TEXT:  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Author 
  Jacob DC Ross 
   
  Folks who don’t need me to tell them that they’re awesome 
  Amy Ross, Ella Ross, Matthew Sprange, Shawn Carman, Ryan Chaddock, Andreas Walters, Joe 
  Sweeney, Simon Cogan, Alex Greene, Kevin Crawford, Zach Best, Alex Yari, Kenneth Norris, 
  Bryce Leland Carlson, Allesandro "Alex" Testudoro, Telecanter (the cover artist) 
   
  Legal 
  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license 
  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Contents 
  Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 
  Story Arcs ....................................................................................................................................... 2 
  Arc Problems .................................................................................................................................. 6 
  Using the Generators....................................................................................................................... 8 
  Standard Arc Generator .................................................................................................................. 9 
  Arc Goals ...................................................................................................................................... 10 
  Step Goals ..................................................................................................................................... 11 
  Opposition ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
  Mystery Arcs ................................................................................................................................. 13 
  Villain Generator .......................................................................................................................... 14 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  1 
   
  Introduction 
  Welcome to the third installment of Thunderegg Productions’ Background line! This book is a 
  companion to Character Webs and Species and Societies. Those books dealt with PC 
  backgrounds and connections and races and cultures used in your RPG campaigns. Arc Threads 
  offers a new system for keeping track of story elements used in a campaign, including recurring 
  characters, storylines and sub-plots. It also features a system for generating those on the fly, for 
  the GM who has little prep time or is at a creative dead end. 
   
  Like the rest of the line, this book is being released both into the OGL and the Creative 
  Commons. I want you all to feel free to expand or modify this system. The information is yours, 
  have fun with it! 
   
  We rely on good word of mouth and would love to hear from you. You can give us feedback at 
  www.facebook.com/ThundereggProductions, as well as by leaving an honest review at 
  DrivethruRPG.com. We welcome both applause and criticism, and I make it a goal to respond to 
  any review or discussion. Thunderegg has a reputation for listening to readers and we’re working 
  hard to keep it. 
   
  This book is party of my experiment with the pay-what-you-want pricing model, or as I like to 
  call it, the tip jar. I feel that it’s of great importance to make sure that anyone who wants to enjoy 
  this work can do so. If you feel like tipping, that just gives me further incentive to keep working. 
  But I’ve been in places where even a spare dollar was too precious to spend on hobbies, and that 
  experience leads me to put the pricing in your hands. 
   
  Enjoy! 
  Jacob DC Ross 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  2 
   
   
  Story Arcs 
  Story arcs represent a unifying thread running through the fabric of the story. The arc serves to 
  tie the various pieces into one cohesive whole. It doesn’t have to dominate the story throughout. 
  It can be subtle until it is revealed, like the Dominion in Deep Space Nine, or it can be all-
  encompassing like the mystery of the island in LOST. What we’re going to do in this section is 
  present a system that lets you introduce the story arc into your campaign or to tie existing threads 
  into the main arc. 
   
  Generating Arcs 
  You, as the GM, may have a pre-conceived story arc in mind before you start your campaign. Or 
  not. If you do, this book features a logical way to record your idea and keep track of it. If you are 
  playing a more improvised-style game there are systems here for generating arcs out of nothing 
  or in response to story elements that pop up during play. There are several elements to determine 
  that make your job easier. 
   
  First, what is the play group’s goal? Are they trying to prevent a war? Destroy an ancient artifact 
  of doom? Found their own dynasty? The goal is where the main effort of the story should lead. It 
  should be risky and difficult enough to require many session’s worth of play to achieve. 
   
  Second, how will they go about accomplishing their goal? To prevent a war the players might 
  have to rescue a hostage, uncover evidence that one of the belligerents is being framed and 
  present that evidence to the world. The group that is destroying the artifact might have to acquire 
  the artifact (which is probably in pieces, scattered throughout the game world), study it and 
  devise a way to overcome its invulnerability and then journey far away to destroy it safely. A 
  group attempting to start a dynasty might need to gather followers and take them into the 
  wilderness and build infrastructure to prosper, or they may just want to overthrow an existing 
  government, take the necessary steps to install themselves as kings and then deal with the day-to-
  day perils of politics. List at least three goal steps but probably no more than five that describe in 
  order what the group needs to do to finish their task. 
   
