Designing a BPRD Scenario

First, a request: if you think you might wind up playing this game at OGC this summer, please don't read any further. You get the unique joy of discovering the story through actual play. Don't ruin it for yourself.

So, Ben_McFarland suggested I post here about this scenario I'm writing for OGC -- I've already blogged a little about it here and here. It's based on the Hellboy universe in that characters are agents of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. So the tone is pulpy supernatural investigation and butt-kicking with a dark sense of humor.

System-wise, I'm going to use Cinematic Unisystem, as rendered in the Buffy and Angel RPGs. The Hero/White Hat distinction is good for having characters of differing power levels without the Hellboy types overshadowing the Kate Corrigans. Plus, it has a broad toolkit for building characters, and I like the Drama Points convention.

I've got an idea of the first two acts written out at the moment. I'm trying to use the format of five acts to give myself a guide to where action needs to rise and the stakes escalate. You can see what I've written here. Please know that I realize a scenario is never linear or predictable. I'm just taking the tack that if I have a set line of events, I'll be able to adapt to what the players do while keeping things moving forward to the end goal.

Right now, the big thing is there is no big thing. "Clay soldiers in Hong Kong" is a premise, not a conflict. Initially, I had thought the sorcerer -- who will not be named Lo Pan in the final version -- controlling them would be killing off descendants of the first Qin emperor to stop them claiming their inheritance, the soldiers themselves. Now, however, I think it'd be better if he's collecting their blood or hearts or something for a ritual. Rule the world, defend China from the barbarian West, something like that.

I'm also thinking about adding an NPC, an elderly mystic scholar type who follows the BPRD agents to that apartment. He can give some exposition about the clay soldiers and what the sorcerer is trying to do. I'm thinking he'd be mostly a comedic role to mollify the infodumping.

I also have this mental image of a dark warehouse full of packing crates. The agents enter. The sorcerer calls out something off in the distance. A clay fist punches out of a crate right in front of one of the PCs. Then, all around them on every side, the sound multiplies and echoes as hundreds more soldiers begin to punch their way free.

So that's what I'm thinking at the moment. Comments or suggestions would be welcome. The only things I'm firm on are using Cinematic Unisystem, splitting the PC mix half-normal, half-supernatural and the tone of supernatural pulp adventure.

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"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

BPRD: Format and Decision Trees.

A point to note is that it sounds like you're working with a convention game-- that's a different design format than a home game. In a home game you want a style that fits the table--so nonlinear is often a fantastic fit. However, at a convention, you've got a limited window of play-- four to eight hours, depending on the slot length-- and so the linear adventure is completely ok because the players are there for a self-contained story!

Now there are tricks you can do within that format to create the illusion of a matrix style adventure; you can create decision trees within the storyline that might have individual flavor and consequences but lead to the same encounters. This adds some design needs, but limits your complexity, and the name of the game for convention games is clean and elegant.

So the big encounters are the first waypoints we want to focus on-- what you want to accomplish, what sort of scenes you want. I'm unfamiliar with the pace of combat in Unisystem, how long does an average combat require? That's a consideration you'll want to keep in mind. Also, do you want to have puzzles? They can be a very open ended time sink or they can barely register; without knowing who will be at your table, a puzzle becomes a big X factor. Cinematic skill challenges that keep tension high (Like trying to escape through the warehouse at a run as the terra-cotta soldiers [TCS] burst from crates; you have dodging the flying debris, falling crates that shift the path, freed TCS that make attacks at the passing heroes.) while giving the players a chance to take some of their showcase abilities out for a spin. Usually the convention time limitations means you're going to be forced to keep the number of challenges in the 3-5 range and I'm sure you want one of them to be a brawl with the TCS and the sorcerer...

That's some starting points... but feed us a little more, what points do you want to cover, what factions do you want to have in the mix, so we can work on decision trees? What locales do you think ought to be involved?

-Ben.

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Ben_McFarland wrote: However, at a convention, you've got a limited window of play-- four to eight hours, depending on the slot length-- and so the linear adventure is completely ok because the players are there for a self-contained story!

That's very true. I have a bad habit of obsessing over details to the point of paralysis. I'm still trying to shake it.

Ben_McFarland wrote: So the big encounters are the first waypoints we want to focus on-- what you want to accomplish, what sort of scenes you want. I'm unfamiliar with the pace of combat in Unisystem, how long does an average combat require? That's a consideration you'll want to keep in mind.

It's fairly quick. It's low-crunch to begin with and NPC design encourages a high mook contingent for Hero PCs to clobber. 

Ben_McFarland wrote: Also, do you want to have puzzles? They can be a very open ended time sink or they can barely register; without knowing who will be at your table, a puzzle becomes a big X factor.

