Scenario Planning & Execution Quick Guide
A short (and dare I say practical) guide for building compelling, playable scenarios in our collaborative roleplay worlds
1. What Is a Scenario?
A scenario is a structured situation that introduces pressure, uncertainty, and choice into the world. Good scenarios:
- Create actionable and meaningful decisions for players
- Affect multiple actors or institutions
- Have room to escalate, stall, or resolve
- Generate follow-up stories naturally
A scenario or story arc is not a fully scripted plot. It is a framework that other players can interact with and effect change on. A story arc helps with keeping your primary theme(s) your primary theme(s). It is easy to get distracted, particularly if you have the attention span of a squirrel like myself.
2. Core Principles of a Successful Scenario
Keep these principles in mind at every stage:
- Clarity: Other players should quickly understand what is happening and why it matters, unless ambiguity is necessary for the scenario to advance
- Agency: Leave space for multiple responses; avoid forcing outcomes, it allows other players to respond and can help advance the story
- Consequences: Actions should visibly affect the world, although remember that not all changes are major
- Continuity: Respect existing lore, power balances, and past events. Chat with other players before involving them in your scenarios
- Escalation Paths: Know what happens if things improve or deteriorate, have a general story arc planned out to keep things on track
If a scenario only works one specific way, it could feel artificial.
3. The Scenario Planning Framework
Before posting anything, consider these questions:
3.1 The Conflict
What sets this scenario in motion?
I have personally used:
- Court rulings
- Election results
- Attacks or natural disasters
- Leaked information
- Economic or diplomatic shock
The trigger should be specific, and linear with existing lore.
3.2 The Stakes
Why does this conflict matter? What is the conflict really about at its core?
- Political legitimacy
- Public safety
- Ethnic or regional inequality
- Corruption and elite impunity
- Information control
- Economic reconstruction
- Territorial control
- Economic survival
- Social cohesion
If the stakes are unclear or hyperbolized, engagement will likely be low.
3.3 The Characters
Who is involved immediately?
- Government institutions
- Military or police
- Civilian population
- Media
- Foreign states or organizations
Avoid involving everyone at once; expansion should feel natural.
All organizations and characters have agendas that differ, even if they are collaborating with each other toward a common goal. Take that into consideration as you think about how characters react, and if they are doing so with only their interests in mind or if they consider the effects on others as well.
Character Brainstorming List
- Executive leadership
- Legislature or regional assemblies
- Judiciary
- Military or security services
- Insurgent or militant faction
- Civil society coalition
- Media organization
- Business or industrial conglomerate
- Foreign government
- International organization
You can create any group or organization you’d like, but try to keep a list so you can refer back to them later in the scenario, or for others you may create.
3.4 The Uncertainty
What is not yet known ?
- Who is responsible?
- How severe is the damage?
- Will the courts intervene?
- Will the military comply?
Situational uncertainty is what keeps scenarios alive and engaging.
3.5 The Initial Window
What are the first 24–96 hours like? What happens first? What is the immediate response to your conflict?
A few examples of responses:
- Emergency meetings
- Public statements
- Security measures
- Conflicting reports; Competing narratives emerge
- Emergency powers declared
- Arrests and detentions
- Negotiations announced
- Information blackout
- Targeted sanctions
- Security deployments
- Resignations or political defections
- Legal challenges filed
- Calls for international mediation
This window sets the tone and pacing. Although, don’t feel obligated to conclude one storyline before beginning another, if you want to that is.
4. Writing the Opening Post
Your opening post should include:
- A clear description of the trigger
- Verified facts vs. disputed claims
- At least one institutional response
- Visible public or media reaction
Avoid:
- Resolving the conflict immediately
- Declaring irreversible outcomes
- Controlling how other players must react
A good opening invites response, not complete agreement. Don’t feel like you have to write a novel either, a news alert can be one sentence or multiple paragraphs.
