2009 saw me playing a lot of fun RPG sessions. Here are my five favorites:
Note:This post is in English, in spite of L'esprit D'escalier being written in Norwegian. The reason is simple: I am going to mail a link to this post to DC Comics along with my next question to them.
As you may have noticed, in my original post about my concept, L'esprit D'escalier, I quoted Neil Gaiman's excellent graphic novel Death: the High Cost of Living.
It is my intention to include the quote in the work to be published as well. In order to avoid any potential IP violation, I have contacted DC Comics to find out about Copyright. Even so, it seems to me that using this quotation would be covered by a) the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, and the Sitatrett provision of Norwegian Copyright law.
That being my understanding (given my limited knowledge of copyright law), I view this, as well as my email correspondence with DC Comics as fair warning. Actually publishing the game is a long ways off anyway, and if they have a problem with it, they have time to get back to me.
I'd like opinions on this.
Number of players: GM +4
Play resumè: I attended Hexcon this year as well, and had a real good time. During one of the sessions, I had nothing to do, and was invited to join a one-off session of Dogs in the Vineyard. We went through character creation, and then set off playing...
Arriving in Bridal Falls, the Dogs are met by the town elder. His wife, my character's cousin, greeted us, and then asked to have a talk with my character. During the talk, it transpired that her husband, Brother Higgins, had married a second woman, of whom she (Bethia) did not approve.
They also met a woman whose child had died before its baptism. Being a lost cause, they could not bury the child in hallowed ground. Their solution was to set up a burial site outside the hallowed ground, where the mother could bury the child.
She also told him that she suspected Edith (the second wife) of having an affair with the town deputy sheriff, brother Cyrus. This suspicion was confirmed by other sources to the rest of the Pack, and it transpired that one of the women in the village had blessed the sheriffs union with Brother Higgins' second wife.
The woman was, it turned out, the cousin of one of the Dogs. Said Dog went to talk to his cousin, who attacked him.
Hearing the noise, the rest of the Pack joined their colleague, and tried to remove the malignant spirit who had obviously taken control of the poor woman, unfortunately to no avail.
In the end, they had to purge the spirit by removing her lifeforce.
Post script: I had been wanting to try out dogs for a long time, and when I got home, one of the first things I did was to order the book.
I går kom jeg på et av mine yndlingsuttrykk, og før jeg visste ordet av det, hadde jeg kommet fram til et svakt skjelett for mitt første rollespill.
Tanken rundt konseptet følger her. Dette er på ingen måte spilltestet, kun teoretisert og konseptualisert. Tilbakemeldinger og ideer mottas med stor takk.
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L'espirit d'escalier
Et come-back rollespill
L'espirit d'escalier: Fransk. Direkte oversatt betyr det "trappens ånd". Med uttrykket menes de smarte, vittige tingene du skulle ha sagt, som du kun kommer på på veien ut.
The clever things to say, taht you only think to yourself on the way out.
All the cool stuff you wis you'd said at the time.
Session name: Into the Black
Session type: Con One-off
Game system: Serenity RPG/Cortex System
Number of players: 7+GM
About the script:Into the Black was written for the launch of Serenity RPG in 2005.
Play resumè: Our Heroes (Mal, Zoe, Wash, Simon, Jayne, Kaylee and Inara) have just delivered a shipment of dogs to Whitefall, and are hard pushed for spare parts and fuel. As luck would have it, Roland A. Sharpe (Fmr. Admiral, Independent Fleet), is on moon, looking for a crew to help him. He has his former aide-de-camp, Saul Potter, recruit our heroes for a transpo-mission to Bellerophon, promising them a hefty payment (enough to clear their debts) and five drums of fuel for the job.
They accept the job, knowing that Patience has probably got wind of them being there, and go to pick up the fuel. Somehow, though, the man who Saul Potter had agreed with about the fuel, has not informed anyone else, and as they finish loading the fuel, some folks start shootin'.
Getting off Whitefall in a hurry, our heroes head toward Bellerophon. On the way, Simon is called in to consult on "mr. James'" lung condition. He recognises his face from the Cortex Warrant Notice, but reveals nothing, helping his patient instead, as his training has taught him.
As they approach Bellerophon, Saul Potter has everyone assemble in the dining area. Jerome, his strong man, is notably absent. "Mr. James" enters the room, and is immediately recognised as Admiral Sharpe. Saul Potter tells everyone that they need to change course. He tries appealing to their patriotism, then paying them. In the end he has to turn to blackmail, and thell them that Jerome has "the girl" (River, who has been sedated for a while) in the sick bay, and if they do as they are told, she will not be harmed.
