If the Conflict Resolution mechanics are the backbone of Agate, Scenes are its ribcage. They provide structure to a Game Session, laying out the types of Encounters and Skill Checks that PCs are likely to face. Pacing is ultimately in the hands of the Weaver, but Scenes provide a structure for them to work within. This is possibly the most Weaver-focused section of the rules. There is a good chance that Player's never intentionally interact with half the rules below. They are encouraged to at least read the rules for Social, Combat, and Downtime Scenes.

The Scene types are Exploration, Social, Combat, Travel, and Downtime, and they will be mostly described in full in the sections that follow. Some of the scenes have fairly complex subsystems. An overview is still below, but they also have dedicated sections elsewhere.

Encounters

Each obstacle, story beat, adversary, and branching path in the Party's journey is an Encounter. Encounters can be anything from an epic boss battle down to deciding where the Party should go for breakfast. Each Scene type described below will list the types of Encounters commonly found during them, some different examples of what these might look like in different scenarios, how the rules elsewhere can be used to play out the Encounters, and some Encounter specific rules to help you play through them.

Exploration

The Party enters the strange new city... the haunted forest... the ancient ruins... the cavernous sewers... the... pages of an ancient manuscript?

Exploration Scenes can mean both the physical navigation of a tangible environment or the intellectual investigation of an abstract concept. Whether a PC is tracking footprints through mud or chasing a logical thread through a historical archive, they are actively mapping unknown territory. The rules here are intended to cover either scenario.

Exploration Scenes are exemplified by discovery, unknown pitfalls, mystery, and ultimately, fresh understanding. For each of the Encounter types below, we'll explore what this looks like for two very different versions of an Exploration Scene — exploring the ruins of an ancient castle, and exploring the journal of the mad king that built it. These Scenes might happen one after the other, or they may be intertwined. Think about how doing one then the other, or both at once, may affect the Party's journey.

Either Scene may also be interrupted and transition into another Scene type, like Social or Combat. The librarian interrupts the Party studying the journal to let them know the library is closing, or the Party stumbles across a strange and enigmatic merchant who for some reason has setup shop in the middle of the ancient ruins. These types of transitions can occur in any Scene, but are especially common in Exploration and Travel scenes, which can be somewhat thought of as framing Scenes that often encapsulate a number of smaller Scenes.

Navigation

The difference between Travel and Exploration often boils down to a map. Have one, and it's a Travel Scene. Don't, and it's Exploration. The lich that formerly was the mad king has kidnapped a young man from a nearby town, and taken him back to the ruins of his castle. If the Party had a map of the castle, with a nice big X of where the lich was holding the young man, they could simply travel there and confront the lich. Since they don't, they'll need to explore the castle ruins, perhaps (if they're wise) mapping it themselves as they go.

The map in question doesn't have to be so literal either. It is said the secret to defeating the lich lies within the journal of the mad king. If the party had the notes of the scholar that studied the journal and discovered the lich's weakness, then they could simply read that instead and be done. But they don't, so they must delve into the twisted, misleading, sometimes enciphered ranting of the mad king himself, perhaps (if they're wise) making their own notes as they go.

What this looks like in practice is the Weaver offering choices to the Party. They can then simply select a direction to go, or they can make Skill Checks to help them determine the best path. Let's look at our two examples.

A Triumph here might mean that Alumina discovers that the lich isn't the only one to have gone down this hallway recently. At least one wight has been this way. A Setback would simply mean no information, but one bought up to a Partial Success might mean Alumina discovers that the staircase is barely fit for traversal, making it unlikely the lich went that way. A Catastrophe could mean that Alumina disturbs the staircase, and it comes crashing down on top of her. More on this outcome in the Traps and Pitfalls section below.

On a regular Success, Allie would have only given her the first handout until Sarah had intentionally decided to investigate the marginalia. On a Setback, they would have given her the handout, but with no further information. If Sarah decided to buy the Setback up to a Partial Success, Allie could give her a hint, like, "you think parts of the glyphs look familiar". On a Catastrophe, Allie could have handed her an alternative handout they had prepared, with some of the pairs slightly incorrect, and maybe even told Sarah they definitely seem like arcane runes of some kind, but she just can't identify them.

If Sarah had instead decided to roll Linguistics, Allie could have handed her a solved set of letter pairs and the marginalia handout, and said they are clearly related. On Religion, they could have handed her the glyphs handout, and the information that the mad king was known to worship Jahiel, a deity known for lies, deception, and hidden messages. Regardless, the Scene would now transition from a Navigation Encounter to a Puzzle Encounter.

