Headspace Setting Template
(4,000 Words)
Page 7-8 of this document provide a blank template with word count numbers. If you have any
questions just ask in the G+ group:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100236984937053713180
A Setting represents a distinct region or city of the world to explore, each with its own unique
story to tell. Settings serve as the basis for tying the fiction of the Operators to the fiction of the
world by connecting the stories of their Skills with the specific Events and Issues that have
shaped the setting.
A setting provides everything a GM needs to tell a story, it fills out the fiction of the world and
region, provides 4 (or more) readymade Corporations each with its own Corporate Agent (NPC)
and an initial story hook in the form of a Corporate Project.
Settings in Headspace are each treated as mutually exclusive from one another and don’t
interact with each other, you are making your own version of Earth. Each setting has a different
set of 5 Events, 5 Issues and 5 Corporate Secrets that have changed the world into the dystopia
future it is.
Word counts are targets not hard lines, there is a total of 4,000 words allocated to each Setting
if you need more in one area than another for your specific setting then add the detail where it
needs to bel.
Set the Location
Settings are each given a specific geographic region, often a large city as the area of play, but
authors are encourage to think outside the box. Although nothing prevents a world travelling
game, the Events/Issues/Secrets/Corporations are usually tied as much as possible to the local
region of play.
Set the Date
As a general rule each Setting is approximately 60 years in the future (2074) but the exact date
is entirely up to the author.
1
Setting Background
You may find it easier to start with the Event/Issue/Secret and Corporate Tables as the basis for
your ideas and then build your larger narratives out from that, whatever process works for you.
Each setting is summarized in a large (1,500 Word) background which should re-interpret the
Events/Issues/Corporate Secrets table as well as relevant elements of the Corporations into a
flowing introductory text to the setting. Be evocative, speak to the reader. Feel free to provide
additional story hooks a plenty.
GEOGRAPHY PRIMER
Each setting should also have a short (500 Word) background which should provide some
geographic context to the setting. If your setting is localized to a city give some details as to
where the points of interest are, if your setting is more about a region (ie Israel) describe how
that place differs from today.
Corporate and Agent Backgrounds x4
Each of the 4 Corporations should be summarized in 250 words of prose. This should detail
their role in the fiction and using elements from the Corporate Table, feel free to hint at what
the public rumours of their corporate secrets might be. Each Corporation also has a Corporate
Agent with 150 words of prose as brief background/personality/goals. It’s good to have the
Agents as central to the Corporate Secrets, Agents are the players equals in Headspace.
TABLE 1
Events/Issues/Corporate Secrets
The Primary building block of each setting is a series of interconnected Events, Issues and
Corporate Secrets which together provide the basic fiction for the setting, summarized in a
simple table and in the much longer Setting Background section. This table is ~200 words.
They are all purposely simple ideas allowing the Players and GM to build on them in Operator
creation and during play to make the fiction as interesting and as evocative as possible.
Events and Issues are not mechanically used in creation, they more represent the core building
blocks of your particular brand of dystopia. Corporate Secrets are used in Operator Creation to
define a character’s Regrets and Drives (each character will have had a direct hand in the
secrets of your setting).
Complete examples of this process are in Quickstart page25 text.
Events
Each setting is founded on five dystopian Events. Each event depicts a pivotal moment in
history that changed the world, region or city from what we know and will each have long
lasting impacts into the settings future (see Issues).
2
Events are short evocative statements of fact about the fiction, while they may be related
thematically to each other; they should not flow from each other. Events are short and concise
and purposefully do not delve into their potential consequences. Events often take the form of
Technological breakthrough, Cultural shifts, Physical changes and Economic/Political upheaval.
Events can be large and world changing or small and localized, either way they are important
within the fiction of this specific setting. Often the localized events will provide more detail to
the location the game is set in.
If you need a good rule of thumb – 1 Worldwide Event, 1 Regional Event and 3 Local Events.
