The Complete Improviser’s Toolbox

• What do you need to be able to Improvise any Story?
• A set of Characters.
• A World.
• A set of Stories.
• How do you design them?
• Here’s how.

Summary – The Toolbox’s content

1. 6 to 12 Main Characters
2. A Relationship Map
3. 3 to 6 Main Environments
4. A World Map
5. A Set of 8 Story types
6. A Set of 6 Item types

• The Following article is written as a Standalone.
  • This Sole article is enough for you to Start writing Stories.
• You can later expand from it with the linked articles.
• As well as the Articles in the Essentials category.



Characters

• 6 to 12 Characters
• It’s the ideal number to provide a Balance between Diversity & Consistency.
• The Story gets better as the Ideal number of Character is reached.
• Generally, a 1-shot will benefit from a limited number of Character.
  • This allows you to focus on the Action & develop relationships more Easily.
• Whereas, Series will benefit from a large amount of Character.
  • This allows you to focus on the Adventure dimension & develop relationships more Deeply.

• Roles
• Create a Relationships’ Map.
• Take a sheet of paper horizontally.
• Separate it in 4 equal parts.
  • For Each part a different Color.
• Place your 1st Character in the middle of the 1st part.
  • With her Goal in the Center, and her Behavior traits & Quirks around.

• Repeat for every other Character to reach a total of 12.

• Identity
• You need 6 Elements to define a Character’s Identity.
• Name.
• Origins – Place of Birth, Relatives & Daily Life.
• Goal – Main Objective, drives the Main Storyline.
• Passion – An activity non essential to the Main Storyline which provides pleasure to the Character.
• Quirks – Hairstyle, Accessories, Icon.
• Behavior – Individual Strengths & Weaknesses.
  • Strengths & Weakness specific to the Character, not defined by her Role.

Role	Trait 1	Trait 2	Trait 3	Name	Goal	Passion	Quirk	Individual Strength	Individual Weakness
Enticer	Entertaining	Confident	Generous
Manager	Empathetic	Individualist	Providing
Strategist	Competitive	Curious	Learning/Sharing
Reliable	Assertive	Relentless	Protective
Advisor	Pondering	Temperate	Self-Aware
Exemplar	Dedicated	Participative	Leading

If you want to know more about Roles & Relationships.



Environments

• 3 to 6 Environments
• Define up to 6 essential Environments.
• Display Individuality.
• Make your Worlds as Unique as possible.
• Define a Core Theme for each World.
• They will often fall under 1 of the following Categories:
  • Administration
  • Finance & Trade
  • Safety & Housing
  • Food & Health
  • Innovation & Urban Development
  • Transportation & Energy
• For each of them indicate why they are Essential by defining their:
  • Name
  • Origin
  • Resources
  • Public & Customers
  • Administrator & Personnel
• Even if this classification appears to be reserved for Urban Environments it can easily be adapted to Natural Environments.
  • Just consider 2 questions:
  • What are the Resources necessary?
  • Where can they be found, in the most efficient way?

• A Small Map of your World
• Create up to 6 Zones.
• Use Clear, Simple, Contrasting & Complementary Shapes.
• Draw large Blocks.
• And then cut smaller, more refined shapes in them.
• Here’s an Example.

• You will need some time to develop your Map.
• Let your world unfold.
• Don’t hesitate to redraw it.

• Diversity & Atmosphere
• Make use of the Atmosphere to enhance your World’s Diversity.
• Environments should be there to support Interactions.
• Interactions & Encounters make the Story memorable.
• The allow you to develop the Relationships between your Characters.
• As well as the Relationships between the Characters & the Environment.
• This Development is progressive.
• Let it unfold.
• It will unfold through the Characters Reactions.
• Characters will develop Affinities for the Environments.

Function	Name	Creator	Origin	Resources	Public & Customers	Administrator	Personnel	Perception
Administration
Finance & Trade
Safety & Housing
Food & Health
Innovation
Transportation & Energy

If you want to know more about diverse Environment.

Stories

• 8 Types of Stories
• Make use of these 8 Types to Display Individuality.
• Make your Story as Unique as possible.
• Define a Core Theme for each Story & sub-Story.
• Altering between these 8 different types of Stories will provide a satisfying Structure.
• Alternating allows you to create Surprise more easily without sacrificing the Structure.

• How to create a Story fast?
• Define the Story type.
• Refine the Characters’ Goal.
• Choose a Genre & a Frame.
• Combine them to create a Context.
• Define:
  • the Stakes,
  • the Issue,
  • the mean of Resolution &
  • the Outcome.

Story	Goal	Location	Characters	Stakes	Issue	Resolution	Outcome
Discovery	Find a Location or an Item
Opposition	Impeach someone to reach a certain outcome
Collection	Retrieve a certain/fixed amount of Objects
Delivery/Escort	Help a certain Person or Object to reach a Destination
Negotiation	Guide someone towards a certain outcome
Investigation	Find Information in order to solve an Issue
Rescue	Deliver someone from a Dangerous Situation
Escape	Extract someone from a Hostile Location

If you want to know more about the 8 types of Stories.

• Diversity, Rhythm & Context
• Stories need a Balance between Comfort & Surprise.
• They need to be able to Surprise the Public while being Readable.
• Readability is achieved by defining the Context of your Story.
• A Context is the combination of a Genre & a Frame.
  • ex: Dark Fantasy = Horror + Fantasy.
  • ex: Space Opera = Action-Adventure + Science-Fiction

• If you don’t know where to Start…
• Start with Action-Adventure.
• It’s the most Flexible genre.
• It’s the most Familiar as well.
• The Public will always feel more comfortable with this genre.
• Although, this genre has clear limitations.
• It can also be perceived as Plain.
• So, you may want to add elements of Horror, Drama & Comedy to create more memorable Moments.
• Action-Adventure is your Dough.
• The 5 Other genres are your Toppings.

• The following table displays 12 of the most popular Contexts.

Story * Context

Space Opera

Dystopia

Pulp

High Fantasy

Dark Fantasy

Fable

Thriller

Crime

Espionage

Romance

Swashbuckler

War

Discovery

Opposition

Collection

Delivery/Escort

Negotiation

Investigation

Rescue

Escape

If you want to know more about creating immersive Stories.

Items

• Items trigger Stories
• Most Stories Originate from an Item.
• Wherever it is a Threat.
• Or a object of Desire.
• Items are the Roots of all wants.
• And all Conflicts.
• Hence creating memorable Items will make your Stories memorable.
• Creating Unique Items will make your Stories Unique.

• How to create an Item which Defines my Story?
• You want to define 4 Dimension.
• The Origins of the Item.
• Its Original Function & how this Function will evolve.
• Who Can Use it & Will use it.
• The Symbolic value of the Item & how its Perception evolves.

• 6 Types of Items
• Items will often fall under 1 of the following Categories:
• Preservation & Defense
• Healing & Recovery
• Destruction & Menace
• Alteration & Illusion
• Identification & Symbolism
• Transportation & Commuting

Function	Name	Creator	Origin	Material	Function	Effect	People Interested	Users	Perception
Preservation
Healing
Destruction
Alteration
Symbolism
Transportation

If you want to know more about creating Unique Items.