Out of all of the content in Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors, one of the concepts that confuse people the most (including some of our own writers), is Sinistra. Today I'm going to explain where they came from, how they work as written, and how to re-frame them for clearer use.
The Threats, Agendas, Sinistra, and Missions in this game are a reskin of the Fronts and Threats system found in Powered by the Apocalypse Games like Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, and Monster of the Week. As described in Apocalypse World 1e (p.137):
In testing out adventure generation, what I really liked about this system was the explicit process, and how it prepared you to GM ad hoc in your game. It gave you motivations and goals for all the characters, and by thinking through the story from the Threat's point of view, establishing what would happen if no one interfered.
Each individual Threat could provide a new scene or subplot.
I think the fact that the Mission/Front itself has its own Countdowns, and then each Threat had their own Countdowns (which may or may not be similar or the same as the the overall countdown), it gets challenging trying to differentiate between a Threat Countdown and a Front Countdown. (Or in DH terms, Mission Sinistra vs Threat Sinistra).
Sometimes there's a clear separation. In the Burnout! Mission in the Demon Hunting Guide A771: An Impractical Guide to Mission Planning pp. 24-25, we see the difference demonstrated:
Mission Sinistra
To write Sinistra this way, start by thinking of the overall story as you picture it in your mind, from the perspective if the players do not intervene. What goal (we call them Agendas in DH) will the big bad achieve? What will that mean for them? What are the major events or milestones that have to happen (Sinistra), in chronological order, so they can achieve that goal?
Then, identify your major Threats. Who are the main characters the player characters will face that are a threat to them? Will each Threat set up a different scene? Threats can also be locations (Danger Zones), or systemic conditions or situations (Scourges). You can treat these just as you would treat a Demon Master Character (DMC). Start by thinking about which Threat the players will face first.
With your first Threat identified, zoom in with your imagination to that Threat's perspective. Given the Mission's Sinistra, what is the ultimate goal of this first Threat? Sit at the right hand of the Big Bad? Kill as many people as possible in a single location? Prevent anyone from getting to the Big Bad? Like with the Mission Sinistra, in chronological order, think of the major milestones or events that will happen, or need to happen, for the Threat to realize their Agenda? There, you have your Threat Sinistra. Rinse and repeat for your other Threats.
In practice, I have met very few people who plan out their adventures at this level of detail. Writing Sinistra can be a lot of work and take a lot of time, only to probably not even to have them come to pass. Sure, I felt prepared, but was it worth the effort?
Sometimes. I find this approach still very helpful for campaign planning. Stories that take a lot longer than one or two sessions. Dungeon World talks more about this idea. For one-shots, or missions that last two or three sessions, it might be overkill.
The other thing I didn't take into consideration when writing this section for DH was that Apocalypse World is a VERY different setting and play style than DH. That said, even the AW team decided to simplify their system with Apocalypse World 2nd Edition. They still have Threats but they don't even talk about fronts anymore.
So, since my Patreon Campaign is all about building and writing adventures, I started researching again and found myself really drawn to DH's more grown-up cousin, Monster of the Week by Evil Hat Productions.
MotW Terms Conversion to DH Guide:
Monster of the Week adventure creation feels more geared towards one-shots or shorter missions that take two or three sessions to complete. Obviously this makes sense given the name! These Mysteries are structured very similar to an episode of Supernatural or Scooby-Doo.
When examining the Mystery Countdowns, they still write them out in full sentences, describing the events in concise detail. They are written in progressive order (Smoke, Fire, Inferno, Ash) and still from the perspective if no one intervened.
The Threats in MotW do not have their own Countdowns, but do still have a type and driving motivation.
Testing this out, I still found that while I felt prepared for the adventure, I still didn't have a clear idea for the consequences or ramifications of Countdowns/Sinistra coming to pass or thwarted/avoided. For a game so heavily reliant on Aspects, I turned to the Fate System Toolkit, also by Evil Hat Productions.
In the adventure I've written for September, Demon Hunters: Irish Exorcise, I wrote MotW-style Sinistra as Aspect Events. I'm trying out that for each Sinistrum that comes to pass, it is introduced as a scene aspect and the DM gets progressive Demon Dice, depending on where in the order of Sinistra it falls.
