Basic Rules, 'Naked' Playtest

The Scattershot rules are designed in five variations; hands free, basic, intermediate (aka tournament), advanced and collectible card game.

For your 'playing piece' in the Scattershot Role-Playing Game, you come up with a persona write-up (or milieu write-up, if you gamemaster). The relationships and reactions between these write-ups are the 'playing field' in this game. Finally, spoken word and imaginary interactions are the 'play'. Don't forget! Good gamesmanship is closely related to teamwork as you play.

There are four levels of detail in Scattershot; solitaire, informal, simple and mechanical (not in these basic rules). As you get used to the rules, shifting between these levels becomes virtually unconscious and other players will 'just know' which is in play.

Solitaire play is when you play apart from a group. You may make only changes and decisions about the stuff you 'own' (and only within reason), which often is only your persona. Dice are rarely used; when they are it is only to create extra detail. Thus you could even roll up a whole persona, if you wish.

Basically, you play as though you are your persona through a series of hypothetical situations involving the other players and overseen by the gamemaster (in his milieu write-up). The specific point of view of your persona is the context you will play. The circumstances and relationships to other persona, supporting characters and the milieu are what should frame your hypothetical thinking. When your persona interacts directly with the background and props, Scattershot can elaborate the results.

The simplest way to make a persona is to come up with a sine qua non first. Try to think of the most fundamental and necessary ideas in it. Aim for those thoughts that would significantly alter the persona if you took any one of them out; all the rest is simply detail. The K.I.S.S. principle in Scattershot is 'Keep It Simple and Share'.

An easy mnemonic for sine qua non is 'three up / three down'. Write down the first three things about your persona you want people to think of and the last three things you want them to forget. When you have time, share these with your play group. People enjoy helping make a persona better and it prevents them from accidentally writing up something too similar. It helps fit the persona to the milieu too (even when the milieu must be changed to accommodate).

A simple description is the best way to start a persona write-up. You might use a paragraph of prose, drawings, photos, lists, et cetera to make a simple illustration at the top. Keep in mind your sine qua non and try to make it interesting.

The important aspects of a Scattershot persona are given rating numbers (or degrees). Many ratings will come with a base number; to buy a rating up one point, it costs one development point. If you increase a degree rating, it will also cost you a development point. Likewise, if you wish to lower a rating or degree by one, it costs a development point.

Optional ratings (skills, concept pegs and abilities) cost a set amount of development points to add to your persona write-up; they provide a base number for their initial rating.

There are no limits on the number of development points available for persona creation. If you choose to use significantly more development points, first consider how that will affect the other players. Let good gamesmanship be your guide.

After your persona description, make a space on the write-up for ratings. These measure the capacities and actions they can do.

Ratings are either numeric or 'direct'; measuring magnitude, ability or resources OR representing concept pegs or 'character' (notable details).

Every persona or supporting characters has six statistics (numerical ratings), so put those on your write-up first. They start with base number of 10. You may add or subtract any number points to or from these statistics. The human range of stats is no lower than 7 or higher than 14. Take into account how other players may feel if you very much raise or lower a stat.

Below the stats, add your persona's skills. These are optional ratings for specific actions a persona is capable of. These ratings may make use of a statistic as a limitation of magnitude (see their specific listing). Each base number comes at a different cost:

Talents and training are purchased the same way (which are combined into the final skill rating). The difference is only in the persona's description.

After the skills, make a space for abilities. These are based on the Power stat (using the UE Chart for magnitude) and have costs listed with these 'skills'.

You may want to start a new column on your write-up for concept pegs. Each one is a persona-specific, special ability or deficiency (frequently with residual modifiers). In Scattershot's genre material, these are listed with the costs associated. Persona concept pegs act as ways to gain experience dice (rewards for the player) and to limit play creatively. Beneficial concept pegs often come from a persona's origins, precipitating events, drives, kharma or fate. They can act as modifiers, bonuses or penalties, rated by situational variables. Others may be kept secret to form mystiques and create intrigue during play.

