GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Karen Twelves, Dale Horstman, Matthew Klein, and Jeremy Tidwell
System: The Shadow of Yesterday
Our delve into the 00s games continues with The Shadow of Yesterday. It’s a game I’ve been wanting to play for years, mostly because it was the first place I saw Secrets (used in Lady Blackbird) and Keys (used in a ton of games), as well as introducing the system Bring on the Pain (which we used!), a pretty clever approach to 3dF (3 fudge dice resolution), and a recovery mechanic that I recognize from systems a decade later (Blades in the Dark!). So yeah, plenty to be excited about on the mechanics side.
Setting-wise, it was a mixed bag. I think up until the night before the game, I had only ever read the first 10-15 pages of the game and flipped through the rest, so besides knowing about the Sky Fire and the land of Near, I wasn’t familiar with any of the cultures, species, or lore. What I found was mixture of very cool special abilities, secrets, and keys for each culture and species (I printed them out in little booklets so the players would have them handy), some rad setting elements (Ammeni poisons, Three Corner Magic, The Green Wood, etc). Those were all great. I also found xenophobia, misogyny, and casual slavery suffused into the world. For example, I couldn’t give a player the Goblin species write up without them seeing that all goblins are addicts, and I didn’t even include the Zaru culture, because they are predominantly salves of the Ammeni). I think 20 years ago I would have thought this content was edgy. Today, I don’t need it in my games. We focused on the war between Ammeni and Khale, and left out all the rest, including crunch bits like the Goblin being required to have an addiction. And it worked great!
As Karen said in the game, we’re doing a bit of gamer archeology, digging back through old designs to see what they were all about and trying to play them and learn what they were doing, while still employing our own critical thought and current sensibilities regarding what we want to include in our games. I still added some horrific elements, I just didn’t need to normalize them.
Up till 1 AM
The night before the game, I realized I had done zero prep and we were having friends over for dinner and to go to an improv show. Side note: if you’re in the Bay Area, I very highly recommend Bad Art, an improv show where the hosts interview an artist about a piece of art they deem as “bad” as well as their journey as an artist, and then play scenes inspired by the interview, fuck good stuff. Okay, back to business. This meant that I wasn’t able to start reading the rules until about 10pm when we got home. Not great planning on my part.
While I was driving to pickup dinner I came up with the premise using tools from three places:
- Arrival challenge, trials, and final battle from AGON. Building flexible set pieces that I could present and then shift the focus to the players to decide how to address [I’ve got thoughts about GM cognitive load here].
- Cold Opens from Blades ’68. This involves giving the players the starting situation where one (or more) of them are in precarious situation before they’ve even started making characters. This way the players are prepared for what’s happening and they can make characters ready to respond to it.
- The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly. Setting up a situation with two groups in a conflict and a third that could turn the tide of the fight if the players can get them to do it. I think I first talked about this with John Harper regarding creating starting situations (examples in Blades in the Dark are the Lampblacks and the Red Sashes fighting it out while the Crows who are their ward boss trying to keep the peace). However, the real underlying principles are spelled out and really well explored in Dadi’s video here.
So, this is what I came up with on the drive (which was later refined as I read up on setting elements that would be well suited for the situation, the map helped a ton).
[My setting synopsis] 100 years ago the land of Near was united by the nation of Maldor. A place with many cultures and species, but a single mystic language that allowed everyone to understand each other and their needs. One day a second sun appeared in the sky, a comet that grew hotter and hotter is it came closer and closer. When the comet, which ew all the Sky Fire struck, it broke apart the world of Near, figuratively and literally. The people of Maldor were scattered into warring nations and a piece of the world broke away, forming the Shadow Moon that haunts the land of Near still.
