Halloween Issue: Greetings and Welcome to the First Issue, or...Why Do We Call It:

Spell Schedules Translocation

Translocation

"So ya wanna cast a spell...you know any? Ya mean nobody tolja? Well, you've come to the right place."

"Welcome to Chaundrie's Last Spell Emporium! Home of the distelfink and the blejhudri. All forms of payment welcome! What can I do for you?"

"Need to 'get out of town' in a hurry? No problemo, let me show you our fine selection of Translocation spells, better known as the Velocity, Motion, or Speed Spell Schedule; right this way and excuse the clutter. (The landlord is making a few improvements to the property....)"

"Ah, here we are. Wouldja take a look at these...."

TRANSLOCATION

6. Emtombment, Invisible Agent, and Summon
   
   
5. Invisible Butler, Magic Circle, Stasis, Superior Flight, Teleport Any, and Pass through Any
   
   
4. Animation, Banish, Dancing Weapon, Extra Hands, Flight, One Way Portal, Removable Hole, Suspended Animation, and Teleportation
   
   
3. Catfoot, Crash, Freeze in Place, High Speed, Launch, League Steps, Levitate, Pass Lock, Poltergeist, Reverse Missile, Tempus Fugit, Winged Blade, and Walk on Air
   
   
2. Bond, Deaden Appendage, Deflect, Fall of the Feather, Fetch, Fling, Float, Ground, Haste, Inferior Levitation, Leap, Like a Fish to Water, Marathon, Monkey Climb, Open, Rider, Quick March, Rooted Feet, Slow, Stealth, and Walk on Water
   
   
1. Beach, Breakfall, Catch, Climb, Cling, Clumsiness, Dislodge, Drag, Filch, Fleet of Foot, Free, Fumble, Guide, High in the Saddle, Hinder, Juggle, Jump, Land, Leaden, Lighten, Lightfoot, Quick, Quickdraw, Rustle, Sink like a Stone, Skate, Spasm, Stop, Swim, Tarfoot, Toss, Trip, and Turnabout

"Okay, to use a spell, first you indicate the subject; that's who or what the spell is to be cast upon. Next you check whether the spell you know and the power you have available for it are suited to the task. What? No, no; spells don't really use any of your Power, it's more like you spend it and get it right back (well, provided you don't really blow it). So yes, you have to have 'enough Power' to cast each one."

"Anyway, if your spell isn't quite right for the situation, don't fret; you can make 'field adjustments' to it. Need to affect more? Up the power. Need to affect lots more? Burn a few Power points. Need to extend your range? The same. It goes on like that; really, spells aren't as 'locked in' limited as everyone seems to think, you can get rather creative if the need is there. The only basic rule of thumb is 'you can turn up the power, but you can't turn up the finesse.'"

"Once you 'know what yer getting into,' it's as easy as rolling dice (and somewhat as random, magic being what it is). Why, if yer really good at this 'game' ya can swing kharma in yer favor too, but that's mostly a matter of experience."

"Now, sometimes when things are going really good and yer pretty sure you 'got off a good one,' you have a little 'play' you can do with the effects. For example, let's say you burnt a few Power points ramping up the amount you can affect, you can get those back now, if'n you cast a real good one. You can also extend the duration or magnitude of the effect too. The rule of thumb here is 'finesse can be turned into Power, but not vice versa.' Careful though, you waste too much piddling with the details and you might leave the spell weak when it comes to undoing or overpowering it. (Like an illusion, ya want those to stay as good as ya can get, they fool more people that way. Did I say you'd be trying to fool people? A thousand pardons, sir!)"

"Course, here too you can get a little more oomph out of a spell if yer experienced in the right way. (Knowwhatimean?) After that, it's all a matter of watching the effects 'take.' Couldn't be simpler; why even animals can be taught such effects. (No sir, I didn't mean to imply anything, sir. Did I mention we're having a special today?)"

"What's that? You've heard enough about spellcasting? Okay, let's talk terms...ya can have any spell ya like on the list. Pay its Rank in points and I'll throw in one spell free from each Rank below it."

"Expensive? Well, how about this, take any spell over Rank three and I'll toss in some bonus spells. Say an extra first Rank when you buy a fourth, an extra second and two extra first when you buy a fifth, and the '1-2-3 deal' of third, second, and first (respectively), when you buy a sixth. Howzat sound? I know the value of a point around here, I does."

"Hard to follow? Lemme 'splain; let's say you decide to buy Stasis. It costs 5 points, but for no extra points you get to pick, lessee, Dancing Weapons, Catfoot, Fall of the Feather, and High in the Saddle. And just because I like your face, I'm gonna throw in three bonus choices and you could pick Deflect for the second Rank, with Filch and Trip for first. That's a total of 8 spells for just 5 points; now that's value!"

"What? You're not interested in all those 'cascades?' Sir is obviously versed in spell schedule terminology. (Why do I get all the knowitalls?) Okay, since you obviously qualify, how about our optional 'savant' package; you get just the one spell for one point less than the Rank. You could get Summon for only 5 points; but I highly recommend going with the 'full package.' Imagine the consequences of a full demon Summoning with no Magic Circle to protect you, sir."

"You want to know what Rating you'll be getting these spells at? [Cough!] Ahem, that would be...well...a descending series starting at 12. [Cough, cough.] What? Um, no; starting at the first Rank. (That means Stasis would be 8, Dancing Weapons at 9, Catfoot for 10, Fall of the Feather is 11, and High in the Saddle would be 12; the same goes for the bonus spells.) Really, it's a bargain; remember, it only takes one more point to raise any Rating a point. It's really not that bad."

"Oh, excuse me. There's someone at the door (I don't remember locking it), why don't you look around a bit while I see who it is."

"What? You want to know how the spells are arranged on the schedules? Now? Well, it's pretty simple; take a look. 'It's always harder to create than destroy, but permanence will cost you extra;' a little 'rule of thumb' humor there. You can see certain 'threads' running throughout the schedules. For example, Flight obviously has the descendants of Walk on Air and Crash. Crash descends to Ground and then Land, but Walk on Air not only descends to Fall of the Feather (which in turn goes to Breakfall) and Leap (which in turn goes to Jump) but also to Walk on Water (which ties in, not only Swim, but all the water-borne spells on this schedule)."

"It's like that all up and down this spell schedule and on every other one too, not that this affects you ability to choose in any way. Notice how there are more spells at the lower Rankings? That affords multiple cascades to be purchased off the same spell schedule."

"Now, this shouldn't take more'n a coupla years ta learn, and cheap at that price."

"What? Ya need ta know it now? I have other customers you know, like those fine gentlemen in the uniforms only just comin' in me front door."

"Really? Hmm.... Well, I think I might be able to scare up a 'quick-learning' spell, if the price is right."

"You do? You have? Well, why didn't you say so; right this way, sir! (Like I said, all forms of payment are accepted here....)"

Afterward

First a little terminology:

Player

A person playing a specific character or characters.

Gamemaster

The person who facilitates play amongst all the Players. They play many characters, but none is specifically theirs.

Character

Any Agent of Action within the game. Usually thought of as being capable of making decisions themselves within the context of the game.

Persona

A character when played by a player.

Proprietor

The person who 'owns' a thing in the game. The Player is the Proprietor of their Persona. This means no one else may perform an Action on that Persona without at least the tacit agreement of its Proprietor, its Player. Proprietorship may only be transferred intentionally and can never be assumed.

Agent

Entities within the context of the game are called Agents when they execute Actions. There are two kinds of Agents in Scattershot, Actors and Effects. Actors are the Users of abilities and Effects are how abilities work. For example, a spellcaster is an Actor and the fireball is the Effect. The Actor sends the Effect to the Subject with an Action. Effects are generally short-lived.

Action

The process of using an ability.

User

Whoever performs an Action with the ability. Usually the Proprietor of the User determines the Effect (and rolls the dice when necessary).

Subject

The thing which an ability affects.

Engagement

Whenever something affects a character, its Proprietor is Engaged. This is important in terms of whether the subject is able to react. Since you cannot affect a subject without its Proprietor's consent, this engagement is mandatory.

UE

The Abbreviation for the Universal Equivalency Chart, often called the UE Chart or simply referred to as 'Huey.' The UE Chart indexes all manner of units according to the number of Points applied to them. A "UE of Material" would be the amount of material, measured in pounds, affected by the number of Points indexed on the UE Chart.

Points

Everything in Scattershot is measured in Points. Whether Damage, Skill, or Effect, every Point has exactly the same value as any other Point. (This makes conversion simpler.) Many times an Effect is rated by the points in a Magnitude Stat of a character.

Rating

A number calculated for each ability at the time of Character creation.

