Applying Landmark, Hidden, Secret Methodology to People-Centered Situations and Key Location Writing

In Anne’s Landmark, Hidden, Secret, referees have a hierarchy of information: landmarks of a location as well as hidden and secret information that can be discovered through thoughtful and at times risky play. For an extremely brief paraphrased summary of the idea:

• Landmark information is automatic and free.
• Hidden information comes at a cost to the players: usually of time and being close by.
• Secret information requires something extra like applying a skill that can’t easily be modeled by player description, or perhaps, requires more time than the party has, creating risk and danger, or knowledge of the hidden information to find the secret.

How Does This Apply to People-Centered Situations

When I write locations, my focus is the people in a location. They are a/the point of interest in a location, the dynamic, interactable thing that connects the adventuring party to setting and its conflicts.

Here’s an example from Orestruck, an adventure I’m writing:

03. The Naiad’s Pond

Fine, sandy soil coated with pine needles surrounds a small tea-brown cedar pond covered in lily pads, surrounded by white cedar trees.

At center: a small islet with a green weathered canoe beached on shore. Voices can be overheard from the surrounding woods.

On shore: Helga the fisherwoman (homespun, cranberry red hair with white flyaways, folksy femme person, low voice) flirting and comically arguing with Envy the naiad ( Exasperated, graying hair, woven pitch pine and blueberry bud dress, high voice).

• Helga: seeks to expand their long term forest fishery business. Will pelt the party members with market research questions on their fish purchasing habits.
• Envy: tires of business talk and desires Helga’s romantic attention. Will ask them questions about their ideal date while looking pointedly at Helga. Will warn mortals about the dangers of deals with Dreamers (Forthwith and Erstwhile).
• Eat a fish from the pond received through gift or trade, get lucky. Ignore one failed save/test over the next 24 hours.

In the above key, the landmarks at this point is the area description, the the two NPCs: Helga and Envy and the immediate information about their business and romance. The player characters could easily be pulled into a somewhat silly NPC interaction regarding fishing and romance, learning nothing. Hidden information would be the information about the two Dreamers: Forthwith and Erstwhile.

Adventuring parties will have come across information about them in the town and would be wise to attempt to learn more. Secret information would be regarding the magic fish. A party that engages well with the NPCs socially and does some dealing around the fishing business could receive this extremely useful one-time use magic item. The order of the information in the key also matters, providing a hierarchy with Landmark information first, followed by Hidden and then Secret information.

I structure my keyed encounters this way because I like rewarding prosocial play at my table and in my adventures. Also, it’s much easier I think as a GM to have the information in this order when running at the table.

Footnotes: Landmark, Hidden, Secret by Anne

Prepping People-Centered Situations by me, Amanda P.