A mystique is any aspect of your persona or milieu which isn't common knowledge to your group. These are usually special abilities, unusually high (or low) statistics or skills or concept pegs. The purpose for this is to make your character more engaging for the rest of the group. Depending on the people in your group, these do not actually have to be secret from any or all of them; the idea is that it must be at least treated as a secret in play. It can be equally as fun for everyone to play as though no one knows these things; the important point is to take into consideration how the rest of the group will feel about how you play it.

When it comes to playing with a secret mystique, you must create intrigue. Give the group that sense of 'What is he up to?' The more you can entice interest in your mystique, the better you are playing it. People will give you experience dice when you make them especially curious or engaged. (They may even use experience dice to bribe you into telling only them; and you can!)

When a situation comes up where the mystique should affect play, but can't without you giving it away, you have veto power. For that time and only as far as the mystique goes, you become the speaker. This only allows you to affect play with your mystique without robbing it of intrigue. If someone wants to trump even that, you may have to face off with them with a 'Solomon's Auction' (more on this later), but only if you don't want to reveal your mystique to that person.

Finally, make a list of anything that describes your persona in the game, but doesn't impact play like a rating, costs no development points and is called 'character'. As things occur to your persona, making small but noticeable changes, you will note them between scenes in the 'character' section of your write-up.

Somewhere between ratings and character are free skills. They are not priced like usual skills because of their limited opportunity or usability. You can buy these from a 'laundry list' of them at the rate of up to five Free Skills for each development point spent. The starting level of each Free Skill is given on the skill lists. Any increases are at normal cost and move these skills up into the usual skills section on your character write-up.

Informal play is most of what goes on in Scattershot. You won't use any of the rules during informal play. Play moves from person to person in no particular order and at no specific time interval. Taking turns is very much like an ordinary conversation. The speaker is the person who carries play at that moment; please respect their turn.

Simply put, what the speaker says is what happens in the game. Anything the speaker introduces (props, settings, atmosphere, supporting characters, et cetera) belongs to that speaker; this is how one grows to 'own' more elements of the play. While speaking, avoid altering anything another person 'owns' without their consent.

Whenever you like, transfer control of anything you 'own' to whomever you like. This often goes to the gamemaster (and is somewhat his job), but not always. One great example is when the speaker prompts another player to 'voice' a supporting character; done well, the other player may find himself the 'owner' of a new supporting character. If you want to take back something you 'created', you may do so at any time.

During informal play, all ratings count only so much as they stand out. An 'average' rating is basically beneath notice. A persona's superlative ratings will grant automatic success in the appropriate situations. Marginal ratings 'attract' failure; if play puts a marginal rating to the test, the speaker should create an appropriate failure.

This may seem like a mean thing to do; it isn't. The player who 'owns' the marginally rated persona will expect this; this is what they made the persona for. If anything, it dignifies the persona's sine qua non. Sometimes, when it relates to a persona content peg, it will reward them. If this player chooses, invoke the rules and call for a roll instead of an automatic failure. (See Simple Play below.)

It's okay to play with the potential of using the rules in mind; it's not required. The difference between informal and simple play is the usage of the rules. The presence of the rules on the sidelines is why we keep track of 'ownership'; when something you 'own' comes into play, you make the die rolls for it.

The shift between informal and simple play should be seamless and unconscious for everyone playing. (Cut the newbies some slack here.) In fact, you can step up to simple play, resolve a complication with a quick use of the rules and then drop back into informal play with no one the wiser. Other reasons you might shift over and back are things like resolving disagreements (when the speaker wants something to happen to something someone else 'owns') or to raise tension like banking everything on a single die roll, and those are just a few examples.

In simple play, the rules are at your side, helping along; they don't control play. Simple play is not unusual, but informal play happens much more often. When shifting to simple play, rating numbers don't just influence play, but specify capacities and limit what may be done. Use of the rules in simple play only involves taking a rating and rolling dice against it (or against the rating connected to an ability).

As the gamemaster, remember to let pacing decide whether a minor roll should even be made (just let them have it otherwise). In simple play, you must try to balance who has the most spotlight time (including the gamemaster). Also, the gamemaster will begin all complications; try to fit them to the current pacing and engagement.