Puzzles and Riddles

Puzzles and Riddles are intentional obstacles placed in the Party's path designed to bar the progress of those who lack the correct information. Puzzles and Riddles should either be solvable in and of themselves by a clever PC, or there can be clues nearby, perhaps left by the puzzle's creator to remind themselves of the solution. The letter pair / ciphered text from above is an excellent example. Without the letter pairs, it would be almost impossible for all but the most dedicated code crackers to decipher, but the mad king wasn't going to memorize a set of thirteen letter pairs, so he left the pseudo-glyphs as a reminder to himself. When designing puzzles, try to think of why the person creating them did so, instead of simply installing a lock. Did they want to grant access to a sizable number of people without having to distribute physical keys? Is it a test of virtue, with an understanding that any who can solve it is worthy to pass?

The main tension with this type of encounter in a TTRPG is the difference between the capability of the Players and that of the PCs. Sarah might correctly note that while she might not be able to solve a particular puzzle, Serafina might be much more adept at whatever skill or knowledge is at play. For this reason, Weaver's should always be prepared with hints to help close the gap between character ability and Player ability. These should be gated behind Skill Checks, so that Players still have agency in working towards a solution. However, Players should always be given the chance to solve a Puzzle or Riddle on their own before deciding to turn to hints. Also, all Players should have an equal opportunity to be involved. It might seem unrealistic for the front-line fighter with low Reason to be the one to solve the ancient sphinx's riddle, but this is a game, and everyone playing should have a chance to participate in all the fun. If it seems too much for credulity to bear for the himbo fighter to solve the puzzle, it is completely valid to say that while their Player had the 'aha!' moment and came up with the final solution, it was some other PC that did so in the story. Player's are building a shared narrative, and the accomplishments of the Player don't always have to go to their PC, if a good story calls for something else.

Deciding what information to give Player's on different levels of success is more art than science, but generally speaking, a Success should mean significant progress, a Partial Success should be enough for clever Players to run with, and a Triumph should reveal something above and beyond what the PC set out to find. A Triumph on Onyx's Investigation check above may have revealed a healing potion stashed behind the fragments of one of the broken windows, or some hint in the artwork of the stained glass to another puzzle further into the castle that they haven't even discovered yet.

It's important to remember that not every encounter needs to involve Skill Checks. If the Players had deciphered all the messages, but still not figured out how it reveals the lich's weakness, they could have rolled various Skill Checks to get hints or even a straightforward answer, but since they were able to discern the information themselves, that isn't necessary. This type of Player success can often even be more satisfying than having to rely on the PCs' Skills. However, it's important to have a balance between many different types of encounters in a Game Session, or even within a single Scene.

Traps and Hazards

Above we discussed some occasions where Hazards could be avoided. Here, we'll discuss what happens when the PCs fail to avoid triggering a Trap or Hazard. Traps are dangers intentionally placed to impede, harm, or kill intruders. Hazards are naturally occurring or accidental environmental dangers. Beyond this distinction though, they both act pretty much identically, and anywhere you see something referring to just Trap or just Hazard, you can safely assume it applies to both unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Traps and Hazard stat blocks, like the Crumbling Stairs below, are extremely straightforward. They consist of an Action / Skill Check that the Player can roll to attempt to avoid triggering the danger, the Difficulty of that roll, and the Consequence. The Consequence is often just a Damage Table the Weaver rolls against the PC on some form of failure, however, it could be something else, such as blocking a path forward, or a portcullis slamming down and splitting the party. Damage Tables have gradients of failure baked in, other Consequences will describe what happens on different steps of the Outcome Ladder.

And that's pretty much it. Traps and Hazards can be as devious or deadly as the Weaver decides to make them, and are an excellent way to spice up an Exploration Scene without simply throwing enemies at the PCs.

Discovery, Clues, and Rewards

Some might argue that Discoveries, Clues, and Rewards shouldn't be their own Encounter type. Discoveries, Clues, and Rewards are what happen at the end or during another Encounter, they would argue. But so are Traps, or even an entire Combat Scene! What makes Discoveries their own Encounter type is in how the Weaver prepares them. While it is true that a Weaver may say, "Once the players solve this Puzzle, they'll find this Clue to the mystery," and that would sound like the Clue was simply part of the Puzzle Encounter. It is also equally likely the Weaver says, "Here are some Clues to the mystery, I'll sprinkle them in when pacing calls for."

This really comes down to two different preparation types a Weaver might do. Sometimes a Weavers may meticulously craft an entire dungeon, placing Traps, Combat, and Discoveries all throughout. Other times Weavers may outline a bunch of different Encounter types, and then pull them out as pacing and instinct dictate. By having Discoveries be their own Encounter type, this framework accommodates either type of preparation.

