Drama, insteadof of telling

us theus the of
whole of a mans
must life, mustinplace
him
situation, tie such a knot, that when it is untied, the whole man is visible. the
in such a situation, tie such a knot, that when it is untied,
Drama, instead telling whole a man’s life, place him such a

whole man is visible.

— Leo Tolstoy
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

White Wolf
Publishing, Inc. Written by: Will Hindmarch Layout: Will Hindmarch Original Product Design by: matt milberger SAS created by: White Wolf Game Studio
1554 Litton Drive © 2007 CCP, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire and World of Darkness are registered trademarks of CCP, Inc. All rights reserved. Vampire the
Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Promethean the Created, Storytelling System and the Storytelling Adventure System are trademarks of CCP, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP, Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to
Stone Mountain, the trademark or copyright concerned. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised.
GA 30083
Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com | Check out the Storytelling Adventure System online at http://www.white-wolf.com/sas

1
 How to Use a
How to Use a
Storytelling
StorytellingAdventure
Adventure
System
SystemStory
Story
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

Think of an Storytelling Adventure System (SAS) product as a story

“Drama is based is on
mythe Mistake.
Drama is based on the Mistake. I
kit, as if you’d bought a piece of modern furniture and brought it home
I think someone is mythatfriend
think someone friend when
in a big flat box. Inside, you’ll find all the parts you need to build a story
when hemarry
really is my enemy,
when inthat I
he really is my enemy, I am at home, through play. The tools you need to put this story together are

amfact
freeshe is my mother, that thiswhen
to marry a woman
free to a woman in the World of Darkness Rulebook and its supplements. When you

in person
fact is she is my mother, that
get your troupe together, you’ll use all these parts to build something

this
is aperson is a chambermaid
a chambermaid when it together. It might not look quite the picture on the box, but that’s fine.
Your troupe doesn’t get together to look at a story, it gets together to
when
that it
thisiswell-dressed
a young nobleman in
young nobleman in disguise,
build one.
disguise, that this well-dressed
young man
So the SAS story is a nuts-and-bolts thing. The parts in each kit are
young
niless man is richorwhen that ifhe is re-
is rich when he is really a pen-
designed to make the actual job of being a Storyteller easier, to make
ally a penniless adventurer,
a result will or
adventurer, I do
the craft of Storytelling fast and fun for you. The heavy artful majesty
that if when
I do this such and such a
this such and such you’ve read about — the transcendent game experiences that shock and

result
in something very different.inAll
will follow when fact
follow in fact it results satisfy as well as any novel — those come simply from doing a great

it good
results in something very dif-
job. Everything in an SAS adventure is intended to take up the slack so

ferent. All good drama has two

drama has two movements, you can focus on doing that great job.

movements, firstthat theit making

was a of
first the making of the mistake, The basic parts that make up most SAS stories are simple: Storyteller
characters and scenes. Each of them can be used in different ways to
the mistake, then the discovery
then the discovery
keep the story building towards its climactic end.
that it was a mistake.”
mistake.
— W.H. Aulden
Characters
The Storyteller characters presented for most SAS stories use the same
format and rules as those in the World of Darkness Rulebook, with a
few elaborations and expansions. The archetypal characters you find in
the main rulebook are intended to be used again and again, whenever
you need someone like them in your story. The characters in an SAS
product contain special advice and notes to help you use them in this
specific story. You’ll find sample descriptions, monologues, tactics and
goals for the most important Storyteller characters in the story. Draw
from them during play as needed.

2
 Scenes
The scenes that make up the story follow a format you won’t find in
Reading The Story
There is no story. Not yet. What you have in an SAS product is a collection
the main rulebook. Each scene is built as a discrete game encounter of situations and settings that describe the general plot a story could follow,
(or a collection of game encounters) for the players to play through. As but the story doesn’t really exist until you and your players tell it.
the players take their characters through these scenes, a story naturally
While you’re reading the product, you’ll infer a story — or several
unfolds.
stories — from the scenes and characters within. That story you read
The scenes in most SAS prodycts are a mix of two types: is just one possible story, which can serve as a guide for you to follow
Encounters are scenes that occur when the characters initiate them when you get together with your troupe to play. The story you all tell
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

