Actual Play – Darmot must Die! (6/18/2016)

ghost_titleGM: Sean Nittner
Players: Mengu Gungor, Michael Donovan, David Millar, Geoff Hunt
System: Blades in the Dark, Quickset Rules v.6

What is it with Darmot? We either love him or hate him. This time it was all hate.

The Method: The one-shot method I was trying out at Origins worked great!

Our Crew

Lex, the Hound was ex-military (dishonorably discharged) who still had family (Veleris) in the serivce, who helped him stay ahead of the various agencies after him.

Beeker, the Leech is an Skovlan orphan taken in by Stacia as both surrogate child and apprentice to help her work in her shop and occassinaly perform services for the Lampblacks.

Three Spin, as he goes by now, the Lurk used to be an inspector in the Imperial City, but has traveled all the way to Doskvol to escape that past. Unfortunately the Bluecoat Darmot has followed him here, and recruiting a few very, very mercenary members of the service, is now hunting him down.

Mink, the Cutter, grew up on the streets. His mother was a prostitute that worked at the Red and Black, and all the women there treated Mink as though he was their own. Trying to make a name for himself, Mink set out to find a crew and start pulling scores.

2016-06-18 18.05.19The Score: Darmot!

With Darmot and his leg breakers hunting for Three Spin, the choice was either to leave the Lurk out of the gang, or to accepted him and deal with his Bluecoat problems. The crew decided to set Darmot up. They would have some of the ladies at the Red and Black let slip that he was hiding out in an an old half sunken Opera House that you could only get either via canals or by finding some passage down from the shops that had been built on top of it.

The crew cleared out the opera house (which had a few waifs and urchins that actually had been hiding out in it) and set up an ambush. Beaker made some explosives. Lex set up a good spot to snipe from, Three Spin would be the bait, and Mink would jump them once the explosions cleared!

A serious complication

Tricking Darmot, however, turned out to be more dangerous than expected. Charlene, who worked at the the Red & Black, hated the cruel man, and was a bit too eager to set him up [Engagement Result (1-3): Bad Outcome].

Instead of just storming off to the Opera House, Darmot decided to cover his tracks and called in a few favors. Just before the scoundrels headed out to ambush him, they saw from the Fox & Hound (the tavern adjacent to the Red and Black) that another pack of Bluecoats had arrived to shot the place down. A whole bunch of Mink’s family was about to be hauled off to Ironhook and meanwhile, the prize was getting away.

Here’s my permit officer… a dagger in your belly

With some fast talking and bravado (that inadvertently revealed to Three Spin’s allies that he had clearly served on the force himself) Three Spin cleared the way for Mink to straighten things out with sergeant Devilin, which he did by stabbing him in the belly and then expecting his fellow compatriots to fight, which at least most of them did. Beaker bolted for his life!

Finishing the Job

Though bloodied and beaten from their first mortal altercation with the Bluecoats, our bloodthirsty scoundrels were not stopping their. They made their way quickly to the Opera House, where Beaker was already priming the charge and a tried to ambush the Darmot and his cronies. The attack didn’t go off exactly as planned, Beaker’s remote detonation failed had to light the fuse up close and got caught in it, Mink was shot, and Three Spin was gutted! Some ugly, ugly work, but it was done. And oh how the bells at the crematorium rung!

What Rocked

Perhaps for the first time I saw some real sense of scoundrels having a home and people they cared about. The Red and Black were Mink’s people and when they were threatened he was compelled to act to help them. I haven’t even seen vigilantes do that!

It was quickly apparent that Darmot was the big threat to our crew, so I played him up hard. We had a few scenes of him interrogating NPCs for Three Spin’s whereabouts cut in between the PCs scenes, and he was an awful, awful person.

Beaker’s explosion in the end mirrored one he had described early on, when he accidentally blew up Eckert’s corpse locker (Eckert was his enemy). It was great to see that reincorporated.

Three Spin’s desire to keep his past hidden was fantastic. Not only did he slip up in front of crew, but there were also a few chance encounters with the Red Sashes on rooftops where he tried to play it cool, but they nearly identified him as well!

There was also a great motivation to help Three Spin. Though Darmot was his enemy, Frake, a locksmith was his friend and promised to tell him which high end establishments bought his locks and how to pick them!

What could have improved

We had a lot going on in this session. Red Sashes trying to take possession of Beaker (he was a valuable alchemist), Three Spin’s secret identity, Mink’s relationships with the Red and Black, and Lex’s dark past. As with any session, you’ve just got to pick one or two items and stick with it, but I missed getting a chance to explore the other stories we could have told.

The Bluecoat massacre of 847 was an ugly and brutal one. It would have been cool to get to the payoff, because I think they generated ALL the heat. Wild, devastating exposure: 6, Killing involved +2, Well connected target +1. The crew would have gone from nobodies to wanted in a single score!

I could really use a “first session sheet” that has a space to write up all the PCs, their NPCs with strong connections, clocks that we start, and devils bargains taken. Even better if in the corners it has lists (names, taverns, city descriptors, etc). As you can see from the picture above, currently I use index cards but they don’t quite fit enough on them and once I get past two or three it becomes a mess.

Actual Play – Cartel (6/17/2016)

Cartel-Cover-MediumGM: Mark Diaz Truman
Players: Karen Twelves, Sean Nittner, Geoff Hunt, and Greg Klein.
System: Cartel, with some advancement rules tweaked from the Ash Can.