Another good reason for making Discoveries their own Encounters is that they may equally involve Skill Checks and other mechanics to resolve. Take the Clue about the lich's phylactery above. We've already discussed how if the players hadn't picked up on it themselves, they might attain the information from a Skill Check, such as Investigation. PCs who find a magical item might have to identify it somehow, or otherwise learn how to use it. The Players might also just need to take a moment to discuss among themselves how a Discovery impacts their understanding of the plot, and their current and future plans.

The shape of Discoveries and Clues are generally dictated by the plot. Rewards, on the other hand, are often wealth, items, or other resources that are just generally beneficial to the PCs. The tables below allow a Weaver to randomly select rewards for the PCs based on the average Difficulty of Encounter they are currently facing.

(This is a placeholder for reward tables after items have been created.)

Social

The mayor of the town wishes to hire the PCs to investigate some strange occurrences... the shady merchant the PCs met along the old nearly abandoned highway offers them some magical items of dubious quality... the barmaid thinks the PC with the lute is very attractive.

Social Scenes are what happens when the PCs encounter NPCs outside of Combat. Social Encounters tend to share a number of underlying systems. So we'll go over those first before diving into particular Encounter types.

NPC interactions are governed by two key systems, Reputation and Regard. Many NPCs the PCs encounter will be a member of one Faction or another. Whether a House, a Clan, or a social Club. Each faction tracks the Party's and each PC's individual Reputation within that faction. The PC's Reputation is tracked as a modifier on the Party's reputation. A faction may hold one PC in higher regard than their peers, but if the Party does something to anger them, all PC's Reputation takes a hit, so long as the PC is known to be associated with the Party. The Weaver also tracks each individual NPCs Regard for the Party and each of the PCs. An NPC in a faction tracks Regard as a modifier to their Faction's Reputation. Let's look at an example. The players have garnered a fairly good +4 Reputation with House Canae. Their resident mage, Serafina, has an additional +2 Reputation. Serafina meets a House Canae mage named Winnie. Winnie starts with 0 Regard for Serafina or the Party, but since she is a member of House Canae, and knows their Reputations, she is treated as having a +6 Regard for Serafina. Over the course of many interactions with Winnie, the Party manages to raise her regard for them to +3, and Serafina's personal Regard is +1 on top of that, meaning Social rolls based on Winnie's Regard of Serafina use a Regard value of +10 when calculating difficulty. More on that in specific Social Encounter descriptions below.

Motives

NPCs and Factions have Motives in three tiers: Defining, Standard, and Trivial. Each Motive is either positive (the NPC or Faction is drawn to it or holds it in high regard) or negative (the NPC or Faction is repelled by or opposes it). As an example, both House Canae and Winnie herself have Honesty as a positive Defining Motive. Winnie will never willingly lie on the PC's behalf, unless an equally strong Defining Motive is in play. If any member of House Canae learns that members of the Party have been dishonest, their Reputation will take a hit commensurate with the severity of their dishonesty. Winnie also has Bribery as a negative Standard Motive. Attempting to bribe her into doing something is seen as an insult, not an incentive, and will likely lower the PC's Regard with her. Asking for things that align with an NPCs Motives will lower the difficulty of a Social roll. Trivial -1, Standard -2, and Defining -3. Asking for things that oppose a Motive instead increases the difficulty by the same amounts.

When an NPC or Faction has multiple Motives of the same tier at odds with each other, the Weaver chooses which they hold to. Winnie has Fascism as a negative Defining Motive. The Weaver decides that Winnie has no qualms about lying to fascists. When PCs intentionally pit an NPC's Motives against each other by creating a scenario where they conflict when they otherwise wouldn't, this is Coercion, and will greatly negatively impact the NPCs Regard of the Party. PCs can learn Motives through Insight, Intuition, and Investigation. Knowing an NPC's Motives is often crucial to succeeding at a Social Encounter.

Combat

Bandits appear on the road in front of you, and from the the rocks on the cliffs of either side, an ambush... the Emprix has ordered your arrest, and a squad of legionnaires is here to bring you in... your ex has challenged you to a duel.

Combat can be lurking around any corner. It is both the simplest and most complicated of the Scene types. Simplest because it only encompasses one type of Encounter, most complicated because of the numerous different systems that can interact when two characters cross blades, another unleashes an arcane blast, and another attempts to grapple one of the first two, all at the same time.

Because of this complexity, Combat has its own dedicated chapter. However, here we'll go over the basics, and get a rough overview of all the systems that can come into play when life and death are on the line.

"Roll Initiative"

Travel

Downtime