Sickening Queens finds some love

Just wanted to share the small joy of realizing that one of the games I wrote, Sickening Queens, actually received some love.  Fiasco was one of the game systems that opened my eyes to the wide-range of potential stories one can tell with collaborative gameplay.  After enjoying my first few experiences playing Fiasco, I felt compelled to try to contribute a game or two to the vast range of experiences that were available.  I wrote a Romantic Comedy one called Bad Timing (which was inspired by this script I hoped to someday produce), and my love letter to local Philippine Drag and our drag queen friends, in a book named, Sickening Queens.



Jason Morningstar had a curated collection of playsets which he really liked. I was curious to see what games got the nod and was pleasantly surprised to see a few intriguing titles which I wanted to try out.  But what really surprised me was the later page which had the following list:

 

Sickening Queens made the cut! I feel so happy to know it was well-received. I only hope more people give the game a try.  May this help boost the signal out to the amazingness that is local Filipino drag and even drag in general!

Sickening Queens is now available!

Sickening Queens is now available on DriveThruRpg.

Hope you enjoy my love letter to drag!

Grab it today!

Bookhounds of London : Fiasco

03/25/2016
Bookhounds of London

Fiasco

Tobie plays Silas, the manservant of Monty Pendragon.
Flip plays the catalog agent and master of Silas, Montgomery Pendragon,
Josh plays Marcus Duboir the IV, an old collector from France and took his protege with him to London to scout for books.
Carlo plays William Peroux, the man in training who is hoping to learn more of the craft.

The story begins with Silas and William Peroux, as the two realize they have actually found a copy of the Necronomicon from Master Pendragon's library.  Silas is curious to learn more about it. Peroux recognizes it from the first glance and listens worriedly as Silas admits he feels as if the book called to him.  Silas admits Pendragon has been hiding the book from everyone, including Marcus Duboir.

Monty bursts into the house, looking for Silas. He walks into the grand hall of the Duboir residence searching for his manservant. Peroux tells Silas to hide and goes down to meet with Pendragon. But as he tries to misdirect Pendragon, something shatters upstairs.  Peroux explains it away as strong wind and... after opening the door to the second clatter... an opened window.  There is no sign of Silas Pendragon takes his leave.  Peroux peeks out and sees Silas running away.

A flashback. Pendragon recalls meeting Marcus Duboir IV earlier that evening. They talked about finding an ancient book from a tomb. Silas served them tea and is manhandled by Pendragon for interrupting their talk. He sent Silas away to get the book and spent the time talking to Duboir about his adoptive son, William Peroux, while they wait.   Duboir however complained he has no time to wait and asked Pendragon instead to come visit him with the book, as well as any other book he might want to sell him.  Peroux and Duboir left without further discussion.

Back at the present, Silas runs into a neglected Church, ignoring the pouring rain.  Pendragon chases after Silas towards the Church, and he sees Silas at the altar, reading the book.  He hits Silas, demanding the book be returned, but Silas warns him not to come any closer. Silas confesses he needs to read it.  And when Pendragon demands Silas return his book, Silas screams back, "It is not your book!" Pendragon slaps Silas.  Silas runs, climbing the broken tower. Pendragon warns him if he does not stop, he will see what he is capable of. When Pendragon shoves Silas to take the book, the manservant falls off the broken steps, and hangs for his dear life at the edge. Lightning flashes.  Silas feels something awaken... and he knows deep down it has to do with the words he had spoken aloud.   Fear grips him. He lets go and he falls.

At the ground, Silas is broken and dying.  Pendragon comes up to him and takes the book from Silas' bloody body.  "They're watching you now...I can see them staring at you from the darkness...." Silas mutters as he dies.  Pendragon begins to kick Silas' head over and over, wanting him to shut up.

Back at the mansion, Peroux hastily runs to Duboir's room and pounds on the door. Peroux tells him he senses something is amiss and asks him about the Necronomicon, a book rumored to have mystical powers. Peroux confesses Silas had the book and that he could read it.  The two turn and Peroux sees Silas standing in the room, with his head bashed open and bleeding.  Duboir cannot see him. Peroux insists Silas is in the room, and insists he is not lying. Duboir however accuses Peroux of lying and of having stolen things from his collection.  Peroux is thrown out of the house and the door is slammed shut.

A day later.  Marcus Duboir IV is at a conference of esteemed book collectors.  As the gathered watch him, he comes onto the stage and raises into view a book he had purchased from Pendragon.  Duboir claims it is the great Necromicon and while the crowd whispers in awe, Peroux, who is also in the room, sees and knows it is not the true book. Duboir shows the book off, but when Peroux motions for Duboir to have a moment to talk, Duboir brushes him off at first.  Pendragon, also in the room, watches from afar.  Peroux imposes himself on Duboir and tells him the book is not the actual book which Silas showed him. Silas, a ghost in the room, watches as Pendragon hurries to leave.  Silas turns to Peroux, who turns out to be a capable medium, and whispers to his ear that Pendragon is leaving.  Duboir hates the fact he paid ten thousand francs for a false book.  Peroux hurries through the crowd to catch up with Pendragon, but when Pendragon sees Duboir and Peroux, following him, he begins to run.  Duboir calls out for the man, declaring him to be a fraud.   They chase Pendragon down into an alleyway, which leads to a dead end.  Pendragon growls at Duboir warning him he cannot have the book.  Pendragon growls, almost like a beast, and Duboir attempts to grab the book from Pendragon's hands.  Silas whispers to Peroux that they have to take the book. Pendragon screams.

Weeks later.  At the asylum, William Peroux opts to visit Monty Pendragon.  Silas stays with Peroux, whipering things to him about what he knows. Pendragon can sense there's something different about Peroux too. Peroux asks what was in the book, but Pendragon insists he did not read it. "The book talked to me." Peroux turns to Silas, wondering if what Pendragon is true.  Silas admits the Master Duboir is now the one the book has caught. He is the one the book wants. Peroux asks where the book was found and Pendragon admits it was in a chamber under his land.  Silas admits they never found the chamber before. Peroux sneaks Pendragon out of the Asylum and Pendragon offers to lead Peroux through the tunnels.

The Tilt: Someone's Life is Changed Forever In a Bad Way

Peroux and Silas sneaks into the manor, entering from the back, choosing to be smart about things as they follow Pendragon's lead.  They go to the study first and Pendragon bumps into things in the dark.  They hear sounds in the corner of the room. Silas whispers, "It is here." Lights flicker on and they see Marcus Duboir the IV sitting at the corner, hugging the tome as he mutters to them that it is his. Peroux tries to take the book, but Pendragon blocks him, telling him not to do that or it will get ot him too. Peroux wonders how to stop the book, but Silas warns them they are not alone.  Duboir starts yelling, "There he is!  There he is!"  He begins to bask in the glory of something in the vicinity, but Duboir is angered by the fact he cannot see it clearly.  Peroux grabs the book anyway.  Pendragon battles against himself, trying to keep himself from clawing at Peroux to stop him.  Silas mutters something about everything can burn. Peroux lights a fire in the nearby fireplace and tosses the book into the flames!  Pendragon and Duboir scream, "No!" and the flames grow larger.  But to their horror, the book does not burn!  The flames begin to spread, however, and burn the very house, as if the book was protecting itself from those in the house.  Silas mutters, "Everything burns... everything..." And Peroux realizes Silas may have been talking about the house and not the tome. Pendragon and Peroux begin to grapple at each other, with Duboir joining the fray, as the urge to take the book from the fire strikes them. Silas reaches for the book, wondering if he can still hold it despite being a ghost.  Pendragon, however, sneaks through Silas, and takes it from the flames.  He calls out, "It is mine again!" and opens the book to start reading aloud the incantation within! Duboir snaps out of the weird state he was in, and realizes the place is burning.  He sees what Pendragon is doing, and he tackles Pendragon to the floor to force the book out of his hands.  As it topples to the floor, Peroux reaches to grab it.  Silas stands in front of Peroux, warning him if he touches it he will be just as mad as the others.  Peroux, however, is determined to find a way to destroy it.  "If not fire... perhaps Water?" Silas wonders aloud. "Perhaps the Sea?"