I hadn't considered including any puzzles, probably because I don't think they really work in convention games. In my admittedly limited experience, they tend to be a huge speedbump that kills forward momentum.

But also in this case, I'm not sure how to fit one into the context of Hong Kong, unless there's a hidden tomb or labyrinth somewhere -- which isn't a terrible idea, but I think I need to develop what the conflict is before deciding where to place it.

Ben_McFarland wrote: Cinematic skill challenges that keep tension high (Like trying to escape through the warehouse at a run as the terra-cotta soldiers [TCS] burst from crates; you have dodging the flying debris, falling crates that shift the path, freed TCS that make attacks at the passing heroes.) while giving the players a chance to take some of their showcase abilities out for a spin. Usually the convention time limitations means you're going to be forced to keep the number of challenges in the 3-5 range and I'm sure you want one of them to be a brawl with the TCS and the sorcerer...

Non-combat challenges are a particular weak point of mine, so I'm glad you thought of them. Those examples are definitely going in my notes. 

Ben_McFarland wrote: That's some starting points... but feed us a little more, what points do you want to cover, what factions do you want to have in the mix, so we can work on decision trees? What locales do you think ought to be involved?

I'm not really sure what points I want to cover. I want the conflict to be big and dramatic. "Nuzzink in ze vorld can shtop me now!", only not so hammy. The sorcerer's got an army of TCS. What's he going to do with them that will make the players go, "We've got to stop him!"?

Ruling the world's always a favorite. Cleansing the Middle Kingdom of China of barbarian outsiders could certainly be in character, but it seems so remote. Maybe animating the TCS is the goal itself; without the divine mandate of the emperor, it takes repeated blood sacrifices to keep them moving. The sorcerer can only animate a few at the moment and uses them to coordinate some larger sacrifice to power the rest of the army.

I half wonder if I should move the action to somewhere closer to home, like New York City or Boston, to make it resonate more with both the characters and the players. It could center around a museum where some TCS are "on loan" and raid another exhibit for a mystical artifact or something. But then the question is: why does this guy and his army of Chinese pottery care so much about NYC or wherever?

Three factions should be enough, to minimize confusion: the sorcerer, someone who opposes the sorcerer and the PCs as and the wildcard factor. Or, if the sorcerer's threatening something close to home, then that puts the PCs in direct conflict, which I think would be better than being dragged into a conflict they ostensibly have nothing to do with.

These are not insurmountable questions, I know. I'm just stuck for answers at the moment. Typing it out certainly helps.

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"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

Dragons! There's a dragon egg somewhere he wants to steal and hatch.

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"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

Options...

Alright, so let's kick this around a little...

The action begins in Hong Kong, where the TCS are being stored before their shipment to a display somewhere.

Enter our sorcerer...to control the TCS he needs a Macguffin, and in the process of acquiring his Macguffin, he kills an important antiquities dealer.

But why does he want to control the TCS? Easy. Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China was buried with the knowledge of where the dragons' last clutch was. His tomb contained rivers of flowing mercury, representative of the rivers of China, a massive diorama that showed all the great aspects of the empire. The TCS are the only way to safely enter this tomb without being attacked by the guardians within.

So, first encounter: The murder scene, where you draw the characters together and give them the dead body (The antiquities dealer needs a personal attachment to each character--relative, mentor, lover, business partner, rival, things that will draw each character to him, and gives them a stake in discovering why he was killed.), the stolen items, and maybe a red herring-- some statues with heroin in them...because this scene will set up your three power organizations that will be opposing the Party or providing them aid.

1. Chinese Government
2. Triad Boss
3. Sacred Monk Order

The Triads will be tipped off by a crooked cop on scene and skulk around the shadows and alleys after the fact, the lead detective will be a student of the Monk Order, and the Government will show up to take over the investigation as the characters show up.

You can provide different sorts of assistance based on which group the characters decide to help, or if they decide to do it just for themselves. Giving each character a secret sign ingame will let them know who they need to talk to as the scene progresses.

Then, in one character's voice/email/snail mail, there is a message from the dead guy. He thinks there's trouble, and that if anything happens, they need to seek out and stop TheSorcerer, they need to reclaim the Macguffin. If they've gotten this message, they need to go to the Warehouse.

So, this takes us to our second encounter, "Stop meddling, you kids!" where the mooks of one of the groups not chosen by the characters decide to take a shot at the characters. This can be the characters' shakedown encounter, allowing them a chance to take their powers out for a spin and get a feel for the system if they weren't completely familiar with it before.