You'll notice that this can become a sudden impediment to play. Detail, contests and tension are good reasons to slow play for a die roll; otherwise, anyone can ask, 'Is this really necessary?'

And when the time comes, pull out those dice! The speaker chooses an action his persona can make to resolve a complication with mechanical resolution. This action must resolve the complication that was offered. (Resolution means to change, escalate or remove the complication.) The speaker also chooses the rating basis for this resolution.

For mechanical resolution take the modifiers and apply them to the rating, roll two ten-sided dice (2d10) and subtract their total from this modified rating. The result is your MIb number; this is an acronym that stands for Made-It-by or Missed-It-by (because the result can also be a negative number). This number is a rating of the quality of the outcome (if not also the quantity in some cases).

There are a few additional things you may do with this number before applying it to the situation and returning to play.

You may fine tune the resolution by moving the points around. If it's a contested resolution both sides may do this.

You may only 'buy' your MIb up to as high as 0 (minimal success) by introducing complications for your persona. Each complication added only results in a one point increase. The largest number of complications you may take is set by the 'epic threshold' (see below).

When the resolution comes out slightly negative, there will be additional factors like you'd expect from a near miss. Keep in mind the MIb is a relative measure of failure here.

You may also 'spend' MIb points, adding benefits for your persona. Each benefit costs one point. Spending the MIb points lets you create a deeper or more satisfying result than simply 'you succeed'. You may 'spend' a success down to 0 (minimal success), if you want.

You may 'spend' a negative down to the epic threshold for a catastrophic failure and 'buy' a positive up to the epic threshold for a telling blow. Usually, experience dice are used for this.

There are basically three different types of modifiers used while playing, deliberate, latent and residual. Deliberate modifiers are those applied in situations like buying or spending MIb points. You will have latent modifiers when you realize that a condition exists which you have become affected by. Residual modifiers are problems and complications that 'hang on' and continue to affect you; the end as they should, when you do something about them or when they wear themselves out.

Following all these possible adjustments, the remaining MIb number is a numerical rating of the impact of the action on the circumstances of play. The epic threshold (see below) affects all exceptional rolls. If a positive MIb number equals or exceeds the epic threshold, you can refer to it as a 'telling blow' (also known as a 'critical hit' in some circumstances). When a negative MIb equals or surpasses minus the epic threshold, call it s 'catastrophic (or critical) failure'. Any MIb number in between is a qualitative measure of success or failure.

The more positive the RMIb number is the more the action resolved reaches its ideal; the more negative, the more ineffective the action is. If contested, the negative RMIb measures how much the result resembles the ideal of what the contestant offered. A 0 RMIb means that the action succeeded in the most minimal way possible, without any measureable effect on the current situation.

In many ways, Scattershot rules are, for the most part, optional. There are a few that must always be followed. Keep this in mind when choosing your persona's actions.

The epic threshold is rating of how 'epic' a game is; the lower this number is the more epic the play will be. This is both meant as a guideline as well as a rule.

When a telling blow is scored, the owner of the recipient (or the loser) chooses the benefits for the speaker. These are normally persistent bad things or complications that happen to the subject, but occasionally may be good things for the speaker. For example, when Robin Hood scores a telling blow on the Sheriff of Nottingham, the 'owner' of the Sheriff could choose to take a disfiguring scar as a benefit to Robin; he could also give Robin's player a one point reputation for besting the Sheriff (or a +1 if there already is this beneficial concept peg).

For a catastrophic failure, it is the player of the persona (the speaker) who must choose the results. It works the same way as it does with telling blows. This is an excellent opportunity to gain 'keeper' experience dice for spectacular failure; try to keep the results relative to what cause the catastrophic failure.

As the speaker, you may interpret the RMIb in a number of ways; it might be multiplied by a factor (based on the magnitude rating used), it may create a residual modifier (the length of which is based on the RMIb), it could be subtracted from a resource rating, it may also be used simply as the results (an RMIb of 3 could mean that three clues were found) or you can combine any of these, dividing points between them.

