like the previous section, don’t go too deeply into detail right now. You can come up with more detail with the other players after character creation, or you may want to add details during play as they occur to you.<br />
<br />
===Journey Aspects===<br />
Now we look at the journey that your character has taken and create four aspects based off of those experiences. Not every experience needs to be represented in your Journey aspects, nor does every aspect need to tie directly back to one of these experiences. Instead, use your character’s journey as inspiration for what elements are important and dramatic to your character’s on-going story.<br />
<br />
If you have time, you might want to read the whole chapter we have dedicated to aspects before you go through the process of character creation. In case you’re pressed for time, here are some guidelines for choosing aspects:<br />
<br />
Aspects which don’t help you tell a good story (by giving you success when you need it and by drawing you into danger and action when the story needs it) aren’t doing their job. The aspects which push you into conflict—and help you excel once you’re there—will be among your best and most-used.<br />
<br />
Aspects need to be both useful and dangerous—allowing you to help shape the story and generating lots of fate points. They should never be boring. The best aspect suggests both ways to use it and ways it can complicate your situation. Aspects that cannot be used for either of those are likely to be dull indeed. Bottom line: if you want to maximize the power of your aspects, maximize their interest.<br />
<br />
When you’re told you need to come up with an aspect, you might experience brain freeze. If you feel stumped for decent ideas for aspects, there’s a big section focusing on several methods for coming up with good aspect ideas in Aspects and Fate Points.<br />
<br />
If you ultimately can’t break the block by any means, don’t force it—leave it completely blank. You can always come back and fill out that aspect later, or let it develop during play. Ultimately, it’s much better to leave an aspect slot blank than to pick one that isn’t inspiring and evocative to play. If you’re picking aspects you’re not invested in, they’ll end up being noticeable drags on your fun.<br />
<br />
==Choose Skills==<br />
Once you have mapped out your character’s phases and chosen aspects, it’s time to pick skills.<br />
Remember that your character is considered to be generally competent; you don’t need to worry about skills that reflect capabilities everyone would have at average levels (average for an adventurous explorer, of course). Your skills point out the areas where the character’s abilities stand out above the average person.<br />
<br />
Your skills form a pyramid, with a single skill rated at Great (+4)—which we’ll usually refer to as the peak skill—and more skills at each lower rating on the ladder going down to Adequate (+1):<br />
* One skill at Great (+4)<br />
* Two skills at Good (+3)<br />
* Three skills at Fair (+2)<br />
* Four skills at Adequate (+1)<br />
<br />
Mediocre (+0) is the default for any situation where you don’t have a skill. Sometimes, you won’t be able to attempt actions if you don’t have an applicable skill; in those cases, rolling the dice is irrelevant.<br />
<br />
===Build for Diversity===<br />
Protagonists are not just competent, but have some all-around capability. You should expect your character to be able to add something to a wide variety of situations.<br />
<br />
When you are choosing your skills, aim for having a diverse range of options. Your skills should not all be in the same discipline or same set of disciplines—no more than two in any particular domain, ideally. A scholar might have a secondary area of interest, for example. If they have worked in the field a lot, maybe they have picked up some hands-on survival skills.<br />
<br />
Think about the type of game you will be playing as well. If you have a game heavy on mysteries, you’ll need skills that you help you uncover clues. Exploration games will require problem-solving abilities, or skills that help in varying types of wilderness. If there’s going to be some action, you’d best be able to defend yourself or know when to run.<br />
<br />
Diversity also applies to the group of characters as well. Where there is overlap in concepts, your skills should help differentiate you. If you have several scholars, they should have different specializations. Everyone should have a place where they have the spotlight.<br />
<br />
==Your Stunts==<br />
Stunts are knowledges, talents, abilities or other assets that apply to your character. They are not dramatic focuses like aspects (meaning that, among other things, they cannot be compelled), but they are capabilities that are always at your disposal. Stunts follow the basic format of “when trigger, I can do effect.” So you will decide what capabilities you want to have under what conditions. Sometimes stunts will be mechanical in nature, or they will be entirely narrative.<br />
<br />
Resources are like stunts, except that they connect to specific people, places, or things. Their trigger is that you have access to the item or can get to the person or place.<br />
<br />
Your character starts the game by creating three stunts. You can take up to two more stunts at the cost of lowering your refresh by one each. (The gist is this: the more cool tricks you can do, the more you’ll need to accept compels to get fate points.)<br />
<br />
Figuring out stunts can take a while, so you may want to pick one for now and determine the rest of them during play. At least one of your stunts should describe a primary skill or knowledge that your character has, such as a profession or focused area of study. If you only choose one for now, choose one that reflects this.<br />
<br />
==Finishing Touches==<br />
Record your character’s refresh. A player character starts with a refresh of 3, which means they’ll start each session off with at least 3 fate points. If you picked four stunts (your three free plus one), your refresh is 2. If you pick five stunts, your refresh is 1.<br />
<br />
Every PC also has three consequence slots. One is mild, one is moderate, and the last one is severe. Stunts could potentially add to these defaults. <br />
<br />
Oh, and if you haven’t come up with one yet, choose a name.<br />
<br />
==Quick Character Creation==<br />
If you want to skip making a detailed character and just want to play, you can leave most of the character blank and fill in as you play. After all, the Myst games start you off immediately in the game without telling you much else.<br />
<br />
At minimum, you need to have the following filled out to start:<br />
* High concept aspect<br />
* Your Great (+4) skill<br />
* Name<br />
<br />
When it comes to your high concept, you can start off vague and refine the aspect later. Rugged Archaeologist is an okay high concept for this method, and later you might discover something about your character that puts a spin on it. When that happens, rewrite the aspect to reflect that spin.<br />
<br />
You should know your best skill to start—that gives us further ideas about your character. If you have any other thoughts on skills, either skills you’re good at or skills you’re bad at, write those down. (Since you don’t normally write down any skills you have at lower than Adequate (+1), just make a note on your sheet about those skills you’re intentionally saying you don’t have.)<br />
<br />
And, of course, you need a name! Maybe a first name is all you need for the moment, or a nickname. (There’s also the trick of giving yourself a name, only to later reveal that you’ve been hiding, are undercover, or have amnesia, and write down what your real name is.)<br />
<br />
===Adding Aspects in Play===<br />
With your Journey aspects, you’ll just make up whatever aspect seems interesting to you at the moment. Typically you’ll do this when you need an aspect on your character to achieve something, or you want to turn a situation that’s happening into something that’s compel-worthy.<br />
<br />
As with high concept, don’t stress about getting this aspect dead-on. After the session’s over, take some time to look over and tweak the aspects you’ve created on the fly.<br />
<br />
===Adding Skills in Play===<br />
At any point, if you are using a skill that isn’t on your character sheet, one of two things happens: you’ll assume the skill is Mediocre (+0), or you’ll write it down on one of your empty skill slots and roll it at that level. This choice exists until all of your skill slots are filled in.<br />
<br />
If you roll for a skill not on your sheet and choose to assume it was Mediocre rather than write it down, you can later fill it in on your sheet as something higher. Likewise, if you roll well on a skill when you chose to take it at Mediocre, maybe that’ll inspire you to take that skill later.<br />
<br />
===Adding Stunts in Play===<br />
You get three stunts for free, which you can fill in at any time. You can fill in other stunts at any time, but you must pay a fate point for each one. That’s because your refresh tells you how many fate points you start the game with, so by taking a stunt, you should have started with fewer.<br />
<br />
If you’re out of fate points, but want to note down a stunt you have because you’re suddenly struck with the idea, do so. But your character doesn’t actually have it until you gain a fate point and spend it.<br />
<br />
You’ll also need to reduce your refresh by one for the next session for each extra stunt you take.<br />
<br />
===After the First Session===<br />
After the first session is over, if you’re planning on playing your character again, you should take time to fill in the rest of the aspects, skills and stunts. Revisit your previous choices and make sure they fit what you want to do with your character as you continue to play.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Starting_a_Game
