Vehicles (Part 2)

In the previous devlog, I described how a Place in Scribarchy can be used to simulate travel—like climbing aboard a starship and inching through space via a carefully hidden series of Choices.

This time, we’re taking a look at the other side of the metaphorical coin: using a Thing as a vehicle.

A Brief Reminder

In Scribarchy, a Thing is a little bundle of narrative baggage: it pairs a bonus Role with a penalty Role, and it gets assigned to a Team via a Choice Consequence.

Think of it like this:

“Congratulations! You found a magic sword. You’re better at Hero now… but worse at Person of Subtlety.”

Things are gear, events, hired hands—tiny plot devices with stat consequences.  A Thing could also be a vehicle.

Like a canoe. Or a motorcycle. Or a hot air balloon someone’s cousin bought off a wizard.

Before We Begin...

Let’s be honest. If representing your vehicle as a Thing isn’t essential to your narrative, don’t do it.

There are simpler ways to represent travel.  But if you want your vehicle to matter—to affect which routes a Team can take or what kind of roles they'll excel (or struggle) in—using a Thing might be exactly what you need.

Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Create Travel-Related Roles

Think about how the vehicle moves.

Does it skim the waves? Tunnel through bedrock? Glide awkwardly over cobblestones? Great. Then you probably want Roles like:

• Swimmer – for surface water travel

• Diver – for underwater stuff

• Sprinter – for land-based travel

• Flyer – for airships, dragons, and other aerial oddities

You don’t need a comprehensive taxonomy here. Just invent the Roles that match the kind of movement you want to model.

Step 2: Create the Thing

Let’s say you’ve made a Role called Swimmer. Now create a Thing—say, a Canoe—that adds +1 to Swimmer.

But wait, there’s more: remember, a Thing must also have a penalty Role.

Ask yourself: what’s the drawback of having a canoe?

Maybe it’s heavy and awkward. So you add -1 Sprinter to reflect how hard it is to carry.

Maybe it’s rare and flashy. So you give it -1 Person Of Means—because anyone hauling around a canoe made of lightweight starmetal probably isn’t flush with cash anymore.

Also: check the Droppable box. Vehicles are rarely permanent. Your crew should be able to abandon them when they are no longer needed.

Step 3: Create Choices That Use the Roles

Once the Thing exists, write Choices that test for its utility.

• “Cross The River” might require +1 Swimmer.

• “Outrun the Law” could require +1 Sprinter, making the canoe a liability.

• “Dive! Dive! Dive!” might require +1 Diver,  only submersibles need apply.

In this model, the vehicle isn’t a Place the Team moves into—it’s a Thing they carry with them. It alters their strengths and weaknesses, reshapes their options, and introduces tradeoffs.

Some Final Thoughts

This approach might feel less dramatic than a flying starship Place loaded with nested Choices. But it’s powerful in a different way.

— The Scribarchy Team (still just me)