I have found a really cool aid for getting inspiration when creating scenarios - the "Plot Maps" from the game Technoir (a really interesting read, more info can be found here:
http://www.technoirrpg.com/) and I would like to use it for the Dresden Files RPG.
The basic idea is that the GM randomly rolls up three things (called "nodes") from a table that is representing the city where the story is taking place. The game Technoir comes with a number of pre-set tables called Transmissions (one example can be found as a download here:
http://www.technoirrpg.com/download.php?file=28). The tables contains "nodes", six of them:
Connections (persons the player character knows),
Events (big, important stuff),
Factions (major groups or organizations, like the White Council, the Red Court etc),
Locations (important places, relevant for the ongoing campaign),
Objects (important things, could be physical or stuff like information) and
Threats (individual persons or groups that a Faction can use to fulfil a goal, like hitmen or Ghouls). Technoir have six of each, creating a matrix of 6x6 cells for a total of 36 cells. After the initial three are created, place them in a triangle with lines connecting each other and come the reason A is connected to B, B to C etc (thus kickstarting the imagination). The game also have rules (very interesting ones) how to use the Plot Map and expand it during play, but that is outside the scope of this post.
Connections are rather simple - use some of the Faces from City Creation.
Factions are also simple, as some of these most likely have come up during City Creation.
Locations are very simple - use some of the Locations from City Creation.
Threats can be created from the general ideas that have come up during City Creation (either general, or city-specific).
These four are more or less city-specific.
This leaves
Event and
Objects - what kind of Dresden Files-specific Events and Objects could one have? Example of
Events could be
A powerful storm or
A Ritualistic Murder. Example of
Objects could be
The Mantle of the Winter Knight or
The Word of Kemmler. For instance, the starting point for the Case File Storm Front could be a triangle with
A powerful storm,
A Ritualistic murder and
Marcones Thugs (the last could have been specific to the city of Chicago, most likely
Threats).
The idea is to fill a table with stuff that is both from your own City Creation as well as things that are very much Dresden Files (and things that you as a GM would like to see in the game). What else could we have in terms of
Events and
Objects?