I’ve been wanting to play Cartel for months. I think since I heard John Harper talk about the introductory text (which is amazing by the way).  Karen has been waiting to play even longer! Since this game didn’t happen due to sickness and a few folks not making it out. I used my “skip the line” pass and Karen got the last spot. Yay!

The Intro

From http://www.magpiegames.com/cartel-ashcan-edition/

The Sinaloa Cartel is the largest drug trafficking organization in the world, a sprawling network of narcos, halcones, y sicarias that moves billions of dollars of drugs into Los Estados Unidos each year. One of their prime holdings is Durango, Mexico, a small city ten hours south of the border that’s a crucial way station for anything moving north.

But holding the city ain’t easy: either la policía gets in the way, or some foolish pendejo thinks he can pull one over on the chingados that run Durango for los jefes grande. And don’t even get me started on Los Zetas

You want in, cabrón? Fine by me. Just know that once you’re in…there’s no turning back

Mark’s opening

Mark started the game by talking briefly about the Sinaloa Cartel, narco culture, and then telling us a story about a mass abduction of students in Mexico. Nobody knew who did it and a huge search was sent out to find them. When they finally did discover the mass grave the realized after some analysis that this mass grave didn’t have the students that had gone missing. Let that sink in for a minute.

2016-06-17 23.00.23Our Characters

Lourdes, El Cocinero (the Cook) was going to do something with her life. She got out of Mexico to go to college in the U.S. studying chemistry. She had a bright future, but her own addictions brought that crashing down. When she failed out of school and had to return home with a mountain of debt, she was a disappointment to her family and herself. When AAA offered her an apartment, a car, a job, and a new life, she gladly accepted. Entirely owned by the cartel, Lourdes started the game in a bad way (more on that below).

Pepe, el Halcón (the Hawk) is a young runner who had been working for the cartel since he was old enough to hold a gun. Though the lowest on the totem pole in the cartel proper, Pepe still had a group of friend that thought he was the best thing ever. Pepe wasn’t smart but he did follow orders, he did have have a crew, and he also had a boyfriend who loved him very much!

Eduardo, La Polizeta (the Cop) is a federal agent that was investigating the same cases he was covering up! A tricky situation, especially in a cartel that isolates its members so he had no way of knowing who he was supposed to protect and who knew who he really ways, except his half brother Carlos who only knew because his lover Pepe, that had dealings with Eduardo, let it slip. But Lourdes? They were drinking buddies. Maybe something more sometimes, but never co-workers. At least not at the start.

Carlos, La Esposa (The Wife, in this case the husband) was Pepe’s lover and live in boyfriend. He wanted to so much for them and their family. And he believed that Pepe could give them all that… probably. Maybe not. Just in case, he got his real estate license and was trying to earn a little on the side. Just in case things didn’t work out so well…

Los Enlaces (The Links)

If it wasn’t already clear we were all in each others business. Carlos didn’t trust Lourdes because a) they used to be an item and it ended bad, and b) because he thinks she feels like she better than us all. Pepe had been doing additional work for Lourdes, hoping that would get him closer to El Narco, but so far she hasn’t shown him any signs that she was impressed. He and Eduardo also had a plan to made a deal on the side, something nobody would ever notice!  Additionally Lourdes had a younger sister Alma who was very close but didn’t know she was part of the cartel. The relationship between those two became absolutely pivotal in the game!

So good.

An opening move to drive the game!

As Carlos I made my opening move and was loving life. [Whenever there is a stretch of downtime in play (or between sessions), roll with Hustle. On a 10+, you juggle your responsibilities with grace; clear your stress track.”  just showed a couple a new house and we were starting to draw up the paperwork. I bought myself a new pair of shoes in celebration, and made a wonderful meal for Pepe and I to share!

Life for Lourdes however, was pretty much as bad as it could get. She drove way out into the desert, parked her car in the designated spot (aka the middle of nowhere) and did the 20 minute hike to her lab, an old semi trailer box buried under the ground. Only when she crested a small hill she found it had been dug up and was currently in the process of being excavated by the local police.

Calmly as she could, Lourdes, walked back to her car, and just before she got in it, Eduardo and his partner Reyes, who had just gotten the call that the locals found something, came driving by, and Reyes, recognizing Lourdes as Eduardo’s sometimes friend whipped the car around to see what she was doing out in the middle of nowhere.

And that’s how the game started!

Highlights of the game

Oh, it was so good, but I can’t put all the pieces back together in my head, so here are the ones that stood out the most:

  • We were all so low on the totem pole. Lourdes was a cook for sure, but a cook owned by the cartel. I played La Esposa, a character who is normally tied to a person of power (like El Narco) but instead my love was El Halcón, about as low as you could be and still be part of the cartel. Eduardo had some real power but nobody knew who he was, so they might (and did) shoot him on sight!
  • Karen in particular was remarkable in playing a low status character. She not only was terrified of El Narco, but she also had a sister Alma that she was trying to keep away from the Cartel. When Alma hid inside the closet and Lourdes too El Narco into her bedroom so they could talk without him knowing Alma was there or her hearing their conversation, Alma thought Lourdes had become a prostitute and tried to get her out of the business. The way she floundered from one disaster to the next was just amazing.
  • Lourdes also through Pepe under the bus at the drop of the hat! When El Narco asked how the police found the lab, she knew that she didn’t tell them, so it must have been Pepe! It must have been!
  • Pepe, meanwhile thought everything was good and so when he got the call to come pick up a package and to bring all of his crew along, he did not hesitate. Carlos was worried though, something was wrong, so he came along as his “driver”.
  • And of course when Pepe, Carlos, Lola, Paco, and Raki (Pepe’s Pandilla) arrived we walked right into a trap. Automatic riffles pointed at all of us! Pepe, knowing he didn’t rat though, felt sure it would all be okay.
  • When it looked like the call had come in, however Carlos was terrified and in order to save Pepe’s life (and his own) he made a huge scene, announcing that they were lovers, and blamed it all on Lola! Who, moments before the real truth came out was shot in the head!
  • Meanwhile Eduardo had been trying to contain all of this mess on his end. First by hiding evidence from the bust and then by trying to help Pepe out of a jam. Only he came along, and he wasn’t known, and he ended up getting shot in the face (brutal and ugly, but not lethal) and put in a car, where he met with El Narco, and with Lourdes (they picked her up as she was brunching with her sister, another awkward scene) and sorted it all out.

