Scenes¶
Don’t show what doesn’t matter.
The formula for a thriller is that fast stuff happens slow and slow stuff happens fast. Most campaigns are probably a lot closer to a thriller than the great american novel.
With that in mind, scenes have three phases: Framing, narration and recovery.
Scenes as Time
Many things are measured in scenes as if it were a measure of time. Some Edges, Modifiers or Progress Clocks have effects that last a scene or triggers that progress with scenes. Some effects can only occur once per scene.
So while scenes are primarily a mechanisms to focus the narration, they also serve a mechanical pacing element. For this reason long infiltration missions or dungeon crawls will likely be broken up into multiple scenes.
Framing¶
Faming is simply deciding what to show. Everyone has limited time together around the table and wants to get the most out of it. Heroes have Quests, Paths, Kith, Locations and even some Gear and Talents that are telling story of what sort of scenes the player wants to see.
If a scene isn’t expected to do character development, plot progression or world building (preferably at least two of the three), then that scene probably shouldn’t be played out at the table.
Allow the player’s the agency to drive the action forward.
Become familiar with saying that after several days the Heroes arrive at the distant town. Gnosis isn’t a game usually served by random fights that don’t progress the plot.
Once it’s decided that a scene is worth playing out, decide where and when it takes place and who’s there.
Narration¶
Narration is the meat of the scene. What Hero’s and NPCs do and say, what secrets are revealed and who is betrayed.
Most scenes that were believed to be worth playing out will eventually have some sort of Challenge, whether that be martial, mental, social or whatever. That’s when the challenge and resolution mechanics come into the play and players end up rolling dice.
Most of the bits around that mechanical resolution are someone narrating. Maybe players narrating what their Heroes do, maybe the GM narrating what is there or maybe players narrating the resolution of those challenges.
Recovery¶
Usually before moving on to the next scene there is a recovery. If Wounds or Trauma was taken there is a chance to recover from that, and take care of any other post-scene issues. Heroes may also gain a Favor if they used all their Favor or if they took Wound or Trauma.
Once that’s done it’s time to frame the next scene and move ever onward.