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Starting a Game
2024-02-20T22:30:07Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "The explorers in the Cavern have been holding their collective breath for years now. Yeesha’s ploy to draw off the Bahro seems to have worked, but no one has heard from her..."</p>
<hr />
<div>The explorers in the Cavern have been holding their collective breath for years now. Yeesha’s ploy to draw off the Bahro seems to have worked, but no one has heard from her since. The DRC abandoned the Cavern, and many explorers have followed their lead. <br />
<br />
The skeleton of a new society has begun to grow. Those who have remained behind have clustered into small groups; some are happy to cooperate and others just want to be left alone. Those that remain behind have been struggling with the question on everyone’s mind: what now?<br />
<br />
Your game is your answer to that. <br />
<br />
==Discussing the Setting==<br />
The first step in putting together an ''Unwritten'' game is discussion. The players and the GM sit down and talk about what they want to do with the game. The GM will usually have some ideas about the game they want to run, and the players will have ideas to bring to the table as well. Let’s look at what you should think about as you start your game: the big questions and the key decisions. After that, you will collaborate with each other to fill in the details of your game.<br />
<br />
===The Big Questions===<br />
The future of D’ni, the Ages, and the Art are in front of the characters, and that opens up some serious questions. When you start your game, you should decide which of these questions interest you and your group the most, or if there is some other question you would like to address.<br />
<br />
''What should the future of D’ni be, and what is the explorers’ place in that future?''<br />
<br />
What purpose does the cavern serve now? Should D’ni be rebuilt anew? Are the explorers the spiritual successors of the D’ni people, or is this the beginning of humanity’s turn as stewards of the Ages?<br />
<br />
''What will the explorers do with the power the Art provides them?''<br />
<br />
What happens when someone has the ability to seemingly create whatever world they want? What will explorers do with such abundance? Will they see themselves as masters of the Ages, like the D’ni? How will they treat the peoples they meet and what will they do with the worlds they find—learn and explore, or exploit and dominate?<br />
<br />
''How will the Art change the world?''<br />
<br />
The Art is, if you will excuse the pun, a game-changer. What happens when the rest of humanity finds out about it (if they ever do)? How will it change society? What new societies will develop? What new technologies will we discover because of what we may encounter? Will space travel simply become passé when you can just open a book to go to the next universe over?<br />
<br />
''What is out there on the Great Tree of Possibilities, and what does it mean?''<br />
<br />
Just what is out there? What sorts of new things can we find? Are there other civilizations who know the Art and what are they like? What is the possibility that the characters my discover something that fundamentally changes their understanding of the universe?<br />
<br />
===Key Decisions===<br />
Once you have considered those big questions, here are some decisions you need to make about your version of the setting.<br />
<br />
====The role of D’ni====<br />
D’ni is a hub for everything that happens in Unwritten, but you should decide how central will D’ni itself be to your game. Is it just a place to stop over on your way to exploring another Age? Or will the cavern be an important backdrop for your game? What you choose here tells you some of the details you need to think about. <br />
<br />
If D’ni is central to your story, then you will need to think about how many people are actually in the cavern at any given time, and what influence the various factions will have over the population in general and your characters in specific. The Ages in the game will be secondary locations and whatever drama happens out there will have effects back in D’ni. However, if D’ni is just a place for quick stops and the occasional interlude, then you won’t have to sweat these details. More of your focus will be the Ages that you will be visiting.<br />
<br />
====Accessibility of the Art====<br />
Explorers have been slowly rediscovering the Art, but how much of that will actually be in the hands of the players?<br />
<br />
If the Art is completely inaccessible to the players, then travel to the Ages is entirely dependent on what Books they can find. Getting to a particular Book may be an adventure in itself, whether they are blocked by physical obstacles or unhelpful NPCs. It means that the place in the Age where the Book links to is inherently a key location, since all incoming visitors will end up in the same place. Access to a new Age is a significant event here, and requires discovering a Linking Book. <br />
<br />
On the other end of the scale, if the Art is central to your game and some or all of the characters are Writers, you have significantly different possibilities. The availability of new Ages is defined by the skill, vision, and time of the characters (limited by the availability of appropriate books and ink). Solving a problem by Writing an Age that has what you need is a potential option, with all of the ramifications that come with that. Mistakes may literally have cosmic implications.<br />
<br />
A middle ground may be that your characters have the ability to create Linking Books, but not Descriptive Books. In this option, new Ages may not be forthcoming, but travel between existing Ages will be more flexible as characters write Linking Books to new places in existing Ages. <br />
<br />
====Puzzles====<br />
You can’t have a ''Myst'' game without talking about puzzles, and it’s important to discuss up front how they will fit into your game.<br />
<br />
Ask everyone how they feel about puzzles. If not everyone likes the idea of explicit puzzles in the game, then building your game around them is a bad idea. Also, some of your group may dislike particular types of puzzles—that’s another thing to get on the table right away.<br />
<br />
Discuss how you want your characters to interact with the puzzles. Will puzzle solving primarily be the purview of players, or will the abilities that your characters have that you do not affect puzzle solving? Answering this question will tell you how often you should bring in game mechanics to provide hints or solve problems.<br />
<br />
Also, consider how other elements in the setting will interact with puzzles. Devices like KIs will keep characters in contact with each other and allow them to record information, or they may be able to contact knowledgeable NPCs when they come up against something they can’t decipher. Similarly, Linking Books (especially Relto Books) provide easy ways of bypassing physical obstacles. If those solutions don’t appeal to you and your group, discuss limiting access to them, or removing them from the setting entirely.<br />
<br />
==Collaborative Game Creation==<br />
Now that you have looked at the big picture, it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty. Below we present a structure for filling out your game, designed to give everyone a chance to have a hand in how the game is put together.<br />
<br />
While we present the process in order, that’s not a hard and fast rule. If you have a definite idea for, say, how your characters fit together, start there and build the game around that. Or you may wish to start with the type of characters you want to play and then build your setting choices from there. Feel free to move back and forth through the process in a way that seems natural. Just make sure that all of the steps in the process are addressed in some way.<br />
<br />
It’s easy to draw a blank as a part of this process. That’s fine; if you don’t have an inspiration, skip it for now. You can come back to it later. And if you still don’t have an idea you like, just leave it. Those are good things to focus on as you play.<br />
<br />
===Declare Preferences===<br />
Go around the table and ask each person to describe what they want to do in the game.<br />
<br />
Everyone is likely to have something that they want to do. It may be as general as a category of activity (solving puzzles, exploring new places, etc.) or something more specific (exploring the limits of what is possible with the Art of Writing, preventing greedy explorers from exploiting native populations, etc).<br />
<br />
GMs, don’t forget that you are a part of this process. Declare the sorts of things that you want the game to be about and what challenges you want to present to the players.<br />
<br />
Now, go around the table again and declare what they do not want to do.<br />
<br />
This is the place where people at the table can throw up their red flags. There may be elements that particular players find offensive or stressful. Or, there may be things that people just don’t like dealing with, feel have been done too often, or give the game a tone they would rather avoid for this particular game.<br />
<br />
What is important to remember here is that no one has to justify what they do not want in the game unless they want to volunteer that information. The purpose of this question is to ensure that everyone has a game that they will enjoy, not put people on the defensive for their preferences.<br />
<br />
===Build a Framework===<br />
It is now time to create the framework, the basic details of your game. This is the scaffolding that functions as the foundation for the rest of the collaboration. There are sample frameworks at the end of this chapter. Mine them for ideas as you like.<br />
<br />
Address the features we discussed at the beginning of this chapter. <br />
