Episode 8: Thousands of Words & A Conversation Picture!

This week, I managed my first big step in a plot conversation that serves to bring the two story backgrounds closer together, and introduce a potential new companion. It never ceases to amaze me, however, just how many words add up when creating a five minute conversation that the player's PC will have. I don't think I had much change from four or five thousand words, which took place over two conversations. And that was just the first intro part of the conversation!

COMING TOGETHER

This week had me looking over old story notes to make sure I had my story "facts" right. I needed to do this because the conversation I worked on is going to be one of the core conversations where the player is made to refocus on the main story; and so the information had to be clear and concise. The worse thing I find when playing an  RPG, is if after having a conversation, I am left with little indication of what is expected of me. And while this can be helped along by a well placed journal entry, even these need to be carefully worded so the player can fully understand the current state of play. I recently returned to have another go at Two Worlds, but felt "lost" within the myriads of conversations I could have and the inability to fully focus on a journal event, because of unclear targets. This is something I hope to avoid without compromising on choice and depth for the player.

This week, I also had the added difficulty of writing from the two different backgrounds that The Scroll supports: those players who have played my campaign before and those who have not. So that was one reason why the wording effectively doubled for the two conversations I covered this week. However, the good news is that I have now reached a point where the two schools of players will have come that much closer together in their knowledge of the main story.

As I say, the conversations for these two characters are not completed yet, but I have reached a good point where one of them can end up becoming a companion of the party, irrespective of the players background. Now, I only have to add conversation nodes that offer additional information, which also work irrespective of the background the player had originally selected in module one.

JOURNAL UPDATES

This week also had me update one of the two outstanding main story journal entries (background one only) that the player is left with at the end of module one. For players of background two, however, this will be their first introduction to that main storyline, which they had not encountered to date. As I posted last week, this module will certainly change the focus of play for the player, and will be the most dramatic for players of background two (not played the campaign before), as it will be their first encounter with the events that background one players will already have been aware. That said, in the latest conversation, I have even made sure players familiar with the campaign will have a new pleasant experience of their own.

The Hero Learns More About Their Destiny