Taken from my blog post at magioftom.wordpress.com/2014/12 ... ing-sagas/ , I know this is a bit long but I reread it recently and wanted people's feedback on the best way to present a fan jumpstart saga.
Ars Magica does not have any published sagas. There’s a few scenario books, some designed to have followup scenarios later, and antagonists, who can occur several times, and some scenarios (like the City of Brass) will take a lot of work, with years of expedition planning and preparation and maybe multiple attempts to reach the target. However, David Chart points to the difficulties of making scenario books useful to as many groups as possible and pointing out these are multiplied several times for sagas. Also, he points to the Ashes of the Damned campaign for Warhammer and even though the Middenheim instalment (author: D.Chart) was well-received, overall it did not sell well and that the twenty-first century is harder on big campaigns that the 1980s.
Say, however, that an ambitious fan wanted to have a go at creating one. Maybe he (because I’m thinking of me here) wants to share their ideas on how a saga could work. Maybe he (because I’m thinking of CJ here) wants to create a “my first saga” to show those new to Ars how to get a saga underway. (Note that Ars is an inclusive game, and that gaming genius is not solely confined to handsome geniuses of Anglo-Danish descent.) Whatever their motivation, it is worth thinking about how to present their work. Today, I’m thinking of the formats of the best published roleplaying campaigns I’ve been in.
To create an example: the saga of Trucido Totum (a rough translation of “I kill everyone/all/the whole”, a motto of many Flambeau and a good few storyguides) has two main themes. These are the increasing belligerence of a local mundane lord, and the infernal corruption of a village. We also need to weave in some involvement with the wider tribunal, an opportunity to get involved in a mystery cult, and some other things to break up the flow so players aren’t continuously battling knights or demons.
If this was a 1980s classic (such as a Chaosium one for Call of Cthulhu) you could have:
•Chapter 1: Meeting the neighbours – introduces the local lord and his knights, who are suspicious about the wizard’s tower.
•Chapter 2: Murder in the village – introduces a nearby settlement where Glenn the Miller has disappeared. Was it his wife’s lover, or the farmer who owed him money, or are fairies to blame?
•Chapter 3: An invitation to visit – a redcap arrives, and among the mail is an invitation to come and meet the magi of the nearest covenant. Includes a description of the what the covenant looks like, the personalities of the main magi and what they may want to talk about.
•Chapter 4: A Challenge on the border – patrolling knights from the local lord cause trouble for the covenant.
•Chapter 5: The mystery of the missing livestock – sheep disappear from the nearby village. A tainted creature turns out to be the guilty party.
•Chapter 6: The stone circle. If the player magi were interested in a mystery cult after speaking to other magi in chapter 3, this story involves going to a mystical site for an initiatory rite.
•Chapter 7: Pushing daisies. The magi learn of a vis source contained in daisies growing in a local graveyard, but will have to negotiate for access.
•Chapter 8: Under siege – the local lord becomes paranoid, raises a peasant levy and his knights and proceeds to assault or besiege the covenant.
•Chapter 9: Unholy rites – strange happenings in the local village are due to an infernal cult who are trying to appease the dark forces that besiege them.
Alternatively, you could merge chapters 1/4/8 and 2/5/9 and have a suggested timeline of events.
If done in the style of Griffin Mountain for Runequest, or like a White Wolf supplement you would have:
•The local lord, his men, and the story seeds “A suspicious lord”, “a challenge on the border”, “under siege”
•The local village, including all the supernatural details and relationships between villagers, and the story seeds “Murder in the village”, ”missing livestock” and “unholy rites”
•The nearby covenant, and stats for the redcap who serves the local area.
•Sites of mystical interest, including a stone circle (with mystery rite described) and a vis source.
If done in the style of The Boy King campaign for Pendragon:
•1220: redcap mail – includes an invitation to a nearby covenant (see:ADVENTURE OF THE WIZARD’S DINNER), and a request to trade vis
•Intrigue – successful intrigue rolls will tell players about the local lord and his paranoia.
