{"id":4055,"date":"2018-07-13T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T22:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/?p=4055"},"modified":"2018-07-13T18:28:00","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T22:28:00","slug":"ennie-spotlight-designing-adventures-in-a-night-at-the-opera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/2018\/07\/ennie-spotlight-designing-adventures-in-a-night-at-the-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"ENnie spotlight: Designing adventures in &#8220;A Night at the Opera&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><strong>Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game<\/strong> and associated books were nominated for seven ENnie Awards in 2018. Here, publisher and co-author Shane Ivey discusses <strong>Delta Green: A Night at the Opera,<\/strong> nominated for Best Adventure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Delta Green <a href=\"http:\/\/www.drivethrurpg.com\/product\/225230\/Delta-Green-Handlers-Guide?affiliate_id=48458\"><em>Handler\u2019s Guide<\/em><\/a> features a step-by-step guide to creating a great Delta Green scenario. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It needs a horrifying hook to involve the Agents, to grab the players\u2019 imaginations, and to establish the tone of what\u2019s to come. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Create important non-player characters who may be sources of information, or confusion, or antagonism. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Add leads for the Agents to follow as they unravel the truth of what has happened and how they can stop it. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Make sure one or two leads are dead ends, to add a sense of challenge and surprise. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Invent a few genuinely creepy moments \u2014 this is the fun part \u2014 where you dig in to your imagination and come up with appalling things for the Agents to experience. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">There must be unexpected events triggered by NPCs responding to the Agents, or by the Agents uncovering the right secrets. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Add trouble and interruptions to keep the Agents always a little off-balance. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Imagine the resolution: ways in which the agents can put an end to the evil, with ever-deeper cost if they were not cautious and alert along the way. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Finally, get a sense of possibilities for the cover-up, the all-important final steps the Agents must take to prevent the evil from spreading or being loosed again.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Those steps are a great place for a new Handler to start. When I design an adventure, though, I don\u2019t follow those steps too literally. I\u2019ve been doing it long enough that thinking about the process too much can interrupt the process itself. Everyone has their own way of creating. But if the scenario turns out well, it lines up with that process after all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I often start not at the hook, but with the germ of a creepy scene, and build out from it. How might that weirdness happen? Where would it have to be to take place? What might people have done to allow it to happen? What might get the players&#8217; Agents involved? What might make their involvement more fraught and awkward? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Likely characters emerge, at first as the vaguest of templates: a Scientist, or a Doctor, a Cop, a Homemaker, whatever. As I imagine a character\u2019s role in the events that have attracted Delta Green, I think what the character&#8217;s personality must be like to have gotten involved. I think of ways to tweak the character to be a little unpredictable, to feel self-driven and real: to feel vital, to feel like someone who has their own needs and priorities and will fight like hell for them, whatever the Agents say. Crafting NPCs is usually my favorite part of scenario design.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.drivethrurpg.com\/product\/236490\/Delta-Green-A-Night-at-the-Opera?affiliate_id=48458\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3819\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/2017\/12\/delta-green-handlers-guide-going-to-press\/delta_green_a_night_at_the_opera_cover_front_1024x1024-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"771,1024\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Delta Green: A Night at the Opera\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1-771x1024.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3819\" src=\"http:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1-771x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1.jpg 771w, https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1-226x300.jpg 226w, https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1-768x1020.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Let&#8217;s look at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.drivethrurpg.com\/product\/236490\/Delta-Green-A-Night-at-the-Opera?affiliate_id=48458\"><em>Night at the Opera<\/em><\/a> scenario \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.drivethrurpg.com\/product\/222155\/Delta-Green-Extremophilia?affiliate_id=48458\">Extremophilia<\/a>\u201d as an example. (Warning: This may require spoilers.) The kernel for that scenario was my reading about the discovery of extremophiles in the toxic <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Berkeley_Pit\">Berkeley Pit<\/a> in Montana. Researchers found strains of fungi thriving in the arsenic-thick waters, fungi that produce compounds that might have potent medicinal value. How was that not <em>already<\/em> a Delta Green scenario? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So I started there.\u00a0I imagined someone infected with a fungus that was not merely toxic but unnatural. How would that infection have even happened? What would people do when they recognized it? What if it affected behavior, like that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4527712\/\">fungus that turns ants into zombies<\/a>? I added some established elements of Cthulhu Mythos lore, twisted them and tweaked them so they would not be too obvious (but, I mean, you can already see where this is going), and explored some possible repercussions. I&#8217;m lucky enough to be friendly with a virologist who is a longtime Delta Green contributor, and I got his help in making my warping of the science more convincing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I invented a fictional analog of the pit and moved it nearer Helena, Montana, because Helena has appeared in Delta Green scenarios before and I wanted the town itself to be a feature. I wrote about the Helena police in some detail because they would be likely to respond if the agents were careless, and because I have a background in criminal justice. I find the politics of policing a source of interest and frustration too rich to just leave lying around.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I thought a lot about whether and how to tie the horrors that emerged from to other Delta Green lore. As with the earlier scenario \u201cObserver Effect,\u201d this proved a fun way to touch on the evolution of important organizations in Delta Green and plant seeds \u2014 or spores, anyway \u2014 to explore later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Along the way, I ran concepts and drafts by Dennis Detwiller, my daily creative partner with Delta Green, and, as it took firmer shape, by the other Delta Green creators, Adam Scott Glancy and John Scott Tynes. They contributed thoughts and corrections; Dennis proposed a change to one of the characters that proved a highlight of the adventure. I played the scenario with my local friends, then I recruited outside playtesters to play it and point out the inevitable parts that were clear only in my own head, and I worked it over until I couldn&#8217;t think how else to improve it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As with everything we do in Delta Green, creating an adventure is challenging, exciting, and exhausting. It is a difficult process. When it yields an adventure worth sharing with the world, it is intensely rewarding. \u201cExtremophilia,\u201d \u201cMusic From a Darkened Room,\u201d \u201cObserver Effect,\u201d \u201cReverberations,\u201d \u201cThe Star Chamber\u201d \u2014 the scenarios in <em>A Night at the Opera<\/em> are a deep mine of creative satisfaction for those of us who labored over them. We hope they are sources of shock, suspense, and terror to gamers everywhere. It is thrilling to see them recognized with ENnie Award nomination for Best Adventures.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\">Please vote \u201c1\u201d for them to win at <a href=\"http:\/\/ennie-awards.com\/vote\/2018\/\">http:\/\/ennie-awards.com\/vote\/2018<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ennie-awards.com\/vote\/2018\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4054\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/ennies2018nominee\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1133,849\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Claudio Pozas&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1466967991&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Ennies 2018 nominee\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee-1024x767.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4054\" src=\"http:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee-1024x767.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ennies2018nominee.jpg 1133w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game and associated books were nominated for seven ENnie Awards in 2018. Here, publisher and co-author Shane Ivey<\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a class=\"myButt \" href=\"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/2018\/07\/ennie-spotlight-designing-adventures-in-a-night-at-the-opera\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[492,318,147,391],"class_list":["post-4055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-delta-green","tag-a-night-at-the-opera","tag-delta-green-2","tag-ennie-awards","tag-ennies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Delta_Green_A_Night_at_the_Opera_cover_front_1024x1024-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1wrNI-13p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4055"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4057,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4055\/revisions\/4057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}