Stat(s)

The Statistics that are used to measure a Character. Basic Character Stats are also called the SAHROP (Strength, Agility, Hit Points, Reaction, Observation, and Power).

Magnitude

Any Rating that indicates the most amount that can be affected, usually indexed on the UE Chart for understandable units.

Spellcasting

For those who want more explicit instructions, here's the low-down. To cast a spell, follow the Basic Mechanix:

1. The User of the spell indicates Subject(s) according to normal targeting modifiers.
   
2. The User's Proprietor then calculates any additional modifiers desired, especially if they wish to have specific effects different than listed (a rare but potential occurrence).
   
3. Combine all these modifiers with the spell's Rating. (Really, you probably won't do any of this outside of the Advanced Level of the Mechanix.)
   
4. Subtract a standard roll (that'd be the sum of 2 ten-sided dice rolled together) from this modified Rating to get your MIB number.
   
5. If positive, you may burn MIB points to alter the outcome, if you like.
   
6. If negative, you may add Challenge retroactively in order to raise your MIB.
   
7. Finally, apply the resulting Effects to the Subject.
   
8. At any point in the above, starting when the dice first hit the table and ending when the effect is applied to the Subject, feel free to add or subtract the totals of any number of Experience Dice rolled (even taken one at a time, call this 'seasoning to taste'). This goes for anybody watching too.

How Do You Get Them?

When first making up a Persona, here is the Basic purchasing routine:

• Pick one spell.
  
• Pay the Rank in Points.
  
• Select 1 bonus spell at each descending Rank below that one.
  
• If the spell is Rank 4 or higher, take 1 extra spell at 3 Ranks lower, 2 extra at 4 Ranks lower, 3 extra at 5 Ranks lower (and so on). Therefore taking a Rank 6 spell results in 11 'cascading' spells.
  
  If you don't want these 'cascades,' take a 1 Point rebate for only purchasing only one spell.

The 'Base Rating' is equal to 13 minus the Ranking; so a 6th Rank spell starts off with a Rating of 7 (Rank 5 spells start at 8, and so on; it lists them below). Any spell 'doubled' (taken twice) gets a bonus of 1 Point to its Rating. You may spend as many additional Points on these Ratings as you desire (per the normal 1 for 1 ratio; remember, you cannot 'get Points back' in any way, even by lowering a Base Rating).

These are only the Basic spell purchasing rules and none of the spell customization material is included. I'm saving that for future columns and articles. Many of these spells will probably appear on more than one schedule depending largely on how the reflect the various Aspects and Essences of magic in the Scattershot system.

The Spell List

Each spell gives a name, brief description, appropriate UE Chart Facet, and modifier notes for customization. The name is meant to be evocative of the effect of the spell; if what you want to do seems right for a spell of that name, go for it!

The brief spell descriptions are meant to be vague and open to interpretation; that's where the magic is in the magic system. The system limits 'how much' carefully, but not 'of what' that closely. This both encourages player interpretation and wonderment at the possibilities of magic.

The UE Chart Facet lists what is usually the limit on what can be affected by the spell. For example, Weight means that the UE Chart will list how many pounds of Subject may be affected. Damage is slightly different; it lists how much the RMIB is multiplied before applying the affect to the subject.

The Modifiers refer to a set of abbreviations used to create the spells based on Scattershot's 5 core extra-normal abilities. I'm going to save how spells are created from these for a later article. These are listed mostly for archival purposes (who knows, you may refer back to this column someday).

Rank 6 (Base Rating of 7)

Name	Description	UE Facet	Modifiers
Entombment	Subject buried, in Stasis, underground indefinitely	Weight	CEFLNOW++
Invisible Agent	Agent performs duties assigned by User at any distance	Time	CEFIN
Summon	User teleports Subject (of True Name) to target from any distance	Weight	EFILUW+

Rank 5 (Base Rating of 8)

Name	Description	UE Facet	Modifiers
Invisible Butler	Agent performs duties assigned by User within line-of-sight	Time	CEFIN-
Magic Circle	Subject is enclosed in circle barring Magic (MIBs minus UE)	Bonus	ACEFNRT+
Pass through Any	Subjects may pass through any thickness/density of material	Weight	CEFIRU
Stasis	Subject frozen as a statue in place for UE	Time	CEFLNOW+
Superior Flight	User flies (Speed set by Magnitude + 10)	Speed	CISU+
Teleport Any	Subjects are teleported anywhere user has been	Weight	EFIRU+

Rank 4 (Base Rating of 9)

Name	Description	UE Facet	Modifiers
Animation	Subject moves about as User wishes, normal flexibility	Weight	CEFINRU-
Banish	User returns extra-planar Subject (of True Name) to plane of origin	Weight	EFILRUW+-
Dancing Weapon	Subject strikes as normally used, without operator, AMIB = MIB	Weight	CEFIOU-
Extra Hands	User aided by manual dexterity of Agent, Action's MIB + UE	Bonus	CEFIMRX-
Flight	User flies	Speed	CISU
One Way Portal	Extra-planar gateway will allow Subject to arrive	Weight	CEFLR+
Removable Hole	User creates a portal through UE material	Weight	CEFIRU-
Suspended Animation	Subject sleeps without sustenance for UE	Time	CEFILNORW
Teleportation	User is teleported UE along line-of-sight	Distance	EFISU

Rank 3 (Base Rating of 10)

Name	Description	UE Facet	Modifiers
Catfoot	Subject makes no sound moving	Weight	CFISUX
Crash	Airborne Subject forced into obstacle	Weight	EFU-
Freeze in Place	Subject stopped, as posed, in place for UE (set by Magnitude - 10)	Time	CFIRW--
High Speed	Subject moves UE times normal movement rate	Multiplier	CFIRUX
Launch	Set Subjects both afloat and in slight motion	Weight	EFHNUW-
League Steps	User is able to cover UE in about 3 minutes	Radius	CEIOSUX
Levitate	Subject moves per User's desires	Weight	CFIU--
Pass Lock	User creates a portal through UE material (set by Magnitude - 10)	Weight	CEFIRU--
Poltergeist	Agent moves items per User's desires	Weight	FI-
Reverse Missile	Normal missile attack retraces its path to source	Speed	DEFRTUW-
Tempus Fugit	Subject loses UE turns for every one taken	Bonus	CFILOW-
Walk on Air	User uses normal movement rate through the air	Weight	CEFIRUX-
Winged Blade	Subject flies from User striking target AMIB = MIB	Damage	DFITU-

Rank 2 (Base Rating of 11)

Name	Description	UE Facet	Modifiers
Bond	Subject stuck, as if by glue, to Target	Weight	CFIRU--
Deaden Appendage	Touched limb of Subject at UE penalty to do anything	Damage	DFIR--
Deflect	Normal missile attack gains UE penalty to hit	Bonus	FMRTUW-
Fall of the Feather	Subject falls too slow to be hurt	Weight	CFHIOSUW-
Fetch	Subject flies to User's grasp	Weight	FIU--
Fling	Subject thrown from User, Magnitude is used for STR, AMIB = MIB	Unique	FIRTU
Float	Set Subjects afloat temporarily	Weight	FHUW-
Ground	Airborne Subject forced to alight and cannot fly	Weight	EFU--
Haste	User's movement rate is multiplied by UE set by Magnitude - 10	Multiplier	CFISUX-
Inferior Levitation	Subject moves per User's desires (Weight set by Magnitude - 10)	Weight	CFIU---
Leap	User leaps	Distance	ISUX
Like a Fish to Water	Add UE to Subject's swimming Rating, normal breathing	Bonus	CEFHIRUX-
Marathon	User is able to run UE without fatigue	Radius	CSUX+-
Monkey Climb	Subject adds UE to climbing MIBs	Bonus	CFHMSUWX+--
Open	Any naturally barred portal opens for User	Unique	EFIRTU-
Quick March	Subject group (up to 5) marches UE, at speed, without fatigue	Radius	CEIORUX-
Rider	User adds UE to equestrian MIBs	Bonus	CFHISUX
Rooted Feet	Subject's body is bonded to what contacts for UE	Time	CFIRU--
Slow	Subject's loses every other action for UE	Time	CFIU
Stealth	User adds UE to MIBs to sneak	Bonus	CFISUX-
Walk on Water	User uses normal movement rate across liquid surfaces	Weight	CEFINSUX--

Rank 1 (Base Rating of 12)