— they encounter the murderous vampire when they enter the aban- together around the game table is another story, with no obligation to
doned church, for example. imitate the story you imagined when you read the guide or the story we
Events are scenes that occur when criteria specific to the story’s imagined when we wrote it.
timeline or dramatic arc are met — which is a dry way of saying Though most SAS products are broken down into acts, which have
“whenever the scene says it happens.” One event, for example, hap- an important and intuitive order to them, the scenes within do not have
pens when the characters successfully notice they’re being watched, to occur in exactly the order you read them. This is another way that
the next happens when the story reaches midnight in the World of the story you read here may be different from the story you tell around
Darkness, and another happens whenever you think the story needs a the table. The acts occur in order almost naturally, from the beginning
quick dose of violence. through the middle to the end, but the order and the outcome of each
Pacing and plotting scenes, whether in advance or on the fly, is part scene depends on the choices your players make.
of the fun of being a Storyteller — for some people. If it’s fun for you, Watch out for the assumptions you make when reading an SAS product.
take these scenes apart and use them however you like, maybe even Each of those assumptions is one way your players might interpret the
importing scenes from other stories or creating new scenes for yourself. story, too. But don’t hold the players to any preconceptions you make
If that sounds like a hassle, and you’d rather focus in on the visceral, about the story they’ll play.
in-the-moment details of Storytelling, you’ll find and example of the Remember that each SAS product is a blueprint, and blueprints aren’t
scenes already plotted for you in each story’s “Treatment” section. subtle. Although you should imply, hint and allude when you tell your
story, it’s not in your best interest for us to be coy when talking about
the story. You get an insider’s look at what the story is. Blueprints should
be clear.
What’s A Treatment? Don’t be put off by the functional voice of this guide. Don’t let it spoil
treatment: n. In Hollywood parlance, a treatment the mood. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the stories you’re going
is a short prose description of a movie’s story, written to get to enjoy for real later on, when you play. Be sure not to let this
before production begins. A treatment describes all the
major dramatic “beats” of the story and sometimes tone seep into your story when you tell it. You’ll find plenty of ways to
includes directorial or developmental information, too maintain the mood in every scene. Use them.

Reflecting on these complex rela-

(i.e., it doesn’t necessarily restrict itself to relating the

tionships between reader andlife,

story,
story).
In Storytelling terms, the treatment is the Storyteller’s Reflecting on these complex relationships
fiction and life, can constitute a form
core overview of the story, from authorial notes on between reader and story, fiction and can
ofof therapy against themonsters.
sleep of rea-
subtext all the way to frank narrative tips. Nothing is constitute a form of therapy against the sleep
son, which generates monsters.
implied in a Storytelling treatment; this is where the
author breaks it all down in brief for the Storyteller reason, which generates
at home.
— Umberto Eco

3
 Telling The Story It is absolutely fair game to use game mechanics to make tough choices
real for the player. This is built into the Morality mechanism. A player may
Stories are about characters making important decisions. Games are have no problem with imaginary arson, for example, without the risk of
about players making important decisions. Storytelling games are about a substantial personal consequence, like a derangement. (Not to mention
both. police action.) One of the easiest ways to do this is with bonus or penalty
If you want your story to be truly meaningful when you and your dice to actions that follow as the consequences of a tough choice later on.
troupe tell it, the players must be given a chance to make meaning- Think about it: this is the kind of tough choice a player is making when
ful decisions. Making a blind choice between two unmarked doors she’s deciding what items her character brings with him. The motorist,
isn’t interesting. It’s not fun, and it’s certainly not dramatic. Clarity stranded on the side of the road in a freakish rain, can only carry so many
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