4.1 Post Formats
Your opening post can take many forms aside from the following, choose one that best fits the trigger:
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The News Alert: A concise, breaking-news style report. (Best for sudden events, and updates to ongoing scenarios).
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The Government Bulletin: An official statement, decree, or press release. (Best for institutional actions). Examples
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Intelligence/Leaked Document: A memo, email, or report that reveals hidden truths. (Best for conspiracy or corruption scenarios).
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The On-the-Ground Dispatch: An account from a citizen, journalist, or soldier experiencing the event. (Best for humanizing disasters or unrest).
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The News Article/Investigative Piece: A long-form article that offers multiple perspectives and/or reveals information to frame the conflict. (Can be used for anything).
5. Managing Escalation
As the scenario progresses, escalate through complications and resolutions, not repetition.
Examples:
- New evidence contradicts early claims made by officials
- An institution fractures internally
- A foreign actor reacts unexpectedly
- Public opinion shifts
What sustains the situation? What has happened to make it worse, or better?
How does the scenario’s effects manifest in your society?
Examples:
- Fear and withdrawal
- Anger and mass mobilization
- Fragmentation along identity or ideological lines
- Apathy and exhaustion
- Radicalization
- Conspiracy thinking
- Grassroots networks form
- Elite panic
- Generational divide
- Cautious optimism
Escalation and de-escalation should feel logical and linear, not rushed and forced.
6. Player Interaction & Collaboration
To keep scenarios healthy:
- Respond to other players’ actions in good faith
- Acknowledge impacts on shared institutions
- Allow setbacks for your own side
- Separate player intent from character action,
Strong scenarios are built collaboratively, not competitively.
7. Knowing When to Slow or End a Scenario
A scenario can:
- Stabilize without resolving
- Transition into a new phase
- Be left for later revival
- Conclude with reforms, collapse, or compromise
Conclusions should:
- Reflect the accumulated actions
- Leave lasting consequences
- Create hooks for future stories if desired
Though it is important to note that not every scenario needs a dramatic finale or to conclude in a set amount of time. All situations differ, and you’re supposed to be having fun; don’t worry yourself by making a tight schedule.
Short-term resolutions can look like:
- Temporary stabilization
- Escalation into open conflict
- Political realignment
- Institutional reform
- International oversight
- De facto partition or autonomy
- Authoritarian consolidation
- A power vacuum
- Truth commission or inquiry
- Frozen crisis
8. Easy Mistakes to Avoid
- Overpowered actions with no domestic pushback
- Ignoring existing lore or clear power limits
- Introducing too many crises at once
- Treating NPCs or established institutions as monolithic and diminutive
- Rushing escalation for spectacle
Believability and open-ended situations sustain long-term play.
9. Quick Scenario Checklist
Before proceeding, confirm:
- ☐ The conflict(s) is(are) clear
- ☐ The stakes are understandable
- ☐ Other players have agency to involve themselves
- ☐ Multiple outcomes are possible
- ☐ Long-term societal consequences exist, or will manifest
If all boxes are checked, your scenario is ready.
As an example, I created this for an immigration/refugee and federal authority scenario:
- Conflict: Court ruling stops deportations
- Core Issue: Migration and displacement, resource management, federal power
- Initial Actors: Judiciary, President, Krautallaz Governor, DOJ
- Response: Emergency powers, federal takeover of police in Krautallaz
- Public Reaction: Anger and mass mobilization against Krautallaz deportations, and against federal intervention
- Complications: Evidence contradicts official story, police beating in Vellienza, botched federal warrant, attacks on federal law enforcement
- Outcome: Political realignment, legislation, criminal charges
➜ Resulting Plotline
A federal court blocks deportations in Krautallaz, police violence escalates ethnic tensions. The President declares emergency powers and sidelines provincial law enforcement, as leaked data proves thousands of violations have already occurred and the federal government knew far earlier than originally revealed, causing protests to erupt. FPA executes search warrant on home, ends with casualties, leads to attacks on federal forces. New political coalitions form around judicial independence, nativism, nationalism, and refugee rights. Immigration legislation drafted.