Name	Description	UE Facet	Modifiers
Beach	Run floating Subjects ashore	Weight	FHUW--
Breakfall	Subtract UE from User's falling damage	Bonus	CFHIOSUW--
Catch	User adds UE to MIB to catch Subject	Bonus	FMSX-
Climb	User adds this MIB to climbing MIB	Unique	CFHMSUWX--
Cling	Subject (set by Magnitude - 10) stuck, as if by glue, to Target	Weight	CFMRU---
Clumsiness	Subject subtracts UE from gross physical activity MIBs	Bonus	CFMRU---
Dislodge	Subject is 'pushed over' within line-of-sight	Weight	FIU---
Drag	Subject is dragged behind User	Weight	CFRUX-
Filch	User gains Subject by mere physical contact with Target	Weight	EFHINRUX-
Fleet of Foot	User able to cover UE instead of normal running rate	Distance	CSUX-
Free	Fixed or stuck Subjects come loose	Weight	FIRTUX
Fumble	Subject drops whatever they are carrying	Weight	FIRU---
Guide	User adds UE to AMIB for Subject's aim	Bonus	FHU-
High in the Saddle	User adds UE to stay in the saddle	Bonus	CFHISUX-
Hinder	Subject is slowed as if affected by UE penalty of encumbrance	Bonus	CFMRU---
Juggle	User adds UE to Juggling MIB (handy for fumble-fingers)	Bonus	CFISTX-
Jump	User leaps (Distance set by Magnitude - 10)	Distance	ISUX-
Land	Airborne Subject forced to alight, forcing a new takeoff	Weight	FU--
Leaden	Subject's encumbrance penalty increased by UE	Bonus	CFIMRUX---
Lighten	User is not encumbered by Subject	Weight	CFIRUX--
Lightfoot	User adds UE to any movement MIBs	Bonus	CFHMSUX-
Quick	User moves at running movement rate when walking	Unique	CFISUX--
Quickdraw	Allows any action as a following action to Subject action	Unique	EFNSUX-
Rustle	Subject subtracts UE from MIBs for sneaking	Bonus	CFNUX--
Sink like a Stone	Sink Subjects (bouyant subjects will resurface)	Weight	FHUW--
Skate	User is able to skate on hard, smooth surface	Weight	CEFHINSUX--
Spasm	Subject violently twitches	Weight	FIRU--
Stop	Subject stops short, but can continue	Weight	FU--
Swim	Grants Subject ability to swim as is (MIB = UE)	Bonus	CFHIRUX-
Tarfoot	Subject's movement penalized as if on sticky/in deep snow by UE	Bonus	CFMRU---
Toss	Subject thrown randomly from User, STR is Magnitude - 10	Unique	FIRTU-
Trip	Moving Subject trips, stationary one slips and falls	Weight	FMU---
Turnabout	Subject suddenly faces direction per User	Weight	FU--

The Translocation spell schedule has also been called the Velocity or Motion schedule. It is the Impetus Aspect of the Locus Element. There are 7 Aspects to all things in Scattershot, Essence, Power, Nemesis, Organism, Impetus, Capacity, and Manifestation. There are 5 Elements as well, Extant, Locus, Pneuma, Ren, and Singularity. These 5 Elements also match up with the 5 fundamental forces (Strong Nuclear, Gravitational, Magnetic, Electric, and Weak Nuclear), the 5 states of matter (in Scattershot; Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, and Ethereal or the 'classics,' Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Ether), as well as the 5 mythic metals (all chemically Iron or Ferrum; Magnetite, Fizloy, Necrosium, Heurite, and Iridescium). This is the basics of our 'compact' metaphysics system; all of which will be explain in future articles. I'll take up the Elements article next issue.

Fang Langford

Powers: Blast

Blast
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: D
Description:

A brief beam of visible energy damages anything it hits.

This is the most basic ranged attack; to perform this attack, the user must succeed with a Power Action roll against this Power’s rating versus the target's Defensive Action, if any. According to this superpower’s character, it does its RMIB times UE Multiplier Hit Points of damage to the target (less any defenses).

Taking the Blast Power

When you pick the Blast power, you need to specify a few things. These things give your Blast its character, making it different from every other Personae's Blast. There are five things to consider when creating a Blast power, Initiation, Carrier/Medium, Effect, Dispersal, and Character.

Initiation

Where does the superpower comes from? How does the user trigger it? And how is it aimed?

Carrier/Medium

What actually carries the damage to the target, be it particles, waves, or some other kind of 'ammunition?' What does its transmission do to the intervening air? (Also consider what might happen to unusual media, like vacuum.)

Effect

How does this power affect its target and what are any potential side effects?

Dispersal

What happens when the attack concludes; where does the Carrier go?

Character

What intrinsic qualities give the superpower its Character?

Not everything needs to be noted on the Persona Write-Up. Make sure to list the Persona's Rating with the Power and the POW if not their natural POW Rating. You might also precalculate the amounts of damage, by multiplying the UE Facet times each number 1, 2, 3...up to 1 less than the Critical Threshold; this can save a lot of time during a heated battle.

In our example, you can see a pretty stock Blast power; the initiation is his crude 'gun.' Accelerated particles carry the force and they don't affect non-solid objects, but there is a bit of a 'kick.' The effect is to 'soften' the target; theoretically a sustained Blast could turn large objects into soup without heating them. Clearly the target absorbs the particles.

Different Kinds of Blasts

At the point of this writing there are 295 powers listed but they can be grouped into simply 53 superpowers. For example, let's look at the variations on the typical Blast (of Energy); Scattershot lists 10. Each has some small differences and you'll note the Buy-In Costs and Modifiers vary from Blast's "4 D¹." I'll get into what the Modifiers are next issue for those of you who want to really 'do it yourself.' For now, I'll just cover the basics and the pertinent specifics. (The initiation varies so much; I'll leave that to your imagination.)

Of Air
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: CDET-
Description:

When air is the medium, everything in a room great tossed around; outside this only affects things behind the target. Air is also the carrier (or any gaseous medium the character is in); working in a vacuum requires an Improvement (next issue).

Of Electrons
Buy‑In Cost: 2
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: FINT-
Description:

The air ionizes creating a blue white beam. The effect does less damage. Sorry to say, I need to do a little more research on the side-effects of a cathode ray cannon (unless you'd like to add a comment below).

Explosive
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: AD
Description:

A solid projectile explodes on contact doing a radius of damage; it is slow enough to be targeted for Defensive Actions.

Of Kinetic Energy
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: EIR
Description:

The effect causes instantaneous acceleration is target.

Of Laser
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: CEFN-
Description:

Highly energetic photons carry this Blast (which makes for some interesting character when interacting with mirrors).

Of Projectiles
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: CDT
Description:

Typically this is taken with the 'exposed source' Disadvantage (guns). Given the character of this Blast, RMIB can be spent on 'spreading' the damage.

Of Tectonic Energy
Buy‑In Cost: 3
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: DENTU-
Description:

There must be some kind of 'ground' to transmit this blast and it damages everything in between User and target.

Of Sonic Force
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: BEFIN-
Description:

The medium of air also carries these shockwaves. The dispersal is a deafening boom.

Of Thrown Objects
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: DENT
Description:

This is an improvement over 'ordinary throwing' in that the object flies according to the User's choice despite any aerodynamic problems. The variations in carrier alter the effect and make up the character of this Blast.

Of Water
Buy‑In Cost: 4
UE Facet: Multiplier
Type: Offensive
Element: Pneuma
Modifiers: CDET-
Description:

The dispersal of this Blast can quickly fill a room and do 'flood damage' to the field of battle.

Anything Else?

One last word about naming conventions for powers in Scattershot; whenever possible, the names are adjectives. This is so that two things can be done. First, you can put the name before 'power' or you can place it before the variant. For example, Blast power or Blast of Air, Telekinetic power or Telekinetic Movement.

Modifiers: Area in Effect - Based on Other Statistic - Continual in Action - Damaging - Extra Effects - Facet of UE is Unusual - Geographic Area in Effect - Hardly Used - Invisible Agency - Longer to Take Effect - Modifies Characteristic - Non-direct Effects - Offguard During Usage - Permanently On - Rangless - Self Affect Only - Tangible Agency - Uses Subject as Agency - Vulnerablility of User as Agency - Whole Subject Effected Only - Xtra Add-on Enhancement - +Superior in Effect - -Inferior in Effect

Part One,GenEx: Universe 6

Exploring Genre Expectations: Universe 6

Genre Expectations

What is a Genre Expectation (hereafter GenEx)? Basically, it's what you come to expect from a genre...but that's a little obvious isn't it? Okay, a GenEx is significantly narrower than your ordinary run-of-the-mill genre. Take for example the 'Western;' you've seen them in movies, plays, and books. You know them inside and out, right? But does it sound right for Roy Rogers to stroll up and shoot the gun out of Clint Eastwood's character's hands - the second before vengeance is had for the slain family - and then break into song¹? Probably not. That's because there are a plethora of genres going by the simple name of 'Western.'

