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Two good stories. One: There was a really boring GM at the local gaming meetup, so this week I decided not to play with him. Life's too short, and no gaming is better than bad gaming. But even better than that is running yourself. So this week, I decided to run a Paranoia adventure. I pre-generated sheets, bought some d20s, and thought up a few adventure hooks. I also created secret mission objectives. The ostensible mission was to test drive Andy-Roid, the Stealth Car. 2 of the six players were (secretly) tasked with stealing it, two with protecting it, and two with destroying it. Our players were Jean Jeany (Happiness Officer) Melvin (Loyalty Officer, first timer and player of the game. Female.) Frgh (also Loyalty, not his first time playing Paranoia) Name-Not-Found (Team leader, devious nuclear engineer & MF'er) Lee (Equipment, faded into background) Patron (Team Leader, Hygiene, master of disguise). Now, because I was having trouble gathering 6 people, I had to rewrite the secret missions. Everyone had to kill at least one other player and protect one other. All I had really planned out was "A loop-de-Loop, and general Test-Track style shenanigans." I also scribbled down "commies on horses." That was it. Tips for future Paranoia GMs: Give your players grenades. They may not use mutant powers, they may not get their character sheets at first, but God-drat if they don't appreciate how to use a grenade. Put them on the spot. It works for debriefing, but it also works for R&D. I decided I wanted to have an old fashioned net-gun in the party. I asked someone for an adjective, then another one for an adjective. I got "Boring" and "red hot". I then gave the equipment officer a burning, hole-creating net gun. Because of the constant switching of # of players, I got some odd situations: For example, N-N-F has to kill Mel, who is trying to protect him. Once the players got to the car, I asked them where they wanted to sit. Everyone fought for shotgun, leading to two people playing grenade hot potato. They both lost, and their next clones fought over the seat, hand to hand. Melvin had the special skill "Spit & Duct Tape", which she used to duct tape herself to the bumper of Andy-Roid. N-N-F immediately threw the car into reverse, smashing it against the back wall of the garage and nearly killing Mel. This infuriated the car, who used his ejection seat, sending N-N-F into the roof of the garage. (This led to the start of a feud that lasted all session; who's actually driving the self-driving car?) Jean-Jeany, obsessed with pills, took the seat. He peeled away, leaving N-N-F on the roof and Mel on the bumper. Before the Loop-De-Loop, NNF jumped off and tackled Mel. They both slid off, injuring each other further, before J-J looped around...and tried to run them both over. This was only fueled by Mel using empathy. In an amazing bit of roleplaying, she appealed to the better nature of a speeding automobile. This led to Andy-Roid ejecting Jean Jeany. The second test for the car was the Heat Room. What's a pleasant heat test to an automobile, though, is searingly hot death to troubleshooters. They surprised me by: *Turning on the air conditioning *Fighting over where the vents are And then *Using a mutant EMP blast to disable the car. Unfortunately for the EMP blaster (N-N-F), it also disabled the heat lamps, and everyone survived. Eventually, they were able to jump-start the car and move on to the second test, the winding desert canyons. This is when things started to go off the rails and become classic Paranoia. Figh decides to take a grenade, take out the pin, and leave it in the car. He exits. N-N-F escapes the car, and shoots it with a boring red-hot net gun, doing some severe damage. Lee tries to kick it, but fails. Patron is able to kick it. The car is safe (for now). The group is then attacked by Commie Mutants on horses! The driver sideswipes a horse. The riders decide it'll be much easier to attack the people on foot. Frgh steals a horse. The other two are slain by cattlemen. After the canyon, the group approaches a shady neighborhood. (Frgh, trying to catch up to them on a horse, while getting ragged on by the population, was an awesome scene). They all turn on each other, try and frag each other, and Andy Roid has had enough. He's looking for a chop shop. The group make it to the chop shop and immediately start loving around. One imitates a mechanic (in order to pay for the repairs). NNF hacks the ATM. Mel hacks the ATM, only to find out it's empty! NNF keeps the receipt and later tries to frame Mel. For the time being, he found a vat of radioactive waste and poured it, gatorade style, on Mel. The group was able to pay off the mechanic, and fled in the car. One teleported in, and the rest stole motorcycles. (One disguised himself as another mechanic, then used his touch-of-death mutation to keep the entire thing a secret). Andy-Roid then went to the drive through, where Mel tried to poison Figh with an arsenic laced milkshake. Unfortunately, Lee requested the milkshake, drank it, and died. Someone (probably Figh) planted a second grenade in the car, killing everyone but himself, and thoroughly wounding himself. He had succeeded in stealing the car, and drove himself to the hospital. Andy Roid demanded to be taken to the DMV, since he forgot to self-register. Later on, Mel was sneaking into the DMV, and N-N-F followed her to the bathroom. He used outdoor life to create a vine-trap, which Mel fell for. Unfortunately, she was so slippery from the toxic waste that she slipped out, N-N-F tried to spit into her eyes. I decided to do something I've never done before: Get others involved in PC stakes. Specifically, by "blind betting." I said that Mel and N-N-F were in a contest, and who was spending for whom? I think I got 20 perversity points, with a net -2 going to N-N-F, making him fail. When Mel refused to shoot him point blank, I declared her Morally Superior and refused to let N-N-F continue attacking her in that instance. Meanwhile, Patron dressed as a DMV worker to expedite paperwork. At the hospital, Frgh was getting himself patched up when the rest of the team blundered in. Frgh hid under a sheet. Mel disguised herself as a nurse and gave Frgh a poison injection, soon smothering him with a pillow. N-N-F created a bomb out of medical waste, hid it in the ER, and called all nurses in before detonating it. One of the best kills of the game. Figh's next clone stole the car, with Patron as an accomplice. I wrapped up the mission with them headed toward a checkered finish line...that was above their clearance. Figh activated stealth mode, and got it to work. At debriefing, everyone turned on everyone. People planted evidence and N-N-F, who had done very well, put his foot in his mouth enough for two executions. Everyone revealed their skullduggery and Mel was voted player of the game. I converted four non-RPG players to the game and am gonna run something again next week. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Jun 19, 2019 |
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Feb 19, 2012 08:22
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Jesters, your stories aren't really...stories. They're just a list of things that happened. Had a D&D game today. We got XP from last session (finally taking us to level 3). We got achievements, which are just verbal and don't do anything. Mine got "Uhhh, you die", because I pulled out a soul-arrow after immediately seeing it kill someone else, dying instantly. (Luckily, it led me to an adventure as a nearly-undead zombified husk, so I wasn't out of the session). This week our party cooperated a ton more. We got a mission to contact Jorm, who turned out to be. Northlander and a prisoner. We talked our way into the prison (by explaining that we were doing prison ministry). We ended up going to a vault of the dead, and in a battle with an EXTREMELY tough vampire spawn. Despite my best efforts to rebuke it, it kept turning gaseous. The way we got it to turn back? Disrupting its grave. Our characters would do damage, get messed with, and then have to goad him back into a corporeal form. After botching a "knowledge: religion" check, my character knew that staking vampires somehow killed them, so it took us several tries to figure out where and how. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 09:34 on Mar 5, 2013 |
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Feb 27, 2012 08:32
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This thread actually helped me out. I recently refused to go two sessions with a lousy controlling GM. (Of course, I can't be more specific while being negative...a character I had fun with was described as Sarah Palin-esque in the last version of this thread, and the game died because of the drama).
