Sophia Hoffman

A text-based dialogue tree built in Twine. 

Play it Here!

This was a design for a detective game set on a spaceship. The challenge of this piece was managing the non-linear way players would pick up narrative clues. 

This paper test maps out the clues the player can get by performing different actions throughout the level. 

Below are 2 of 5 skill descriptions, 3 of 8 Classes, 9 of 58 Abilities, and 3 of 9 backgrounds for the character creation portion of a TTRPG handbook made as an independent project. 

Skills: 

Study: Encyclopedic knowledge of the supernatural. You researched this well, in books, in labs, on cork boards wound with string.

• Study is used to remember old, helpful facts, investigate scenes for clues, and operate technology.

Haunted: Tune in to the radio signal of the unreal world. See what is hidden, commune with the supernatural, and perform abnormal feats.

• Haunted is used to understand supernatural phenomena, use magic, and interact with the world outside of ours.

Class Descriptions and Associated Abilities: 

THE ACADEMIC

You have dedicated your life to a scientific field, and now use that knowledge to study The World Beyond. Something strange lies beneath the skin of reality, and you must prove it. You study every inch of the case, and know that whatever knowledge hides in the shadows, it will not escape your sight. 

Skill Bonuses: +2 Study, +1 Haunted

Abilities: Choose 2 of 6

• Human Encyclopedia: You’re a bastard, a know-it-all, a library on legs. There’s no bit of trivia too obscure for you. When faced with a strange item, creature, or situation, you may recall a Standard Success amount of information about it without rolling Study.

• Field Worker: Science is not found in a sterile lab! It’s out there, in the wilderness. You can camp out with the best of them, endure nature’s conditions, and chase down leads in the least comfortable situations. +1 Physical. You carry around many notes from your escapades. You may roll Study once per day to see if these notes contain something relevant to the case at hand. Operator’s choice. You have the ability to heal. (To heal, describe what you do, and roll Study. Heal by 1d6+Study on a Standard Success, and 3d6+Study on an Extreme Success) 

• Astro-Enthusiast: You’re the guy that chases down aliens in the middle of the night with a radio scanner and a tinfoil hat. Okay, not really, but you dedicated your life to the study of the stars and what might live there. You get +1 Luck on Haunted or Study rolls involving Aliens, and once per case may get a Standard Success amount of information on alien science without rolling Study. You get a +1 to rolls involving radio equipment. 

THE HUNTER

You’ve known these suckers exist for a while now, and you know how to get ‘em. You track shit, and you shoot. And you’re the goddamn expert at it. Don’t matter how scary a monster is when they’re facing down the barrel of a gun. 

Skill Bonuses: +2 Physical, +1 Instinct

Abilities: Choose 2 of 6

• Bulwark: You’re a tough sumbitch. You have to be, because otherwise the people relying on you get hurt. Add an extra 1d6+Physical to your health. You may heal. (To heal, describe what you do, and roll Instinct. Heal by 1d6+Instinct on a Standard Success, and 3d6+Instinct on an Extreme Success) 

• Ghost Hunter: You’re less of a rough-and-tumble wilderness type, and more of a “lets break into this abandoned building and get possessed” kind of guy. Nonetheless, people know you’re basically nocturnal. You get a +2 to rolls involving ghost hunting equipment. You know lore about local haunted locations, and may recall a Standard Success amount of this knowledge during the case without rolling Study. 

• Tracker: You are an expert ambush predator. You know how to sit, wait, and let your prey make their last mistake. You get +2 to rolls involving setting up traps. You may recall information about local trails and frequented paranormal locations once per case at a Standard Success  level without rolling Instinct. 

THE MEDIUM

You are the bridge between the mundane and the odd. The layer of silver in the mirror. The radio tower tuned to the frequency of the universe. You know the supernatural, and you know it  intimately. It’s a part of you, in some way. You wonder if the part of you it replaced is out there somewhere, on the other side of the glass. In a reflection you may never touch.

Skill Bonuses: +2 Haunted, +1 Instinct

Abilities: Choose 2

• Begrudging: The supernatural has chased you all your life. These abilities have been with you from a young age, and for all you care, they suck. But acceptance is better than resentment, or so people tell you. +1 Social. You can see ghosts and invisible entities without rolling haunted unless that entity is actively trying to hide from you. In that case, you have +1 Haunted to see through illusions or invisibility.

• False Prophet: The beyond speaks through you. Or, that’s what you tell people. Your powers of foresight are corrupted, but not useless. You are guaranteed one otherworldly vision per investigation. These visions may tell you things about the fate of the world, the case, your life, your companion’s life, or what is going on around you. These visions are random by the choice of the Operator. You have no control over the amount of time or amount of abstraction this vision is seen through. Once per day, you may attempt to trigger a vision by rolling Haunted.

