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View Full Version : Experiences in a post apocalyptic FATE core campaign- A GM's log



Kol Korran
2013-08-05, 05:33 AM
My gaming group has recently decided to try the FATE core system (to which we are new). We also decided to try for a post apocalyptic setting, instead of our usual D&D based high fantasy games. This thread will detail our experiences with the system, with the setting, all from my view as GM. So is this for you? It is if:
- You are curious to learn a bit on the system, and how new players grow into it. (You don't need to know the specifics of the system, I explain the needed stuff).
- You are interested in making a sort of a sandbox (mostly) game in a post apocalyptic setting.
- You are interested in seeing the "behind the scenes" of my GMing, how to plan things before play, how to deal with issues arising in it.
- Or even if you just like a good story. Most is not original, but I think I put things up interestingly enough, and the players do add A LOT to the game!

This first post deal with a few basics: What sort of playing group, what sort of writing do I plan for the thread, some basics of FATE as a system to those who don't know it. I also added a part with links to the sessions log, for those who are not interested in the other discussions in the thread. For those interested in how the group evolves through learning the game, and GM's dillemas and such I just suggest reading the thread. Lots of good advice here! The second post details the basic setting and characters, and on the third we start the show! :smallbiggrin: You can freely skip ahead to what interests you.

Ok, lets see:
Our Playing Group
We're all in our mid 30s, and have been playing as a group for several years now. A good group that stuck despite work, studies, families and kids, and other stuff. We don't meet that often though- Our usual schedule was about once every 3-4 weeks. We come from a D&D (up to 3.5), pathfinder and shadowrun backgrounds. We have good experience in thise systems, but those systems only.

My "strengths" (As they are) as a GM are usually enabling detaield enough open scene that enables lots of different routes of action, with complex enough results. My players like my ideas on the whole. My "weaknesses" are mainly not that great improvisational skills, and sometime a tendency to make things too complex to wrap your head around.

Or so I think, my players may differ. :smalltongue: I'll detail about the players alongside their characters.

What to expect writing style
If you read any of my previous logs, you'll know I often write looooooonnng, and detailed. I'll try to avoid that here, and focus on the main issues that came up. It will be written from a GM's seat though- not a player, not story telling, but from the role of one running the game. As such expect many side notes, or a "behind the screen" view to design, problems, and so on.

I aim to make shorter posts than in previous logs, so as not to intimidate with walls of text. This thread will probably be of a niche interest as it is.

Why FATE? What is this system?
FATE is a system geared towards telling a collaborative story between players and GM. Yes, I know that is what lots of RPGs say, but from the few I read, FATE's mechanics truly emphasize this. A few of the core Ideas:
- The system is supposed to be easy enough, and instinctual enough in order to fit to any type of genre/ idea. It emphasizes telling a STORY, instead of SIMULATING the game world. As such it forgoes many of the minutiae of other systems, in order to make the game be more streamlined, and action paced.

- Aspects and Fate points: fate points are sort like karma/ edge/ action points/ other source of "extra power" that can be used. Aspects are short phrases/ sentences/ things that define what is important: about a character, about a place, about an organization, about an object, about the game world! Aspects can be invoked to grant a bonus (which cost fate points), or compelled (which replenishes fate points). Aspects can be nearly everything, and are not limited by numbers or mechanics, though there are guidelines to make good aspects. It's a sort of an art we still try to master.

- Fate Dice: each dice can give you a +1, 0 or -1, and you roll four, and add them to your relevant skill. this creates a curve instead of the randomality of a d20 (for better or worse), meaning even a difference of 1 point in a skill is impressive.

- Skills and target numbers: Skill levels are designed as "average/ +1" or "good/ +3". Unlike D&D or other simulationist systems, there is little to define the target number to cross, other than what the group agrees too, and seem appropriate at the moment. The skill includes EVERYTHING that comes into play (For example a fighting skill includes your armor, all kind of training, your weapons and such) EXCEPT for the aspects in the game. As the player/ GM you decide what the level of skill means in story terms. You can use skills to Overcome an obstacle, Create an advantage (creating an aspect) or attack and defend. The skills all work quite similariy.

- Stunts: basically all kind of ways to break the general rules of what skills can do. A bit like Feats, only you get less, and the book only give suggestions, you make your own with the GM. (Again, there are guidelines).

- I'll get to GMing tools when I detail the game.


