Valiant Persona, Part 3 of 3*

February 4, 2024

ttrpg design, valiant horizon, valiant persona

*Before I release the extra edition that tacks on like 2 more posts.

In Part 1 we established what kind of game we're using. In Part 2 we tied together Valiant Horizon's class system with the tarot thing Persona has going on. In this final installment (because at this point more beyond what I'm covering here would involve just making the thing) we're gonna think about using what we set up in part 2 for a session and campaign structure.

Disclaimer: This is off-the-dome ideas more so than like...stuff I've tested. If I make a real project out of this I'd make this a lot more explicit/etc. Actually assembling this involves writing a lot of prompts! I'm making it sound a lot easier than it is because it's very high level.

Arcana/relationship connections

In Persona, as you get closer to friendly characters associated with an arcana, in return you get more powerful in that arcana. This is basically the same as what we do in Valiant Horizon! And we could just leave it at that, but I've got other plans.

In the currently outdated Total//Effect SRD, I outline ways to use relationships not just between friends but between opponents: any time you have reason to feel strongly about one another for better or worse, that's a Bond. We can apply that here by attaching arcana to recurring/important antagonists too! In this case, leveraging that relationship works the same way as Call for Aid in Valiant Horizon, but with a twist: instead of calling for help from your friend and the roll determining whether or not they help you, you can also use it (probably renamed!) to trick or manipulate someone into doing something you want them to do if you roll well. And it makes for an easy way for allies to betray you or enemies to join your side: relationships aren't strictly positive or negative, they just exist, so there's no real mechanical change.

So now that we've established that, let's talk Tarot.

Tarot spreads as oracles

Disclaimer: I am not wildly knowledgeable in talking Tarot.

Tarot as oracle is kind of...well, duh, that's what people use tarot readings for in the first place! And in the tabletop sense too, obviously they figure hugely into solo games in particular. I'm not thinking of them as writing prompts so much as plot prompts though - and I'm not looking to make a generic generator, I'm looking to make something that ties in directly to a campaign structure for this game.

There are so many kinds of tarot spreads out there if you look around even a little! And it's clear people are making their own or customizing them for their own purposes, which is both very cool and extremely useful. As such, my goal here is to create two kinds of spreads to best serve what we're doing.

But I just have playing cards!

Obviously this assumes you have a tarot deck (or an online resource that approximates one!) that you can pull from easily. If not, you can approximate this with a normal deck of playing cards:

Remove all jokers, kings, and queens. This leaves A-J, 44 cards.
Use the remaining cards as equivalent to the 22 major arcana based on suit: clubs/hearts are the first 11 major arcana, spades/diamonds are the last 11 (go by number and add 11 to it).
Whenever it matters, red (hearts/diamonds) is upright, black (spades/clubs) is inverted. If you getheart+club or diamond+spade of the same card, just ignore the second one drawn and draw again.

If you don't have either, then I don't know, figure it out. Get a pack of cards from a gas station or something. I believe in you.

5-card spreads: Arcs

Persona games typically have a structure of: there's a problem that needs to be prepared for or resolved within a month (in persona 3, specifically on the full moon!) Sometimes this involves a specific party member: in 4/5, each "problem" involves recruiting a new character.

This is a good cadence for a campaign! And what's more, setting this up is prime oracle territory - especially with that table we set up! So let's see what we can do. Doing extensive research (less than ten minutes of googling) a 5 card spread is often arranged as such:

   [5]
[2][1][3]
   [4]

with 2-1-3 and 4-1-5 being related. So let's start with that. I'm going to assume upright/inverted draws are at play here because it gives us another draw/roll axis to work with and I love that shit, but you could probably leave that up to the Narrator instead.

The first card (1) is the "main" subject of the arc. Incorporate the "true self" associated with that card.
- If it's a previously unseen arcana/class: If you draw it upright, it involves someone from your world who suddenly finds themselves drawn in to the situation: either through antagonistic meddling, investigation into the players' situation, or just happenstance. If you draw it inverted, a new antagonist or threat associated manifests in some way and the players find out in some manner. In either case, the new character/antagonist/etc is associated with that drawn class/arcana.
- If it's an arcana already associated with a character, a plot point emerges related to them. If it's upright, something good from the players' perspective is happening: something good for a character you like or an opportunity to get one over on/find out more about/discover a weakness of an antagonist. If it's inverted, they're on the back foot: it's something bad for that character or a way in which that antagonist is making a move.
- In either case, set some sort of clock. A month (4 "weeks"/sessions, see below) is probably about right. Characters have that much time to prepare for it in addition to whatever the fuck is happening in real life.
The second and third ones (2-3) are two factors relevant to what's happening: if these are existing characters, tie them in somehow. Maybe they know the person for better or worse (use upright/inverted if that's a question) If they aren't existing characters, this is more thematic, or feel free to introduce another character associated with that arcana/class.
The fourth and fifth ones (4-5) are threats: what's at stake if this main arc resolves poorly? As with before, tie in existing characters if possible: what's going to go wrong for them in particular (or right, if they're an antagonist)?
The players can raise motions to replace any given card, swap an upright to inverted or vice versa, or to de-associate a draw/plot element with a character. This is intended to be an idea generator, not law. (It's not good to force people into the spotlight long-term if they don't want it and if the same one comes up a bunch it'd be boring or weird.)