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Feb 29, 2012 10:45
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Can we stop the derail and focus on game stories? My first ever game of 3E was with a first level bard, a monk, and the GM. It was over AIM. We fought skeletons. Then magic skeletons. Then WOW giant skeletons. At which point I said gently caress it. A few years later, someone I don't know invites me to game. I say, why not? And they start in with THOSE loving SKELETONS. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 9, 2012 08:27
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Make a rule about how soon people have to notice these things. Sounds like there are some severely conflicting wants going on.
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Mar 16, 2012 20:45
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MechaFunkZilla[/quote posted:quibbling manbaby You've got a tremendously bad attitude. If my DM sent me an email with something like "Is it cool if one of your ears was cut off by Magurg, Goblin Warlord/Skullfucker?" It'd be one thing. That's not what happened. Instead, Vector got a typo-RIDDLED email that narrated: *Where his character was (reasonable) *Who his character was (a bad worker who would gently caress off without excitement; a loser, a victim) *What happens to his character concept (instead of being an ex-guard, he's a freelance guard who got mutilated by goblins). It didn't help that the email lacks even two good sentences struck together. If I got that from a prospective DM, we'd be having a talk. Part of having fun is having rules and boundaries. One of them is "work with the players so they play the character they want to play, in a way that fits into the wider universe." This was not that, no matter how many emoticons you post.
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Apr 10, 2012 21:21
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My character
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Or having that be the true story for only one of them, and have the goblin only recognize the mage.
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Apr 11, 2012 06:38
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Can we have one thread in this subforum that doesn't degrade into edition wars?
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May 7, 2012 23:49
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Don't give out more than 6 grenades per group in paranoia. Some unlucky dude will manage to eat all of'em.
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May 9, 2012 20:10
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Want a free courtroom RPG? http://seadracula.wordpress.com/ Prosecutors do not necessarily have to relate their opinions to the case. For example, someone might prove red is the best color; another may say that grapes are delicious. Disagreements are solved with dance breaks.
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May 16, 2012 08:23
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I've never played Bang! exactly the same way twice. That's what happen when you learn from other players instead of the rulebook.
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May 21, 2012 01:50
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I assume you mean both out of character?
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May 21, 2012 03:25
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kannonfodder posted:whom we shall call Travis and Chris, as those are their names.
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May 27, 2012 00:53
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Played Fiasco on Friday, and just bought it off Amazon. We played Action News 6, the story of low level backbiting in a backwater news outlet. Action News 6 competed against the extremely popular Action News 11. 11 was in first place; 6 was in last. Fiasco is different from other games in that it's GM-less, yet dice based; everyone gets two dice, rolls them, and these generate play. We had four players, and generated these relationships: Us Vs. Them, Work Rivals (plus "need to be famous: own segment"), Cokehead/Supplier (which involved "wants to sleep with local celeb or politician), Restraining Order and False Family. Our objects were A bag of peanuts, a well known peanut allergy, and no warning label and a supply of the anchor's cocaine. I played Kara Lord, pantsuit wearing superjourno who was chronically under-appreciated. To my left was Steph Rynkowski (who had what we decided was a mutual restraining order). To her left was Preston Phelps III, the anchor of 11, and 2nd cousin of Lenny Lars, who supplied coke to discredit Brent Stockman, who was rivals with Kara Lord. Through the course of play, it evolved that Preston was trying to take down station 6 by getting Brent caught in a coke sting. Lenny, the worst coke dealer ever (and far out of his league), ended up trying to get Brent to pay him for the coke...which Brent simply wouldn't do. Brent, who had Need: to sleep with a local celebrity, was on the hunt for Mayor Laura Drake. He decided to resolve (instead of set up) the scene, so the group decided he was at a press conference over the new stadium: LAURA DRAKE: Do you have one more question for me, Brent? He and the mayor snuck off to visit one of the stadium's new luxury boxes...where Preston was already sleeping with a floozy. We cut to Kara Lord that afternoon, on the scene of a mysterious arson (with possible ties to the land developer behind the stadium). Brent tried to cut back to the studio early, but I had chosen to resolve, so I decided Kara got some good footage and made Brent look foolish. Steph's player wanted to explore Kara and Steph's relationship. We went to the news station later that afternoon, and Kara and Steph got into a fight. The station manager decided things Steph's way; "you two aren't even supposed to talk to each other." Preston decided to resolve, so I asked: where was the coke supplier getting his coke from? The group decided that it should tie into the stadium, and the star player...drug runner Hector Lopez. Lopez wants his money by tomorrow, or else. Meanwhile, police are bugging the stadium... Lenny's turn. He had the location Sleezy hotel with hidden camera, so he decided he was ambushing and trying to sting Stockman. Unfortunately, Stockman was a brassy dude; he intimidated Lenny into not having to pay. With no footage of a drug deal (because Lenny didn't have drugs, and Brent didn't have money), things were looking bad... To make things worse, housekeeping came in, telling Lenny they had the extension cord he asked for. Brent made it clear Lenny shouldn't waste his time. [The entire game, Lenny was getting black dice, which meant scenes didn't resolve in his favor.] Brent, aware that the coke was missing and Lenny was on to him, decided to ask Steph if she knew anything about "a small box...I kept in my desk...locked...on the bottom shelf. Behind...well, don't worry what it's behind." Steph noticed Brent had a little sniff-sniff next to his nose, and tried to implicate Kara. BRENT: Can you talk to her? STEPH: I can't. I have paperwork that says I can't. Brent hasn't found his stuff, and Steph found out he's a cokehead. Flashback! It's the 2011 local news awards. Kara, despite working her rear end off, is at a table, clapping as Channel 11 sweeps and begins its ascendance. Kara, urged on by her coworkers, gets roaringly drunk, and gets on the microphone to tear apart her coworkers and channel 11. Cut to the present...Kara sits in the channel 11 waiting room, waiting for a job interview. Her arson package has let her complete her reel, and she wants to get with a winner. Steph walks in, and begins to tell the secretary Kara is a violent threat, and not to call security yet...but to prepare to. Steph moves ahead in the interview process, while Kara lags. Preston is at the sleezy hotel with Lenny; the one day deadline has passed. The Colombian gangsters have slashed Preston's tires. PRESTON: I need you to get the money. LENNY: I asked him, and he said no. Preston gives Lenny a gun. Lenny hides the fact he doesn't know how to use it. This brings us to THE TILT! Whoever's doing worst (most black dice) and best (most white dice) get to determine exactly how things start unraveling. We choose MAYHEM: A FLAMING MESS and FAILURE: An Idiotic Plan done to Perfection. Lenny is on his way to talk to Brent in Brent's office...when he runs into Kara, holding a very familiar box. Kara decides to blackmail Brent, with Lenny's help. Unfortunately, it goes badly for Lenny...his gun goes off accidentally, summoning security. Lenny gets away, but the coke is confiscated, and he's in Kara's pocket. We hadn't visited the "Need: To get Laid by the mayor" lately, so we decided Brent and the mayor met in another room of the sleezy motel. The mayor needs money for reelection, especially after the stadium cost so much political capital. Brent knows who has coke...Preston! He appeals to Preston's nostalgia (when they both