In my last post I mentioned that I was struggling with instructing people how to create and push conflicts. Either I’m explaining it poorly, or I don’t have a grasp on what it is that I do when I play with my regular group. I’m not sure how to approach this topic…

In unWritten there is a Setting Player (like a GM but not) that frames a scene then using elements from the story index.

    The story index is like a character sheet that also has all of the setting details that is used to frame scenes, these things also provide mechanical benefits to the players if they choose to use them. However, the players maybe forced to alter the elements on the story index if they succeed or fail at certain rolls. Additionally, there is a tool on the story index called the story pattern, modeled after the hero’s journey that is used to guide the setting player to focus on certain types of conflicts.

So, based on the story index the setting player pushes conflicts based on the story’s premies and the story elements that are present on the story index. once a conflict is dealt with and resolved the players the scene ends and the player to the right of the previous setting player becomes the new setting player.

So, because you only have one conflict before your role as the Setting Player transfers to another player you need to make sure that the conflict counts, that it’s pertinent to the story being told, and that it’s interesting.

But, I’m struggling to keep people aware of the requirements for what makes an interesting and pertinent conflict. How does one express that? I feel like I have all of the key ingredients, but something just isn’t there…