In Scattershot, pretty much everything is related to the GenEx; in fact, there isn't much point in having anything significant that isn't. A GenEx is the fuel and 'goal' for most everything that happens. Stray from the GenEx and you won't get much help from the system, play into it, and...oh boy!

So what makes up a GenEx? Lots and lots, very many little pieces, but it organizes pretty easily and believe it or not, you probably already know most of it. That's the real kick, a GenEx is largely something you're already familiar with, hence your interest in using it. Really, a GenEx is way of organizing and narrowing the genre you want to play, making it clear for everyone playing.

There are four primary components to any GenEx: Central Concept, Metaphor, Motif, and Running Gag. The Central Concept is the maxim around which everything else in the game fits. The Metaphor is how all the elements in the game connect to each other and relate the 'big picture' of the Central Concept; this can be a very indirect or mostly symbolic resemblance sometimes, but usually doesn't need to be. The Motif represents the practice of identifying what's relevant to the game with the application of narrowly defined 'style' (or the practice of applying that very same style to everything). A Running Gag is something that 'colors' most things, but doesn't signify the things the way a Motif does.

The group really needs to come up with the GenEx and the rest of the primary components of the game at the same time.

I’ll illustrate a GenEx by describing the one for our Mainstream Comic Book Superhero (hereafter MCBS) game being put together right now called Scattershot presents: Universe 6, the World of the Modern Fantastic. MCBS is one of the genres nearest and dearest to my heart, so let's start with the one I know inside and out.

Central Concept

There's tons of different Central Concepts to choose from for a MCBS game, depending on how you Approach² it. If you're into the whole 'story now' thing, you can examine some of the deeper philosophical concepts like the familiar "Might Makes Right." (There are many interpretations of this, some of the most popularized are "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" and "Criminals are a Cowardly and Superstitious Lot.") On the other hand, if your group gets into 'being' dark heroes bent on vengeance, you might pick a looser Central Concept like examining 'what makes you human?' (for those 'inhuman monster' type heroes) or looking at 'what sacrifice is justice?' If you just like beating up the bad guys you could do the traditional 'Good versus Evil' or 'Defenders of Justice;' anything that is built on the most basic of conflicts will do (even a nice, simple version of 'Us vs. Them' every now and then). Furthermore, if you 'just wanna have fun,' the Central Concept can more model the types of comics your game is going to be similar to; for example, 'Secretly Protecting Mankind from Evil Mutants,' 'Defend the Planet Against Extraterrestrial Foes,' and so on.

The Central Concept may or may not be related to deeper more thematic statements. If you feel really Ambitious (the depth of your Approach²) you can make your game more about the statements that the Metaphors (not just the characters) make on the Central Concept. On the other hand you could just pick a good villain for your game and just play 'cat and mouse.' How you want to handle this dictates a lot of your potential choices for your Central Concept. One thing to remember is the Central Concept usually can't be chosen 'in a vacuum.'

For Universe 6, we chose to base the GenEx on a branch of a franchised superhero group located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Being about a franchise is meant to echo a couple of the longer-lasting comic books from the major comic book publishers as well as allow for more group-based play. Out of all the potential Central Concepts, we decided on somewhat looser choice, 'Keepers of the Flame.' It allows for a slightly wider variety of Approaches²; on the one hand, you can have games questioning the role of superheroes in the world. On another, games about 'up and comers' joining or clashing with the 'old, established group' are also possible. If you want angst, any of the Personae can go through a period caught between duty to the franchise, the dangers of the career, and the needs of the person in the spandex. There is even the potential for games of dealing with intervention, either from the franchise holders or the government. Not to mention the traditional clashes with supervillain groups and world dominators.

That gives an example of the strength of a good Central Concept. As 'Keepers of the Flame,' you give the game a definite perspective. This is important in the choice of direction and tension in the game. 'Being the establishment' automatically gives a footing in most types of games and creates the tension relationship with other characters. When choosing a Central Concept, look for one that quickly gives you a 'feel' for how things are relevant to the game. The police? Look at the long-term, practical working relationship. The public? Ask whether they like their protectors. Aliens? Consider whether the group represents or defends the planet. A Central Concept is 'what you do' or at least a big red arrow that points at 'what is going on;' this simplifies what direction a game might take.

Metaphor

It's the Metaphor that gives a GenEx its overall structure; with it you can determine what matters and what will feel relevant. Metaphor is a method for connecting things in a game somewhat symbolically, but the game won't actually be about the symbols. Look at it this way; all the 'important' things in the game can be represented by symbols (like a superhero can represent a desire for justice). How these symbols relate to each other is the Metaphor. A good Metaphor reflects things the GenEx requires and what cannot be a part of it. The Metaphor helps determine which is what.

The reason a GenEx separates Metaphor from Central Concept has to do with how the Central Concept changes while most Metaphors remain the same game after game. Now if this were literature, these two parts would probably be inseparable; this isn't literature. Between the Central Concept and the Metaphor, you should get a feel for what is relevant or isn't.

In the MCBS genre (like many), there are a significant number of important 'questions you must never ask.' Ideas explicitly avoided are almost as important to a GenEx as those normally thought of. For Universe 6, one of the primary pariahs is the old saw, "Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely." This actually results in a familiar but unusual feature to MCBS, the supervillain.

You see, almost no hero in comics exists without his villain and most villains don't bother with any other superheroes. Why is that? Because (at least as far as Universe 6 goes) the supervillain is just another dimension to the superhero. Generally, we call this a case of binary characterization. (Meaning that when you create your Persona, you must also create their arch-enemy. You don't have to play this rival, but you do need to determine their Proprietor³)

If you have a Persona who engages in 'mad science,' you can bet at least one of their supervillains is either an evil mad scientist or the result of some experiment gone astray (this is also an example of a 'personal Motif'). Many times the 'supervillain aspect' of a Persona represents what crimes one could commit with powers much like those of the 'superhero aspect;' alternatively, the supervillain is either a 'natural response' to the superhero's powers concept or the classic foil of the same. Superheroes who are 'longer in the tooth' will even have supervillains tailored specifically to their particular "Achilles' heel." That's why you never see any 'corruption' amongst superheroes in MCBS; it is expressed as their supervillains.

Another important absence with the MCBS GenEx is death. Certainly characters can literally die, but the effect doesn't seem to be long-lasting. Comic books are legendary for their ability to resurrect the dead, so effectively there is no death. This has some important implications for Universe 6 as well. First of all, all character death in Scattershot only comes at the behest of the character's proprietor³. Now, provided that circumstances (and choice) result in the death of a character, there are two options. First, they get shelved and no one makes use of them (that might be 'true death' in MCBS); ultimately they may be brought back later, but then they must reestablish their Relationships (more on this later) and relevance to the game. Second, the character undergoes a significant redesign; death in MCBS never results in anything other than either of these.

What do supervillains and death have to do with Universe 6's Metaphor? Plenty. Both stem from the natural exaggeration inherent in MCBS. While this colors heavily as a Running Gag in MCBS (I'll explain that in a tick), it actually frames the Metaphor too.

This demonstrates how the Metaphor of the game can be a simple 'way of relating things' to the Central Concept. Attention to this Metaphor need not turn the game into an exercise in thematic analysis of 'the plight of man.' Not even close. What it does tell us in Universe 6 is that we need to 'keep it personal.' (Metaphorically, it's about personal problems, right?) Any kind of game in this GenEx has to always find a way to make it 'intimate' to the heroes. This is why the heroes in the comic books frequently blame themselves for what happens, because the stories are about them 'personally.'

Metaphor is also good direction for inventing stuff 'in a pinch.' Need a Detail? Look to the Personae's makeup, in MCBS you have to 'make it personal' after all, and that's a good place to start. A Metaphor acts as both a guide and a filter, being as deep or as superficial as your Approach². (And let's just say that MCBS isn't terribly deep.) It keeps things on track and offers a recipe of how to increase the feeling of relevance of any item or concept within the game.

Motif

A Motif is the thing that most superficially makes up a GenEx. They're usually pretty simple and get stretched to some far extremes. For example, you'd never expect a problem to be solved by the exaggeration of the MCBS genre. Motifs are almost always evidence of significant occurrences in a game. A good Running Gag gets used everywhere, a Motif only comes up when something 'needs to get done' or it 'matters.'

There are a handful of predominant Motifs in MCBS. The first and most obvious are the superpowers. One way you can tell this is a major Motif is because there really aren't any stories in the MCBS genre where the action isn't related in some way to the powers. Either the powers cause the conflicts, solve them, or serve to complicate the stories. In other words, if it isn't by, of, for, or about powers, it probably isn't important to the game.

