Another Humanity

How to Beat Writer’s Block? The 4 Trials

Summary – 4 Types of Trials

  • Diversity, Consistency & Clarity
  • 4 types of Trials will grant your Story the right balance of Diversity & Consistency.
  • In the beginning what matters is to Present the type of Trial.
  • This serves 2 purposes:
    • Define the Stakes.
    • Establish the Enemy’s Superiority.
  • How do you present the Trial?
  • Appearance
    • Size
    • Form
  • Goal
    • Origins
    • Name
    • Trial
  • Behavior
    • Strengths
    • Weaknesses
  • Quirks
    • Skills
    • Accessories

1/The Beast

  • Characteristics
  • She is Impressive.
  • She is Heavy.
  • She is Strong.
  • Her Physical superiority should be clear.
  • She may be Agile.
  • She may be Large.
  • She may be inclined towards Survival.
  • Encounter
  • The Characters may See it from Afar.
  • The Characters may See it from Close.
  • They may be forced to flee.
  • They may be forced to Surrender.
  • Development
  • The Characters may learn about the Creature:
    • Through Conversations with victims.
      • Or victims’ relatives
    • Through a Tale.
    • Through a Catastrophe.
    • Through a large event:
      • Organized to present the Creature
      • That the Creature will
  • End
  • Generally, this enemy is fitting for short, brutal Stories.
    • Mainly Action, Horror & Drama.
  • Intensity comes from the conflicts lead against this Creature.
  • The need to be ended in a definitive manner.
  • In most cases it will be eliminated.

2/The Clock

  • Characteristics
  • They are Fast.
  • They are Dextrous.
  • They are Many.
  • They act as a Group.
  • They tend to Get to places of Interest 1st.
  • They want to reach the End Fast.
  • Encounter
  • They act as an Impending Threat.
  • They will be met during a Competition.
    • It may not be an apparent/literal Competition.
  • During this Competition they will be running against the Characters.
  • They are attracted to Games.
  • They will compete to Acquire an Item.
  • Or to Accelerate a Process.
  • They may want to compete against the Characters if they interest them.
  • Development
  • They create a sense of Emergency.
  • Their Plan has already been developed.
  • They will put pressure on the Characters.
  • They are looking for an Item.
    • In the Character’s possession.
    • Or soon to be in the possession of the Characters.
  • They will be Escaping & Eluding the Characters.
  • They will Obtrude the Character’s path.
  • They will Hinder the Characters.
  • They will Slow them down.
  • They will Distract them.
  • End
  • They will Assembling the Item.
  • Towards the End they must be Stopped.
  • Their Large-Scale objective will delay them.
  • To Finish them the Characters have multiple options.
  • The Resolution is only the prevention of their goal.
  • They need to be Prevented from achieving the goal.
  • The Characters do not need to destroy the enemy.
  • They only need to destroy or isolate the Item of interest.
  • The Aftermath is extremely flexible.
  • The becoming of these enemies is not defined by their nature.

3/The Hunter

  • Characteristics
  • She is Steadfast.
  • She is Perceptive.
  • She is Relentless.
  • She is Adaptive.
  • She is Cunning.
  • She is Testing the Characters.
  • Encounter
  • She is After the Characters.
  • Or after an Item the Characters possess.
  • She will recover this Precious Item.
  • She will Track them.
  • She will Overwhelm them.
  • Either directly.
  • Or through Intermediates.
  • They may meet her after having being Cornered.
  • Either in a Cramped Space.
  • Or a Large field.
  • The Setting makes little difference.
  • What matters most is the feeling of
  • She is most likely to be an Assassin herself, than to send Assassins
  • She can engage intermediates to corral the Characters.
  • Development
  • During their Journey the Character will need to be able to escape her
  • During the Chase.
  • They’ll need to know where to Hide.
  • And to Fight back.
  • They’ll need to know about the Origin of the chase.
  • Why are the Characters Hunted?
  • What can they do to get rid of the Hunter?
  • Can they redirect her attention to someone else?
  • Soon the Characters will need to know the Hunter.
  • What is her Goal?
  • Does she only need to make the Target disappear?
  • Is it only a mean to achieve her Goal?
  • Is it a mean to achieve another 1’s Goal?
  • End
  • She can be killed.
    • What are her Weaknesses?
    • What are her Strengths?
    • What are her Quirks?
    • What are her Habits?
    • How can she be cornered?
    • How can she be killed?
    • How can she be got rid off?
  • Or her attention can be turned onto another Target.
  • The Characters cannot escape her indefinitely.

4/The Shadow

  • Characteristics
  • She is Flexible.
  • She is Charming.
  • She is Discrete.
  • She is Present.
  • She has an advantage over the Characters.
  • An Advantage which is Intrinsic to the Characters.
  • Encounter
  • The Characters should come across multiple Character before meeting her.
  • They may be Multiple minor Antagonists.
  • Enemies enrolled by the Shadow.
  • Foes of the Shadow herself.
  • Antagonists that may not be linked to her, but have heard of her.
  • The Characters will come across a Hint.
  • They can get the Hint from:
    • A Lieutenant
    • Another Antagonist
    • A 3rd party whose role still isn’t clear
    • The Shadow herself, hidden
  • Development
  • As the Accumulation of Information goes, the identity of the Shadow may become clearer.
  • It could also become more confusing.
  • However her Characteristics should become Clearer.
  • Especially her Behavioral Characteristics.
    • Since they link her to the Characters.
  • She will get closer to the Characters.
  • They will develop a sense of Attachment.
  • It may turn into Hatred.
  • This Trial is the deepest.
  • It should trigger Strong reactions on both sides.
  • Strong emotions.
  • It should reveal the Character’s sense of Pride.
  • And how it will be destroyed.
  • End
  • The Characters will most likely Defeat this Antagonist.
  • They may also leave her be.
    • If she’s sufficiently weakened.
  • The losses on both sides may be heavy.

Combining the 8 Types of Adventures & the 4 Types of Trials

  • Here’s a Simple way to Improvise Stories.
  • Place 1 word/sentence in each Case.
  • You’ve got 12 * 8 possible event.
  • All’s left is to articulate them.

2 Templates

Linear Template

  • Discovery
    • Find
    • Combine the Discovery Adventure with 1 of the 4 Trials:
      • 1 – Beast/
      • 2 – Clock/
      • 3 – Hunter/
      • 4 – Shadow/
  • Opposition
    • Destroy
      • 1/2/3/4/
  • Collection
    • Recover
      • 1/2/3/4/
  • Delivery
    • Transfer
      • 1/2/3/4/
  • Negotiate
    • Come to an End
      • 1/2/3/4/
  • Investigate
    • Resolve
      • 1/2/3/4/
  • Rescue
    • Extract
      • 1/2/3/4/
  • Escape
    • Flee
      • 1/2/3/4/

Table

Beast – EncounterDevelopmentConclusionClock Dev.Con.Hunter Dev. Con.ShadowDev.Con.
Discovery
Opposition
Collection
Delivery
Negotiate
Investigate
Rescue
Escape

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Ananta HUMANITY

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