This encounter is enough of a delay such that when we arrive at the Warehouse, our next encounter, the Sorcerer is already here. The characters are met by either some allies from their group, or enemies who see them from across the warehouse, but don't act in order to watch the Sorcerer. He is completing the ritual that will free the TCS from their crates and place them under his control...the characters will see this only as they have completely entered the Warehouse. He will laugh and call the TCS to him, stating that the secrets of the First Emperor's Tomb will now be open to him...as the characters act, the Sorcerer begins our second encounter-- the collapsing, exploding, attacking Warehouse. Perhaps the Sorcerer unleashes a demon who first obliterates the allies/enemies, demonstrating how powerful it is...and prompting the party to flee. This begins our escape encounter. The demon will remain in the warehouse and disappear as the Sorcerer's laughter echoes with the collapsing structure.

Now the party needs to get to the tomb, where you can have a short puzzle, and a fight with the TCS, since this is where they're all being unearthed. The Sorcerer is already here, and just a few steps ahead. This can be a knockdown, dragout brawl, giving the characters a run for their money, but consider using the environment to provide a few fun easter eggs for creative parties-- cranes that can drop equipment on the soldiers, construction materials that can be used to blockade them, hazards that might impede them or otherwise ease the encounter. Perhaps after a predetermined number of TCS losses, the bulk of their number turn to face the newly arrived Spurned-Ally-turned-Enemy forces...the party must enter the tomb! Now we have the puzzle, or if the party is low on time, the puzzle remnant...that allows you to use the puzzle if your table is flying through the adventure and gloss over it if they're struggling.

Within the tomb, you can have them find no sign of the Sorcerer, just the tracks of what he's been looking at on the massive diorama and perhaps a fragment of prophecy or identifying label... have one of the Ally/Enemy arrive at this point , bloodied and wounded, living long enough to point the party to the next encounter-- the island of Penglai, the secret resting place of the Dragon's Last Clutch in the Temple of the Eight Immortals...to reach it, they must go to Penglai City in Shandong, China. They will need to use a new Macguffin found within the tomb to make the trip--maybe a model junk that becomes a magically self-propelled junk when activated. At this point, they might get to collect all sorts of powerful weapons, long hidden inside the tomb, depending on which group they support. 

At Penglai City, at the proper moment, the mythical island of Penglai is visible on the horizon, and the characters will be able to activate the Macguffin and arrive on the island. You could provide them a series of in character questions, dependent on how they've progressed through the adventure to this point. Maybe go back and insert small choices back through the encounters-- a fortune cookie here, a street urchin there, the option of running a red light, or pausing to help someone... based on how these events passed and the questions are answered, the characters could either be facing the Sorcerer and his newly acquired dragon, or facing off against the Sorcerer and his giant flying monkey demon (That can split into smaller flying monkey demons!)

Not only does this fight have to happen to avenge the murdered antiquities dealer, but if the Sorcerer isn't stopped he'll gain the Elixir of Life, and begin his plans to reconquer China as the Empire of Qin...ruling it from his demon-commanding-immortal-iron-fist.

So. What do you think?

-Ben.

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I think you're way better at this than I am!

I'm at work right now, so I'll write more tonight after I've had time to cogitate and see through the glare of the awesome.

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"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

Ben_McFarland wrote: Alright, so let's kick this around a little... The action begins in Hong Kong, where the TCS are being stored before their shipment to a display somewhere. Enter our sorcerer...to control the TCS he needs a Macguffin, and in the process of acquiring his Macguffin, he kills an important antiquities dealer. [quote="Ben_McFarland"]But why does he want to control the TCS? Easy. Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China was buried with the knowledge of where the dragons' last clutch was. His tomb contained rivers of flowing mercury, representative of the rivers of China, a massive diorama that showed all the great aspects of the empire. The TCS are the only way to safely enter this tomb without being attacked by the guardians within.

One idea this gave me is that it's a particular TCS, a general, who can freely enter and lead people to the inner sanctum of the tomb -- the one the archaeologists haven't uncovered yet, naturally. If the PCs put down the general early on, then the sorcerer has to sacrifice some of his TCS to get past the traps of the tomb.

This could tie to your suggestion below, that the sorcerer's after a mcguffin, in that the general TCS is what animates the entire army. The sorcerer steals a widget from the antiquities dealer that lets him control a few, but he needs the general under his sway to achieve the complete effect.

That general, plus a small assortment of other figures, are being shipped out of the country for a touring museum exhibit, so the sorcerer has to steal them from the warehouse. 

Ben_McFarland wrote: So, first encounter: The murder scene, where you draw the characters together and give them the dead body (The antiquities dealer needs a personal attachment to each character--relative, mentor, lover, business partner, rival, things that will draw each character to him, and gives them a stake in discovering why he was killed.),

I have to admit I wasn't sure about this at first, because it seemed like it might be overkill in the context of them being BPRD agents, who are often told "go here, do this, save the world if it comes up."

But thinking about it, I think you're right. Instead of making them two separate things stacked on top of each other -- the PCs are ordered to investigate *and* they all happen to have links with him -- the two are the same. They have personal links with the dealer because he was a sometimes-ally of the BPRD, or he disputed the findings of a research paper or what-not.