Fucking amazing!

What rocked

Much of what is in the highlights. Also:

  • Our table dynamic. There were so many offers being thrown out and accepted. So much building on each other’s offers.
  • Mark said Lourdes turning on Pepe was the fastest he’d ever seen one player throw another under the bus. Probably the first 15 minute of play!
  • For me, it was really important that playing a gay man who wasn’t out wouldn’t be done for laughs. And everyone at the table just got it! We played with the cultural norms and the tension that arose from breaking those norms, but never in a derisive or disrespectful way.
  • The stress moves in this game are amazing. Particularly the drug moves! It was so great to seeing both Lourdes and Pepe praying (one for guidance, the other for absolution) in a sea of chaos.
  • Introducing keys to the game were great. My character got experience when he transgressed over a family member’s boundaries in order to help them. That was amazing! Lourdes twice got experience for lying to her sister in order to protect her from the truth! That is so much more rewarding than highlighted stats or rolling a miss.
  • There was a moment where Mark was playing the lieutenant who had just gotten off the phone with El Narco and I (Sean) was sure as he was going to kill us all if I didn’t do something. So I tried to “Size him up” and I got a 7-9 result which meant I only got one question. If I had two questions I would have asked “what does your character intend to do next?” and then based on that asked “how could I get your character to _________?” but since I on’y got one question I jumped right to “how could I get your character to believe Lola did it and kill her?” It was a crazy jump. Because I didn’t know if he was going to kills us or not, but finding out wasn’t a choice, so I just assumed the worst and aimed his wrath at her! Imperfect knowledge is a wonderful thing!
  • The tone of the game, as Mark described it, was pretty amazing in it’s ability to shift from gritty crime fiction to telenovela. Yes, we were all part of a very dangerous organization and could easily be killed any minute by the police, rival cartels, or even our own bosses. However, amidst all that scraping to survive, we were also people with dramatic, sometimes melodramatic lives. The scenes between Alma and Lourdes, and between Carlos and Pepe, were very emotional, and it was great that Cartel makes a space for them!

What could have improved

After the game we bumped into Mark and he noted that the stress move of praying didn’t have enough fictional consequences. It didn’t tie you to any person or any specific action. We talked about revising it to require confession to a priest. Hot damn!

Actual Play – The Strangers (6/17/2016)

ghost_titleGM: Sean Nittner
Players: Brock Ecevit, Scott Slater, and Timothy Sayre
System: Blades in the Dark, Quickset Rules v.6

The Line Ride

I was scheduled to host at Games on Demand during the afternoon slot, and I wanted to pay it forward for getting to play in the upgrade the night before. So after doing my line duties, when we saw there were still some folks not in a game, I offered to run Blades. I’m so glad I did!

One Shot Blades – Ye olden way

In the past I’ve handled running Blades at cons by writing up my sample scores (Gaddoc Rail and Scurlock Manor) and having the players first make characters, then optionally make a crew, and finally detail the score. By the time that is done we usually have just enough time to quickly play out the score, and occasionally do downtime.

It’s not a bad method, but it does take some time to get started, and while the questions the players answer for each score do get them invested in it, sometimes a player makes a Blade that we really wouldn’t imagine creeping through Scurlock Manor or picking up a package at the train station. Also, there are two areas that tend to really slow player down: 1) Picking a Heritage (because it requires knowing about the world) and 2) Choosing faction statuses (because it requires knowing about the factions).

So, this time, taking advice from John’s After Office Hours No. 3, I tried a new approach!

One Shot Blades – Sir’s New Fangled Method

First off, toss out the pre-generated scores. That’s another sheet to fill out. We’ll figure out the score in a second. Just start with the character sheets and go from there.

Character creation

You’ve already told people about Blades and about Doskvol by now. They know it’s the Wire meets Lankhmar but in a haunted city. They are eager to make some scoundrels. And if they aren’t tell them how the electroplasmic lightning generators are fueled. Still no? Tell them that Roric, the gang leader of the Crows just died and now all of Crows Foot is scrambling to figure out who will be on top. Still no? I don’t believe you. Nobody hates fun that much.

Here’s the steps that are very similar to character creation in the Quickstart v.6 page 32.

