Dreams Betwixt Walls ep04 : A Red and Pleasant Land

11/14/2015
Dreams Betwixt Walls
Episode Four

"T, A Drink with Jam and Bread"

A Red and Pleasant Land

Fleeing.

Somewhere, Gods play Chess.  And as the moves are made, the forces of "Good" win as the pawn and a knight are taken.    The group finds itself encountering the puzzling nature of the hedge maze.  All have vague recollections of what transpired before arriving here.  And worse, events remembered and lived dance a confusing dance of facts and misremembered moments.    For some there seem to be something stalking them in the maze.  For others, they are travelling outside the maze, searching for the others.  People play games and animals cry in pain.  The perplexing nature of the land vexes the group.

Some encounter Mister Hatta, who was once a friend oddly remembered, but now has become a man whose age shifts with every moment and conversation.    The tea time however becomes a confrontation, however, when Vera outsmarts Mr. Hatta regarding the concepts of time and possibility, using the watch Ilya had offered her to misdirect Hatta's focus.  She stresses the fact that he cannot control nor see the past, he is in no position to make more meaningful pronouncements.

Vera, however, reminds herself of her dealing with Jack.  The two have shared discussions on how the land might best be ruled by someone else.  And Vera makes a deal with Jack that she would help her change the ruler of this strange land if in exchange she helps ensure the safety of her daughter.

Oh the things a mother does for the safety of her only daughter.

M.O.D.E.L.S. v2.0

This is a work in progress.  To be launched this Sunday at the G&G mini-con.

MODELS

All characters are international super models who have been enlisted to become MODELS (Military Operations and Defense Emergency League Specialists) who are alerted and assigned to deal with situations that require a much more specialized hand.  They are civilians, but when missions require them, these MODELS become walking intelligence agents whose fashion sense has more depth than expected.  As super models, they are practically welcomed into any country and their presence is celebrated in any event.  But as MODELS, they save the world with sass and style.

Character Creation
All Agents begin the game with one area of expertise, followed by two areas being well trained, two areas at basic and finally one area which is untrained.  It is intentional to have an untrained area.  This reminds the Agents that teamwork is essential for the success of any operation.

The Face.
Mimicking any appearance.  Disguises.  Intimidation.  Blending in.  Reading intentions.  Understanding body language.  Gaining trust.  Matching a look.  Body chameleon.

The Gun.
Using any firearm.  Shooting things.  Killing people.   Making A hit B.  Knowing how to use weapons.  The right way.  Lovechild of Chuck Norris and Riddick.

The Brain.
Intel.  Contingency plans.  Code breaking.  Hacking.  Driving any vehicle. Mathematics.  Accounting.  Fine, quantum physics too.  All your ideas are mine.

The Web.
Connections.  Oh, It’s you. I’m cashing in a favor.  Black market.  Underground ties.  The world is my bathtub. 

The Muscle.
Handling any display of prowess and strength.  Climbing.  Jumping.  Fist fights.  Universally deadly.  Muscles on my muscles.

The Mouth.
Speaking any language.  Expression.  Seduction.  Kissing without using lips.  Or touching.  Verbal orgasms. 

Each player chooses one to be their primary area of Expertise.  That will get a rating of 4.  
The player then chooses two areas which are still part of his Trained repertoire and those are at 3. 
Then, two more are chosen to show Basic understanding, which are at 2. 
Finally, the unchosen area is the agent’s Weakness.  That would have a rating of 0 and can never be raised.

[Example: Sydney opts to create her character, Jennifer.  She likes the show Alias and bases her character on the lead heroine of that show. gives Jennifer the following stats:
The Face 4, The Gun 2, The Brain 3, The Web 0, The Muscle 2, The Mouth 3]

Each agent then has three Never Leave’s (Never Leave Home Without It) which other models and fashion conscious people notice.  These are fashion first and are part of his signature look and appeal.

