What follows is a system for developing memorable missions, but these are just the nuts & bolts. The most important step is an exercise in creativity, the juice that makes you a good GM: you must weave the tale that links this all together.
1. MISSION SCOPE
Roll on the table at right to determine the number of areas in which the adventure will take place. Areas are like acts in a play, scenes in a movie, episodes of a television program, or chapters in a story.
Mission Allowance: The team may be given additional equipment allowance to help prepare. Assume 3 times the number of areas plus 2 times the average rank of the operatives; in a 3-area mission for a team of rank 1 operatives, for instance, the team gets 11 equipment allowance. Adjust this figure however you wish for the complexity of the mission.
2. SPECIFIC AREAS
For each area, roll on the specific area table to determine where the mission will focus. The areas rolled are the places where the action and story should take place.
When you roll an area, begin to ask yourself questions, such as “what kind of lab?”
or “how did the operatives get here?” or “what event can I place in this area?”
3. DETERMINE AREA DESCRIPTOR
You’re eventually going to roll the same area more than once. Area descriptors help to make one area unique compared to another. Descriptors also help drive your imagination to a place you might not have considered. Roll an area descriptor for each area.
ROLL NUMBER OF
AREAS SCOPE OF MISSION 00-09 2 areas Short assignment 10-59 3 areas Typical mission 60-89 4 areas Large assignment 90-99 5 areas Epic-sized
ROLL SPECIFIC AREA EXAMPLES
00-06 Base Military, Espionage, Terrorist, Criminal etc.
07-13 Decadence Mansion, Castle, Party Center/Hall, Banquette, etc.
14-20 En Route Train, Plane, Ship, Submarine, Highway, etc.
21-28 Entertainment Casino, Dance Club, Restaurant, Museum, Pub, Hotel, etc.
29-35 Event Funeral, Carnival, Parade, Rock Concert, etc.
36-42 Facility Skyscraper, Prison, Detention Center, Hospital, etc.
43-49 Industrial Factory Complex, Science Lab, Tech Lab, Warehouses, etc.
50-56 Public Monument, Capital, Embassy, Park, Sports Arena, Zoo, etc.
57-63 Remote Island, Settlement, Outpost, etc.
64-70 Residence Apartment, Flat, Condo, House, etc.
71-78 Station Airport, Train Station, Bus Station, etc.
79-85 Underground Caves, Sewers, Mines, Catacombs, Silos, Undersea, etc.
86-92 Urban Alleys, Rooftops, Subway, City Streets, Private Business, etc.
93-99 Wilderness Jungle, Arctic, Desert, Swamps, Mountains, etc.
ROLL AREA DESCRIPTOR ROLL AREA DESCRIPTOR 00 Abandoned/vacant/forgotten 50 Isolated/stand-alone
01 Activated alarm 51 Labyrinthine/confusing/twisted 02 All-natural/unmodified 52 Littered with bones
03 Always in motion/moving 53 Low air pressure
04 Amazing view 54 Luxurious/comfortable/expensive 05 Appended-to/built-up/added-on 55 Many colored/gaudy
06 Art/sculpture covered 56 Metallic scraping sound 07 Barren/empty/void 57 Moldy
08 Blazing heat 58 Mysterious/secret/hidden 09 Blindingly bright 59 Noisy
10 Blood stained 60 Obfuscated/covered/concealed
11 Brightly lit 61 Old/ancient
12 Busy/bustling with activity 62 Overbearing herb smell 13 Cheap/breakable/fragile 63 Oversized/overgrown/spacious
14 Chilly/cold 64 Peeling paint
15 Choked with vegetation 65 Politically divided 16 Clicking sound 66 Powerful breeze 17 Cluttered/messy 67 Pristine, clean 18 Columned with arches 68 Recently burned 19 Constant buzzing noise 69 Sound of running water 20 Constant machine-noise 70 Rocky/jagged
21 Covered in darkness 71 Rusted/corroded 22 Crystalline/sparkling 72 Sacred/spiritual 23 Damp and dank 73 Scored by laser fire 24 Dangerous moving parts 74 Shiny new 25 Distant howling or growling 75 Slippery/slick 26 Divided/segmented/partitioned 76 Small rodent-infested 27 Dripping sound 77 Smell of baked bread 28 Dung covered 78 Smell of exotic spices 29 Dust covered 79 Smell of oil/gas 30 Easily defended/safe 80 Smells like stale air 31 Eerily silent 81 Smells of vomit
32 Electromagnetic interference 82 Smoothed/rounded/plush 33 Eroded/worn-away 83 Soot-covered
34 Everything a solid color 84 Splintered/smashed 35 Extraordinarily dry/parched 85 Sticky/gooey
36 Extreme winds 86 Stormy/rainy
37 Flooded 87 Strikingly beautiful
38 Flowery scent 88 Subterranean
39 Foggy/misty 89 Tools strewn about
40 Fresh scent 90 Toxic/poisonous
41 Garbage everywhere 91 Trapped/protected 42 Glass everywhere 92 Undersized/small/cramped 43 Gothic architecture 93 Un-owned/unclaimed/frontier/wild 44 Greasy/grimy/filthy 94 Used/recently visited
45 Hastily-assembled/built 95 Vacuum-sealed 46 Heavily patrolled 96 War-torn/bombed-out 47 High air pressure 97 Water soaked/logged 48 Insect infested 98 Well-maintained 49 Intermittent lighting 99 Worn out/dilapidated
4. DETERMINE AREA OBJECTIVE
Each area will have a primary objective that the players are trying to accomplish.