  1. Pass out the character playbooks and if people don’t start getting grabby for them, start reading off the descriptions and tell people what you really think about them. “Leech, a saboteur and tinkerer. I love the leech, she can put a hole in the wall of Ironhook and not make a sound. She’s also good at putting body parts back in you when they come out!”.
  2. Ask them to choose a special ability. Actually make it two. At this point you haven’t talked about the mechanics at all but you don’t need to. The special abilities are all really cool and they are pretty self explanatory. The only ones that might need some coaching are those that talk about effect (like Cloak and Dagger) or engagement rolls (if you happen to do crew selection. The reason for two is you really want new players to get a chance to use the abilities in game. If someone is waffling I’ll also tell them that if they change their mind mid game, it’s fine to pick another one.
  3. Two choice here. Either I tell them “You’re all locals, write down that your from Akoros in your Heritage” or if we’ve been moving along quickly so far I say “The Unity war which brought Skovlan into the empire just ended a few years ago. There are still lots of hard feelings between Skovlanders and Akorosi, pick one of those two and then us what you’re doing in Doskvol.” If they tell you anything that smacks of interacting with a faction (Imperial Guard, Skovlan Consolate, Lampblacks, etc.) ask them follow up questions about how they either gained favor or made enemies in that faction and then mark a tick on the faction sheet accordingly.
  4. Have them choose Heritage as normal. Give them some examples of each category. Academics from Ivy League Whitecrown Academy or the guild driven Charterhall University. Labor unions like the Rail Jacks, Sparkrights, dock workers, or the like. Trade foreign or domestic as part of the semi-legitimate merchants guild or the totally not legitimate Hive. An example of each including a factor or two where you can is great. And once they’ve told you where they come from, ask how they fell so low to be teamed up with these other scoundrels. Again, this is an opportunity to start making faction ticks and let them know as you do it. Oh yeah, you used to work for the Crows but now you’ve set off on your own? Damn, I bet that happened after Roric died and the gang crumbled a bit, I bet Lyssa hates you for leaving, doesn’t she?
  5. Have them assign 4 action dots now, still capping at three dots. Yeah, for campaign games having one tied to heritage and one to background is great, but we’re going for speed here. Four all at once is faster than one, then one more, then two.
  6. Tell them to look at the items carried, but that they don’t need to worry about them until they start a score. You’ll go over load outs then. Just know if they need anything on that list they can probably get it, or setup a flashback to make sure they can get it easily.
  7. Choose a friend and rival. In my experience this is the most rewarding part of the process, and it’s almost always going to generate their score. They’ve already told you about their background and possibly about their heritage. So it’s very natural that when you ask “who are you really close with, and who wants to see your body heaped inside Bellweather” that they start making connections between the names on the list and the fiction they’ve been building. Especially ask them how their rival is causing them trouble! And again, if they even give a wiff of association with factions keep making ticks. It really doesn’t matter if you exceed the normal allotment, you’re looking to have their narrative reflected in the faction status sheet.
  8. Have them choose a vice. If the character is already really well fleshed out, it’s probably fine just to pick what it is. But if a player has been turtling thus far here’s your final chance (in character creation at least) to get something good out of them. Ask about their vice purveyor. Ask what problems their vice has caused for them. Ask why it’s so good! Jot down notes as the tell you bits that come alive in your mind. Someone has an obligation to the ghost of their dead sister? Yes, we can work with this!

Crew Creation, Optional

After character creation is done, I check the time and ask the players if they want to know more about the game system itself or want to jump into the action. Sometimes that takes a bit of parcelling out, but generally it’s fair to say that the “crew” is why all the character are together and what they are about. If the players have already been forming bonds with each other or talking about the kind of jobs they want to do, I suggest we start playing. If they are still isolated from each other, or if character creation was really fast, or if they are clearing just loving checking boxes, pull out the crew sheets.

As far as the crew creation process goes, I’d just follow the instructions on page 42, but again keep an eye out for potential problems and opportunities. Remind them of the woes that Darmot has caused them as he keeps bring more of his cronies in blue around, or that the Lampblack are still expecting to get paid for that deal that went sour.

Keep taking notes and making faction ticks!

Introductory Montage

Ask each player to depict their character in a day of normal behavior. Watch carefully for the cues they give you. Is there character a competent grifter who swindles three people out of their coin in as many minutes? Are they a desperate fugitive trying to get by? Up till this point you’ll have talked a lot about the game, but this is where you see if your expectation for tone and content matches theirs. And of course, you learn what they have most of on their mind! Ask some questions. Play out some normal activities. Look for some points of tension, but don’t push too hard on any of them. Try not to pick up dice unless they really want to engage the mechanics.

Break

Once they’ve each done a little intro to their characters give everyone a five to ten minute break. During that time, drink some water, get up and and stretch, and then look at all your notes. From them you should have at least half a dozen potential scores in mind. Do they have friends or favorable factions that they have done work with before who could offer them a score. Do they have enemies they need to ameliorate or eliminate. Is there a rival or faction they have negative status with that could threaten their nascent enterprise. Which of these relationships excites you, which ones fill your head with ideas?

Pitch a Score

When everyone sits back down remind them of the gnarly predicament they are in. Yes, they are a lowly tier 0 gang, but by now they have given you plenty of fodder to remind them of their desperation or challenges. Maybe they already know this, but I like to make sure the players don’t think of their characters as crime bosses or untouchables bad asses…that’s something to aspire to!

Then start asking them about the score’s you were thinking about over the break. What about that Marlane? She’s been talking all over town about how she’s going to take you down if you show yourself in the ring. Are you going to let that slide? The Red Sashes like your crew don’t they? One of you has done some favorable trade with them, and another trains in their dueling school. They are at war with the Lampblacks right now. Would you be looking to help them out? Maybe if there is was some coin in it for you? Or a chance to meet Mylera Klev in person?

Keep at it until they bite, or start suggesting a score of their own. Once they start talking about what the want or what they need to take care of, you’re set. From there, follow that fiction!