For example:
Forced Sinistra: The DM pays Demon Dice to force a Sinistrum to come to pass.
Badness Tables: Use Sinistra when writing Badness Table entries.
Hybrid Approach: Consider writing the Sinistra as Aspect Events as above, but as a header. Then in longer form explain what happens.
Threat Aspect Events: Return to the original structure, but instead of written out Sinistra, write them as Aspect Events.
As always it's up to you what works best for you. The ideas presented here are certainly not new or the only ways. What have you found that works for you? What ideas from this post, if any, will you try in your next adventure? Post your answer down in the comments.
Also, what other topics would you like to hear more about?
BACKGROUND
The Threats, Agendas, Sinistra, and Missions in this game are a reskin of the Fronts and Threats system found in Powered by the Apocalypse Games like Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, and Monster of the Week. As described in Apocalypse World 1e (p.137):
A front is a set of linked threats.In DH a front is a Mission. Threats are still Threats, and Sinistra are Countdown Clocks or Countdowns in the other systems.
In testing out adventure generation, what I really liked about this system was the explicit process, and how it prepared you to GM ad hoc in your game. It gave you motivations and goals for all the characters, and by thinking through the story from the Threat's point of view, establishing what would happen if no one interfered.
Each individual Threat could provide a new scene or subplot.
WHERE IT GETS CONFUSING
I think the fact that the Mission/Front itself has its own Countdowns, and then each Threat had their own Countdowns (which may or may not be similar or the same as the the overall countdown), it gets challenging trying to differentiate between a Threat Countdown and a Front Countdown. (Or in DH terms, Mission Sinistra vs Threat Sinistra).
Sometimes there's a clear separation. In the Burnout! Mission in the Demon Hunting Guide A771: An Impractical Guide to Mission Planning pp. 24-25, we see the difference demonstrated:
Mission Sinistra
An Uber pulls up down the block from the crime scene and disgorges a group of rowdy young adults who disappear into a seemingly abandoned warehouse.
Inside, on the tightly-packed dance floor, club kids are combusting at an alarming rate. Inexplicably, the glassy-eyed throngs of dancers meet each immolation with cheers.
A crowd forms around the door to the women’s bathroom as a rumor spreads that someone is passing out free Roulette inside.
Up in the VIP lounge, the VIPs down handfuls of Roulette to force a flameout and spark the next phase of Eel’s plan.
Xiuhcoatl bursts through the center of the dance floor, summoned by the human sacrifice of Roulette’s victims.
Xiuhcoatl escapes the warehouse to set the world aflame.Threat Sinistra
Club kids arrive and Bull lets them through. If they don’t look like they’re going to take Roulette, he won’t let them pass.
11:00pm. Some club kids leave the Firesnake Lounge and burst into flame in the alleyway or at home.
11:25pm. Bull stops letting club kids out of the lounge. “Sober up!” is his excuse, but he keeps them in as offerings and to prevent them from causing attention outside on the street.
11:59pm. Local police arrive to investigate missing persons. Bull does not let them in. They attempt to arrest him, and he murders several of them just as Xiuhcoatl breaks free.Going into this much detail prepared me for all kinds of contingencies when the players intervened, but it was challenging to differentiate the Big Bad's Threat Sinistra (not quoted above) from the overall Mission's Sinistra. It should be noted that most of these Sinistra didn't come to pass, and I didn't refer much to them during game play. That said, I was prepared for any direction the story would go because I was more confident in the goals and steps to achieve those goals for my characters.
HOW TO WRITE SINISTRA AS-IS
To write Sinistra this way, start by thinking of the overall story as you picture it in your mind, from the perspective if the players do not intervene. What goal (we call them Agendas in DH) will the big bad achieve? What will that mean for them? What are the major events or milestones that have to happen (Sinistra), in chronological order, so they can achieve that goal?
Then, identify your major Threats. Who are the main characters the player characters will face that are a threat to them? Will each Threat set up a different scene? Threats can also be locations (Danger Zones), or systemic conditions or situations (Scourges). You can treat these just as you would treat a Demon Master Character (DMC). Start by thinking about which Threat the players will face first.