is vital to good gameplay. Players need information for a decision items on the hike back to civilization; does she choose the rifle (and its
to be important. Knowing that the reek of rot coming from behind Damage dice) or the flashlight (and its equipment bonus)?
one of those unmarked doors might be from the corpse of your dead Not every challenge should necessarily be reduced to an either/or di-
brother makes the decision more interesting. lemma, of course. Deadlines, for example, automatically create situations
Deciding how to confront an enemy or accomplish a goal is fun, in which decisions become important because every choice uses up the
because something clearly meaningful is at stake. It might be justice, precious resource of time, but the actions a character can take between
money, a family’s safety or a friend’s honor — it might be anything. the start of the countdown and the end aren’t limited to binary choices.
When the consequences of the players’ decisions are known, at least Any limited resource can be used to lend weight to any situation, to make
to some degree, choices become more interesting, more dramatic. any choice into a tough choice. The police will be here in two minutes,
If the antagonist isn’t dissuaded (or caught, or killed, or whatever), what do you do with the body? You can only go four or five more miles
then that family is still in danger, or the money is lost, or a friend before the car runs out of gas, where do you go? There are ten bullets and
goes unavenged. Something is at stake. twelve zombies in the house, how do you survive the night?
A World of Darkness story isn’t just about making choices, though. It’s While you’re telling this story with your troupe, remember the Story-
about making difficult choices and living with the consequences. teller’s mantra:
So what is a difficult decision? In short, a dilemma: A choice be- Difficult choices make drama.
tween two equally unwelcome outcomes. You only have time to save Strive to confront the players with at least one meaningful decision to
one of your brothers, who do you choose? Would you kill someone make every thirty minutes.
yourself to prevent your child from becoming a murderer? Would
you risk jail to stop a supernatural force that you’re not absolutely
sure is real? The Cardinal Sins of Storytelling
Tough choices can be put before players or their characters. It may 1. Boredom
not matter much to the player whether or not an imaginary grandmother 2. Confusion
gets hit by a bus, but it should matter a great deal to her character. (If
you do a good job of bringing the character of that grandmother to life,
though, it’ll matter to both the player and her character.)
1. Boredom Is Poison. If players are bored, the story will die. If the
For example, a character can be confronted with the choice between story dies, the chronicle is likely to wither and perish, too. “But it’s es-
stealing or going hungry. This decision might not be too difficult for a sential for the slow build!” or “But it makes the pacing more dramatic!”
starving character, but at the same time the player can be confronted are not excuses for boredom. Don’t kill the story for the sake of pretend-
with the choice of risking some damage to the character in exchange ing to legitimize it — that’s crazy. Remembering, if it’s boring, it’s not
for fulfilling his Virtue of Fortitude. A player might not be interested suspense. You know how you can tell? Suspense isn’t boring.
solely in thinking like her character, after all, but also to contributing
Raymond Chandler said, “When in doubt, have two men come through
to the themes of the story. In this case, for example, she might choose
the door with guns in their hands.” If it was good enough for Chandler,
to have her character steal just to play up the theme of desperation
it’s good enough for us, too.
being evoked at the table that night.
4
 2. Confusion Kills Fun. Being mystified isn’t the same as being
confused. A puzzle or a riddle can be fun because you’re not sure how Developer Notes on the SAS
to solve it, but that’s not the same as being confused about just what the “Storytelling is a skill, which means you can get better at it.”
hell to do with it.
by Will Hindmarch, Storytelling Adventure System Co-Developer and
You know what to do with a puzzle: you put it together. You know Vampire: The Requiem Developer
what to do with a riddle: you look it up in a book and then tell people
you figured it out on your own. Or whatever. The point is, once you’re About flexibility and adaptability...
no longer sure what you’re supposed to be doing, your fun begins to Flexibility and adaptability, without sacrificing quality color text and
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

erode. mechanical systems worthy of quoting and reappropriating in your

Clarity in every scene is important, whether that clarity comes from own home stories, is what our scene-based structure is all about. The
the big picture (“We have to get out of this room before midnight so we regular, but versatile, format of the scenes is meant to make it as easy
can save Daphne!”) or the little picture (“We have to break down this as possible for you to jettison one part of a story without a bunch of
door so we can get out of this room!”). other stuff unraveling. Even better, you can add in other scenes from
Raymond Chandler’s gunmen trick is also a viable trick to avoid other stories to easily dial-up the amount of investigation or action (or
momentary confusion in a Storytelling game: when two guys with guns whatever else) in your stories.
bust into the room to kill the PCs, confusion is dispelled. The players It’s what we’re essentially all doing when we adapt published ad-
now know, “We have to stop these guys so we can live!” ventures for our own games anyway, right? We’re trying to scratch out
Cheap Tricks: We’re not above cheap tricks and neither are you, the the stuff we don’t want and squeeze in our own stuff, whether we do it
Storyteller. Just because you think a cheap physical conflict is weak before play or in the thick of the game. I’m just trying to create some
plotting doesn’t mean it isn’t fair play in the game. Players come to common language for how we do it. We want to systematize it so the
be entertained in the hours they sit at the table. They shouldn’t have to process is easier to talk about and easier to share.
wait around for the end of the second act to get a dose of excitement This ties into the community building idea. Community building is
just because you resent Hollywood action tropes. another one of the big goals of these new adventures, and one of my
If you, the Storyteller, are out there in a bind, facing a lethal dose of particular missions. This common language makes it that much easier
boredom, get the story back in motion if you have to use duct tape and to talk about how you ran an adventure, or how you’re thinking about
a mallet to get the drama back into shape. running it.
To use an example from Chicago Workings, you might move the

Musings on the SAS foot-chase scene elsewhere, or basically run it twice if the characters
have multiple encounters with the, uh, perpetrators in that scene. (I say,
When we released the first SAS products — Chicago Workings, trying to avoid spoilers.) I might cut that scene out entirely.
Parlor Games and The Resurrectionists — we immediately sought We could compare notes, share advice and appreciate each other’s
out feedback and questions from fans and customers. And, of course, the “this is how my story turned out” anecdotes by comparing the flow of
fastest way to do that was to tour some internet forums. In the course of scenes (and substituting scene names for the shorthands here):
that electronic tour, and answering questions, we put some of the ideas “When I ran Parlor Games, it ended up going…
behind the SAS into frank, conversational writing that we thought was
worth sharing with you here.
Scenes A > B > E > F > C
What follows are some of the musings we shared online, and just a
couple of the questions we answered from fans and customers. We’d
like to thank everyone who took the time to gab with us online, and …then I tossed in scene G from this other adventure, and ended with
everyone who asked us the really provocative questions. a climactic scene of my own design.”
Enjoy. “What scene is that?” I ask.