worked at Channel 7 in the 80's). Preston agrees to throw a big ol' fashioned coke bash. I made the mistake of choosing to determine the ending instead of setting the scene, so the group decided Kara was getting great footage the hard way. By convincing Lenny to set fires, then immediately reporting on them. Preston and Steph, now nearly hired, meet at the stadium. He agrees to give her a job at 11 if she can get footage of Brent doing coke. Steph has a peanut allergy; Preston has been eating them. He lies about it, of course. They kiss...and she misses the party as she goes into encephalitic shock. The mayor's coke fundraiser is a huge hit! Brent Stockman steals the mayor's checkbook to fund his coke habit, and Preston gets what he wants - he finally has what he wants - the Columbian's money. Lenny missed the party, though, since Preston didn't want to invite him. He shakes down Brent in the latter's office, and Brent STILL refuses to pay! Lenny, enraged, attacks Brent with one of Brent's own awards. He knocks Brent unconscious ten minutes before the newscast, and is about to strike him again when the station manager bursts in... Brent and the mayor meet at the hospital...where they finally have sex. Kara tries to burn down station 11. Preston tries to blackmail Brent with one final deal. It goes well, until Hector shows up, and starts beating up Preston. Preston pays up, and escapes... as the police swarm the building. The jig is up. AFTERMATH: Lenny escapes the city, taking a bus ticket and never returning: Brent, who rolled really well, ended up going into rehab, and winning an award for his personal report on addiction Kara, who rolled really poorly, ended up losing at the next award show, and going home to find her apartment building burnt down by the arsonist she never caught; Steph ended up getting a job at 11; Preston went to jail, but sold out Hector, and eventually ended up reporting live...at station 6. --- Personally, I found "restraining order" to be a really limiting relationship, even the way we played it; there are only so many scenes you can do with it, before ignoring it or evolving it into FORMER restraining order or restraining order being ignored. Still, Fiasco was an amazing, amazing game, and I look forward to playing some more.
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Jun 10, 2012 23:19
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Played another game of Fiasco, even better than last time! I brought in a friend of mine who's never played RPGs, ever, someone who I've played paranoia with, and a few others. My friend wanted to play the Dragon Slayers module (the group is an adventuring party, fat on the loot of their last haul and desperate to get all of it). With the default settings, we got a group of desperados, who almost all had "Wynn" as part of their name. We decided our group was The Wynners. They were made up of: Zepla Ssleek-Win, Kobold Pacifist Cleric, who was friends with Sanguine Golem #402, who was going to be sacrificed by Wynnona Fyre, crazed sorceress, who vied for power with Sir Wynchester, Paladin of Boragh, tied in a blood ritual to Alwynn, the 16 year old wannabe page, who was former cellmates with Zepla. They had a staff of resurrection (with one charge left) and an invisibility cloak, as well as five shares of The Dragon Jeff's hoard. The game devolved quickly into conspiracy as Sir Wynchester, drunk for the first time (due to the team's insistence), told a group of hooligans he was purging himself of evil... and that he could purge THEM of evil, with training. This eventually led to him having his own bandit army. Zepla allied with the blood golem, promising to make him a 'real creature'...and unsacrificable. Miss Fyre tried to usurp Sir Wynchester with the help of Alwynn, who wasn't buying it. Instead, we saw Alwynn and Zepla work together in a flashback...Zepla was jailed due to the King's racist, anti-kobold policies, and Alwynn aided Zep's escape. At this point, someone wanted Zepp to go into the swamp...to lay eggs. I went with it, concluding that Zepla was female. While Fyre tried to spy (using a cloak of invisibility), she ran into Sanguine, who noticed the heavy swamp footprints. The two had it out, and when Sanguine wanted his freedom, Fyre cast a spell. It backfired, destroying the cloak (which was a significant part of the treasure). Wynchester's attempt to train the hooligans failed; the entire county's thieves got involved, and started running people off their property to die in the swamps. Sir Wynchester: When did I tell you all to drive people into the swamp? Head thief gives the world's most innocent shrug. Everyone allied with everyone (and Zepla allied TWICE with everyone), with Zepla convincing Fyre to spend her treasure equipping a group of highwaymen. We had another flashback - Alwynn and Sir Wynchester, who claimed Alwynn had "the green flame". They created a blood bond on the spot, and decided to hunt down Jeff the Dragon. Going into act 2, everyone was going to steal someone else's treasure, and meet up in a swamp cave outside of town, and kill their adversaries. Zep had lost her alliance with Sanguine, when the later refused to be raised as a KOBOLD ("cold blood is no good for sacrifices!") It turns out the green flame was the ability to detect and summon dragons. Alwynn, making an enemy of Sanguine, tried to capture a dragon and take it to the cave. UNFORTUNATELY, we had used all of our white dice to secure alliances, so our latter half was doomed to various failures. The dragon attacked Alwynn, starting a massive fire in the cave. Sanguine tried to turn into a dragon by manipulating its body, which confused Alwynn further; the green flame didn't work! Many of Fyre's soldiers died due to smoke inhalation. The kobold army refused to fight its dragon kin. Not seeing the Green Flame in their hearts, Sir Wynchester cut down his own troops. This drove Alwynn mad, and the latter shot his mentor in the heart, fleeing into the wilderness. Zepla, unable to secure more gold (since Alwynn had stolen many shares), lost face in her tribe. Fyre was driven insane by the rejection of her golem, and swore to destroy it. The town, noting that Zepla had conspired with nearly all of the freak adventurers, banned kobolds entirely. The golem took the blood of the highwaymen and became extremely powerful, donating its plasma to wizard colleges. Unfortunately, it was caught and destroyed by Wynnona Fyre. Alwynn discovered, with his green flame, a clutch of small kobolds...which he took and raised as a surrogate parent. Zepla used the staff of resurrection to revive Sir Wynchester as a slave. They existed at the fringes of both societies, souring human/kobold relations for years to come. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Jun 16, 2012 09:57
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Taught 6 new people to play Fiasco! Both groups wanted the Harry Potter inspired playset (Toil and Trouble). Now, an important thing about roleplaying is player expectations. I had a recurring player from last week (the wonderful Dragonslayers adventure set; she played a scheming necromancer). I thought, well, Harry Potter will be goofy as a setting, but it has a lot of good drama to it. I helped both groups set up, and both wanted to use "Relationship: Identical Twins" and "Need: to become famous due to wealth." So far, so good. We ended up with Identical Twins, one who had "Relationship: Friend, where one always gets the other in trouble" and at the other end "Relationship: love potion brewer/recipient." The non-twins were connected through a secret society. Since I was setting up two games, I didn't realize that one player had named their character "Whormione." I decided to go with it (although my character wasn't too happy - it turned into gender swapping hijinx). The game, allegedly about scheming ahead of the Yule Ball (and talent show), became about gender swaps during sex and rear end pimples. The other game, according to the notes they took, were about a pair of identical twins trying to find out how their parents died, and dealt heavily with autoerotic asphyxiation. The aftermath went as well as could be expected: *The good twin's love potion worked, and he slew the insane School Hero, ending up with complete mental dominion over his beloved; (rolling an 11). This is highly unlikely in Fiasco.) *The love interest, who was momentarily turned into a mouse after trying to rig the Yule King and Queen ballot, was extremely shy, and not able to resist becoming a housewife; *The rear end-pimples character (Ignatius Pimplebottom) won the talent show with his singing rear end, but they exploded, and ripped him in twain; *His blood splatter landed on his beau Whormione, who was forced to clean it up due to work study. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 08:17 on Jun 25, 2012 |
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Jun 23, 2012 10:01
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Penny for your Thoughts is the definitive game to teach players "hey, you can add to narrative."