The Strangers

Mel Aves was a Doskvol Inspector, until she got framed by Petra in the city records office for embezzling. Of course she was guilty, they all were, but she had dirt on the clerk and out of fear Petra struck first, getting her fired and nearly locked up. Mel’s sister Lucella recently died but she hid the body so the Wardens couldn’t find it. Cobbling together a lightning barrier in her own bedroom she’s currently keeping Lucella’s ghost there while she tries to find a way to communicate. Mel’s ex-husband Darmot is still on reasonably good terms with her and he’s tried to protect her from a full blown investigation while continuing to move on with his own life.

Armand is a whisper who first trained as an apprentice under the witch Quellin but has recently accepted patronage to attend Charterhall University and is scrambling hard to show the professors in Morland Hall of Unnatural Philosophy that he had what it takes and is worth investing in. Though Quellin loves him dearly, there was a bittersweet twinge when he moved out and into college. She can’t help but fear he’s getting out of his depths. And she has good reason to! In order to get noticed and find a patron to support his education, Armand made a deal with the demon Setarra, one which he still owes a substantial debt on. Armand normally plays courier for the demon, picking up packages and dropping them off in different parts of the city, never asking what the contain. He’s also got a drinking problem. Armand is hooked on a strong Iruvian liquor called Cobalt. Very expensive and usually restricted to only the noble houses. How Armand got hooked on the stuff is anyone’s guess!

Angus was an assassin in the Akoros military. They prized him because he was very good at killing people at a distance and apparently had no compulsions about doing it. In his service, however, Agus witnessed an atrocity that he knew was above his pay grade. Not the kind of thing they put in your annual performance review, the kind of thing they slit your throat and put your body in the crematorium first thing to make sure you’re silenced. Moving before they could, Angus left and was labeled a deserter. Though the Imperial Military doesn’t want him out on the street, they also don’t want to look like they are going after him, so they have hired Casta, a bounty hunter to track him down. He keeps abreast of their actions because Veleris, a spy who is still in the service and good friends with Angus, tips him off when they start getting to close. Angus normally shows little or no expression or emotion, however, when he does cut loose, he does so completely, often to the determinant of himself and all those around him. He frequents the Silver Stag on such occasions and we saw him staggering out, still half drunk, and more than half naked, in his opening montage.

The Score

The Strangers, who operated out of a section of a steel factory workshop had come into possession of a large quantity of Cobalt (oh, there’s where Armand has been getting it) but before they felt safe to start selling it (the stuff is only supposed to be owned by the nobles) they had to get a patron to help clear the way. Knowing that both Petra and Casta would likely cause them grief the moment they put their heads out, the wanted someone with enough clout in the city, that they could silence or suppress these detractors.

Digging around some they learned the name Lady Drake, a magistrate known for taking the right bribes and for being aggressive about her upward social mobility. Walking into a magistrate’s office and offering them a bribe when you’re on the lamb though, it’s really good criming.

So, paying a very awkward visit to her ex-husband Darmot (he was with his new girlfriend Hix, who was not at all pleased that he was still doing favors for his ex-wife), Mel and crew asked if he could set up a meeting between them and the Magistrate by lying to him and telling him that she wanted to come clean and see if the magistrate would hear her side of the story. Angus and Armand posed as her legal advisors. Darmot bought it, or at least pretended like he did, and said he’d set up a meeting somewhere discreet.

Engagement gone wrong

[After doing this leg work they made their engagement roll. I was fully expecting a 6 and that they would just have meeting, or maybe a 4-5 result and I’d have Darmot come to the meeting as well, and see how they would dance around that when he thought they were coming clean, and they were really just trying to dig in deeper. But no, we didn’t have either, the rolled a 1-3 result. What does that even mean? I had to look it up:

Bad Outcome (1-3): The opposition turns the tables! They seize the initiative and launch their own counter-action.

Woah, that is hardcore. Okay, what do I know about Lady Drake. First off she gives no shits about Mel, and would rather her be someone else’s problems. Second, the crew had some connections with the Lampblacks and wanted to meet in the Leaky Bucket. She had a beef with Bazso Baz as well and some connections with the Red Sashes that owed her a favor. Finally, I knew I wanted to oppose their social plan with another kind of plan… and frankly Angus was itching for a fight.. so let’s give one to them!]

As they arrived at the Leaky Bucket and told Cross, a Lampblack who was standing outside and controlling entry to the tavern, that they were here to see Lady Drake and that she should be waiting for them inside. Crossed raised an eyebrow and said he thought she was coming with them. Bazso was waiting inside to greet them both. They all thought it was a bit strange that she wouldn’t be there, and that’s when the sound of drizzling rain was brown but the whirring of fabric unfolding rapidly and catching Armand wrist and then jerking it up toward the rooftops above.

The Red Sashes attacked and for a moment, had a horrible advantage. Armand was pinned by one and nearly skewered by another. Mel suddenly felt a shiver as a spirit rose up to possess her, and Angus quickly reached for his gun while sword were already drawn! The Lampblacks at the door were alert but not prepared for this bold of an attack, and it took them a moment to catch up as well!

Quickly, however, our scoundrels seized the initiative. Armand channelled the ambient storm to crackle with lightning and startle the Red Sashes. Angus too the dangerous shot and and fired into the chaotic melee grievously injuring, but not killing, one of the swordsmen. Mel, deftly dodged the vaporous form and watched as it seized control of a Lampblack instead. Moments later as Lampblacks poured out of the Bucket and Armand drove the ghost off, the Sashes realized they had lost their opportunity to strike and fell back.