They change course to Pegasus, a moon of Bellerophon, where the "Freedom's Glory", the flag ship of the independents during the war, awaits dismantling. Through a series of trials, they get into the Processing Plant (run by Blue Sun), and get into the Glory. Kaylee manages to make her run, and they get off planet, almost without a hitch.
Three weeks later our heroes receive a package from Adm. Sharpe, containing 3000 Alliance Credits worth of Platinum.
Notes on the script: The script is intended for seven players, but that didn't work too well. Inara, especially, was left out, with not a lot to do. Simon had some work some of the time, but otherwise was also loose flesh. The module is probably better off with five players, leaving Inara and Simon as NPCs.
Campaign name: Oslo by night
Session name: Intel, bit by bit (In which our protagonist interrogates her prisoner)
Game system: Vampire: the Masquerade
Number of players: 1 + GM
Play resumè: The following night, our protagonist wakes, then seeks out her sire in his study. He suggests she interrogate her prisoner, to see who sent him, who he is and so on and so forth. She goes to the cell, and after a minor scuffle manages to get him into the interrogation room.
As soon as he sits down into the chair, the chair actually grasps him so that he is stuck to the chair. To begin with, the prisoner is uncommunicative, and obviously not interested in answering Sophie's questions. Little by little, however, he relents, no doubt in part due to the razor-sharp blade held against his throat.
He explains that his name is Mike, that he is a mechanic, and that "they" are holding his family, threatening to kill them unless he did as they told him. He goes on to say that they are probably already dead, as he was unable to get Sophie to them. It turns out that his family is not people, but rather his dog, a german sheperd called Jake.
When asked who these "them" are, he claims he never saw their faces, but that they gave him a ring. He then pulls a ring from his pocket, a ring featuring a snake biting its tail. He also explains that "they" broke his arm, then mended it, magically-like. Mike also says that he was to take her to the garage. She gets the keys, then places him back in his cell.
Significant NPC's
Mike the mechanic (Human) Armed assailant, mechanic, dogowner, threatened by people who gave him a snake-ring.
Session name: Anger this way comes (In which our protagonist finds herself in somewhat of an empassioned conflict of loyalties)
Session passion: Anger
Game system: Hero's Banner
Number of players: 1+GM
Play resumè: Our protagonist is a young Baroness of the house Schlotterstein, from the easterly part of the southern fiefdom of Darom. As tradition dictates, at the age of eighteen, she heads out into the world, leaving the confines and safety of her father's court and stronghold.
A headstrong young lady, Eugenie von Schlotterstein has her father wrapped around her little finger, and fully expects to be the one to succeed him on the throne. There is, however a hurdle to be jumped; that of her half brother Darth, whose place in the line of succession is in front of hers. He has been out travelling for many years.
In a series of events, it would seem that fate has the same plan for her as she does herself, as she at one point finds herself in the city of Aurel, in the Barony of Haralamb. As befits someone of her stature, she takes a room at the finest inn of the city. While enjoying a glass of fine wine in the common room, she sees her half brother out of the corner of her eye. It would, however seem that her fate is not as she had hoped, as she is detained while he disappears. The next morning she finds that Darth left the city just before the curfew the preceding evening, in a gallop towards Schlotterstein.
Deciding she has no time to waste, she hurries on her way to Schlotterstein herself, but on the way learns her father is dead, and Darth has taken the throne. Arriving at Schloß Schlotterstein, she demands an audience with her half brother. He graciously agrees, but demands that their sibling, Talia, join them. This suits Eugenie perfectly, as she is now able to pin the murder of Darth on Talia.
A reign of terror follows, as Eugenie takes her father's throne. Ten years later, Eugenie finds herself feeling ill, and calls for a medicus. He gives her some medicine, but it would turn out that the medicine was to heal the barony, rather than the baroness. She dies, poisoned by her doctor. Meanwhile, Talia has managed to exhonerate herself, and is confirmed the next ruler of Schlotterstein.
Campaign name: Oslo by night
Session name: A turning (In which our protagonist is introduced to the Prince, and tackles an assailant)
Session type: Prelude, rule breakdown, character building
Game system: Vampire: the Masquerade
Number of players: 1+GM
Our protagonist finds herself recently turned. Her sire, Dahwood, tells her what she has become. He tells her that he belongs to one of seven clans of the Camarilla. The clan is called Ventrue.
