As a brief overview (I seriously suggest you pick this up and its deck version as well), TAC gives you a series of story elements that contrive to make up a scene. I wish to start in media res so the TAC results will be the thing that leads up to the moment I start, and set the conditions of my Fate Chart questions to determine what action is going on.
A couple months ago I made a deck of adventure starters, and boost, for when things got slow. These are full Adventure Crafter result sets on standard index cards. They are agnostic with no context. Because a little context is needed to interpret them I am going to grab a multi genre bestiary I own and just randomly pick a monster from it to give some simple context I need. The result is futuristic and horror. Now, I am going to draw from the deck until a starting scene takes shape. To be more precise these are the events that will lead up to the starting scene, the immediate background of the adventure.
Meta: (I am holding meta results to just one, two many of these muddles a scene)
Meta: (I am holding meta results to just one, two many of these muddles a scene)
- Character Upgrade
Mystery:
- Something lost has been found.
- This isn't working
- The observer
- Beat you to it
- The Plot Thickens
- Hidden Agenda
Action
- Destroy the thing
- Confrontation
- Protector
Personal
- Untouchable
- Character Assistance
- Willing to talk
Social
- Injustice
- A rare or unique social gathering
I may not be able to fit all of these hooks into a coherent back scene, but lets see what we can do.
Social gives us a strong location in "A rare or unique social gathering". We know the setting is both horrific and futuristic. Social also tells us that someone or some group faces an injustice. In Personal we have untouchable, which suggest my own character is considered either to exalted to touch or to loathsome to interact with. Lets go with the later, and we are going to expand that to the others at the meeting as well. We, collectively, represent a group of lone-wolf pariah gathered for a purpose.
Social gives us a strong location in "A rare or unique social gathering". We know the setting is both horrific and futuristic. Social also tells us that someone or some group faces an injustice. In Personal we have untouchable, which suggest my own character is considered either to exalted to touch or to loathsome to interact with. Lets go with the later, and we are going to expand that to the others at the meeting as well. We, collectively, represent a group of lone-wolf pariah gathered for a purpose.
There are two factors that would make my character unique that I can think of off the top of my head. The first is that I am dimension hopper, but we know those are very rare. The second is that I am a wizard, but I mask it in the trappings of the local system, and sense this is sci-fi we will go with Psionics. This a world where both hyper science and psionic power are present, and those who practice the later are seen as unclean.
I am just going to interject that psychics in this setting are lone-wolf types, with no over arching organization, which shows that meeting to discuss a problem (willing to talk) and banding together (Character Assistance) to face it is almost unheard of. As a persecutor minority they probably stay as far away from each other as possible, as not to draw attention.
If, the setting has hyper tech and the typical run of peace keepers and soldier, then this must be a scenario that only psionic power can handle, and it must be important enough to gather people from all parts of this space sector.
Looking to the Mystery section we know that something, maybe an ancient psionic artifact, has been found, but we know that the group that has gathered think it is too dangerous and should be destroyed (Acton: Destroy the thing), which will lead to a confrontation with its guardian (Protector).
I am just going to interject that psychics in this setting are lone-wolf types, with no over arching organization, which shows that meeting to discuss a problem (willing to talk) and banding together (Character Assistance) to face it is almost unheard of. As a persecutor minority they probably stay as far away from each other as possible, as not to draw attention.
If, the setting has hyper tech and the typical run of peace keepers and soldier, then this must be a scenario that only psionic power can handle, and it must be important enough to gather people from all parts of this space sector.
Looking to the Mystery section we know that something, maybe an ancient psionic artifact, has been found, but we know that the group that has gathered think it is too dangerous and should be destroyed (Acton: Destroy the thing), which will lead to a confrontation with its guardian (Protector).
Whatever it is even most psychic powers are bouncing off it (This isn't working). From seeming nowhere a character thought lost earlier in the adventure emerges from concealment, perhaps invisibility (The Observer) rushes past the combat and guardian, to seize the artifact for themselves (Beat you to it, Plot Thickens, Hidden Agenda). Upon seizing the object the power within it, that the guardian was trying to keep safe floods into our traitor, filling him with power (Meta: Character Upgraded). Which leads us to the opening scene...
A small group of psychic loners, along with Saul, are banded together, with the Protector joining them to face a seeming now much empowered psychic, who is a danger to this entire galactic sector.
Roll for initiative.
A small group of psychic loners, along with Saul, are banded together, with the Protector joining them to face a seeming now much empowered psychic, who is a danger to this entire galactic sector.
Roll for initiative.