  Third, whom or what opposes the players? Does a weapons manufacturer want the war to start to 
  increase their profits? Is there a cult that wants the doomsday artifact for their own nefarious 
  purposes? Does the empire next door have designs on the players’ nascent kingdom? The 
  
   
  3 
  opposition provides a lot of conflict for the players and should be a thorn in their side until the 
  end of the campaign. 
   
  Fourth, how does the opposition hinder the players’ efforts? The weapons manufacturer might be 
  bribing officials to get in the players’ way, assassinating people who know too much or 
  kidnapping the players’ relatives to force their silence. The doomsday cult might send their 
  Templars to pursue the group, try to affect them with mind-controlling devices or even use a 
  mole among the party members. The evil empire might dispatch an army against the new 
  kingdom, leverage sanctions or use political maneuvers to erode their allies’ support for the 
  growing kingdom. Write down as many types of enemy actions and resources as there are steps 
  to achieve the arc’s goal. 
   
  At each resource or enemy action, you can draw an asterisk, triangle, dagger or other footnote 
  indicator to link that item to a Story Consequence. For instance, if the players don’t rescue all of 
  their relatives, then those relatives show up as bargaining chips in the final confrontation. If the 
  doomsday cult’s mole gets exposed, the players can use him as a triple-agent to infiltrate the 
  cult’s complex. The various nobles that the evil empire calls upon to make problems for the PC’s 
  new kingdom might all have dark secrets that can be leveraged to secretly have the nobles 
  support the PCs instead of the evil empire. 
   
  These recorded elements form the backbone of your arc. You can use them in sequence, the first 
  goal step is the group’s first adventure, in which they encounter the first enemy action or 
  resource, followed immediately by the second step, etc. For a less linear, railroaded experience, 
  you can easily intersperse the various steps throughout standalone stories. 
   
  Mystery Arcs 
  If you’ve ever watched Doctor Who, then you know how the revived series sets up its story arcs. 
  The plot is revealed to the audience in small doses: a phrase is improbably repeated throughout 
  time and space, random elements keep disappearing from the universe, the same girl impossibly 
  exists in multiple eras under different identities and a mysterious woman collects dying people as 
  they encounter the protagonist. How each of the arcs ends can be a mixed bag, but the structure 
  is incredibly effective at building suspense and anticipation. 
   
  To make a weave a mystery arc, you conceal some element of the story from the players. To use 
  one of the examples from the Generating Arcs section, what if the players don’t know that a 
  doomsday cult is trying to activate the horrible artifact, or that the artifact exists in the first place. 
  Think backwards from the top and build the story in reverse. 
  
   
  4 
   
  The players are unaware of the artifact, yet they are still opposed. Why? Perhaps one of them is 
  descended from the Progenitor civilization and holds the key to find or activate the artifact 
  within themselves. Or maybe the doomsday cult knows that the player characters are the only 
  ones who can stop them and need to eliminate their enemies. Record the reason for their 
  involvement in the plot, and one or two sources that could inform them of it. 
   
  Next, think of some clues to offer your players so they can find out about the plot. In a lot of 
  stories the clue can be something like a word repeated over and over again, someone’s name, a 
  possession without its matching pair (find the person with the match and you have your source). 
  Leave space next to each clue to write notes about when it’s been used and anything else 
  relevant. Leave spaces for a couple other clues to write in later, or to write in something that the 
  players mistakenly think to be a clue (and is so cool that you decide it’s now a clue). 
   
  What if the players want to take a path that you haven’t considered? Go for it. Because you have 
  your clues recorded ahead of time, you can simply drop the clue off wherever they decide to go, 
  then move the story ahead from that point. For instance, if you’ve dropped hints that the 
  murderer might have been at Sal’s Bar or Betty Noir’s apartment, but the PCs want to visit 
  Penny Dreadful’s club, then by all means make sure that they find the killer’s platinum-coated 
  cigarette lighter at the club. This really helps reduced the “railroad” feeling that you sometimes 
  get with pre-generated story arcs. 
   
