GM: Sean Nittner
System: Burning Wheel
Just finished the Burning Wheel game. It started really late because we were waiting for a player that was supposed to show up at 8:30 but didn’t make it till two hours after that. We ended up starting without him but really only had three scenes.
First, Jordan met with his cousin and old lover Jamie, now in the body of a vile orc. She told him that she must escape from their captivity, and that there was a traitor in their midst.
Next Genn tried to get on Arthas good side but the young prince had a temper tantrum and threw the table over on him.
Last Jordan in the rain convinced Jaina of his love for her once again, but got her to agree to help free Jamie from captivity if he would forsake her after this.
What rocked
The conflicts were really charged, the way I want them to be. Genn really needed Arthas on his side, and he got it, but had to pay the price of facing the dragon again. Jordan really wanted Jaina on his side, not just because he need her help but also because he didn’t want her to feel betrayed by him.
Arthas totally through a teenage temper tantrum on Genn and wiped him out with one massive Dismiss. It was nuts, Arthas should have lost handily, but as is he merely had to make a major concession. The scene of him knocking over tables, throwing a fit and then apologizing for it later, blaming his temper on the pressure around him was great.
We got another little scene with Gavin. He’s not an important NPC per se but he’s one that I like and hope will be an ally to Jordan. Basically someone who has been on the field and understands the atrocities of war. He is definitely not Jordan, but they both have something to prove and both want to do so through deeds of glory. I could equally see them being good friends, rivals or bitter enemies. I hope that progresses.
Jaina and Jordan had it out on the hills over Taren Mill. She reluctantly agreed to help Jamie despite her jealousy. I really think the Arthas – Jaina – Jordan – Jamie love quadrangle will be fun to keep playing out. I’ll probably need Arthas to be more of a “player” though as so far he hasn’t done much to win Jaina over.
What could have been improved
The game was short. I wanted to call it early so I could watch Doll House with my better half and still get to bed by midnight (been really tired lately). Add that to the fact that we didn’t start till 9:30 PM and we had a very brief game.
Jordan didn’t even flinch when I told him there was a traitor in his midst. The traitor, which only Jordan knows about should make everything more tense. Someone in Arthas’s army is working for the orcs and I expect this to make everyone know finds out about it paranoid (or if the mole finds out and is able to contain them… dead). I think maybe I was just throwing too much at the player, but I expected that to be the big reveal and as is it fell flat. I think I’ll have to prove the threat next session.
I need to stat out Arthas and Jaina. I was just making up what I thought I remembered them having which meant 4-5 dice on most rolls plus a FoRK or two. I don’t think that was unreasonable, but it will be more fulfilling when I have then stated out and really know what they can bring to the table. I think Jaina is going to be a Duel of Wits machine, but we’ll see.
I am really loving this game, I’m having a blast running it and it seems like the players are really digging into each other their beliefs, which rocks.
Jordan figured there’s traitors working with the cult of the damned in the army, since the army treats peasants like crap. The fact that there was one working with the orcs wasn’t superbly disturbing because where an army has one group of traitors, there’s probably another.
Plus…at the end of the day, Jordan doesn’t like the army. Playing the ‘Orcs killed tons of peasants’ cards got him pretty involved though, even if he didn’t show it. I was tempted to release her right then.
Huh, okay, makes sense. We’ll keep seeing this one boil over. If Jordan does nothing she’ll be tortured and interrogated, if not worse. If he sets her free, he’ll look even more like a traitor to his own people.
As for the not liking the army bit, that is great. I love the idea that Jordan doesn’t feel he can trust the people around him. The truth is, its a pretty good survival instinct. He can’t.
Yeah, I don’t think Jordan knows HOW to do nothing, lol. Definetly planning on doing something. We’ll see how the interview with Uther goes. That one might have some major consequences…if Uther doesn’t change his tactics after learning that she is a human, Jordan might have some issues.
So…my totally not game-related question is “how was Dollhouse”? :p
Wierd, but I liked it. Have to watch more to figure out what I really thing. Check it out on hulu.com
And now I don’t have to go hunting for an online source. 🙂 Danke. I’ll likely peruse it this weekend.
Check hulu.com, they have some adds (like all sites that air shows do) but they are very minimal and it’s very easy to navigate.
You can also watch it on fox online. But it’s got brief plugs for other fox shows during the breaks.
Sorry I was such a grump yesterday. Somehow I envisioned things being different, and I realized I really wanted to hang out with you and talk, and then I got cranky because I started picturing the game dragging out forever.