Duboir and Pendragon stares at Peroux who seems to be arguing with the very air about not wanting to take the book.  Duboir uses a cloth to reach for the book, then they lift it out of the flames without touching it.  He places it in a satchel and they consider a way out. They try leaping out of the window of the burning house, but  Duboir lands badly and injures his leg.  Peroux assumes any body of water might work, and so he quickly tries to think of the nearest body of water they can use. Silas warns them they are not alone in the room.  He tells them not to move.  The walls begin to show black tendrils that move as if searching. Peroux admits if they do not move, they will most likely die from the flames. Silas realizes he can draw the things to notice him instead.  Silas waves his hands as he walks and the tendrils begin to follow him.  "It has eyes... a hundred eyes in the darkness... Go! Go now!"  Peroux hurries out of the window, as the manor continues to burn.   He runs as fast as he can towards the overlooking cliffside.  Pendragon and Duboir try to follow, stumbling after Peroux, and pause only for a moment when they hear the death knell of Silas somewhere within the flames. The waves crash against the cliff below.  Peroux is ready to throw it over the edge when Pendragon sees him and is once more overcome by the darker personality. He hisses and snarls, asking if Peroux has any idea what will happen if the book is thrown into the water?  But then, Silas' voice begins to emerge from the water.  "Now William!  Give me the book!  It will be safe here in the waters!  Throw it to me!" But Pendragon warns the spirit in the water is a lie!  Silas tells William to trust him.  Pendragon snarls, "Let me have the curse!  Let it stop with me!" But Silas' voice suddenly screams from inside the burning manor, "Don't! It is a trick!" The ghost strains against the black tendrils as the book falls from Peroux' hand. Silas breaks free from the tendrils, then leaps at the last second to posses Pendragon.  Using his body, Silas leaps to grab the book mid air.  And in that last second, as Pendragon falls off the edge, Peroux grabs hold of Pendragon's collar and the daisy chain hangs over the cliff's edge.  Pendragon begins to regain control of his senses, and he can hear Silas in his mind, asking if it was him.  Silas begs him to allow Peroux to destroy the book... but warns him the water is a trick. The thing waits in the depths.  Silas begs them to trust him, and begs Pendragon to allow him absolute control. Pendragon, tries to resist, but Silas admits there are far more important things than
what he wants.  Silas takes full control. Pendragon-Silas flings the book back up the cliff, over Peroux and Duboir's heads and lands on the floor.  Duboir stares at the tome.

Duboir crawls over to the book.  He grabs it from the ground and they agree they need to take the book to the tunnels.  The place where it was first found.  Duboir holds the book in his hands, hysterical in fear, and tells them to bring it now. He insists he will carry the book and asks the others to carry him. The four make their way to the tunnels beneath the manor, ignoring as they burn.  The catacombs and winding tunnels continue to slop downwards.  The upper levels are wet, but the lower levels are drier.  Strange writings and marking on the walls glow as they pass with the tome in their possession.   In the main chamber, shells and calcified remnants decorate the walls, as well as other artifacts untouched by time.  An empty pedestal stands at the center of the room. Duboir points to it and tells them that is where the book should be.  He tries to get close to place the book upon it.  But suddenly the walls have shadows dancing.  The shadows move like tentacles, snaring Duboir in place to keep him from moving.

With the book on the pedestal, and Duboir snared by the shadows, Silas yells that the shadows won't let any of them leave.  Pendragon laughs that the master is awake now.  Peroux tries to free Duboir, but he struggles in vain.  Silas wonders if they should leave, or at least destroy the knowledge of its existence by staying here. Pendragon laughs it is too late! Duboir falls screaming as the shadows snap his bones in all directions.  He falls down like a broken doll.  Silas begs Peroux to keep the book trapped here.  Looking around, Peroux tries to find something to use.  Peroux wishes he had the courage to move.  Silas apologizes and tries to possess Peroux' body once more.  Peroux asks him where to find something explosive they can use, and Silas admits he knows where. With the younger man's body, the two are able to evade the shadows and escape the tomb, but knowing the truth about the book must remain with them, they hurry back out of the tunnels and find the dynamite that was originally used when the tunnels were first uncovered.  Carrying it back, they return to the room.  They set the dynamite and they trigger the explosives.  Pendragon howls no.  Silas howls yes.

The Aftermath

The dynamite buries them in the chamber.  Montgomery Pendragon feels control return to him as the rocks fall and crush his body.  But despite all this, he has this feeling that it is not all over. He feels black tendrils crawling into his brain and trapping him in another prison.  There is no escape.

As all of Marcus Duboir the IV's bones are broken and the black tendrils grip starts to loosen, he feels his son's body pressed warm against him.  Marcus smiles, feeling happy despite their doomed end, that they were somehow reunited despite all the events.

William Peroux  finds himself wishing they had never gone into this journey, but all in all he feels happy that they were able to stop this greater evil from breaking free and threatening the world.  It was the only choice.  William closes his eyes and knows it was the right one.

And with the darkness crushing them, ending their lives, Silas realizes as the darkness laughs that he was actually the first one who called it.  The thing is still there, with him.  Trapped with him.  Waiting for him to leave.  To guide him back outside.   Silas is to live a living hell for the rest of his unlife in the depths.

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

Fiasco: Bad Timing

02/21/2015
Bad Timing

Fiasco

I wrote up this playkit inspired by the romantic comedy script I penned some years back, which was also called Bad Timing.  The idea of the original material was to come up with a convoluted romantic comedy story which had elements of science fiction.  The result was very different but definitely Fiasco-eque in feel.

The cast included:
John Michael, played by me.
Mistaken to be the family twin of Michael John, but in truth they the same person with one being the future self of the other.

Michael John, played by Jonas
He is one of Stella's current roommates and they are curious about the guy living next door to them.

Stella, played by Che
She has a relationship with Diego Pavlon, the hot south american idiot who is the horny next door neighbor.  She is dying to know who he is sleeping with, and they used to be roommates.

Diego Pavlon, played by Jose
Diego is the great friends/great rivals with Sofia over a watch they had to buy during Black Friday.

Sofia, played by Maanne
She had her first heart break at Greece, at one of the islands there.
She is currently in a relationship with Bert.

Bert, played by Paolo

He is Sofia's first ex-flame and is currently the best friend of John Michael/Michael John.
We used to hang out by an old fountain, but grew apart in time.

It all began in some island in Greece.

What started out as the story of a guy who wanted to have a second chance with a woman he fell in love with, transformed into a tale of tragedy and woe as the tampering with time began to unravel things and complicate the main time stream.  John Michael tries to convince his past self to stay at the five star hotel room he rented out in order to handle something in the past.  However, Michael John admits he can't.  This throws an initial wrench to John Michael's plans of trying to see Stella again.

