Our Finest Hours
Storytelling an Oblivion Chronicle
I'd listen to the words he'd say
But in his voice I heard decay
The plastic face forced to portray
All the insides left cold and gray
The Day the World Went Away - Nine Inch Nails
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When faced with the task of Storytelling
a Time of Judgment Chronicle
for Wraith, Storytellers might wonder how to best go about portraying
The End.
What kind of Chronicle should the End Times bring about? Who
gets directly and visibly involved, and who stays out of it,
or behind the scenes? What should ultimately happen to the characters?
Or, if you want to leave The End open, what different results
could come out of their actions?
Given what a daunting prospect it is to end everything,
these questions should be considered with care. It
would be wonderful to end the Chronicle with a really memorable
chain of events and character resolution. Conversely, it would
be terrible to produce a final chapter that leaves a sour taste
in your players' mouths.
That said - don't sweat it too much. Chances are good
that, having been a Wraith Storyteller for this long, you already
know what to do. You just have to put it all to work one, last
time.
And Speaking of Time...
.. don't be afraid to take your time
while devising this Chronicle. In fact, no matter how much Time
of Judgment fever may have gripped you, it's probably best if
you give yourself anywhere from six months to a year's lead time
in order to get things ready.
Why? Because there's usually nothing
worse than reading the last few issues of an ongoing comic book
series that was canceled on short notice. The last two or three
issues are obviously rushed, things are brought to the boil way
too soon, and the last issue seems like more of wistful goodbye
than a proper send off.
And it's the same with RPGs. Players
can tell when the Chronicle's turned on a dime and is
heading towards The End in a month's time. The sudden appearance
of this, that or the other thing makes it all too clear that
the cancellation of the game is at hand.
You could still make it a memorable
ending, and everyone might have fun. But it's still advisable
to give people a fair amount of lead time before Oblivion starts
bubbling up out of the ground. That way, you can work in End
Time plot elements way in advance, so that it's not entirely
obvious what's going on, or so that there is a natural, logical
progression of events.
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First Principles
Chronicle Types
Signs and Portents
Faces and Factions
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