10. Final Advice for Learning Players
Start small.
Local crises, court cases, labor disputes, or regional incidents often generate better interaction than world-shaking events. As your confidence grows and you discover the topics you enjoy working with more, you can scale outward. You may even want to reach out to other players with nations around you to see if they’d like to collaborate with you in scenarios or other worldbuilding affairs.
Good scenarios don’t dominate the world— they invite the world to respond.
And if you’re worried about getting no interaction (in Pacifica), know that I will, at the very least, respond if possible.
Companion Guide: Building a Believable Society & Culture
A Concept Sheet for National Culture Profiles
**
Purpose:
This profile defines the cultural “operating system” of a society. It is not a lore dump—it is a decision-making framework. Fill it out, and political behavior, public reaction, and institutional logic will follow naturally.
I. Cultural Snapshot (At a Glance)
Nation / Region Name:
Primary Cultural Identity (1–2 words):
(e.g., Collectivist, Hierarchical, Reformist, Militarized, Spiritual)
Core Cultural Tension:
(The contradiction that drives conflict)
Cultural Mood:
(Optimistic, anxious, resentful, disciplined, fractured, etc.)
II. Foundational Layer — The Unspoken Rules
1. Identity
Primary source of identity:
☐ Family / Clan
☐ Ethnicity / Language
☐ Nation / Ideology
☐ Religion / Belief System
☐ Profession / Class
☐ Other: ___________________________
Secondary identity (if relevant):
Who is considered “one of us”?
2. Power Distance
Attitude toward authority:
☐ Highly deferential
☐ Respectful but questioning
☐ Openly skeptical
☐ Actively hostile
How is authority shown respect (or challenged)?
3. Individual vs. Group
Cultural priority:
☐ Individual rights & autonomy
☐ Collective harmony & duty
☐ Conditional (context-dependent)
When individual and group interests conflict, who usually yields?
4. Time Orientation
Primary focus:
☐ Past (tradition, ancestry)
☐ Present (stability, survival)
☐ Future (progress, legacy)
How does this shape policy or social behavior?
5. Relationship to Risk
Cultural approach to uncertainty:
☐ Risk-averse
☐ Calculated risk-taking
☐ Bold / experimental
What kinds of risks are acceptable? What are taboo?
6. The Outgroup
How are outsiders generally viewed?
☐ Threatening
☐ Inferior
☐ Curious / Neutral
☐ Useful
☐ Irrelevant
Who counts as an “outsider”?
III. Tangible Layer — Daily Life & Institutions
7. Family & Social Structure
Typical family structure:
☐ Nuclear
☐ Extended
☐ Clan-based
☐ Communal
☐ Other: ___________________________
Role of elders:
Gender expectations (if any):
8. Class & Social Mobility
Social structure:
☐ Rigid hierarchy
☐ Stratified but mobile
☐ Largely egalitarian
☐ Informal elite dominance
How easy is it to move up or fall down?
9. Education & Socialization
Primary purpose of education:
☐ Obedience
☐ Technical skill
☐ Critical thinking
☐ Ideological formation
☐ National cohesion
Who has access? Who is excluded?
10. Political & Legal Culture
Source of legitimacy:
☐ Popular will
☐ Tradition
☐ Military strength
☐ Religious authority
☐ Technocratic competence
Law functions primarily as:
☐ Neutral framework
☐ Instrument of control
☐ Negotiated social contract
How do people usually resolve disputes?
IV. Cultural Expression & Touchstones
11. Media & Art
Media is seen as:
☐ Trusted
☐ Biased but necessary
☐ Propaganda
☐ Entertainment only
Art is primarily:
☐ State-sponsored
☐ Commercial
☐ Subversive
☐ Ritualistic
12. Humor, Insults & Taboos
What does society laugh at?