Eyes	Lips	Hat	Earrings	Necklace
Watch	Bracelet	Ring	Buckle	Chain
Coat	Handkerchief	Tie	Scarf	Jacket
Vest	Corset	Boots	Suspenders	Shoes
Sunglasses	Perfume	Lipstick	Cigar/Cigarettes	Drink/Flask
Cellphone	Fan	Hand-carried	Car	Other

 
These items have the benefit of adding to the agent’s overall Impact.  For each item, choose a key area where they help the agent accomplish things.  These areas of impact, when applicable, allow the player to reroll a die during Challenges. It is always good to choose areas that match the overall impression your agent tends to give.

Forceful	Flashy	Subtle	Quick	Cautious	Clever
Sensitive	Classy	Deceptive	Passionate	Funny	Shocking

Finally, for each item, you can designate the following Utility.
Each item has three points of Utility in them.  The player, at any time in the game, can decide to spend one point of Utility for one of the following:

·         a) Allow the whole applicable dice pool to be re-rolled.
b) Give the item a gadget effect.

Gadget effects are the different cool stuff that the item can actually do since they were tinkered with by the House of Gad Get. 

This is also a weapon	This is also a communications device	This is also an explosive
This is also a tool	This is also armor	This is also a copier
This is also medical	This is also modular	Any other

Style Points
Style points are the currency of choice for a M.O.D.E.L.S. game.  It is through the use of Style points that players can celebrate their fabulous-ness and save the world at the end of the day.

[to be continued]

Bad Timing featured on Once Upon A Game

A wonderful surprise greeted me today when I decided to take a stab at it and googled, "Bad Timing Fiasco."  As it turns out, a cool webchannel called Once Upon a Game helmed by Eric Vulgaris decided to try playing my game, Bad Timing last February 8!  It was very fun watching them enjoy the game and see how excited they were with the elements to choose from to build their story.

You can watch the episodes here:
Episode 1

Episode 2


Episode 3

It was a truly pleasant surprise to know they really had a blast with the playset.  It really touched me to hear them very often say how the choices the game offered were "oh so good!" and it was very story game variety show was kind enough amusing seeing how they developed their own quirk tale of love, desires and moments of bad timing.

OMG and even fan art!  Check out the link below!
(I'll get permission to post the image first)
http://imgur.com/ulQetaI
Thank you again to Eric Vulgaris, Adam (Tuxtradamus), Nick (NickAnon2) and Michelle (Asteyni) for trying out my game.   Here's hoping you'll enjoy as well the other games I got in the pipeline!


Try the game today!
Bad Timing, a romantic comedy playset.
Now available for PayWhatYouWant on DriveThruRpg.

GM/Player Advice: How to be Better

Finally got the slides for my talk last January Gamers&GMs Philippines mini-convention online.  This talk, admittedly, was more about trying to help share the gamer and game master habits and practices that I felt were nice to see in more people.  Also shared here are the four key tenets which I feel everyone would do well to embrace.

Game Mastering Seminar
How to Be a Better Player
(At least according to tobie)
Sharing some tips and observations I've made through the over twenty years of gaming that I have lived. These tips can apply to any players or gms who might want to find ways to make their games run more awesome.

Coming Very Soon

I am humbled.

Bad Timing - A RomCom Fiasco Playset, now available online!

I've finally released my first official TAGSESSIONS product entitled, Bad Timing.

Inspired by the script I wrote years back for what I felt could be a crazy romantic comedy movie set in Manila, I decided to take the plunge and try transforming this into a Fiasco playset for others to enjoy.

Special thanks to Rocky and Yoshi for always being my support group.
To my Patreon followers who have been helping fund my endeavors.
To my artist, Bim, who did the fantastic layout and art for the book.
To my parents who always believed in me.

You can also try this link to see a playtest of this game I had with some friends.

Check it out today!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/172570/Bad-Timing--A-Romantic-Comedy-Fiasco-Playset