Some examples of Worldwide Events:
The end of oil, Orbital Human Colonies, Pandemics, Rare Earth Metal Shortage, Human
Mutation
Some examples of Regional Events:
Pacific Coast Tsunami, Famine, Pipeline Leaking Toxins, Post-tsunami earthquakes
Some examples of localized Events:
Nuclear Reactor Meltdown, Political Assassination, the Shanghai Food Riots
Issues
Issues all stem from the five Events of the Setting. Issues represent the long lasting effects,
consequences and complications. More often than not, Issues are about how society struggles
to cope with the Event; in the dystopia world of Headspace, society generally doesn’t cope well
but, it will be up to the Players to further develop the fiction of the Issues to determine just
how dark this future is.
Some examples of Events that led to Issues:
Pandemic led to Quarantine Zones.
Post-tsunami earthquakes led to Unpredictable continued tectonic activity and worsening
conditions in Vancouver.
Rare Earth Metal Shortage led to a Scavenging Economy.
Pacific Coast Famine led to Food Riots.
Massive Tsunami led to Corporate Reclamation Zones.
Corporate Secrets
Corporate Secrets represent dark clandestine activities of the settings four Corporations that
are directly tied to the Events and Issues. Corporate Secrets tie each Corporation to a specific
Event and/or its Issue. The Corporation is not necessarily responsible for the Event or its Issue
but it did something to satisfy its own Ambitions likely at the detriment of someone else.
Secrets are not common knowledge, at best they are conspiracy and rumour and only a few
3
know the facts. Needless to say it would be very bad if the truth of some of these secrets was to
ever come to light, something the Corporations are highly motivated to prevent.
Because there are 4 Corportions one will be involved twice (whomever is the biggest player in
your world)
Corporate Secrets are a bit more specific and focused than Events or Issues in order to provide
some key details to build the fiction on. Remember that every Operator will have a Regret tied
to their involvement in one of these dark secrets.
Some examples of Corporate Secrets:
Massive Tsunami – Red Cross secured widespread access to secret documents and resources
with a “rescue crew”.
Pacific Coast Famine/Food Riots – Pacific Security Solutions exacerbated the riots to ensure
they were needed for future security contracts.
Post-tsunami earthquakes – 3H Energy may have had a direct hand in the Tsunami through
unstable geothermal power experimentations.
Pandemic/Quarantine Zones – Applied Optimism advertises a cure that they know doesn’t
work.
TABLE 2
The Corporations
In the near future dystopia of Headspace, most of human civilization is manipulated by a few
massive multi-national corporations. Each setting provides four Corporations each with its own
personality, resources and plans. This Table is ~200 words.
Corporations are summarized in a simple table with the following core definitions. The Table is
mostly used as a quick reference tool for the GM, each Corporation and its Agent will be given
its own backgrounds.
Name: An Evocative Name, whatever you want to use, avoid using real world companies or
established IP where possible, make this world yours.
Slogan: Each Corporation should have an evocative slogan, keep it simple, catchy and punchy.
It’s fine if it’s cheesy, it’s just some quick flavour and may also be used as art direction for
Corporate Logos.
Pacific Security Solutions “Private Security, Public Service”
3H Energy “Providing renewable energy for a new generation”
Applied Optimism “The Voice of the People”
4
Public Mandate: (1 bullet)
The Public Mandate expresses the perceived public purpose and identity of the Corporation.
Begin by asking yourself why the Corporation is needed by society and what role it provides.
These are not necessarily morally good (providing arms) but are necessary to meet the needs of
society (providing security with said arms), and because of this the public empowers the
Corporation to pursue this Public Mandate.
Pacific Security Solutions provides the best private security money can buy.
3H Energy provides the next generation of renewable energies.
Applied Optimism is the premier multimedia and news provider.
Shadow Mandate: (1 bullet)
Whereas the Public Mandate defines how the Corporation works in the public interest, the
Shadow Mandate represents what the Company is doing to further its own ends without any
interest in the public well-being. A Shadow Mandate may even be in direct opposition to the
Public Mandate of the Corporation.
A Shadow Mandate should provide a sense for how the Corporation is portrayed by the GM
when she works behind the scenes manipulating events by the Corporation. Corporations that
are caught doing things they shouldn’t be are ripe for interesting and lasting problems.
Pacific Security Solutions aims to secure an independent Pacific state it controls.