A deal down by the docks

The next day, however, Lady Drake and a few of her loyal Bluecoats, showed up at the steel factory, ready to make a deal. These new people had shown themselves resourceful, and though she didn’t apologize for putting a hit on them, she seemed to indicate that it wouldn’t happen again if they became business partners. On that note, what proposition did they have for her?

The rolled out a barrel of Cobalt and offered her, a woman who had her own social aspirations, not only a cut of the profits, but also access to the product, which would help her appear sophisticated among the nobles of the city. Though she gave some initial resistance, they had tapped into her real desires, and she quickly agreed to clear them a path to do business, including keeping Petra and Casta away, so long as she got her cut and they didn’t cause her any troubles.

At the end she asked “who are you anyway?” Armand responded in full whisper weirdness “we’re just some strange people with product you want.”  “Ah, The Strangers.”

The start of a beautiful friendship to be sure!

What Rocked

I really loved our characters and their foibles. As mentioned in the methodology above, I was much happier to base a score of their needs and fears than off of something else arbitrary.

We didn’t get to see all of their issues, but I would have loved to see Darmot’s reaction once he found out what happened between the Strangers and Lady Drake. And Mel’s sister. She came up a little bit in the fight with the Red Sashes. He wanted to cage the ghost and bring it home to teach his sister how do go “ghosting right”. It didn’t pan out, but it would have been so cool.

Armand dropping off packages for Setarra throughout the city while doing his own crime, getting hammered on Cobalt, and trying to keep up his coursework at Charterhall would have been beautiful to behold!

I ended up really enjoying being on host duty just before the slot and then jumping into GMing. It was super satisfying and I felt like a I got to pay it forward to the organizers for all their hard work!

What could have improved

I need to work on my opening montage prompts. I asked the players to describe their characters look and normal activity, but I think that still felt like a leap. What was a name of a street they could walk on, who might they swindle, what are spirit essences even actually? I think this would be improved if I built a good containment field for the montages. “Crows Foot is your home, but there is a war going on between the Lampblacks and the Red Sashes and nobody is safe from their collateral damage. Are you part of the fighting or do you keep your distance? Tell me what that looks like…” I’ll have to tinker with some of these.

I think the Sashes attacking the Strangers and the Lampblacks out in the open didn’t actually make much sense in retrospect. I was trying to think fast and work with what we already had established. It was  fun (if quick) fight, but from the Sashes’ perspective, it was a fools errand unless Bazso had been present and they had an opportunity to take him out. I’m sure I could have worked that detail out a little better.

 

Actual Play – The Upgrade (6/16/2016)

the upgradeHosts: Jon Cole and Kat Jones
Cast: Karen Twelves, James Stuart, John Stavropoulos, Kira Magrann, Dana Fried, Kristin Firth, Brodie Atwater
Audience: Preeti Gupton, Seth Gupton, Yoshi Creelman, Eric Mersman, Ross Cowman
Lighting effects: Scott Morningstar

The Line Ride

I was scheduled to host during this slot and was on line manager duty. However, after the games were all filled both the line manager (me) and the game assigner (Eric) didn’t really have much more of a job to do. Evan “Amazing” Torner said he would stay behind and collect tickets so Kristin, Eric, and me all went off to play in the upgrade, which still had six slots open!

Yay…except that we later found out that Evan ended up running a game for some folks that showed up late, making him both the admin person and a GM in a slot he wasn’t even supposed to be on. My first born is already 13 but I think by right she’s yours now Evan. Anyway… onto the game.

The Upgrade

From: http://jeepen.org/games/upgrade/

The Upgrade! is a jeepform scenario by Vi åker jeep (We go by Jeep) that works much like a showcase for jeepform techniques. It uses telegraphing, contextualisation, monologues, insides and outsides, supporting characters, dissolves character ownership, repetition, etc.

The Upgrade! was first concieved, in a quite different format, during the Swedish con Halmicon in Halmstad, 2004 by Thorbiörn Fritzon and Tobias Wrigstad. It was then revised completely adding a third author, Olle Jonsson, to the credits roll, for Knutpunkt 2005 in Norway.

The game is about our prejudice for participants in reality shows and reality shows. In particular, Temptation Island and the like. Couples sign up to be in the show, are broken up and used to form new couples that date with cameras present and live together in the luxurious Upgrade! resort on some exotic location as far from everyday life as possible. In the end, there is a closed vote by all participants whether they would like to STAY in their old relationships, or UPGRADE to the new one. New relationsships where both partners independently votes UPGRADE get to stay together for another week at the UPGRADE luxury resort. The audience may also vote for the “couple of the week”, or by popular demand force two people into a couple if enough people believe that they would it each other. Couples that Upgrade! are rewarded in the spirit of creating good television. Couples that survive the show end up in the “Hall of Faith”. Sometimes, they will get a reward.

Our Game

We played vain people on a vain game in it for different reasons. Some of us wanted fame, some wanted to show off, some wanted adventure, some wanted a new love, some wanted money, and some just wanted to “CRUSH IT!” (probably my favorite tag line).

I’d break the game into four sections: selection and safety, character/relationship development, play, and debrief. Here’s a little bit of thought on all of those:

Selection and Safety

Not including Scott (who had already signed up to do the lighting) we had 13 players to fill 8 cast member roles, and no specific method of determining who would get those roles. As it turned out 10 folks wanted to be in the cast and two of them self selected out, which wasn’t a good feeling at the time (or as we proceeded). More on this below.