Another important Motif is battle. (Even conflicts played out in the theatre of the mind are depicted as physical clashes in MCBS stories.) It almost seems to be a rule of thumb that if a comic book doesn't contain a battle, nothing happened. This sets a difficult agenda and more often than not results in the need for a steady stream of 'disposable' criminal, characters who appear simply to cause a fight. Used carefully, this Motif can make the game exceptionally fun, but there are a couple of things to remember. First, don't have a battle that doesn't have lasting consequences, good or bad (even if it just 'keeps up the pace'). Second, don't let the battles drag on; even though every issue of a MCBS comic book has a battle, those with nothing else likewise have 'nothing happen.'

Third is the idea of secret identities. Different comic books use them for different purposes, but the whole group of genres is almost defined by them. What superhero doesn't have a secret identity? (Or at least suffers from the lack?) One important consideration you have to make when thinking about your Metaphor is which identity is the secret? Is he secretly a superhero or covertly a wealthy millionaire?

I have yet to hear an explanation for them that makes any sense. That's not the point. Whether they raise the superhero identity to the same cultural level as Greek deities or if they serve as totemic representations of their powers, the secret identity of the superhero is the iconic Motif.

For the final Motif, there are the supervillains. You may have noticed that superheroes have a strong tendency towards being two-dimensional. That's because the supervillain is the hero's 'third dimension.' Think about it; no matter how 'deep' a hero isn't, their arch-enemies are always shallower; and yet it is the clashes between them that really defines the hero. That's why the supervillain is an important part of preliminary Persona Development.

Because of the Metaphor (everything is 'personal'), you can see that the hero-villain relationship has to be about opposites. It's pretty simple; if your Persona is based on a spider, which has eight legs, then base the villain on an octopus. Or base it on an animal that eats spiders, or et cetera. If your Persona is an attractive American scientist, the villain will probably be a scarred, eastern-block dictator scientist. If you[r] Persona is the embodiment of the American ideal then their villain must represent something anti-American, like a Nazi, Soviet spy, or Secret Emperor (you might even go with a snake theme to balance the American bald eagle).

Ever wonder why the villains always escape to plague the hero again? That's because no real person could banish their personal demons any more than a superhero their villains. Some comic books go to great contortions to justify what should essentially be another of those 'questions you must never ask;' "Why can't the government keep the supervillains behind bars?"

Merely having a supervillain or three guarantees plenty of 'things to do,' largely because the villains are supposed to be behind it all. (Remember; 'keep it personal.') What does this mean? Well, in more thematically Ambitious² play you recognize that the clashes between good and evil, between superhero and supervillain, apply to the Metaphor for the struggle within one's self between 'doing the right thing' and one's baser urges. More simply, if you make a supervillain, expect them to come up often. Remember, the player may have created their supervillains, but they don't have to be their proprietor³ (however, they can if they like).

Carrying Off the Show

There is one important parallel to the Motif. It's sometimes called a theme or occasionally a premise; however, we just call it the Running Gag. One important difference between Motifs and Running Gags is that few significant things happen as a result of or using a Running Gag.

For example, let's say you have a group of elementary-school-aged superheroines; a good Running Gag would be 'kid issues.' These would be things like making new friends, bullies, dealing with the babysitter, curfews, and stuff like that. Every session (or two) would be built around one of these Running Gags, mostly superficially. This is one simple way to create a feeling of unity without having to resort to a more intrusive Central Concept. However there is nothing that says that 'kid issues' couldn't be the Central Concept, nor is there anything that says you should have a Running Gag, it's just something you might consider.

One of the most common Running Gags associated with the whole superpowers Motif is how it usually carries over into everything. You don't just hide your identity when exercising your powers, you strap on spandex and flashy colors. The places where everything happens aren't just cities, caves, and spaceships, they're metropolises, underground civilizations, and secret space armadas. Everything is as exaggerated as the powers are (and that's an important distinction, lower powered games have likewise less exaggeration). This plays into every aspect of the GenEx and brings us back to the question of what a GenEx is for.

You see, in the MCBS everything is wildly exaggerated, everything. When you consider everything within that Running Gag, a few things become evident and the type of Metaphor begins to show through. The supervillains, being a part of Persona Development, must represent an important aspect of the Metaphor. Not so much what the villains represent individually, but that they are considered as a part of your persona as a concept. This frames the Metaphor as the 'good vs. evil' fight within the symbolic individual. Thus the absence of death relates, Metaphorically, to how the individual's problems never end so simply.

So, How Do You Use Genre Expectations Already?

A good GenEx lists pretty much all the things that you want in the game you're going to play. Sometimes they even list the things that play will want to avoid (remember those 'questions that should not be asked?'). With a good GenEx in hand (or at least in the back of your mind), you play a Scattershot game; it both affects and directs how you play, but it also offers some useful tools towards being able to orchestrate play yourself, whether you're a player or a gamemaster. What many games barely supply as 'color' becomes the linchpin of how you play a Scattershot game.

With the clear and present intentions spelled out in the GenEx, play can concentrate on the Mystique of the singular expression of the genre (a Mystique is an 'unknown' you are interested in pursuing), instead of flailing about not knowing the 'boundaries' to operate within. This benefits consistency and focus and offers a better chance to explore the more interesting Circumstances created within the game.

The GenEx also defines the roles of the players within the game. Participating in the choice of the GenEx builds a special commitment to what is being played; it really sets out the atmosphere that play works in. This way the players aren't just members or supporters of the game, but its 'paid' enforcers as well.

The principal fuel to making a GenEx go is the Experience Dice. By playing according to different parts of the GenEx you rack them up. You can even get them by 'nudging' the play of others back towards the GenEx. What do you use them for? Why, to do anything you really want to. Therefore the more you participate in the GenEx, the more you can affect the rest of the play of the game in any way.

Experience Dice let you affect any die roll that you witness; you can roll them and add or subtract their result from any roll you see. You can also use them to 'force' play to behave as if dice had been rolled (for example, someone describes a character walking down the stairs; you can roll an Experience Dice and declare that they then tripped as badly as the die comes up, without a 'stair-walking' roll). You can also use them to create Plot Devices and Deus Ex Machina. You roll as many as you like and whatever you decide becomes a part of the game. The magnitude of your roll limits the impact of this, but you can always add more. (Don't forget to rationalize these plot contrivances in keeping with the Genre Expectations!)

How the Mechanix 'Run the Show'

In Scattershot, a GenEx works in three ways. First, it gives everyone playing a rock-solid idea of what to expect. Second, it offers direction when all else is chaos. And third, it forms the basis of how and why you get the rewards in the game (that'd be the Experience Dice).

All ya gotta do to learn what to expect in the game is to read the GenEx. It suggests how you start, where you can go, it gives examples, chapter and verse. You use what you like of the examples and are still informed by what you overlook.

Whenever you 'get lost,' misstep, or lose momentum, you can always look at the GenEx to 'find your way.' Taking the Sequences as examples, being able to grab Exemplars or Props on the fly, delving into the relevant Relationships or Circumstances, having everyone present actively interested in the parts, these are the ways that GenEx give you direction when you want it. (More on the 'parts of play' later.)

The GenEx also functions as a list of things players are rewarded for. Unlike the 'old school,' this rarely happens 'between games;' Experience Dice are supposed to be awarded right in the middle of play. Furthermore, players may award Experience Dice to each other (even borrowed ones) in addition to the more traditional 'gamemaster rewards the players' method.

Whoever gives the Experience Dice, the GenEx sets up what should be rewarded, like a schedule. There are 1 die rewards, 2 dice rewards, and so on. The most common way these 'come up' is when the player does something someone thinks is 'really cool' (the more 'in genre' the better). Other ways you can get Experience Dice include playing upon the features listed in your character write-up, exemplifying or 'going along with' the GenEx, fixing 'problems' occurring during play, or by just borrowing a die or two.

Although it is true that many times it is the actions of the Persona that result in these rewards, it is actually the player that keeps them. Even if the player winds up playing another Persona (or none at all), they get to keep their Experience Dice. A player may use them on their own Persona or in any other situation, even when they have no vested interest. When a player uses Experience Dice in a fashion that deserves awards based on the GenEx, they 'get them back' to use later as a kind of payback.

The main purpose for Experience Dice is to have fun. That's why you can use them for whatever you want at any time. The two main ways Experience Dice come into play is when the player uses them to direct the game where they want it to go and to develop their interests in the game (like Persona Write-Up).

The 'Nuts and Bolts' of It

Since Scattershot play and Genre Expectations are all about the ebb and flow of Experience Dice, why don't we talk about the game Mechanix of it.