Because the speaker may not change things about anything he does not 'own', he must negotiate it with the player who 'owns' it. When an action is done by one persona on another persona or a supporting character, the speaker may only describe what the persona is actually doing, but not what the persona intends on doing. The 'owner' of the recipient will also describe a reaction, but not an intended result. The dice resolve which of these actions is more successful. There is no failure in Scattershot, only superior precedent or complication.

When an action involves something 'owned' by another person, they may choose to simply accept the result; in this case the speaker's MIb determines the whole result. This other person may also choose to resist the action, making it a contested action. The speaker has offered his action, now the other 'owner' must offer his reaction. Both parties then will roll separate MIb numbers (including experience dice) and the actions happen simultaneously in play. Subtract the recipient's MIb from the speaker's; this is the RMIb for the contested action.

Simple play is also shaped by using the rules to create unexpected detail. Each groups will have their own habits for how often is 'right'.

Beyond just 'making a roll' to see if your persona succeeds at something, you can also include modifiers. Experience dice (see below) turn 'how hard' a roll is into theatrics; so use the dice frequently against long odds for over-the-top play. This can also invoke the epic threshold, which doesn't come up without the rules.

How many modifiers used will tell when you are overdoing something. There are many situations where it appears that many modifiers would apply, but the situation doesn't suggest a heavily modified roll. Ask yourself what makes the situation engaging and go with only those modifiers. Make fun your guide.

Experience dice are six-sided dice passed back and forth around the gaming group during play. You get them as rewards for good play or as mechanical payoffs for using certain rules in Scattershot. You roll them to affect how things proceed during play and once rolled, they must return to the 'pot'. To use them, roll them into the middle of play, state how they affect play, add up their face values and explain how they will be added or subtracted to the current complication. If one isn't enough, you can always add another, until you get the result you like. (You might even find that if the first roll goes too far, you have to roll more to lessen it's amount.)

What experience dice really are, is the measure of a player's ability to directly affect play. They are the player's (and gamemaster's) reward for good play. In Scattershot, concept pegs are rated by the number of experience dice they bring into play.

Anyone may use experience dice to raise or lower an RMIb for any complication they are party to, before, during or immediately after the roll with no restrictions! If you see it happen, you can roll one of your own experience dice into it. In fact, even if there isn't a roll being made, but you think there should be, simply roll your experience dice and read the total as a success or failure (your choice) RMIb. (Yes, you create plot devices and deus ex machina this way.)

Whenever you determine play by someone exceeds your expectations (in the good way), you should give them one of your own experience dice. DON'T WORRY! Everyone else will be doing the same so you won't run out. (If you manage to exceed their expectations; keep trying!) Multiple rewards (from more than one person) are likely; you may even reward someone for identifying excellent play (when they award some). After the end of each scene or session, everyone is welcome to identify a 'most valuable player' who will receive dice from each person. (You could even ante up dice at the beginning of the session for this award.)

You don't just give and receive experience dice, you may also share them (offering to roll them for someone else playing), you may loan them to another at whatever terms you negotiate and the same goes for borrowing them from someone. That's how experience dice move about the people playing Scattershot. Now let's talk about how you get them from the rules.

There are seven different kinds of experience dice, depending on how you get them or how you spend them. There are five ways to get them; keepers, gimmes, freebies, loaners and by buying them. There are also three ways you ways to spend them. (No, that isn't a typo; bear with me.)

• When you have received experience dice that someone took as loaners 'against' you, save them in a way that reminds you who you got them from.
• During the session you got them, when you find a way to use them, this is called 'payback'. It works a little like bad kharma for them pushing their luck. Try to be creative in this way. (You might even get some keepers this way. Maybe even from the 'victim'!)

• Any time between scenes, you may roll one of more of your experience dice in order to evolve your persona (or milieu).
• The higher you roll, the more development points you may spend. You may not hang onto development points; you must spend them immediately.
  

