Broken - Situation

Ok, some more details about 'Broken'.

The Situation

As summarized in the previous post, the protagonists the players will portray are trapped in a potentially dangerous set of circumstances from which there seems no escape, or at least any apparent avenue of escape is itself fraught with danger. Part of the setup process that takes place before play is the brainstorm. During which, the players agree on the particular incident or situation that will bring the protagonists in their story together and keep them there for the gruling duration. This will be different for each group and serves to help personalize the story and build a level of creative investment on the part of the players.

Two examples from the works inspiring this design are 'a plane crash on a deserted island in the middle-of-nowhere' (Lost), and  a lonely mountain town engulfed in fog and falling ash whose only roads have been cut off' (Silent Hill).

Now obviously, these two examples deal with locales exhibiting strange and supernatural characteristics. However, while these are very much within the milieu of the game, the place or situation trapping the protagonists is not limited to such. The circumstance could also be something much more mundane, though no less dangerous or frightening. A 'power outage in the subway', 'an antarctic research station', or 'a squad of marines cut off from support in the Vietnam jungle' would all be viable examples.

I should note that the the basic requirement is that the situation should keep the protagonists together for the duration of the story and not be easily escaped. While it isn't necessary for the situation to be threatening in and of itself, any apparent or revealed danger can easily be used to heighten the sense of drama and suspense.

There is always the possibility for the situation to be directly tied to the supernatural manifestation of one of the protagonists issues. Though a great example of reincorporation, this is also not a requirement. If such a dramatic turn is incorporated, it is probably best if it is not explicitly declared before play begins. A plot point like this should be given a chance to emerge (or not) organically through play and the development of the story.

Broken

Ok, I'm going to try and start breaking down the basics of this game idea and what I want to accomplish with it, piece by piece.

BROKEN

Inspirations and Influences

• Lost, television series
• Silent Hill, film, video-game series
• Solaris, film
• Fight Club, film
• Sunshine, film
  

Premise

The players take on the roles of a group of seemingly disparate individuals trapped together in a desperate situation. Each of them is saddled with a painful issue from their past that threatens to tear them apart both figuratively and literally. As they struggle to escape they will discover the subtle connections between them as well as the personal secrets they have each worked to keep buried. However, above and beyond the apparent physical danger of their circumstances looms the supernatural manifestation of a deep-seated regret or loss carried by one among them - but who's? Can they come to terms with their strange connections and work to free themselves - emotionally and literally - before they are all consumed?

Gamex '08

Well let's see, the indie crowd was a bit smaller this time around, but I hear that this is historically the slower/smaller con of the three. Other than that, I had fun. My buddy Wesley and I had a room for the weekend (which was cool not having to drive home each night) and I think we'll do it again for Gateway.

Saturday

Spirit of the Force

Gave up my spot at the game for a older gamer who could have easily been my grandma. Still had fun watching Colin GM and the various players interact and play out their Jedi badasses.

Tribe 8

Tribe 8 is quite honestly my all-time favorite setting. However I haven't played it in more than five years, and even then it was as a GM only. Additionally, since then, my tastes in rpg systems has taken a radical turn. Despite my misgivings, I decided to participate in this event as a player for two reasons: 1) to see if I could still enjoy the game's simulationist 'Silhoutte system, and 2) to see if my 'setting-whore/laywer' sensibilities could stand another person GMing the game for me.

To my surprise both 1 and 2 turned out for the positive; I enjoyed the system and was able to take a laid back approach to the game. Drawing on my knowledge of the setting, I simply threw out bits color here and characterization there, rather than dominating or 'correcting' the GM as far as setting details. The GM and I also happened to be in same Agon game latter that evening (see below) which was cool as well.

Agon

This was a big group, six players and it went over great. The hero's were commanded by Hera to clear one of her temples of a band of satyrs what were befouling her priestesses with their intoxicating song and dance. Since any who approached would be caught up in their maddening revelry,we had to track down an old hero who told us of a mystical horn that would drive away the satyrs. After performing a feat to prove our worthiness he directed us to a swamp where we fought six giant snakes conjured by an evil sorceress.

Of course, in the midst of all this the heros were jostling for glory,challenging each other to contests and exacting oaths for advantage. Great stuff. I was afraid that the battlestrip/mini portion of the game would bog down, but it was awesome. Positioning yourself, enemies and others on the battlestrip was tremendously fun. This event pretty much made up for the previous disappointments of the day. I was convinced to run this next con.