After that the eight cast members were given eight characters to pick between. I first selected a character who was casual about their infidelity and though we were playing a game that is essentially all about sensationalizing breaking the norms of relationships, I just didn’t feel like starting off with that in my background. I traded characters and settled on Alessio, who I played as far more exuberant (spotlight hog, super upbeat) than the background depicted, but otherwise felt good about.

Either just before or just after character selection we had a talk about safety techniques including the equivalent of cut/break (changed somewhat since “cut” is a term we would use as part of the directing style. Then we talked about touch boundaries, which I think is an entire other topic of conversation (and has been on G+).

Character/Relationship Development

Once we had selected characters, one of the Hosts met with the audience to prepare them for the show, and we were sent out of the room with questionnaires to fill out. One that we would do individually, and one that we would fill out as a couple. For me this was actually the funnest part of the game. Kira, John, and I sat around a table filling our forms out. About halfway through Kira (playing Patti) and I realized that we were partners and the form filling (which I know, we were supposed to do by ourselves) became much more fun. Some of the questions were really hard to imagine answers for, so bouncing ideas off each other was great.

When we got to the couple questions though, oh, it just shined so much! I felt like Kira and I were this amazing creative team making this super fallible couple were just a delight to talk about and by the end I really wanted both of them to be happy. They were self centered and vain but also cared about each other, and Patti’s young son John. I think some of my favorite antecdoes were Alessio’s pet name for Patti was was Patty-Cakes, which he would say when she got out of bed in the morning and he patted her bottom, and that “their” son was “Everything I Do” by Brian Adams. So corny!

Play

Though the longest section, this part is the most like you’d expect. We were cast into scenes to create drama and tension, as well as audience members being cast to play other versions of ourselves (past versions, re-cut versions, future versions, etc.).

It was predictably ridiculous and horrible in that that delicious way that reality television always is. I embraced the premise pretty fully and played a character who wanted to showboat and “win” in terms of being popular on the show, but really wasn’t sure about actually “upgrading” (thought both Patti and Allessio did in the end, Hah!).

The end of the game tries to reproduce the prisoner’s dilemma but it puts the reward on the wrong side of it, so there’s no actual tension. There’s no penalty for “upgrading” so instead of the “best” result being the one that is hardest to achieve (neither member of the couple upgrades), the best result is the easiest to achieve (both upgrade) and the middling result (one upgrades, one does not) is still just as good for the one that upgrades. So it’s built up like a dilemma, but it really isn’t.

Debrief

After the game we had a discussion of about how we felt, and were asked if there was anyone we want to apologize to. Debriefs, like touch boundaries are also a discussion of their own. Some of my thoughts on those below.

What rocked

After having just got out of Bluebeard’s Bride, it was great to play something light and silly (even if the premise is kind of the worst thing ever).

There were these moments, usually the ones “off camera” when I was just sitting next to Dana or John or Kira or Brodie and we had these in-character but not in-persona (i.e. we weren’t trying to showboat for the camera) moments that were just great. I really wanted to connect with Helen (played by John) but there was never quite the time to do it.

Some of the scenes were just amazing. Unpredictable, over the top, silly, and sometimes racy!

The hosts put a lot of energy into keeping our energy up, and a lot of that was done by calling on familiar tropes. Having every scene sponsored by some company, having them all shot “on location” and having the directors constantly tell us to spice it up or to make it more catty, was all great to invoke the pseudo-drama of reality TV.

What could have been improved

Suggestion for selection of roles: During sign ups have two sign up options: Cast and Audience. When you go to sign up you can pick which role you want to take until all of the cast (8 people) is filled and then you can only choose to be an audience member. That way, in being in the audience isn’t something you’d enjoy, you can just select another game.

Suggestion for safety rules: Make sure you have the rules in context. For example we had a primer on telegraphing when you’re going to touch someone, only then to determine there would be not touching. Also, if there is a no touching rule, the hosts have to be vigilant to maintain it.

Suggestion for determining touch boundaries: These may not cover every game, but there were two ideas that came up in our discussion, which were both very good:

  1. Advertise the expected touch boundaries in advance. If you know your game requires touching or not-touching, add that to the description.
  2. Treat the discussion of touch boundaries as though they are a normal thing, not something strange or foreign. We can talk about how we like to be touched (or not touched) like we talk about whether we take our coffee with sugar or cream. James’ specific idea that stood out to me was having badges or buttons that are easy to pick up and put on (or change) that indicate your comfort level (Red = no touching. Yellow = touching on hands and forearms, Green = touching on shoulders, back, and arms, or something along those lines)

Suggestion for debriefs: Even more so that touch boundaries, this may not be applicable to every game, but after thinking about this my self and reading a lot of discussions that came up after the con in G+, here are a few ideas for debriefs:

  1. Keep them positive if possible. We were asked if there was anyone we wanted to apologize to and then went around the room taking this really fun game and suddenly finding reasons to feel bad about it. Apologies should certainly be given if there is a reason but asking everyone if they have something to apologize brought the mood way down.
  2. Karen’s idea: Write specific debrief questions into your game. A Crow Funeral (2015 Golden Cobra submission) does this very well, asking questions about the game. Asking questions like: “Did anyone drop their token to remain with the murder? What did this represent?”
  3. If the game does not have questions written in, decide in advance what you want to achieve with the debrief. Brand Robins put up a great post just after Origins:

When you say debrief are you looking to:

1. De-role?
2. De-bleed?
3. Decompress?
4. Discuss?
5. Emotionally bond / de-bond?
6. Establish safety?
7. Reinforce meaning or challenge meaning?
8. Avoid the outside world by lounging in the magic circle a little longer?
9. Figure out how you feel about the other players, outside of the game?
10. Figure out how you feel about the other players, inside of the game?
11. Figure out how you feel about your own character?
12. Figure out how you feel about yourself?
13. Figure out one of the many possible combinations of the last 4 things?
14. Impose your views on others
15. Blame others
16. Congratulate others
17. Give design advice
18. Give play advice
19. Just shoot the shit and wait for the next game to start
20. Not

Because we tend to assume some combination of those things, but often without actually articulating, examining, or dealing with what that means, how we get that, or why.