[Situation]. The four of you are on a journey to Qek to find the last ember of Sky Fire, which is said to still blaze, even a 100 years later. You’re traveling through the contested forrests between Ammeni and Knave, when one of you hears a click and realizes you’ve triggered a tripwire to an alchemical bomb. Who is it? [Jerry nominated himself]. Another of you [I picked Dale] has a moment of premonition and step back just in time for an arrow to fly past you and sink into a tree. From the forest around you, you hear “The Umbra does not forget. Death to the Ammeni and her allies!”
That was enough to create a situation that had to be responded to, and wouldn’t be trivial to address (both a trap and hostile forces surrounding them). I also created a handful of trials (ala AGON) that they might encounter. Players in this game, I’ve put the things you haven’t encountered in redacted text. Read at your own potential disappointment.
- Ammeni camp, filled with soldiers and the sorcerer Zedwick who was binding goblins to use as weapons of war.
- River of Tears, there is a boat, but who owns it and what will they ask? The river is filled with rapids and jagged rocks.
- Sea of Teeth. I didn’t have anything in mind for this, but c’mon I’ve gotta think of something. It’s took good to leave out!
- The Green World. Wood caverns that glow green. A haunted city.
- Land of desolation. A the base is the hermit Abernax and sands littered with bones. Must step only on the stones, but some stones are missing. Scorpions beneath the sand.
- Ember of Skyfire. Impossibly hot.
Heroes of Near
Character creation in TSOY requires access to a lot of text from the books (abilities, secrets, keys, species, and cultures). Though I couldn’t find a PDF of the book I own, the text is CCBY so there are lots of versions of it floating around. Sadly, the layout on those PDFs is not conducive to printing. There’s important text split across two pages, sections that start midway through the page, and sections that end and are followed by another section the same page. So, my 1AM setup also included a lot of printing out things and either cutting them up (secrets, abilities, keys) or stapling them together into booklets (species and cultures). Craft time!
With various booklets and slips of paper in hand, my friends created these amazing characters:
- Tamrin, the Ratkin/Wolfkin from Maldor (Karen). A Ratkin who learned the secrets of Three Corner Magic to transform herself into a werewolf, albeit a tiny one. [We had to play with the Secret of the Werewolf which is normally used on others, but we made it work]. She had the keys of Bloodlust and Renown.
- Zooshie, the Goblin from Qek. A goblin who cared deeply about her companions, but was a coward at heart. She did however, have the secret of the sudden knife!
- Haka, the Elven illusionist from Ammeni. An elf who had lived many years and believed that this world we are in is an illusion that must be shattered…much like the world itself. They had the key of the Mission.
- Aonghus, the lost child and not former First Mate of the Doomed Bloodbark, a Khalese pirate who was lying about his past but knew the secret of the perfect chord of joy. Who is the real Aonghus?
To get a sense of why these characters were working together to find the last ember, I asked a few few questions for anyone to answer (on answer per character):
- Why must you recover the Sky Fire? Haka: It is the key to unraveling the illusion of reality.
- What curse does it bear? Aonghus, whoever encounters it will lose all memory of their childhood?
- What is needed to grasp it? Zooshie: A heart without deceit.
- What past failure are you making amends for? Tamrin: I couldn’t protect my litter when it mattered.
Nice. This is good stuff.
Trapped…or not
Aonghus jumped in front of Zooshie to protect her from arrows that might fly. With his keen eyes trained for fighting in the forest, he spotted three Khalese from the Umbra tribe ahead with bows trained.
Zooshie froze in place and looked to the origins of the trap. She took a weighted raw hide cord and looped it around a nearby tree to ties to the tripwire…and did an AMAZING job [rolled +4]. The trap was disarmed, but others did not know that.
Haka employed the Secret of The Fading Illusion to turn insubstantial and fade away. From the bushes, Aonghus could hear the Khalese murmuring “They are entering the Green World, it is forbidden!”
Tamrin used the Secret of Know Capabilites to sense her foes…there were seven of them. Three a head, and two on either side.