Info on the protagonist:
D.O.B: 12.11.83
D.O.D: 07.09.08
Height: 1m 68cm
Weight: 65kg
Hair-color: red
Eye-color: green
Race: Caucasian
The protagonist, Sophie D'Ajeux was born and raised in Brussels. She worked as an interpreter at the EU. On a trip to Oslo, she suddenly felt an urge to quit her job, to do something else. She then met a man that told her she was the one he'd been waiting for. He turns her. She realises that she has become a vampire. She is curious by nature, and sees this as an opportunity for learning.
She is suddenly taken by the urge to feed, luckily her sire has provided a young man for just that. Afterwards, her sire laughs quietly to himself. The protagonist, on the other hand, feels elated at having fed, but apalled that she'd bleed a human being dry so quickly.
She gets used to being stronger, but is also reminded that she is weak. Her sire stakes her, to teach her the dangers of being staked. The first day she is taken out in the public is along with her sire. He takes her to the haven of the Prince, and introduces her to him.
The Prince, Alex, tells her in no encertain terms that she is under his jurisdiction while in Oslo. He quickly sizes her up and decides she is worthy to be one of the ruling class of Oslo, a Ventrue.
On their way back to Dahwood's haven in down-town Oslo, Dahwood and our protagonist hears a loud bang, and Dahwood feels the wheels tug as if they have a flat. He hands Sophie a handgun and tells her to check it out. On the outside, Sophie notices that the left front tyre is indeed flat, and that it has a hole in it much the same size as a .357-magnum slug.
As she bends over the tyre, inspecting it, Sophie feels the muzzle of a gun in her neck. She quickly grapples the assailant to the ground, slaps him unconscious, then stuffs him into the trunk of the car. When they return to the haven, Sophie places the assailant in a cell, then goes to bed.
Significant NPC's
Dahwood al-Jabhara (6th. gen) Born and embraced in Damascus, Syria. Has lived in Oslo for nigh on eighty years, and enjoys a lot of influence with the Prince, in his role as Sherrif, as well as a part of the Primogen. Ventrue.
Alex Sørensson (8th. gen) Born and embraced in Oslo, Norway. Has been part of the vampire scene in Oslo for four hundred years, the last fifty of those as the Prince of Oslo. Ventrue.
Name Unknown (Human) Assailant, armed.
Campaign name: The night is dark
Session name: The night is dark, pt. 1 (In which our protagonists find themselves in a bunker, far under ground, and they all share an unknown craving...)
Session type: Proof of concept, group building
Game system: Vampire the Masquerade
Number of players: 3 +GM
Play resumè:
Prologue: The protagonists are part of England's social elite, and as such given guests at the fabulous party at Bournemouth's famed club the Opera House. A well-known DJ is playing, and the people at the party are strictly A-list. The protagonists do not know each other yet.
Each of the protagonists are hit on by the three most beautiful people they've ever met. The strange thing is that they have seen none of them before. They all meet in a back room, where they toast in absinthe.
The sleepers awake in what looks like a bunker. They are each laid out on a metal table, reminiscent of the tables used in autopsy rooms. The long walls have lightbulbs covered with mesh wire at regular distances. The room is roughly 1600 sq. feet large. At the opposite end from our protagonists is a bomb shelter door and two air vents.
The protagonists are still dressed, but lacking all of their jewellery, hairpins etc. Instead, they find a note in each of their pockets saying their belongings will be returned in due time. They say hello, complain that they are feeling weak, and exit the room into a long corridor. The roof has the same lightbulbs covered in mesh wire at regular intervals.
They arrive at a room roughly the same size as where they woke up. The far wall is covered by filing cabinets, the other walls are lined with black desks labelled "Property of the Corporation". The filing cabinets are mostly labelled regular company stuff, though the drawers of one are labelled "Sires & Childe". The oldest year annoted is 1815, the most recent 2008.
They exit the room, and meet seven men dressed uniformly in tailored black suits, white shirts and black ties. They are told to follow the men immediately. They follow them into a room where they are sat down into chairs. One man tells them to wait here, and leaves. The rest simply stare at them.