5
 And then you show me the scene, already sketched out in a format ventures about choice and consequence facilitates player freedom.
I can understand and plug right into my own games if I want. Scenes What the story is about thematically — what moral, if any, it has
become a shareable commodity. Constructing stories and telling stories — depends on what your players choose. The adventure format strives
not only get recognized as being different skills, but as being skills at to create an environment and scenic structure that create a consistent
all, rather than raw talent. atmosphere and raise thematic questions which will intuitively provoke
In the writer’s bible for the SAS, this idea gets mentioned more than more high-falutin’ dramaturgial stuff like subtext. That is, many of the
once. It’s my mantra: “Storytelling is a skill, which means you can get scenes presented in The Resurrectionists are, on some level, about as-
better at it.” I hope that these adventures will help new Storytellers get sumptions of hostility and containing ugly situations, but whether it’s a
better at it, but I am sure that the peer review of multiple Storytellers story about how assumptions and containment ruin us or make us lords
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

comparing notes on stories that they can all reference will help us all depends on what happens when you play.
become better Storytellers, whether we’re newbies or veterans. So, it’s mostly about flexibility and creating a kind of storytelling
To get better, though, we need some common reference we can talk structure that’s easy to talk about, reorganize, share and expand.
about. The SAS products provide that. The more people that play them My hope is that people will share new variations on our published stories
and share their thoughts, the better everyone’s stories will be and the by combining scenes from multiple adventures into compelling new adven-
more prepared you can be to tell that same story in play. tures that we wouldn’t have thought of ourselves. To help make that happen,
you’ll see more developments in the future about how the SAS leads into
Q: What kind of “assumptions” and “preconceptions” are you other community-building plans we’ve got on the drawing board.
anticipating? Could you give some examples? What does the guide

The fact of storytelling hints at a

do to discourage such assumptions? Q: If you don’t know how the

up most published adventures, and fundamental

human unease,human hints atunease, hints at hu- to end the SAS scenario?
A: The preconception that holds The fact of storytelling hints at a fundamental story ends, how do you know where
that I think interferes with the dy- man imperfection. Where there is A: It’s a little bit tricky, but it’s part
human imperfection.

and players, is that of the “proper” perfection there is no story toOkritell. story, rather than just a straight-up
namic between a lot of Storytellers Where there is perfection there is no story to of the secret of writing a great SAS
tell. — Ben
story. The idea that a gaming group linear tale in which the author’s vision
is supposed to achieve the proper telling of whatever tale the ST devised of a particular climactic ending is the final goal.
before play is, if you’ll pardon the expression, bullshit. The thing to know is this: What’s the story about? Not in the high-
The story doesn’t exist until you tell it. The villain dies if he dies, falutin’ sense of metaphor and symbolism, but what, if you were to tell
and escapes if he is allowed to escape. Players are not cast to fulfill the a friend in one sentence, is it about? The Resurrectionists is about the
destinies laid out for them in a script. race to find this notorious vampire buried somewhere in a rundown Vic-
The flowcharts and scene breakdowns we use are meant to not only torian cemetery. Chicago Workings is about being caught in the middle
make plotting easy to handle for Storytellers, but easy to revise on the of an old feud between two occult architects with mystic power. Parlor
fly in reaction to player choices. I’m a big believer that plots are dull, Games is about hunting a wicked monster to its lair and killing it.
utilitarian tools. What people mean, so often, when they talk about “plot” We don’t know quite how these stories will end in your hands, but we
is “story.” They’re not the same thing. know where they end, because we know what the stories are about. The
Thus, the adventures we’re creating don’t hinge on a series of escalat- Resurrectionists ends when you find the notorious vampire (and decide
ing encounters leading, necessarily, to a boss battle. (That’s certainly what to do about it). Chicago Workings ends when the feud between the
possible, as it is a reliable scheme for rising tension and a violent climax.) two ghosts is ended. Parlor Games ends when the monster is dead.
Rather, we try to make these stories hinge on tough choices -- the vital Knowing, at least roughly, where a story comes out is vital to making
mechanism in all good gameplay, in my opinion. For example, I don’t collaborative storytelling — between you, the Storyteller, and the other
know how my adventure, The Resurrectionists, ends. The final scene players — easy. It’s important to know what’s at stake and what victory
gives the players a climactic choice to make, but there’s no success/fail or failure might look like. What’re the characters shooting at? The story
element there. Instead, it’s about choice and consequence. Keeping ad- ends when they hit or miss.
6
 Q: It’s still a sequence of scenes with most of them in linear out of bounds. Some stories are about what happens in one cemetery in
order, and stuff like that has been done before many, many times. one night (The Resurrectionists), others are about finding out the truth
It’s “just” a normal scenario with the scenes decoupled a bit more behind a mystical gambling den, whatever it takes (Parlor Games).
than is perhaps usual. No, these aren’t big leaps in adventure design, but I do think they’re
A: That’s right. It’s not a huge jump from the classic flowchart style valuable steps forward. Lots of Storytellers have been doing this stuff
of design. The flexibility of, as you say, decoupling and reusing scenes at home for years, I’m sure (I have). But it hasn’t been given the cogent
has some pretty significant effects on gameplay, though. Also, I’ve never voice it needs. A lot of Storytellers design adventures by intuition, do-
been very satisfied with the support given to flowchart-style adventures ing a lot of these things without really stepping back and examining
in the past. Boxes and lines alone are not enough tools to effectively their process.
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

