SWN - Problems (Improved)

1

The government is cracking down on the conflict

There’s a very sharp time limit for any resolution

2

One side seems invincibly stronger to the other

The sympathetic side is actually a bunch of bastards

3

Both sides have “doomsday” info or devices

There’s an easy but very repugnant solution to hand

4

A prior conflict ended horribly for both of them

PC success means a big benefit to a hostile group

5

Foreign participants are keeping things tamped

The real bone of contention is hidden from most

6

Elements of both sides seek accommodation

A sympathetic figure’s on an unsympathetic side

7

The conflict is only viable in a narrow location

There’s a profitable chance for PCs to turn traitor

8

Catastrophic cost of losing a direct showdown

The “winner” will actually get in terrible trouble

9

Each thinks they’ll win without further exertion

There’s a very appealing third party in the mix

10

They expect a better opening to appear soon

The PCs could really profit off the focus of the strife

11

Former ties of friendship or family restrain them

The PCs are mistaken for an involved group

12

Religious principles are constraining them

Somebody plans on screwing over the PCs

13

One side’s still licking their wounds after a failure

Both sides think the PCs are working for them

14

They’re building up force to make sure they win

A side wants to use the PCs as a distraction for foes

15

Their cultural context makes open struggle hard

The PCs’ main contact is mistrusted by their allies

16

They expect an outside power to hand them a win

If the other side can’t get it, they’ll destroy it

17

They’re still searching for a way to get at their goal

The focus isn’t nearly as valuable as both sides think

18

One side mistakenly thinks they’ve already won

The focus somehow has its own will and goals

19

A side is busy integrating a recent success

Victory will drastically change one of the sides

20

An outside power threatens both sides

Actually, there is no twist. It’s all exactly as it seems.

1

Conflict Type: Money

Overall Situation: Resolve: {Money is owed to a ruthless creditor|Money was stolen from someone|A sudden profit opportunity arises|There’s a hidden stash of wealth|Money is offered from an evil source}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {Organized crime wants it|Corrupt officials want it|A sympathetic NPC needs it|The PCs are owed it|It will disappear very soon}

2

Conflict Type: Revenge

Overall Situation: Resolve: {Someone was murdered|Someone was stripped of rank|Someone lost all their wealth|Someone lost someone's love|Someone was framed for a crime}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {It was wholly justified|The wrong person is targeted|The reaction is excessive|The PCs are somehow blamed|Both sides were wronged}

3

Conflict Type: Power

Overall Situation: Resolve: {An influential political leader|A stern community elder|A ruling patriarch of a large family|A star expert in a particular industry|A criminal boss or outcast leader}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {They've betrayed their own|Someone's gunning for them|They made a terrible choice|They usurped their position|They're oppressing their own}

4

Conflict Type: Natural Danger

Overall Situation: Resolve: {A cyclical planetary phenomenon|A sudden natural disaster|Sudden loss of vital infrastructure|Catastrophe from outside meddling|Formerly-unknown planetary peril}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {Anti-helpful bureaucrats|Religious zealots panic|Bandits and looters strike|The government hushes it up|There's money in exploiting it}

5

Conflict Type: Religion

Overall Situation: Resolve: {Sects that hate each other bitterly|Zealot reformers forcing new things|Radical traditionalists fighting back|Ethnic religious divisions|Corrupt and decadent institutions}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {Charismatic new leader|Mandatory state religion|Heavy foreign influence|Religious purging underway|Fighting for holy ground}

6

Conflict Type: Ideology

Overall Situation: Resolve: {A universally-despised fringe group|Terrorists with widespread support|A political party's goon squads|Dead-end former regime supporters|Ruthless ascendant political group}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {Terrorist attack|Street rioting|Police state crackdown|Forced expulsions|Territory under hostile rule}

7

Conflict Type: Ethnicity

Overall Situation: Resolve: {A traditionally subordinate group|An ethnic group from offworld|A dominant caste or ethnicity|An alien or transhuman group|Two groups that hate each other}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {Forced immigration|Official ethnic ghettos|Rigid separation of groups|Group statuses have changed|Rising ethnic violence}

8

Conflict Type: Resources

Overall Situation: Resolve: {There's a cache of illegal materials|A hidden strike of rare resources|Cargo has been abandoned as lost|Land ownership is disputed|A resource is desperately necessary}

Specific Focus: Resolve: {Someone thinks they own it|The state is looking for it|It has its own protectors|Rights to it were stolen|Offworlders want it badly}