Microscope Explorer

Introduction
	How to Use This Book
Improving Your Game
	Golden Rules
	Improving Setup
		Relax & Read Aloud
		Clarify & Tighten Your Big Picture
		The Big Picture Is Only the Beginning
		Bookends: Flint to Fusion
		Palette Is a Discussion
		No Surprises After the Palette
		A Palette of Concepts
		Retroactive Palette
	Improving Play
		Zoom In
		Make People
		Paint a Complete Picture
		Name Things
		Always Explain Light or Dark
		I Don’t Know What to Make!
		Start With Nuking Atlantis
		Talk Before You Write
		Enforce the Rules & Watch for Contradictions
		We Never Push!
		Push Concede
		Legacies Are Mini-Focuses
		You Can Keep Your Legacy
		Listen Charitably: We Aren’t All Poets
	Sharing Your History
		There Are Two Stories to Tell
Starting Your History
	Seeds
		After Lemuria Sinks
		Battle of the Planets
		Blood of Monsters
		Boom Town / Ghost Town
		Brave New World
		The Dark Lord
		The Essence
		From Twilight Lands
		Golems of Eden
		House of the Dragon,House of the Unicorn
		Humanity Uplifted
		The Imperium
		Kaiju Century
		Legacy of Heroes
		Rising Tide
		The Round Table
		Stars Collide
		Who Watches the Watchmen?
		Group Decisions
	Oracles
		Swords & Sorcery
		To the Stars
		Cradle of Civilization
		Apocalypse
		Lurking Darkness
		We Have No Dice, But We Must Roll
	Using Source Material
		Canon or Reboot
		Alternate History & Real History
		Establish Landmarks
		The Downside: Slave to the Source
World-building: Games Collide
	A World Is Its History
	Knowledge Is Power
	The Downside
	Pre-Game: Setting Goals
	Just Play Normally
		Don’t GM Microscope
		If It Fails, Call a Do-Over
	Post-Game: Translating
		Polish & Place
		Embrace Your Destiny
	Expand an Existing World
	The Hero’s Journey
	Adventure Ouroboros:Back and Forth
Union
	Introduction
		What You Need to Play
	Setup
		Step 1: Family Tree
		Step 2: The Hero’s Deed
		Step 3: The Necessity
		Step 4: The Hero’s Traits
		Step 5: Make Your Palette
		Step 6: First Pass, Make Ancestors
	Play
		Family History
		Scenes
		Legacy
		The Hero in Play
		Generations & Siblings
	Ending the Game
	Afterword
		Nature & Nurture
		Child of Two Worlds
		Adventure Games: Tell Me About Your Character…
		Rise of Nations, Evolution of Ideas
Chronicle
	Introduction
		What You Need to Play
	Setup
		Step 1: Your Chronicle
		Step 2: Bookends
		Step 3: Palette
		Step 4: First Pass
	Play
		Making Periods
		Making Events & The Anchor
		Making Scenes
	Afterword
		Focus vs Freedom: A Tighter Microscope
		Why Doesn’t the Period-Maker Create the Anchor?
Echo
	Introduction
		What You Need to Play
	Make Factions
		Step 1: The Goal
		Step 2: The Opposition’s Goal
		Step 3: How Can You Change History?
		Step 4: Describe Factions & Future
	Make History
		Step 1: Big Picture
		Step 2: Bookends
		Step 3: Palette
		Step 4: First Pass
		Step 5: Second Pass
	Play
		Intervention (Event)
		Echo (Event)
		Period, Event or Scene
		Overwriting Changes: High Numbers Win
		Rules of Time Travel
		Marking Contradictions
		Update a Period
		Judgment
	Ending the Game
	Afterword
		No Status Quo
		Who Needs Time Travel?
		Echo, the Adventure Game
		Disco Must Die
		The Unexamined Life
Experiments
	Reincarnation
	Divided History: Now & Then
	Parallel Histories
	Territory Not Time
	Journey
	Micro-Histories
	Threaded Events
	Mega-Periods
	Long Focus
Afterword
	Leap of Faith
	A Different Future
	Thanks
	Playtesters
	Reference Sheet