I was discussing the situation for a Hot War demo with the estimable Mr Gow of this parish. We brainstormed some thoughts on it, but I'd also like to through this open to the floor. Not only to help create the demo itself, but also to show the process of creating a 15 minute demo.

First off, there needs to be a strong situation that is going to challenge the characters and make them take immediate action. Neil suggested an execution. I mused this might be a bit strong. Neil then made the excellent suggestion of a woman and her kids about to have their ration cards taken away for some infraction. This then evolved to a situation where the SSG are confronting a family who have been hiding refugees. This discovery has taken place because of a monster attack (this bringing in one of the core background elements of the game).

So, we have a tense situation, with the following elements:

The refugees, who fear being sent to the camps or possibly shot out of hand as 'terrorists'.

The family, who fear imprisonment or having their ID and ration cards taken away.

The conflicting agendas and attitudes of the characters.

So, what should the characters be like? I'm getting the idea that there should be a maximum of four characters, including the following:

One with a strong anti-refugee bias

One with a strong pro-freedom, pro-refugee bias

One who is a military stickler for order

One who is a spy for a terrorist group

The characters will then have to deal with the situation.

In addition, what does the demo seek to show in mechanical terms? It must demonstrate the very basics of the game system. It should also show how attributes, traits, agendas and relationships create a dice pool. Tools and external matters aren't going to come into pool creation at this stage, that's too much for a demo. The characters will be trimmed down. A couple of traits each, a couple of relevant relationships and agendas.

To go over stuff again, we have:

A situation that immediately creates tension and conflict amongst the characters

Characters who will have obvious, strong motivations

An opportunity to show how the different mechanical elements interact

Thoughts and feedback welcomed as always.

Cheers
Malcolm