Episode

The Episode is a standard session of gameplay that occurs at regular intervals for long term Campaigns, or in a single instance for one shot adventures. The Episode focuses on a string of Scenes that portray a progression of events striving to complete an Arc. Episodes are where Players make in-game decisions and influence the larger world around them, possibly changing or advancing the Arc or Campaign itself. For the purposes of Echelon,the term Episode is considered interchangeable with the general TTRPG term, “Session”.

Episodes are split between the Pregame and Gameplay sections. This is because the planning of the Pregame meets the doing in Gameplay at this stage. When you’re crafting an Episode, you should create a Goal for it.This will help you determine if the Episode has come to an end. When you’re playing through an Episode, you should focus on the goal. Use your Scenes to drive towards it. More specifics on where Pregame and Gameplay split can be found below.

Pregame Episodes

Pregame Episodes help determine how you present the world in the most natural and realistic sense. In the Pregame phase of Episode planning, leverage as much of the previous Pregame elements as possible. We’ll continue to use a Bottom Up approach to worldbuilding and storytelling, this time generating specific details that make the world feel as real as possible.

When doing so, focus on your GM Scenes. The GM Scene is where you push the story to be revealed. It contains the specifics of elements you have already established in previous stages. As an Episode plays out, the Players will have moments themselves to determine Scenes. In Player Scenes, Players have an opportunity to pursue the things that are immediate priorities for either themselves, or for the entire Player group. But more on these later.

Outlining the Episode

When organizing the flow of an Episode, refer to your Arc(s). The Arc lists the milestones which need to be achieved in order to close a particular Arc and reveal the larger story. In the Episode, you’ll use Scenes to drive towards hitting the Arc milestone. When planning for an Episode in Pregame, remember that the GM and Players each take turns determining the Scene. To help keep things in order,consider the following outline structure

     Episode 1 Outline

     Scene One:

     The Font of Arcanum

     Scene Owner:

     Game Master‍

   Arc: 

     The party discovers the immense power and opportunity of arcana‍

     Milestone Goal:

     The party gets their first quest from the Doyen Academy sending them to the Broken Channel where a neerdowell has been wreaking havoc on local fishermen with the use of a relic beyond their own power.

     Repeat for each Scene in the Episode

Gameplay Episodes

Gameplay Episodes are where we start playing in the world that we have created. On the Gameplay end, we focus on achieving the goals that we establish at any stage–starting with the most accessible.

At this step, the bulk of your work is done. Goals are set, details are fleshed and specifics are specified. It is now a matter of organizing Scenes and opportunities into a structure that provides the easiest and most natural flow through the story.And leveraging moments when players will take two steps forward where you only expected one, or five steps back when you plan for none.

Creating Structure and Clarity

During Gameplay, the Episode is about presenting structure and clarity.For a Game Master, that means using the body of assets that can be leveraged from Pregame. For Players, it means clarifying what needs to be achieved by way of Goals and what’s at stake if they fail to achieve it. When an Episode is in play, everyone at the table is responsible for progressing the story. Whether it’s discovering secrets, affirming old beliefs, or establishing new truths, in an episode, everyone participates.

Game Master Responsibilities

As the GM, you’ve already prepared the pieces of the world that will come into play during an Episode. Your job during Gameplay is to use the Players as the mechanism that reveals all of those pieces. You’ll present opportunities in Scenes that will guide Players to achieving the Goal(s) of the Arc or at least progress towards it.

An important aspect to remember is that at the end of every Scene, the Players in it should learn something new about the world, the people within it, or the things they pursue.Even in failing to achieve the Goal of the scene.

Player Responsibilities

As a Player, your role is to uncover the story that is presented to you.You do this by either interacting with people or objects. You can also do this by establishing details in the world around you to use at your benefit. Players will use the Gameplay mechanics of storytelling to either uncover the world,create the world, or progress the story itself.

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