GM guide

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@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Ultimate Archwizards
+# Ultimate Archwizards vs the Dark Lord
 ## Premise
 You are an Ultimate Archwizard of your school--maybe you are the Laser Archwizard, maybe you're the Ultimate Genie who can grant any wish, or maybe you're the World Pro Wrestling champion who's so good you can compact opponents into a black hole while monologuing.
 
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ The Dark Lord has finally come to your solar system, and they will conquer it wi
  - **Powers**: Decide what you're the Ultimate Archwizard of ("lasers", "wishes", or "pro wrestling"). The GM  will give you three special powers based on what you're the Ultimate Archwizard of.
  - **Seal**: You are so powerful, most of your powers must remain sealed--describe how. Are you wearing heavy  weights? Do you have a special magical eyepatch holding back your cool glowing eye? Are you lazy?
  - **Skills**: Pick three skills your character is good at.
- - **Dark Lord**: Describe one strength of the Dark Lord. No one knows their weaknesses, if any.
+ - **Dark Lord**: Describe one strength and/or special power of the Dark Lord. No one knows their weaknesses, if any.
 
 ## Skill List
  - The DM will collect the list of skills from all players into one list. These are now all the skills available in the game. All challenges will be solvable by one or more skills in the skill list. Any other skills (climbing?) are unheard of in your world, and you can't solve challenges that way.
@@ -19,12 +19,14 @@ The Dark Lord has finally come to your solar system, and they will conquer it wi
 
 ## Challenges
  - Whenever you encounter a challenge, it can be solved through roleplay, Ultimate Archwizard **Powers**, or through using your ordinary **skills**
- - **Powers** 100% always succeed, but they may not always have the effect you expect!
+ - **Powers** 100% always succeed. They may not always have the effect you expect.
  - To use a **skill**, roll d6 and add your skill.
     - If the result is at least as high as the difficulty, you succeed.
     - If it's lower than the difficulty, you fail. Add 1 to your skill--you've improved through experience.
     - If you succeed or fail, describe how! 
 
+## [Secret GM Guide](ultimate_archwizard_gm.md) (players don't click)
+
 ## Progression
 You are already the ultimate Archwizard. There is no up to go from here. But, you may be able
  to go sideways. If there's more than one session, you become the Archwizard of a second thing. Pick that

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+# Ultimate Archwizards vs the Dark Lord
+## GM Guide
+Don't read players!
+
+Okay, whew, that was close
+
+## Style
+
+Ultimate Archwizards is a lighthearted game for one 2-4 hour session. It's a little more group-storytelling than some RPG games, with players describing NPCs when they succeed and fail. It's designed to be played with "YES" as the default GM answer. Do the players want to distract the lake full of alligators with an elaborate juggling routine? Say yes and ask for details on the act and how the alligators react.
+
+## Powers
+
+Powers should be really powerful! They can be one time use, or usable continuously. Each player gets 3 special **powers** (initially sealed) and **mastery** over their Archwizard school.
+
+- Sample **mastery**: Laser Magic. You can freely use any kind of laser magic, at any time. You have unlimited mana. Your lasers come in all colors and always have perfect aim.
+- Sample wish power: Grant any wish, unlimited uses. Early wishes work 100% scot-free. Keep track of which wish number you're on. Roll d6 + **wish number**. 9 or below, the wish works great. If it's 10, the wish works halfway. If it's 11 or above, there are ironic consequences. Wishes can't **directly** defeat the Dark Lord. The player may grant wishes from NPCs, but can decide how to grant them themselves, and it doesn't increase the wish count.
+- Sample laser power: Hyper Beam, one use. You summon a massive laser, which destroys everything in its path (up to moon sized). One use only.
+- Sample pro wrestling power: 100x Combo, unlimited use. Whenever you defeat an enemy in physical combat, you can use their unconscious body as a weapon against another enemy, defeating them instantly.
+
+## Seals
+
+The players start out with their powers sealed. They still have mastery, but they can't use their special powers. The first time they fail a challenge, their powers unseal in a cool cutscene or monologue they narrate, describing how they actually succeed. They can then use powers freely, and they're generally more powerful.
+
+## Difficulty
+
+The system is designed to run in one session. Ramp the challenge difficulty up from 3 to 6 over a single session. The very final challenges before the Dark Lord can be difficulty 8. The challenge level should be the number to beat with skill roles (+1 or -1 based on whether it sounds like it would work), but also a general gauge of difficulty. Remember, the players are Ultimate Archwizards, so even the low-level minions at the start should be able to level cities.
+
+Remember, challenges should be designed around the characters and skill list.
+
+- 2: (Too easy!) The PCs have to find a good outfit at the mall, while a gang of hoodlums chases them.
+- 3: The PCs are trapped in a hypnotic dream, and can only escape by realizing they're dreaming.
+- 4: The Dark Lord's castle is impenetrable, except for one small weakness, protected by alligators.
+- 5: A small army with tanks and rocket launchers assults the PCs.
+- 6: The PCs must reach the Dark Lord's castle. The castle is in space, but Earth has not yet invented the combustion engine.
+- 7: The Dark Lord's trusted lieutenant, a suave and handsome talking magical lion, tries to seduce the PCs. Each time he fails, he resets their memories with his time powers and tries again.
+- 8: The Dark Lord has thrown the moon directly at one of the PCs, and it is seconds from hitting them. 
+    - Punching the moon in half might only need a roll of 7--it's very plausible.
+    - Dodging the moon might need a roll of 8--doable, makes sense
+    - Charming the moon the turn around and fight the Dark Lord, by singing an epic ballad about the party's friendship for each other, might need a roll of 9--moons don't usually do that
+
+## The Dark Lord
+
+The Dark Lord is incredibly powerful--they have absorbed the power of many Archwizards in previous solar systems. They may optionally have one or two obvious weaknesses (HAHA I AM INVINCIBLE... as long as they don't notice my missing knee armor... and my irrestistable love of kittens...). If it ever looks like they might be defeated before the players reach the Dark Lord, just pile on even more powers.
+
+The Dark Lord should only appear briefly, if at all, until the end of the session. If there's only one session, the Dark Lord is defeated at the end of the session, otherwise they narrowly escape. In the final battle with the Dark Lord, if the Dark Lord ever looks like they might defeat the PCs and the situation is hopeless (encouraged), the PCs assume their **TRUE ULTIMATE FORM** in elaborate cutscenes, gaining unlimited mega superpowers.
+
+The Dark Lord definitely should never win, that's lame.