Marks
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Every mark is a fully fleshed out character in your setting. You should give this character loads of details and back story that the Jacks can explore.
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There are 9 key things that distinguish a Mark that we will work through:
Natures - Natures determine many aspects of how marks work.
Æthers - Their strengths and weaknesses.
Dream Hostility - Control of the hostility scale and what the Hostility scale starts at.
Chaos Scale - Control of the chaos scale and what the chaos scale starts at.
Scenes - These are the environments the Mark will have in their dream.
Occupants - The people and things in their dreams.
Auras - The Jack that the mark might have.
Secrets - Hidden places or things in the dream.
Nightmares - Hidden dangers in dreams.
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The following sections offer a range of ideas for building a Mark and the mechanics that dictate their world. There are some added randomiser lists for making marks quickly.
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Natures
Natures determine the Marks Æthers, starting chaos scale, dream hostility, as well as occupant traits and how they will act.
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These Natures can also determine more general roleplaying of the Occupants, Auras or the dream itself.
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They also influence the specialisation the Mark's Aura might have.
Æthers
Your Mark Æthers are determined by their Natures. They reflect what the mark is going to be good at resisting against. Every positive value in an Æther makes decisions to do with that Æther one difficulty harder. Every negative, one difficulty easier. For mentality, you could represent this by having thick walls or tiny fences separating areas.
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That's it for Æthers but they are referred to in other sections.
Dream Hostility
As the GM you keep track of the hostility level of the dream on the hostility scale. You can choose to keep this hidden.
You can also choose to change this when the Jacks take certain actions or as the scene changes. Be wary though as many Jacks have mechanics that help to reduce their impact on the hostility scale.
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The Hostility Scale usually starts at 10 but this changes depending on the Mark's Natures.
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If you need a refresher head to the rules tab.
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Chaos Scale
As the GM you have control over the chaos scale. Unlike the hostility scale it is a good idea to keep this visible to remind the players of how chaotic the dream is getting.
You can choose to change the chaos of a dream as you please but make sure to give reason as Jack mechanics rely on trying to control this scale.
The chaos scale usually starts at 7 but this changes depending on the Mark's Natures.
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Some natures can also move their waking point on the Chaos scale.
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If you need a refresher head to the rules tab.
Scenes
Scenes are a selection of setting or events with a clear setting, they can change drastically or stay consistent to keep more of a flow to the dream.
These scenes could be one big puzzle, one big battle, or a series of small occupant interactions
Make sure to let the players know when you change scenes.
Occupants
Occupants are reliant on the Marks Natures. These natures determine how the occupants will act and the traits they will have.
These Natures can also determine more general roleplaying of the Occupants, Auras or the dream itself.
Marks may have any number of weird creatures in their dreams, not just humans.
Auras
Auras function exactly like Jacks do.
If you plan on having a cooperative Aura, consider having them be lower levelled than the Jacks.
Adversarial Auras can benefit from being higher level than the party to have them not get overpowered too easily.
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Auras can wake up causing the dream to start falling apart.
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That's it for Auras as they really are just Jacks.
Secrets
Secrets are areas in the corners of the Marks mind that can hold secrets that may or may not be linked to the Mark at all.
Thay can be fun ways to reward players for exploration. Perhaps they are some mystical dream creature that can make its way into dreams. Or perhaps they contain a Nightmare from another world.
Nightmares
Nightmares are recurring threats that the players can face in dreams. They can encounter them when they do particularly bad in a dream or when they encounter something strange in a dream. Once encountered they grow and keep popping up here and there in other dreams.
Not every mark will have a nightmare they can pass on.
Once encountered use them sparingly.
