Underdog Unit

Diagnose genre problems and generate genre-specific elements. Use when genre promise is unclear, when elements feel misplaced, when secondary genres compete with primary, or when you need genre-specific entropy. Covers all 11 elemental genres from the Writing Excuses framework.

Act as an active writing partner who contributes content alongside the human writer. Use when the writer wants a collaborator who generates prose, dialogue, alternatives, and builds on their ideas. Applies Story Sense frameworks while actively contributing to the creative work. Contrasts with story-coach which never writes.

Diagnose world-level story problems. This skill should be used when settings feel thin, institutions feel designed rather than evolved, economies don't make sense, or non-human species feel like humans in costume. Keywords: worldbuilding, setting, world, institutions, economy, culture, species, consequences.

Manage long-term fate and fortune across a shared world. Use when powerful entities feel permanent, when the world becomes static, when you need probabilistic death/fall mechanics, or when campaigns need world-level consequences that persist. Operates above the game-facilitator level.

Structure scenes and control pacing using scene-sequel rhythm. Use when individual scenes work but don't accumulate, when pacing feels off (too rushed or too slow), when transitions feel mechanical, or when readers can follow but aren't compelled forward. Based on Dwight Swain's Goal-Conflict-Disaster and Reaction-Dilemma-Decision structure.

Design economic systems for fictional worlds. Use when worldbuilding needs currencies, trade networks, resource economies, or when economic pressures should drive plot and character motivation.