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Jun 27, 2012 00:34
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Tiny game of Fiasco today, with the Boomtown setting. 3 people (2 newbies) and it ran roughly an hour. The relationships were war rivals, ranch hands, and cousins. The object was sentimental (a lady's diary) the need was "To Get Respect, by showing everyone Who's Boss", and the location was the hotel saloon. It ended up that Sergeant C. McCallister (me) wanted to become mayor. In his way was "Joe Bloody Cheek", a union soldier, and ranch hand at Big Y. What he didn't know was that Joe was actually Anne-Marie, a female soldier who served to protect her sickly brother. Sarge was attracted to Anne-Marie and bought her a few drinks at the saloon. We ended up having a recurring element of political shouting matches ("I was not a slave ownah!") and disloyalty. Sarge couldn't recruit his cousin Juliet; Anne Marie was constantly drunk, leaving Juliet to hang in the wind, eventually twisting her ankle when she dealt with an untamable horse. Sarge stole Anne's journal, discovering her secret, and further infuriated Anne. The tilt had "a stranger come to settle a score" and "the wrong person gets busted." Anne tried to squeal to Juliet. Juliet agreed to help if Anne mucked out the stables, so Juliet could go to church. As Anne started to do that, she was approached by a stranger. The man pulled out a gun and accused her of horse theft! (This brought both the tilt elements in at once, very satisfying in six scene Act 2). He agreed to not shoot her on the spot, but escorted her to jail. Meanwhile, Sarge was at church, about to give a sermon on the evils of the villain Abe Lincoln (and his willing associate, Hannibal Hamlin.) He gave the journal back to Anne-Marie. He had everything he needed to know, ESPECIALLY considering Joe Cheek skipped Church! Juliet busted Anne out of jail, becoming a fugitive. Anne, as the non-criminal Joe, shot Sarge in the saloon. He shot her back, leaving a traceable shoulder wound. During the final election, he revealed Annie/Joe's duplicity. With his opponent arrested, Sarge became mayor. The aftermath was quick and bloody: Sarge got a 7, Juliet got a 4, Anne got a 0. Sarge won the election, and gave a pardon to Anne...as long as she joined his work detail. Juliet fled town, but her untreated ankle got worse and worse. Sarge was shot, non-fatally, in a bar by the drunken owner of the untamable horse. Anne escaped into the sunset, but was put to work in ANOTHER, even crueler work detail. *** I think that brings the people I've taught Fiasco to up to 12...should we start a gaming evangelicalism thread? Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Jun 29, 2012 05:34
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I'm putting away Fiasco for a few weeks. I don't want to get to the point where I don't like it anymore, so after 5-6 games this month, I'm all set. (I've nearly run out of ways to summarize them!) Last night was a 50's Noir, all set around a hotel. The alcoholic vet Fast Eddie tried to shake down his non-too-bright daughter Kate (who worked for the hotel owner). He also tried to blackmail the hotel owner, George, a fellow war vet. George agreed - and funneled the money through Kate's salary. Eddie tried to ask for more, though, so George hired an assassin, Eva - but he didn't know was she pregnant. The assassin was having an affair with an art collector, who wanted to buy stolen nazi paintings from the George. The turn was "an unexpected death" and "someone's who's innocent...isn't." When the assassin tried to kill Fast Eddie, the knife got caught in Kate's pocketbook (which Eddie'd stolen). He later tracked the assassin down to her hotel room, and during the struggle, she had a miscarriage. The hotel manager showed the collector his walk-in safe, covered in stolen paintings. The door closed with them both inside, and they both drew their guns. Kate had locked him in the room and used her excess salary to pay off George's staff. She wasn't so airheaded after all. *** Can anyone recommend similar games that are collaborative, not competitive? I find Everyone is John too "turn based" - people are sitting around when they don't have control. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Jul 1, 2012 03:28
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Coward, I -love- Smallville. Unfortunately, I need something that's pick-up-and-play ASAP, often with non roleplayers, since I'd be using it in a waiting room situation (ahead of being needed on set). I read Smallville system and really want to run it soon; I feel it'd work better than Buffy for a Buffy style game.
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Jul 4, 2012 04:18
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Having had good experiences with Fiasco, I tried Danger Mountain! from the same team. The game failed horribly. There was no central rule structure and the rescue mechanics made no sense - we would've rescued only 2 people, since the dice turned early. I think we played wrong, but the failure was intense.
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Jul 7, 2012 09:02
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A good system guarantees you control of your failure. In Fiasco, you get to control your success or failure, but not at what. One of the examples in the companion has one player controlling the end of the scene and wants to succeed, and the other sets up "Your assassination target is your nephew."
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Jul 14, 2012 08:59
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Can you revise without smilies? They're kind of :2006:. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Jul 28, 2012 00:27
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My favorite part of the "Tough Hero" from d20 modern was that he was named "Moooooon Dog" and his last name was Rosenblatt.
