Week 3 - Cause and Effect.
Preparing for game - Without a Plan.
People were starting to arrive; Adam and I still hadn't had our 'pre-game huddle' and so we snuck off into another room and talked over our game-plan...or rather, the fact that we lacked one for this game. We were wary of a lull during the game in which players might run out of steam or start getting bored, and so we tried to come up with a few scenerio's to take place if that happened. What we didn't suspect at the time is just how self-running our game was...which is good, because it meant that our lack of planning any plot didn't come back to bite us in the ass.
We had one new player, Karl, so we dedicated a little time to show how to make a character and how to get involved in the story, then let him loose in the game. He decided to play a "Good ole boy", aka Cowboy who likes to smooze and booze.
Creating conflict - To Charge or Not to Charge?
During the game, Maria, who plays a 1950's Air Pilot named Cid, came up to me and told me that "Cid" was off exploring Sanctum...and to feel free to mess with her.
I wasn't in the middle of the scene, I wasn't really that busy; I decided against charging, although I could have done so and maybe should have. Her character, Cid was trying to re-build her airship so that she could continue her flight, and knowing this about her character, Sanctum hit her where it hurts...
I told her that while Cid was out exploring, her airship was going to be stolen. I played the Opposition Brief against her as I didn't have a specific NPC for the scene. With a means of "Opportunists" and a ends of "Destroy your Works", I pitted against her own ends of "Rebuild my airship", But we never got any further, because Maria decided that she didn't mind losing this stake as long as she could have the compromise that it wouldn't take her too long to rebuild it; perhaps a couple of weeks at most. I decided this was fine, and we ended the conflict. Cid would come back to find her airship almost completely missing, with only the frame and a few parts that were left behind.
Later on, for no real reason other than I could, I decided to put to use my stage-hand powers once more, as maria's character Cid was talking with her friuends out how to possibly re-build with so much of the aircraft missing. I told the group that they saw a fifteen year old go prancing off in a flashy cape....that looked alot like a few scraps of her mylar baloon. There was an instant reaction as they got wide eyed and vigilante on the boy, demanding answers about where he got his 'cape'. The boy, somewhat stoned and rather indifferent pointed out a small shop and walked off. One scene led to another, and in the end, they managed to not only get most of the aircraft back, but that they came to the realization that there wasn't just Sergei and Vesper to worry about.
Observations: The effects of this particular conflict was entertaining, and it got several characters suddenly involved in a conflict that didn't have to do with previously established SC. There was even an unintended effect that trickled across to the supporting cast when Cid and the other character tracked down the culprit, who they had assumed to be Vesper, only to find that it was just some vagrant teenagers with a 'finder's keepers' mentality, taking advantage that there was no one around to really stop them from doing what they wanted. I think it serves as a reminder that SC's aren't the only characters who can affect the protagonists or the world of Sanctum.
Concerns: The more I think about this one, the more I could have just charged for that first scene. It wasn't really nessisary to promote plot as there was already plenty to go around, but at the same time, that evil little story-teller in me couldn't resist the chance to turn something upside down for the sake of story. I wasn't really that busy, so it didn't detract from the game, but I think I need to be careful about where I draw the line on freebies. In this case, I justified the free plot with that it was really giving the stage-hands an oportunity to wreak havok. Still, I'm going to make sure I am not creating too many scenarios like this when they aren't being paid for.
The First Casualty of Sanctum : Mortality in Play.
Sergei's men took one of Vesper's men out back in an alley and beat him to death...leading to the first fatality of Sanctum. The Clocktower plaques now read ID instead of D, and now the protagonists are left with the question of how to deal with this very obvious murder. Vesper finds out and is enraged, recognizing ring marks on his face and body as ones she associates with Moira (played by Tonya). While she believes Moira is behind this, no doubt with her "Sergei lover" doing the dirty work, there's no way to prove that to anyone without incriminating herself; which she realizes a little to late. Vesper wants to keep her hands clean so this leands to a follow-up scene wtih the film-maker Darius, (Played by Claus) in which one of Vesper's cronies manages to convince Darius that Vesper had nothing to do with Moira's beating..and underneath all the posturing, that Sergei is the one who started everything.
The world of Sanctum strikes again - Using the Opposition Brief in a non-conflict situation.
Adam approaches me at some point and tells me that no one has done anything with the body yet, so we decide that with Sanctum's End of Mystery and Means of Monkey's Paw, The body looks as if it has literally walked off by itself. When Dr Z, (Played by Dave) goes to perform an autopsy on the body, his detective skills finds a freshly dug grave, and a perfectly carved headstone bearing a date of birth, name and the letter I. Naturally, Dr. Z is just a little upset by the fact that there is a lack of evidence to show what could have happened, but he digs up the body, performs an autopsy and then reburies the body once more.
Afterwards, The Zombie Fanatic, Stuart (played by Nathanial), freaks out, digs up the body and decapitates what he is convinced must be a zombie. This is sure to raise a few brows later, whether Stuart is finally validated as the Zombie "Expert" instead of a nut, or if it will convince others that he is unstable and possibly dangerous.
Cause and Effect - Escalation at its finest.
What's a vice-lord to do when someone pisses her off? Get even of course! Vesper retaliates against the death of her cronie by burning Moira's hut to the ground. Tonya, who plays Moira loses her stake and so is helpless to do anything as her hut burns to the ground. She loses an additional stake against Sanctum itself and the secret stash she had hidden under the floorboards is incinerated as well.
Others rush to the fire, and I declare that the hut is burning and is obviously beyond saving. (as Tonya had already lost her stake and lost the hut) I declare that the fire is also spreading now...So there is a mass conflict in which the others are trying to put out the fire and stop it from spreading.
They win this stake, and so it is narrated how they work together using a nearbye fire-hydrant, and a few of Sid's metal rods to put out the flames and stop the fire from spreading.
This causes another stake when they spray water onto Darius's camera, who begins to panic. "Not on the camera, Not on the camera!!!" Darius wins his stake against Sanctum. (ends of "Destroy your works", and means of "enviroment")and so his camera is saved, the fire is put out and Moria's hut is destroyed.
Observations: Everyone seemed to really enjoy the conflicts and there was alot of energy and roleplay that went into them both during AND after. I'm fairly satisfied that we were able to establish so much drama with such little effort.
Concerns: While I think it's a good thing that I drew so much conflict out, I completely overlooked it when the rule of 'convienence' was broken, and I also let the conflict go at a certain point when I could have a few more stakes after the fact, or before the fact. I think we should watch out to make sure we aren't just making it too easy for them, perhaps with some risker stakes for failure here and there; I think more so on my part than Adam's.
As for the rule of 'convienence', that fire hydrant was awfully so, and there IS a rule about that. I'll have to be more observant next time, although technically, nothing was broken since I was there and allowed it to happen. Bad Sara...no cookie! Next time, I'll make them conflict for it!
(In progress - More to come)
