For my upcoming US game, I wanted to come up with some one line threats, just to give me something to start with after the players throw in all their character threats. The process I went through was:
1. I wrote a faction in each of the four corners of a piece of paper and drew 6 lines between them.
2. I came up with a one line threat for each line that interacted with the two factions on that line.
3. I aimed for roughly 3 status quos and 3 revolutions.
When I had done I had a “Threat Net” which is flexible enough to modify and expand, as well as for dropping in the player generated threats. But it also gave me a baseline confidence that I had at least some inkling of threats that would link each PC to the other PCs if I needed them.
To expand, the six threats ended up being:
1. Mortal/Power (status quo): A covenant of mages grows its influence in both mundane and supernatural spheres.
2. Mortal/Night (status quo): The police force roll out a special unit to crack down on supernatural crimes.
3. Mortal/Wild (status quo): A shelter for the dispossessed is being used as a feeding ground for demons/fae.
4. Power/Night (revolution): A sentient magical virus spreads a dangerous blood magic through the streets.
5. Power/Wild (revolution): A demon subtly coordinates the local fae’s efforts to beautify the city for a sinister ritual.
6. Night/Wild (revolution): A revenant is twisted by otherworldly forces to stalk the city on a murder spree.
Interesting stuff, man! 😀
Thanks. I didn’t want to avoid the “play to find out what happens” nature of Urban Shadows, but I did like the idea of a safety net of ideas should I struggle on the spot.
Plus the “Threat Net” had a cool sound to it 🙂