Reflections on Scenario Creation

Well met!

I have spent an inordinate amount of time reading novels, as opposed to working, studying, exercising, etc. A good work of fiction (in print or on the screen), among other things, is totally engaging, makes you care about the characters, and gives them hard choices within a good story. I try to do the same when writing a Heroscape scenario.

I have my favorite Heroscape units, of course, that figure prominently in my personal Heroscape ethos, which has little or nothing to do with the "official" back story. I therefore don't write scenarios that dictate what units must be played. A related issue is writing scenarios, like Pirates!, with built-in unit restrictions, to encourage a wider variety of viable characters, or to create a certain ambience. Even there, I included a disclaimer to permit variants with fewer or no such restrictions, as many other players' ethoses differ radically from mine.

I mentioned "hard choices" earlier. I am particularly proud of the Captain rules in Pirates!, wherein if a Captain is killed, his crew immediately gains +1 offense/defense, while if the Captain is "captured" (Mindshackled or otherwise controlled, by Werewolf Lord or 'flayer, his crew immediately surrenders (losing the game).

I am working currently on a scenario very loosely inspired by Q-Lok's The Long Road Home. Of course, the only thing my scenario has in common with his is the idea of a small force working its way through a gauntlet of enemies to reach a certain refuge.

My version's premise is lifted from the many rescue scenarios of Western films like She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, in which a small force endeavors to reach refuge in a [fort], or survive until one of its members can reach the fort and bring help. (Thank God, its the cavalry, just in the knick of time!)

Fundamentally, the small force will be half the size of the blocking force, which in turn will be two-thirds the size of the rescue force, for example, 300/600/900 points for the small force, blocking force, and rescue force, respectively. The rescue force will be released from the [fort] if and when a member of the small force manages to reach the [fort]. Victory conditions are tentatively based on a percentage of the small force reaching the [fort], perhaps with additional conditions (escort a figure or treasure to the [fort], capture or kill unit/treasure along the way, etc.). The small force will undoubtedly have a Captain, as in Pirates! Depending on the map, various additional features may be added, such as a neutral monster/force, variable start zones, etc.

The Devil is in the details. When I initially presented what I thought was close to a finished version of Pirates! to chas, who I charged with making the map, he pointed out myriad issues that had not even occurred to me, and I gladly gave him co-creator status in the project. This scenario should be much easier to put together, though, right chas (famous last words )?




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