• During play, if you see an opportunity to change things for the better, you may spend an experience die. Roll this like normal. If you are simulating a roll made by something you are creating for that moment, count it as an RMIb number (you may go positive or negative with this).
• If you are introducing something that should have a simple rating attached to it, roll your experience die and look up the result on the UE Chart. (See attached.) This is how you introduce a plot device or significant prop. For example, if you decide that a door someone else 'owns' should have a lock on it, roll a die and that becomes the rating of difficulty to pick the lock.
• Once you commit to rolling an experience die this way, it becomes a die-rolling situation, meaning you or anyone else may also add or subtract further experience dice to the roll. (This is how anyone can turn a plot device into a deus ex machina.)

You've probably already noticed that you stand to get many of your rewards from playing on your persona concept pegs (and those of the milieu). That's a good thing. Keeping this in mind while you create a persona or milieu will direct you towards embodying in it those things you want to see in play.

The gamemaster has what authors call the 'omniscient perspective'. Ultimately, all a gamemaster does is manage the in-game complications which come up during play. What's important is finding your own style and helping it work with the group's overall play style.

The gamemaster manages all of these. Players and play can handle them well, but sometimes the gamemaster must take action. If playing out every mechanical complication is bogging down play, change to a more broad form of resolution. Or introduce new complications (using your own experience dice) to keep play from going 'too fast'.

Each scene is actually a complication in and of itself. While many scenes are offered as complication to address, some may begin with a cliché and find the complication they resolve.

Scenes begin with a complication that someone wants to see resolved (or at least affected). Once someone offers one that the group is interested in (and perhaps a setting), the gamemaster will craft the beginning of the scene.

Consider

1. The Factors Offered
2. What the Players Have in Mind
3. Their First Consequential Decision
4. The General Actions They Set Out to Do
5. The Most Engaging Outcome of Those
6. How Far You Can Go Before Cheating Them Out of Choices

Start there.

For example, describe the scene and begin at the point where the boss comes into the stark light and makes a speech about people who stick their noses into other people's business. To reflect the success rolled, you make sure that the boss indirectly reveals the answer to the players' curiosity. Play begins at that point and no earlier.

Once the initial action is resolved, the scene will get down to the meat of play: doing stuff. As a gamemaster, you have to consider where the players are going with play and how that affects the scene's central complication. And remember, some challenges must always remain too difficult.

You can have them:

1. Resolve It
2. Escalate It
3. Mutate It
4. Break It into Smaller Pieces

Just remember to keep play moving; that's the most important part.

Once the scene's main complication is satisfactorily addressed (even if it is not resolved), end the scene as quickly as you are able. Keep play from deflating into bored or bleeding over into a second complication, even if you have to do a 'jump cut' to a new scene. (Hint: gamemasters offer scenes too.)

Always keep notes about the complications set for the group (or as concept pegs for an individual). If a running persona concept peg complication becomes complicated enough or 'big' enough, it must be copied to the gamemaster's milieu write-up as a new concept peg. If a concept peg on the milieu write-up is resolved during play, the gamemaster will have to remove it from the write-up. This is done exactly the same way players evolve their persona (see above).

“Suspense doesn't come from uncertain outcomes; it comes from putting off the inevitable.” – Vincent Baker

The amount that you make use of (or ask for) die rolls depends on your and your group's play style. As gamemaster, you must make sure that it doesn't become excessive. While there is a small crumb of suspense involved with each roll, this isn't how you work suspense in your game. That is what complications are for. In fact, the easiest way to handle a failed resolution is to use the size of the number rolled (when it doesn't equal or exceed the epic threshold) as the 'size' of a new complication.

For example, if a persona is trying to pick a lock to gain entrance to a manor to discover some secrets to further play, you cannot, must not, simply stop play when the player fails the roll. Of course the lock remains unpicked, but the goal is still in reach. Perhaps the player will decide the persona would then climb the trellis to access an open window. This is where you use the absolute value of the failure RMIb as the number to beat when climbing the trellis. If the worst case scenario happens and all the ways this persona attempts to enter are foiled, change the consequences; instead of failing to enter, they are able to enter, but also raise alarm in the servant's quarters. Never forget, a failed roll is not an ending; it is a new complication.