Half an hour later a man enters, introducing himself as Laurenti Chiarello. He is very beautiful. "So you are the ones my children brought home. I must confess I am disappointed in them, I'd have thought they had better taste." He obviously disdains them. When they try to rise, they find themselves tied to the chairs, the chairs in turn bolted to the floor.
He offers them a drink and tells them they're dead. When they claim disbelief, he tells them to "go ahead, check your pulses." The drink is quite obviously blood, and they all feel, and look, better for drinking it. He then bids them to follow him, and sweeps out of the room. They rise, their restraints gone without any sort of sign.
The hallway they are led into looks like that of an old mansion; mahogany wall panels and ship-decking floor covering. They are then led into a sumptious library, its shelves covered with old, leatherbound books. In the middle are seven gorgeous chesterfield chairs.
The session ends with Laurenti telling them they are vampires, that he is a fourth generation descendant from Cain, and that they are sixth. He then introduces them to their sires; Angelo (who I found in a fisherman's pub in Naples), Laurenta (who led a much lesser life in prague), and finally Maria (who I saved from a monastery in Paris.
Significant NPCs:
Laurenti Chiarello (4th gen.) Born and embraced in Breslau, Poland. Is now one of the most influential vampires in southern England. Reports directly to the Prince in London. Sired Angelo, Laurenta and Maria.
Angelo Chiarello (5th gen.) Born and embraced in Naples, Italy. Lieutenant to Laurenti. Sired Jane Gavington.
Laurenta Chiarello
Session name: Kill-a-bug
Session type: Con one-off, playtest
Game system: 3:16 - Carnage Among the Stars
Number of players: 7+GM
PLANET INFORMATION:
NAME: Reynolds
CREATURE FORM: Insectoid
SHORT DESCRIPTION: Arid World
ALIEN ABILITY: Lowest FA +1
SPECIAL ABILITY: Swarm
THREAT TOKENS: 5 per character
LONG DESCRIPTION: The planet is too dry to support vegetation and has a parched, bleached look. The surface is a mixture of deserts, canyons and large fields of strewn rocks and boulders. The days are hot and unrelenting while the nights are harshly cold.
SPECIAL ABILITY DESCRIPTION: These creatures attack in vast numbers hoping to overwhelm their opponents by swarming them constantly at Close Range. On the aliens’ turn in the Combat Round all PCs are moved to Close Range on the range map by this ability. The Swarm ability costs one Threat Token for the aliens to use on this planet.
PLANET REYNOLDS is the closest thing to the areas around the Grand Canyon, or the Negev or Mojave deserts that any of the troopers have seen since leaving Terra. It is rocky and hard, and there s hardly a living thing anywhere in sight. There are plenty of outcrops that provide cover, however, cover goes both ways…
The planet is riddled with underground tunnels and chambers, inhabited by the various species of insectoid beings that call Planet Reynolds home.
Play resumè: Our heroes, a squad made up of a sergeant, a corporal and five troopers, land more or less safely on planet Reynolds, and are immediately ordered to set up and secure the perimeter of the camp. The ranking officer on planet is Lt. Hicks, a very green OCT graduate whose lack of experience is compounded by his overly loud voice and insecure orders.
Meeting heavy enemy resistance only a short walk from the camp, the squad reports in, and are ordered to RTB. Back in base, the order is countermanded, and they head back out.
After a lot of back and forth, the squad, along with the rest of the platoon finally clear the planet, with only one casualty; Lt. Hicks.
Replacing Hicks is Sgt. Dunlap, who was squad leader. However, rank goes to his head, and shortly after arriving at their next mission, aboard the carrier Peronimous, dies, though not before killing Cpl. (former Trp.) Ortiz.
In the end-game scene, the squad clears the ship of all personnel, as they were no longer human. The only survivor was Bucket, the comms operator aboard.
Highest amount of kills: 83 (Cpl. Murphy)
Session name: Vandrende Aspirasjoner
Session type: Con one-off, playtest
Game system: Itras By (Norwegian indie)
Number of players: 5+GM
Play resumè: In this one-off we follow an intrepid quintet of adventurers wanting to join Itra By's Ancient and Venerable Society of Vagabonds, the society that spends their days travelling the danger-frought rimzones.
Through a series of seven scenes, the adventurers go through the initiations and learn about disbelief, until they in an end-game scene are finally accepted.
Notes: The concept is sound, but the implementation is wanting. I got good feedback from a few of the players, and am headed back to the lab.
So, I play roleplaying games. Plural. Which ones, you ask? Well, so far I've played these