Fat, Meat, and Bones: Summary Writing in the Night Trails

Night Trails was my submission to the 2025 Delta Green Shotgun Scenario Contest. It didn't really make a splash, and I think that's because I had to cut it to the bone to get it under the word count. I'm not complaining, I did it to challenge myself, but I think I found the limit.

When I first started practicing summary writing, I learned the difference between the fat and the meat: do you really need that elaborate backstory if the players have no way to learn it, and it doesn't really change the scenario to learn it? Then I pushed myself further, and learned that there are different kinds of meat: an NPC can be described in 6, 60, or 600 words. How many do they really need, and how much can be left to the imagination? With this product, I learned that underpinning that meat is bone, and with an elaborate enough structure that bone adds up to a lot. I had multiple bespoke mechanics, a 3-location investigation, three procedurally-generated areas each with a travel challenge, 3 locations, and 2 encounters, and 3 different endings. I managed to convey all that in under 1,500 words, but it was cut so close to the bone that some parts would be difficult for a stranger to understand, and there was no meat left to sell the thing!

Lesson learned. Meat is important. I have found my limits.

If I were to do it again with a 1,500-word limit, I would probably cut it down to only one procedurally-generated area, and use those extra words to sell the intro in the beginning.

Well, I did do it again, but without the word limit! I saw Fix Your Hearts or Die: David Lynch Game Jam 2 and realized, shit, that sounds a lot like my Night Trails scenario. What would this look like if I took the same bones, and let myself fluff it up? It had to be a bespoke TTRPG, which meant including a whole new game system to replace the Delta Green system I was leaving behind (760 words). I used the breathing room to add some VERY high-level advice regarding horror roleplaying games and surrealist horror in particular (260 words) and an example of play that's non-essential but an effective way to show all the rules in action and fun to read (940 words). I expanded the 65-word intro/background/hype section (now 340 words) and 200-word additional rules explanation (now 580 words). I actually didn't change the bones much at all, but by merely using full sentences and elaborating on vague points, they doubled from 1,250 words to 2,470!

In total, I expanded the core scenario from 1,500 words to 3,390 words, and added 1,960 words in additional content. And that's not even mentioning the fact that each page now has a unique background, compared to the original document that had only one. That's a lot of meat!

Anyways. You can find it here.