The first kind of Experience Dice you get with a GenEx are called Keepers. These are instant rewards you get after you do either of two things. First of all, if someone, anyone, thinks you did something really cool they give you a die or two as a reward. If it suits the GenEx then the gamemaster is compelled to replace such a reward. (The gamemaster is encouraged to make these rewards too, but gets nothing back.)

A second type of Keeper you get for 'going with the flow.' Most GenEx follow a group of fairly familiar patterns, kind of like subplots, arch-plots or plot fragments (we call 'em Sequences, I'll explain in a tick). If things turn out as the GenEx suggests, especially when you weren't even trying, the gamemaster gives you Keepers it when it's over.

The next kind of Experience Dice you get are called Gimmes. They are rewards you prompt through the things you do with the game. During initial Development, you may give your Persona Disadvantages; whenever circumstances dictate that the Persona suffers from these, you get Gimmes, even when you contrive it to happen. The 'bigger' the Disadvantage, the more Gimmes you can get; the closer to 'the way it was written' the closer the reward is to the number of points spent on the Disadvantage. If you get into a situation where your Persona suffers from exactly the way a 3-point Disadvantage was written, you get 3 Experience Dice.

The same goes for the GenEx; if your Persona 'ought' to have bad things happen because of the GenEx and it does, you get Gimmes. We also use a special kind of 'personal' GenEx Sequence, like a destiny, that applies to a single Persona but works just the same. The fun part is getting Gimmes for helping someone else with their personal GenEx.

You also get Gimmes whenever you 'catch' the gamemaster or another player making a mistake using the GenEx (and even more as Payback, if you fix it 'in character' using your Experience Dice); this is called 'counting coup.' Remember to be careful not to tell them what to do; if they admit you 'got them' you count coup and they pay for it (if they know what their doing, then there is no reward). Another way you can get Gimmes is when you go out of your way to have your Persona do something that follows the GenEx Sequences. Likewise, if you happen to notice pacing turning into a problem for the group, you can pull an "Anyway..." (in MCBS this is often familiarly called a "Meanwhile"), by 'cutting to the chase.'

Another important kind of Experience Dice you can get is called a Loaner. You can get Loaners anytime you want (but you have to roll them right away); many people tend to get them only when they run out of 'regular' Experience Dice, but you don't have to. They're available at any time. No matter what situation you roll Loaners into, whoever is on the 'other side' (the gamemaster in uncontested rolls) has to keep them and use them in a fashion that 'goes against' your character (this has to happen the same session or they're lost). That's why we call it, 'taking a loan out on your karmic bank account,' it comes back to haunt you.

Freebies are the next kind of Experience Dice you can use. When you get your Persona into a position where they are at an Advantage (as listed in their Persona Write-Up), you get to use Freebies. With Advantages (similarly to Disadvantages), the number of Freebies is based on how closely your Persona's Advantage matches the situation limited by how many points you spent on it. For the Action that the Persona is at an Advantage for, the player may (if they want) roll the Freebies into their roll (just like Loaners without 'owing them'); Freebies may not be kept if they aren't used.

A GenEx yields Freebies the same way. When you're going to do something that 'ought to happen' based on the GenEx, you can roll Freebies into it, if you want. This is often called 'aspiring' to the GenEx. This is often how a character 'catches their second wind' or 'snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.' When doing this with a GenEx the important thing to remember, only the Speaker (that's the person currently talking; it's their show at that instant after all) can choose to do so.

So what happens if you have to spend Experience Dice to get any of the above to happen? If it works, on top of getting the listed rewards, you also get these spent Experience Dice back. This is called Payback. For example, if you use a Plot Device or Deus Ex Machina to get Gimmes, you get the Experience Dice spent on the plot contrivance back with the Gimmes.

You can also get Payback for undoing things that stray outside the GenEx. If someone else puts the game into a position where it asks a 'question that must not be asked' and then you find a way to 'undo it,' you get Payback at the same time you get Gimmes for 'Counting Coup.'

Lastly, you can use the Mechanix of Persona Development to yield a few Experience Dice; this is called Buy Back. All you need to do is contrive some situation (similar to a Plot Device or Deus Ex Machina, but not by spending Experience Dice) where your Persona loses some characteristic from their Write-Up. For every Development Point 'redeemed' when this happens, you get 1 Experience Die. Just remember, those Advantages and Disadvantages will no longer be around to use to get Freebies and Gimmes anymore. Vanquish your arch-enemy and get those 'points back' as Experience Dice. Overcome your phobia and get those 'points back.'

When you contrive a situation that warrants it, you can Burn Experience Dice - even Loaners - to get Development Points to spend on characteristics; you just can't 'hang on' to Development Points, you have to 'spend them' right away. Roll any number of Experience Dice for a total; a total 6 or higher gives you 1 Development Point, 10 gives you 2, 14 gives 3, and so on at increments of 4; if you don't get enough, roll a few more Experience Dice into it.

Let me give some unusual examples for how to apply these Mechanix. When a character causes some permanent, significant change to your Persona, technically, you can refuse it (with proper rationalizations in the game). However, because the GenEx afford them this ability, you are granted however many Freebies it takes to Burn to make the Development. In other words, if someone uses a superpower that gives you new abilities, these are paid for with Freebies because the GenEx says it should happen. Likewise, If someone does damage to your character (remember, a below 'Persona normal' Stat is a Disadvantage and Disadvantages cost points), you receive enough Freebies to buy the Disadvantage of Wounded. (Generally, most people skip rolling the Freebies, because they have to just Burn them right away anyway.)

The important thing implied by these GenEx Mechanix is that at any time, you as a player have a choice between 'doing what is expected' and doing what you want. The GenEx are what's expected and there's nothing that says you have to follow them. Of course, this is the classic carrot and stick approach; you can do anything you want, unless it requires Experience Dice, then you have to follow convention. We tend to call deliberately going after Gimmes to build up enough for some future purpose 'pumping up your Experience Dice.'

Here is where we get to the 'meat' of the GenEx (and explain a lot of the 'see below'). There are a number of elements that make up every Scattershot game you play. A published GenEx presents these by example, but each has basic applications within the concept of Genre Expectations. They are:

Personae

These are the characters portrayed by the players. It's important to think beyond 'this is me' sometimes, because there's a small matter of having the other players interested in who your Persona is and what they're up to. Without that, schisms and boredom ensue.

Relationships

These are what make the other characters interesting. Characters who aren't Personae and who don't 'connect' to anything else in the game are at best Background or Plot Devices.

Sequences

Call 'em arch-plots, subplots, 'plotlets,' or plot fragments, these are vague one-thing-after-another abstract series-of-events descriptions. They don't tell you what to do; they tell you what 'has been done' in similar situations to offer you direction.

Circumstances

This is the 'what is going on' of the game. It's the orchestration of all the Props, Relationships, Personae, and Background that is the relevant 'playing area' of the game. Play always addresses the Circumstances even if tangentially.

Backgrounds

In many ways the 'setting' of the game, this includes history and characters who have no relevant Relationships (the 'extras').

Props

These are game-relevant things that offer a character increased ability.

Mechanix

Anything in 'da rules' that delineates what can be done in the specific Genre Expectation.

Since this article has already gotten quite long, I'm going to save describing how the Genre Expectations use these elements in detail as well as examples of them, for the next issue.

Tune in next installment, same bat-time, same bat-channel, same bat-URL....

Fang Langford

¹ Thanks to Walt Freitag for this example.

² I know I've talked up the Approaches quite a bit here, but I don't have room to elaborate. Approaches deal with what you consider your favorite parts of gaming and offer a glimpse into how to 'work and play well together.' Look for a big article on them next issue. Until then, if you can't wait, go over to The Forge and look in the Scattershot Forum for the designer notes on what we've developed here.

³ Proprietorship is a pretty crucial idea in Scattershot games. If you introduce something to the game, you become its Proprietor (not that you can't make a gift of it to someone else or share it). It's really important to remember what belongs to whom. First and foremost, you get all say in what happens to anything in your Proprietorship.

This means, if something is supposed to injure your Persona, you have a right to say no. By common agreement, you usually don't, but Scattershot affords you a little leeway when things get really bad (like Experience Dice). Major injury, profound Developments, or the death of a Persona are areas where the common agreement is not held to; whenever things like these come up, you make the decision and describe the results; you are the proprietor. You get to choose what happens, just not how bad it is.

Masterfully edited by Ron Edwards.

The Matter of Design

Scattershot's Design Specifications
Where is It!?!

Scattershot is a design in progress for a role-playing game that will one day hopefully be available to the public. While I'm not going to discuss how and why Scattershot is being designed (I save that discussion for the Scattershot Forum over at The Forge), however I would like to 'bring you up to speed' on where we are with the project.