What is a serious social insult?
Major taboos:
13. Food, Ritual & Daily Symbols
Staple food(s):
Key life rituals (birth, marriage, death):
Who presides over rituals?
14. Language & Communication
Primary language(s):
Formality level:
☐ Highly formal
☐ Context-dependent
☐ Informal
Are there honorifics, silence norms, or coded speech?
V. Dynamic Layer — Pressure Points
15. Generational Divide
What do younger generations challenge?
What do elders fear losing?
16. Urban vs. Rural Divide
Key cultural difference:
Which side holds more power?
17. Core vs. Periphery
Distinct regional or minority subcultures:
What do they want from the center?
18. External Influence
Foreign cultural influence is seen as:
☐ Enrichment
☐ Necessary evil
☐ Corruption
☐ Existential threat
Most influential external culture(s):
VI. Cultural Triplet (Scenario Engine)
Define three competing cultural forces:
Why can’t these fully coexist?
VII. Scenario Hooks
A cultural norm that could spark conflict:
A tradition under threat:
A reform that terrifies part of society:
A cultural misunderstanding that could escalate internationally:
VIII. One-Sentence Cultural Summary
“This society is one where…
_____________________________________”
Building a Believable Society & Culture
Culture is not just flavor text
It is the operating system of your society.
It determines everything from:
-
What people consider normal versus unthinkable.
-
Why institutions may behave irrationally under pressure.
-
Why reforms fail, revolutions stall, or compromises implode.
-
What your elites fear losing— and what your common people refuse to give up.
If geography is the map and politics is the ruleset, then culture is the gravity. Ignore it, and nothing behaves the way you expect.
Core Principle: Culture Is Fractal
Culture repeats itself at every scale.
A single belief such as— “authority must be earned” or “harmony outweighs truth”— will manifest in things like:
-
Family structure
-
Classroom discipline
-
Military doctrine
-
Corporate hierarchy
-
Protest movements
-
Diplomatic posture
If your big ideas do not appear in the small, mundane details, the society will feel artificial.
Ask constantly:
“If this belief is true, what does it look like on a Tuesday afternoon?”
1. The Foundational Layer: The Unspoken Rules; Cultural Taboos, Mores, and Folkways
This layer defines what people assume without ever needing to say it. These are the rules that cause shock when broken.
Answer these to find your society’s core tensions:
Identity
What is the primary source of a person’s identity? What answers the question “Who are you?” first?
This can include, but is not limited to:
Family or clan
Ethnicity or language
Nation or ideology
Profession or education
Religion or philosophy
Social class or caste
Note:
Primary identity determines who people protect, who they trust, and who they blame during crises.
Power Distance
How stratified is society? Do people question authority openly, or obey based on status? How comfortable are people with the establishedhierarchy?
Low power distance → casual political speech, public criticism, satire of leaders
High power distance → ritualized respect, indirect dissent, taboo criticism
Note:
Power distance shapes how scandals unfold. In high-distance cultures, corruption is tolerated until it becomes embarrassing. In low-distance cultures, smaller abuses may trigger outsized outrage.
Individual vs. Group
Does the culture prioritize individual rights and achievements, or group harmony and collective responsibility? Where does moral responsibility fall?
-
Individualist cultures may emphasize values like individual rights, autonomy, and dissent
-
Collectivist cultures may emphasize values like duty, harmony, and obligation
Note:
This defines aspects such as legal philosophy, protest legitimacy, military discipline and economic organization
Time Orientation
Is the culture focused on past traditions, present problems, or future goals and generations?
- Past-oriented → tradition, precedent, ancestry
- Present-oriented → stability, survival, pragmatism
- Future-oriented → innovation, sacrifice today for tomorrow
Note:
Time orientation explains why some societies resist reform even when failing— and why others tear themselves apart chasing perfection.
Relationship to Risk
Is it a cautious, stability-seeking culture, or an adventuristic, “move fast and break things” one? How does the culture treat uncertainty?
