I use Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. To get a starting point, I rolled 5 plot points on the Adventure Crafter. After some interpretation, I determine that my character, Silas Scenay, was doing a diving training while he saw something creepy under water. It looked like a giant venomous fish, something like a stingray. At the same time, the pump supplying air to Silas springs a leak and a team of welders is needed to keep things together. Between these two events, Silas is lucky to have escaped with his life. The huge fish may be interesting as source of food if there's a shortage. We'll see if the snippets are obliging; I need to establish an objective for Silas anyway.

Silas
Silas encounters a large fish while diving

This preamble will serve as help to interpret the snippets drawn from the book. It's not necessarily meant as part of play. The first batch of snippets:

Click to display active snippets.
the peak The engineer with
angle of only forty five
should much like to watch
utilize In fact as the
done why I was there
manufactory of it for important
from the convicts However Herbert's convalescence progressed rapidly The
where they smuggled it in
Sulphuric acid is one of
should remain here alone to
to cut away a few
yet I would rather have
beast as he said Gideon
and the reporter allowed him
of pigeon's eggs and lithodomes Herbert
educate and we shall not
Wood which lay between the
not expose yourself Your courage
from the engineer made them
Gideon Spilett observed any remains
obtain this result it had
this discovery of the chest
that point and that the
himself and did not manifest
clever orang had been marvelously

Silas collapses as soon as they have pulled him out of the water. 'What happened? There was a terribly large fish and then everything went dark!'

Curated snippets.
should much like to watch
beast as he said Gideon
yet I would rather have
not expose yourself Your courage

'I should have much liked to watch that beast', said Gideon, 'yet I would rather have that you would not expose yourself. Your courage …' 'My courage is failing me, Gideon, and you wouldn't want to go down there. Nobody should. That creature seemed … evil. How can a fish cause me to blackout?'

Meta gaming Did Silas black out because of the fish or due to equipment failure as I first imagined? Let's ask an oracle at even chance. Result: it's not because of the fish and Silas is mistaken. Nobody speaks up about a technical problem (for lack of applicable snippets) so maybe it wasn't actually noticed and they just pulled Silas out when they noticed his distress. We have met Gideon and while he seems concerned about Silas he is also the curious type. Perhaps he is the reporter? Remove the four snippets that were used and replace with new:
Click to display active snippets.
the peak The engineer with
angle of only forty five
utilize In fact as the
done why I was there
manufactory of it for important
from the convicts However Herbert's convalescence progressed rapidly The
where they smuggled it in
Sulphuric acid is one of
should remain here alone to
to cut away a few
and the reporter allowed him
of pigeon's eggs and lithodomes Herbert
educate and we shall not
Wood which lay between the
from the engineer made them
Gideon Spilett observed any remains
obtain this result it had
this discovery of the chest
that point and that the
himself and did not manifest
clever orang had been marvelously
troop of quadrupeds jumping bounding
He amused the engineer by
rejoined Top There the passage
the sands of Granite House
Curated snippets.
the peak The engineer with
to cut away a few
Wood which lay between the
that point and that the
this discovery of the chest
rejoined Top There the passage

The engineer was busy cutting away a few pieces of wood that lay between this point and that to uncover the chest and rejoined that to the air passage. 'Was there a problem with the pump?', asked Silas, still out of breath, 'You had been working on it so long the past few weeks.' He turns back to Gideon, 'I think you better get me to a place where I can rest, I …' That's as far as he gets before he vomits violently on the sand. Tension, lack of air and perhaps a mouthful of salty water did not become him well.

Meta gaming So a defective pump after all, just that the engineer is not very talkative. So did the pump break due to poor construction, old age or is there something more sinister like sabotage? Too early to ask the oracle, maybe it will turn up on its own.
Click to display active snippets.
angle of only forty five
utilize In fact as the
done why I was there
manufactory of it for important
from the convicts However Herbert's convalescence progressed rapidly The
where they smuggled it in
Sulphuric acid is one of
should remain here alone to
and the reporter allowed him
of pigeon's eggs and lithodomes Herbert
educate and we shall not
from the engineer made them
Gideon Spilett observed any remains
obtain this result it had
himself and did not manifest
clever orang had been marvelously
troop of quadrupeds jumping bounding
He amused the engineer by
the sands of Granite House
for asked the sailor impatient
islet and this became still
its source Perhaps other creeks
then going at a very
the forests of the island
long grass Harding was laid
Curated snippets.
long grass Harding was laid
the forests of the island
the sands of Granite House
Gideon Spilett observed any remains
of pigeon's eggs and lithodomes Herbert
from the convicts However Herbert's convalescence progressed rapidly The

Silas was laid on the long grass bordering the forests of the island. On the sands of the beach, Gideon Spilett was observing the remains of the pigeon's eggs and lithodomes that had formed Silas' breakfast. Silas' convalescence progressed rapidly and soon he was able to tell Gideon: 'I don't think that I had a bad mussel; it was all a bit too much just now. Though I have to admit, having only pigeon eggs for food is getting to me. These mussels were a lucky find but some fish would be nice for a change!'

Meta gaming I asked the oracle whether pigeon's eggs and lithodomes (that's a kind of shellfish. I had to look it up. Silas doesn't know the word either) were their only food at even odds and got a yes. Gideon is still curious and we've a modest goal in catching fish. It may require getting rid of the scary big fish to do so in safety, or even killing that for food. Maybe we can learn a bit more about the engineer next. From now on, I will remove the first snippet of the lot, considering that if it wasn't picked yet it perhaps wasn't so interesting.
Click to display active snippets.
utilize In fact as the
done why I was there
manufactory of it for important
where they smuggled it in
Sulphuric acid is one of
should remain here alone to
and the reporter allowed him
educate and we shall not
from the engineer made them
obtain this result it had
himself and did not manifest
clever orang had been marvelously
troop of quadrupeds jumping bounding
He amused the engineer by
for asked the sailor impatient
islet and this became still
its source Perhaps other creeks
then going at a very
in his hand felt the
is an outlet by which
him and therefore straight towards
replied the sailor Besides it
that sorrow Besides we will
he has a life to
eating they looked around them
Curated snippets.
its source Perhaps other creeks
troop of quadrupeds jumping bounding
replied the sailor Besides it

'Perhaps other creeks will be an abounding source of jumping shoals of fish', replied Gideon. 'Be that as it may', says Silas, 'I am not going back in the water before the engineer has convinced me that his pump system is safe. And now that I mention him, what happened to the engineer? Is he off on one of projects again?'

Meta gaming No news of the engineer; we must hope he is alright. It may be about time to give him a name. From Gideon's remark we can conclude that the scene is near a creek and not far out at sea. It must be a deep creek if diving gear is needed. Perhaps some rocky coast? At this point, I also want to know whether they are on an (uninhabited) island like in the book. First: Are they on an island (very likely)?: yes. The: Is the island uninhabited (likely):? yes.

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