Appendix H: The Design Philosophy and the World Timeline

Foreword: A World in Motion

This appendix contains the complete, integrated toolkit for building and running a living, breathing campaign in the Psychromattica system. It provides the core philosophy for structuring a universe, the procedural engine for making that universe dynamic, and the practical templates required to manage it all at the table. This is the master guide for moving from a simple story idea to a fully architected, dynamic world.

The process begins by applying the Trinitarian Design Framework to architect a "default future." This is the Curator's "canon" story, a complete saga that will unfold if the players choose not to intervene. This provides the structural integrity and narrative backbone of your campaign.

Once the blueprint is established, the Dynamic Campaign Engine provides the tools to deconstruct this linear story into its component parts. Factions, villains, and world-changing events become independent Nodes, each with their pre-scripted Milestones plotted on a master Campaign Clock. This transforms a static plot into a living simulation of parallel, moving timelines.

With this structure in place, the Curator is prepared to embrace the core of the Psychromattica experience: player agency. When the players inevitably "divert the story drastically," the narrative is not broken. Instead, their actions will bend, break, and rewrite the very timeline you have prepared.

The system is designed to handle it. A prepared Curator can handle it seamlessly. The following sections provide the theory to build your world and the engine to make it breathe.

Part 1: The Trinitarian Design Framework

This guide outlines a powerful, fractal methodology for designing compelling TTRPG campaigns, settings, and even entire game systems. The core principle is simple: structure is built in repeating patterns of three. By starting large and breaking down your ideas into smaller and smaller groups of three, you can transform a daunting creative task into a manageable and logically consistent process.

The Core Philosophy: The Fractal of Threes

The universe you are building, from its grandest cosmic history down to a single moment of play, is built on a "fractal of threes."

This means that the same simple pattern repeats at every level of scale.

When you are "zooming out" and planning, you group small ideas into larger sets of three.
When you are "zooming in" and writing, you break down large ideas into smaller sets of three.

The "sweet spot" for a complete narrative unit at any level is often nine: a perfect, stable structure composed of a "trilogy of trilogies."

Step 1: The "Top-Down" Macro Design (Zooming Out)

Start with your biggest, most ambitious ideas and organize them into a grand structure.

Define Your Saga (The 3x3 Grand Arc): What is the ultimate story you want to tell? Define it in three distinct Ages or Eras. Then, for each Age, define its three core narrative Chapters or themes. This gives you a 9-part grand narrative.
- Saga: The Dragon's Legacy
  - Age 1: The Age of Shadow (Chapters: The Prophecy, The War, The Betrayal)
  - Age 2: The Age of Steel (Chapters: The Diaspora, The Republic, The Machine Cults)
  - Age 3: The Age of Stars (Chapters: The First Contact, The Unraveling, The Ascendance)
Design Your Campaign (The 3x3 Chapter Arc): Take one of your Chapters (e.g., "The War") and break it down into three distinct Story Arcs or "seasons." Then, for each Story Arc, define its three core Episodes or major plot points. This gives you a 9-episode campaign.
- Arc 1: The Borderlands (Episodes: The Siege of Oakhaven, The Shadow in the Woods, The Traitor's Gambit)
- Arc 2: The Heartlands (Episodes: The Burning Plains, The Sunken City, The Spire of Kings)
- Arc 3: The Northern Wastes (Episodes: The Frozen Pass, The Dragon's Maw, The Final Battle)

Step 2: The "Bottom-Up" Micro Design (Zooming In)

Now, take your smallest narrative unit, a single Episode, and build it up from the bottom using the same fractal principle.

Design Your Episode (The 3x3 Act Structure): An Episode is your playable unit, like a single TV episode or a 3-4 hour game session. It is composed of three Acts. For each Act, define its three core Scenes. This gives you a 9-scene adventure. Example (Episode: "The Siege of Oakhaven"):
- Act 1: The Call to Arms (Scenes: The Warning Bell, The Panicked Crowd, The Captain's Orders)
- Act 2: The Walls (Scenes: The First Wave, The Saboteur's Mark, The Crumbling Gate)
- Act 3: The Last Stand (Scenes: The Breach, The Commander's Duel, The Horn of Victory)
Write Your Scenes (The Core Interaction Loop): Each Scene is the atomic unit of play. It is a single, focused interaction. Structure it in three parts.
- The Hook: Present the situation. What is the immediate problem or goal?
- The Transition: Introduce a complication or new information. The situation is not as it seems.
- The Decision: End the scene with a meaningful choice. This choice should directly lead into the next scene.

Applying the Fractal to World-Building and Mechanics

This "rule of three" can and should be applied to your mechanics and world-building to create a sense of deep, internal consistency.