-
Risk-averse → incremental change, regulation, consensus
-
Risk-tolerant → experimentation, bold reforms, instability
Note:
This directly affects disaster preparedness & response, economic policy, and military planning.
The Outgroup
How does the culture define outsiders? With curiosity, distrust, or indifference? (This plays a large part in defining how xenophobic or xenophilic a culture is).
Who is “not us,” and why?
-
Outsiders as threats
-
Outsiders as curiosities
-
Outsiders as resources
-
Outsiders as irrelevant
Note:
While xenophobia is not entirely about hatred— it’s about boundary anxiety.
2. The Tangible Layer: Institutions & Expressions
This is where abstract values become visible.
2.1 Social Structures
Family
Is it nuclear or extended? Is lineage traced patrilineally, matrilineally, or bilaterally? What are the expectations for elders, adults, and children? Are there defined gender roles?
Family Elements
Nuclear vs. extended
Lineage systems
Inheritance norms
Elder authority
Child autonomy
Gender expectations, or lackthereof
Insight:
Family structure often mirrors political structure.
Centralized families → centralized states.
Clan-based families → factional politics.
Class & Mobility
Is there an exclusive aristocracy, a rigid caste system, a wealthy meritocracy, or something else? Who are the “elites” in your society? How easy is it to move up (or down) socially in society?
- Fixed hierarchy or fluid ladder?
- Wealth vs. status vs. education
- Stigmas around “new money” or failure
Insight:
Mobility can determine whether unrest is revolutionary or reformist in nature.
Education
What is taught (practical skills, rote memorization, critical thinking)? Who gets access? Is it used to propagandize and/or instill national values?
Ethos: obedience, competence, creativity, ideology
Accessibility: elite-only or mass participation
Curriculum bias: how is national history taught? World history?
Insight:
Education systems are future culture factories. Meaning that institutions of education are the birthplace of ideas on Earth and in Pacifica.
2.2 Political & Legal Culture
Source of Legitimacy:
Where should political power come from? What makes power feel just?
(Divine right, popular will, military strength, technocratic competence, tradition).
Insight:
Crises test legitimacy more than elections do.
Rule of Law vs. Rule by Law:
Is the law a neutral framework applied to all, or a tool used by the powerful to maintain control?
- Is law a shield or a weapon for the government?
- Who is realistically above the law?
Insight:
“Rule-by-law” states appear stable until enforcement mechanisims fracture.
Conflict Resolution:
Do people take grievances to court, to community elders, to the court of public opinion, or settle them privately/violently or via other means?
Insight:
When legitimate outlets fail, violence can become “reasonable,” or even “necessary.” Unless a rigid cultural taboo exists surrounding violence.
2.3 Cultural Touchstones
Media & Art:
Is art state-sponsored propaganda, a commercial product, or a medium for social critique? Is news media trusted, or seen as partisan?
Insight:
Art often expresses and reveals what cannot be spoken directly in a society.
Humor & Insults:
What does the culture laugh at? What is considered a devastating insult? (This reveals deep values).
- What is funny?
- What is socially unforgivable?
- What crosses social lines?
Insight:
Comedy is a true map of taboo boundaries in any culture.
Food & Ritual:
What is a common staple food? What are key life rituals ( can include birth, coming of age, marriage, death)? Who presides over them?
Insight:
Rituals turn societal dogma into community and belonging.
Languages & Codes:
Are there multiple languages? Is there a formal vs. informal register? Are there coded ways to show respect or disrespect?
- Formal vs. informal speech
- Honorifics (titles or words expressing respect or a particular societal status)
- Silence vs. verbosity in conversation
- Multilingual power dynamics (such as a colonizer’s language vs a native one)
Insight:
Language is often an overlooked battlefield of identity politics.
3. The Dynamic Layer: Conflict & Change
Culture isn’t static, it is pressure-tested over time. Define those pressures.