Roll once for each area. Then use your imagination to ask yourself the obvious questions, such as “why do the operatives need to activate or deactivate something?” or “who stands to gain the most if the operatives succeed or fail?” or
“how does this objective specifically relate to the area in which it was rolled, and to any possible over-arching story?”
ROLL AREA OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION
00-04 Activation Activate or deactivate something: computer, bomb, machine, some kind of doomsday device, defense system, etc.
05-10 Cessation Stop something that either is about to happen, or is in process now. Examples include wars, revolutions, political coups, etc.
11-15 Collection One or more needed items, animals, or people must be located and collected.
16-21 Communication Operatives must establish (or re-establish) communication with another person or group. This may require interrogation, seduction, persuasion, or deception.
22-26 Confiscation The characters have to take something that is in the possession of someone (or something?) else. Perhaps this is the classic concept of trading briefcases, or might be a heist or burglary of some kind.
27-32 Creation Build or assemble something with materials on hand. Examples include communication or defensive arrays, etc. Random events might be necessary to create dramatic situations.
33-37 Desertion Flee from this area. The characters might have to sneak, sprint, coerce, or fight their way out of the area.
38-43 Destination Cross or pass through an area. In a twist, there might be multiple destinations without knowing which path is correct.
44-48 Destruction Something must be broken, blown-up, or caught on fire, etc.
49-53 Elimination Defeat someone. Elimination doesn’t necessarily mean kill – it may mean you must capture, bind, arrest, or disarm them.
54-58 Exploration An area where nobody has ever been or has not been for a very long time. This might be a path to uncovering hidden truths.
59-63 Information Learn some fact(s): evidence to solve a mystery, acquire secret plans, record someone’s appearance, find someone, etc.
64-68 Liberation Liberate a person or group by force or stealth… or help to edify a person or group to perform their own self-liberation.
69-73 Protection Protect someone or something, guard duty, root out an assassin, deliver something valuable, protect from invasion, etc.
74-79 Relation Settle/create a dispute, deliver a treaty/threat, or affect the political climate of a region.
80-86 Salvation Rescue someone who has been captured or is in some way difficult to reach and difficult to save.
87-92 Sanction Law has been broken or a rule violated, operatives must arrest, punish, or enforce.
93-99 Survival The operatives must survive against adversity to achieve success in this area. Survival should be very difficult, against odds.
5. DETERMINE AREA OBSTACLE
Obstacles stand in the way of the objective. Some will be downright deadly. For each objective in each area, roll on the area obstacle table. Then use your imagination to turn the obstacle into a scene of action and adventure. Areas can have additional obstacles of your own design, this is just to get you started.
D00 AREA OBSTACLE DESCRIPTION 00-04 Against the
Clock
Accomplish objective in a short amount of time, requiring creative thinking on the part of the players.
05-10 Captured One or more operatives are captured and must escape while still trying to meet their objective.
11-15 Easy Mistake Present a situation where the obvious choice isn’t the correct one.
It would be easy for them to make the wrong choice, side with the wrong combatant, help a bad guy, etc.
16-21 Endangered Innocents
There are innocent people that are endangered… players have a moral choice to make: pursue the objective or save/aid the innocent people.
22-26 Enemy Character(s)
Either NPC minions or fewer major characters trying actively to prevent operatives from their objective.
27-32 Enemy Animals(s)
Animals are everywhere - or perhaps operatives are being stalked by one animal or a small pack.
33-37 Limitation The operative’s gear is limited or lacking; they must improvise or obtain what they need. Budget cutbacks?
38-43 Have to Go Around
The path through this area to achieve the objective has a major physical obstacle preventing passage.
44-48 Outgunned Force is not the answer, fighting would mean death, yet the NPC force that wants them dead isn’t going to stop. How do the operatives handle such impossible odds?
49-53 Hostile Environment
The environment itself is lethal with deadly plants, toxic air, pitfalls, loose footing, quick sand, lava beds, etc.
54-58 Infection Avoid being afflicted with an effect or disease while trying to accomplish the objective… or operatives seek vaccination!
59-63 Lost Navigate a labyrinthine area which slows the operatives down while trying to accomplish their objective.
64-68 Middle of Things
Something big takes place in the area, all around the operatives. It gets in the way of their objective. Examples: war, revolution, competition, celebration, etc.
69-73 Mistaken Identity
Mistaken for someone else or another group. Could be criminals, a child considering them guardians, etc.
74-79 Morale Problems
Because of a past problem or one they just endured, begin suffering from low morale. One operative might start bickering, holding grudges, etc. Party combat is possible.
80-86 Death Trap The master villain traps the operatives and ensures certain impending death, but then leaves to go enact his plan. They must survive and escape in time to stop him.
87-93 Persuade Other
An NPC who is vital to the area’s objective in some way must be persuaded to help.
94-99 Unnatural Disaster
Caused by someone using a force that has enormous repercussions. Possibly a doomsday device.