This system exists to create a story about a colony or city, a home base for the adventure. If a player doesn’t like the result of a roll, they choose, roll again, or use a spark table. Always try to think about how the result creates a story for the colony. Every player should keep a chronological list of how they changed the colony. This mini-game is designed to be used after creating a world with [[Collaborative Continent]] or [[Collaborative Galaxy]]. ## Found the Colony Start a colony log. The colony was founded because several circumstances brought people to this place. Go around the table once. Each player rolls or chooses a Foundation, describes what it means, and adds it to the colony's history. Foundations can reinforce or contradict one another and should be about two sentences each. ### Foundations (d20) 1. **Homeland.** A particular ancestry, culture, or people made this place their home. Who are they, and what made them settle here? 2. **Resource.** Something valuable can be found or produced here. What is it, and why do people want it? 3. **Refuge.** People came here fleeing danger or persecution. What were they escaping, and what made this place safer? 4. **Discovery.** Something remarkable was found here. What was discovered, and how did it change the importance of this place? 5. **Crossroads.** Important routes converge here. Where do they lead, and what passes through the colony because of them? 6. **Sacred Place.** Something here has religious or spiritual importance. Describe the sacred place and why people are drawn to it. 7. **Outpost.** A distant power deliberately established a foothold here. Who founded the outpost, and what did they expect it to accomplish? 8. **Opportunity.** Settlers arrived believing they could build a better life here. What opportunity drew them, and what did they hope to gain? 9. **Exile.** The original settlers were sent here against their will. Who sent them, and why was this place chosen for their exile? 10. **Frontier.** The colony was established at the edge of settled or controlled territory. What lies beyond the frontier, and what draws people toward it? 11. **Remnant.** Ruins, wreckage, abandoned structures, or evidence of earlier inhabitants were already here. Describe what remains and what is known about those who left it behind. 12. **Anomaly.** Something impossible or inexplicable exists here. Describe what people can observe about it without explaining its true nature. 13. **Passage.** The colony controls one of the few practical routes through a difficult region or barrier. Describe the passage and what lies on either side. 14. **Hazard.** Something about this place makes travel or survival unusually dangerous. Describe the hazard and how living here has been shaped by it. 15. **Shelter.** This location provides protection that is difficult to find elsewhere. Describe what makes it safe and what exists outside that protection. 16. **Abundance.** Something necessary for survival is unusually plentiful or accessible here. What is abundant, and how has easy access to it shaped the colony? 17. **Neighbor.** Someone or something significant was already nearby when the colony was founded. Describe the neighbor and the relationship that developed between them and the settlers. 18. **Secret.** The founders chose this location because they knew something others did not. Describe what they knew and who knows the truth today. 19. **Boundary.** The colony occupies the place where two very different regions, environments, or territories meet. Describe both sides and why their boundary matters. 20. **Wonder.** Something spectacular dominates the colony or its surroundings. Describe the wonder and how living in its presence has shaped the colony. When everyone has contributed, use them together to name the colony. ## Create Factions Each player creates a faction that helped shape the colony. Create a Faction Log. Roll a d6 for each column and record the result, interpret the results however you want. Then name the faction. Some duplication between factions is acceptable. | d6 | Organization | Ambition | Target | Asset | | ---:| ------------ | ------------ | -------------- | ----------- | | 1 | Authority | Order | People | Property | | 2 | Guild | Prosperity | Government | Wealth | | 3 | Faith | Influence | Territory | Knowledge | | 4 | Kinship | Preservation | Commerce | Connections | | 5 | Enterprise | Growth | Other Factions | Force | | 6 | Society | Change | Knowledge | Secrets | ## Evolve Factions Go around the table once. On your turn, roll an event and describe any necessary details. When possible, connect the event to the colony's Foundations, its history, or something already established about the world. Each player describes how their faction reacts. Use your faction's **Organization, Ambition, Target, and Asset** for inspiration. After every faction has reacted, the player who generated the event describes how the event resolves and what lasting effect it has on the colony. You may build on another faction's actions, but cannot change what that player described. Continue until each player has generated one event. ### Events (d20) 1. **A titanic creature approaches.** An enormous creature is moving toward the colony. Describe what people can observe about it. What does your faction do? 2. **An armed force arrives.** A large and unfamiliar armed force appears near the colony, and its intentions are unknown. How does your faction respond? 3. **Disaster strikes a neighbor.** A nearby community has suffered a catastrophe and desperately needs supplies, shelter, or assistance. What does your faction do? 4. **Refugees arrive.** A large group fleeing danger seeks safety in the colony. How does your faction respond to the newcomers? 5. **A traveling spectacle arrives.** A famous company of performers, merchants, and entertainers arrives and wants to stay for a time. How does your faction react to their presence? 6. **A fugitive seeks sanctuary.** An escaped prisoner claims to have been unjustly imprisoned, and their pursuers demand their return. What does your faction do? 7. **A powerful leader is coming.** A ruler, official, or other powerful leader announces an imminent visit to the colony. What does your faction hope to accomplish during their visit? 8. **A terrible prophecy spreads.** A prophecy names a child who will supposedly bring about the colony's destruction. The story is gaining believers. What does your faction do? 9. **There is an unexpected surplus.** The colony suddenly has far more of something valuable or necessary than it currently needs. What is abundant, and what does your faction try to do with it? 10. **A stolen treasure is recovered.** A thief is caught carrying something extremely valuable that belongs to a distant power. Describe the treasure. What does your faction want to happen to it? 11. **Something valuable is discovered.** A valuable resource, object, or opportunity is discovered in a part of the colony already being used for something important. Taking advantage of it would require disrupting what is already there. What does your faction do? 12. **A neighbor offers protection.** Another power offers to protect the colony from its enemies or surrounding dangers, but expects the colony to accept its authority in return. How does your faction respond? 