Two by two, hands of Blue : Serenity

09/2010
Two by two, hands of Blue
Margaret Weis Productions' Serenity

Three players end up requesting for me to run Serenity for the October session of the Open Gaming Meet.  One of them, Jovan, has played Kaylee in an earlier one-shot game.  Another, Adam, had wanted his girlfriend Lorie to experience a role-playing game.  To my surprise, the last player was Jon, a guy who had never played in a role-playing game before.  I think the game itself had two more players, but right now I can't recall who they were.

So how could I say no?  This game was to be set prior to the movie.

The game explored the idea that Shepherd Book had at one point wanted to try to teach Jayne a lesson by sending him to a job that was intended to be a trap.  River, on the other hand, was suddenly activated by a Fruity Oat Bar commercial and finds herself nearly attacking anyone wearing a Blue Sun logo.  Simon happens to be wearing a pair of boxer shorts adorned with the logo, so Kaylee ends up trying to strip him of his clothes to save his life.  The game ends with Jayne returning to Book with a greater respect for the preacher's view on penance and River asleep in Kaylee arms while a naked Simon makes for his own quarters.    The Firefly heads off, unaware of having nearly been once more in the sights of the men with blue hands.  The game was also known as "Shepherd's Gambit."

Something like this, eh, Kaylee?

Jon's portrayal of Jayne was perfect, with his rough demeanor and foul tongue nicely painting the scenes of the game.  Lorie's River was an absolute charmer, with her finding ways to have River kick butt without breaking out of character (or River's fantasy world).  And Jovan's passion for Kaylee and her romance with Simon made the game have that "awwww" factor that makes Firefly such a fun show to watch.  I should have realized, though, that Jovan would eventually want no one else to play Kaylee in any Firefly/Serenity game I'd run.
:-)

Reavers : Serenity

2009
Reavers
Margaret Weis Productions' Serenity

It was September of 2009 when I received a request to run a Serenity game for the Open Gaming Meet.   My attempt to run BSG didn't pan out, so to my surprise this game gathered a LOT of players.

And I mean a LOT of players.  

Two players (a couple) had never gamed before and were not familiar with the show either but decided to play Mal and Inara. The father of the girl in the couple opted to play Jayne.   His youngest daughter, on the other hand, decided to go for River Tam.  To complete the ensemble, my dear friend Jovan took the role of her favorite character Kaylee (a role which she eventually will hold on to for games to come).  So yeah, this was a game with three totally new players (one couple and a young girl whose age was definitely lower than 18 years old), and a game that had a father and her two daughters in it.  Talk about a mixed group.

This was the game's other title, I believe.

The story was simple.  While handling a job in one of the less popular moons, after evading a group of Reavers, the Serenity crew found itself having to evade the vengeful presence of Nisska again.  The crew discovers Nisska was working on a trade with Blue Sun and were maneuvering what seems to be highly valued cargo.  The crew decide to take the cargo for themselves and discover it contains a fully-grown living clone of their long dead and dear friend Wash!  The Blue Hand Men show up try and tidy up the loose threads, forcing the crew to make their escape, but the Wash Clone realizes the Blue Sun corporation has better ships than Serenity, and so forces the crew to hide instead while he lures the enemy away with a different Firefly.

It was a session filled with both laughs and bitter-sweet regrets with many (both playing and listening in) commenting that the game could have been an unaired episode of the cancelled Josh Whedon show.   I extend my thanks to Margaret Weiss Productions for making a game system that truly captures the feel of the show.

Glimpses : nWOD

11/27/2010
Glimpses
nWOD

Those touched by the Endless discover that in many ways their lives can never be the same again. Experiences lose their intensity. Colors gain more meaning. Even family and friends are laid upon the scales: have they become insignificant or have they become an anchor to what defines oneself. But none go through the experience unchanged.

But to be glimpsed.

Ah. Sometimes, things are far more difference when glimpses are involved.

The Endless? The Endless are merely patterns. The Endless are ideas. The Endless are wave functions. The Endless are repeating motifs. The Endless are echoes of darkness, and nothing more. We have no right to play with their lives, to order their dreams and their desires.

- Destruction, Sandman #48 "Brief Lives"

It was another Open Gaming Meet when I ran this one-shot using Neil Gaiman's The Endless as the jumping point of the story.  Knowing there were many fans of Sandman, I wanted to create a game that allowed players to experience meeting them or being in a Vertigo comic.   While I had a copy of DC Heroes for superhero games, this game felt it would better be done with White Wolf's new World of Darkness system.

"Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."

I created character profile images which represented each of the players in the game, as well as some NPCs when applicable.  The game had a total of around three or four players that night, with rOckY acting as my first name (he played Fiddler's Green!).  The story sprung from the idea that Death becomes human and experiences death to understand it, so Desire goes through something similar too.  Desire split up into various people to experience varying kinds of desire, from intellectual to sexual to social and physical.  

Vrentae: Houses of the Blooded

09/18/2010

Vrentae
Houses of the Blooded
Using the highly received Houses of the Blooded role-playing game system designed by John Wick, the game explores the lives of the Ven and the intense interplay of romance, love, passions and revenge in this wonderful system that encourages players to be co-narrators of the story. Ever since I've first heard of this game, I've been anxious to run it. My friend and fellow storyteller Adrian found a physical copy of the book and has been asking me to run a game as soon as possible. I wasn't sure if this game was viable for a demo game, but after spending some weeks reading it I feel more confident now to run a session for the Open Gaming Meet.

I had four players in this game and quite frankly, the game was an absolute blast to play.  Mahar, Kristine, Paolo and Jammi all found the wagers system of the game to be a fun challenge to explore.  The idea of tagging and invoking aspects was definitely something they really got into.

The game was based on the sample adventure (page 386), with each player being a guest to the dinner hosted by Lady Shara.  There were moments of horror with Lady No, dangerous flirtations with Count Kether, a murdered Tulpa discovered in the maze garden, and the threat of a poisoned meal.  The night ended with one player using her excellent bow skills to slay the assassin the very moment another made a passionate admission of Love, one which won everyone's hearts long enough for a Dragon to be witnessed.

Ah Vrentae.  Love and Revenge.
Among the ven, they are one and the same indeed.

Too bad we weren't that versed into the game yet to actually also start using Sorcery and Seasonal Actions..  All in due time I guess?

Some pictures of that session.

Photos by rOckY