* What are the big questions of the setting? Choose one of the ones discussed previously in this chapter or use them as a starting place for your own.<br />
* What will the role of D’ni be in the game?<br />
* What is the role of the Art in the game?<br />
* How will you handle puzzles and puzzle solving?<br />
<br />
===Declare Details and Unknowns===<br />
Each player gets an opportunity to declare an additional detail about the setting. Players, if you want to see something specific in the game, this is your chance to point it out. <br />
<br />
When you declare a detail about the setting, you have a few options:<br />
* Add a new detail to the setting.<br />
* Declare something specific about one of the details that already exist.<br />
* Change a pre-existing detail to something new.<br />
<br />
Potential details can involve any of the following:<br />
* A location<br />
* A person or faction<br />
* A relationship<br />
* A current event<br />
* An important event in the past<br />
* An environmental factor<br />
* A particular item<br />
* A technology<br />
<br />
Next, what are the unknowns, the unanswered questions that the characters (and the players) care about? Each player now gets a chance to declare something that is specifically unknown. Phrase this as a question and write it down.<br />
<br />
GMs, use these ideas from the players to build your scenarios and mysteries. Try to work them into your existing plans or use them as inspiration.<br />
<br />
===Establish Issues===<br />
Every setting needs to have something going on that the characters care about, often a peril they want to oppose or a mystery they want to solve. These are the setting’s issues.<br />
<br />
You’ll come up with two issues as a group and write them down. The issues should reflect the scale of your game and what the characters will face. They’re broad ideas; they don’t just affect your characters, but many people in the world. Issues take two forms:<br />
<br />
* Current Issues: These are problems or threats that exist in the world already, possibly for a long time.<br />
* Impending Issues: These are things that have begun to rear their ugly heads, and threaten to make the world worse if they come to pass or achieve a goal.<br />
<br />
The default number of issues is two: Either two current issues (for a story solely about trying to make the world a better place), two impending issues (for a story about striving to save people from threats), or one of each. The latter option is common in fiction: think about the stalwart heroes who work against some impending doom while already discontent with the world around them. Additionally, the unknowns defined in the last step can be the basis of an issue.<br />
<br />
===Establish Game Aspects===<br />
Turn the issues you have into aspects that you could conceivably use at different times in the story (often as compels to the protagonists or as invocations for foes, but clever players will always find other uses for aspects). Write them down, and then if you need to add a little bit to remember the context or some details, write those down alongside the aspects.<br />
<br />
If you’re new to making aspects, hold off on this for now. You’ll get quite a bit of practice making aspects for your characters. Once you’re done with character creation, turn these issue ideas into aspects.<br />
<br />
===Build an Age Library===<br />
One of the key elements of an Unwritten game is the Ages that the protagonists will find themselves in. Each player will create an Age to add to the setting’s Age library. The GM will use these as backdrops for the game.<br />
<br />
For each Age, write the answers to the following questions down:<br />
* What is one distinctive physical characteristic of the Age?<br />
* What is one important fact about the Age’s history/past?<br />
* What is one thing that is unknown about the Age?<br />
<br />
===Establish the Protagonists===<br />
Here is where the GM and players begin to discuss what they want each individual character to be, how the characters know each other, and why they are together. This discussion informs character creation, especially the choice of High Concept.<br />
<br />
The characters will be interacting, so it is important for the players to figure out why they are interacting and why they might continue to do so in the future. A lone wolf character might have a neat concept, but if a character ends up spending all of their time away from everyone else, then they are essentially playing their own game on the group’s time. This doesn’t mean that characters can’t split up and don’t get unique moments to shine, but the game is a group activity and the dynamics of the characters should support that.<br />
<br />
Also discuss how characters might conflict with each other. Some groups have fun when the characters are at odds; some do not. That should be worked out up front.<br />
<br />
Filling out the details of your characters is a part of character creation, covered in the next chapter. <br />
<br />
===Wrapping it Up===<br />
By the end of this process, you have:<br />
* A setting framework<br />
* A list of what the players and GM want to do and not do<br />
* A list of details<br />
* A list of unknowns<br />
* A current issue and an impending issue<br />
* Two game aspects<br />
* A list of Ages<br />
* A reason the characters are interacting<br />
<br />
With these in hand, the next step is to design the characters themselves. Move onto the next chapter: [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Character Creation|Character Creation]].</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Game_Basics
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Game Basics
2024-02-20T22:15:09Z
<p>BladeLakem: </p>
<hr />
<div>==What do you need to play?==<br />
* ''People'' - Three to five people are ideal. One person is the gamemaster (GM); the others are players.<br />
* ''Fate Dice'' - Rolls in Unwritten use special dice called Fate dice (sometimes called Fudge dice): six-sided dice with sides that are blank, or have a plus (+) or a minus (-). A plus stands for +1, a minus stands for -1, and a blank stands for zero. Roll four dice and add the sides together for the value. The range of values is from +4 to -4.<br />
* ''Character sheet'' - Each player will need a character sheet. You can find blank character sheets at the end of the book that you can photocopy, or you can write your own.<br />
* ''Tokens'' - Tokens symbolize fate points. You can keep track of them on paper if you like, but something physical for players to hold add a little more fun. Edible tokens are ill-advised.<br />
* ''Index cards'' - Optionally, you can have a stack of index cards available to jot things down and place where everyone can see them. Sticky notes and whiteboards work as well.<br />
<br />
==What do we do?==<br />
In any game of Fate, you’re either a player or a gamemaster.<br />
<br />
Players, you...<br />
:...portray protagonists in the story, called Player Characters (PCs).<br />
:...make decisions for your PCs.<br />
:...describe what your characters say and do.<br />
:...direct your character’s growth over time (this is called the Journey).<br />
:...roll dice for your characters when situations have uncertain outcomes.<br />
:...maintain your character’s character sheet.<br />
<br />
The gamemaster...<br />
:...portrays the world the PCs inhabit.<br />
:...portrays and roll dice for non-player characters (NPCs).<br />
:...creates the environments and scenarios characters interact with.<br />
:...acts as the final arbiter of rules.<br />
<br />
Everyone...<br />
:...helps everyone else look awesome.<br />
<br />
===Powered By Fate===<br />
''Unwritten'' is based on [https://faterpg.com Fate Core] by Evil Hat Productions. You do not need Fate Core to play Unwritten, but if you like this game, we suggest you check out Fate Core and other games Powered by Fate. You can find excellent games for almost any genre you like.<br />
<br />
==Player Characters==<br />
Each player has a character: it’s their interface with the setting. Their character is also one of the protagonists of the story as it unfolds. The player characters are the stars of the show.<br />
<br />
Let’s look at the nuts and bolts of a character. This is just an overview. Each of these are explained in greater detail elsewhere in this book.<br />
<br />
A character has:<br />
* ''Aspects''. Important and dramatic details that can help the character, or cause interesting complications they must overcome.<br />
* ''Skills''. What the character can do, and how good they are at doing it.<br />
* ''Stunts and Resources''. Special talents, situations, or other factors that give the character special bonuses.<br />
* ''Consequences''. Aspects that describe the lasting effects of things gone wrong.<br />
* ''Fate points''. Points the player can spend to affect the course of play.<br />
<br />
==How do we do stuff?==<br />
Players, most of the time you will just do things. As long as it makes sense, you describe it and it happens. Sometimes though, life isn’t that easy.<br />
<br />
When something is difficult, or whether you succeed or not is interesting, you will have to roll the dice to see what happens. This is called attempting an action. You will roll the dice when you’re opposing another character with your efforts, or when there’s a significant obstacle in the way. Otherwise, just say what your character does and assume it happens.<br />
<br />
===The Ladder===<br />
The basic measuring stick for Unwritten is the Ladder; it is used to measure skills, opposition, results and more.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
| +8 || Legendary<br />
|-<br />
| +7 || Epic<br />
|-<br />
| +6 || Fantastic<br />
|-<br />
| +5 || Superb<br />
|-<br />
| +4 || Great<br />
|-<br />
| +3 || Good<br />
|-<br />
| +2 || Fair<br />
|-<br />
| +1 || Adequate<br />
|-<br />
| 0 || Mediocre<br />
|-<br />
| -1 || Poor<br />
|-<br />