describe the decision-making processes that both players and Storytellers To paraphrase the narrator in Fight Club, it’s on the tip of everyone’s
can go through during play. tongue -- we’re just trying to give it a name.
Plus, not all SAS stories are such classic flowcharts like Parlor
Games. For example, Chicago Workings has a flowchart style struc-
ture in which the passage of time is not nearly so fixed as it typically
is in a flowchart-adventure. Scenes happen sometime after each other, SAS Products for All White Wolf Games
but not necessarily immediately after each other. That adventure could Don’t be fooled by this document — the Storytelling
take place over months, with lots of intervening stories going on in the Adventure System will be used to present you with
meantime. compelling stories for most every White Wolf Game Studio
In The Resurrectionists, we use a map in place of a flowchart (which product line. Look for SAS stories for Exalted soon, and
is very nearly the same as old-school adventure design with monster check out the first book of our newest game line, Scion:
encounters) but with a very simple flashback at the beginning and a Hero, for the first SAS story about the newest children
play space that’s not constrained in quite the same way as a traditional of the ancient gods.
“dungeon.” (Though it is constrained, it happens in a cemetery.) Learn more about the Storytelling Adventure System, and
Play spaces are a vital part of adventure design, obviously. It’s like discuss your actual-play experiences with telling your own
level design for video games. I think there’s way too much polarity in versions of these stories, on our SAS website:
paper RPG design right now — not everything is either railroading www.white-wolf.com/sas
or fully open worlds, after all. In some scenarios, flying to Tokyo to
research at a museum is fair game, but in others it’s just disruptive. It’s

Storytelling
Storytelling revealsreveals meaning
without
committingcommitting the error
it. of
meaning without
defining it.
the error of defining

Hannah Arendt
— Hannah Arendt

7
 Adventure Ratings XP Level: The amount of experience points that characters should ide-
A Storytelling Adventure System product has three ratings on its cover. ally possess to play the adventure (but it’s not necessary; they could be
They look something like this: weaker or stronger). The scale is similar to the charts used for advanced
character creation in each of the core books:
STORYTELLING ADVENTURE SYSTEM
SCENES MENTAL OOOOO XP LEVEL
0-34 Beginner
8 PHYSICAL OOOOO
SOCIAL OOOOO 35-74 35-74 Seasoned
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

75-119 Established
Scenes: This is simply the total number of scenes in the adventure. 120-179 Veteran
It’s used to convey a rough sense of the length of the adventure (how 180+ Legend
long it will take to play). If there are eight scenes (even if two of them
are optional), then the Scene rating is “8.” Format: In addition, the new format adds Scene Cards. These cards
MPS (Mental, Physical, Social) dots: The adventure as a whole is summarize each scene presented in the book with short notes, difficulty
given a rating based on how challenging it is in three categories: Mental checks and other information to help keep the Storyteller organized and
(puzzles, mysteries, research), Physical (combat, endurance), and Social without having to constantly flip pages to reference the book.
(interacting with/swaying others).
Also, each scene is rated with its own MPS scale. While the adventure
as a whole might be rated M2, P3, S1, it’s possible for one or two scenes
On Screen or In Print
to be rated S2 or S3, if one of the ways they can be “solved” is through Finally, the layout is optimized so that when reading the material on
a particularly challenging Social feat. screen there is no need to scroll around the pages. Each page takes up
the entire viewing area on a standard monitor.
Each MPS rating uses the familiar range of 0 to 5 dots, according to
the following scale: Each page is also arranged with just the amount of information you
need for each scene. The landscape format makes the pages fit easily
behind your Storyteller’s screen. Print just the pages you decide you’ll
o No challenge (Involves no real risk, but may dramatic) need during play. Check out the next page for an example of the scene
• Minor challenge (Slight chance of lost Willpower or Blood) cards you’ll find in every SAS story.
•• Lesser Challenge (Low risk or mild consequences) Some SAS products also feature printable handouts, notes and props
••• Challenging (Even chances, moderate consequences) — hand-written notes, maps, clues — for use when you’re telling your
•••• Major (Real risk or serious consequences for failure) story. Depending on the kind of theatrics you’re after, you could print
••••• Extreme (Serious peril with lasting or lethal consequences) these out on fancy papers or heavy cardstocks to give your players a
tangible tool to help bring the game alive in their minds.