There are many more reasons to skip die rolls than there are to make them. Every time you call for roll, you introduce the possibility for failure…<cough> complication. As a good gamemaster, you know that too much complication makes for bad pacing and a bad game. In order to avoid too much complication, simply skip die rolls. If you need more engagement from your players, remember: spare the dice and spoil the players!

At some point during play, one or more personae are going to run afoul of one (or more) of the supporting characters. This is one of the most difficult of gamemastering situations. You need to portray the supporting character as a worthy opponent without giving the impression that it's you versus the players. Intense characterization is the most common way of creating the illusion of competition without involving 'the gamemaster'. There are many others; most gamemasters have tons of ideas how to manage this. Just make sure you notice when this may potentially happen to you.

One major way to maintain an air of objectivity is not showing your supporting characters any favoritism. The simplest way to do this is to imagine they have a place in the ecology of your milieu. Who do they have to deal with or struggle against? Who are their peers and what relationships do they hold among them? Who do they prey upon and what protects them from their prey? When you establish a situational ecology in your mind, you are half way to keeping things apparently fair.

What you need to do is imagine what effects these will have on your supporting character that the players will notice? When you portray the personae's affect on the supporting character and how that affects their standings within their 'ecology', the players won't be able to imagine much in the way of favoritism. We call this effect the 'dynamic status quo'; when one supporting character is laid low, there are peers, superiors and prey just waiting for a chance at their resources and position. Thus, the more the personae change things, the more they appear to remain the same. (It's only apparent because the new version will no doubt involve a great deal more incompetence than the old.)

For each game, the gamemaster will generate a milieu sheet, much the same way the players create their personae (beginning with a sine qua non, description and development points). At the beginning of play, while the players create their personae, the gamemaster creates the milieu. This single write-up will dictate almost everything that belongs in play and shows the gamemaster what he has to work with or deal with.

These always start with a list of things that 'juice up' the game and make play livelier. It may contain the coolest bits about the background, great scene ideas, awesome supporting characters, tense relationships or significant props. Anything you think will make things great to play should be on such a list (even if it is only in your head). When you create the write-up of all this you will be making sure that it fits the tone of the game, sets the mood and reinforces the atmosphere. You may want to add anything else that will make this game very much 'in genre', like running gags or examples of the motif.

But keep it short!

A milieu write-up can be very handy for improvising. If you are really stuck for ideas, you can offer the 'public' parts of the milieu for the players to improvise a scene on. If worse comes to worst, you could just roll RMIbs on all of the above, making a list of what succeeds (spectacularly or fails spectacularly) and try to cook something up from that list. Don't forget; the milieu sheet is dynamic and needs frequent between-scene attention. It really is your game.

Laid out like a persona write-up, a milieu will also have statistics. These represent the ideal aspects of the game in the expression of its genre. Like a persona write-up, you will have six statistics with a base number of 10.

This stat throttles how much the players will have to deal with in any single scene. A low Handicap makes for smooth sailing. Certain concept pegs can temporarily raise or lower the Handicap (for example, the crisis, climax and resolution concept peg).

If you lower your Handicap, the personae will have an easier time dealing with the complications you offer. Look up your Handicap on the UE Chart; how many points is it worth? That is the most points of concept pegs / complication you may have in play in one scene. If any others 'need' to show up, subvert them; make their presence know but disallow them to be rolled on.

This stat guides how over-the-top surprises or plot twists can get. The lower the Spectacle, the fewer surprises, betrayals or reversals the game may have. A successful Spectacle roll permits an unexpected change in the direction of play.

If you want to pull a highly dramatic reversal or plot twist, your Spectacle RMIb must exceed the critical threshold. Experience dice can be rolled into the Spectacle roll. Concept pegs, mystiques and open 'secrets' in the game do not require a Spectacle roll. When you want an arbitrary spectacle, roll only experience dice; read them as your RMIb.

This stat measures how 'climactic' play currently is. As Tension gets lower and lower, the end of the game draws nigh and players know they need to tie up their personae's 'loose ends'. At zero, the game is 'dead'. A higher number of Tension Points means that many complications are at work and may be quite subtle.