13. **An old enemy returns.** Choose another faction. Its player identifies an enemy from its history who has unexpectedly arrived at the colony. How does your faction respond to their return? 14. **A Foundation is threatened.** Choose one of the colony's Foundations and describe something that now threatens it. What does your faction do? 15. **A new movement spreads.** A charismatic outsider attracts a growing following by challenging an established institution, belief, or way of life. What are they challenging, and how does your faction respond? 16. **An old claim resurfaces.** Another people or power claims something important to the colony and presents evidence that it rightfully belongs to them. What are they claiming, and how does your faction respond? 17. **An old problem returns.** Choose a threat, dispute, or crisis from the colony's history. It has returned in a new form. What does your faction do differently this time? 18. **A faction gains an advantage.** Choose another faction. Its player describes an unexpected opportunity involving its **Asset**. How does your faction respond to its growing power? 19. **A stranger makes an offer.** A mysterious visitor offers something the colony desperately wants in exchange for a costly promise. Describe the offer. How does your faction respond? 20. **Something impossible appears.** Overnight, something inexplicable appears within or around the colony. Describe what everyone can observe, but not what it truly is or where it came from. What does your faction do? ## Present Era — A Crisis Emerges Something is wrong with the colony. Go around the table once. On your turn, roll on the **Signs of Crisis** table and describe something that is happening now. Describe **what people can observe, not why it is happening**. Build on the signs already described whenever possible. You may also connect your result to the colony's Foundations, factions, history, or anything else established during colony creation. After every player has contributed, discuss what the signs seem to suggest and give the crisis a name. **Do not decide its true cause or nature.** Those answers are left for the adventure. ### Signs of Crisis (d20) 1. **Someone important disappears.** Describe who is missing and the strange circumstances surrounding their disappearance. 2. **Something dangerous is approaching.** Something is moving toward the colony or drawing steadily closer. Describe the signs of its approach without explaining what it is. 3. **Something important is running out.** A resource, supply, or necessity the colony depends on is becoming scarce. Describe what is running out and the first effects of the shortage. 4. **People are changing.** A strange physical, mental, or behavioral change is appearing among some of the population. Describe the change and who has shown signs of it. 5. **Something is discovered.** Someone finds something disturbing that should not be here. Describe what was found and where. 6. **Something awakens.** Something believed to be dormant, dead, abandoned, or inactive shows signs of activity. Describe those signs without explaining what has awakened. 7. **Something crosses a boundary.** Something enters a place it should not or could not normally reach. Describe what crossed the boundary and where it has appeared. 8. **The surroundings are changing.** Something about the colony's environment or immediate surroundings is changing in an unnatural or alarming way. Describe what people can observe. 9. **Something stops working.** A system, technology, magic, resource, or natural process the colony relies upon inexplicably fails. Describe what stopped working and the immediate consequences. 10. **Someone issues a warning.** Someone claims to know that something terrible is coming. Describe who delivers the warning, what they claim will happen, and what makes people take them seriously. 11. **Something impossible happens.** Many people witness an event that should not have been possible. Describe what they saw without explaining how it happened. 12. **Violence erupts.** A sudden attack, murder, riot, or other violent incident occurs without an obvious explanation. Describe what happened and one strange detail about the incident. 13. **Something is spreading.** A strange substance, creature, condition, signal, belief, or phenomenon begins appearing throughout the colony. Describe what people encounter and how they know it is spreading. 14. **An outsider arrives.** An unexpected visitor reaches the colony under troubling circumstances. Describe the visitor and what makes their arrival suspicious or alarming. 15. **A secret becomes public.** Something disturbing about the colony's past or present is exposed. Describe the secret and how it became known. 16. **An old problem returns.** Choose a threat, mystery, dispute, or disaster from the colony's history. Describe the first evidence that it has returned. 17. **A familiar place changes.** Choose an established part of the colony. Something about it is suddenly and disturbingly different. Describe what people find there. 18. **People share a strange experience.** Unconnected people report the same dream, vision, sound, memory, sensation, or other experience. Describe what they experience and one detail they all agree upon. 19. **Someone makes a troubling demand.** A person, group, or outside power demands something from the colony. Describe who is making the demand, what they want, and what they threaten if refused. 20. **Things don't add up.** Add a new fact that appears to contradict or complicate something already established about the crisis. **Do not resolve the contradiction.** ## Call to Adventure Choose a name for this Campaign, something short and memorable. Roll or choose a *Call to Action* as a group. Connect it to the Crisis, the colony's history, its factions, or anything else established during colony creation. Describe what your characters will be trying to accomplish and what makes it dangerous. Do not decide who the characters are, why each one is involved, or what role they will play. Those answers will emerge during Character Discovery. The GM uses the result to prepare the first adventure. Character Discovery begins in the middle of this action. ### Call to Action (d12) 1. **Hunt.** You are hunting something dangerous. 2. **Rescue.** You are attempting a dangerous rescue. 3. **Escape.** Something has gone terribly wrong and you must escape. 4. **Break In.** You are entering somewhere forbidden, guarded, or inaccessible. 5. **Explore.** You are exploring somewhere unknown or dangerous. 6. **Defend.** You are defending something from an imminent threat. 7. **Pursue.** You are chasing someone or something that must not escape. 8. **Steal.** You are taking something from someone powerful enough to protect it. 9. **Stop.** You are trying to stop something terrible already underway. 10. **Survive.** You are caught together in a sudden attack or disaster. 11. **Travel.** You are attempting a journey that few would dare. 12. **Confront.** You are confronting something impossible or inexplicable. ## License Asmythe TTRPG is published under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)