  Arc Example 
  In our previous books we’ve used examples from the long-dead TURTLE LORDS RPG (1983, 
  Chelonian Press). We’re going to do that again here. If you played TURTLE LORDS, you 
  remember that the thrust of the story was that a race of malevolent star tyrants invaded the 
  Turtle-Men homeworld, the Great Mother Shell. The tyrants came to be known as the TURTLE 
  LORDS (confusing, right?) and the Turtle-Men ended up fighting them through brute strength, 
  Power Pearls and the cosmic energy of 80’s rock music. We’re going to recreate the gist of the 
  short player campaign from the TURTLE LORDS core rulebook.  
   
  The goal of the mini-campaign was the liberation of the Night Eye, Mother Shell’s moon. In 
  order to achieve this the PCs had to determine how the TURTLE LORDS were landing their 
  troops on the supposedly unreachable moon, gather supporting forces from various planets and 
  then lead a guerilla-style campaign before finally attacking and destroying the TURTLE 
  LORDS’ portal. As they looked for information the PCs were hounded by the Inquisitor Rats. 
  Once they escaped to find allies they were “opposed” by tests of worthiness from their 
  prospective recruits. When they finally brought the Ceratonians (or the Rexaurs if they chose the 
  
   
  5 
  “evil” outcome of the Trial of 1,000,000 Bones), the Fal-konz (or the Raptrix) and the 
  Pachydoins (or the Rhintaug) to the Night Eye, they were opposed by the TURTLE LORDS 
  Octotaur/Shark-Men/Rat collaborator army. 
   
  In the first stage of the campaign the PCs were stranded on the Night Eye. You might not have 
  started them off against the High Magus Inquisitor Murinus, but instead sent an acolyte or two to 
  harass them every session or two. Once they determined, or were close to finding out, that the 
  TURTLE LORDS’ forces landed on the Night Eye via a “dark matter wormhole”, then you’d 
  send Murinus after them, with a tense confrontation at the occupational headquarters while they 
  stole a ship to escape. 
   
  In the second stage the PCs got to choose which of three planets, Jurassa, Avaina or Suvennis, to 
  visit first. At each planet they would get to recruit one of two local species to come help them in 
  the coming fight. Each species had a test to prove that the PCs’ cause was worthy of their 
  attention. Depending on whom the PCs supported, or if they showed themselves more concerned 
  with convenience than with honor, they would make allies from either species. 
   
  When the final act came, there were story consequence from the first two sections. If Murinus 
  ever slashed a character with his fangshard dagger, then that character was forever linked to him. 
  So long as they were within 1,000 kilometers of the Night Eye, the High Magus Inquisitor knew 
  their relative location. This could either be a bane, as Murninus would lead an army to wipe out 
  the new arrivals, or a blessing if the PCs puzzled this out ahead of time. If they were aware of 
  Murinus’ tracking, any characters being tracked could lead Murinus away while the rest of the 
  group destroyed the wormhole. 
   
  The allies gathered during the second act each had a chance of betraying the PCs to the TURTLE 
  LORDS. It was random, with modifiers supporting betray for the “evil” species brought to help. 
  This could end up with forces from all three new allies joining the TURTLE LORDS for an epic 
  fight, or it could just so happen that nobody betrayed them. 
   
  So, if you’re following along, we have Determine the Source of the Landing with opposition 
  from the Rat Inquisitors, Recruit Allies with opposition from the Tests of Worthiness and finally, 
  Lead the Assault with opposition from the TURTLE LORDS’ Hordes. If you recorded this down 
  for your own campaign, you’d have made footnotes from the first two goal steps showing how 
  Murinus’ dagger or “allied” treachery could come back to bite the players in the butt. 
   
  
   
  6 
  Arc Problems 
  Story arcs are entertaining, and they can build anticipation for what comes next. They do have 
  their issues, though. We’re going to examine some of them here, with remedies for each issue to 
  keep your games fresh and fun. 
   
  Arc Fatigue 
  Arc fatigue happens when you don’t resolve anything in a timely manner, or when you simply 
  add new layers to the story without tying up loose ends. Players need a payoff. You don’t have to 
  reveal every secret all at once, but you do owe them some form of resolution. 
   
  Try to aim for a story payoff every two or three sessions. Use this time to set up the next chapter. 
  This way the players rightly feel as if they’ve accomplished something without finishing the 
  entire story. 
   
