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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 8296987" data-attributes="member: 6696971">A Scene Bang is the technique of introducing events into the game which make a thematically-significant or at least evocative choice necessary for a player. The term is taken from the rules of Sorcerer and its also the used in the backstory scene in Dogs in the Vineyard character creation.This weekend, I ran an Escort Adventure for my group that is playtesting a Dungeon World/Blades in the Dark game I've been working on.  I'm planning on using it for my subsequent session of Blades in the Dark where the Crew (a group of Smugglers) are resolving the 2nd part of a Split Score (Theft of weapons/munitions and then smuggling them to an apartment to hand over to a agents of the Ministry and Sparkwrights).Procedurally, this effectively how it works:1)  Either (a) use an existing map (this is what will be done in my Blades game) or (b) make a map with the group for the location that is to be navigated for the Escort Adventure/Smuggling Score.2)  Pick and trace a route on the map from the starting location and trace it to the target location.3)  Just like you would with a dungeon, you're going to collectively stock the route and adjacent areas (in case, as a downstream effect of adverse Complication/Consequence pile-up, the group decides to reroute) with obstacles.  These obstacles will be thematically-significant or at least evocative choices for the players (see "Bang" at the top).  These aren't going to be granular up front, but rather they will be pithy statements that will guide the GM in obstacle/situation framing as the Escort Adventure/Smuggling Score interacts with them along the route.  Examples of these in Blades in the Dark would be under the Entanglements section:a)  Gang Troubleb)  The Usual Suspectsc)  The Unquiet Deadd)  Show of Forcee)  Demonic NoticeAnother way to handle this would be Vice Purveyor locations that "carrot in" PCs thematically (they'll get xp), encouraging them to complicate their lives for advancement/boon (similar to the way Devil's Bargains work).  For instance:a)  Luxury/Pleasure Houseb)  Gambling/Stupor Denc)  Weird/Faith/ObligationYet another way to derive inspiration for these obstacles is via Torchbearer's Twists section on 129-131.  I'm not going to go through the list but something like "the water is a lot deeper than you thought" is a fantastic Obstacle that would likely be titled Environment/Topography Hazard (because it needs to be open-ended).  This is also a great place to look for Complications broadly (I always have this section of TB open when I'm running Dungeon World, Apocalypse World, Blades, 4e Skill Challenges, Mouse Guard and other like games).  I highly recommend that.4)  Torchbearer scales the difficulty of Adventures/Delves based on # of Problems/Obstacles.  This is how I handle Blades Scores as well though its proportionately much lower than TB's handling.  What I typically do in Blades Scores is I handle it as Payoff tier + 2 stock Problems/Obstacles For instance, Payoff t1 Scores (2 coin: A minor job; several full purses) would be 3 stock Problems/Obstacles while Payoff t5 Scores (10+ coin: A major score; impressive loot) would typically be 7 stock Problems/Obstacles.  Now that isn't the total # of Problems/Obstacles that will actually be faced in the Adventure/Score, because the game of "Spinning Plates" inherent to the resolution mechanics engine will ensue and dynamically change this (Complications and Clocks going off causing an increase to the total # of Problems/Obstacles and/or their type/kind, meanwhile decisively defeating Clocks or Team PC fundamentally changing the situation due to some combination of skillful assessment and deployment of a bold gambit which changes the available move-space for Team PC + resolution going right will reduce the total # of Problems/Obstacles).[HR][/HR]Obviously, this all resolves when either (a) the PCs achieve the Win Con of the Adventure/Score (getting to the target destination and doing whatever is meant to be done there; eg dropping off the goods/personnel) or (b) things go absolutely tits-up and the Escort/Smuggling Adventure/Score has to be abandoned.So.  Yeah.  Just figured I would share this operationalizing of an approach to technique/design of a "not dungeon" scenario that has yielded expectant results.  Its low cognitive overhead/prep for the GM using "Bang Technology" ensures the Problem/Obstacle space is thematically-relevant or evocatively-attendant to player interest.  GM plays the Problems/Obstacles (the antagonism) hard (just like in Sorcerer or Dogs) in attempt to push back against Team PCs goal(s).  Players try to resolve the obstacle course skillfully as Complications invariably ensue (fundamentally changing the situation with a fair chance for a "reroute" paradigm to occur), requiring the management of the Spinning Plates game to the proverbial "Finish Line" (or not).</blockquote>

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