Storytelling is exploratory, not

explanatory. A good needstory doesn�t
Storytelling is exploratory, not explanatory.
need extra preaching; itand
teaches
well allits
A good story doesn’t extra preaching;
lessons skillfully and well all by itself.
it teaches its lessons skillfully by
It does thanso by us
making us ask ques-
itself. It does so by making us ask questions
tions rather than giving us all the
rather giving all the answers.
answers.
— David Sidwell
8
 Scene Format Adaptability
Overview: This is a big-picture look at the scene, including a synopsis and a short
description of what triggers the scene (e.g. “Finding the homeless camp” or “Noticing One of the hallmarks of the Storytelling System
is its ease of use. Storytelling Adventure System
Jeremiah’s grave”). The central conflict in the scene is described here as well. stories are easy to adapt for troupes of players
Description: Look here for a general description of the scene’s atmosphere, and characters more or less experienced than the
setting and inherent game effects. The descriptive text in this section is usually XP rating might suggest. In general, any story can
suitable for reading aloud to the troupe, if you like. be scaled up or down about the equivalent of one
“level” on the MPS and XP scales — for example,
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

Storyteller Goals and Tips: This entry looks at what this scene is designed from •• to • or •••. Use the “Help” and “Hindrance”
to accomplish in the story (e.g., build suspense, exposit, challenge the characters options on the scene cards to dial the challenge up or
physically) and what you, as the Storyteller, should keep in mind overall when down. When in doubt, remember that the size of the
running the scene. This is usually meta-game information, but not always: dice pool is everything — add moody diec penalties
antagonist goals for the scene go here, too.
like flickering lights, blowing rain, peeling linoleum
underfoot and more capable enemies to create more
Character Goals: What are the players’ characters trying to get out of this perilous scenes.
scene? Sometimes these goals will be obvious to the players and their characters The number of scenes is even more flexible; you
at the outset (e.g., “find the Vault of Osiris” or “get Edgar to tell his story”), but can add or subtract scenes from other stories, or
sometimes not (e.g., “survive the zombie ambush”). The benefits of success and scenes you create yourself, until you get exactly the
story you want.
the consequences of failure are described here as well.
Actions: This sub-section gives concrete examples of how the scene’s goals
can be dramatized and played out using the game rules. Most scenes have a key
action, which is a detailed description of the action, in rules terms, for you to use
Scene Cards
as you play the scene, complete with dice pools, modifiers and descriptive text. Every scene in the story gets it’s own scene card. These are short-hand
Obstacles/Penalties: This section gives you multiple suitable ways to guides you print out, cut apart and keep on hand when you’re playing
make the scene more challenging, more dangerous or more dramatic for the out the story. You might even keep a few scene cards on hand from other
characters. Often, these have the secondary effect of making a scene longer. stories — a fight scene, a Vice-themed scene, whatever — to toss into
All are optional. the current story, just in case.
Aids/Bonuses: This section describes suitable ways the characters can make the
scene easier for themselves, or extra benefits they can derive through clever play.
Sometimes these have the secondary effect of making a scene shorter, but
they just as often add more actions to the scene as the players strive to get
these aids before attempting the key action. All are optional.
Details: Here you’ll find samples of descriptive text to use through-
out the scene. Unlike the text in the synopsis, above, these details are
meant to be sprinkled throughout the scene, to maintain atmosphere
and emphasize the mood of the story. For example, you may find details
to use in the event of a particular exceptional success or a distinctive
description to use when a monster is killed.
Consequences: When the outcome of the scene has special conse-
quences, such as the bestowment of a temporary supernatural ability or
a chance of later police investigation, this section describes the details.
In a Chronicle Chapter story, like “Blood Red and Ash Gray,” these are
essentially story ideas for you to follow up on later, if you want. (Scene cards from the adventure,
“Chicago Workings.”)

9
 Plotting & Scene Flow character is on the phone, recalling the story. These scenes don’t actually
occur in reverse order for any of the characters — time flows straight ahead
Plot isn’t story. in the world for them, just as it normally does for us — it’s just the telling
The story is what happens. It includes all the subtext, the allusions, of the story that toys with time. And Memento has a good reason for doing
the metaphors, the morals inside the parables. Stories are what we’ve it; the main character’s faulty memory informs the backward mechanism
been telling each other since we, as a people, were young. Stories are of the plot. A story with any other character wouldn’t get the same mileage
why we learned to speak. out of this style of storytelling.