3-card spreads: Per-session/side problems

What's going on this week? If you have no idea, ask the cards. Draw three in a row:

[1][2][3]

The first one relates to something that happened last session. What in particular, related to that arcana (or the associated character), reverberates here? (This is a good opportunity to recap too!)
The second one relates to some real-world event for your characters. What is pulling at them from the mundane? Tests, bills, overtime, new boss, new teacher, spring break, summer break, etc? It can tie into the main arc or not, up to you!
The third one relates to some other-realm event. Is something wrong there? Is there some opportunity you can pursue? Is there something there that will help with the main arc (or a red herring)?

As before, tie into characters if associated ones get drawn and use that upright/inverted as a guide to if it means a good or bad thing for them.

Inside the loop

So I'm thinking, given this loop above, that we treat a session as a "normal week" or a confrontation.

Normal Week session

In a given normal week, let's say players have 2 weeknights (or work days) and 2 weekends (or time-off days) free to do things like:

Vibe: Add a bond to a relationship with an ally. Describe where you're hanging out and what drew you closer to them (including making up something about them, if it's an NPC, or prompting the other player to make something up if necessary). If it's another ally in the party or if someone else is already hanging out with them, you're all hanging out together, but a given person can only add one bond.
Investigate: Add a bond to a relationship with an antagonist. Describe what you're doing to look into them and why you feel like you understand them better (including making up something about them). Spend an Asset or gain 1 Stress.
Chores: Attend to something you can't easily ignore in real life: study for a test, work an extra shift, get car maintenance done, etc. Doing something may require several "chores" actions, gaining extra Stress, or spending an Asset. Gain 1 Stress.
Chill: Blow off steam. Lower Stress by 1d6.
Venture: Head into the other realm. Gain 1-3 Stress depending on what happens there (basic recon -> fight/serious recon -> fight where you got Downed/some kind of serious discovery). If the next day isn't a weekend, roll twice on stress and take the lower.

As you may have noticed, stress is a factor. At the start of each "free" day, roll a die: if it's greater than your current stress, everything's cool. If it's lower, you're burned out: describe what tilted you and pushed you over the edge in particular. Until you're back at 0 Stress, you don't gain your default per-session Determination and every "normal time" action needs a roll-over-stress to succeed (including Chill! It's hard to get your mind off of things sometimes!)

Confrontation session

The culmination of whatever arc. Maybe this HAS to happen at the end of the month (i.e. a particular thing is happening on that day or whatever), maybe it doesn't. Either way, this is the big blow-out, the big boss fight, this is where major plot shit happens.

Wrap-up

At the end of the arc, probably give everyone a level. Figure out any fallout from stuff that didn't get done. Did you fail the test? Is your car busted? And so on.

Outside the loop

So with this "loop" in mind, let's step back. What's a campaign look like? Maybe something like...

Have players establish from the out what we know about the setting, the realm, etc. Establish like 2 facts per player about it. The Narrator makes a secret note that three of the things that have been established are false or incomplete.
As noted, probably give everyone a level every time an arc is completed. Do a level for 2 arcs if you want to slow-roll it, or introduce more characters per arc if you want to make everything available sooner than later. You have enough pacing mechanisms to get this sorted if you want.
- Every arc should add something to the group's "knowledge" of how things work. This can be mid-arc or some kind of revelation at the end.
- During the confrontation at levels 3 and 6 (i.e. before getting to tiers 2/3), reveal one of the "false" pieces of information as such as part of the plot, and show what the "real" answer is. These should ratchet up the stakes in some way. If anything else depended on that information, change it appropriately!
- When you get to the confrontation at level 9 or get to level 10 (there's a level 10???), reveal the last piece of information. Everyone figures out together how that's the big thing holding everything together.

So there we have it. That's the outline.

...this is probably a bad time to inform folks that if I make this for real, it wouldn't get finished-finished until after the season pass concludes (i.e. July at the earliest), isn't it. Oh well. Maybe you'll have to make it yourself if you want it sooner~

Hope you enjoyed reading it!

(Read the original on cohost here!)