Conquering the verse, one parsec at a time.

Behind the Scenes

I just thought I would share a little of the ‘Behind the Scenes’ with how this campaign is going.

Basically, what I have done is enter all the background material into an AI program, and then, when we roll out the conditions of a scenario as per the Five Parsecs rules, I enter all those details into the same AI program.   This includes things like who the employer is, what the pay is, who the enemy is, and what they are armed with.

I also add to that the outcome of the previous battle and the details from the post-battle phases.

Next, I ask the AI to generate a short description of the ‘contract’ that we have rolled out.

AI then does its magic to generate a very short briefing.

I take that briefing and format it into a player briefing, fine tuning some of the details.

I then ask the AI to generate a selection of different alternative short backgrounds for the moral dilemma of each mission.

I put those into a list that we will roll for AFTER the mission.   This way we have no way of knowing if we are helping or hindering one faction of the Heptagon over the other.

For example, in the last mission, the ‘background’ could have been any of the following;

The Truth Roll 1D100

01-25

Verity Is Telling the Truth

The data contains proof of a planned attack on several poor districts. If delivered, thousands may evacuate in time.

Moral angle: The crew are doing the right thing, but the robots are following lawful orders to stop an “unauthorised broadcast.”

26 – 50

Verity Is Manipulating the Crew

The data is not a warning. It is a propaganda package designed to blame rebels, justify a crackdown, and redirect public anger away from the Heptagon.

Moral angle: Delivering it helps Verity control the truth and may get innocent people killed.

51 – 75

The Data Exposes Verity

A rogue Verity editor is using the crew to leak proof that Verity has been manufacturing public fear, editing casualty figures, and burying corporate crimes.

Moral angle: The crew are helping one faction inside Verity wage war against another.

76 – 100

The Data Is Incomplete

The packet contains real evidence, but Verity has edited it. Delivering it may save lives while also framing the wrong people.

Moral angle: Is partial truth better than silence?

Once we have established that, I then add that to the AI program to log it against all the other background information it has gathered.  I have no idea where each of the members of the Heptagon has their allegiances, nor do I know if they can be trusted in the long run or if they will become persistent rivals that hunt us across worlds if we continually work against them.  I also have no idea when doing a mission if I am actually working against who I think I am or if we are being lied to.

Why do I do this?

Well, I don’t want to know what is coming up next.  Something that can be a bit tricky when GMing a campaign you are playing in.  Doing it this way, I have absolutely no idea what we will need to do to gather the items we need to complete the ‘Acquired a viable colony package’ part of our objectives.  This is probably the main story arc in this setting.