Bert and Sofia found themselves dealing with the feelings of uncertainty when Bert discovers Sofia's gift to him, a special watch, might have been gained under false pretenses.  The accusation of Sofia lying about its history was raised by Diego, whose actions were an attempt to gain the watch for himself and his own plans.  

Stella unknowingly finds herself caught in the hilarity of it all when Michael John's future self, John Michael, ends up falling for her and wanting to somehow start a life with her.  But his proposal towards Stella goes awry when the ring turns out to be a fake one and Diego's act of sabotage turns out to be because he likes her too.  Stella's curiosity towards Diego's sexual adventures was misunderstood by Diego as a mutual interest in each other.  But learning he has some sex doll in her likeness freaks her out even more!   Soon, Diego reveals he too is aware of the ability to time travel and he almost traps Stella in the time stream.   She eventually breaks away when he let's her leave.

When Stella encounters Micheal John, she learns from him that he doesn't think he can handle what's going on and wants to stop being friends.  But that's when Stella reveals she actually did like him... but now isn't sure what to do.  She ends up at the old fountain, crying in frustration over what happened.  Bert emerges, seeing Stella there, and the two talk about everything that has happened.  He tries to talk to her about not giving up on her friends, but she only feels they're pressuring her to be okay with everything.

John Michael and Diego now confront each other in the time stream and Diego shows him he is fading away.  He disappears.  John Michael smiles, and realizes Stella's actions have caused them to cease to be.  The future that created them will now never happen.  "But one has to wonder, who build the time machine we used? Someone must have..."

And he's gone.

Sofia finally admits to Bert the truth, that she stole the watch she gave him.  She tries to explain why she did that and but Bert admits everything that happened started because she lied.  He admits they will need to work on things because he wants to make things right.  

Years pass, Bert and Sofia pay back the watch issue, and grow old together.  Sofia, however, is overwhelmed still by the guilt of what had happened, and at some point builds a time machine in the future to travel back in time to reserve the watch for the younger her.   But the act of seeing them young again is too much for her and she dies in the mall, the same old woman who died in the mall the day Sofia stole the watch.  The time machine, left in the alleyway, is found by both Michael John in the future, and Diego in the past.

In the end, Diego is reincarnated, as light pours from above.  He sees the anxious faces of people as they declare, "It's a boy."  Diego's memories quickly fade away.  

Stella stands by the old fountain, smoking a cigarette. She is friendless and alone.  Then she looks at the guy standing nearby and asks, "Hey stranger.  Got a light?"  The two smile.

Michael John, haunted by the break-up, realizes he does have feelings for her.  But he is overwhelmed with the need to make things right... and some how, he finds a time machine in an alleyway.

Bert is old now and sees the people visit with their grandkids.  They play with him.  And he smiles.

Sofia is old as well, taking care of the grand children, and she gives the young child a knowing look.  She recognizes Diego's rebirth but decides to keep it a secret.

The Letter : Fiasco

05/04/2014

The Letter

Fiasco
De Medici

It was another game night with Aina, Isami and other friends.  Given they had never played a role-playing game before, Rocky and I decided it would be a great time to introduce them to what a table top role-playing game would be like.  We quickly settled on trying out Fiasco and after some discussion decided to try Fiasco De Medici, a tragic affair of love, faith and lies set in the 1500s.

Dolores Borgia, The Wife Who Will Do Anything To Mark Her Husband's Place In History.
Francesco Borgia, The Man With Ambitions to be Rich.
Ibrahim Fatir, Penitent conman who has Returned From The Crusades.
Bishop Francesco Grimaldi, Confessor and Secret Lover of Dolores.
Items of interest: Ciphered letter.  Trunk of Money.

Act One Begins.

Dusk.
Scene opens at a confessional at a discreet church. Ibrahim is confessing to the Bishop of an incident that happened in Constantinople many years ago.  "Father, there is something that has been weighing heavily in my conscience for some time."  He reminds the bishop of the time they met in Constantinople.  Fatir confesses that there was a woman whom he had relations with, and that he now knows she was married back then.  The relations were intimate.  The bishop asks if he is penitent and he admits he is for "Sleeping with Dolores."  The name, of course, catches the Bishop's attention.  Fatir admits he saw her and felt a surge of the feelings return.  Fatir asks if he knows of her and the Bishop even identifies her as the wife of the Nobleman Borigas. He tells him this spells trouble, even if it was from so long ago.  Fatir admits he came here to look for her.  The Bishop warns him that he has to stay away for her.

A few days ago.  
The bishop is having dinner with the nobleman, Francesco Borgia, to discuss matters regarding of politics.  The bishop, however, has suspicions of the Borgia and their views on the Archbishop.  It is a massive 16-seater dining room in gilded gold.  One of the few households that had forks at the time.  Everything is service and the spread is clearly catered to their convenience.  "As you can see Senor, the situation is Florence is not that well.  The Archbishop is concerned that local politicians are all talk and not really doing anything to resolve the situation."  Francesco asks if the Bishop is close to the Archbishop and he simply admits they are men of the Church.  "The Archbishop is like a father to us all."

"But are you his favorite son?"

"I would like to think the Archbishop does not pick his favorites?"  The Bishop adds that it was Francesco himself who invited him to have dinner tonight and was quite curious of the Archbishop's routine, as well as of the parties and dinners he had held where he had neglected to invite the Borgias.    The Bishop however deftly adds that he wishes to extend his apologies for neglecting to do so.  "Which brings me to the matter at hand," the Bishop reveals a letter, "Personally written by his Excellency."  The Bishop explains the contents of the letter state that the Borgias are invited to the next dinner: Him and his wife.  The dinner was to be a very formal one a few nights hence.  "Please be sure to bring your wife."

The wine glasses clink together.

The night of the confession, leading to the night of the dinner.
In the bedroom.  Dolores is getting ready to retire for the night.   It is only then that Francesco realizes he has yet to tell her to be ready for it.  Dolores is naked on the bed, save for the clips still in her hair.  She is slowly taking them out as she asks, "My love?  I just realized it has been quite a quiet night.  It has been quite a quiet series of nights.  So quiet that I am starting to wonder if I should the Church for confessions."

"You know what, we have a party to go to tomorrow.  You need to wear your emerald green dress, with matching emerald green diamonds-"

"I'm sorry.. Francesco, for a moment," Dolores turns to him, aghast, "I thought you said we have a party tomorrow?"   She declares that she cannot be prepared for a party in a single night!  But he explains to her that the Archbishop himself is having them over.  He mentions that the invitation was delivered by the Bishop and this makes Dolores more curious.  He reminds her to stick to the emerald green outfit and casually tells her they were invited three nights ago.  When she complains about the lateness of the information and how much she hates the dress he insists she wear, he tells her he does not care. "That is what you will be wearing."

"You are such an impossible man.  Which explains why I don't-" her voice trails off.

"Just get dressed.  You disgust me."

The night of the dinner.
The Borgias are getting prepared to leave for the party when a servant tells them the Bishop is at the door.  Dolores is in her terrible, horrible, green dress.  "I can't believe you are making me wear this."  "Just come along, Dolores," he tells her.  They greet the Bishop who tells her she is lovely as always.