  1. Make it very clear when the debrief is over by enacting a physical ritual, such as everyone getting up and putting away their chairs, leaving the room, or otherwise changing their environment. Discussion can continue if there are those who want to, but nobody is obligated to continue the discussion and the discussion doesn’t just continue unconsciously or because there is social pressure to stick around.

 

Actual Play – Bluebeard’s Bride (6/16/2016)

Bluebeard's Bride logoGM: Sarah “Doombringer” Richardson
Players: Jon Cole, Lisa D, Karen Twelves, and Sean Nittner
System: Bluebeard’s Bride

Yes. First game of Origins! We already had such a great time seeing friends, socializing in the Big Bar, exploring Columbus, and being part of Games on Demand, that it seemed like actually gaming wouldn’t even be necessary to have a great con. But we did, and it was AMAZING!

Bluebeard’s Bride

From: http://www.magpiegames.com/bluebeards-bride/

You are a new bride and your husband has left you alone in your new home while he attends to urgent business. He has given you keys to all of the mansion’s many rooms, but warns you never to venture into his private chamber. Can you resist the seductive and dreadful mystery that lies behind the keyhole?

Bluebeard’s Bride is a mature table-top horror RPG for 2-5 players and one Groundskeeper (GM), Powered by the Apocalypse and based on the original fairy tale, Bluebeard. The game is designed for one-shot sessions of approximately 3-4 hours long, during which players take on the roles of different aspects of the Bride’s psyche, such as the Virgin, the Witch, the Mother, the Fatale, and others, working together (and apart) to guide the Bride’s actions. Each game of Bluebeard’s Bride will lead to different horrors, secrets, and whispering ghosts.

In this haunted house RPG, the players navigate the mansion through the shared actions of the Bride, going room to room to collect evidence for or against Bluebeard’s wicked intentions. Perhaps the Bride is trying to find a way out of the front gate, or a way into Bluebeard’s heart, but always she is drawn towards the only room which her husband has forbidden her to enter, and that will surely be her doom. Her new home tests her sanity, and not every part of her will survive.

Bluebeard’s Bride is dark, erotic, ethereal, and filled with creeping terror. Written and designed by Whitney “Strix” Beltràn, Marissa Kelly, & Sarah Richardson, the game is about the intricacies of feminine horror, and agency in the face of powerlessness. This game is not recommended for children or the faint at heart.

Our Experience

Bluebeard's KeysWas dark. Very dark. My expectation from hearing the fairy tale before the game (which Sarah delivered wonderfully) that we would spend most of the game in a spooky but benign mansion, only to have the horror revealed at the end. The horror, however, was present from the moment game play started.

The game drives, very hard, and very directly at violence against women, and all the ways that it plays out. As the bride we were abused, but we were also shamed, and told we were liars when we tried to reveal the truth. When we tried to make things better we were hurt even more. We were violated over, and over, and as parts of our psyche (all the players play different parts of the bride’s mind) were shattered, we started becoming complicit in our own horror.

Eventually we were always reduced to two choices. Either blame ourselves for the horrors and believe that Bluebeard violence against was a misunderstood act of love, or we blamed Bluebeard for his actions (and those of his servants) and were punished for it.

The game is decidedly about these things and as such provoked a lot of discussion at the table, afterward between Karen and me, and in my own head reflecting back on it. The game is disturbing and powerful.

What Rocked

Sarah is extremely good at horror, I suspect even more so at feminine horror specifically. She wove all of our hopes and dreams about Bluebeard into the stuff of nightmares. She just kept giving us more and more rope to hang ourselves with. Here reincorporation was amazing!

As mentioned, the game delivers a very powerful experience. As I personally don’t have a lot of stomach for horror, it was not a game I’d play again, but I’m very glad I played it this time.

Since the game touched lots of uncomfortable places, we each had our own x-cards, and when one was used, we we’re all very respectful, and moved on as we should. I’m glad it was there and that it was used well.

Traum and sisters shattering was really intense. My aspect “The Virgin” was shattered during the game, and I just made everything that much worse after that. Very much like the Swamp Ghosts of Carolina Death Crawl.

Mechanically, it is very powerful to see that all of the “moves” which you think might offer you agency in a scene, really just control the ways in which the horror manifests. If you turn to violence, the horror does as well. If you plea for help, the horror blames you for your weakness. There are many choices, just no good ones!

What could have improved

I think there is a difficult challenge, mechanically in having multiple players control a single character. The ring mechanic (a ring is passed around) is a good tangible way of knowing who was in charge at the moment, but there was still some confusion among the players and some awkward moments.

As I mentioned in the beginning I wasn’t expecting the overt horror to start so quickly (based on the pacing of the fairy tale) but I think this may have been isolated to our game. I spoke with another player who played in a session later on in the con who said that there game wasn’t as intense as early on as ours. This is one of those games where you really want to set expectations early on!

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