Core Stats: Can you group them into three categories of three (e.g., Body, Mind, Essence)?
Factions: Can your world's major powers be defined by a core conflict between three distinct ideologies?
Magic/Power System: Are there three primary sources of power? Can abilities be broken into three types?

Putting It All Together: The Power of the Framework

By using this Trinitarian Fractal Design, you are not just writing a linear story. You are architecting a universe of potential. This method ensures that your creation is:

Well-Paced: The 3x3 structure provides a naturally satisfying rhythm of setup, confrontation, and climax at every level of play.
Manageable: The monumental task of creating a world is broken down into small, achievable chunks. You can focus on designing a single Scene or Act, knowing exactly how it fits into the grander whole.
Cohesive: Because the same fundamental pattern repeats everywhere, your world and its story will feel deeply interconnected and logically sound.
The Rule of Ten: Sometimes the story or game needs a little something extra, an anchor or even a wild variable, this is the function of a 0 to ground the 3x3 structure when needed or ignored if not needed.

Start with your largest ideas, break them down by three. Take your smallest ideas, build them up by three. Find the nine-part "sweet spot" for your core narrative units. Decide if it needs an anchor or some spice by applying the Rule of Ten. This is the path to building a universe that is as vast as your imagination and as solid as stone.

Part 2: The Dynamic Campaign Engine

The Dynamic Timeline Engine is a tool for structuring a campaign, or "Season," around a world that persists and evolves independently of the players' immediate attention. The core principle is that the world is a web of actors and events (Nodes) that progress along a set timeline, creating a "default future." The players are the primary agents of change, and their actions, or inactions, have a direct and meaningful impact on this timeline, allowing them to truly shape the destiny of the world.

This engine empowers the Curator to run a campaign that feels alive, dynamic, and responsive, where every choice, including the choice to wait, has tangible and lasting consequences.

1.0 Core Components

The Campaign Timeline Clock: A single, linear tracker representing the narrative progression of a major Story Arc or "Season." The length of this Clock is equal to the number of planned Episodes in that arc. This Clock only ever "ticks" forward by one at the start of each World Phase.
Node: A Node is any significant, persistent element of the game world that can change over time. The fractal nature of the Psychromattica system means a Node can be almost anything: an Organization, an Entity, a Location, an Object, or an Event.
Milestone: A pre-scripted, "canon" event that is scheduled to occur when the Campaign Timeline Clock reaches a specific Tick. Each Node has its own series of Milestones plotted by the Curator.
World Phase: A step within the Downtime phase where the world's timeline officially progresses. The Curator advances the Clock and triggers any scheduled Milestones.

1.1 Node Hierarchy: Parent and Child Nodes

Nodes have a natural hierarchy. Recognizing this relationship is key to managing a complex world.

Parent Node: A large, overarching entity that dictates strategy (e.g., CIC Remnants). The milestones of a Parent Node often involve the creation or activation of its children.
Child Node (Sub-Node): A specific, named individual or localized group that acts as an agent of a Parent Node (e.g., The Ohio Warlord). Player actions against a Child Node will have a cascading "ripple effect" on its Parent.

2.0 The Engine in Practice: A Story-First Approach

Write Your "Canon" Story: Before the campaign begins, write a linear outline of the story as it would unfold without player intervention. This is the "default future."
Identify the Nodes: From this canon story, identify the main actors and forces. These become your Primary Parent and Child Nodes.
Plot the Milestones: Create your Campaign Timeline Clock. Go through your canon story and extract the key turning points for each Node. Plot these events on the timeline as Milestones at the Tick where they would naturally occur.
Initiate the Campaign: The campaign begins at Tick 1. The world will now unfold according to the scheduled Milestones, but it is now vulnerable to the players' actions.

3.0 Player Agency: Disrupting the Timeline

The core of the gameplay is the players' ability to disrupt the "canon" timeline. This is achieved through two primary means:

3.1 Episode Consequences

The outcome of an Episode can directly alter the timeline. After the resolution of an Episode, the Curator adjudicates its impact on the relevant Node(s):

Accelerate: A major success for a Node (often facilitated by the players) moves its next Milestone 1 Tick earlier.
Delay: A significant setback for a Node (often caused by the players) moves its next Milestone 1 Tick later.
Remove: A catastrophic defeat for a Node can remove it and all its future Milestones from the timeline entirely.

3.2 Strategic Intervention (Downtime Karma Action)

This action allows players to exert their "off-screen" influence.

Action: During the World Phase, the party may collectively choose to perform a Strategic Intervention.
Cost: The party must spend Karma equal to the Tier of the target Node.
Effect: The players choose to either Bolster (move the next Milestone 1 Tick earlier) or Sabotage (move the next Milestone 1 Tick later) the Node.