With your first Threat identified, zoom in with your imagination to that Threat's perspective. Given the Mission's Sinistra, what is the ultimate goal of this first Threat? Sit at the right hand of the Big Bad? Kill as many people as possible in a single location? Prevent anyone from getting to the Big Bad? Like with the Mission Sinistra, in chronological order, think of the major milestones or events that will happen, or need to happen, for the Threat to realize their Agenda? There, you have your Threat Sinistra. Rinse and repeat for your other Threats.
RESULTS
In practice, I have met very few people who plan out their adventures at this level of detail. Writing Sinistra can be a lot of work and take a lot of time, only to probably not even to have them come to pass. Sure, I felt prepared, but was it worth the effort?
Sometimes. I find this approach still very helpful for campaign planning. Stories that take a lot longer than one or two sessions. Dungeon World talks more about this idea. For one-shots, or missions that last two or three sessions, it might be overkill.
The other thing I didn't take into consideration when writing this section for DH was that Apocalypse World is a VERY different setting and play style than DH. That said, even the AW team decided to simplify their system with Apocalypse World 2nd Edition. They still have Threats but they don't even talk about fronts anymore.
So, since my Patreon Campaign is all about building and writing adventures, I started researching again and found myself really drawn to DH's more grown-up cousin, Monster of the Week by Evil Hat Productions.
MONSTER OF THE WEEK
MotW Terms Conversion to DH Guide:
- Mystery = Mission
- The Threats = Threats
- Mystery Countdowns = Mission Sinistra
Monster of the Week adventure creation feels more geared towards one-shots or shorter missions that take two or three sessions to complete. Obviously this makes sense given the name! These Mysteries are structured very similar to an episode of Supernatural or Scooby-Doo.
When examining the Mystery Countdowns, they still write them out in full sentences, describing the events in concise detail. They are written in progressive order (Smoke, Fire, Inferno, Ash) and still from the perspective if no one intervened.
The Threats in MotW do not have their own Countdowns, but do still have a type and driving motivation.
Testing this out, I still found that while I felt prepared for the adventure, I still didn't have a clear idea for the consequences or ramifications of Countdowns/Sinistra coming to pass or thwarted/avoided. For a game so heavily reliant on Aspects, I turned to the Fate System Toolkit, also by Evil Hat Productions.
ASPECT EVENTS (Fate System Toolkit p. 46)
An aspect event has two components: the event list and the crescendo aspect. The event list is a series of things that will happen, leading up to the crescendo aspect. Think of the crescendo aspect as what will happen if the players don’t intercede. A good event has three to six aspects plus the crescendo aspect.
... Here’s an example:
• Explosions and Fire!
• A Rash of Murders
• Citywide Panic
• Under Terrorist Threat
• Three Hours to Detonation
• Smoking CraterStructured with similar progression as the MotW Countdowns, but written as Aspects, I found these to be more useful with more opportunities for Demon Dice and Badness Tables.
In the adventure I've written for September, Demon Hunters: Irish Exorcise, I wrote MotW-style Sinistra as Aspect Events. I'm trying out that for each Sinistrum that comes to pass, it is introduced as a scene aspect and the DM gets progressive Demon Dice, depending on where in the order of Sinistra it falls.
For example:
- More Mutilations (1 Demon Die)
- Zombie Sheep Attack! (2 Demon Dice)
- Nunja Warzone (3 Demon Dice)
- Farmhouse Massacre (4 Demon Dice)
- The Demon Escapes (5 Demon Dice)
OTHER IDEAS
Forced Sinistra: The DM pays Demon Dice to force a Sinistrum to come to pass.
Badness Tables: Use Sinistra when writing Badness Table entries.
Hybrid Approach: Consider writing the Sinistra as Aspect Events as above, but as a header. Then in longer form explain what happens.
Threat Aspect Events: Return to the original structure, but instead of written out Sinistra, write them as Aspect Events.
As always it's up to you what works best for you. The ideas presented here are certainly not new or the only ways. What have you found that works for you? What ideas from this post, if any, will you try in your next adventure? Post your answer down in the comments.
Also, what other topics would you like to hear more about?
- Creating Threats
- Doing Mad Science
- Creating Full-Scale Rituals
- Utilizing Zones
- What else???
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