The small scenes you walk in on: a quarrel at the forge, a friend with news, a shopkeeper with a favor to ask.
Blue markers
Each day, up to four buildings in the settlement you're in (or the nearest one) get a blue marker. Someone inside
is in the middle of something. Markers don't say who or what. Walk in to find out.
Walking in
Enter the building. The scene is set up as you arrive.
The character at the center of it speaks first, reacting to you walking in.
From there it's a normal conversation. Join in, help, take sides, or walk away.
Who you might find:
people at work, sometimes with a coworker or family member
a friend you haven't seen in a while, who's glad (or not) to see you
Strangers stay strangers. Someone who's never met you won't greet you like an old friend.
Afterwards
When the conversation ends:
word gets around: the people involved remember what happened, and the town can hear about it
feelings shift: how it went changes how they feel about you
follow-ups: some moments lead to another one a few days later
Behind the scenes, patterns in your relationships (a falling-out, an alliance, a reputation) can become the premise
for later moments.
Ignoring a marker
Nothing happens if you don't go in. Markers are replaced at the next day change.
Settings
Turn Story Moments on or off in Atlas → Settings → Story Moments. They're on by default. A moment already under
way still finishes.
Steer what kinds of moments you get in Journal → Preferences. See Story preferences.
Story Moments are part of the paid plans.
A world needs at least one settlement for Story Moments to appear.