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Aug 2, 2012 19:56
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My last game of M&M was superb. It was a one shot Kwyngame, so there was a LOT of property destruction. It also featured an AA sponsor throwing a Burger King at his entire team. The moral of the story is that supervillains will always lose when outnumbered due to action cost.
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Sep 7, 2012 20:16
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I've played around ten games of Fiasco, but never one that made me want to cry. I don't think I'll be able to play Boomtown again, because it was untoppable. We used mostly the default "relationships", so we ended up with: Clyde Bartlett[me], a cowardly bank owner, Ester Ng, his Vietnamese mail order bride, John Face, the gangster determined to recruit her, and his rival Sheriff Rudy Blackstone, who was close as blood with Clyde. The need: To get away from Hard Riding Vengeance. The object: A tear stained love letter. The location: A bandit hideout in Indian Country. I started the first scene; Clyde and Rudy were sitting in Rudy's office, drinking. Clyde was worried about his upcoming bride, Rudy told him to 'talk to her, just talk to her'. Both worried that gangster John Face would be back soon. We then cut to Ester. She described the 5 o'clock train bringing her to town; lovely, run down, low rate, and filled with John Face's thugs. The well shaven JF tried to recruit her to his posse, telling her "there's a way girls like you can earn a lot of money." Ester thought he was recruiting her to be a prostitute and clammed up. The next scene was between John and the Sheriff, so we decided it was time for a flashback. It was a few years ago; John Face's gang (played by me and Ester's character) were more excited than competent. During the robbery, Billy Wilson blew off the back wall of the bank, as well as his hands. Angie, the girl bandit from New York, stuck up the front...but a posse arrived. The explosion kicked up a cloud of dust, and the bearded John left his gang to die. *** Back in the present, Ester and Clyde met. Ester was angry that someone on the train had tried to sell her into prostitution; Clyde tried to determine who it was, but couldn't find John. John watched from the shadows; if he couldn't recruit Ester, he could use her to get to Clyde to get to Rudy. Ester was in no way glad to see him, but they retired to Clyde's apartment over the general store. Clyde promised though America may be odd, he'd show his new bride the best parts of it and take her out riding. A day or so later, Clyde was showing Ester the saloon. The problem was that John Face was there, gambling, with his posse. Ester screamed and ran for the sheriff. Unfortunately, Rudy couldn't fight an entire gang - not in a saloon, anyway. He recognized John's voice, but Ester saw the sheriff as a coward for not gunning John down. Here, we had act 2, and drew the following elements: Somebody Panics and A sudden reversal of loyalty, status, or luck. Ester stole from Clyde's apartment, taking the money and buying a gun. Unfortunately, the gun seller was one of John's thugs. In a harrowing scene in a dark alley, Ester held a gun to John. "You didn't think I'd sell you a loaded weapon, didja?" he asked, before clocking her in the face. She wakes up in his mine-hideout in Indian country. In a hilarious scene, a bunch of bumbling bandits play good cop/bad cop (with the kindest, dumbest gangster being coached by two others from the shadows). They discover what Ester wants; not money, not fame, but a ticket back home. --- Meanwhile, Rudy is talking to his wife, Angie. She was the mole who betrayed John Face and ruined the bank robbery. (She was also portrayed by Ester's player, in an amazing callback). Rudy decides to stash her in the nearby indian village. In the shortest scene ever, Clyde rides through Indian Country and is ambushed. Ester rides off as Clyde curses her; he never could get women. We decide to skip directions, since the next scene would've been Ester, and her story should be deliberately left hanging. Instead, we go to Rudy...who opens his pocket. Inside, there's a tear stained love letter, from Angie. She's pregnant. Rudy's gathered a posse, and they find the mine entrance. What follows was a horrific gun battle. John's forces are entrenched, Rudy's posse uses fire. EVERYONE but John, Clyde and Rudy are injured. Clyde's had the poo poo beaten out of him, one eye swollen shut; John's bleeding from the leg, and Rudy might die of a chest wound. Rudy chases John. He gets close, until he sees a familiar face... Billy Williams. The two-stumped fella sets off TNT, collapsing the mine between John and Rudy. John, ever the escape artist, gets to the mouth of the mine... where he sees Ester, on horseback, with a shotgun. She speaks simply: "I have a loaded gun now." Despite his pleas for mercy, she blows off his beautiful face. Down in the mine, Clyde tends to his best friend Rudy. He loads his friend into a minecart, and begins pushing it toward the entrance. It's a slow pan of extreme gore; people have had arms blown off, legs hanging limp, a catalog of human destruction. Rudy, delusional from blood loss, says he'll chase John to the end of the Earth. They finally get to the mouth of the mine, and they see a horse riding off. Rudy aims and shoots. The rider goes down. The horse falls on top. Clyde stumbles over John's corpse. "You may not have to go that far." The last frame of the act is on Rudy's face; who did he just shoot? --- The aftermath, a montage: Ester lies dying, ribs cracked, under a horse. Clyde, a failure, fakes documents that his bride never arrived. John's gang dissolves. Rudy, who got his posse killed, turns in his badge. Ester's family is investigated by the authorities: where'd their daughter go? Why'd they never send her? Clyde tries to repair his bank, but it'll never be the same since it got blown up a few years ago. He buys a train ticket west and sets up a crude grave. Bill Williams, crippled, emerges from the mine with Clyde's stolen money. Maybe he'll even live to spend it. Angie has her child, and she and Clyde leave town. Ester's sister sets out to America to find out what happens to her. Rudy and Ester's sister stand by the small grave by a new set of railroad tracks. The tracks may be the end of Indian Country. Later, on the shittiest train available, Angie opens a small wooden box, containing a tear stained love letter. It's from John, dated four years ago. He promises that if she'll take him back, he'll be an honest man. She strikes a match and sets it on fire. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Sep 16, 2012 21:36
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Then again, players ALWAYS latch on to minor details. If you say they're discussing which goblin chef makes the best stew, the rest of the play session will involve a transracial cooking contest. Guaranteed.
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Oct 27, 2012 23:32
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To the extent that gaming is a way to create stories, equipment only matters when it's dramatically appropriate. The Coney Rabbit in Return Of the King is interesting as a contrast to the hunger and desolation of the characters, not because Samwise has +10 to cook.