In the carriage, Dolores mentions how grateful they are for the invitation even if it was supposedly given a few nights earlier.  Francesco agrees.  Dolores stresses she is even wearing the ghastly outfit he insists she wears and Francesco just tells the Bishop to agree, "She looks lovely, does she not."  The Bishop pointedly replies that a woman should be allowed to choose their own course.  The canal is horrible that night, stinking up the streets.  As they attempt small talk, Francesco cuts through the chase and asks if the Bishop can introduce him directly to the Archbishop.  The Bishop admits the dinner is meant for just them.  There are no other guests.  This excited Dolores.  "Perhaps he has saved the best for last," Francesco smirks.  Dolores tries to subdue how excited they are by suggesting they don't really understand what tonight will be like.  But Francesco once again cuts her down by saying, "I understand perfectly well."  She frowns.

They arrive.

Five days ago.
Ibrahim is talking with Francesco Borgia at the Lungarno.  The two had arranged to meet because he had heard that the nobleman was interested in advancing himself but he had also learned that he is the husband of Dolores, the woman he was with in Constantinople.  "Senor, you mentioned that you wished to advance your business."  The nobleman spits out, "Who are you, moor?" But he shows his Christian cross around his neck.  He tells him that he wishes to help him.  "There is, how do I put this properly...  there is word of extortion money that will be moving through the city soon.  And I was appalled to hear that this was somehow involving the Archbishop."  Francesco asks how he came by such information and the stranger explains that word travels and that he had just returned from the Crusade and that many had whispered of the Archbishop's personal businesses on the side.  The nobleman asks why he should trust a man he had just met.  Fatir explains they have similar interests and these are regarding a large chest of money.  "A full trunk of silver, enough to purchase a District of the city."  Francesco's eyes light up at the word of wealth.  "This is a noble cause that we are doing.  This is Church funds that have been diverted by a corrupt Archbishop.  You are actually doing God's work.  Do you wish to know more?"

"Meet me here, at the middle of the night, in a week."

"No," Fatir insists, "We must meet tonight.  We must move quickly.  The Archbishop will only be here in five days."

"How will I know it is you?  Will you come by a disguise?"

"Do you see many other moors in the city?  You will know it is me."

He walks away.

During the dinner, while Francesco speaks with the Archbishop alone.
Dolores and the Bishop steal away to an adjoining chamber.  Dolores thinks the Bishop is hoping for a quick moment of passion.  The Bishop, in truth, plans to confront her regarding the moor and their past relations and if they have seen each other again.

"Bishop!  Here!?  Now?" Dolores gasps.  "Be quiet," the Bishop restrains her.  "Undo my buttons.."  The Bishop tells her no.  She drops to her knees but he pulls her up.  He forces her back even as she showers him with kisses.  "I will ask for contrition once again... but only after I have sinned!"  she blathers about how the Lord is all forgiving and how she and her husband can give more donations but he still holds her back and tells her, "The Lord is all forgiving... but man is not.  And I am but a man," the Bishop tells her.

"I know.  I know of Ibrahim."

"Who?" Dolores looks at him, genuinely confused.   He explains a moorish man came to visit him and admitted he was acquainted with her.  He tells her he had converted to Christianity and had come to Florence from Constantinople.  Dolores does not understand and he stresses it further.  "He knows you, Dolores.  He knows you in the manner which I know not."  Dolores asks why she would go to a moorish confessor, but the Bishop does not back down.

"I know you know him, Dolores.  You know but one moor from Constantinople."  She realizes who he means.

"That one evening.  That one evening that became five.  That five evenings that became a month.  Three.   But that was the past, Bishop! I have been forgiven!  I have done contrition!"

The Bishop tells her he cannot forgive her.  She insists she is loyal to her husband and only to him.  He tells her that he sincerely doubts her words.  "Green is not even your color.  It does not bring out the color of your eyes."

She insists what happened was in the past.  The Bishop Grimaldi turns to the side, closes his eyes.   She begs for forgiveness and he responds with words, "If you wish to prove this to me, there is something you must do."

"Anything.  By the love of God, anything!"

He produces a letter and presses it into her hand.  "There will be a trunk of silver.  It should arrive at your home brought to you by your husband.  That letter needs to be inserted discreetly."

"It will be done."

"Trust me, Dolores.  I love you."

Wee hours of the morning.  Post dinner.
Dolores slips away from a sleeping Francesco.   She steals away late at night to where the trunk has been placed.  She sneaks inside and kneels close to the trunk to slip the letter in, oblivious to Ibrahim Fatir standing in the shadows.  She did not know he was the man who brought the chest inside.  She marvels at its size, knowing how it is filled with silver.

"How do I do this..."

"The chest was crafted in Constantinople," a voice booms in the darkness.  Dolores spins, looking for its source but finding no one.   Her heart begins to race.  Ibrahim asks if he can help and steps into the light.  Dolores gasps upon seeing the dark-skinned man.  He introduces himself as part of the Archbishop's entourage and admits he was tasked to guard the trunk.  Dolores tries to give a lame sounding excuse that the note in her hand was something her husband asked her to do.  He tells her she can leave the note with him.

And that's when she asks if he knows him.  Somehow, he recognizes his voice.    He admits he just arrived from Constantinople and has not been to the city before.  Dolores hands him the letter and asks him if he can open the chest.  "Of course not.  The keys are not with me."

She once again asks if she knows him and insists her husband needs the note inside.  He asks if this act was cleared with the Archbishop as it was not something mentioned to him.  Dolores tries to push instead her stature and reminds the man she is the lady of the house.  "I expect better.  Do you have the key to the trunk?"  When he says no, she insist he fetch her a torch as a feint to have him leave her alone with the trunk.  As Ibrahim steps outside to fetch a torch, Dolores slides it into the trunk.

Ibrahim returns to an empty room.

Flashback.  Francesco remembers his talk with the Archbishop while he meets with the moor.Francesco stares at the Archbishop to discuss matters of business.  As the most influential person in the District, he has called him to discuss business. He is willing to pay for his support. Francesco is surprised that the moor is that influential.

The moor tells Francesco of the plans.  The business requires the utmost of secrecy given there are many enemies of the Church.  "One must be very careful to choose those who will be entrusted with the wealth of heaven."  The silver was illegally seized from the Holy Lands.  The Archbishop expects him to guard it for a night or so until he arranges passage for it out of Venice.  "You must agree."

"What choice do I have?  Of course I must agree."

The Archbishop tells Francesco that the chest will be delivered to the home.  The Bishop has given the address.  The chest is to be delivered later in the evening by the most trusted associate.  It must be moved through the city in secret.

"It shall be done."

The moor explains.  "With the chest in hand, you can contact the Doge, and with the chest in hand, he can expose him of the corruption he suffers from." The moor admits he is indebted to the man and once he is exposed, he can return to his home.  "Sadly he holds something dear to me.  An incriminating letter.  I cannot have it exposed."

"And I get to keep the silver?"

"Well, no one knows how much is inside.  You can choose to audit it before you report it."

Francesco receives a guest in the late evening and ignores Dolores' invitation to join her.  He sees the chest, receives the key, and smiles.  The moorish man leaves the chest in the room.  Francesco separates some of the silver and hides it in places in the house.   He returns to the room and Dolores watches him fall asleep.

Act One Ends.

The Tilt:
Innocence: Love Rears Its Ugly Head
Tragedy: Death Out Of The Blue

Act Two Begins.

It is morning. There is a big ruckus with the authorities downstairs.
Francesco had left to call the Doge.  Dolores is in the bedroom.  Fatir slips into the bedroom to confront her.  Dolores is leaning out the window to see what is going on and gasps upon seeing the man in her room! She grabs the nearest sharpest object: a letter opener.   "Stand back!  I will scream!"

"I have heard it before."

"That voice," Dolores realizes who he is.  The guard... but he is more than just the guard.

