Designing Exercises

What Is the Point?

First, the most important question to define is the aim. Why are we creating this tabletop exercise? It might be to:

• Explore how a future may pan out
• Stress test a new policy
• Test teamwork under crisis

Map this aim to an in-game goal. Orient the players to one aim they have to achieve. For example:

1. Coordinate a settlement with the stakeholders (Explore how a future may pan out)
2. Find the hackers responsible (Stress test a new policy)
3. Reach the point where you have a working vaccine (Test teamwork under crisis)

Orienting the players gives them a direction to work towards and something to start with.

Who Are the Characters?

Think deeply about the stakeholders involved — players and NPCs. Consider:

• Who are the characters?
• What is their goal?
• What stands between the two?
• What do they care about?
• What are they trying to achieve?
• How will they most likely go about achieving that?

Use a 3 Act Plot Structure

The three-act plot structure is a versatile and effective narrative structure used in many stories, films, and plays. It makes the story easy to follow, helps keep the players engaged, and works within one sitting.

Use Injects and Complications

Select 1–3 complications or injects that twist or change the plot and throw players a curveball or obstacle. These test the agility of plans and make the narrative and situation more organic and complicated.

Use Random Tables

Random tables can be a great way to add variety and excitement to your tabletop roleplaying games. They can generate everything from the motivations of an adversary to the epidemiology of a virus.

• They add a sense of randomness and unpredictability, making things more exciting for both you and your players.
• They help you generate ideas that you might not have thought of on your own, especially if you are feeling stuck or want variety.
• They help make your game more immersive, creating a sense of realism and verisimilitude in your game world.

Using the Scenario Generator Engine

The Scenario Generator Engine is a structured worksheet that walks you through building a complete exercise from scratch. It prompts you to define the aim, the characters, the three-act structure, and any injects or complications — all in one place.

We built this to help assist mapping a custom scenario onto this game system. Use it as a loose narrative guide to help structure a session of play into three acts.

Creating a Multi-Session Adventure

It is possible to create a multi-session adventure. Make sure the overall aims and goals are aligned and the narrative arc makes sense. Consider splitting the three acts across three sessions and have each mini-milestone of the arc be the goal for each session.

1. Create a full scenario.
2. Define the clear aim of the exercise.
3. Define stakeholders and consider assigning players to roles.
4. Map the 3 Acts out:
   1. Start by taking the overall aim of the scenario, then make 3 logical milestones to get there. Make these the Acts.
   2. Choose an objective task or defining question to answer at the end of each act that decides the milestone.
   3. Decide on using a complication or injection before each act as an obstacle for the players to navigate, so they don’t have easy straight lines to milestones.
   4. Consider plausible conclusions or outcomes but ultimately be flexible for the player choices and improvise a little if required.