It’s Class Note Wednesday (a term I just coined moments ago), which means it’s time for my weekly update on where things stand with Degrees of Horror. Unfortunately this week I can’t report the completion of edits on plot point six. After catching (and mostly recovering from) The Plagueâ„¢, the last 7 days were devoured by t-ball, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, in-laws, and Masonic lodge. Even so, I have made some progress.
After the edits came back from Pinnacle, we decided that the original Plot Point 6 was too weak to try to save. Instead we’re promoting one of Ed’s “Midnight Tales” to Plot Point status. Although Ed’s basic premise remains the same, I’m having to make adjustments so that the adventure serves a purpose in the overall plot point campaign.
Also, when this adventure was a Midnight Tale, Ed gave the GM a lot of freedom to create encounters leading up to the dramatic conclusion. As a Plot Point though, my next step will be to flesh out earlier encounters (“Act 1” and “Act 2”, so to speak) so the GM can take the plot point and run it with minimal preparation.
One of the things fans really dig about Savage Worlds is the ease of playability and the low prep for GMs. For writers though, Plot Points and Savage Tales are a constant balancing act. On one side we want to give GMs enough information to run a gaming session with only 15 minutes of prep, but on the other side the intent isn’t to write scripted adventures. (Even though that’s what 12 to Midnight is known for.) How much is enough? How much is too much? Different GMs have different ideas (and needs), but we’re doing our best to strike a sensible balance.
Anyhow, I don’t regret all the little bits of life that kept me from finishing plot point 6 this past week. It’s what being a husband and a father is all about. However, I am going to make a stronger effort to use my down-time wisely and get this sucker finished.
Check back next week for an update on plot point six AND Class Notes on ETU’s basketball arena, the Roost. Due to space constraints we cut a lot of good “flavor text” about the Roost from the book, so I’m looking forward to sharing it with you here!
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