"Night after night..."

"You tried to make a pilgrimage..."

"The man the bishop spoke with!" Dolores gasps.

"You finally know my name."

"Only thanks to the bishop," Dolores admits.

"You never bothered to learn my name before."  Dolores admits they were not meant to be.  Fatir however tells him now she will never forget him.  She asks why he is in her home and he tells her he is here to teach her a lesson.  "You threatened me in my own home," he tells her.

"Even if you try anything, you will not be able to escape!"

"Try anything?  You must realize I wouldn't be up here if it had not already been done," Fatir boasts.  He explains how her husband had gone to the Doge to expose the corrupt Archbishop.  But in truth, he will expose his own crimes for stealing the funds of the Church.  She asks if that is the contents of the letter the Bishop had her slip inside.    The two slowly begin to realize the Bishop may have played them for fools.  He made her accuse her own husband.  Fatir realizes the letter may be the incriminating one he had hoped to never see the light of day.

"You must help me... if there is any love you still feel, you must help me!"  She begs him to help her take the letter back from the chest.  She thinks the letter is meant to incriminate her husband, but Fatir fears it is his letter, sealed with an eagle.  She offers herself to him if he helps him retrieve it.  But he tells her, "I've already had that.  You know what I want."

She sees a man overwhelmed with revenge.

At the confessional.  Days before.  After Fatir speaks with the Bishop.
The Bishop is speaking with Fatir.  He tells him to stay away from her.  He reminds him she is not just a woman.  "Listen to me.  Did you tell Senor Borgia about the chest?"  The moor agrees he did.  The Bishop smiles knowing he will be expected.

"There will be a letter.  I will find a way to have it slipped into the chest. It matters not if anyone else reads it.  It is in code.  Only the Doge would know how to read it.  It will implicate the Senor Borgia and his household."

"What about Dolores?"

The Bishop speaks of justice and reminds Fatir to make sure she will be safe.  He trusts the Archbishop but does not trust the others.  He reminds Fatir that the Senor has friends in high places, even if Fatir insists he only thinks he does.  The Bishop admits he does not expect to survive the aftermath.  He sends Fatir away.

"This is probably the last time you will speak with me."

Back at the Bedroom.
"We have to get that letter," Dolores panickedly tells the moor.  Fatir pulls her close to him and asks if he remembers Constantinople.  But she continues talking about having to get the letter for her husband and insists there is no time for this.

Fatir admits that her husband is about to be exposed in a scheme with the Archbishop.  That they must escape.  But even then, she still talks only about her husband.    He questions her about how he has been cold to her all this time.  She gasps.  She sees something outside the window.  From there, she has a perfect view of the Church.  Bishop Grimaldi's body is hanging outside the window of the Church.

"It is as I have feared.  Your husband is mad."

"He did this??!"

"It is the only explanation... because he knew of your secret," Fatir lies.

"He knew all along.."

Fatir claims to have confirmed this for himself during the dinner.  But Dolores all the more pulls away from him.  She sits on the bed.  Fatir warns her the Doge is on his way.  He tells her he will keep her safe.  She looks at him and simply mutters, "But he knew all along.  And you are not him."

Down below.
Francesco arrives and sees the Doge and his men.  He draws out the key and opens the chest.  And inside the chest is nothing but stones.  And a letter.  Francesco is surprised.  He had hidden the silver but had not expected seeing a letter.

A soldier gets the letter and hands it to the Doge.  The Doge calls for his scribe to read it.   The letter is penned by the Bishop himself.  The scribe states it is authentic.   The Doge asks Francesco what his involvement is with Vienna, the city.  He tells him of his wife, and that the letter claims that Francesco Borgia is conspiring against the Church.  "Lies!  All lies!"  Francesco exclaims.  The Doge demands he reveal the silver.  Francesco claims to now know of silver and demands to see the Bishop.  He sees Ibrahim in the distance and calls for the moor to come closer.

"He is the man who told me of the chest and all the corruption... he can explain! Tell them I am innocent!"

"You are the Bishop's man?"

Fatir explains he is part of the Archbishop's guards.  Dolores bounds from upstairs and yells out, "Husband! Our plans are foiled!   Everything has fallen apart!"  Francesco tells her to talk to the Doge, since she is close to the Bishop.  "But you don't understand! It is too late!"

The guards are commanded to arrest the Borgias.  Dolores starts yelling that it was her fault.  That he knows nothing of this.  Francesco calls out, "She is confessing!  I know nothing!"  Fatir stares at him in disgust.  "Yes!  I was behind it all! It was all me!"  Dolores insists.  The Doge calls for the guards to take them away and even warns them to use the sword if necessary.  Francesco grabs a sword.  Dolores in panic, she rushes forward to try to shield him from the guards.  Francesco, without hesitation, uses her as hostage and tells them all to stand back.

In tears, she apologizes to him, telling him she understands he is doing this because he knows of her infidelities with the bishop.  Francesco's eyes widen in surprise.  He knew NOTHING of the Bishop and her!  She admits it was not meant to last that long.  "And now he is gone..."

Francesco feels the anger take over.  He slices her throat and throws her corpse towards the guards.

Blood sprays all around.

Right before sunrise, before the Doge arrives.  At the Church.
Bishop Grimaldi meets with Fatir one last time.    He insists he cannot be away for long knowing the Senor Borgia is due to arrive with the Doge anytime soon.    The Bishop tells him this won't be long.

They climb up to the belltower.  Grimaldi tells Fatir there is time for this, even as Fatir worries about their plans unfolding in minutes.  Grimaldi explains that sometimes schemes need scapegoats.  "Is that not what the Senor Borgia will be?  We shall bring him down and free Dolores... Senora Borgia of his dark influence."

The Bishop tells Fatir that not everyone is good.  "Sometimes things must be done out of necessity."  He tells Fatir how the letter is there, the events will unfold, and things will come to pass.  "How I wish for forgiveness for what I have brought you and Dolores."  He asks Fatir to keep his promise.   Fatir affirms it.

"Then that is all I need to know. Look at this city.  There their house.  You better go.  I can see the Borgias.  Your time has come.  Now go."

Fatir runs down the tower.

Bishop Grimaldi sees Dolores at the window, naked as always.  The Bishop recalls this was the same place he saw her for the first time.

And Fatir runs off, unawares that the people who ring the bell in the morning see the moor fleeing the scene... the last man to have seen the hanged Bishop.

The Bishop feels life fading.
He has his scapegoat.  He has taken the actions needed to save the city.  He has found a hint of love.  But then came Ibrahim.  And he realized Ibrahim was the answer to his prayers.

He closes his eyes.
But he does not die.
Quickly.  Instead, he feels life hang on long enough to see Fatir arrive at the room.  Dolores and him talking.
Together.

Timeless.  Thoughts.
Dolores' throat tears open.  And she stares at the blood spraying out and remembers a time when wine sprayed out from the bottle of holy wine.  The bishop is staring at the woman in the window for the first time at his very own Church.  "Has anyone ever told you that blue looks very good on you?"

Dolores blushes.  She cannot find words to reply.   His compliment catches her off-guard.

"Forgive me, Bishop.  My husband always chides me for always asking about how I look."

"Honestly, the worst thing he can do would be to never pay attention to you and make you wear green."

"Funny how easily he accomplishes both," Dolores smiles.

"You came here for confession?"

She agrees.  And he tells her to unburden herself of her fears and sins and he promises her that she will feel better.  The two walk towards the confessional, unaware of the moor watching them from the shadows.  Inside the confessional, Dolores looks through the screen and realizes she can see the Bishop.