| -2 || Terrible<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Each step on the Ladder has a name and a numeric value. The name is descriptive; you can describe an action as Epic, or someone’s skill as Mediocre. The number is used for rolls and other parts of gameplay that need a little math in order to work. Whichever version is easier for your gaming group works just fine, though this book will include both, such as "Adequate (+1)".<br />
<br />
If a GM wants, they can use levels above or below the provided ladder and name them what they wish (e.g. "Horrible (-3)"). However, this book will assume the ladder is as listed.<br />
<br />
===Skills and Rolls===<br />
<br />
Skills determine what a character can do and how well they can do it. Each player has a number of skills, each with a rating indicating how good they are at it. Everything else that a character does is considered "Mediocre (0)".<br />
<br />
When you try to do something, you roll the four Fate dice, add up the pluses and subtract the minuses, then add an appropriate skill. <br />
<br />
All else being equal, if the result is positive then you succeed. If the result is high, you do really well. If the value is negative, then things don’t work out for you. If the dice total up to zero, then you don’t quite do it, but you get close or make progress.<br />
<br />
Of course, nothing is ever completely equal. Other factors will shift the result up (add to the result) or down (subtract from the result).<br />
<br />
===Opposition===<br />
Your actions will often be opposed. The value of the opposition shifts the value down. Opposition comes in one of two forms: active, when someone is rolling dice against you, or passive, when an obstacle just has a set rating.<br />
In your favor, you may have stunts which can affect the result of your roll. They may shift the value up, or give you other options.<br />
<br />
Once the result, measured in shifts, is finalized you determine success or lack thereof. Later in the document, we’ll talk about different instances where getting shifts on a roll benefits you.<br />
<br />
===Stunts===<br />
Stunts represent something about the character that translates into bonuses or special mechanics that are always in play. These can be personal talents, special training, etc.<br />
<br />
One type of stunt is called a resource and reflects special items, key contacts, or locations. Resources are stunts that are tied to a specific location, person or thing. They are listed separately to make it easier to remember that the character has to be at the place in order to use the stunt.<br />
<br />
==Fate Points==<br />
Each character has a pool of fate points. Spending a fate point indicates that the character is doing something or being affected by something dramatically significant.<br />
<br />
You can spend fate points to invoke an aspect or to activate certain powerful stunts. You earn fate points by accepting a compel on one of your aspects.<br />
<br />
Each character has a refresh rate. Each session, a character’s pool of fate points will refill up to their refresh. Refresh is also used to buy additional stunts and resources as the character grows and changes.<br />
<br />
===Declaring a Detail===<br />
Sometimes, you want to add a detail that works to your character’s advantage in a scene. For example, you might use this to narrate a convenient coincidence, like retroactively having the right supplies for a certain job (“Of course I brought that along!”), showing up at a dramatically appropriate moment, or suggesting that you and the NPC you just met have mutual clients in common.<br />
<br />
To do this, you’ll spend a fate point and justify your story details by relating them to your aspects. GMs, you have the right to veto any suggestions that seem out of scope or ask the player to revise them, especially if the rest of the group isn’t buying into it.<br />
<br />
==Aspects==<br />
Aspects are a key tool that Unwritten provides. Aspects are short phrases that signify important details about a character, a place, a thing, or even an action. They can cover a lot of ground and help paint a complete picture. For example, a character could have an aspect of Hotshot Big Game Hunter. That immediately indicates several things about that character: they are a hunter and probably pretty good at it, they have a tendency to take risks, they are pretty confident in their ability, etc.<br />
<br />
Aspect can represent anything that is distinctive or noteworthy. But more than being a description, the GM or players can use an aspect to affect play. A character aspect of Shy can be used to the character’s advantage (a shy person might be harder to pick out in a crowd) or to their disadvantage (a shy person is going to have a hard time in social situations).<br />
<br />
===Invoke an Aspect===<br />
<br />
An aspect can be invoked by a player in appropriate situations to improve a character’s chances. For example, Hotshot Big Game Hunter could be invoked when when doing something really dangerous, because you are used to taking big risks.<br />
<br />
Whenever you’re making a roll, and you’re in a situation where an aspect might be able to help you, you can invoke it in order to shift the dice result. This allows you to either reroll the dice or shift the roll by +2, whichever is more helpful. You do this after you’ve rolled the dice and you aren’t happy with your total. You also have to explain or justify how the aspect is helpful in order to get the bonus—sometimes it’ll be self-evident, and other times it might require some creative description.<br />
<br />
You spend fate points to invoke an aspect. You can spend more than one fate point on a single roll, gaining another reroll or an additional +2, as long as each point you spend invokes a different aspect. You can also roll to gain ‘free invocations’, which allow you to invoke an aspect without a fate point.<br />
<br />
When stopped at a gas station near the deserts above the D’ni caverns, Naomi discovers that someone has stolen a Linking Book from her car. She sees a figure run off behind the dunes and follows. When she rolls to see if she can track the thief, she spends a fate point to invoke her Desert Rat aspect, which gives her a +2 bonus.<br />
<br />
===Compels===<br />
Sometimes (in fact, probably often), you’ll find yourself in a situation where an aspect complicates your character’s life and creates unexpected drama. When that happens, the GM will suggest a potential complication that might arise. This is called a compel.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, a compel means your character automatically fails at some goal, your character’s choices are restricted, or simply that unintended consequences cloud whatever your character does. You might negotiate back and forth on the details a little to arrive at what would be most appropriate in the moment. In our hunter example, if the character was challenged to a bet, the GM could compel Hotshot Big Game Hunter to decide that the bet ends up being more risky than the character expected, and the results stir up all sorts of trouble.<br />
<br />
Once you’ve agreed to accept the complication, you get a fate point for your troubles. Alternatively, you can pay a fate point to prevent the complication from affecting your character, but we don’t recommend you do that very often—you’ll probably need that fate point later, and getting compelled brings drama (and hence, fun) into your game’s story.<br />
<br />
Players, you may also call for a compel when you want there to be a complication in a decision you’ve just made, if it’s related to one of your aspects. GMs, you call for a compel when you make the world respond to the characters in a complicated or dramatic way.<br />
<br />
Anyone at the table is free to suggest when a compel might be appropriate for any character (including their own). GMs, you have the final word on whether or not a compel is valid. Speak up if you see that a compel happened naturally as a result of play, but no fate points were awarded.<br />
<br />
==Character Aspects==<br />
A character’s aspects describe important parts of the character that can help or hinder them.<br />
<br />
Characters have three types of aspects:<br />
* ''High Concept'' - A character’s High Concept gives a basic overview of the character in one phrase. While this is not the entirety of the character, it is the core concept of the character.<br />
* ''Journey Aspects'' - A character’s journey aspects reflect where the character is in their life: their hopes, their desires, what and who is important to them. As characters advance along their Journey, these can change.<br />
* ''Consequences'' - A character has a set of consequences, which are aspects representing things that have occurred to and hamper the character, such as stress, set-backs, and so forth.<br />
<br />
===Non-Character Aspects===<br />
Objects can have aspects, as well as areas or scenes. These often fill the role that situational modifiers use in other games. For example, a tool might have an aspect of Malfunctions Easily. That could be compelled to force a problem at a difficult moment. Or it could be invoked by a player whose character is trying to break it. A warehouse might have aspects like Full of Boxes and Shadowy Corners, which could be used by players and NPCs or compelled by the GM, throughout a scene.<br />
<br />
==The Next Step==<br />
Now that you know the basics of how ''Unwritten'' works, you are ready to play the game. The next chapters, [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Starting a Game|Starting a Game]] and [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Character Creation|Character Creation]], will walk you through creating your game and your protagonists.<br />
<br />
If you have questions about the rules, the chapters in the Tools of the Journey section delve deeper into the mechanics of the game, how they interact and what issues might arise as you play.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/What_is_Unwritten%3F
Unwritten: System Reference Document/What is Unwritten?