  This can be minor, such as exposing the major players in an assassination conspiracy. You might 
  have exposed that Senator Chalmers was working with the arms manufacturers when he ordered 
  the hit on the president. Surely that’s the end of everything, no? But wait, why is there the 
  ominous-looking folder stamped SPHINX on his desk? Hey, didn’t the dying scientist at the 
  weapon lab mention a sphinx? 
   
  Logic 
  Sure, we can see what the bad guy plans to do, but why does he want to do it? All too often it’s 
  easy to point out massive faults in the villain’s judgment. It takes a little forethought, but it really 
  helps out when you’ve given a credible reason to the antagonist’s methodology. 
   
  If you want to justify a specific plot because of the specific story that you want to tell, such as 
  the evil empire’s use of subterfuge to undermine the upstart kingdom, think about why the villain 
  is forced to take this route. Surely the evil empire that wants to obliterate the PCs’ kingdom 
  could simply march in and invade? Why wouldn’t they? Perhaps there’s an international senate 
  to which they must answer. Maybe the empire is aware of some Great Beyond-type being that is 
  protective of the little kingdom and have to operate subtly in order to avoid its wrath. Perhaps the 
  evil emperor has a fondness for the land and doesn’t want to see it damaged, and thus resorts to 
  trickery instead of violence. 
   
  
   
  7 
  If you want to instead figure out the most logical course of action, start from the beginning. The 
  evil empire wants the upstart kingdom. What do they do? You might decide that the simplest 
  plan is to just invade. Start there but show the outline to someone not in the gaming group before 
  you play. Ask them to find any holes in the story. Your cousin Sarah just might point out that a 
  foolish general would invade, a wise general would send in spies first to determine the 
  kingdom’s capabilities, follow that with saboteurs to deplete their resources, then show up with 
  overwhelming force. Always get a second opinion. Too often we can decide on something just 
  because it’s what we want to see, rather than the most logical course of action. 
   
  Railroading 
  If you set your plot up so that the only option the PCs have is to advance from point A to point B 
  with little or no choice, then the players will feel like they’ve been put on a train, or are being 
  “railroaded.” Railroading occurs when you plot your campaign so tightly that you leave little 
  room for choice, and it seems like rather than playing a game, you’re simply reciting a story to 
  the players. You can even railroad your players if your campaign is improvised on the spot, 
  subconsciously queuing scenarios in what seems to be a logical order in your mind without 
  taking the players’ actions into account. 
   
  To reduce railroading, you have to plan ahead. This is where your record of the story arc comes 
  in handy. Use it to elaborate further. At each goal step, ask yourself what the three most likely 
  player actions will be, based on your knowledge of the player group and common sense. Write 
  down the most logical outcomes of their actions and find a way to plot into the next goal step. 
   
  In the case of a group attempting to destroy a powerful artifact, their first goal step is to gather all 
  of the pieces. You need to provide them with some clue as to where they might be, but since the 
  artifact is not yet assembled, don’t assume that they want to go to the Jungle of Darkness first. 
  Perhaps they want to visit the Plains of Sorrow or the Mountains of Dreariness.  
   
  If you have specific encounters planned for the first, second and third items, don’t marry them to 
  the specific locations. For instance, if you plan to introduce a major henchman who is going to 
  harass the players on their quest, don’t make him a jungle lord, just work out his game stats on 
  your campaign notes, and then have him look like a native of wherever the players head first. 
  With this technique you can have a coherent story progression with player-directed decisions. 
   
  You’ll want to include common-sense threads to tie the characters to the next step, no matter 
  how they chose to play the previous step. Once they need to study the artifact pieces, for 
  example, they might decide that they want to take them to their hideout, to Creepsatonik 
  
   
  8 
  University or B.R.I.G.H.T. LABS for further research. This is fine, as pretty much any one of 
  those locations can be assaulted by the bad guys. Let them have the freedom to choose where 
  they want to go at this point. Afterwards, they’re going to come to some conclusion about the 
  artifact that leads them to the final chapter. Since they got to choose how they got there, you 
  won’t have any railroading complaints. 
   
  Using the Generators 
  To use the Arc Generator system you need 8D6 and a D8. It’s easiest if you have dice the same 
  color as each of the tables. Just roll a handful and look at the results that correspond to your 
  table’s colored die. 
   
