Will Schar of the All Roads Tavern podcast won the first Night at the Opera Delta Green scenario writing contest and I agreed to critique the winner of that contest. I asked Adam Scott Glancy of Pagan Publishing to join in the critique, so we both read the scenario A Soft White Damn. It’s an interesting piece, exploring a small town with many dark secrets. We had an interesting conversation about scenario writing, setting, and pacing.
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The car on the lake bit is also in the book American Gods, where the kobold needs a sacrifice to make sure the town survives the high unemployment of the area. It must be a big thing up in the midwest where they put the car on the ice for raffle.
This was a really brilliant episode. I would love you to do more in this vain.
Agreed with benjamin wenham.
I hadn’t read the scenario to start, but it was still accessible and fascinating to hear you all workshop it on GDW. It sounds like a strong scenario to begin with (especially the setting) and I think the feedback helped dial in the themes and make it work together.
In addition to giving me ideas for running this (or other) scenarios, I found it very helpful in terms of what to think about when revising my own work.
One way to link the Spirit to the Cultivators without making it directly responsible for the fruit (if you’re attaching it to another campaign) would be to say it’s ‘beneficial’ effect on the town is what’s allowing the plant to grow/survive on Earth.
It would also provide a tangible link between the two and an indicator of success – killing the spirit or stopping the sacrifices is what’s necessary to permanently get rid of pollen infection.
Regarding the episode in general; this was honestly one of the most interesting episodes you’ve made. I absolutely adore the breakdown of what works in the scenario and why, and The Glancy’s differing opinions/style to The Ross provides great contrast.
Any chance that this brand of scenario critique could become a recurring bit?
Relevant tweet: https://twitter.com/danhopea/status/999819417147101185
I Really enjoyed this episode would love to see more of this!