The Joy of Wickedness

07 Feb, 2026

Y'know what I love most about running TTRPGs? The thrill of throwing an unsolvable challenge at players and watching them work through and, somehow, solve it. But there are only so many 60-foot chasms to cross or traps to disarm before it gets a little dull. What if there was a problem that was so complex, so ingrained in the world, that there is no clear solution at all?

Enter: The Wicked Scenario. A wicked scenario is a set of problems that are intertwined and reliant upon each other to the point that choosing what to do is a problem itself. I'm adapting this term from the thrilling article "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning", written in 1973 by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber. The article describes "wicked problems", which are the large-scale societal problems that governments face today. Homelessness, drug addiction, civil unrest, and climate change are all examples of wicked problems. They are so widespread and vast that even fully comprehending the problem is impossible, let alone fully solving it. This makes them a bad fit for TTRPGs, games about solving problems. The wicked scenario modifies wicked problems, making them suitable for the table.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, why would we even want wicked scenarios in our games in the first place? Oftentimes, problem-solving in TTRPGs is very short-term. "How do we cross this 60-foot chasm?" or "How do we bypass this trap without setting it off?". In my experience, long-term problems are already set out with obvious goals to achieve. "In order to defeat the ancient evil, we must travel the unknown lands and retrieve the 6 artifacts." All the planning has largely already been done by the GM, with players coming in to solve the short-term problems along the way. Wicked scenarios, by their nature, are too complex to be solved in one go. To solve them, or just make progress on them, players must think long-term about how their actions will affect the world and what will have the most impact. This engages and challenges players in a deep and complex way that only TTRPGs and other interactive media can perform.

Even if planning and problem-solving aren't your cup of tea, wicked scenarios still fill a role in politically minded games or games set in the real world. Political conflict, at its most basic level, is a disagreement over how to solve wicked problems (or what the wicked problems even are). Introducing wicked scenarios to fictional worlds can make the political talk and power plays feel much more impactful and real. And of course, the real world is full of wicked problems. It follows then that any game set in the real world will contain wicked scenarios, either implicitly or explicitly present in the setting, and meddling with the characters.

Creating Wicked Scenarios

The process of creating a wicked scenario is simpler than it may seem. Broadly, the process involves creating groups, each of which causes a problem. Each problem is a reason why another group is causing its own problem. For example, the loggers in a village are forced to raze the forest because the elves are raiding other villages and creating refugees. However, the elves are forced to raid villages for supplies because their homeland is being razed. Ideally, each group's problems tie in with every other group's problem, even if the connection is loose. At a certain point, this gets unwieldy, but that's the point! Wicked scenarios are wicked because they are difficult to conceptualize as cohesive wholes. Five groups seem to be about the limit for people to keep all the connections in their heads, and three are a minimum to have a scenario be sufficiently wicked. Don't worry about creating solutions to any of these problems; it is the job of the players to figure that out during the game.

An important tool to frame these individual problems are the motivations behind them. Groups tend to believe that they are causing problems for virtuous reasons, even as they actively harm other groups. Likewise, outside groups may infer malicious intentions for the problems caused by other groups. The framework I like to use to set up these motivations is the six virtues and sins (Yes, chastity and lust complete the seven, but those motivations generally do not appear at my table). Each group has a virtuous motivation that they believe in and a sinful motivation that other groups believe in. These competing motivations go a long way in making each group feel real and giving more political motivations to the problems they are causing.

The Wicked Machine below this article [Or the next page or however it will fit] provides tables to use when creating a wicked scenario.  The seven types of wickedness are The Wicked 7 Project, and more details of what each entails can be found at wicked7.org/about.

Implementing Wicked Scenarios

Introducing wicked scenarios to players is tricky. How do you describe something that is, by definition, indescribable? You don't. The key is in allowing players to discover the wickedness of the scenarios on their own. By revealing the individual problems and their connections as they become relevant, players will be able to piece together the wicked scenario without the difficulty of describing it outright. It is okay to be explicit in how different problems connect; having more information will only serve to make the scenario more wicked and difficult to solve.

Wicked scenarios work best when in parallel with other, more traditional scenarios. Directly focusing on a wicked scenario as the main adventure often leads to frustration due to its complexity and the difficulty of making meaningful changes. They are better suited as a background for other adventures that provide context and motivation for the main adventure. Throughout the main adventure, players should have opportunities to learn more about and work to help the wicked scenario. This hints at a larger world while maintaining focus on the main adventure.

When players make moves to help solve wicked scenarios, keep each connection in mind. Each attempt should meaningfully change the scenario, for good or ill. Often, a mixture of both is necessary. One problem improves, while another worsens. Or an entirely new problem is introduced! Also, keep the timeline in mind. Some problems may naturally worsen as time progresses, adding a sense of urgency that encourages engagement with the scenario.

The Wicked Machine