  You’re free to interpret the results as you see fit, pick your own or just ignore certain aspects 
  entirely. The first section, Standard Arc Generator, can provide you with the basics of the story. 
  You get a main goal, three story steps’ worth of smaller goals and corresponding opposing 
  forces. 
   
  For further inspiration you can roll on the Arc Goals generator, the Step Goals generator and the 
  Opposition generator and get narrower results. To make things clear, we use the term “Beyond” 
  to indicate whatever is beyond normal in your campaign. This is because we write genre-neutral 
  books and can’t predict what counts as extranormal in your game universe. 
   
  It’s not just a simple progression from story point to story point. Most of the “Special” results on 
  each generator introduce complications to the story. Feel free to add your own, too, for extra 
  dramatic effect. 
   
  Just because you may roll Time as an opposition, you don’t have to further define Time with the 
  Opposition Generator section unless you feel like you want to. Feel free to interpret Time as old 
  age, a time traveler or anything else that strikes your fancy. There are no right or wrong ways to 
  use these generators. One GM might find that he wants Speak to mean “outwit the warlord in a 
  game of riddles”, while another GM might want Excel to mean the same thing! 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  9 
  Standard Arc Generator 
  D6 Arc Goal 
   
  D6 Step Goal 
   
  D6 Step Goal 
   
  D6 Step Goal 
  1 
  Revolution 
   
  1 
  Find 
   
  1 
  Find 
   
  1 
  Find 
  2 
  Prosperity 
   
  2 
  Destroy 
   
  2 
  Destroy 
   
  2 
  Destroy 
  3 
  Revenge 
   
  3 
  Travel 
   
  3 
  Travel 
   
  3 
  Travel 
  4 
  Rescue 
   
  4 
  Speak 
   
  4 
  Speak 
   
  4 
  Speak 
  5 
  Discovery 
   
  5 
  Discovery 
   
  5 
  Discovery 
   
  5 
  Discovery 
  6 
  Escape 
   
  6 
  Excel 
   
  6 
  Excel 
   
  6 
  Excel 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  D6 Opposition  
  D6 Opposition  
  D6 Opposition  
  D6 Climax 
  1 
  Enemy 
   
  1 
  Enemy 
   
  1 
  Enemy 
   
  1 
  Duel/showdown 
  2 
  Nature 
   
  2 
  Nature 
   
  2 
  Nature 
   
  2 
  Large battle 
  3 
  Time 
   
  3 
  Time 
   
  3 
  Time 
   
  3 
  Race/chase 
  4 
  Lack 
   
  4 
  Lack 
   
  4 
  Lack 
   
  4 
  Perilous scene 
  5 
  Beyond 
   
  5 
  Beyond 
   
  5 
  Beyond 
   
  5 
  Specialty job 
  6 
  Unknown 
   
  6 
  Unknown 
   
  6 
  Unknown 
   
  6 
  Personal strife 
   
  D8 Special 
  Result 
  1 
  Mystery 
  A mystery runs through this arc. Roll on the Mystery Arcs table, too. 
  2 
  Scope 
  This far-reaching story takes the PCs to the end of the world (or galaxy) 
  3 
  Personal 
  One or more of the PCs is secretly deeply connected to this story 
  4 
  Loss 
  The resolution will come at great price to the PCs 
  5 
  Ascension The story takes the PCs to the greatest height of power in the setting 
  6 
  Romance 
  This story also follows one or more PC’s journey to find true love 
  7 
  Schism 
  The climax of this arc sees two people become bitter enemies 
  8 
  Intrigue 
  There’s more than the usual share of secrets and backstabbing here 
   
  A perilous scene could be dash through a collapsing cave, or dangling from a hot air balloon. A 
  specialty job calls upon the PC or group to perform a mission tailored to their specific skill set 
  but with a high degree of challenge. A ninja might have to infiltrate a warlord’s castle to steal the 
  highly-guarded urn, or a Turtle-Man might be called upon to give the greatest heavy metal 
  concert in the galaxy. 
   
  Unknown opposition should be known to you before you begin play, so that you can drop hints 
  as necessary, but they aren’t known to the PCs or the players. 
   