"Am I supposed to be able to see you, Bishop?"

For the first time, she finds a man who listens to her.

Timeless.
Francesco remembers the wine.  He stares at the woman dead at his feet.  He has killed the woman he loves.  The guards stab at him, but he pushes forward.  He realizes what he has done and runs for Dolores.

In Dolores' dying throes, she reaches for her husband as well.
And utters something..  but the words fade away.

Unforgiving.
Fatir drops the dagger.
He drops to his knees in disbelief.
For all that he has done.. for all his plans... all is lost.

End of Act Two.

Epilogue.

Francesco Borgia survives the attack.  Because this is the 1500s, and his wife has publicly admittedly her guilt, his crime is deemed one of passion and he is absolved of punishment. He keeps the silver and is now rich and wealthy as he had hoped to be.

Dolores Borgia watches from the afterlife, waiting for the right moment when enough spite has grown within her to exact her revenge.  Interestingly, it is not rings nor love that binds her.  It is the silver.  For in her horror of her actions, she had found herself to have become a Judas and the silver he holds binds her to her sins.  And when the day comes he spends that last coin, she knows she will be allowed her revenge.

Or at least she thinks she will be.

Bishop Grimaldi impossibly survives the hanging.  The rope breaks.  The people help him and save his life... but not before he witnesses Dolores dying in Francesco's arms.  There is a homeless man who know frequents the grave of a noblewoman.  No one knows who he is.  Some people whisper that he used to be a man of the Church.  He never talks about it.  Sometimes he would stop by the home of Francesco Borgia.  He would stare.  But he would be run off by guards.  Others say he whispers to the shadows, saying sorry to someone who isn't there.    And sometimes, he would scratch the scar on his neck.  Until it bled.

Ibrahim Fatir knew he was going to be arrested and judged harshly for his role in things.  But the Archbishop intervenes on his behalf.  He assures him that taken into his custody, he would receive reparations.  Fatir confesses to the Archbishop his role in the whole plot, and his actions to take revenge upon Dolores for abandoning him all those years.  The Archbishop insists he pays penance, and for all his lies, he has Fatir's tongue cut off and in the coming years of service to him, he is denied the chance to ever speak of things again.  He forever remains by the Archbishop's side.

The Golden Panda : Fiasco

04/27/2014

The Golden Panda

Fiasco
The Quest for the Golden Panda

Che, Urim and I opted for a Fiasco game one time, given the deep desire to game after a long tiring week.  We opted to try The Quest for the Golden Panda playkit given we were feeling the Wuxia bug after talking gamer talk on the upcoming 3rd edition of Exalted and wishing it was already out.

Xiao Kun by Tobie
The Warrior Returning Home to his Spouse

Xiao Lin by Che
The Spouse Waiting for her Prominent Husband

Mao Ling by Urim
Brother of Xiao Lin and in love with her

Xiao Lin is exiting the window after another night of the passionate affair.   Xiao Kun is walking down the rice fields with Meng Yo's private pagoda in the distance.  Xiao Lin arrives and knocks at the door.  Mao Ling slips out of the window.  Xiao Lin is combing her hair, prettying herself up.  She opens the door and sees Xiao Kun outside.  He rushes inside and smothers her with a powerful hug.  "It has been years since I have seen you, my beloved."

"I know, I have missed you so," she replies.  "Come, I have prepared dinner."  Xiao Kun notices her hair is wet and asks if she just bathed.  She claims to have done so because she was waiting for him.  "Come!  Tell me about your adventures and your exploits.  I have heard a lot from the other villagers.  They seem so proud of you."  Xiao Kun tells her that such stories can wait given the many nights that have passed with her seeking a moment with her once again for passionate love making.  "I need to feel your warmth, Xiao Lin.  Shall we retire to bed?"  She insists that she desires to feed her husband first.  "What kind of a wife would i be?"

"You can feed me with your passion.  Can you not feel my passion for you?"
"Yes I can feel it.  I can feel it.  Is that not your spear?"

That's when Xiao Kun sees a red scarf on the bed.  Xiao Lin explains it is Mao Ling's.  Xiao Kun is surprised that her brother was here.  She, however, explains that they had lunch.  Xiao Kun insists to return it to him... and that's when he sees Mao Ling on the horse, Dreamer, leaving the area.  Xiao Kun calls out for him.  When he turns to look back, Xiao Kun realizes it is him - his warrior instincts kick in and he senses something is wrong - and he slaps her out of impulse!

Mao Ling sees Xiao Kun slap his sister so he turns the horse, Dreamer, to ride back and meet him.   Xiao Kun hears the horse pounding on the ground, he leaps and his Lightfoot technique to land on the horse's head.  "Mao Ling," Xiao Kun confronts the man.  Mao Ling attempts to slap him in anger for hitting his sister, but Xiao Kun easily dodges it by somersaulting over Mao Ling and land behind him on the saddle.  His martial arts is greater than Mao Ling's.   He slaps the red scarf on Mao Ling's face.  "Is this not yours?"

Mao Ling admits it is and does not deny it.  He admits he left to give the two time given how long he had been gone. "How dare you slap my sister!"   Xiao Kun  counters that he is her husband as per the Emperor's edict and he has every right to discipline her.  Xiao Kun commands Dreamer to stop.  Xiao Kun admits that in the past he and Mao Ling were Rivals.  Competitors even.  He knows Mao Ling feels slighted that the Emperor chose Xiao Kun over him.  But he knows something is going on.

"You realize you are accusing me and your wife... my Sister.. of having an affair!  Do you have any evidence of this?  I do not deny being in your household."

Xiao Kun is chided.  He apologizes and claims his passions overwhelmed him.  However, Mao Ling is happy that his lie was accepted as truth.  "Go now to your wife.  Tend to her and ask for your forgiveness."

Hours later.  It is a wonderful evening.  The moon is full and the stars are out.  Xiao Kun and Xiao Lin are walking, having had a delicious dinner.  Xiao Kun attempts to apologize.  He talks about Meng Yo having the best noodles, and slowly tries to explain himself.  But Xiao Lin does not accept his apologies.   The two try to work things out, but clearly there is some tension that remains.

And eventually, the missing Golden Panda is brought to their attention.  The Emperor asked Xiao Kun to handle the investigation.  He, however, is unaware that Mao Ling himself is the one who stole it with the plan to pass the blame to Xiao Kun and eventually run away with Xiao Lin and be together.  The plan falters, however when Xiao Kun himself is too dumb to realize the Golden Panda is not an actual animal, but instead a statue.  And Mao Ling makes the huge mistake of leaving a strand of his red silk scarf on the Panda when he tucks it into Dreamer's pouch to implicate Xiao Kun.

It is the evening when Mao Ling plans to accuse Xiao Kun when the warrior in his drunken state enters Mao Ling's bedchamber to talk to him... and ends up having an eyes-closed admission to Xiao Lin on how much she means to him and how much he hopes to be a better man for her.  He does not realize Xiao Lin is there, on Mao Ling's bed, naked and waiting for her own brother.

The Emperor's Magistrate and his men soon find the Golden Panda, and Xiao Kun is arrested for the theft.