A story shouldhave
have a beginning,a a
The plot is the order in which the story is related to the listener. Some

middle, and
an an end...
butbut not neces-
A story should a beginning,
Storytelling Adventure System Guide

stories occur in strict linear order, from the beginning, through the

sarily in that order.

middle, to the end. Some plots jump forward or backward in time, with middle, and end... not necessarily
flashbacks revealing the character’s troubled youth or the discovery of
his wife’s body, to explain or dramatize what’s happening in the “now” in that order.
of the story. Some plots jump sideways, from one story to another, from — Jean Luc Godard
one character to another, until (maybe) the stories are wound together
like strands into a cord. Some plots run exactly backwards. Plot is a part of storytelling, but is not strictly a part of the story itself.
The movie Memento is a terrific example of plot vs. story. Memento is Although we don’t know exactly what story you’ll be telling or how
made up of a series of scenes, like any movie, but they play out largely in you’ll plot it — and neither will you! — until the scenario comes into
reverse, punctuated now and again by flashes to another time, when the main contact with your troupe, having a general framework for the plot in mind
when you begin is a good idea. This helps you improvise
by giving you the sort of core melody of a plot you can
riff on during play.
To the left is the scene flow diagram from the SAS story,
Blood Red and Ash Gray. Most SAS stories include
something like this. Looks complicated. Because of the
possibilities inherent in a story that’s about to be told, it
is complicated. But in action, it’s simple: play one scene,
then another. In general, later scenes can’t logically unfold
until earlier scenes are played, but who are we to say what’s
possible in your stories and your World of Darkness? Fol-
low your story where it takes you.

Examples in Action
The last couple of pages of this guide are sample parts of
scenes from the SAS stories Parlor Games and Chicago
Workings. We’re always working on new SAS stories,
and soon hope you’ll be able to share your SAS stories
with White Wolf players across the globe. Stay tuned to
the SAS page on the White Wolf website for SAS news
and releases:
www.white-wolf.com/sas

10
 SCENE : Exceptional Success: “Oh! I… I must not have recognized you. I apologize!
Please go in.”

THE FRONT D OOR Obstacles/Penalties: The Jack on guard duty is not particularly clever,
but it’s stubbornly loyal to Mr. G and has its orders not to let anyone in with-
out the proper card or Mr. G’s explicit permission. Players receive a –2 penalty
MENTAL •• PHYSICAL •• SOCIAL ••• to any attempts to persuade it to let them in. It cannot be bribed with money,
having little use for that, and it cannot be seduced, having no sexual drive
Overview: This short scene takes place when the characters find the (much less a human one).
Ladybird Room and attempt to get inside. Aids/Bonuses: If the players have deduced that the playing card is a
Description: The door into the Ladybird Room is in an otherwise unre- password and show an appropriate card (either that found on the body, or a
markable alley. card taken from one of the Jacks) to the doorman, they will be automatically
admitted. The Jack on guard duty isn’t savvy enough to detect that the charac-
The alley’s brick walls are stained dark, though the smell of the city isn’t as strong
ters are werewolves unless they do something obvious to give it away (such as
here. A thick metal door is set into the right wall toward the alley’s end, watched over
showing up in Dalu form).

THE FRONT DOOR

by a large, scraggly-bearded man in a dark suit with black turtleneck and opaque black
PARLOR GAMES

sunglasses. He keeps his arms crossed as you approach. The door itself is unmarked. Details: The Jack on guard duty was once an outlaw biker before his
“possession,” and has a number of tattoos under its turtleneck. It owns only
Storyteller Goals: This mini-scene is meant to tease the players just a bit by
the clothing on its back.
hinting at what’s on the other side of the door. It can also help you gauge how
the players are going to approach the final leg of the hunt; if they tear the bounc- The door looks like any other industrial-style metal door; it could be a
er apart, you know violence is likely going to erupt sooner rather than later. warehouse or a kitchen or a sweatshop on the other side, for all you know. It’s
hinged to open outward.
Character Goals: Simply to get inside. The level of subtlety by which the
pack accomplishes this goal is up to them. Consequences: If the pack manages to get past the doorman without
causing a ruckus, they have more freedom to roam the Ladybird Room with-
Actions: There are numerous ways to get past the guard (another Jack,
out being recognized for what they are.
an Azlu crawler in the skull of a human body) — distracting him, using social
Skills to talk him into admitting the pack, or even killing him outright. If a On the other hand, if they showed their hand too early (so to speak), Mr.
character reveals herself as a werewolf in some way, the Jack tries to pound on G is forewarned, as are his enforcers. The pack will be marked as werewolves
the metal door four times, the code for “Wolves at the door!” This warns the as soon as they enter, barring some unusual precaution (such as finding an-
other Azlu inside the Ladybird Room. other group of patrons to enter first). If so warned, Mr. G will arm two of the
Jacks with silver knives which he has kept tucked away for such an occasion,
TALKING THEIR WAY IN making them far more dangerous. (The silver knives are not already distrib-
Dice Pool: Presence/Manipulation + Persuasion + equipment versus uted because Mr. G hasn’t actually had to deal with werewolves for years.)
Resolve + Composure (5 dice) + equipment
Action: Contested. If the character fails to convince the doorman, an-
other character can try to rephrase the deal. Each attempt after the first grants
THE GAUNTLET
the Jack a cumulative +1 bonus (maximum +5) on its dice pool.
The wall between worlds is very thick around the Ladybird
Obstacles: Goes against strict orders (–2, default)
Room. Although the place-that-isn’t is a supernatural location,
Roll Results which normally implies a weaker Gauntlet, it is its own pocket realm
Dramatic Failure: “You… you are not human.” [The Jack pounds on the with near-impenetrable walls. In addition, the Azlu in residence has
door four times.] spun its Gauntlet webs to keep unwanted pests from discovering its
Failure: “I don’t care. You can’t come in. Go away.” secret parlor. As a result, the Gauntlet imposes a –4 penalty to all
appropriate rolls.
Success: “I… I suppose that makes sense. Go on in.”

