The plotlines will be able to range from the mundane commitments of running a billion-dollar super-science laboratory…
“What? The military expects us to deliver a death ray to them by Wednesday???!?!”
…to bug hunts based on finding amazing scientific discoveries…
“Amazing! So it is true that bigfoot once did meet with the aliens to discuss how the vampires have ruled Iceland for the past four centuries!”
…to simple threats.
“The compound is under attack!”
There will be real consequences to the success or failure of each mission. Resources lost during an adventure will be unavailable to the PCs or PC to whom the resource belongs to for at least one game session.
The campaign meta-arc will start and end with the question, “What happened to the previous owner-operators of Fulton Horizons”.
Episode Structure Ideas Each episode, planned by the GM should have several basic commonalities:
“ACT ONE” session always begins with players in a location chosen by GM with a draw of initiative cards—either as part of an in medias res with the plot already begun (details to be fleshed out as fight progesses or is over), or as the plot hook that requires investigation to follow up. The key is Act One is always ACTION!!!!
“THE RISK” rather than focus on a reward for winning, the structure of the plot should be on consequences for losing. So, a typical session might revolve around: save the town or lose the accreditation to fly the Atomic Jet, or Stop the Supervillian or the Librarian goes to prison. Player reward-motivation should chiefly come from advancing the character through experience.
“GIMMICKS” additional strange gizmos and contacts should pop up from time to time for players to use, these should be frequent, but tangential to the main action. So, it should come as no surprise that a shrink ray is found in the attic, but it should never be crucial to that session's plot.
“PERSONAL ENEMIES” each player should be encouraged, or even required to take a Personal Enemy as a hindrance. GM is required to use the personal enemies of players as a distraction or red herring even if that particular villian is not the mover of the plot.
“MONTAGE” the GM throws an appropriate song on the stereo while the players brainstorm the creation of an appropriate gadget/vehicle/plan to defeat the bad guys. Once the music is up, the idea must be complete.
- First Episode: The newly minted Fulton Horizons Limited shareholders are given a briefing by Agent Fish. They are told in detail about what FHL is and what they expect of the shareholders. An agent is assigned to security of the FHL compound (Marlon's character). Just as the shareholders start to question “Why should we work for you” ninjas/pirates/monkeys/superheroes/mummies/robots break in trying to kidnap the new members and a battle ensues. The members quickly learn that they are now targets of sinister forces, so they must leverage the resources of FHL to their advantage if they want to survive.