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Nov 5, 2012 02:26
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It's a rare game where your risk of death is between 1/8000 and none. Probability itself wanted him to fall off that ladder. Anyways, I played another game of Fiasco. (Maybe you can tell I like Fiasco). It was the Hong Kong '97 action set, where we had four awesome relationships: Partners in Adultery where one had a sibling on the other side of the law who was hunted by a loving assassin who was a newlywed with a secret. In other words: I ended up playing a hitwoman (Paula Shao), who had married a low level criminal (Hwan Chao) for a nefarious purpose. Along the way, I fell in love with the target of my assassination (Fan Wei), a semi-disgraced cop whose brother "Al Capone" was a drug-taking thug, who was the boyfriend of my husband. Things people did that were nice -Al and Hwan shared a beautiful dinner overlooking the night market and the harbor. Below, a street fight raged over a drug deal they'd bungled, with thugs attacked each other with bats and cleavers. Paula bailed her husband and his friend out of prison. Things people did that were not nice Fan got his brother Al Capone arrested during a raid at an all night disco. -This was retaliation for Al Capone, who sent Fan to prison for alleged drug trafficking. (It involved Al Fedexing drugs to Fan's apartment with Fan's name on it). -Hwan stole Paula's bankbook and tried to rob her blind; -A bunch of triads beat the poo poo out of Hwan and Al in prison -Paula used Al and Hwan to oversee drug deals and draw Fan into the open at a park outside of town; -Fan set a trap for his own brother, not wanting to get screwed again. Fan's low standing in the police department, in addition to calling in a lot of favors, led to a squad of dregs, who chased Al through the woods... --Which allowed Paula to shoot Fan through his binoculars. Things that were just unlucky Paula lost a heel escaping the park, linking her to the scene of the crime: --Her bank book was confiscated when Hwan took it, and allowed Fan link the large random deposits to crime families ---She was arrested by a personal shopper while buying new shoes. Hwan delivered a package from Al to Fan's house, but assumed someone would sign for it; When he knocked, the only people at the apartment were cops, telling Fan's father about Fan being killed. Al Capone was sitting pretty, until Hwan snitched, leading to one of the least comfortable prison terms of all time, with Hwan given the cell across from him to watch it. Fan made his way into all of mainland China's police manuals, as a cautionary tale. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Nov 19, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2012 01:22
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Did a one shot last night in Marvel's Heroic System. It's fun, modular, and while I don't get it completely, it seems to balance out a party that contains Thor and Black Widow, so it's amazing. We played a short sample adventure that game with the Young Justice/Runaways book. We only had three people, who played: Molly Hayes, Preteen Runaway, and 7th strongest person alive Amadeus Cho, Non-Runaway, and the 7th Smartest Man Alive and owner of a cute Coyote puppy, and me, as Nico Minoru, Runaway Leader, and #1 LA's Best-Dressed Goth Sorceress. We were all in a diner somewhere in the California Desert. Molly had runoff due to another team member (Chase) dating a girl who was totally gross, and stolen the group's ship, the Leapfrog. Nico had tracked her down, and Amadeus was on the trail of Hercules and The Hulk. Nico lectured Molly on running away from her problems and stealing ships. Amadeus attempted to flirt with Nico, analyzing all possible avenues of engagement...and throwing his puppy to Molly. It might have worked, except the cafe was shelled by A.I.M., the world's premiere group of evil sciencists. Purple knockout gas flooded the diner. Nico cast a spell to teleport the artillery back onto its origin point...which was, unbeknowst to her, where the Leapfrog was parked. Over the next several minutes, Cho would try flirting, begging, and harassment to get what he wanted from the Runaway pair. Nico would respond with magic and ordering Molly to do stuff*, including kicking Amadeus down the block over a radio communicator. Nico and Molly found out there was a gang leader in town by the name of "Moe Duck." Having had enough of the girls, Amadeus slinked off into the sewer, eluding the girls for a transition scene. During the transition, he rolled 4d8+1d10 and ended up with 37. It was a sea of 8s, which resulted in him completely compromising AIM's security network. A helicopter landed in the park, dissipating the gas. Nico had bet Molly $10 that Moe Duck was a bad guy, leading Molly to LOUDLY YELL assembled AIM forces, asking if Moe was actually evil. M.O.D.O.K. responded by firing a laser beam at Nico, which she deflected. The goth leader countered with a few blasts from the dimension of pure despair. Molly punched Modok really hard. Amadeus then blackmailed AIM, telling them that he'd hacked into their servers and was going to leak their secrets to the Pirates Bay if they didn't retreat. They retreated. Shortly after, THE HULK jumped into the middle of the group. Nico teleported herself back to the diner accidentally. Amadeus tried to talk the Hulk down, while Molly called the Hulk "gross". The Hulk then tried to grapple Molly, but she was able to BREAK HIS GRIP and earn his respect. She gave him a frog hat, which Nico enlarged so it would fit. That's about where the session ended. Can't wait to try the system again. *Fun fact of the system: Nico's milestone XP objectives were RELUCTANT LEADER and BAD ROMANCE. In a longer running game, her goals were to either fall for someone bad for the team and either let them stay or kick them to the curb, and/or order people around and take responsibility for her actions, or give up leadership entirely. It's a really solid system to force your players to RP, as well as giving you ideas of where their story arcs will go.
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Nov 30, 2012 04:11
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Who are the Mantis clan? Peasant loving leaders of men, unaccustomed to landlubber's staid behavior.
Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 09:33 on Dec 12, 2013 |
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Dec 2, 2012 06:35
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I've done fiasco in predominantly male and predominantly female groups. Honestly, a few minutes of talking about expectations will clear out 80% of crazies of either gender.
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Dec 2, 2012 09:50
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Gilgameshback posted:I don't think you quite get the point of this thread. It's a notable gaming encounter. It's more of a "lovely complain about someone else" thing, but it's still a story with a beginning, middle and end, and it even has a moral (don't try to 'cure' other roleplayers!) I ran a Paranoia game before Christmas. The objective was to learn the True meaning of 'ChrismahYule' (which turned into 'NewYule', which turned into 'ChriskaNoel'), as well as buy Friend Computer a present from MALL sector. If you give the players good secret missions, a game of Paranoia runs itself. Each player was designed to kill and protect two other players, as well as either Learn the True Meaning of ChrismaTime or Steal all the Presents Yourself. A few things jumped out: *The troubleshooters were more obsessed with killing each other than driving, leading almost the entire car to die several times. What I meant to be a little speedbump led to nearly 2 full TPKs. *The team got into their head that they had to find Christ and put him in Christmas. They identified the following things as Christ: *A shopping mall *Santa *The Grinch (who they killed). *The team rigged a hover sweater to kill The T-1000, who chased down their flying sled for a Turboman Doll. It ended with a big speech on the mall's stage: each person explained what the meaning of ChrisNolan was, in ways that were violent, idiotic, and/or disgusting. In a magical holiday twist, killing the Grinch allowed Friend Computer to take over MALL sector! Santa was turned into a Cyborg, as was everyone there. All assembled sang a happy song, or else.
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Jan 6, 2013 22:50
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That's both a credit to your group's patience for roleplaying, and to your GM's prep. Please keep us updated on the mystery.