21
 SCENE Character Goals: Get the truth out of Richard. Find Ellsworth's urn
and his share of the Chicago Working Folio.
Richard the Traitor Actions
Mental •• Physical • Social •• Social Action: Getting the Truth Out of Richard
Dice Pool: Wits, Presence or Manipulation + Intimidation or Per-
suasion + equipment versus 4 dice (representing Richard's desire to
The characters come face to face with the man who may have sold out their help but propensity to lie)
friend and learn valuable information about what really happened that night. Action: Contested. Can be retried.
Overview: The characters can come to this scene in search of Ultimately, the characters will be successful. Dish out the following
Richard, or he can come to them. Richard is currently living in the information as necessary to maintain the mood the players are showing
basement apartment of a Bucktown church that's been converted to you they want. The question is whether they do anything to Richard
modern condominiums. A for-sale sign on the lawn for one of the along the way that could get them charged with assault if they want
condos features the gleaming white smile of one of Burgess's Agents. to turn him into the police.
Richard had a key to a safe-deposit box of Ellsworth's, which Richard Success: "I didn't know what was going to happen. Okay? I swear I

richa rd the t raito r

chicago wo rking s

was hoping would have something valuable in it. Instead it had a letter didn't. I thought maybe they were gonna lift some of his antiques, steal a deed
in Ellsworth's hand explaining his desire to be cremated and buried in or something. I didn't think anyone was going to fucking kill the old guy! All
a special, stone urn he hid in the walls of the former Chicago Public I had to do was walk away and my days of sponging old men were over."
Library when Holabird & Root updated the site in 1991. Richard
"The guy who made me the deal was some real-estate agent, I think. I
thought this sounded like more of Ellsworth's "holy geometric bullshit"
don't know anymore. He told me to call a number and tell them I wanted
and was just going to skip the details, but he saw something in his
the caretaker job at the condo building on Walcott, and I did, and I got the
condo that has him freaked out and now he's interested in cooperat-
job. But, man, listen: I don't know what is going on there, with those guys. I
ing with the only other people who listened to Ellsworth's weird talk
don't want to go back there, man. There are sounds in the storage area."
— the characters.
"The old man's note said he wanted his ashes to go into an urn he hid
Whether the characters come to Richard or he comes to them, he
in the, ah, the library. When they made it the Cultural Center. I had to
still needs some cajoling before he becomes completely cooperative.
walk the old man down there a couple times. He had this spot he liked in
He has nowhere else to go, though, so sooner or later he tells the char-
the room with the big dome. Gotta be in there. They've got big-ass vents in
acters what he knows. Exactly how the scene plays out is up to them.
there with fancy grills, and he used to always touch this one. Like for luck
Richard may end up admitting what he knows in a wet-eyed whisper
or something."
or he might cough it out through bloody-nosed sobs, depending on
the characters' methods. Action: Finding the Folio
However it turns out, Richard begs the characters to see to it that Dice Pools: Intelligence + Crafts + equipment (remove vent cover),
Ellsworth gets buried like he wanted, "'cause you seem to understand Wits + Dexterity (feel inside the wall for the urn), Strength + Dexter-
that stuff." Richard has already received Ellsworth's ashes from the ity (pull the urn out)
funeral home. He has them in the simple brown jar the crematorium Action: Each is an instant action that takes two minutes and can
supplied. He'll take the characters to the spot at the Cultural Center be retried.
where he's sure the urn must be. The vent in the Cultural Center where the urn is hidden is located
Storyteller Goals and Tips: Your goal with this scene is to give the in a large reception room at the top of a grand marble lobby off of
players new leads and reward them (after the automatic tragedy of "The Washington Street, near Millennium Park. It is a public area, but with
Fire") with the chance to choose Richard's comeuppance. no exhibits or events that day it is not a high-traffic area. Visitors come

25