2024-02-20T21:59:17Z
<p>BladeLakem: Created page with "''Unwritten'' is a way to get together with your friends, explore new worlds, and tackle the interesting situations that they present. You get to determine the challenges that..."</p>
<hr />
<div>''Unwritten'' is a way to get together with your friends, explore new worlds, and tackle the interesting situations that they present. You get to determine the challenges that the characters encounter, how they deal with the challenges, and what happens afterward.<br />
<br />
The D’niverse shapes your experiences around several specific themes. These are the cornerstones of what it means for a game to be an Unwritten game.<br />
<br />
'''''Unwritten'' is about discovery.''' Every world is a new thing to experience, and there are forgotten secrets just waiting to be uncovered all around. Whether it is exploration of places, uncovering the unknown, or pushing past the limits of believability, discovery is at the core of the experience. The D’niverse is full of surreal worlds and alternate dimensions; there is always another possibility out there, waiting for you.<br />
<br />
'''''Unwritten'' is about the journey.''' We learn about the protagonists and their world by the challenges they face and how they meet them. Their experiences shape who they are and who they become. As they discover new worlds, they discover more about themselves. As they affect the world, the world affects them. For a character, their story is not just about what they know or where they have been, but how they got there and why.<br />
<br />
'''''Unwritten'' is about thought and creativity.''' The primary tools of an Unwritten character are knowledge, insight, and ingenuity. As Myst is a thinking person’s game, so is Unwritten. Of course, there are adventures to be had, crises to resolve, and sometimes even worlds to save. However, the D’niverse has a cerebral cornerstone, one where forethought and creativity are centrally placed. The adventure progresses, not with shoot outs and duels, but with solving mysteries and creatively resolving dilemmas. Think of it as pulp’s nerdier sibling.<br />
<br />
==Who are the protagonists?==<br />
<br />
Protagonists in Unwritten are, above all else, explorers. They all have things that they are trying to learn. They have mysteries they want to solve, new places they want to see and questions that they want answered. In that pursuit, ''Unwritten'' characters are proactive, competent, and dramatic.<br />
<br />
;'''''Proactive'''''<br />
:Explorers are proactive. They have a variety of abilities that lend themselves to active problem solving, and they aren’t timid about using them. They don’t sit around waiting for the solution to a crisis to come to them—they go out and apply their energies, taking risks and overcoming obstacles to achieve their goals. They are driven by the need to know.<br />
<br />
:This doesn’t mean that they don’t ever plan or strategize, or that they’re all careless to a fault. It just means that even the most patient among them will eventually rise and take action in a tangible, demonstrable way.<br />
<br />
;'''''Competent'''''<br />
:Explorers are good at things. They’re skilled, talented, or trained individuals who are capable of making visible change in the world they inhabit. The understanding that they pursue is within their reach. They are the right people for the job, and they get involved in a crisis because they have a good chance of being able to resolve it for the better.<br />
<br />
:This doesn’t mean they always succeed, or that their actions are without unintended consequence. It just means that when they fail, it isn’t because they made dumb mistakes or weren’t prepared for the risks.<br />
<br />
;'''''Dramatic'''''<br />
:Explorers lead dramatic lives. The secrets that they uncover have meaning, and affect the world in which they live. Their lives require them to make hard choices and live with the consequences. Their experiences affect who they are, and shape what they can accomplish and what path they choose.<br />
<br />
:Essentially, they are people. Like us, they have interpersonal troubles and struggle with their issues. Though the external circumstances of their lives might be a lot bigger in scope than what we go through, we can still relate to and sympathize with them.<br />
<br />
==For Veteran Role-players==<br />
Those of you who have role-played before have probably seen more ‘What is role-playing?’ chapters than you can count. Instead of going through that again, I’d like to focus on what this setting can do for you.<br />
<br />
Pulp gaming avoids the modern era because much of it involves exploring edges of the known and delves into the unknown. Our modern world has a lot less room for that than the world of the pulp magazines. Because of pervasive technology, we just know too much. The D’niverse brings us back to delving into the unknown by opening the door to an infinite number of strange worlds. If you want to trek through unknown wildernesses and negotiate with strange civilizations, Unwritten can do that. If you want weird science, there’s room for that in Unwritten as well. Best of all, it’s equally available to your characters in the 1890s, the 1930s, or the modern day.<br />
<br />
Adventure stories work nicely in ''Unwritten''; any pulp story about rugged archaeologists delving into forgotten tombs can find a place in Unwritten. But you also have a chance for stories that focus on exploration itself. Characters are not only up against antagonists, but the unknown. Your game can give you chances to uncover mysteries, whether they are the secrets of the universe or just what is on the other side of the hill. Sometimes the environment itself will be the obstacle in your way, clearing the way for a story of person versus nature or versus themselves.<br />
<br />
The Art of Writing allows a gamemaster a way to include very different environments into the same game, and an easy way to bring them in. Characters can always just find another Book that takes them to another world with minimal fuss or concern about ‘railroading’. The Art also gives players a chance to create parts of the world, not just as co-authors of a shared experience, but in a definite in-character perspective.<br />
<br />
If you are familiar with Fate Core, you will see a lot here that you recognize. You will also see some significant changes here and there, in order to capture the unique feel of the D’niverse.<br />
<br />
Some topics are only given very broad consideration in Unwritten. If you want more specific systems for various elements, bring them in from your favorite Fate game. In fact, you’ll find a few suggestions for that towards the end of this book.<br />
<br />
==For the Myst fans==<br />
If you are a fan of the ''Myst'' franchise, Unwritten offers you a different experience of the D’niverse than you have had before. ''Myst'' games have always tried to focus on your personal experience of the game as a player. However, the narrative has always been one direction—from the game developer to you. Role-playing is even more interactive than a video game. You have the chance to carve out your own place in the D’niverse, a place where you can experience a version of the setting that is under your control.<br />
<br />
A lot of ''Myst'' fans are very concerned with ‘canon’—the truth of the game as derived from the games. ''Unwritten'' is not solely about that truth. Rather it is a way to play with a universe you love. You have the option to add to it and adjust it. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If there is an element you never liked, change it. If you want to go a different direction, then go. This game is focused on providing you possibilities. You can combine the known and your ideas into just the game you want.<br />
<br />
Role-playing games are all about sharing imagination with other people. Sure, we can all tell stories. But with the right tools, you can tell better stories. The rules in here provide a framework that you can use to help you. They help you keep focus on the narrative in front of you and provide hints and surprises (in the form of dice rolls) that you can use as inspiration for even more.<br />
<br />
Remember that this is a toolbox. The mechanics here are intended to support you with your story. There isn’t a right or wrong way to use the rules. Use what makes your game more enjoyable and don’t worry about what seems to get in the way.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document
Unwritten: System Reference Document
2024-02-20T21:54:16Z
<p>BladeLakem: /* Foreword */</p>
<hr />
<div><br />
==Disclaimers==<br />
:{{see|Unwritten: System Reference Document/Disclaimers}}<br />
==Foreword==<br />
The '''''Unwritten: System Reference Document (SRD)''''' is a system-reference document for the game ''[[Unwritten|Unwritten: Adventures Across the Ages of MYST and Beyond]]''. As a stripped down version of the Unwritten main book, covering only the system aspects of ''Unwritten'', it has only part of what appears in the main book proper. There is no lore in here - for that you have to go to the full version of the book or use this wiki.<br />
<br />
What is NOT in this version:<br />
* Art - Lowercase "a" art, of course.<br />
* Examples - Including examples of play, example characters, example Ages<br />
* Lore - The SRD is focused on the system; lore isn't a factor.<br />
* Sidebars - Sidebars in the main book provide tips or add more context to the main text. They don't appear in this document except where they contain system information.<br />
<br />
==Contents==<br />
<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/What is Unwritten?|What is Unwritten?]]<br />
<br />
====Fundamentals====<br />
These chapters introduce the game system of Unwritten. This is where you put together the Unwritten game you want to play and make characters.<br />
<br />
Chapters:<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Game Basics|Game Basics]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Starting a Game|Starting a Game]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Character Creation|Character Creation]]<br />
<br />
====Tools of the Journey====<br />
In these chapters, we get into the details of the game system. This section is good reference for both players, who control protagonists of the game, and gamemasters, who manage the world around the protagonists.<br />
<br />
Chapters:<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Aspects and Fate Points|Aspects and Fate Points]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Skills|Skills]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Stunts and Resources|Stunts and Resources]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Playing a Scene|Playing a Scene]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Discovery and Investigation|Discovery and Investigation]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Dramatic Time and Milestones|Dramatic Time and Milestones]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/The Great Art of Writing|The Great Art of Writing]]<br />
<br />
====Hand of the Maker====<br />
This is aimed at gamemasters, where we discuss conducting a game of Unwritten both in terms of mechanics and story. There are no secrets here, so players should feel free to read it as well.<br />
<br />
Chapters:<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/The Art of Gamemastering|The Art of Gamemastering]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/Running the Game|Running the Game]]<br />
* [[Unwritten: System Reference Document/System Glossary|System Glossary]]</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Unwritten:_System_Reference_Document/Disclaimers
Unwritten: System Reference Document/Disclaimers
2024-02-20T21:28:05Z
<p>BladeLakem: </p>
<hr />
<div>This work is based on Fate Core System and Fate Accelerated Edition (found at https://www.faterpg.com/), products of Evil Hat Productions, LLC, developed, authored, and edited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin, Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, and Rob Donoghue, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).<br />
<br />
Brainstorm mechanics (referred to as ‘deductions’ in this text) from the Atomic Robo RPG, © Evil Hat Productions, LLC, 2014. Used with the express permission of Evil Hat. <br />
<br />
This document uses material that is copyrighted by Cyan Worlds Inc. and does not necessarily depict actual story-line. Myst Online: Uru Live™ is the sole property of Cyan Worlds Inc. Copyright 2003 Cyan Worlds, Inc. All Rights reserved. Used with Permission.<br />
<br />
''Unwritten: Adventures in the Ages of MYST and Beyond'' © 2015, InkSpark Escapades<br />
<br />
Unwritten: System Reference Document © 2024 (consisting of the root page ''[[Unwritten: System Reference Document]]'' and all subpages) and is expressly permitted to be housed in this wiki.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/What_is_MYST%3F
What is MYST?