Aonghus believed that while he wasn’t part of the Umbra tribe and that his tribe might even be warring with them, in this moment they didn’t need to be enemies. “My kin, I am Aonghus, son of Eoghann, and the First Mate of the Doomed Bloodbark. We are not the Ammeni you think we are.” He did an AMAZING [+4] job with his genealogy ability and it turns out their leader Newlyn was distantly related to him. Newlyn stepped a bit closer lowering his bow and told Aonghus to step away, there was a trap there and he was in danger.
This new camaraderie did not extend (yet) to the rest of the Umbra. Aphrita, who wielded a moon-metal bolo swung it to entangle Haka so they could not enter the green, but it passed right through the insubstantial elf.
Zooshie uses The Secret of the Chameleon to disappear into the trees, leaving the rawhide to hold the tirpwire in place.
Tamrin however, wanted to fight! She kept her battle stance and sought a foe. Aphrita leapt into the clearing with her heavy spear, and seeing a fellow warrior, challenged her prove herself through combat. Tamrin wolfed out (remember, rat-kin werewolf) extending her claws and fangs and rippling with mucles and ferocity. The two warriors faced off and then leapt into battle. They swung blades and claws, moving in a deadly dance. [First roll was a tie]. The spear disarmed, the two warriors wrestled and fought up close with knife and claw. [Second roll was a tie]. Finally as Tamrin was going to bite Aphrita, the warrior grabbed her spear to block the bite…but she bit right through it. Aphrita’s personal spear was broken as was her will. Shocked, she ceded the victory to Tamrin, who was still full of vigor and ready to fight! [Tamrin won the final roll].
Once the violence subsided, everyone looked to the trap and found no one there! Zooshie reappeared from the trees at Tamrin’s side and resumed her normal blue color. Aonghus offered his spear to Aphrita to make amends, but she would not accept it. She kept hold of the broken pieces (the tip like a dagger, the base like a baton) and said she would had to earn her own spear again.
Haka, however had moved ahead…still in search of the mission. Eventually they saw the Ammeni watchtowers and sentries and decided it was best to move move and reconnect with their companions [Key of the Mission being tested there!]
Recovery with the Umbra
Aonghus spoke with Newlyn and learned that as the battle lines crossed the Umbra were now trapped behind the Ammeni encampment and could not get home. They were ambushing those that they could but the Ammeni forces were so much larger they couldn’t hope to face them all.
Tamrin recovered [restored her Reason Pool] by having a conversation with Zooshie about being brave, an alien concept to Zooshie. She tried to teach her a deadly glare, once that Zooshie would keep practicing for a while.
Haka used their herbs to tend to Aphrita’s wounds (those claw cuts would get infected otherwise). She begrudgingly accepted the aid.
Eventually they group was ready to head north. Aonghus, supposed former First Mate of the Doomed Bloodbark convinced Newlyn that they could join forces and it would be an opportunity for the Umbra to return home. Newlyn wasn’t sure. It was better chance than they had alone, but it still meant trying to get through a camp with a hundred soldiers or more. He asked the rest of the tribe and at first there was not response, but eventually Aphrita stepped forward and said she would go…one by one the others followed in turn.
Zooshie practiced her stare on Newlyn…it mostly left him confused.
Camp Ammeni
Aonghus and Aphrita snuck up on the sentry and while Aonghus grabbed him with the itnent to knock him out, Aphrita hated all Ammeni (she was still wary of Haka even knowing they weren’t part of the war effort) and rammed the blade of her broken spear into his soft insides over and over. So much for just knocking them out. In frustration Aonghus relegated her to standing the sentry’s position relaying signals as they came so nobody would notice he was missing. Hrumph!
Tamrin snuck up on the palisade wall and easily climbed to the top, but she faltered when she looked into the camp. Among the expected aspects of a military outpost like soldiers training, fortifications being built, trebuchets being tested, and a command tend where orders were being issued, there was also a large bonfire with a sorcerer who was casting some profane spell to bind hapless goblins to his will. Stunned by what she saw, she was startled when a guard on the wall walked by and spotted her. [Failed stealth roll]. He yelled out as he drew is sword and cut her down…or would have if she didn’t BRING DOWN THE PAIN. [Mechanic from Shadow of yesterday].