The first question everyone asks is, "Where is it?" I'm sad to say a lot of it is still stuck in my brain. The second is, "Why don't you just type it up?" That's a bit more complicated. I am a passionate game designer; I've been working on Scattershot for over 8 years through thick and thin. However, there is a large plate of mitigating factors I think you should know. First off, I have a family; my two children and my wife together are the most important thing to me in the world. I consider myself a father first in all things; that means I have a lot of responsibilities to my family (I like being a father). Secondly, I am the breadwinner in this one-income family; I take my job seriously and work at it very hard. Third, I'm not going to sacrifice my health to my passion.

A lot of people in my position would cut out game design for 'quality of life' issues. That's a nice thought, but not very workable. I could no sooner give up game design as I could give up breathing. I may not get much time to design, but it's never far from my thoughts. In the shower, on the road, walking from one room to another, I find myself thinking about design issues. What does this lead to? Slow incremental completion, and I mean very slow. I spend a lot of what's left of my time interacting with The Forge and I get the bulk of my ideas explaining my concepts to younger designers. Around there I refer to our production schedule as 'as fast as grass grows.'

What are You Going to Do with It?

This is an equally tough question. You see, one of the things that makes it interesting to me is the challenge. How do I keep up the challenge? By self-imposed limitations. One of the first we selected was making it 'fit to print.' I don't mean simply getting all the spelling correct, I mean making it the kind of product a publisher would feel foolish to turn down.

I have a lot of experience all over the role-playing game market; retail, design, networking, distribution, as well as a number of friends who make their living selling role-playing games. One thing I know for sure is self-publishing means being a business owner first; I don't want to own another business. You can't make me. One of my friends spends more time dealing with printers, distributors, retailers, and customers, he hardly gets a chance to design, much less play, his games. I don't want that. (I have a family, remember?)

That would leave finding a publisher. I used to be a novelist and I've had about all the rejection I'd ever like to take. Sure, I could shop Scattershot around and I might even 'get lucky,' but there's more to a game than just sending off one manuscript. There's supporting the product. I don't mean going to signings and running demos, I mean writing the next part...and then the part after that and the part after that. And you know, once you've got a publisher, you're gonna get deadlines, lotsa mean, old nasty deadlines. (Did I mention I have a day job?)

Since I am looking at this in terms of its support, it should be obvious that I'm not just writing a single game, but a whole product line. I'm also thinking in terms of what would make it a better seller as a product line. And support to me means more than just product line too. It's a commitment. It's our name and reputation on each product, so we've got to stand behind what we write. That means we don't want to get into a situation where quality takes a back seat to deadlines. I mean sure, someday I'll offer this to someone (maybe even one of my publisher friends), but that will only come after we're 'far enough ahead' of the deadlines to let 'the grass grow.'

Where does that leave us? Well, officially that makes Scattershot a thought-experiment in role-playing game design 'for the print market.' Nothing more. No matter how much it sounds like I'm going to publish this, you must always remember that's a part of the design specifications of this thought-experiment. I don't have a problem being totally committed to nothing more than a pointless idea. (I said I was passionate, didn't I?)

Heaven forbid if I drum up enough popularity that publishers come to me with offers.

So ultimately, I've got these imaginary customers who I have to plan support materials, web service, novelties, customer service, product placement, and obviously the game itself, for. That's a pretty heavy burden, but I like to think I have the integrity to stick it out until it's really ready. And the humility to keep it to myself if it never is. (To me, all of this is what makes it so interesting.)

One funny thing we've already realized is that support and customer service are often at odds with deadlines and financial performance. Likewise you can't launch a product that reflects consumer input, until you get some.

Where'd It Start?

About ten years ago, shortly after we (as newlyweds) moved into an apartment with a friend of mine, we started gaming together. We were struggling with the then relatively new Shadowrun by the now-defunct FASA Games. One day, our Roommate, John, said (after struggling to make a character for my best man's game) that you can't make cool characters in Shadowrun.

In ways, he was right.

What it lead to was many long, late night discussions about the practical problems with then-current gaming product. One day, quite innocently, it culminated in a simple question, "Why can't we write a game?" More dangerous words I haven't heard, though I didn't know it at the time. One of the biggest philosophical 'habits' I have is I always answer this kind of question, "Why not?"

So the idea of creating our own game brewed deeply within my brain for a long time. Over a year later, I had finally become fed up with Steve Jackson Game's GURPS' superhero game; the way it created and priced superpowers just didn't sit well with me. I kept wondering why it couldn't work as well as Hero Games' Champions did. Furthermore, I had already written off Hero Games' magic system as being both unworkable (thinly veiled superpowers) and uncharacteristic (of comic book superhero magic that is).

So I started thinking about what it would take to get both a good traditional role-playing game magic system (like GURPS') and a flexible superpower design system (like Champions') into one system (especially so that comic book magicians would be 'doable'). In the mean time, we were experimenting with 'pushing the envelope' with systemless gaming. Or rather, we were reaching the end of that period, having concluded much of the 'meat' behind the old saying that 'a good gamemaster can run anything.'

And then Dan (my wife's maiden of honor's brother) cried that he couldn't play in our games because he had no way to make up a character without a system. That was pretty much all it took to get the ball rolling. Thus Fish or Sofa was born (for detail on how we got that name, or Scattershot, read this).

Now this probably wouldn't have gotten very far, except about a month later, I injured my back and spent pretty much every minute at home stretched out on the sofa typing away on an old Macintosh. There wasn't much else to type at the time, so the first playtest version of our game came into being quite rapidly. Having something on paper really makes it a lot more serious.

That fall, instead of just hunting for diamonds in the rough at Gen Con, I went on a serious fact finding mission. I kept this up every year. I talked to people about their products, I commiserated with designers (and artists), I spoke with publishers, I even did a little playtesting. I remember one year, having just come from a meeting of The University of Minnesota Gaming Society that looked for all the world more like a bridge club, seeing this little, fantasy role-playing game inspired, card game. I watched the playtesters with their hand-cut cards trying the thing out; I said to my wife, "If they ever see this back home, we may never get them role-playing again." That was Magic: the Gathering.

The next year, Magic: the Gathering had taken the gaming convention (and world) by storm and had upset more than one company's pocket book. I got a real lesson in business ownership and financial liability through the networking I'd built up over the years. I also had an idea. You see, by this point we were already on the second version of Scattershot and, as a system, it was foundering. It wasn't the least bit original or distinctive, nor was the combat system terribly robust. I just couldn't find a defining concept to build it around.

What was the idea?

Well, at Gen Con, I saw literally hundreds of Magic: the Gathering collectors swarming the convention with almost no inkling of what a role-playing game was. I realized that what the gaming market needed (at that time, you have to understand, everyone was insisting that it was all over with) was crossover products. There needed to be a collectible card game that was so close to being a role-playing game that a simple ad in the decks might interest the players in 'something more.' Suddenly, I had the defining idea around which to built the combat: a collectible card game.

After that it became surprisingly easy. Whenever some rule idea or special circumstance Mechanix come up, I have to ask myself, "How does this translate into the card game." If I can't figure it out, it isn't worth adding. Likewise, I always have a rigid systemic model to refer to when checking system integrity.

By this time we had also really committed ourselves to a game that could serve a fusion of genres. (Remember 'magic and superpowers?') Well, about this time, I got involved in a Live-Action Role-Playing game (hereafter LARP) based on White Wolf Gaming Studio's Vampire: the Masquerade. It quickly fell apart because the gamemastering team wasn't terribly coherent. This was an excellent test bed for all the nebulous ideas we'd been collecting about 'a good gamemaster can run anything.' (It also suggested that rock-paper-scissors was terrible LARP Mechanix.)

Since we'd already aimed to have a crossover product for collectible card games and we wanted to support many genre fusions, having LARP Mechanix only made sense. It was in the playtest and design of the Scattershot LARP Mechanix that we really began to make progress in abstracting techniques for any gamemaster being able to 'run anything.'

By this time, I had spent a fair amount of time on the internet on the various usenet groups regarding gaming and 'cut my teeth' on mechanical design with rpg-create. Eventually, I became involved with The Forge and interest in Scattershot yielded an entire forum dedicated to it. And this is both how the game came together and how we developed the thought-experiment idea and created Scattershot's design specifications.

Design Specifications, What's That?

Design specifications are a bit of a queer animal. I mean, they are the goals the design is supposed to reach, but not specifically. You don't just design a vehicle without knowing what it's for; is it for carrying payloads? Is passenger comfort primary? How about fuel efficiency? You need to know if it will be a truck or a car or a van or a railroad locomotive before you start. Before you can even tell what parts will be necessary (and how to design them), you need to know how well it has to do different things.