2024-02-03T18:45:06Z
<p>Alahmnat: Fixed some typos, formatted some external links better, and added links to other pages on the Archive.</p>
<hr />
<div><br />
'''''A guide and FAQ for new explorers'''''<br />
<br />
==Myst==<br />
<br />
'''''MYST''''' is a point-and-click adventure/puzzle game that was released in 1993 by Cyan - a game that shook up the world of video games. ''Myst'' is also the first entry in a series of media products that detail a rich setting that contains elements of fantasy, science fantasy, and some proto-steampunk sensibilities. <br />
<br />
This document will provide you with an overview of the Myst games, the Myst setting, and the fandom community.<br />
<br />
===What is MYST, the game?===<br />
<br />
''MYST'' is a point-and-click adventure and puzzle game, initially released in 1993. It has had several revised versions and has been ported to many platforms over the years.<br />
<br />
The player is presented with a brief prologue scene and a book titled MYST. Touching the book transports you to the island of Myst, and you are left to your own devices. You begin the game knowing nothing about the story or the setting - it's a cold start. One of the key elements of the games are the linking books - books that take you to other worlds, known as Ages. Much of the play centers around finding these books.<br />
<br />
Myst is a game with a relaxed pace. There are no monsters or enemies, and no combat. The game is largely non-linear and has no time-limit. You don't 'die' at any point, and there are no irrevocable decisions until near the end. You must simply explore and understand, solving environmental puzzles in order to explore further.<br />
<br />
Your understanding of the story comes from exploring the environment. You navigate from a first-person view point, using the mouse to click on and interact with objects. Navigation is done by clicking directions on the screen to turn, move forward, climb ladders, etc. There is no real inventory (though there are one or two things you can pick up and carry). Your interaction with other characters is done through bits of full-motion video. There are no dialog trees, and the many things you find involving the characters are recorded messages or written journals.<br />
<br />
===Why is MYST important?===<br />
<br />
Outside of just being an entertaining game, ''Myst'' is an important part of video game history - one often forgotten about nowadays. While the gameplay itself is simple, the graphics were a major jump in quality at the time. <br />
<br />
''Myst'' also was one of the first PC games to gain widespread popularity. It was distributed on what was then a brand new technology (CD-ROM), and it was one of the 'killer apps' that lead people to buying CD-ROM drives for their computers. It was the top-selling PC game throughout the 90s until it was overtaken by the Sims in 2001. Even as of today (Feb 2024), it is the 23rd best-selling PC game of all time (better than titles like ''Doom'', ''Diablo II'', and ''Grand Theft Auto V'').<br />
<br />
''Myst'' was also critically-acclaimed. Publications like Wired and the New York Times pointed to ''Myst'' as evidence that video games could actually be art. ''Myst'' was the first video game to have been inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.<br />
<br />
===What are the different versions of Myst?===<br />
<br />
''Myst'' has had several versions and remasters, and has been ported to many platforms. The original ''Myst'' was on Mac and PC. Nowadays, you can find a remastered version of ''Myst'' called ''Myst Masterpiece Edition'' on Steam and GOG.com. There is also a version called ''realMYST'' which is the ''Myst'' game but in a roamable 3D realtime-rendered environment. You can find that on Steam and GoG, as well as many consoles. Recently, Cyan released a new version in 2020 for the Oculus Quest, and then a later 'flatscreen' version of the new Myst in 2021.<br />
<br />
The puzzles and story are pretty much identical, except that ''realMyst'' has some extra content available after the end of the original game. The differences across versions are primarily UI and movement styles, as well as graphics quality. The ''Myst'' from 2020 has the most changes - many of the devices one can interact with in game have been modified to be more VR friendly. It also includes an option to randomize puzzle solutions to add some challenge for players who are already familiar with the game.<br />
<br />
===What are the sequels to Myst?===<br />
There are five ''Myst'' games in total, as well as a 'spin off' series called ''Uru'' (which had a single player game and an online MMO version). All take place in the same game universe.<br />
The Myst games are:<br />
* ''[[Myst (game)|Myst]]''<br />
* ''[[Riven (game)|Riven]]''<br />
* ''[[Myst III: Exile]]''<br />
* ''[[Myst IV: Revelation]]''<br />
* ''[[Myst V: End of Ages]]''<br />
<br />
The ''[[#Uru|Uru]]'' section has more information about that series.<br />
<br />
===Are there other Myst things out there?===<br />
Yes, there are three novels in the Myst universe, as well as a tabletop roleplaying game. <br />
<br />
The novels, in release order, are:<br />
* ''[[Myst: The Book of Atrus|The Book of Atrus]]''<br />
* ''[[Myst: The Book of Ti'ana|The Book of Ti'ana]]''<br />
* ''[[Myst: The Book of D'ni|The Book of D'ni]]''<br />
You can find them collected together in a single volume called ''The Myst Reader''.<br />
<br />
The tabletop roleplaying game is called ''[[Unwritten|Unwritten: Adventures in the Ages of Myst and Beyond]]''. You can find it on [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/146509/Unwritten-Adventures-in-the-Ages-of-MYST-and-Beyond DriveThruRPG].<br />
<br />
===Do I have to play/read all of it?===<br />
Fans generally believe experiencing them all is best, of course. But each game is independent and you can enjoy each game on its own. One common caveat to this is that ''Myst V: End of Ages'' will make much more sense if you have played ''Uru'' (the spin off) first.<br />
<br />
===What is the story order of all of the games and novels?===<br />
The chronological order of the games and novels:<br />
* ''Book of Ti'ana''<br />
* ''Book of Atrus''<br />
* ''Myst''<br />
* ''Riven''<br />
* ''Book of D'ni''<br />
* ''Myst III: Exile''<br />
* ''Myst IV: Revelation''<br />
* ''Uru: Ages Beyond Myst'' and (or?) ''Uru: Complete Chronicles''<br />
* ''Uru Live''<br />
* ''Myst V: End of Ages''<br />
* ''Myst Online: Uru Live''<br />
* ''Unwritten''<br />
<br />
==Uru==<br />
<br />
===What is Uru?===<br />
''Uru'' is the spinoff series of ''Myst''. It co-exists with the ''Myst'' games, but has its own purpose and theme. It also has a complicated publishing history.<br />
<br />
''Uru'' was initially published in 2003 as a single player game as ''[[Uru: Ages Beyond Myst]]''. An online MMO called ''Uru Live'' never got out of beta.<br />
<br />
Two small expansions were released for Uru: the first was ''[[Uru: To D'ni|To D'ni]]'', and the second was ''[[Uru: The Path of the Shell|The Path of the Shell]]''. Uru and its expansions were collected and sold under ''[[Uru: Complete Chronicles]]''. This is the release you want to look for to play the single player version.<br />
<br />
Cyan released some server code to fans under the name ''[[Myst Online: Uru Live#Untìl Uru|Untìl Uru]]'', and fans ran shards (independent servers) from 2004 to 2007.<br />
<br />
The online game service GameTap resurrected ''Uru'' (with Cyan) in 2007 as ''[[Myst Online: Uru Live#GameTap|Myst Online: Uru Live]]'' (MOUL). It ran for a year, then closed. MOUL has some additional content compared to the single player game. Content that appeared in the expansions for the single player game is presented differently in MOUL.<br />
<br />
Cyan continues to maintain a server for ''Myst Online: Uru Live'', which it calls ''[[Myst Online: Uru Live#Myst Online: Uru Live (again)|Myst Online: Uru Live again]]'' (MOULa). They don't support it besides keeping it running, nor has there been any new canon story. However, fans have been running independent shards of ''Myst Online'', as well as have been developing some content that Cyan has begun to add to the core version of MOULa.<br />
<br />
''Note: Uru is often the term that fans use to refer to the fandom itself as well.''<br />
<br />
===What are the differences between Uru: Complete Chronicles and Myst Online: Uru Live?===<br />
The majority of the single player game and the online game are the same (and most of the online version can be done alone). However, at one point, the story and puzzles began to diverge. There is more story in MOUL, as well as more puzzles. Some require working with others. Some were meant to be community-level puzzles; completing those will require some research.<br />
<br />
===How do I get to the current version of Myst Online?===<br />
Go to [https://mystonline.com https://mystonline.com]<br />
<br />
If you have any issues, go to the Cyan discord (see the [[#Fandom|Fandom]] section for link) - there is a channel there specifically for issues with ''Myst Online''.<br />
<br />
==Lore==<br />
<br />
===What's up with the magic books?===<br />
The books in the games, called Linking Books, take you to different worlds/universes (called Ages). The ability to create these books is called the Art. Writing a book to access a new Age is often just called 'writing an Age'.<br />
<br />
===What happens when you link?===<br />
When you touch the open page of a Linking book, you fade out of this reality and are transported to a specific place in the Age. The book you used remains behind.<br />
<br />
===How do you get back?===<br />
You use a book that links back to where you came from. So you either bring a book, or hope there's one there to use. Otherwise, you are stuck.<br />
<br />
===Do Writers create these worlds when they write them?===<br />