   
   
  
   
  10 
  Arc Goals 
  D6 Revolution 
   
  D6 Prosperity 
   
  D6 Revenge 
  1 
  Native government  
  1 
  Self 
   
  1 
  Rival 
  2 
  Invaders 
   
  2 
  Family 
   
  2 
  Government 
  3 
  Institution 
   
  3 
  Faction 
   
  3 
  Criminals 
  4 
  Philosophy 
   
  4 
  Nation 
   
  4 
  Foreigners 
  5 
  Family 
   
  5 
  World 
   
  5 
  Family 
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  D6 Rescue 
   
  D6 Discovery 
   
  D6 Escape 
  1 
  Strangers 
   
  1 
  Knowledge 
   
  1 
  Rival 
  2 
  Family 
   
  2 
  Object 
   
  2 
  Foreigners 
  3 
  Nobles 
   
  3 
  Place 
   
  3 
  Government 
  4 
  Innocents 
   
  4 
  Self 
   
  4 
  Stranger 
  5 
  Enemy 
   
  5 
  Profound truth 
   
  5 
  Criminals 
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  D8 Special 
  Result 
  1 
  Twist 
  Something is amiss, and it won’t be discovered until the end of the story 
  2 
  Challenge The goal conflicts with a PC’s most cherished belief 
  3 
  Tension 
  The goal causes friction between a PC and their family 
  4 
  Unwilling 
  A group that the PCs efforts are helping doesn’t want any assistance 
  5 
  Sidekick 
  The PCs have to bring along an annoying sidekick for every adventure 
  6 
  Mole 
  As sidekick, but the sidekick is secretly working against the PCs 
  7 
  Bounty 
  The PCs have a bounty on their head, and find more enemies than allies 
  8 
  Babel 
  The adventures take place in a foreign land, miscommunications abound 
   
  These are the main goals of your story. It takes an entire campaign to accomplish them. Just 
  because there is no goal named “Stop the Big Bad”, doesn’t preclude having one in your story. A 
  villain can be behind the plot, and this goal is either what stops him or what undoes the effects of 
  his treachery. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  11 
  Step Goals 
  D6 Find 
   
  D6 Destroy 
   
  D6 Travel 
  1 
  Person 
   
  1 
  Person 
   
  1 
  Exotic locale 
  2 
  Place 
   
  2 
  Place 
   
  2 
  Wilderness 
  3 
  Object 
   
  3 
  Object 
   
  3 
  Barren/space 
  4 
  Knowledge 
   
  4 
  Organization 
   
  4 
  Enemy territory 
  5 
  Organization 
   
  5 
  Abstract 
   
  5 
  Utopia 
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  D6 Speak 
   
  D6 Steal 
   
  D6 Excel 
  1 
  Persuade 
   
  1 
  Person 
   
  1 
  Rival 
  2 
  Terrify 
   
  2 
  Place 
   
  2 
  Self: mind 
  3 
  Charm 
   
  3 
  Object 
   
  3 
  Self: body 
  4 
  Insult 
   
  4 
  Abstract 
   
  4 
  Organization 
  5 
  Inspire 
   
  5 
  Resources 
   
  5 
  Standard 
  6 
  Commune beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  D8 Special 
  Result 
  1 
  Hidden 
  Something is obscuring the goal or a component 
  2 
  Stubborn Someone is firmly opposed to helping the PCs 
  3 
  Test 
  A person in charge demands a favor from the PCs before he helps 
  4 
  Late 
  The villains got here first, either openly or covertly 
  5 
  Split 
  This goal requires the characters to operate in separate groups 
  6 
  Choice 
  The PCs can only help one group out of several, no choice is wrong or right 
  7 
  Stealth 
  The PCs must take care to stay incognito on this leg of the journey 
  8 
  Spurned 
  A PC runs into an old friend who claims not to know them. Why? 
   
  Excel means that a PC or group has to surpass a boundary, whether it’s their own personal 
  limitations, a societal standard, a competition against their arch rival or the influence of Beyond. 
   
