Persistent Gale, Steadfast Reed: Touchstones and Opening Questions

Touchstones: Wuxia film (e.g. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon); Anime film (e.g. Princess Mononoke); anime series (e.g. Record of Lodoss War, Voltron); animated series (e.g. Castlevania animated series on Netflix)

Setting Where does the mystery take place (The “real” world, fictional world)? When does the mystery take place (past, present, future)? 

• The setting is pre-industrial, semi-rural/semi-urban, pre-firearms

• Magic exists, is marginally understood by those able to peer through the veil

• Three kingdoms are in the vicinity: Hyraja, Terado, and Cerathi

• An unaffiliated city and corresponding keep, Bhaldun, sits outside the borders of each of the three kingdoms as neutral ground, allowed by lords of three kingdoms to be maintained (mostly) autonomous

Dramatis/Personae What is the mystery? How (by what means) has the mystery come into being? Why is it a mystery? What about it has prevented it from being solved, from its truth coming to light? Is the mystery causing a problem or problems? Can the mystery be solved? Are there truths beyond the mystery? If so, are they reachable? Who is involved in experiencing the mystery? (Player-controlled characters, chorus-controlled characters) 

• Mysteries can emerge from noble squabbles and intrigue, or from the underworld that tries to act in the self-serving interests of crime lords and independent clandestine organizations

• Entities have interests they don't want to be discovered by those they think might be out to stop them

• Mysterious activities definitely have the potential to cause problems, especially if the activities of different organizations are at odds with each other

• Mysteries have potential to be solved; truths beyond mysteries have potential to be discovered and may or may not be reachable; pc-characters and cc-characters could be involved

Stakes Who could gain from the mystery being solved? Who could lose from the truth being revealed? 

• Noble kingdoms, crime lords, organizations

Implications What expectations could be challenged by the mystery being solved? What preconceived notions could be subverted from the truth being revealed? 

• Who is really in control? Does the nobility have the might necessary to enforce their kingdoms? Are there forces at work seeking out to intentionally destabilize the paradigm, sow chaos, replace with something new?