Generational Divide
How do the youth reject or reinterpret the old ways?
Examples of generational divides in culture
- Youth rejecting “outdated” norms
- Elders resisting “erosion”
- Memory vs. aspiration
For Scenarios:
Youth movements, moral panics, or reformist coups could be how this manifests in your society.
Urban vs. Rural
What is the cultural gap between the cosmopolitan city and the traditional countryside? Is there any economic resentment, or cultural stereotyping?
For Scenarios
This could lead to electoral fractures, domestic insurgencies, or cultural backlash.
Core vs. Periphery
Do remote regions or minority groups have a distinct subculture that chafes against the national narrative?
- Marginalized or occupied regions
- Minority cultures
- Autonomy movements
For Scenarios
Federal crises, civil war, and decentralization reforms could result from these types of conflicts.
External Influence
Is the culture proudly insular, or does it absorb foreign ideas ? Is this seen as enrichment or pollution?
Cultural Diffusion includes elements such as:
- Cultural imports (music, fashion, philosophy, or more literal imports like food or alcohol)
- Soft power (this is a diplomatic term used to refer to nations shopping for goodwill around the world or in their region by offering cheap money or aid to other nations. Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not…)
- Accusations of cultural dilution or societal corruption
For Scenarios:
Culture wars framed as national survival, or used to distract from more unifying issues.
4. Quick-Create Method: The “Cultural Triplet”
Stuck? Define three forces that cannot fully coexist.
They should:
- Each feel reasonable
- Appeal to different demographics
- Produce constant friction
The story emerges from their ideological collisions.
Example 1: Traditional Clan Loyalty vs. Modern State Bureaucracy vs. Frontier Individualism
Example 2: Military-Honor Code vs. Pacifist State Religion vs. Merchant-Class Pragmatism
Example 3: Egalitarian Revolutionary Ideology vs. Resurgent Ancient Caste System vs. Globalized Consumerism
You Can Use Triplets to Generate:
- Elections
- Societal Schisms
- Policy Paralysis
- Violence (riots, border skirmish, bombing or shooting, assassinations, etc.)
- Reform Cycles
5. Integration with Scenario Planning
In The Stakes: Tie conflict to meaning, not just territory or power. The core issue isn’t just “territorial control,” it’s “control of the Sacred Valley our Sacred Diety was born in.”
In The Characters: Characters should embody cultural contradictions, not archetypes. The General isn’t just “in the military.” He’s a product of the Southern Officer caste who believes the civilian government, led by “Coastal Elites,” is corrupt and weak. He is torn between his morals and his sworn duty.
In The Uncertainty: Public reaction should follow cultural logic— even when irrational. The public isn’t just “angry.” They are reacting based on a deep-seated cultural norm of “defiance against distant, unaccountable authority.”
In Consequences: The lasting effect isn’t just “new legislation.” It’s “the erosion of the centuries-old tradition of communal land stewardship.” The biggest impact is often “cultural erosion,” not legal change.
Show, Don’t Just Tell
You don’t always need to write an encyclopedia entry for players. Let them discover your culture through:
A news article about a family suing the state over a burial rite.
An ambassador’s awkward diplomatic encounter
A politician’s speech peppered with folksy proverbs.
A soldier’s letter home complaining about the “superstitious” locals.
A corporate memo struggling to adapt a marketing campaign for local sensitivities.
Your culture is the stage and the script. Once it’s built, every scenario you build with it will resonate with deeper meaning and generate more compelling, collaborative stories.
As previously stated:
Politics explains what happened.
Culture explains why it couldn’t have gone any other way.
Once this foundation exists, your world stops needing constant explanation.
Players can predict outcomes, argue plausibly, and create stories that feel inevitable rather than contrived.
You can find more information from Flaming, another player but I don’t wanna tag them, by clicking this. It is in a different format, so if this didn’t do it for you that may. Otherwise do feel free to ask questions on discord.