Ben_McFarland wrote: the stolen items, and maybe a red herring-- some statues with heroin in them...because this scene will set up your three power organizations that will be opposing the Party or providing them aid. 1. Chinese Government 2. Triad Boss 3. Sacred Monk Order ... You can provide different sorts of assistance based on which group the characters decide to help, or if they decide to do it just for themselves. Giving each character a secret sign ingame will let them know who they need to talk to as the scene progresses.

This is really great. Ally/Foe NPCs are often in my blindspot and this makes it so clear how they could all work. 

Ben_McFarland wrote: You could provide them a series of in character questions, dependent on how they've progressed through the adventure to this point. Maybe go back and insert small choices back through the encounters-- a fortune cookie here, a street urchin there, the option of running a red light, or pausing to help someone... based on how these events passed and the questions are answered, the characters could either be facing the Sorcerer and his newly acquired dragon, or facing off against the Sorcerer and his giant flying monkey demon (That can split into smaller flying monkey demons!)

Everything from the warehouse on is pure awesome. I could never think of anything better. I'm unclear on this bit, however.

I get the idea that there are little choices scattered throughout that add up to make a difference in the final confrontation. But how is the difference whether the sorcerer has a dragon or a monkey demon? Is it that if the PCs were virtuous, the dragon sees that and elects not to aid the sorcerer, or that the choices the PCs make change the nature of the creature the sorcerer summons forth? 

Ben_McFarland wrote: So. What do you think?

Like I said before, I think it's incredibly awesome. This is everything I never could have thought of myself. With all this figured out, fleshing out the details that bring it to life, like the multiple factions that can aid or hinder, will be come so much more easily.

Thanks, Ben! 

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"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

blinovitch wrote: Everything from the warehouse on is pure awesome. I could never think of anything better. I'm unclear on this bit, however. I get the idea that there are little choices scattered throughout that add up to make a difference in the final confrontation. But how is the difference whether the sorcerer has a dragon or a monkey demon? Is it that if the PCs were virtuous, the dragon sees that and elects not to aid the sorcerer, or that the choices the PCs make change the nature of the creature the sorcerer summons forth?

 

Actually, my thought is that it's either the dragon that he's brought to his side, or the demon he controlled during their warehouse escape. If they made the right choices, they get to have the fight with the dragon on their side facing the demon and the sorcerer, and if not, they face the dragon and the sorcerer (maybe because the sorcerer can't control both the demon and the dragon at the same time, doesn't really matter, unless you get nitpicking players who are digging into the story too much, but good to establish in any case. ;] ).  Another cool thing about the flying monkey demon who can split into many smaller monkey demons is that if they've been trashing their way through things, and you think they need a little more meat in that last encounter, you could give the sorcerer a couple mini-demons while the larger one faces off against the dragon-- that allows them a chance to settle the score from the warehouse encounter.

Then, if they chose to work with the government agents, they might have hi-tech lasers and gauss rifles, special armor...if it's the Triads, they could have mobs of mooks with machine guns and crazy homemade explosives or RPGs, and finally, if it's the Monks, maybe they get to learn special powers of the secret weapons they pulled from the Emperor's tomb. Any of these things might give them something cool to do once a round, but you could rotate it around the table so that it's always another player's choice, but doesn't necessarily overwhelm the battle.

blinovitch wrote: Ben_McFarland wrote: So. What do you think? Like I said before, I think it's incredibly awesome. This is everything I never could have thought of myself. With all this figured out, fleshing out the details that bring it to life, like the multiple factions that can aid or hinder, will be come so much more easily. Thanks, Ben!

You're very welcome! That's what I'd intended the Light Brigade Social Club to be for-- a good place for us all to hash out story ideas and look for new things to try. :) I'm glad I could help. You'll have to let me know how it turns out. Oh, and you should tell me when OGC is, so I don't accidentally show up and play. ;)

-Ben.

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A Couple of reference Suggestions

You might want to look at the Hellboy game book that was put out for GURPS, to give you a bit more material and ideas on the setting (I'm not sure why you have chosen the Edenstudio's system, but I presume it's because you are more familiar with it mechanically or that it does something dramatically that you want).

I would also suggest taking a look at the recently published Gumshoe System (such as in 'Trail of Cthuhlu') as it has some interesting ideas of how to play out Mystery/puzzle  play in a game so that one wrong turn or failed to find clue doesn't derail the play as you go. (I don't recommend necessarily the mechanics of the system  for what you want, but the play advice concepts could be applied to any game that has an investigative element).

 

 

National Geographic Channel just had a show about the tomb and the soldiers.

Excellent research material on the site!

-Ben.

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So! Let's get the response, how did it go? Lay the playtest report on us!

-Ben

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