We dialed back the action and went into a moment by moment exchange. He sought to cut the hand that was holding the wall so she would fall. Tamrin sought to leap on his head and claw his face (she was 100% wolfed out for this). We decided these were perpendicular actions instead of parallel (only one could succeed). Karen’s dice betrayed her and the guard inflicted a brutal blow (Level 5 Vigor wound). Tamrin fell from the wall as her arm was badly cut. She surrendered the fight [Level 5 wound collapsing to Level 1] and the guard summoned allies with crossbows to shoot whatever it was that he saw (it was dark outside thew all and who has ever seen a wolf-ratkin before?)
Aonghus called on the Umbra to fire arrows giving Tamrin cover to scamper back into the protection of the darkness and the trees. Before they would summon more however, Aonghus used the Secret of the Perfect Chord to fill everyone who could hear him with joy. He rolled and got an AMAZING result so the guards pretended they didn’t remember the arrows that just flew overhead (maybe it was bats) and laughed as their adrenaline faded in the way you do after encountering something very scary and needing a way to process it.
With the guards distracted by the jaunty tune (Aonghus played the squeezebox) Tamrin led the rest of the party over the wall and into the camp [Great stealth roll]. They all had the choice to either make their way through the camp but a few could not do it.
- Aphrita, still determined to hurt the Ammeni in any way she could was going int sneak into the command tent to kill the leader. Spoiler, this did not go well for her.
- Haka, Zooshie, Tamrin, and Aonghus could not abide the sorcerer (who was also enchanting the goblins with a magical contagion and was preparing to launch them via trebuchet into the lands of the Khale) and stayed behind to stop his ritual.
- Newlyn, charged with the wellbeing of his tribe and wanting to live to tell the rest of his kin what he found, led the others through the camp to safety.
Sorcerer Zedwick
Haka snuck up to him insubstantially and then grabbed the brand out of the fire to brand him, but a a goblin stepped in the way [Zedwick’s Secret of Sacrifce]. This still distracted the sorcerer, however and so Tamrin (her wolf form nearly fading) charged into to him, through the wall of infected goblins and leapt onto his back clawing him horribly (leaving a “T” carved into his back).
With the spell broken and goblins free (at least their minds). The compaions fled from the camp in the only way they could find…launching themselves from the trebuchet!
Aonghus and Haka landed in the River of Tears, shaken and scarred but unharmed. Tamrin smashed into the brush beside, scraped and batted. Zooshie stayed behind, practicing her fierce glare, and led the other goblins to safety! [Jerry couldn’t stay for the rest of the game, so this was good way to have his character leave doing something cool].
Next session the River of Tears!
[Reminder to Sean: It’s night time. Sorcerer Zedwik and the commander are now hunting them. There’s little time to rest!]
Thoughts on the game
I wasn’t sure how strong I should have made most of their foes. I gave Aphrita and the guard Competent (+1) skills at fighting, but I considered making Aphrita adept. I was trying to gauge them in comparison to starting characters. Was Aphrita as deadly a warrior as Tamrin? I decided no, but the sorcerer Zedwick? Oh yeah!
Karen got a couple of really bad rolls (-3) that moved things in unpredictable ways. I think they were some of the only failed rolls in the game so the failure to success ration didn’t feel punishing, but those horrible rolls really drew Matthew’s ire (he hates fudge dice!) and I can understand it, they are a bummer.
I loved the pool of bonus dice that everyone had to give each other (four players meant four bonus dice) but we did get very mixed up on which dice were the bonus dice that were used up after being rolled, and which ones were the ones we normally rolled. Being able to spend from pools made this even more confusing.
Secrets were great, as were keys. I really liked people having the “super cool thing only they could do” as well as different triggers for differing amounts of XP.
Setting issues aside, I had a great time playing TSOY!