•Suggested adventures for this year: “DEATH AND THE MILLER” (describes the disappearance of Glenn the Miller)
•1221: redcap mail – includes a message from the levant from magi asking for support in their defense of the land against Islamic wizards. If any magi showed interest in the mystery cult in 1220, they receive a mysterious communication (see: ADVENTURE OF THE STONE CIRCLE)
•Intrigue – warns them the local lord’s knights want to cause trouble for the covenant, and that the villagers nearby are demoralised by all the accidents in their village.
•Suggested adventures for this year: A CHALLENGE ON THE BORDER (describing knights attacking unless the players headed them off following an intrigue roll), THE ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING LIVESTOCK (to slay an infernal creature preying on sheep)
•1222: redcap mail – includes a warning from a local quaesitor not to interfere with mundane unless in clear self-defence. If there are any bonisagus in the covenant, there is a letter asking for submissions to the next folio.
•Intrigue: The local lord has been buying ladders and wood for siege engines, and asking how many men his manors can spare for a levy.
•Suggested adventures: UNDER SIEGE (where the local lord attacks), UNHOLY RITES
General adventures for the period 1220-1222: THE ADVENTURE OF THE DAISIES (about a local vis source)
If done in AEG 7th Sea style (see “A murder of supplication” on the AEG website for a free example. Also used in the Freiburg Campaign) – this consists of hard points (encounters which must happen), soft points (encounters which may happen), Optional stories (if required by players being members of particular secret societies).
•Hard point 1: meeting the neighbours. Describes a local lord and his court, and players try to negotiate for local rights. They may gain the impression he is warlike.
•Soft point 2: a character gets into a confrontation with a drunken knight who won’t back down. If the player is beaten or backs down, he is arrogant and says no-one crosses his lord. If he is defeated, he will swear revenge.
•Hard point 3: Murder in the village. Glenn the Miller has disappeared, and people are convinced it is murder. Magic or very good investigative skills may reveal the mundane reason quickly (his wife’s lover did it)
•Soft point 4: Wild goose chase. The players, following the villagers’ suggestion there is a supernatural cause, go to hunt down a fairie in the woods. The fairie is innocent and tells the players he has no involvement in the mortal’s sins.
•Soft point 5: Tracks in the woods. If the players are out in the woods, they spot the tracks of a large creature unlike any they have seen. They are unable to find the creature in the woods today (the creature won’t appear until Hard point 9)
•Soft point 6: Loose lips. If the players haven’t uncovered the reason for Glenn’s disappearance, they can be told gossip about all the jealousy, adultery and envy within the village.
•Soft point 7: An invitation to visit – a redcap brings a message from a nearby covenant, and the players get a chance to meet magi there.
•Optional point: if the storyguide wants to introduce a mystery cult, one of the magi makes an offer to a player mage to join as an initiate next year.
•Hard point 8: Challenge on the border- a group of knights comes over to the covenant’s lands and causes trouble.
•Hard point 9: Missing livestock – the local village has suffered losses not explained by the recent raid from knights. Following tracks into the woods, the players encounter an infernally tainted creature.
•Optional point: The stone circle – if a player wanted to join the mystery cult, there is a chance to perform the initiation rite at a local mystical site.
•Soft point 10: Pushing daisies – a local graveyard contains daisies which are a source of vis. The players need to negotiate for access.
•Hard point 11: Under siege – the local lord besieges the covenant. Can the players drive him off?
•Soft point 12: Parley – if the players cannot defeat the lord’s forces, they are offered a chance to surrender if they agree to pay him taxes and assist in magical defence of his land.
•Soft point 13: A quaesitor calls – hearing the local lord is going to war, a quaesitor arrives a few days too late. He asks questions as to what happened in the defense of the covenant. If all is well, he is friendly, if not he tells them to expect to face charges at the next Tribunal meeting. The players can also volunteer information about other things they have seen – he will seem interested but is too busy to investigate fully himself.
•Hard point 14: Unholy rites – there are strange events in the village. When the players investigate, the locals have formed a cult to appease the dark forces that assault them.
Which of these styles works the best to create a coherent whole for players while being straightforward for the storyguide?