Scenes
Every dream can be broken up into scenes which are smaller sections with a common setting. Scenes act mainly to help compartmentalising planning and to allow some Jack abilities to be used a bit more often but not too often.
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The Opening and Ending Scenes are the most important and there can be any number of filler scenes. Let's use our number 2. corporate goon Marks as an example set of scenes.
Opening Scene
The Opening scene needs to have some way to demonstrate the Natures of the mark to give time for the Jacks to learn how they behave. It also needs to set up the general goal for the session.
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Example. Let's start with the VP getting loaded into a van and Jacks having to tail the Occupants through a big city. The challenge for the players will be to keep up in this busy city. but let's drop hints of the Mark's paranoid nature by having the van double back a bunch and their Busy Brained nature by having the streets packed with cars and occupant. It shouldn't be possible for the Jacks to lose the VP Van but to keep up they may need to gain some Hostility or Chaos. Eventually they make it to an air strip.
Filler Scenes
Filler scenes are all about building up the characters of occupants, presenting fun puzzles, having some combat encounters and just getting to explore the super fun places you come up with.
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Example. Let's aim for a big plane conflict, the Jacks board a plan that the VP is on, let's also start dropping hints of this map hidden somewhere. If they confront the smugglers it can lead to a plane fight through the isles where eventually Occupants jump out of the plane with parachutes. If not, there is a problem with an engine and the plane goes down for a crash landing, all the while the Jacks have to figure out a way to not take conditions as occupants panic and the plane breaks up throwing shrapnel around the plane.
Ending Scene
Let's make sure we don't get too precious about our ending as the actions of the Jacks should influence a lot of how we get here and what happens here.
What we need is to have the goal of the dream dangling somewhere for the Jacks to uncover.
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Example. The Jacks end up on a jungle island in the middle of nowhere. There is a trail leading into the centre of the Jungle from the beach. A series of traps and some dangerous animals stand between the Jacks and eventually the map dangling above an active volcano. This is what they need to get to know that location.
Scenes in depth
It is very much up to you on how much detail you want to go into in planning more of your scenes but here are some suggestions. a good start is the old Who, What, When, Where, (we are in dreams we don't do How), Weather, Whimsy and I guess what's in the Way.
let's take the opening scene as our Planned scene.
Who
Goons, we are going to have 3 goons with the VP.
They can be called Larry, Harry and Barry.
The VP will be Victoria.
The street is filled with no name occupant that get in the way of the Jacks.
What
You are following a super standard kidnapper Van, you know the one.
The Jacks have cars, bicycles or motorbikes available to steal. there are also taxi's then could persuade or they could do any number of other things.
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When
Let's set the scene, it's an old timey, 1930s prohibition era New York. The cars are old but have a lot of character. and feather boas of big coats line the streets. It can also be night time.
Where
Some New York type place. Picking up a real map and having the actual path the Van goes on might flesh out the dream a lot. Make sure it goes round and round a bunch to show that Paranoid Nature.
Weather
Let's have a light drizzle to put some puddles on the ground and make sure the street and car lights have plenty to bounce off.
Whimsy
This doesn't apply too much for this particular scene but dreams should have some whimsy that doesn't match everything else. perhaps the Jacks make it to a parade filled with ballon animals blocking one of the streets.
Way
Let's have 3 planned obstacles,
1. let's start with traffic lights holding things up and favouring the Goons leaving the Jacks behind, running the lights leads to some potential conditions if mentality checks are failed.
2. They then hit the balloon parade. popping balloons adds chaos to the dream as a deterrent.
3. Giant traffic Jam, Jacks likely need to go on foot to keep up and end up in the crowds, these crowds are going to try to apply some shaken conditions to the Jacks by getting in their faces but the Jacks can avoid this.
Getting through that gets them to the airstrip where they see the VP getting loaded onto the plane.
That's a fair lot of overkill but if you do this for each scene you will be as prepared as possible for the session.
Tips for GM Scenes
Traps - Making traps for the players is very fun but make sure you describe them what they look like in the scene so the players can clue to them being there so that it becomes an obstacle rather than a surprise. If the players try to Dream Weave or Disarm the traps in some way, roll the success die in secret so that the players don't know if they have been successful and still have to proceed with caution.