Knowing the Tension will direct the kind of complications you offer play. Think of the ongoing complications in order of relevance; make offerings on complications numbering down to the current Tension Points. For example, at five, you may only offer complications from the top five relevant complications in play.

Ordinarily, only certain concept pegs (they will note it) can take away Tension Points. Also, when a concept peg is resolved and 'bought off' it lowers the Tension by one point. A few concept pegs are able to add Tension Points at least temporarily.

This stat directs how concise and to-the-point scenes must be. The higher your Pacing, the more 'blunt' endings (and beginnings) scenes will have. A successful Pacing roll (by anyone) causes the current scene to 'jump cut' to the next scene (keeping some of the context of course, like a compound sentence). When a scene is cut by a Pacing roll, the next scene must begin in media res. You must cut right to the chase, start in the middle of the action.

If the Pacing Roll beats the critical threshold, the scene must not only start fast, it has to be about a completely different complication. Obviously, a player can intentionally roll this and add experience dice, just as much as anyone else can roll theirs into it. Starting or ending a scene normally does not require a roll. Of course, some concept pegs may raise or lower the Pacing.

This stat clarifies the level of mystery in the game. The higher the Enigma, the more mystiques or 'mystiques within mystiques' there will be, perfect for a spy-vs-spy game. Look up the Enigma level on the UE Chart; the number of Points is how many points of mystique allowed in a scene. A successful Enigma roll allows additional mystiques in a scene.

If you exceed the critical threshold with your Enigma RMIb, you may push a mystique onto another person's write-up. This addition must the player's have permission to go on their write-up, but it automatically goes on the gamemaster's. Obviously, experience dice can be rolled into the Enigma roll; this can be used to leverage cutthroat secret identity play, but it is also vital for murder mystery play. Don't forget the other players' feelings when doing this. The first few mystiques in a scene do not require an Enigma roll. Whoever receives a compulsory mystique must also pay development points to keep it past the end of the scene.

This stat determines supporting character development point totals. The lower the Power, the more that the personae are 'larger than life' or legendary and vice versa. Take the average persona development point total and add the UE Chart Points entry for Power, this is maximum development points available to make any of the supporting characters. The same average minus the same UE Chart entry is the minimum.

Don't forget the bell curve! There will be only one supporting character at their maximum development rating, if you're very lucky. The same for the lowest. When the play eliminates an exceptional supporting character (high or low total), the Power is reduced by one. In order to create a new exceptional supporting character, the gamemaster has to gain a development point. Supporting characters around the same amount of development as the personae will not impact Power when they are added or removed from the game. Regularly appearing supporting characters must be represented as support on the gamemaster write-up. One-time appearance and cameos do not have to be within this limit, nor represented as support. Be careful of other people's feelings when making cameos.

A milieu's Support are the list of 'places' that things are likely to happen during play. Drawn from the background and genre, these 'sets' should be both flexible and engaging, but not too cliché. One skill might be 'street-side nightscape'; this could be as much a dark alley as an empty subway platform. Trying not to be too specific.

Milieu Support also include things like significant props; six-guns are very common in an 'old west' game, but don't belong in a Færie Tales game. The Maltese Falcon would have been a high level 'skill' in the noir game of the movie of the same name. When casting the extras and mooks (supporting characters who have no significant lines or just 'bit players'), list them as Support but be generic. Townspeople, peasants or the police are well chosen Support, but Mayor Bradley or Chief Gordon are not and neither are 'pedestrians'.

Try not to forget any of the predictable settings or essential parts of the background because if they become useful, you will have to spend development points adding them to the milieu. Taken together, all the milieu Support should represent the panorama on which the game takes place.

When it comes time to rate them, like statistics, you should use that as an opportunity to prioritize them so they embody the flavor of the game. Think of the number as how often or how intensely these settings, extras and props will be used. Same as the persona skills, the genre-specific material included in a Scattershot supplement for you to choose from as well as notes on how to make your own; just remember to keep them flexible enough that they don't become repetitive.