  Destroying the abstract refers to something like eradicating a society’s tradition or exposing an 
  institutional falsehood. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  12 
  Opposition 
  D6 Enemy 
   
  D6 Nature 
   
  D6 Time 
  1 
  Rival 
   
  1 
  Elements 
   
  1 
  Against self 
  2 
  Mercenary 
   
  2 
  Flora/fauna 
   
  2 
  Against friend 
  3 
  Social elite 
   
  3 
  Disease 
   
  3 
  Against stranger 
  4 
  Criminal 
   
  4 
  Restrictive 
   
  4 
  Against society 
  5 
  Spy/saboteur 
   
  5 
  Anomaly 
   
  5 
  Interval 
  6 
  Foreigners 
   
  6 
  Man’s meddling  
  6 
  Missing time 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  D6 Lack 
   
  D6 Beyond 
   
  D6 Unknown 
  1 
  Resources 
   
  1 
  Enemy 
   
  1 
  Enemy 
  2 
  Knowledge 
   
  2 
  Nature 
   
  2 
  Nature 
  3 
  Access 
   
  3 
  Time 
   
  3 
  Time 
  4 
  Ability 
   
  4 
  Lack 
   
  4 
  Lack 
  5 
  Allies 
   
  5 
  Truly weird 
   
  5 
  Beyond 
  6 
  Objects 
   
  6 
  Roll here twice 
   
  6 
  Friend/family 
   
  D8 Special 
  Result 
  1 
  Persistent 
  This Opposition is going to stick around for the next step of the story 
  2 
  Reasonable You might be able to make a friend or good situation out of this 
  3 
  Self-caused One of the PCs is somehow responsible for this situation 
  4 
  Terrifying 
  Add a scary schtick, like the Opposition only comes around at night 
  5 
  Flipped 
  The Opposition is on the PCs’ side and the Step Goal is secretly wrong 
  6 
  Patron 
  The Opposition is somehow linked to a patron or mentor figure 
  7 
  Sweet 
  This Opposition seems so benign that nobody believes that it’s bad 
  8 
  Hits home 
  A PC’s friend or family member is caught up in the situation 
  Time can be anything you want it to be, rapid aging, a looming deadline, or anything else. Just 
  make sure that the player feel the impending doom. An Interval means that something bad 
  happens on a regular basis. Missing time is amnesia. 
   
  In Nature, Restrictive means that something in the natural world is keeping people where they 
  are, like a rock slide. An anomaly is something that should not be, such as a weird magnetic 
  vortex. 
   
  For Beyond, the first four results indicate a Beyond-influenced version of the indicated 
  opposition type. Truly weird is something that would normally be well outside of the campaign’s 
  story constraints. Unknown is presented as a mystery to the players, it’s real nature is what you 
  rolled on the purple table. 
   
  Flipped boils down to misinformation that pits the PCs against the good guys in this step. 
  
   
  13 
  Mystery Arcs 
  D6 Center 
   
  D6 Clue 
   
  D6 Clue 
   
  D6 Clue 
  1 
  Murder 
   
  1 
  Object 
   
  1 
  Object 
   
  1 
  Object 
  2 
  Theft 
   
  2 
  Testimony 
   
  2 
  Testimony 
   
  2 
  Testimony 
  3 
  Conspiracy 
   
  3 
  Meme 
   
  3 
  Meme 
   
  3 
  Meme 
  4 
  John Doe 
   
  4 
  Inadvertent 
   
  4 
  Inadvertent 
   
  4 
  Inadvertent 
  5 
  Ancient 
   
  5 
  Trace 
   
  5 
  Trace 
   
  5 
  Trace 
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Red herring 
   
  6 
  Red herring 
   
  6 
  Red herring 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  D6 Connection 
   
  D6 Connection 
   
  D6 Connection 
   
  D6 Complication 
  1 
  Person 
   
  1 
  Person 
   
  1 
  Person 
   
  1 
  Political 
  2 
  Object 
   
  2 
  Object 
   
  2 
  Object 
   
  2 
  Family 
  3 
  Location 
   
  3 
  Location 
   
  3 
  Location 
   
  3 
  Philosophical 
  4 
  Organization  
  4 
  Organization  
  4 
  Organization  
  4 
  Criminal 
  5 
  Idea 
   
  5 
  Idea 
   
  5 
  Idea 
   
  5 
  Commercial 
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  D8 Special 
  Result 
  1 
  Known 
  You know the perpetrator’s identity, you have to race to stop him 
  2 
  Family 
  The perpetrator is related to a PC 
  3 
  Home 
  The mystery may have dire consequences for a PC’s family 
  4 
  Framed 
  A PC has to clear their name 
  5 
  Profit 
  A PC has the opportunity to join the perpetrator or take a payoff 
  6 
  Revenge 
  The perpetrators is going to come back for vengeneance 
  7 
  Dastardly The perpetrator is so sneaky that no one else believes the mystery exists 
  8 
  Linked 
  Exposing the perpetrator risks exposing a PC’s biggest secret 
  But, wait, where’s the entry for Whodunnit? There isn’t one. You get to determine that for 
  yourself. It’s quite likely that your players will pick up on some story thread that makes a lot of 
  sense. You could be persuaded to change your predetermined perpetrator, so we’re leaving it 
  open. 
   