Sunday

Slept In

Mmm, sleep....

In a Wicked Age

Jesse GM'd, and the other players were Will Hutton and one 'Syler Van Merlin'. We played two chapters. The first telling the tale of a war between a warlord and his expanding city and a warrior-queen and her jungle dwelling tribe. Long story short, the warrior-queen (my character) allied herself with the warlord's captain to dispose him and end the war, both agreeing not to provoke any hostilities in the future.

Since I was at the top of the We Owe List, the second chapter concerned Jila the warrior-queens quest to retrieve the 'Heartwood Spear' (her particular strength from the first chapter) and prove her worthiness to lead the tribe. So yeah, it was prequel. Needless to say haunted temples, necromancers, sorcerer, slave-spirits and treasure hunters were involved. Much fun all around.

It seems the more I play this game, the more I like it.

Munchkin

Picked this up in the exhibition hall on recommendation from the guys who host the Totally Rad Show (who I had the chance to meet in person in the hotel lobby. Squee!). Tons of fun, Wesley and I played for three hours straight. We have to try this out soon.

So pretty much this was my lazy con, so I plan to run a bunch of events at Gateway.

In a Wicked Age, Conflict Mod

The following is an alternate system for conflict resolution in Vincent Baker's In a Wicked Age, based on rules from John Harper's Agon.

Playing with dice

    Roll dice when one character moves to accomplish something another character can and would try to interfere with. This may be  moving unseen, inflicting a wound, or persuading or convincing another character, for example.

One-On-One

    Before dice are rolled, each player involved, including the GM, states a Goal for their character(s). Goals are simply general statements of intent that broadly establish what the character is trying to accomplish. Goals can identify a particular narrative outcome or they may be specifically to gain advantage over an opponent.

    Once Goals have been stated, everyone looks at their character sheet and chooses two Forms that are relevant to how they seek to achieve their Goal. When the final outcome of the conflict is narrated it must match the Forms chosen by the winner. That means, no violence if the Form “with Violence” was not chosen, and secretive actions if “Covertly” was used, for example.

    Each player then rolls two dice corresponding to the forms they’ve chosen and compares the results. The player with the single highest die result wins the conflict and claims their Goal. All players may contribute to the narration of the outcome, with the winning player having final say. The narrated result should follow from the Goal established before dice was rolled.

Pushing the Conflict 

    If the loser is unwilling to accept the outcome of a conflict they may elect to Push the Conflict. When Pushing a Conflict, the player who has just won, or Challenger, decides whether the loser, or Answer, has just been Injured, Exhaust or Shamed - however these effects do not take effect until after the conflict is over, despite it’s outcome. The Conflict then enters a second round with the Challenger gaining an Advantage die. The Answerer then narrates how his character has managed to stay in the conflict despite the Challenger's gain of the advantage. Before the dice are rolled, either player may elect to change the Forms they will roll. Once both sides have decided on their Forms, the second contested roll is made. Results are compared as usual, with the player rolling the highest result claiming their Goal.

    If the Answer looses this second round as well, they are once again Injured, Exhausted or Shamed at the Challenger’s discretion - in addition to any Injury, Exhaustion or Shame from the first round. They may, however, Push for a third and final round. No conflicts may be Pushed past a third round. The conflict ends when the losing player does not seek to Push any further, or the third round has been reached. A conflict with the same Goal cannot be re-entered until the situation has changed in at least one significant way - different time, different place, or different characters involved.

Gaining Advantage

    In many conflicts, players will seek to gain an advantage over their enemies, such as ambushes or securing harmful information. If a player wins a conflict in which their Goal was to gain an advantage, they earn an Advantage Die that may be used in any relevant future conflict against that foe. Conflicts to gain advantage are always rolled against the character whom the advantage will be used against. This is despite whatever distances or actual entities featured within the narrative.

    The Advantage Die is a d6 that that player may roll in addition to the usual dice from their Forms and Particular Strength. If the player doubles their opponent’s highest result in the conflict to gain advantage this die is a d8 instead. Once an Advantage Die has been used in a conflict it is lost, despite the fact that the character may still have the item or information within the narrative.