On the milieu sheet there are things listed that can crop up during play. Whether by accident of design, the concept pegs note these situations. When they come up, one or more personae may receive experience dice based on how they relate to the situation and how much part their players were in bringing the episode into being. Everyone should consider them ideas and situations that they can and should hit the play with repeatedly.

One type is a relationship with another persona or supporting character; when the relationship makes things more difficult for your persona, you get a number of experience dice relative to the difficulty. Some relationships require a certain amount of 'maintenance' by their players; they also receive experience dice when they work on this (coerced or not). Another type is predictable turns and twists of play. When your superhero winds up in a deathtrap, you get experience dice. (Even when your persona was 'looking the other way' when you did it.)

Milieu concept pegs have different ratings of effectiveness. Five dice on an adverse concept peg should occur frequently and not unexpectedly. A one dice beneficial concept peg might come up once in a while, but it can't have that much impact. Any concept peg can appear at less than its full rating; see the listing for the alternatives. Minor concept pegs are often taken to inspire play to embrace the expected tone, mood or atmosphere of the game. Applying a motif to something brought into play that is listed as a minor concept peg will also reward the player.

Milieu concept pegs are things which 'help' the game achieve its potential, often at the expense of the players for their persona. Adverse milieu concept pegs are things which elevate personae and give players a genre-inspired kick. Or simply, if it makes you feel cool, it's a adverse milieu concept peg; if it makes the game cool, it's a beneficial milieu concept peg.

You may invoke 'powers' at any time (within verisimilitude) and for the milieu, they are the major supporting characters. When an extra begins to make repeat appearances, their listing has to be changed from a 'skill' to a 'power'. For minor characters, this doesn't cost any development points. When the extra, thug or mook rises to have relationships in the game and embody a certain amount of play, they must be converted to a power 'based' on a statistic. For example, if the leader of a minor gang comes into possession of a powerful artifact (and doesn't let it get taken from him), he becomes a power based on whatever statistic embodies the artifact. Props can do this, but only when so important that virtually everyone in play has a relationship to it.

If a supporting character is an archetype for this game, then they should be 'based on a statistic'; the statistic they 'use' defines their relative importance both within the genre at large and relative to this game (the value of the statistic). Minor returning supporting characters (also 'bit players' and 'character actors' when steeped in motif) aren't 'based' on a statistic and sometimes rise no higher than a running gag relative to the game.

Just like all persona write-ups, your milieu may (and likely will) have mystiques listed. A mystique works exactly as it does for the persona. Make sure you note them on your milieu write-up (at least the 'private edition') so that you can put them into perspective with the other parts of your game. Between sessions you may find that you need to raise or lower their rating based on changes you make during play. This is handled just like any other evolution on your sheet. Remember, blank mystiques are very sophisticated and complicated; you may want to steer clear of them until you're fully confident you can handle it.

This is the section of your write-up where you note things you want to stress out of the potential motifs and running gags. You may write a lot or a little; just make sure that you only note the things you will consciously make use of to distinguish your game from others of the same genre.

The personae in your milieu are your 'free skills'. Like extras, you don't need to spend much time deciding how they affect play (after all, that's exactly what the players do). If you want to have more influence over any of the persona, make a deal with its player and spend one development point on each bullet point you get them to agree to. There aren't any hard and fast costs for the personae in your game, but you should cost them out relative to each other and normal skill costs (except the base level is 9 to start). The main reason you want to add the personae to your write-up is so that you can make notes about how they are connected to the background, supporting characters and locations; these may be very important to understand what motivates the personae so you can anticipate how to play.

The better the players understand the milieu write-up, the better 'tuned in' they will be to the game. The more willing they are to make use of the powers, skills and concept pegs as they play, the more your game will come out the way everyone intended it to. This is the major reason you make up your milieu write-up at the same time as they write-up their personae. This is a group process for the benefit of the group; the better all the write-ups work together the fewer problems and misunderstanding will need to be dealt with.

I just want to take a moment and thank everyone who has read this far. You have my greatest respect. I also want to thank everyone reading this who partakes in the playtests. This project will never 'live' without your dedicated effort; I really can't do it without you.

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