  In general, Clues come from good detective work, and Connections are new elements brought 
  into the mystery by the discovery of the clue, or new information about previously-known 
  factors. A Complication is a really big issue that doggedly hinders the investigation. 
  Complications are only given here in broad strokes so that you can fill them in however is best 
  for your game setting. 
   
  A red herring means that you should roll the die again, and that result is going to be a false clue. 
  Don’t give your players more than one of these per mystery or they might get frustrated. These 
  mysteries don’t have to be crimes, they can just be something that someone wants to keep 
  hidden. 
  
   
  14 
  Villain Generator 
  D6 Identity 
   
  D6 Motivation 
   
  D6 Power 
   
  D6 Weakness 
  1 
  Noble 
   
  1 
  Gain 
   
  1 
  Resources 
   
  1 
  Greed 
  2 
  Criminal 
   
  2 
  Idealism 
   
  2 
  Prowess 
   
  2 
  Zealotry 
  3 
  Scholar 
   
  3 
  Destruction 
   
  3 
  Intelligence  
  3 
  Frail 
  4 
  Soldier 
   
  4 
  Love 
   
  4 
  Network 
   
  4 
  Attachment 
  5 
  Merchant 
   
  5 
  Fear 
   
  5 
  Status 
   
  5 
  Vanity 
  6 
  Poor 
   
  6 
  Prestige 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Beyond 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  D6 Method 
   
  D6 Appearance 
   
  D6 Quirk 1 
   
  D6 Quirk 2 
  1 
  Manipulation  
  1 
  Attractive 
   
  1 
  Red hand 
   
  1 
  Sings a lot 
  2 
  Assault 
   
  2 
  Androgynous  
  2 
  Mustache 
   
  2 
  Wears black 
  3 
  Terror 
   
  3 
  Deformed 
   
  3 
  Has a pet 
   
  3 
  Extra finger 
  4 
  Sabotage 
   
  4 
  One scar 
   
  4 
  Accent 
   
  4 
  Heterochromia 
  5 
  Stealth 
   
  5 
  Grizzled 
   
  5 
  Tattoo 
   
  5 
  Kills mooks 
  6 
  Beyond 
   
  6 
  Plain 
   
  6 
  Jewelry 
   
  6 
  Monologues 
   
  D8 Special 
  Result 
  1 
  Alter ego 
  The Villain is secretly someone known to the PCs 
  2 
  Ruthless 
  The Villain will cut through anyone who opposes him 
  3 
  Misguided They actually have benign intentions but are accidentally causing harm 
  4 
  Connected They’re your father’s brother’s son’s cousin’s former roommate 
  5 
  Locked 
  Their abilities or power is tied to an object they keep protected 
  6 
  Vendetta 
  They have it in for one of the PCs 
  7 
  Form 
  The villain has a secret, ultra-powerful form that they can use in battle 
  8 
  Amenable 
  They want the PCs to join them, and offer sincere, generous gifts 
   
  The Quirks let you recreate some of the most iconic villains in literature, but they’re not strictly 
  necessary. They might be used to identify an incognito villain, such as a distinctive ankle tattoo. 
  Identity is what place in society the villain occupies. Motivation is why they do what they do, 
  very few villains set out to be evil or think of themselves as such. 
   
  Power is the means that the villain uses to accomplish his goals. It could be personal combat 
  ability or a network of agents. The Weakness is something that can be exploited against the 
  villain, such as a blind devotion to his beliefs, or an attachment to a person or object. 
   
  Method is how they use their Power. Does the Scholar who acts out of Love for his former 
  student use his Intelligence to Manipulate her? Does the Poor person who wants Prestige use his 
  Beyond (alien powersuit) to strike Terror into the hearts of those who once mocked him? 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/_GM Books/World Building & Game Design/ Misc #, A/Arc Threads.pdf