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Jan 25, 2013 07:23
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Sometimes, 'mysteries' that are solved too early can inspire new twists. Someone rolled a really, really good knowledge check in my last session...so I decided they knew the person they were hunting. The person they were hunting was their half brother, who they hadn't seen in decades. Instead of going to a small town barbershop, they went directly to his house...but that propelled the drama. The characters didn't want him to be guilty, based on their new knowledge.
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Feb 1, 2013 00:35
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If the other players agree the GM sucks, start a new group. "Inertia" is a bad reason for a friendship. If not, oh well. There are plenty of gamers in the world. http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?372312-A-List-of-Player-Finders
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Feb 1, 2013 22:36
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Last night I introduced 4 new people to Fiasco. Nobody had a setting preference, so I tried out DC '73, the Nixon-era political scenario. It went loving CRAZY. Instead of doing an adventure summary, I'll just do a character summary: OBJECTS: A Suitcase Nuke. A stash of nazi bullion. Senator Kent Richards (myself) was a representative from the great state of Massachusetts. He was the only person not attempting a political agenda; he simply needed to PROTECT THE MOTHERLAND by FINDING INFILTRATORS. His sister, Amanda, was a communist sympathizer...who got hired by Senator Richards as a secretary to keep out of trouble...and secretly wanted to nuke Russia. Except when she had the opportunity to flee to Russia, which she nearly attempted. She was promoted to bodyguard, and ended the game in terrible straits...being "promoted" to Siberian Ambassador. Her ally in the pro-communist faction was Chris R. Fields, who wanted to GET THE TRUTH...to PREVENT NUCLEAR WAR. He was arrested after an overblown assassination attempt on the national mall, when Sam Stoneface planted a gun on him. He was bailed out of prison as a hired killer by Senator Richards, desperate to stop... Sam 'Stoneface', Senator Richards's chief of staff. He assigned hired to rough up Chris and keep him away from the senator's sister, in order for healthcare money from his daughter. He was secretly in cahoots with: James Bauer Jr, Alias Brody Large. James was perhaps the most complicated character, because he: *Allegedly wanted to help the communists *Colluded with Sam, a fellow spy *Met with the senator as campaign contributor Brody Large. (In exchange for a huge check, Brody was promised a meeting with a a crucial official in security. It turned out to by Sam Stoneface). *Tried to bribe Amanda with nazi gold for wiretapping her brother *Offered to let Chris Redfields out of prison, but left him high and dry because it didn't suit his plans. After a huge, huge fracas of conspiracies, counter-conspiracies, and endless wiretapping, everyone got to the missile defense chamber of the Pentagon. Amanda, now chief of security after Stoneface's surreptitiously taped confession, and Chris Fields, were working for the Senator. Spies James Bauer and Sam Stoneface (actually James Paul Tambourine!) had the suitcase nuke. Stoneface had it handcuffed to his arm. They threatened to blow up DC unless their demands were met. The MPs aimed guns at the two, and Amanda shot Stoneface through the temple. He was able to hit the button on his briefcase... When a stash of nazi bullion poured out. His dying words were, "so where's the bomb?" The bomb was actually acquired by Senator Kent Richards. In the last shot of the game, he handed it to Governor Ronald Reagan, who handed back a redacted file about the entire incident. "See you in the primaries", laughed Kent. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Mar 20, 2013 |
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Feb 24, 2013 03:01
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Amazing session today. If you're following my Dungeon World Saga, I have a mere 1 person returning from my 8-person session. (Scheduling is by far the hardest part of DMing). I spent a lot of time this week coming up with things, and after everyone rolled characters, I asked the three new players why they had journeyed to the dwarven city of Duerlagg. One of them told me it was to get Lockfire Root, an expensive herb that only grew underground. Silk was following the previous adventure, and was following the kidnapping Pathmaker Trading Corp. I started with this: quote:The underground city of Duerlagg is a marvel. Four hundred years old if it’s a day, it’s hewn from the innards of the World’s Teeth mountains. Its avenues are broad, named after the city’s great leaders. None are revered greater than Morias Bronzebeard, who founded Duerlagg centuries ago. Albino lizardmen had invaded the city, and the only ones who could stop it were our heroes: Silk Keldar, Thief Extraordinaire. By his own admission, "[He's] not evil!" Watson Barrow, Inventor; tall and crazy. Oria, The Half-Elf Markswoman; and Bottle Sticks, The Halfling Shaman with a secret. The group worked together to slay a lizard patrol. The peril was constant; the lizard archers aimed their obsidian arrows at the group, the spearlizards attacked the party's weakest members, and Oria's arrows blew up in her face. Luckily, some quick thinking and use of cover, as well as Watson's Magnetic Booster, allowed them a swift and relatively bloodless victory. (Except on the Lizard's part. Silk stabbed one in the spine, and used it as a shield against the archers. Bottles tripped an opponent and Watson launched a clockwork-booted curbstomp. Oria killed two with a ricochet arrow; Silk slit the throat of one that Bottles was wrestling with.) The heroes continued into the smoky city, only to discover the Grand Embassy was on fire. A dwarven bucket brigade wasn't making much progress. With little magical or godly power, the players were stymied... Until Watson applied his superior brainpower! He looked through the market for a cartload of fertilizer and a keg of dynamite, and, using the well the bucket brigade was drawing from, created a crude rocket. He aimed at the cave ceiling... and a rain of dust descended. The soot and fertilizer snuffed the exterior flames, greatly pleasing the bucket brigade (until they discovered that the well had been truly dispoiled). They discerned from the guards that people were still trapped on the 3rd and 8th floors. As the adventurers broke into the embassy, they found a spiral staircase partially blocked by fiery timbers. Oria went up first, slipping up with half-elven grace, to find one of the doors barred from her side! On the opposite, she heard a voice, one that she'd soon recognize as Sir Lucia, Dwarven Paladin! * Sir Lucia had a group of Nobles with him. Just as he was to suggest going downward, the timber collapsed the staircase below! Lucia and Silk lowered ropes to help their companions. While Bottles was the last one up, the rope caught fire behind him...which Sir Lucia bravely put out. As the party continued up the stairs, ambassadors in tow, they were stopped by a GIGANTIC, 400 pound lizard. Sir Lucia skewered the beast with his sword, but was thrown backward onto the inventor and the Half-Elf. Silk slipped by and stabbed the beast repeatedly in the kidneys. Here, Silk had two choices: he could let the beast tumble backwards onto him, or he could let it stumble forward, down the stairs, and onto the party... The party was unhappy to see the beast ROLL forward! Oria swung onto the railing, Watson used his cowardice and his electric-buffer to avoid it, and Sir Lucia rolled backwards. A stroke of luck bounced the monster off the stairs, OVER Bottles entirely, and into the crouching Lucia, who deflected the creature down into the stairs below. Silk was unapologetic. That