This is the part where referees start to plant their mark on the game. There's only one thing you have to make sure of - the game should be fun for the players, and if possible for you too.

Designing game scenarios is not the arcane ritual many people think it is. Basically all you are trying to do is put together a story that will entertain the players. The storyline can be anything from `You want to kill him' to `Somewhere in the area is a mystical chest which holds the key to the next part of your search for the legendary Themostyle which is needed to ...'.

At a high level all games can be broken down to who, what, where, when, why and how. You need to put together the what, why, where and when of the story. The players provide some of who and the game should show how.

Plot

First you have to come up with a basic plotline. What is the basic situation here? What's happening? i.e. what are the characters doing in this area in the first place?

The best way to come up with plots is to read books, watch movies, videos and TV, converting any plots that look interesting to you.

Common basic plots are (and there are more):

Attacking The simplest plot of all, attacking a group or

place

Survival Getting out of this alive and preferably intact

Acquisition Getting something or someone

Rescue Getting someone or something back from

those that took it

Support Help another group with their mission

Breakout Getting out from where they are to elsewhere

Investigation Getting information about the target group or

area

Subversion Spreading propaganda, truths or untruths

Reason

Next you need the reason behind why this is happening. These guys, girls, creatures and robots aren't going to be out there risking necks, tentacles and hydraulics for nothing.

Generally the reason involves one or more emotion on either side.:

Hate These folks just don't like each other

Love Someone's beloved is in danger, needs

something ...

Greed Someone wants something: an item, a

country, the galaxy ...

Anger They went too far this time!

Orders Orders from above say to do it

Revenge They've had their fun, now it's our turn

Disgust They did what? Gross! Let's stop them

Fear Scared of what will happen if they don't

succeed

Pride Failing to do this will cause embarrassment

Need It must be done for survival's sake

Unity Doing it because a friend is (peer pressure)

Setting

Where and when the game is happening is usually an obvious factor of the game. A battle between opposing space fleets would look stupid in amongst the cars and pedestrians on the streets of downtown Tokyo (unless the crews were tiny and the ships were all a couple of feet long). Similarly two 16th century ronin would look out of place in a bar on a mining asteroid: there's nothing to say they can't be there, just they'd be a little out of place.

Try to make the setting as interesting and intricate as possible. The more there is on the table, the more fun the players will have as their characters dash in, over, under and around it.

The other thing to think about is what scenery you have or can put together for the game. It's no use planning a complex fight in a forest when you only have a couple of tree models.

When role-playing the setting can be even more complex as there is less need for you to have the right models, all you have to do is describe it.

Characters

The players will generally provide the main characters, especially if they are playing a stand-up fight or battle. The GM needs to worry about all the rest involved.

When designing the players' opposition you need to come up with characters that will provide a challenge. They mustn't be so strong as to destroy them in seconds, but they must be a good fight that will provide a bit of opposition. This means the opposition must be at least as strong as the players, generally stronger.

Make up some characters that are not directly involved in the game and use them to introduce the characters to he story. If the characters work for an organisation then their boss is very useful, if they are freelancers bring in a client.

It is useful to add extras to any game. Extras are characters that, although not directly involved in the situation, are in the area and may become involved depending on the circumstances.

Finally the civvies. Don't forget them. Unless they are in a desert there should be civvies everywhere, if only running for cover.

Fleshing it out

Finally you tie it all together trying to get the complete package to make sense within it's own frame of reference.

What is the realism level of the game? Can heroes die or are they

the only important characters in the game? Does the universe mirror our own or are there demons lurking behind every corner and assassins with machine-guns everywhere?

Sometimes all this can get very difficult, especially when the players want to use their favourite characters and they don't quite seem to fit together. What do you do when one player wants to use his mercenary mecha group and the other wants to use the ravening hordes from the Netherworld? Add a timewarp? A dimension gate? A technomancer? Of course! Add whatever you want, then try get it to make sense to the characters and their storylines.

When the players come up with something you didn't think about just wing it. Often the stuff you make up on the spur of the moment can add a lot to the game, just remember to write it down before you forget what you said.

Campaigns

Campaigns are extended series of games, more like an episode from a TV series or a movie than a single fight. A campaign revolves around the same heroes and villains. It can be anything from a couple of linked fights to an elaborate plotline where the effects of one fight affect the situation at the next.

There are also other characters that may get involved in a campaign. These incidental characters are usually family, friends or other contacts of the hero(es). Their role is to either to help the characters indirectly by offering hints and advice, or just enhance the realism (or flavour) of the game.

Basically a campaign is a series of fight scenes. The survivors of each fight (with reinforcements if the referee so decides) go on to the next fight in a sequential manner. Generally full healing is permitted in between the fights so everyone is back to full strength.

Heavy Strategy

More complex campaigns involve setting up the forces in various areas, their supplies and communication lines between the areas and the players make strategic decisions on what to send where during the campaign.

We'll ignore them as the characters are unlikely to be doing such planning. It's more likely their bosses will be.

Improving Characters

At the end of each game in a campaign the referee should hand out experience points (see Experience Points) to each hero or toughie that survived. The GM with the assistance of the players should rank the characters by their achievements in the game.

The character that did the best should be given the most points and the other characters should each get one less than the one before as you go in descending sequence. i.e. the second ranked character gets one less than the first, the third one less than the second.

The character getting the most should generally get points equal to the number of active characters (i.e. not civvies) that took part in the game.

A CAWS production

© 2006 SystemFast Techniques Ltd