Closing Script
Only the Incident Master reads this page before the session.
The closing has two parts. Part 1 runs when play stops and before the debrief: read the ending, then step out of character. Part 2 runs after the debrief close: thanks, cards, and your own notes. Part 1 uses slack time, not the 20 debrief minutes. PROPOSED
Part 1: when play stops
The ending
There is no single winner. Both sides read the same two facts: was the operator cut, and the final Payoff. The endings are DEFAULT. Read Breached before Costly: check them in this order.
| Ending (Comrades’ name) | Applies when |
|---|---|
| Contained (Burned) | The operator was cut, Payoff is 3 or lower, and Exposure is 5 or lower. |
| Breached (Harvest) | The operator was not cut and Payoff is 7 or higher, or Payoff reached 9. |
| Costly (Partial) | Neither of the above: the operator was cut with Payoff 4 to 8, or Exposure is above 5, or the operator was not cut and Payoff is 6 or lower. |
Say the two facts first, then the ending:
The operator was [cut / not cut]. Payoff finished at [n]. Exposure finished at [n].
If the operator was cut, [n] is the frozen value: Payoff at the moment of the cut. Read the ending from it. Payoff is capped at 8 until the round ends, and Payoff 9 counts only if the operator was not cut by the end of that round. If a wrongful offboarding in stage 3 ended the case, the operator counts as not cut, and Exposure includes the +2.
Then one of:
Ending: Contained. The Company stopped the operator early. For the Comrades’ chair, that is Burned.
Ending: Costly. The case was stopped or capped, but it cost something. For the Comrades’ chair, that is Partial.
Ending: Breached. The operator got through. For the Comrades’ chair, that is Harvest.
In Company-only play you may leave out the Comrades’ names. In both-chairs mode read each table’s ending separately.
The process condition
Read this last, and read it separately from the ending. RULED Process held means every accusation and cut cited a named control or a human cost, none rested on looks alone, and there was no wrongful offboarding. DEFAULT It is judged on cuts and on accusations that ended in a cut; an accusation with no cut does not by itself break it.
Now the process. [Process held: every cut, and every accusation that ended in a cut, named a control or a human cost, none rested on looks alone, and nobody was wrongly offboarded.] / [Process did not hold: [name the one that failed, in one sentence].] Winning and judging well are different things. We will look at that next.
A Breached case where process held is fine. A Contained case where a cut rested on looks is not. Say that out loud if it applies.
Step out of character
We are out of character. The persona, the cell and the Company are cards again. How is everyone doing? One word each, or pass.
Allow about thirty seconds. Acknowledge stress, excitement or confusion as normal. If someone passes, accept it. If someone is upset, use the route in safety and the X-card, not the debrief.
Then:
Debrief. 20 minutes. Reveal first.
Part 2: after the debrief
The close of the debrief already gave the closing sentence. Do not repeat it.
Thank you. Today you [one sentence on what this table did well, tied to process]. Take your commitment with you. If you run this at your own organisation, you now know how.
- Collect the sealed persona card, the hire cards and the bench card. Do not leave them on the table for the next group.
- Ask the table: “What would you change about how I ran it?” Take one answer each.
- Offer a next step: “If you want to run it for your team, the IM handbook starts here.” Link them to the players’ handbook for the round loop and the roles.
Optional playtest log DEFAULT
If this session is a playtest, note these within the hour. Each has a threshold in the rules.