Mao Ling finds himself given an audience with the Emperor. However, the Emperor is not without his cunning and he notices the red silken thread.  Being once a man who practiced needlework, he admits he recognized the rare thread to be from a specific province - and that place is one where Xiao Kun had never been to.  Mao Ling realizes the Emperor knows and plans to escape with Xiao Lin as soon as possible.  However, tragedy strikes when Xiao Lin confesses to Xiao Kun the feeling Mao Ling has for her, and she then admits she realizes she loves Xiao Kun more.   Xiao Lin chooses to declare herself GUILTY of the crime, believing to do so is the only way to protect Xiao Kun from being punished.   "Your eyes remind me of the sun rising when we first met, Xiao Lin.  And until now, you realize you are my Sun."

"You are better off without me."

"I will burn myself to be with you,"  Xiao Kun draws his blade and attacks the guards, and asks Xiao Lin to escape with him.  The alarms ring.  The Emperor knows.

Xiao Lin shakes her head as Xiao Kun reaches for her hand.  "No.. if I do that, none of us will survive."  Xiao Kun fights against the guards and yells for Lin to take his hand.  She pushes him out and shuts the door behind her.  The guards find an opening and bring Kun down to the ground.  Kun blacks out.

Since Xiao Lin had spoken out of turn to the Magistrate and declared herself the thief of the Golden Panda, she is whipped, tortured and disfigured.  She will never be the same again.

Mao Ling is forced to resign as a Scholar under the Emperor given the theft that his sister had been found guilty of doing.  He brings Xiao Lin home, but she never speaks to him again.  Mao Ling feels a pang of guilt and made plans to allow Xiao Kun to be secretly exiled instead of killed for his transgressions.

In the streets and dividing paths of the seven kingdoms, a man once named Xiao Kun wanders aimlessly.  Never sleeping at the same place each night, he carries a broken sword.  Bandits fear him.  His warrior skills remain greater than anyone else's.  But he never speaks or says anything to anyone.  There were times the guards accosted him, or people would beat him up thinking he was a vagrant, and he would simply stare back and endure.  If there was anything he speaks of or confesses, it would be to a scrap of red cloth... of the scarf.. that he had pulled from Xiao Lin in the prison when they saw each other for the last time.

He thinks it still smells of her.
But he realizes there is no going back.

*

In the Emperor's garden, the Golden Panda has been replaced.
The Emperor smiles, turns to his magistrate and tells him, "All is well. All is well."

Review: Fiasco

Review: Fiasco by Jason Morningstar
Bully Pulpit Games
Rating: ★★★★

Fiasco is such a wonderful game that I cannot help but wonder why this sort of game did not exist much earlier.  If there were only three things I could say to convince you, my dear reader, why this game is worth the purchase, I'd say these three things:  No GM thus everyone gets to play, six-sided dice are very easy to come by, and last is practically no prep work necessary.

So What Is This Game?

Fiasco is Jason Morningstar's game that captures the feel of movies such as Fargo, Burn After Reading, Pulp Fiction, and more tragic versions of telenovelas and soap operas.  In these games, everyone has a dream, a goal, a secret perhaps, and definitely a story to tell.  Dream big, aim high, but fly so low that you'll most likely crash and burn.  Fiasco is not about winning the game, or surviving the experience. Fiasco is about experiencing a group-developed arc of schadenfreude.  The phrase, "It seemed like a good idea at the time.." captures the direction stories in this game go very well.

Many people, and I'm included among them, first heard about this game thanks to Will Wheaton's Table Top webshow.  The game was featured in three parts:


I must admit, the show was very successful in capturing how the game is and when I ran it with my own friends, we could not help but appreciate how smooth the system works.

What's the System Like?
The dice are not rolled to resolve actions or challenges.    That probably will come as a shock to many of you, but the system is nicely narrative in nature, with the dice used for setting up a session, to denote whether or not a scene ends in the character's favor, to determine the Tilt, and in the end to determine what each character's fate will be.   And given you need three to five players to play, but given no one has to be the Game Master, its more fun for everyone!

In Fiasco, you will need a lot of six-sided dice, four for each player and preferably have them be two sets that can be distinguished from one another.  The game recommends black and white dice but I've run the game with white dice and colored dice as the sets just fine.    You will also need a lot of index cards and a marker, which allows you to write down the key things in the game and have them on the table for all to very quickly see.  Trust me when I say this is definitely a good thing to do because you don't want to waste time having a player go, "Hello... what's your character's name again?" or "I saw what's her name... your wife... *checks the sheet for the name*" which breaks the immersive quality of the game.

The game has tables, which are the meat of what are called Playsets.   At the start,  all the dice are rolled, and you get to choose from the tables by "using" some of the dice that you rolled.  Set up helps the players come up with varying reasons to what relationships their characters have with others.  It also develops the key locations which will be featured in the game as well as Objects that are important to the story.  Once those elements are set up, each player has a Scene where he has two choices:  Establish the Scene or Resolve it.  If the player chooses to Establish the Scene, he gets to determine who is in it, what it is about, and why it is happening.  However, how the scene resolves will be something the other players will determine by handling the player a single die, white for the scene to end favorably for the player, or black for the scene to end in a bad way for the player.  If the player chooses to Resolve it, the other players decide what the scene and its participants will be about, but the player gets to pick up the die he prefers to reflect how it ends for him.

During this First Act, each player gets a few scenes to run but but the die the player gets during his scene is then handed to any other player he wants to reward.   Each scene is intended to allow players a chance to achieve their goals when possible.  Once the pool is reduced to half its number, Act One ends and the Tilt is introduced.

The Tilt is when things get worse.  Of the remaining dice in the pool, you roll and determine the Tilt.  The Tilt can be an intense moment of Tragedy, Innocence, Mayhem, Paranoia, Guilt or Failure.  It will definitely shift the direction of the story to a much more desperate moment.

With the Second Act, players this time keep the dice they get in each scene.  And by the end of the second Act, players roll their accumulated dice, subtract the lower set from the higher set, to determine their Aftermath.  The more white dice, the better the possible result.  The more the black dice, the more.. tragic the end.

Death?  What about Death?

Oh players characters can die in this game.  In fact, it is expected players will die one way or another.  But that does not mean they are out of the game.  Instead, their scenes are flashbacks that reflect events that had unfolded.  Or are moments in the span between life and death where they linger on a bit longer to add to the tale.

Sounds Interesting... but not Challenging..

I guess it depends on what you define as a challenge.  If you're hoping to "beat the game" then you can challenge yourself to play the game with the goal of ending with the best possible ending.  But that, frankly is what I wouldn't support as an approach.  The game, after all, is about the people whose high dreams lead them to fall painfully hard on the way down.

Challenging for me would be the fact that you got at least three people all crafting the story at the same time, each with their own desires, needs and goals in mind, and trying to accomplish what you want without tearing the story apart.  And admittedly, I'm pretty impressed how so far it has been a successful jaunt even with players whom never tried a table top role-playing game before.

The web is filled with so many other playsets set at different times and settings that I don't foresee anyone getting bored with playing another session of Fiasco when they have time.  Admittedly, the fact the game is meant to be a single session thing might turn some players off.  But the single session aspect allows the the players the freedom to aim high and shoot for the moon with their hopes and dreams, which is quite perfect for the kinds of stories the game invokes.

