Les Ombres d'Esteren - Forum officiel

• - One thread per canvas. Redundant topics will not be tolerated.
  - The title of the thread must quote the title of the canvas.
  - The first post of each thread must be regularly updated to offer the most accomplished version of the canvas, or a link to a file available for download.
  - Respect the structure of the canvas divided into Roots/Trunk/Branches/Leaves/Wind. You can also use the game aid below.

• ● [Official]: This tag is used for an official canvas from the series of Shadows of Esteren’s books.
  ● [Approved]: This tag is used for a canvas imagined by a community member, reviewed, updated, and approved by the game’s team.
  ● [OK]: This tag means that the canvas is considered as complete by its author.
  ● [WIP]: This tag means “work in progress” and is used for a canvas under development. Of course, a canvas completed previously can be brought back to this stage if the author considers it necessary (for playtests, corrections, etc.)

The Canvases: How to use them

Canvases are specially structured short-format scenarios that will be used throughout the Shadows of Esteren series. Initially intended to be played in two or three hours, they can easily be lengthened according to the inspiration of the Leader. Their structure is intended to leave ample room for everyone to improvise and do things their own way. More experienced Leaders will be able to run the scenario right after they are done reading it; those with less experience will probably want to spend additional time taking notes, preparing scenes, etc.

The Structure of the Canvases
Each canvas begins with a set of technical information. Here you can learn about the style of the canvas (investigation, survival, action, etc.), the setting (urban, natural, etc.), the season, and the approximate length of the session. This information will present the Leader with a general overview of the story.
Following that, each canvas rests on the metaphor of a tree and is divided into five distinct sections:

• ● Roots: This first section describes the origins and the underlying reasons of the plot, revealing its hidden aspects to the Leader. The Roots define the basis of the story in which the PCs are going to intervene.
  ● Trunk: This second section details the heart of the action and describes the way the PCs will be involved in the story.
  ● Branches: This section proposes various alternatives and possible choices for both the Leaders and the Players regarding how they will progress along the plot and reach its conclusion. Of course, Leaders can round out this section as much as they want, and in most cases, Players will have the opportunity to invent their own alternatives.
  ● Leaves: The fourth section of the canvases describes the possible follow-up, aftermath, or consequences of the story the PCs lived through. There again, these are only examples that the Leader is free to adapt so that they correspond to the story he wants to tell and to the decisions of the Players.
  ● Wind: The purpose of the last section is to give tips for the atmosphere, as well as musical suggestions, so that the Leader may enhance the dramatic intensity of the game.