Running the Shatterds
Design situations, not plots. Six threads run simultaneously from Session One. They are not a sequence — they are concurrent situations, each with its own momentum.
Design Philosophy
Design situations, not plots.
The six campaign threads run simultaneously from Session One. They are not a sequence — they are concurrent situations, each with its own momentum. Players will pull on some and ignore others. The ones they ignore keep moving.
Check all five escalation tracks at the end of every session. Advance any track whose trigger conditions were met — even if the players weren't watching. Especially if the players weren't watching.
NPCs have lives, not roles. Blackwake is not an obstacle or an ally. Solune is not a quest-giver. Kael Vorn is not a villain. They are people doing specific things for specific reasons.
The world moves without the players. The Ember-Inquisitor arrives on schedule. The Consortium's option purchases mature. If the players ignore something long enough, it resolves without them — usually in a way they will have to live with.
Escalation Tracks
Five tracks run in parallel across all six threads. Check all five at the end of every session. Advance any track whose trigger conditions were met — even if the players weren't watching.
The economic and social stability of Ragged Hook. Affects: labor, processing, harbor operations.
The Guild Web's tolerance for Consortium overreach. Affects: independent contracts, processing monopoly.
The Church of Flame's awareness of and response to natural magic in Ragged Hook.
The Corsair Compact's readiness to engage in or escalate to armed conflict.
Behavioral changes in the Leviathan population of the regional Drowned Spine.
Track Stage Framework
| Stage | Status | GM Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Background | Active but invisible. NPCs affected. Players don't see it yet. |
| 2 | Visible | Players can observe the situation if they look. It isn't urgent yet. |
| 3 | Active | The situation touches the players even if they haven't engaged. NPCs start making harder decisions. |
| 4 | Crisis | Ignoring this is now a choice with consequences. Two other tracks begin advancing faster. |
| 5 | Finale | The finale condition is triggered. The track resolves — one way or another. |
Thread Escalation Summary
Quick reference — stage triggers for all six threads.
The Four Finales
Each finale is triggered when its track reaches Stage 5. Finales are not endings — they are inflection points. The campaign continues through them, but the city is different on the other side.
The processing monopoly collapses. The labor action becomes a general strike. The harbor goes quiet. Ragged Hook stops being a functional city for thirty days. What comes after is built on what the players built during.
Ember-Inquisitor Solune is replaced by a full Inquisition team. What was observation becomes enforcement. Anyone who has used natural magic in Ragged Hook in the last six months is now at risk. This includes people the players have helped.
Captain Blackwake leads a coordinated action. The first night: two Consortium vessels and a Guild Web processing barge. The second night: nothing, because the message was received. The question is what the players do with that.
The Leviathans converge. The water around Ragged Hook goes still for six hours. Then something comes up from the Drowned Spine that the city has no framework to understand. This is not the end of the campaign. This is the beginning of what comes next.
Session Zero
What to establish before Session One. The Shatterds is not a place that needs explaining — it needs grounding. Ground the players in the people, not the politics.
Faction Turns
Between sessions, factions act on their own agendas. Run faction turns after each session to advance the world without the players. The Shatterds doesn't wait.
| Faction | Standing Action | Trigger Condition |
|---|---|---|
| The Consortium | Advance one processing monopoly purchase option. Remove one independent contractor from the harbor register. | Every two sessions where Thread 2 is not actively contested. |
| The Guild Web | Issue one public statement on Guild Web working conditions. If ignored, Guild Pressure advances one stage. | When Port Stability drops below Stage 3 and Thread 3 is active. |
| Church of Flame | Solune files one report to the regional office. Church Alarm advances half a stage. | Every session where a player character uses natural magic in Ragged Hook. |
| Corsair Compact | Blackwake moves one vessel to a closer intercept position. Pirate Mobilization advances one stage. | When any Consortium vessel completes a transit unmolested. |
| Vault-Keepers (Serak) | The Vault-Keepers reclassify one document as Restricted. If players have been investigating Thread 6, one contact becomes unavailable. | When Thread 6 reaches Stage 3 without Vault-Keeper contact. |
Running Notes
Open with something that has already gone wrong. Not a mystery — a result. A body, a closed door, a notice posted where it shouldn't be. Don't explain it. Let the players ask questions.
Run faction turns. Check which tracks advanced. Write one NPC action that happened off-screen. You don't need to reveal it immediately — let the players find the aftermath.
Keep running it. Advance the track at the end of every session if the trigger conditions are met. When Stage 4 arrives, the players find out they've been ignoring something real. This is not a punishment. This is the world.
Threads 1 and 6 share the gravewater coordinate. Threads 2 and 3 share the labor system. When players pull one, check whether it affects the other. Use the connection table in each thread's detail page.
Solune is not a villain. She is a person doing her job in a system designed for surveillance. If players make her a target, they've missed the thread. If they make her an ally, they've found something the sourcebook didn't plan for. Follow that.