4.0 The Principle of Narrative Focus (The "5-9 Guideline")

To prevent Curator burnout and a "cluttered buzz" of information, the Curator should manage the narrative focus. For any given Episode or World Phase, aim to have no more than 5-9 active nodes demanding attention. An "active node" is one triggering a milestone, being targeted by players, or feeling the direct consequences of the previous session. If a Tick is too cluttered, the Curator should use their tools (Delay, Bundle, or Relegate milestones) to ensure the episode has a clear focus.

5.0 The Principle of Modularity

The Dynamic Timeline Engine is a flexible toolkit, not a rigid prison. The Curator should only create Nodes for the elements most relevant to the current story. Player backstories can and should be created as Nodes. If an Episode is a self-contained adventure, the timeline can be ignored for brevity.

Part 3: The Operational Toolkit

3.1 The Episode Template:

Purpose: A per-session tool used to structure the narrative into a 3-act format and to record the difference between the intended Narrative and the actual player-driven Results.

Episode: Title
Season:
Arc:
Timeline Position:
Act 1:
- Narrative:
- Scene 1
- Scene 2
- Scene 3
- Results:
- Nodes: (Cannon, Player, Supporting)
Act 2:
- Narrative:
- Scene 4
- Scene 5
- Scene 6
- Results:
- Nodes: (Cannon, Player, Supporting)
Act 3:
- Narrative:
- Scene 7
- Scene 8
- Scene 9
- Results:
- Nodes: (Cannon, Player, Supporting)
Episode Results:
Downtime Options:

3.2 The Node Template: The "Living Record"

A master document for each significant actor in the world, tracking its identity, motivations, and its entire chronological journey via the Milestone Progression log.

Part 1: Node Identity (The Blueprint)

Node Title:
Node Type: Faction | Person | Location | Event | Item | Other
Level:
Color / Aura:
Key Keywords:
Core Concept:

Part 2: Motivational Profile (The "Why")

Primary Motivation (The Goal):
Secondary Motivation (The Method):
Tertiary Motivation (The Purpose):
Primary Conflict (External Struggle):
Secondary Conflict (Internal Struggle):

Part 3: Chronological Log (The "When")

Introduction Episode & Tick:
Current Status / Narrative History:

Part 4: Milestone Progression (The Causal Chain)

Milestone #:
Scheduled Tick:
Context: (The objective situation.)
Perception: (How the Node interprets the context.)
Motivation: (The action the Node takes, driven by its 5-Point Profile.)
Result: (The immediate outcome, which creates the context for a future milestone.)

Part 4: The Unified Workflow in Practice (A Master Example)

This example demonstrates the entire process for a single episode, showing how the templates are used in concert.

Example: Architecting "Episode 13: Shade's Request"

Pre-Session Prep: The Curator prepares for the session at Tick 4. They take a blank Episode Template.
- Episode: Shade's Request
- Timeline Position: Tick 4
- Act 1 Narrative: The players have a moment of respite in their established base.
- Act 2 Narrative: Shade, a known NPC, appears, wounded. He pleads for help, explaining his friends were captured by a local strong-arm faction.
- Act 3 Narrative: The players must infiltrate the faction's safehouse and rescue the prisoners.
- Cannon Nodes: Players' Coalition, Shade's Cell (Triggering Milestone).
The Master Timeline: The Curator consults the pre-written Node Template for "Shade's Cell."
- Node Title: Shade's Cell
- Node Type: Person (Supporting)
- Milestone 1:
  - Scheduled Tick: 4
  - Context: Shade's small group of skilled survivors is operating near the players' territory.
  - Perception: "We are isolated and vulnerable to larger, more organized groups."
  - Motivation: Security. "We need to find allies or we will be wiped out."
  - Result: Shade's group is captured by a hostile faction. Shade escapes and, motivated by a need for security, seeks out the rumored "Coalition" for help.
Post-Session Adjudication: The Curator runs the game. Let's assume an unexpected outcome: The players not only rescued Shade's friends but also captured the enemy leader, crippling the local hostile faction.
Updating the Record: The Curator fills out the rest of the Episode Template.
- Act 3 Results: "Players successfully rescued Riannon, Willie, and Izzy. They also captured 'Scab,' the leader of the Vultures gang, during the firefight."
- Episode Results: "The Players' Coalition has grown, gaining three new skilled members and neutralizing a local threat. The Shade's Cell Node is now Integrated. A new Supporting Node for the Vultures' remnants is created. The power vacuum in the region Accelerates the next Milestone for the CIC Remnants Node by 1 Tick, as they will move to fill it."

This updated information is now logged in the Current Status and Alterations & Notes fields of the respective Node Templates, ensuring the world is permanently and logically altered by the players' actions, ready for the next World Phase.