# Campaign Frameworks

### 1. Caravan Expeditions

**Premise:** Players escort trade caravans between settlements, dealing with superstorms, bandits, predators, and inter-settlement politics.

**Structure:**

- Session = one journey segment (settlement to settlement)
- Introduce complications at halfway point and destination
- Build reputation with factions over time
- Escalate threats: minor predators → bandit ambushes → sabotage plots

**Key Tensions:**

- Protect cargo vs. protect lives
- Loyalty to employer vs. moral choices
- Speed vs. safety
- Faction allegiances

### 2. Settlement Management

**Premise:** Players are leaders/caretakers of a struggling outpost. Must secure resources, maintain infrastructure, and navigate external threats.

**Structure:**

- Session = one crisis (water shortage, superstorm, diplomatic incident)
- Use "catch your breath" to introduce new settlement problems
- Track population morale, resource stockpiles, faction relationships
- Long-term goal: achieve stability or relocate

**Key Tensions:**

- Survival vs. ethics
- Self-sufficiency vs. dependence on neighbors
- Tradition vs. innovation
- Individual needs vs. collective good

### 3. Ruin Exploration

**Premise:** Players investigate Deep Roads, ancient alien structures, or day-side ruins. Uncover Earth technology, psychic artifacts, and mysteries.

**Structure:**

- Session = one expedition into dangerous territory
- Use loot checks to find clues and equipment
- Build mystery over multiple sessions
- Introduce rival explorers, hostile factions

**Key Tensions:**

- Knowledge vs. safety
- Preserve artifacts vs. exploit them
- Share discoveries vs. hoard power
- Understanding vs. survival

### 4. Psychic Mystery Investigation

**Premise:** Players are troubleshooters for Weather Wraiths, bonding backlashes, and psychic phenomena. Blend detective work with action.

**Structure:**

- Session = investigate incident, identify cause, resolve/contain threat
- Use psychic abilities as investigation tools
- Complications escalate psychic phenomena
- Build toward larger conspiracy or natural disaster

**Key Tensions:**

- Help victim vs. eliminate threat
- Science vs. spirituality
- Control vs. freedom (for psychics)
- Short-term fix vs. long-term solution