Building the HARDCORE & PSYCHOLOGICAL Module

The 08 GM instruction is the identity file — how SPAECIMH feels to play as a strict-but-fair, consequence-driven system. When you build content for this module, you are not adding mechanics (those live in 00–07). You are building the situations that let a harsh, fair, psychological world produce true stories.

Build consequences, not rewards

Where a casual system dangles treasure, build stakes with teeth:

• A decision that loses something real — reputation, a Connection, time, a resource.
• An NPC who remembers — put a note back in the file (a faction night-shift formula, a debt) so the world isn't a clean slate.
• A trap or hazard that is fair — telegraphed, survivable by reading the room and spending a Fate Point.

Remember the module's rules bind the Master too (00 §11). Do not let a location or an item promise "a beautiful description wins the fight" — that breaks the anti-cheat contract.

Root stories in archetypes and Acts

The character's arc is psychological, so author content that challenges the self, not just the stats:

• Tie a room's stakes to a Connection so acting on it grants +1 (00 §8) — and to an Archetype's cost when the character pushes past control.
• Structure a subplot like an Act: a small victory that feels like approval (Phase 1 of Act V), then a resurfacing trauma, then a collapse and a real choice.
• Keep higher-stage abilities locked until the story earns them — do not hand the touch-arc flagship abilities to a starting character.

Use the module's phrasing to guide the run

When you write a scene, keep the signature visible:

• Dice always shown — model a check inline so a reader/runner sees [4d6: X+X+X+X=YY],
• Living world — weather, NPC activity p№-a, and a random event on gather/travel,
• A clear six-Act shape if it's a longer thread, and a finale that follows from choices — Act VI only for those who never gamed the system.

The one-liner

Build situations the HARDCORE & PSYCHOLOGICAL module can run strictly and fairly: real stakes, remembered NPCs, Connection + Archetype turns, and an ending earned by the player's arc — not a promised reward. Mechanics live in 00–07; 08 only sharpens the signature.