Thou Art But A Warrior (AP)
Monday, September 17, 2007
We're Muslim knights in Iberia, 1031 AD. The Caliphate is falling (has fallen, really) and we're gonna hang on to the bitter end (or convert to the cross). It's Tony, Ben, Alexis, and me.There's a scene where things finally turn violent. The Christians in Cordoba are rioting, burning down a mosque. My knight is inside, killing them by the dozen, but there are so many more. The fires are everywhere. This is a special scene brought about by our rising Discord. The game says that we must get a clear message from God that the caliphate is doomed. I have a great idea, using one of my abilities, "Calligraphy of the Sword" and I'm about to say it, but Ben's eyes are all lit up. He's my Infidel, the player who provides adversity for me. He has the same idea.
"You're fighting and killing as the mosque burns around you," Ben says. "Huge flaming timbers fall everywhere. Some of the embers alight on the blade of your sword as you fight, carving a path of flame through the smoke. Each sword stroke forms a character in Arabic, burning an after-image in the air."So it's like that. We're having a wonderful time. Aside from the massacre, the story we're making has mostly been about the death of the old caliph and the succession (or not) of his bastard son. It's been great to dig into a political kind of thing for a change.
"It writes a message," I say.
"Yes," says Ben. "It reads: JESUS SON OF MARY."
The game is a Polaris adaptation by Anna Kreider, in playtest now. It is the hot hotness.
Labels: play report
Tenra Bansho Zero (GenCon AP)
Monday, August 27, 2007
I got the chance to sit down with Andy K and some other folks to play Tenra Bansho Zero at Games on Demand at GenCon 2007. The verdict: crazy-ass, over-the-top, anime-style weirdness with a really kickass game system driving the whole thing.Andy had pregens for us to choose from, which was not only a good choice for a one-shot at a con, but also somewhat reflects the actual character creation system. In the full game, you choose two to four archetypes and mash them together to get all of your stats and skills (then customize a bit). I've always been a fan of that chargen method, and I think it suits the setting and style of the game well.
I got to play a Kongohki (金剛機), which is Tenra's version of Robocop. A Shinto priest captures a soul from the netherworld, scrubs off its identity, and then sticks the soul in a magic mirror inside a robotic body. ("Kongoh" is the Japanese word for Vajra, and is used here to mean 'unbreakable substance'.) The best part of being a Kongohki (aside from doing cool robot stuff) is the flashback mechanic. Whenever you get 5 aiki chips (which are kind of like Fan Mail from PTA) your Kongohki has a flashback scene of its former life. We decided my soul was that of the wife of the Samurai PC, who had died in a fire long ago. After the first flashback, I started using the pet-name for the Samurai (Katsu-chan) but otherwise acted as if I remembered nothing. This created a very bizarre and fun love triangle with me, the Samurai, and the creepy insect-nanotech girl.
The game has a lightweight and speedy resolution system, mostly focused on task-based stuff and combat. Combat is very easy to handle, supports crazy over-the-top stunts and cool moves, and resolves quickly, even in the big boss showdown we had. The real meat of the system, though, is in the economy of aiki chips, Fate points, and karma. The interplay of these creates a very cool cycle of player rewards (fan mail), PC goals and spiritual attributes (Fates, which are mini Keys/Muses), and an endgame/doom/level system (Karma).
There's a lot there, so I won't go into detail. As an example, though, one use of Karma is to "balance" the various PC types in terms of raw power. Characters with massive abilities and powers start off with a lot of Karma. When you spend Fate to do super-moves (like rolling 20 bonus dice) it adds to your Karma score. If your Karma goes over 108, you risk losing your character to evil (power corrupts!). So, the real heavy hitters have to be careful about how they spend Fate and can't really cut-loose until they're ready to meet their destiny. The "weaker" character types start with less Karma, though, so they can spend Fate like mad and explode into crazy Final Fantasy style Limit Break awesome when needed. And since all of this is tied back into the Fan Mail system and PC goals/relationships, it neatly sidesteps any "mother-may-I" troubles that some mechanics like this fall into.
In play, the game reminded me most of Nine Worlds. The PCs were super-powerful badasses (even the weaker ones) who were driven by their goals, emotions, relationships, and destinies, which fed mechanically into the reward system and also drove the scene framing and story arc of the session.
I'm really looking forward to the completed English version of this game. The setting is wahoo-anime crazy pants, which isn't usually my style, but the system was so engaging and crisp, I'm excited to play again.
Labels: play report
Stranger Things Actual Play Links
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Several groups have played Stranger Things and posted about their games. Here are some links for those of you don't haunt the Forge:Blood and Shadows (Darren's group)
Lock, Stock, and Smoking Dragonhide (Chris's group)
The Judgment of Fish (Wilhelm's group)
Two Nights a Stranger (Mischa's group)
The GenCon Game (Joe's group)
Heartbreak Square (my group)
Demon Dog! (Roger's group)
Playtest at Forge Midwest (Ron, Matt, Andy, Tim)
Stranger Things Bootleg (Bailywolf's group)
Gypsies, Puppets, and the Octopus God (Darren's group)
Thanks, everyone.
Labels: play report, stranger things, work in progress