Dear PUM players,

I am about to take a trip, but wanted to share with you guys a preview release of where is PUM heading next.

Been playing with PUM a lot lately, so there were things I wasn't really happy about, despite it going in the right direction in v6 and onwards. I am trying to take it to the next level, with some significant improvements. But I am a bit uncertain yet as to go full on with it, so, some play-testing and feedback from you would be AMAZING and very welcome.

The changes of V7:

• Dropped the idea of "Scenes" and switched to "Beats" - this allows for more continuous treatment of prompts in PUM. It is mostly a philosophical change.
• Included plot tracks: Unfold plots following an end-to-end structure with phases that influence your interpretation of the game. It is made very easily and approachable by just having to cross out boxes as you roll prompts.
• All proposals are now subject to modifications, no more "proceeds as expected" (wow!). At least those which contribute to the plot track
• ABCD tables review (Complications, Catalyst, Challenge, and Situation) so they REALLY REALLY prompt you forward, rather than get you stuck
• Plot Nodes "Threads" has been replaced with "Leads" - Now you track only one plot at a time, but a plot has many "leads" your characters collect. These leads get weakend or validated as you play. This is MUCH more dynamic in getting your PCs right on track.
• All oracles revisited so they are more prompty and less meaningless. Replaced What and Reasons with a "Motive" table that gives general inspiration. Let's see!
• Many more pages of explaining How the heck is one supposed to play PUM ^^

There are many reasons behind this changes, but if you are really really interested in what's going on behind my head:

1. Making interpretations of "Progress a thread" and "Hinder a thread" worked really bad in practice for me. Even with written down threads in the Plot Nodes. I rather have expectations, rumors, or clues (all of this now called "Leads") and have them reinforced or weakened throughout the game. Downside is now PUM tracks one plot at a time, but the benefit is higher than the downside.

2. Lack of structure in PUM v6. The thing was a random walk, despite the optional rule for plot points, plot points are awkward to track. So I made a progress track with actual impact in the game, that calls back to the "Random Prompts" of the scene generator in PUM. Feels solid and leads to actually finishing sessions and games!

3. Oracles were giving me squat :D I really worked on the wording to make them actually mean something.