3H Energy aims to annex the poor regions for power development.
Applied Optimism will use the media to control the people.
Corporate Agent: (Name, Dominant Emotion, 2 Characteristics)
Each Company is represented by at least one potent NPC called an Agent. Corporate Agents are
not the public faces of the Corporation; Agents represent the top tier operatives, spies,
business managers and diplomats. Most often, a Corporate Agent is charged with goals working
towards the Initial Project while not betraying the Public Mandate. The PCs will have active and
in many cases complicated relationships with the various Corporate Agents of the settings.
Ensure each Agent has the following simple notes:
 Name
 Operator Type (pick one of the Operator types, this Agent has those skills/level of
competence See Chapter 5 of the main text).
 Dominant Emotion (one of the six core emotions of Headspace Rage, Grief, Fear, Bliss,
Desire, Pride ) – Dominant Emotion represents the Emotion that this particular agent
most often represents in the fiction.
 2 Characteristics – two descriptive adjectives of the Agent as a quick reference/reminder
to the GM.
Pacific Security Solutions: Major Alice Grant- The Handler –RAGE - Precise, Manipulative
5
Initial Project:
Projects are Corporate Plans to change the setting to be in favour of the Corporations long term
goals (shadow mandate). Projects are short term goals (2-4 sessions) that if succeeded (not
stopped/changed by the Players) will establish a new dystopia Event in the setting.
Projects do not have to work for common goals, these Corporations don’t play nice with each
other so it’s always good to have them at odds.
 Use a simple declarative/evocative statement.
Pacific Security Solutions will ty to privatize Vancouver Police Department with their own Agents
3H Energy will stamp out the information leak.
Applied Optimism wants to control the 3H Energy informant.
The following 2 pages detail how the final layout of the above content should be setup. Feel
free to use this area as a fill in the blank space for your own setting.
6
SETTING NAME
(4,000 Words Total)
Location:
Date: Year is
SETTING BACKGROUND
(1,500 Words)
The Background should re-interpret the Events/Issues/Secrets table as well as relevant
elements of the Corporations into a flowing introductory text to the setting. Be evocative,
speak to the reader. Feel free to provide additional story hooks a plenty.
GEOGRAPHY BACKGROUND
(500 Words)
The geography section should describe the world/region/city in a bit of detail. I will be using
this as art guidance in the creation of whatever map is appropriate for the setting.
CORPORATE & AGENT BACKGROUNDS
(1,600 Words Total)
Corporate Name1
(250 Words description of corporate table as prose)
Corporate Name1 Agent1
(150 Word description of the Corporation Agent for this Corporation as prose)
Corporate Name2
(250 Words description of corporate table as prose)
Corporate Name2 Agent2
(150 Word description of the Corporation Agent for this Corporation as prose)
Corporate Name3
(250 Words description of corporate table as prose)
Corporate Name3 Agent3
(150 Word description of the Corporation Agent for this Corporation as prose)
Corporate Name4
(250 Words description of corporate table as prose)
Corporate Name4 Agent4
(150 Word description of the Corporation Agent for this Corporation as prose)
Events, Issues and Corporate Secrets Table
7
(200 Words)
Use short evocative statements. Be sure that 3 Corporations get 1 corporate secret each and
the 4th gets two.
Events
Issues
Corporate Secrets
The Corporations Table
(200 Words)
The Corporate Table is mostly a GM quick reference tool and summarizes the major
characteristics of each Corporation and its Agent who works as the major opposition to the
Operator characters. Each Mandate is a short statement of fact. The initial project is a short
statement of intent.
NAME1
NAME2
“Slogan”
“Slogan”
Public Mandate
Shadow Mandate
Corporate Agent
Name1
Operator Type
Key Emotion
2 Characteristics
Name2
Operator Type
Key Emotion
2 Characteristics
Initial Project
NAME3
NAME4
“Slogan”
“Slogan”
Public Mandate
Shadow Mandate
Corporate Agent
Name3
Operator Type
Name4
Operator Type
8
Key Emotion
2 Characteristics
Key Emotion
2 Characteristics
Initial Project
9
10