The canonical answer is that the Ages already exist and the books just create links to them (hence Linking Books). This is a big point of contention amongst characters in the setting however, and often affects how people treat the Ages and the people in them.<br />
<br />
===How does the Art work?===<br />
The Art requires special Books that must be made with special paper and special ink. A Writer uses symbols called ''gahrohevtee'' (great words) to describe the Age they want to go to. The book then links to an Age that matches the description. Since no universe can be described in complete detail, there are many possible Ages (quantum realities/parallel universes) that may match the description - one is 'chosen' randomly when the book is first used. <br />
<br />
There are two types of Books: Descriptive Books and Linking Books. Descriptive Books make the first link to an Age and define the link - you can use it to then link to the Age. Linking Books are just Books that take you to an Age after it has been linked to. <br />
<br />
Linking Books are smaller than Descriptive Books, and just link back to the place where the book was written. They are connected in some way to the Descriptive Book for the Age, however. If the Descriptive Book is destroyed, all Linking Books to the Age stop working. So, destroying the Descriptive Book makes an Age inaccessible.<br />
<br />
===Is the Art the only way to link?===<br />
That's a very long story. You'll need to read the books or play the games.<br />
<br />
===What is D'ni?===<br />
D'ni is a place and a people. The [[D'ni (people)|D'ni]] are an ancient civilization that used the Art to access places for resources and exploitation; their civilization fell 200 - 300 years ago. Atrus is a descendant of the D'ni. <br />
<br />
[[D'ni]] is also a place, the city the D'ni lived in—built in a gigantic underground cavern—that exists miles beneath the New Mexico desert (Eddy County, to be specific).<br />
<br />
===How do you pronounce the name D'ni?===<br />
The official way is close to dih-NEE or duh-NEE. The earlier games use DUH-nee, however.<br />
<br />
===What are the Unexplored Branches?===<br />
[[GoArch:Unexplored Branches|Unexplored Branches]] (UB) is the extended universe of the ''Myst'' franchise. This section of lore is considered less canonical than lore in the games and books. Things that are considered UB lore include: lore released in Unwritten supplements, unused lore released to fans by Cyan, and fan content added to the primary MOULa server.<br />
<br />
==Advice==<br />
This advice isn't spoilers - it just points out some important points that might make your experience more enjoyable.<br />
<br />
===Any general advice?===<br />
* Read everything.<br />
* Touch/fiddle with everything.<br />
* Take notes/pictures.<br />
* When in doubt, see if you can turn on the power.<br />
<br />
===What should I be wary of?===<br />
There are a few places where it is easy to miss something; this is common in a lot of point-and-click games. You may have to click all over to find things you can click on. Also, it's very easy to miss a path, turn, or item so keep checking around. <br />
<br />
A common issue is missing that some items or elements in the game can be used multiple ways, some that might not be obvious at first. Make sure that you play with different game items and controls to see what they can do.<br />
<br />
===Do I really have to read everything?===<br />
Yes, and no. There is a lot of stuff that is just lore. But there are hints amongst the lore, and there are puzzles where you have to understand the lore to understand the puzzle. You just never know which is which.<br />
<br />
===What else should I know?===<br />
* Some of the Myst games have 'zip' modes that can be activated to travel around areas you have been more quickly. This can be very helpful when you need to run back and forth. Check the settings of the games for this.<br />
* Look for settings that turn off or on hint systems, depending on how you want to play.<br />
* Some of the games have long animations that you have to wait on to move on. The first few times you should watch them. But there is usually a key that will skip the animation - this is useful if you are walking past it for the umpteenth time.<br />
* Not every interactable thing is important - they are just flavor. Part of the trick of the game is figuring which things are which.<br />
<br />
==Fandom==<br />
<br />
===Where do I find Myst fans?===<br />
The primary place is Cyan's official [https://discord.gg/cyanchat Discord server]<br />
<br />
There is also a yearly gathering of ''Myst'' fans called [https://mysterium.net Mysterium]<br />
<br />
===What do Myst fans call themselves===<br />
Myst fans often call themselves ‘explorers’, in reference to what players were called in Uru. Some people use the tongue-in-cheek term “D’nerds”.<br />
<br />
==Random Trivia==<br />
* The co-creators of ''Myst'', the Miller brothers, appear in ''Myst''. Rand plays Atrus and Achenar. Robyn plays Sirrus. Rand goes on to play Atrus in all the subsequent games.<br />
* Cyan made ''Myst'', ''Riven'', ''Uru'', and ''Myst 5''. ''Myst 3' was created by Presto Studios (now defunct) and ''Myst 4'' was made by UbiSoft.<br />
* The antagonist in Myst 3 is played by Brad Dorif, the same actor who played Grimer Wormtongue in the ''Lord of the Rings'' movies.<br />
* Peter Gabriel voices a character in ''Myst 4'', and one of his songs appears in the game. Another of his songs appears in the single player version of Uru as well.<br />
* Cyan created a game in 2016 called ''Obduction''. While not in the Myst franchise, it was billed as a spiritual successor of Myst, made using modern graphics. It's really good, you should play it.<br />
* The language of the D'ni that appears in ''Riven'' and later ''Myst'' games is a constructed language made by Richard Watson, one of the programmers who worked on ''Myst'' and subsequent games. <br />
* The word for "hello" in D'ni is ''[[Dictionary:shorah|shorah]]''.<br />
* Famous ''Myst'' fans include Matt Damon, Neil Patrick Harris, Adam Conover, Adam Savage, Jeff Dunham, Rowan Farrow, and Steven Sondheim<br />
* A parody of ''Myst'' called ''Pyst'' was made by a different developer, and was available in stores for a while. It stars John Goodman (yes, that John Goodman) as the King of Pyst. He even sings a song.<br />
* The Miller brothers appeared in a Gap advertising campaign.<br />
* Rand Miller appeared on a postage stamp in the country of Palau in its ''The Information Age: Visionaries in the Twentieth Century'' stamp set.</div>
BladeLakem
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Dulcamara
Dulcamara
2024-01-11T22:22:58Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Dulcamara''' is an explorer who, together with [[Ametist]], restored the [[Age]] of [[Eder Bahvahnter]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Calum_Traveler
Calum Traveler
2024-01-11T22:21:42Z
<p>Korovev: external links</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Calum Traveler''' is an explorer who, together with [[Kelsei Taylor]], restored the [[Age]] of [[Eder Naybree]].<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* [https://caltravelerslog.wordpress.com/ Calum Traveler's blog]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Kelsei_Taylor
Kelsei Taylor
2024-01-11T22:21:34Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Kelsei Taylor''' is an explorer who, together with [[Calum Traveler]], restored the [[Age]] of [[Eder Naybree]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Tweek
Tweek
2024-01-11T22:17:26Z
<p>Korovev: Name & external links</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Author}}<br />
'''Keith "Tweek" Lord''' is the explorer who wrote the [[Age]] of [[Fahets]].<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* [https://dniexplorer.com/ Tweek's website]<br />
* [https://www.facebook.com/agesoftweek/ Tweek's Facebook page]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Rustee
Rustee
2024-01-11T22:14:53Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Rustee''' is the explorer who discovered the [[Vothol Gallery]], an area within the [[D'ni cavern|Cavern]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Ametist
Ametist
2024-01-11T22:13:16Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Ametist''' is an explorer who contributed to the restoration of the [[Age]] of [[Tiam]] after the age was discovered by their uncle. The age was later further restored by [[Doobes|Patrick Dulebohn]]. They also contributed to the restoration of [[Eder Bahvahnter]] alongside [[Dulcamara]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Lontahv
Lontahv
2024-01-11T22:08:02Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Lohntahv''' is the explorer who first discovered the [[Age]] of [[Tre'bivdil]]. The age was later restored by [[Doobes|Patrick Dulebohn]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Semjay
Semjay
2024-01-11T22:05:35Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles=Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Semjay''' is an explorer who contributed to the restoration of the [[Age]] of [[Kalamee]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Andy_Legate
Andy Legate
2024-01-11T22:00:59Z
<p>Korovev: categories</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Unexplored Branches}}<br />
{{stub}}<br />
{{infobox explorer|roles = Age Restorer}}<br />
'''Andy Legate''' is an explorer who wrote the original version of the [[Age]] of [[Serene]]. The original version of Serene was destroyed, but a new not-quite-identical version was created and refurbished by [[Doobes|Patrick Dulebohn]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
[[Category:People appearing in Uru]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Sunner_Lagoon
Sunner Lagoon
2024-01-06T18:21:13Z
<p>Pharap: Rectify unbalanced markup.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{needs-image}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox location<br />
| image =<br />