Rating Breakdown:

Concept: A niche market that is far wider than I realized.  The basic idea of the game can be quickly grasped and expanded to explore further genres and scenarios.
Crunch: Tremendously lite, and yet compelling.  Choosing things from the playsets has surprisingly always been fun, and there is always that brief moment of worry when you finally roll the white against the black dice, even if we're not even aware of what the results can entail.
Layout: Very polished.  My kudos to Patrick Murphy and Robert Poppe, the people behind the layout.   The artwork by both John Harper and Robert Poppe is very effective in capturing the feel of the game.  I wish I had the actual books to keep in my collection.
My favorite part: Set-Up.  There's something fun about choosing from the table of Relationships, Needs and Objects.  The game itself is great, but I admittedly feel very excited to see more playset tables!
What I wish was better: Ongoing Options.  Maybe there's a book that presents these, and admittedly I've only seen the main book so far, but I would LOVE if there were rules for a mini-chronicle, perhaps something that spans two to five game sessions.    I would also be curious if there's a kid-friendly version of the game.  If there isn't yet, I would love to write one up!

And no, I don't think there was any political messages behind the white die vs black die.  That would just be seeking for problems where there isn't any.


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The Indigo Hotel : Fiasco

01/09/2013
The Indigo Hotel
Fiasco

So at Indigo-Entertainment, a bunch of us decided to try Fiasco for the first time.  Of the four of us, two had seen the Table Top Episode featuring the game and have been anxious to try it for ourselves.  The two others have never even heard of it.    After a quick run through on how the game will go, we decided to try to come up with a setting for our Fiasco.  While I personally was anxious to play, I realized we could not just use the existing Playsets of the game given the group wasn't composed of players who even saw movies like Fargo or Burn After Reading.  But in the end, the group decided to go for having a Hotel as the key location of the game, and all of us were somehow connected to the hotel.  (We didn't realize there really is an Indigo Hotel out there!  HEhehehhe!)

We rolled up sixteen dice (the game called for four dice per player) and started working out our Relationships, Needs, Objects and Locations.  We ended up using the playsets of both Boomtown and Suburban Community to shape our game.

Must find Black and White six-sided dice for Future Fiasco Games.

I was:  Mister Charles, owner of The Indigo Hotel
Relationship with Bradd:  Work:Boss and Employee.  Bradd worked for me.
Relationship with Officer Ryan:   Crime: Crime Figure and Wanna-be.  We decided Ryan and I were criminally related some-how.
Relationship with Bazooka: Work: She brought clients to my hotel, and I got a cut.
Mister Charles' NEED toward Officer Ryan was to get away with murder.  With the Officer having killed his Mail-Order Bride, Rebeka, in my hotel, we had to cover it up and find someone else to blame.

JP was: Bazooka, stripper with a heart for love.
Relationship with Brad:  Former Lovers:  She still was deeply in love with him, although he only used her for money.
Relationship with Officer Ryan:  He was her parole officer and had arrested her multiple times before.
Bazooka's NEED towards Officer Ryan was to get even with him.   He had been picking on her too much.

Bon was:  Bradd, Quiet Immigrant Worker
Relationship with Officer Ryan:  He and the officer shared secrets with each other.
Brad's NEED was to get the truth from Mister Charles.  What that truth was, we were to find out.
Brad's NEED towards Officer Ryan was to get even.  That's when  we realized Officer Ryan's Mail Order Bride was Brad's real sweetheart.
Brad's NEED towards Bazooka was to get rich, through violence if need be.  Hence, he used her for her money.

U was: Officer Ryan, crass Police Deputy who had a Mail-Order Bride Rebeka.
Officer Ryan had a NEED to get even, although we were uncertain at the start in what way.
(While it looks like he didn't have any Needs and the like, he actually suggested many of those relating to him, so he was fine with that.)

For Locations, we rolled up the Billiard's Room which became Bazooka's special place to meet with Bradd, the Hotel Lobby where many of the events would unfold, and the Special Suite where Officer Ryan had reserved for him and Rebeka to stay in that night.

For Objects, we rolled up a Love Letter, which was Rebeka's love letter for Bradd, that Officer Ryan finds and drives him to murder, and a Pure Breed Persian Cat which admittedly we totally forget to figure into the plot!

Meow.  They forgot I was supposed to be in the story!

For Act One,  the scene opens with Mister Charles and Officer Ryan discussing how to deal with the dead body.  The Love Letter is found, and Officer Ryan ponders on who this "Bradd" happens to be.  Mister Charles, however, is more concerned about hiding the crime and asks Officer Ryan to leave and come back later to "investigate the discovered murder."  

Mister Charles then has a scene with Bradd as Bradd "discovers" the dead body.  To Mister Charles' surprise, Bradd's reaction is that of recognizing the body!  Charles realizes his employee is the same Bradd that Rebeka was in love with.  He begins to concoct a plan to peg the crime on Bradd, as he tells him to clean up the room (for his prints and the like to be present).

We then cut to a new scene as Officer Ryan has a scene outside the Hotel, on the day the body is found, where he encounters Bazooka approaching the Hotel.  He harasses her out of spite and she notices the scratches on his arms (from the struggle with Rebeka).  He manhandles her to leave and warns her not to show her face at The Indigo Hotel again.

Then Bazooka has a scene with Mister Charles, as we flashback to how they first mapped out their business relationship.  Mister Charles catches her soliciting from hotel guests, but offers her instead a deal:  Give him a cut and she can get whatever clients she can.  They meet in the Billiard Room, which eventually is where Bazooka first sees Bradd.

A next scene is the day after the body is found, with Mister Charles having a meeting with Bradd.  During the meeting, Charles vocally allows everyone to hear about how he felt "threatened" by Bradd, citing a temper that seems dangerous.  He accuses him of physically hurting his last girlfriend and when Bradd exists the room, he feels the eyes of everyone staring at him as if he had done something horrible.

Bradd then has a scene with Bazooka as they enjoy time in the Suite.  The scene was a few days earlier, just as Bradd decides to finally break up with Zuki (as he calls her).  She doesn't quite get why but Bradd confesses to loving someone else.

By the end of the First Act, Bradd get's terribly beaten up after he is arrested by Officer Ryan and questioned.  Zuki gets beaten up then shot for interfering.  And Mister Charles finds Zuki bleeding at the back of his hotel only to realize how much he loves her.

Then the Tilt happens.  We decided to have four Tilts to figure into the plot and we get the following:
Sudden Reversal, Someone Panics, Failure: Something Taken Care Of isn't Taken Care Of yet, and Love Rears Its Ugly Head.

Events in Act Two Include:

Sudden Reversal:  Zuki survives her beating and the shot, and asks Mister Charles to bring her to Officer Ryan's office.  They take Mister Charles' car.

Failure:  Bradd and Officer Ryan have their arguments as Ryan know realizes Bradd is the man whom his mail-order bride was hoping to escape to.  Bradd however, succeeds in taking the gun from Officer Ryan and shoots him instead.  The gun is dropped and Bradd tries to recover from his wounds.

Someone Panicks:   Bradd is then shot by Zuki, who picks up the gun on the floor.  After taking revenge for him breaking her heart, she panics when she hears a sound and fires.

Love Rears Its Ugly Head:  Mister Charles is shot in the chest.  He had stepped in, hoping to see if Zuki was alright.  Now he drops, dying as well.

Our Fiasco Table, hehehe

With that, we rolled the final dice and as it turns out, only Bazooka has a lighter ending.  Bradd dies, realizing all could have been better if he never left his original homeland.  Mister Charles dies wishing he had admitted his feelings sooner.  Officer Ryan dies recalling the day he was happiest, which was when he showed a drinking buddy (Bradd) the picture of the woman he was to marry.   And Bazooka takes Mister Charles' car to drive off, but eventually is stopped by State Policemen after news of the murders break out, and is arrested as the prime suspect.

Definitely, it was a Fiasco.
One so bad... it was great!