is, he didn't admit to wrongdoing. --- The 8th floor was the executive dining room. As Silk shook down the nobles in exchange for rescue, Lucia demanded the Sous Chef tell him where the leader was. The Sous Chef wouldn't; Lucia insisted. The Sous Chef finally took him into the kitchen, opened a large drawer, and revealed the head chef, now a collection of white attire and body parts. As the Sous Chef started a tale of woe about his wife's adultery, Sir Lucia slew him on the spot. (As was his want; Sir Lucia, it was determined, was a paladin of Krugdon, the God of Combat and Bravery. He suffered not the evil to live.) Oria found the root in the chef's pantry. Watson stumbled into Silk's scheme, and gave him a simple command: quote:Split it. The party looked to see how to get nobles down, and came up with a plan: They'd create a series of ziplines down the street, and use dishrags to tie people, two handed, onto the ropes. Of course, the dishrags didn't hold out; in a moment of caring, Oria shot a rope-arrow to a falling Half-Elf delegate, saving the woman's life, and evacuating everyone (bar one sous-chef). --- The party was beset by options at this point; Silk pawned his stolen goods to a war profiteer, Sir Lucia began his daily prayers, Watson pontificated on Morias Bronzebeard's feats as an inventor, and Bottle Sticks was visited by a vision. One of his ancestors was actually dwarf! He snuck into a side alley and talked to the man, a toymaker, about how he had one thing to pass on...buried in the depths of his toy shop, down in the Undercity. Oria watched on from the shadows as the halfling spoke to empty air. Meanwhile, Watson was stopped by Corrine Bronzebeard. She, and her men of Bronzebeard's Legion, admired his fighting prowess, and wanted his word at court. King Helkasser wanted to withdraw, seek aid, and retake the city later; Corrine wanted to stay and fight, down to the last dwarf if necessary. Watson agreed to give his word. The group decided to find the great item in the toy shop, deliberately not telling Silk what it was. On the way down, they boarded open elevator, one of two that plumbed the city's depths. The party thought quickly when attacked by carrion birds, and again Watson's genius played out; he rigged the elevator to accelerate but stop safely. It was dangerous, harrowing, and nearly killed them... But they survived the landing. At this point, Sir Lucia layed on hands for Oria and prayed for her; he absorbed her wounds himself. The store was guarded by a huge lizard patrol, who the party waited out. The lizards took the other elevator back into the city. The toy store was unguarded, except by a otyungh, safely caged and crated. What happened inside Toy Store? How would Oria betray Sir Lucia, and how would Silk be the noblest of all? Find out in part 2: Please stop booing the heroes. *Who had just arrived to the gaming session! And independently chosen the boon "Immunity to Fire" before being clued in that it was a City on Fire. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Dec 12, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 09:01
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The Fall of Duerlagg part 2 Toy Stores and Oath Betrayal When we last left our heroes, they were fighting for the dwarven city of Duerlagg, investigating a series of magic items to help turn the tide. Outside the store was a large wooden cage, housing a monstrous Otyungh. The slavering mouth-beast was kept as a reserve weapon by the Pale Lizards. The party wisely avoided disrupting it. Bottle Sticks, Halfling shaman with dwarven parentage, followed his ancestor's spirit to the abandoned toystore. The place was gorgeous, filled with toys, dolls, and all series of wonderful contraptions. At the back, behind the counter, was a switch, which Bottlesticks pulled. The party groaned. The store's lights all flashed, while hidden speakers played HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE GIRL! He pulled another switch, and a staircase descended from the floor. Enter the Otyungh. The party tried to close the staircase. They found a variety of trinkets (including an Intelligent Lasso), and were all clear...except the only way out was the staircase. And then the Otyungh smashed its tendrils through the ceiling. --- Oria faked a lizard voice and told the lizard patrols above that the Otyungh had gotten loose. The patrols told her "good luck!", and left. Why risk their necks? Sir Lucia and Silk found a secret passage, buried behind bookshelves. Watson realized the creature would break through the floor if given half a chance...and positioned shelves underneath it. It worked; the Otyungh was dazed. Sir Lucia, already weary and bleeding, challenged it to one on one combat, under the auspices of his brutal God. The rest of the party was unwilling to abide this, however. Watson tried to shove merchandise onto it from above. And if that wasn't enough of a violation, Oria fired a stunning arrow directly at the creature. Although the group escaped, Sir Lucia was punished. For the first time, he felt the heat of his burning city...he was no longer immune to flames. --- The heroes made their way to the Halls of the King, where arguments were in session. The heroes tried to make themselves heard above the din. Even their weakest opinions got the cheers of half the room, and their best arguments were booed by the king's backbenchers. A series of arguments from Oria led to the King accidentally revealing he had sent away his best warriors on an errand... After which he stormed off. The players all tried to sneak into the king's private council chambers; Oria pretended to be an ambassador. Watson flubbed his social skills, lurched toward the king and was taken aside by guards. When they tried to beat him, he turned on his electric repulsor shield, stared deep in their eyes, and told them one word... quote:Split. Council was disrupted by the incursions of the lizards, and the discovery of a Giant Half-Ogre Minotaur. Silk told Oria to shoot him in the necklace, which transformed the creature back into a very angry half-ogre. As the battle raged, the players had a choice: follow the Pathmakers as they fled the burning city, or stay and fight. They stayed... and that's where their story lets off. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 20:56
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Jay-zus. I really, really like my players. Maybe because they're all new to the game, and I knew them as real life people outside of gaming. Anyway, this week, the players had to stop the Lizardman Invasion of the Dwarven Stronghold Duerlagg. They ended up with the aid of three opposing factions: Bronzebeard's warrior Legion, The Mages of the Stonetower (who knew a powerful rock moving spell that would threaten the dwarven economy), and the Spymasters, who would help in exchange for the scroll. Highlights: The ranger using wild empathy to talk to the royal Cockatoo The Artificer using his clockwork jumping boots to stomp an enemy's skull, and rolling so much damage he ended up in their armor, The Markswoman freezing, then shattering, a roiling ball of dire rats. Interesting encounters: The party is assaulted by dire rats in a dwarven whiskey-running tunnel, with the ranger's cat taking point; The party faces dwarven mining robots, and tag-teams them to knock the majority of them over; In the volcanic forge of the dwarven mines, the party faces off against the entire lizardman rear guard. The group use a magnetic attraction trinket to distract all the arrows, tells the dwarven spies to flank, then creates a wall of steam and molten iron to separate the lizards from the mines. The mages then solidified it. By doing this, the party also separated the spies from the mines. A complete and utter success, and shorthanded too. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Mar 6, 2015 |
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Mar 12, 2013 01:32
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