This is the first Challenge of the Week. The rest will be paid subscriber only, and this one serves as a taster for what will serve as tiny morsels of character, encounter or game design.

Challenges (1) are meant to be easy to read and to scale easily. Consider Luke Gearings tweet:

For challenges, I want even less. I don’t need or want all of threats, conditions, effects and triggers. We want the minimum to describe the challenge and to provide a launching pad for roleplay. The parts of a challenge aren’t necessary, they’re tools to cover our options.

A rainboboblin is a mook, and they should be weak and easy to defeat alone, but as a group unique interesting and varied.

any rainboblin

small and pale, ragged clothes, broad hat concealing chromatic hair, crooked wand hip-holstered

prismatic pistolet: will it be flame, concussion, lightning chain, acid contagion, frozen, or bone-jellifying?

cowardly but persistent, true believer in the Caged Dragon, follower of the great Prismot

That’s any rainboblin. Not bigger than a Ludicrous Compendium entry (and, as intended, you could easily use an LC entry as a challenge). What makes our individual rainboblin unique is how the vary.

I can change a line to do this, adding a mien to any rainboblin:

true believer in the Caged Dragon, follower of the great Prismot: cowardly but persistent, jealous evangelist, grovelling snitch, incongruously proud

Or, I can sketch out a personality for the rainboblin

Samyul, the Rainboblin

dogged evangelist, dragging handcart of idols and prayers, protect them at all costs

bitter and vengeful and full of spite, masked in grins and kindness and colourful pastries as a mask

This little personality sketch, by the way, is my the Dragon technique of sketching personalities: Everyone in a fantasy world is a dragon: They have an obsession, a horde, a weakness, a mask and a true self. There are a bunch of techniques for sketching personalities, but I find this one evocative.

There! Our first challenge, despite the fact that I’ve decided to tear Infinite Hack from the seams. Thoughts and comments?! Is this something valuable to you as a paid subscriber, or should I make all future challenges free?

1 To recap, a challenge consists some number of:

• Threats that oppose the heroes
• Conditions that prevent, punish, or encourage certain courses of action
• Effects that impacts the heroes’ choices
• Triggers for new challenges, consequences or conditions

A short description, context, history, mien, character traits, or whatever else you choose might be included as well.