You can't design a game that does everything, all the time; it's just not possible. When a design calls for versatility it forces compromise on 'depth of treatment.' We had to decide what Scattershot was for even before we started to write it (well, write it for the third time). A good design specification makes design so much easier (none of the trial and error, 'does this seem right?'); a strong design specification can even call for a certain amount of innovation.

Once you have the design specifications you can choose the best approach that suits the product. Really, the only thing that survives all versions of Scattershot (all the way back to Fish or Sofa) is the two ten-sided dice. Everything else had to be tossed at one point or another.

So what do we have so far for design specifications? Well, it has to be 'fit to print' and as a product line. You have to be able to make cool characters with 'a system' that allows a lot of genre fusion. You have to be able to play it as a card game and a LARP and at the 'table.' And it needs to be crossover product to bring 'new blood' into the market. Did I mention I wanted it to be simple enough to teach your mother how to play in less than a half an hour? Oh yeah, when we say 'a system,' it has to be 'familiar' to old school gamers from 'back in the day.' And all those long drives to Gen Con made us want to create a 'hands free' version so you could play while hiking or driving or on the phone or on the internet or et cetera. Easy huh?

A few things became obvious right away. How do you make a game detailed enough for a card game, yet simple enough to teach your mother or to play on a long drive? The 'in the car' and 'at a LARP' actually work together. How can we make it support genre fusion and still be a product line? Obviously it has to be 'customizable' and yet simple and robust. It needs to be both easy to pick up and yet distinctive enough to be a 'different product.' Quite a mongrel, huh?

Well, first of all it has to be a multi-genre game in order to support genre fusion. This also lets you bring in 'new things' and that makes for a long-term product line (a plus when selling to a publisher). 'Simple to pick up' makes it easier to fuse genres and bring in all sort of new and unique things. However 'simple' may be adverse to 'distinctive' and because 'your mother' may need to learn it, we've decided each part should carry many examples. In fact, each will have to lay out specific genres (from which customization should be easy), but how to remain multi-genre becomes an interesting question.

Older multi-genre games were not without their own problems, but we'd like to learn from as many of them as we can. One major problem always seems to be a lack of focus; a book of complicated, detailed, optional mechanics is a bore on its own and quite heavy with an entire genre embedded. All those options beg the question of 'what is this game for?' Many games seem to depend on foreknowledge of a lot of specific gaming jargon and that's antithetical to 'easy to learn' and 'gateway product.' Not being well designed for new-to-gamers means that the target audience must grow smaller and smaller; if the 'core rules' go out of print how will you attract new customers? Very few games offer much constructive advice on how gaming takes place; much like selling tools without a guide to how to build specific things for new 'do it yourself' types. Without adequate instruction where do 'good gamemasters' who can 'run anything' come from?

More locally, many questions have arisen regarding the whole 'product line' idea. How do you deliver 'the goods?' What's good formatting? What is a good gaming product? How do you make a product line 'hang together' without choking the consumer-base on a few 'core products?' What kind of 'package' will the audience easily assimilate? And then who is 'the audience?' How do you bring the 'new blood' into the market? And finally, how do you deliver consistent good experiences? Aye, therein lies the rub.

What Did You Choose?

First off, we decided to separate the complexity of the game into three levels, Basic, Intermediate (also called Tournament), and Advanced (and well, add Hands-Free and Collectible Card Game on the ends of this list). We acknowledged that people have different ways of gaming and that that also needed to be built into the product (without forcing a lot of complicated terminology on the customer, your mother remember?). We had to simplify 'how to play' without boring 'old school gamers;' this lead to identifying things like Solo play. We decided to align the game around the idea of 'creating information' rather than 'mitigating problems.'

Our Mechanix take the form of a set of simple concepts mostly tied to the complexity levels.

Residual Modifiers - Basic

Things that go on affecting things after their cause is removed.

Combat Advantage - Basic

Who's doing better at battle, a just another Residual Modifier.

Flurries and Following Actions - Intermediate

How master warriors perform a sequence of actions in the blink of an eye.

Involved Actions and Scripted Martial Arts - Advanced

To compliment Flurries with unique and complex Actions specialized to specific Martial Arts.

If you look over here you can read an example of combat at the Basic level of play. All Residual Modifiers (Combat Advantage included) and simple Involved Actions are available at the Basic level. Complicated Involved Actions and Scripted Martial Arts don't become useful until the Advanced level. And ultimately Scattershot becomes a matter of manipulating information and who has what duties in doing so.

How Are You Going to Present It?

You mean the playtest? Oh, the product line....

Well, as a product line, it'll have to be in stores, on the internet, on your shelf, hey even in your life! On a more practical level, since it's a gateway product, we hope to get it into more than just role-playing game stores. Ideally bookstores would be a start, but toy stores would also be a good place too. Heck how about in schools? Turn play time into learning time. Coffee shops might be neat, if we can come up with the right LARP.

Right now, our internet presence is limited to this playtest support sight, but who knows? On line play? I'd like to get the collectible card game into 'chat room' style playtest; on line play only seems like a step farther. The Hands-Free level ought to be able to handle chat rooms and forums. Both authorized and unauthorized supplements could be all around the internet. Even a truly massive LARP could rightly have an internet presence (people playing their characters who have internet access).

So what form will the 'book' or printed version take? Well, there is the GURPS model; core book of rules and 'slaves' that cannot be played without it. Requiring two purchases seems too complex for a 'get it and go' gateway product. 'All rules in one place' works for Palladium products, but they get too big for that 'getaway' gateway feel (and price). Dungeons & Dragons gives it to you in three packages and then extensions without number; that sells the central product well, but further supplements only sell to return customers. We could follow White Wolf Gaming Studio's model; five 'different' games and then a layer of expansions and then a layer of explicit settings built around a continuing 'story.' The problem is doubled; only return business is interested and the same goes for the 'story' as well.

We need to balance somewhere in between. A set of products that have enough Mechanix to play without another purchase, yet few enough to work like an appetizer; the levels of complexity, specifically Basic, seems like a perfect fit. This creates both independence and breeds interdependence. If we narrow the 'way of play' concentrate the genre on a single 'cool' package, we may be able to burst the 'game store' bubble.

In fact, if we write the Basic level Mechanix well enough, developing additional 'narrow' products like this will go quite quickly. We even speculate chasing fads and licensing product lines (that ought to really open up the market if we choose well) with strong products rather than 'treatment' retreads. And then each of these will wax poetic about the enhancements available at Intermediate and Advanced levels; but those products should be a lot closer to 'do it yourself' kits, perhaps even grouped around a small limited number of 'familiar' genre clusters. This creates a 'satellites around a set of core books' approach. (More on the specifics of the product line soon.)

This will all tie into the whole product line by pulling in players of the collectible card game, the live-action role-playing game, the first person 'dog-fighter,' and so forth. There'll also be a whole host of support products for not only the main product line but to support the tie-in effect. One hidden strength is making customization works more easily after examples.

We've done some extensive thinking about how to arrange these 'core books.' It needs to get the information out there, but also cover everything in depth. How can you talk about playing without knowing the Mechanix? How can you talk about gamemastering without knowing how to play? We eventually decided on a 'twice through' approach. Once, simply to get you playing, and then a second time to really explore what the game is truly capable of. (This'll have to be another article in an issue or two.)

In order to make the game simple and accessible, as well as dealing with a lot of "I don't get it" issues, we conceived of the idea of turning virtually every list of descriptions (Exemplars, spells, superpowers, et cetera) into catalogues of examples. This gives the package a "it's already done for you" feel without dictating what to use. The superpowers will include a rogue's gallery of heroes and villains, the spell schedules will carry a manual of fantasy Monsters, cyberpunk technology Mechanix will include a catalogue of futuristic gear, and so on.

What now?

Over the years our goals have changed quite a bit (happens when you have the kids you tried so hard to get); we went from wanting to be publishers to this. The harsh realities of money and time changed our outlook a lot. One of the biggest changes is the desire to get this whole thing completely fine tuned before offering it to anyone. Instead of just 'getting it out there,' or 'getting far enough ahead to shop it around,' we're going to get it really 'finished' first. A luxury afforded by the status as a thought experiment.

Who knows, we may create a community of players along the way. First we need playtesters; 'consumer' feedback, input, and support; and heck a few satellite submissions would never hurt. I'm looking forward to finalizing a set of Basic Mechanix for playtest and right now, over at The Forge, I'm creating a few custom Genre Expectations that can be used with this 'page of Mechanix' to start some early playtests.

Fang Langford