Week 4: Linear and open structures

Week 4 — what a linear throughline and an open investigation structure each cost, and each buy, before any scene gets written.

15 March 2027

Structure is the decision that’s hardest to change later, so it’s worth making deliberately rather than by default. This lecture lays out the trade-off in plain terms and connects it back to what a truth from week 3 actually needs.

A structure built purely around the throughline that advances the truth tends to under-serve any player who isn’t the one pulling levers on that throughline. It’s usually worth adding at least one scene that exists for no other reason than to give a different kind of character something to do — a scene built around a conversation rather than a lock, say, so a player who invested in social skills gets a moment where that investment matters, not just a spectator’s view of everyone else’s clues.

A scenario’s structure comes in two forms: open and linear. Open means many branches, many scenes, clues in abundance, and a lot of freedom — and it demands more of the writer to hold together. Linear means a compact build and a tight plot, good for a short session: you only need one throughline to string the scenes onto, which keeps what the design needs simple, provided you fix the key scenes the players will pass through and make sure each one carries the clue that can pull them into the next. As for how players get pulled into the scenario at all: they can be pulled in passively — everyone just rented a cabin in the woods for a memorable Christmas, and only after arriving do they discover there’s a Wendigo in the forest — or they can choose to get involved themselves — out of nowhere they receive an anonymous letter, or a friend or family member goes missing, or they receive a death threat.

Outline#

• linear structure: easier to run and to prep, less tolerant of player detours
• open structure: more resilient to player choice, needs more prepared material and improvisation to hold together
• matching structure to your truth: does the story unfold regardless of the players, or does it need a specific order to make sense
• hooks: pulled in versus choosing to investigate, and what each implies about your players’ agency from scene one
• why a structure often needs one scene that exists purely to give a non-combat, non-searching character something to do — a social clue nobody would otherwise get a scene to use