Forsaken of Federal Hill

After creating mechanical elements of the Uratha, the
Storyteller runs the group through a prelude. The Zakmur-Dah
prelude is the Storytelling equivalent of a montage; short,
snapshot focus scenes that come together to show events over
a period. Each focus scene within this montage is between
10-30 minutes, either showcasing something important to
the pack’s history, or revealing how a character views her
relationship with her packmates. The prelude includes one
focus scene for each Uratha character in the pack.

SECONDARY
CHARACTERS
Players without primary characters in a prelude
scene can play secondary characters as needed.
Secondary characters require little detail to create
— a description and possibly a name usually suffice.
Players can pick up and discard secondary
characters as the scene dictates. A scene requires
secondary characters when a primary character
needs someone to interact with to further the narrative,
or when another player decides a secondary
character would complicate matters in a way
that benefits the scene. The Storyteller can veto a
complication if it doesn’t fit the scene, or adversely
slows the narrative.
Secondary characters are only important
when interacting with the primary characters. They
otherwise fade into the background, present but
unimportant. Note the names and descriptions of
all secondary characters, to continue interacting
as needed by the scene.
Importantly, secondary characters don’t have
to be antagonists. They can be — the players may
want to play bad guys facing off against the Uratha
— but they can also offer assistance, or simply be
neutral. Should they require dice pools, assign 5,
4, and 3 dice to Physical, Social, and Mental rolls
as seems suitable for the character.
Take special note of any secondary characters
that stand out in a scene. They can appear in later
scenes (adding continuity to the prelude), or may
even become part of the primary characters’ pack.
Each focus scene shows an overview of one of the first
times the character met one, more, or all of the other Uratha
in the pack. This does not have to be the first time the characters
met, although it can be, but the primary character doesn’t
know the other characters well at this point. The scene can
be from any time in the pack’s history — even before the pack
was formally a pack.

Focus scenes don’t need to have a defined ending; they
can finish in media res, leaving their outcome unknown. The
important detail is how the relationships formed between
the Uratha. Also, focus scenes don’t need to portray positive
interactions between the characters. If the pack’s formation
was a turbulent time, the prelude should show this.

In each scene, the focus character’s player decides which
other characters are present — this must include at least one
other primary character. The player of the focus character sets
the scene by declaring the following details:
Where does the scene take place? The location can be
anywhere fitting the pack’s story. The streets, a hotel lobby, or
a bar are all suitable examples. The player adds as much detail
as she likes. She may say the bar is dark from too many broken
lights, with beer-soaked carpets that reek of stale alcohol not
quite covering the underlying stench of vomit and urine that
fills the place. She could say it’s ‘just a bar’, and let the other
players fill in details during play.
Which other Uratha characters are present? Players with
characters in the scene control their own characters. Players
without characters in the scene can play one or more secondary
characters (see sidebar).
What threat are the characters about to face? The focus
player can make this supernatural or mundane. She may
describe a mysterious creature that lurks in this bar, or she
may have her character negotiating with a human gang for
something of value. The threat need not be violent, but should
be something that the characters have to work together to
overcome.

The focus player also declares the relationship between
her character and others in the scene as understood by that
character. This is important; the focus character doesn’t speak
for the other primary characters. Other players can’t invalidate
what was previously declared, but they can build upon or twist
what is known to add drama. If disputes occur, the focus
player’s description takes primacy, as this is her flashback.
If necessary, the Storyteller has final say in what is true and
what is changeable.

Example: In his focus scene, Steven decides that his character
has met Gloria’s character several times over the last few months.
Gloria couldn’t decide that her character had never met Steven’s, as
this would invalidate what’s established. Gloria could decide that
her character doesn’t remember Steven’s, because she suffers amnesia,
spiritual influence, or some other mind control. This adds drama to
the scene without negating Steven’s decisions. The two characters
have met, witnesses could verify this, but now the pack has to deal
with the memory loss.