Dueling Wits

    In some cases, players will elect to use non-violent means of achieving their goals that can be just as potent as physical ones. Players are fully allowed to state Goals in which they persuade or convince another PC or NPC towards a particular action or line of thinking. Even so, the player who's character is to be convinced or persuaded has the option of ignoring or letting his character simply walk away from the situation.

    However, the player being persuaded may choose to allow the conflict roll in order to convince his opponent of something in return. The winner of the subsequent conflict gains the majority of what they were arguing for with the losing player suggesting a minor concession in their character's favor. If one side manages to double the other’s highest result no concession is made to the loser.

    If a player seeks to gain an advantage in a direct social confrontation against their opponent and the opponent does not elect to enter conflict, their only recourse is to either abort the attempt or resort to force.

Two-On-One and Beyond

Group all characters into pairs of obviously opposing sides, roll dice and compare all  results. As usual, the he player who rolled the highest single result claims their Goal and has final approval of the narrated outcome. The winner may Exhaust, Injure or Shame any of his opponent that elects to push the conflict. For the sake of clarity, each pair of opposing sides should be resolved and narrated separately.

Orcon 2008!

Despite that fact that it was my first time GMing at a con (three, count 'em, three events!) every single session was better than I could have hoped. This I fully attribute to the awesome folk I had the opportunity to game with this past weekend. You guys all rock; which makes me regret that I didn't have more time to hang out after hours. Driving back to the south bay each night was definitely a drag, and I resolve to grab a room for the next con.

Game I ran:

• Two separate sessions of InSpectres.
  
• One session of of In A Wicked Age.

Awesome moments:

• Ryan totally flirting with a female motorist out the side of his van while stuck in a traffic jam (InSpectres).
  
• Alex's femme fatale 'freeing' a colleague from the grasp of a tentacled blob monster with automatic gunfire (InSpectres).
  
• Terran dominating just about everybody with his wolf-spirit -- damn you Wolf-Bitch! (Wicked)
  
• CK's ghost-queen possessing her preserved corpse and laying down the whopp-ass before being tragically defeated in the climactic battle. (Wicked)
  

Thanks again to Deny and Paul for organizing, and Josh for inviting me last year in the first place. Here's looking forward to Gamex!

Tribe 8, Story-Games Style

This thread thread on Story-Games.com got me thinking again about Tribe 8. For a long time my group has expressed their desire for me to run another Tribe 8 campaign. Considering that it’’s my all-time favorite setting, I haven”t needed much convincing.

However, if I were to run the game again, I”d definitely want to use, or create, a set of rules that would emphasize and reinforce the strong themes presented in the excellent source material. In my eyes, the situation the Fallen find themselves in is somewhat akin to that of the HBO series Deadwood. You have all these individuals, each from various backgrounds, newly arrived in this god-forsaken place. Pretty much their only hope for survival is to work together, but you’ve got all these different ideologies, egos and agendas colliding, and it isn’t helping things. However, for the Fallen, on top of all that you’ve got the Z’bri, Joshua’s Prophecy and the broken cosmos thing going on that makes the whole situation that much more dire.

So, some themes that spring to my mind in framing a Fallen campaign:

• The intersection of Identity and Community.
  
• The role and necessity of Sacrifice in the pursuit of personal goals.
  
• The fulfillment (or inevitability?) of Fate and Prophecy versus the triumph of Free Will.
  

I”m trying to figure out how I can support these themes mechanically. Are there any significant others I”ve overlooked?

InSpectres!

I had the opporunity to play InSpectres this past sunday with one of the two groups I just started gaming with, and damn if it wasn”t a bag-of-fun. I had picked up the game at Gen Con So Cal ”06 mostly on a whim, and only skimmed through it a bit shortly before the game started. Surprisingly, the three-hour session was some of the most fun I”ve had gaming in a long while.

I had the pleasure of playing a faux new-age, former hollywood agent turned PR faceman who maxed out his credit cards in order to license their InSpectres startup. The other players were a tough, asian biker chick trained in combating the supernatural, and a varsity high-school football player surprisingly competant in computers.

Once the game started, the laughs just kept rolling as our team barely managed to exorcise the spirit of a 200 year old indian medicine man from haunting an apartment complex. Suffice to say, a possessed football team, local police, SWAT and a dead cat were all involved before the case was wrapped up.

All in all, it was great fun. As written, the game just excellently supports the Ghost Busters meets Startup.com inspired premise. I”m definitely looking forward to our next session.