• Magician: You’re a tricky guy. A slippery fella. But in a profession of sleight of hand, you hold yourself  a little above the rest. Because your magic is real. +1 Social. You may use Haunted in place of Instinct for feats involving sleight of hand. Your very existence is distracting. You can roll Social to enthrall people into watching your magic tricks for as long as the set lasts. This makes them less likely to notice anything happening around them. You can heal. (To heal, describe what you do, and roll Haunted. Heal by 1d6+Haunted on a Standard Success, and 3d6+Haunted on an Extreme Success)

Backgrounds:

Urban Explorer

You know adventure isn’t only found in the vast, wild moors of the undiscovered globe. Sometimes, the most adventurous places are the ones humanity created themselves.

You have extensive knowledge of local abandoned locations, haunted spots, and secret passages. You are a specialist at breaking into abandoned buildings.

+1 Physical, -1 Instinct

Traditionalist

You are the last soldier of an old world order, standing against the cursed teens and their no-good rap music and new-fangled ideas. You are more acceptable to an older, more mainstream group. You are more successful when speaking to other traditionalists.

+1 Social, -1 Instinct

Failure

You set out to do something a long time ago, but you failed. Not only did you fail, but you failed so badly that it became a defining part of your identity. 

You have someone in your past that you wronged with this failure. You are banned from a public institution of your choice. You have extensive knowledge about the exact thing you failed at.

+1 Study, -1 Social

You gain the “Obsession” Hurdle. You may have up to 2 Hurdles.

The goal of this dialogue was to flesh out the world the Player was interacting with. Since the game itself had a limited visual scope due to time constraints, much of the exploration was text-based. Character interactions were meant to guide the player towards new areas and hint at the next steps of the adventure. 

Item descriptions were meant to flesh out the world and provide context to the limited visuals.

Synopsis: Your car breaks down just outside of Chair, Idaho, where you are attacked by a mysterious stranger. You wake up in a hospital bed that night. When you get out, you find yourself in a town surrounded by a mysterious fog. No matter how far you walk, you always end up right back in the town square. It seems like the town is stuck in a time bubble in the year 1983, and now, so are you. You must find a way to lift the curse on the town so you can leave.

Play the Game on itch.io Here

Read Plain Text Here

In this game, customers will come to the player with various ailments the player must diagnose and cure. The objective of this dialogue is to give the player hints as to the customer's condition, in addition to visual depictions of their symptoms. 

Each symptom has three random dialogue possibilities, to keep encounters from getting too stale.

Play the game on Itch.io Here

Read Plain Text Below:

Encounter Type 1: Scratches. Visuals are of the patient covered in red scratch marks.

(1) Hey there doc. I was wrastlin' s bear over in them there woods and I ain't been feelin' so good since. Think you can fix me up?

(2) I fear I am not long for this mortal coil. I've seen my own blood leaking from my body. There is no wrath like that of a nice, crisp, fresh piece of paper thirsty for the taste of violence. Please, doctor, I require lotions and potions, or I fear I may not be long for this world.

(3) Hey man. Yeah no I'm good. Nah there's nothing wrong with me, I'm just chilling. You can take a look if you want. But like I'm all good.

Encounter Type 2: Mushroom poisoning. Visuals are of the patient with sweat and swelling.

(1) OH GOD OH LORD OH DEAR THE SHAPES AND COLORS BEWITCH ME SINCE I SET FOOT IN THE WOODS. I FEAR AN EVIL SPIRIT HAS TAKEN MY BODY THROUGH THE PORTAL OF MY GUT. SAVE ME DEAR STRANGER. SAVE ME.

(2) Hey uh. My tummy hurts. Help.

(3) I MESSED UP I DIDN'T KNOW FAERIE RINGS WERE OFF LIMITS I GOT HUNGRY I'M SORRY. PLEASE TELL THE FAE QUEEN TO STOP FILLING MY HOUSE WITH MICE.

Encounter Type 3: Stings. Visuals are of the patient with patches of little bumps.

(1) Ahahaha. They got me good, the buzzy bastards. But I fooled em. I fooled em all. I got that sweet sweet nectar, They can't have it no more. It's all mine now. But I ain't been feelin' so good. I guess they got one over on my way out.

(2) I'm itchy. You hear me I'm ITCHY. You gonna do something about it? You gonna make me a lotion? WELL GOOD. THAT'S YOUR JOB. TO MAKE ME LOTION. GET COOKING SLIME BOY.

(3) Hey doc. You ain't gonna believe this one. So I was walking in the woods down by old Martha's cow farm, and I saw Martha out sitting on her stoop and you know she can chat like no other, and I hate chatting. Just really despise it. There's nothing more annoying than someone who just chats your ear off and won't get to the darn point. So naturally, I dove into the creek behind the field and let it carry me downstream till I was well out of social distance, and as I crawled out of the stream I was absolutely starving, I'd been floating for a good long while see, and there I saw the delicious bounty of the forest, so naturally being one of great affinity with the natural world I partook with the faith that the woods would nourish me. However, as I began to travel back, I was beset by vicious fairies! They stung and stabbed me with their needles till I ran all the way back here! Ever since, I've been dreadfully swollen and itchy! Think you can help?