| location = [[Riven]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Sunner Lagoon''' is a lagoon on [[Jungle Island]], on the [[Age]] of [[Riven]], so called because it is frequented by [[Sunner]]s who enjoy sunbathing there.</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Brad_Dourif
Brad Dourif
2024-01-06T17:32:10Z
<p>Pharap: Correct parameter name.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{OOC}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox real person<br />
|name = Bradford Claude Dourif<ref name="Film Reference">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/24/Brad-Dourif.html|title=Brad Dourif Biography (1950-)|website=Film Reference|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|born = 18 March 1950<ref name="Film Reference"/><ref name="IMDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000374/|title=Brad Dourif - IMDB|website=IMDB|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|occupations = Actor<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Brad Dourif''' (/ˈdɔːɹɪf/) is the actor who played [[Saavedro]] in [[Myst III: Exile]].<br />
<br />
Dourif is one of the most well-known actors to have appeared in a Myst game, having already been a well-known actor for roles such as Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Piter De Vries in Dune (1984), and perhaps most famously Chucky/Charles Lee Ray in Child's Play (1988).<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/John_Keston
John Keston
2024-01-06T16:51:01Z
<p>Pharap: Remove unnecessary category marker.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{OOC}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox real person<br />
|born = 5 December 1924<ref name="Obituary">{{cite web|url=https://news.stthomas.edu/in-our-prayers-john-keston/|title=In Our Prayers: John Keston - Newsroom {{!}} University of St. Thomas|website=University of St. Thomas|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|died = 13 February 2022<ref name="Obituary" /><br />
|occupations = Actor, singer, WWII veteran<ref name="Obituary" /><br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''John Keston''' was the actor who portrayed [[Gehn]] in [[Riven (game)|Riven]].<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Rengin_Altay
Rengin Altay
2024-01-06T16:44:59Z
<p>Pharap: Rectify typographical error.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{OOC}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox real person<br />
|born = 23 September 1962<ref name="IMDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0022683/|title=Rengin Altay - IMDB|website=IMDB|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|occupations = Voice actress<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Rengin Altay''' was the actress who voiced [[Catherine]] in [[Riven (game)|Riven]]. The physical performance was given by [[Sheila Goold]], who was dubbed over for unknown reasons.<br />
<br />
She later provided the voice of [[Yeesha]] in [[Uru: Ages Beyond Myst]] and [[Myst V: End of Ages]].<ref name="IMDB"/><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Whiteness
Whiteness
2024-01-06T16:03:53Z
<p>Pharap: Create 'Whiteness' page.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
<br />
The '''Whiteness''', also referred to as the '''Mist Wall''', was a natural phenomenon on [[Age 37]] consisting of a 'wall' of white mist beyond which nothing was visible. The natives of Age 37 had both fear and reverence for the Whiteness, and claimed that it was their "Master" prior to [[Gehn]]'s arrival on the [[Age]].<br />
<br />
When [[Atrus]] directed a small boat crew, consisting of old man [[Tarkuk]] and his son [[Birili]], to investigate the Whiteness their boat almost capsized due to the native crewmembers' fear of the Whiteness. Atrus directed the crew to row to safety, after which Tarkuk insisted that Atrus had "cheated" the Whiteness.</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Salar
Salar
2024-01-06T15:48:27Z
<p>Pharap: Create 'Salar' page.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
<br />
'''Salar''' was a native of [[Age 37]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:People]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Koena
Koena
2024-01-06T15:48:24Z
<p>Pharap: Create 'Koena' page.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
<br />
'''Koena''' was a native of [[Age 37]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:People]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Ink-Works
Ink-Works
2024-01-06T15:30:21Z
<p>Pharap: Rectify link.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
<br />
The '''Ink-Works''' were a group of buildings in [[D'ni]] where the [[Guild of Ink-Makers]] manufactured [[Ink]].<br />
<br />
In the events leading up to the [[Fall of D'ni]], a bomb had been placed in the "very middle" of the Ink-Works, which had detonated and caused a great fire which completely destroyed the Ink-Works. [[Gehn]] was witness to this event.</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Rivenese_village
Rivenese village
2024-01-06T14:00:26Z
<p>Pharap: Add 'needs-image' template.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{needs-image}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox location<br />
| image = <br />
| location = [[Riven]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Rivenese village''' is the village on [[Jungle Island]] on the [[Age]] of [[Riven]]. The village is notable for being home to many of the native [[Rivenese]] and for consisting primarily of adobe huts supported with wooden scaffolding.<br />
<br />
{{Riven navbox}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Riven]]<br />
[[Category:Riven locations]]<br />
[[Category:Places appearing in Riven]]</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/David_Wingrove
David Wingrove
2024-01-06T13:52:06Z
<p>Pharap: Update reference. (Although the website's logo is in French, the main page gives the site's name in English.)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{OOC}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox<br />
|title = {{PAGENAME}}<br />
|image = <br />
|label1 = Born<br />
|data1 = 1 September 1954<ref name="ISFDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?David_Wingrove|title=Summary Bibliography: David Wingrove|website=The Internet Speculative Fiction Database|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|label2 = Occupation(s)<br />
|data2 = Author<br />
|label3 = Website<br />
|data3 = https://davidwingrove.com/<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''David Wingrove''' is the main author of the [[Myst Reader]] series of Myst books: [[Myst: The Book of Atrus|The Book of Atrus]], [[Myst: The Book of Ti'ana|The Book of Ti'ana]], and [[Myst: The Book of D'ni|The Book of D'ni]]. <br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Robyn_Miller
Robyn Miller
2024-01-06T12:55:36Z
<p>Pharap: Replace 'Infobox' with 'Infobox real person'.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{OOC}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox real person<br />
|name = Robyn C. Miller<br />
|born = 6 August 1966<ref name="IMDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0589247/|title=Robyn C. Miller - IMDB|website=IMDB|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|occupations = Artist, actor, director, composer, computer game designer<br />
|relatives = [[Rand Miller]]<br />
|website = https://www.robynmiller.net/<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Robyn Miller''' is one of the Miller brothers. Together with his brother [[Rand Miller]] he cofounded [[Cyan Inc.]] in 1987, before later moving on to other ventures.<br />
<br />
Robyn Miller portrayed [[Sirrus]] in the original [[Myst (game)|Myst]] game.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Rand_Miller
Rand Miller
2024-01-06T12:55:34Z
<p>Pharap: Replace 'Infobox' with 'Infobox real person'.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
{{OOC}}<br />
<br />
{{Infobox real person<br />
|born = 17 January 1959<ref name="IMDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0589166/|title=Rand Miller - IMDB|website=IMDB|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><br />
|occupations = CEO of Cyan Inc.<br />
|relatives = [[Robyn Miller]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Rand Miller''' is one of the Miller brothers. Together with his brother [[Robyn Miller]] he cofounded [[Cyan Inc.]] in 1987.<br />
<br />
Rand Miller portrayed both [[Atrus]] and [[Achenar]] in the original [[Myst (game)|Myst]] game, and later reprised the role of Atrus for [[Riven (game)|Riven]], [[Myst III: Exile]], and [[Myst IV: Revelation]]. He also provided the voice of Atrus for the opening monologue of [[Uru: Ages Beyond Myst|Uru]], the opening monologue of [[Myst V: End of Ages]], as well as the "true" ending of Myst V. He has also provided the voice of Atrus for various advertisements for Myst games.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Great_lodge_house
Great lodge house
2024-01-06T12:04:45Z
<p>Pharap: Create 'Great lodge house' page.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
<br />
A '''great lodge house''' was a house built by the [[Averonese]]. Their doors were framed with [[jarras tree]] trunks.</div>
Pharap
https://archive.guildofarchivists.org/wiki/Averonese
Averonese
2024-01-06T12:02:39Z
<p>Pharap: Rectify plurality of internal link.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{stub}}<br />
<br />
The '''Averonese''' are the native humanoid inhabitants of the [[Age]] of [[Averone]].<br />
<br />
== Appearance and physiology ==<br />
<br />
Averonese are humanoid in appearance.<br />
<br />
== Culture ==<br />
<br />
Averonese constructed [[great lodge house]]s using [[jarras tree]] trunks to frame the doorways.<br />
<br />
== Known individuals ==<br />
<br />
{{#ask:[[Category:Averonese people]]|format=ul}}<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
<br />
* [[:Category:Averonese people|Averonese people]]</div>
Pharap