Links to sessions' posts
Scenario 1- Introduction to the game
Session 1, part 1- "They are coming for us all!"
(http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15759187&postcount=3)
Session 1, part 2- A heated discussion, and The not-so-good doctor (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15914129&postcount=5)
Between Sessions 1 & 2- First kinks in the wheels (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15917881&postcount=8)
Session 2, part 1- Of races, plans and betrayel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15921537&postcount=9)
Session 2, part 2- Ma Jenkins' Folly, Final show down! Ogre and the Siren (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15942052&postcount=10)

Scenario 2- troubles in Rivertown
In between Sessions 2 & 3- Ironing out a few rules, Trying to set the ground for a new campaign (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15942798&postcount=11)
3rd Session, part 1- Aftermath and the Jackal prowling (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15949436&postcount=14)
Session 3, part 2- The long road, a "warm" welcome, King Harry in the flesh! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15951238&postcount=16)
Between Session 3 & 4- Absent player, new player (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15956015&postcount=17)
Session 4, part 1- Enter the Madam, conversations, dealings and mobs. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15956288&postcount=18)
Session 4, part 2- A polite refusal, A matter of appearances, Shoot out at noon! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15962116&postcount=23)
Between Session 4 & 5- A new wiki, a few articles, and a bit about arc/ campaign building (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15962596&postcount=25)
Mini Session 4.5- D*ck Mighty's investigations (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15990221&postcount=34)
Session 5, part 1- Water merchants, growing interest in Littletown (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16014795&postcount=36)
Session 5, part 2- Tension rises, grenades in the city, the fateful meeting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16020907&postcount=42)

Scenario 3- The dark men cometh!
Between Sessions 5 & 6- Diffusing tensions, and pics! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16028231&postcount=43)
Session 6- part 1: Last dealings before leaving (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16075166&postcount=49)
Session 6, part 2- Road to Littletown, The Jackal returns (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16081918&postcount=50)
Session 6, part 3- Opportunities in Littletown, new investigations. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16088987&postcount=53)
Some gaming issues that came up
(http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16103751&postcount=56)
Between Session 6 & 7 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16171782&postcount=65)
Session 7- The Dark Ones come (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16172523&postcount=66)

more to come...



Alrighty. lets go! :smallamused:

Kol Korran
2013-08-05, 05:34 AM
The DMs in our group (Me and another) had trouble preparing enough stuff in time. D&D is such a system that focuses on so many small details, it was really bothersome for us DM to manage with the little free time we had. Plus, our group aimed more at roleplay (A lot of our fun is between players, without the GM intervening), so we sought a more streamlined system.

I read a bit and suggested Fate, and we decided to do a sort of an "Introductory adventure", in a Post Apocalyptic world- I was to prepare a minimal setting, an adventure, and give them characters to choose from. We decided basically on something like "Fallout 1&2" or "Mad Max" kind of world, But I was on my own from there. Fate assumes the GM and players working together initially to decide the nature of the adventures/ scenarios, but as this was an introduction...

A very basic setting- "Hello Little Town!"
Fate has Game aspects, things that can be used through out the game (These can change). Often there are two, about current or impending issues. I didn't want to reveal the problem yet, and just set a general game apsect: Harsh survival in a post apocalyptic world. People (Myself included) Can now use this using Fate points to either gain a bonus, or compel for a ocmplication.

I wanted to created a small isolated place, where the PCs are the big shots. That way- it's up to them to save the day. I came up with the (admitedlly unimaginatively named) Little town:
Out in the wild a large family known as The Jenkins made a discovery- what looks like an old days party working micro-fusion fueling station, made mostly for trucks and such (A few were left there, bad in bad repair). The place even came with a few solar panels. The Jenkins formed a small settlement around this resource, that slowly grew- The Jenkins were reasonable and practical folks, who welcomed anyone who had a useful skill, pulled their own weight, and deferred to them as rulers of this settlement, known later as Little town. (The name will do for this small play).

The Jenkins are a large family (around 80 people) who believe in polygamy and interbreeding if needs be. (Their family tree is… interesting). They are quite bright, resourceful, and highly practical, even compared to the normal denzin of the wasteland. They guard their micro-fusion station jealously, but other than that run the town reasonably fairly. It's a tad hard to tell them apart since due to genetics they look quite the same.

Aspects:
- "We help our own"
- "Do what needs doing…"
- "The fusion is Jenkins' fusion!"

Common Jenkins: most skills at Average (+1)/ Fair (+2). A few individuals may have higher (rare ones)

Little town is far out on the wasteland, and as such has little connection with the world, and mostly relies on itself. It has 3 caravans that trade with it from river city (about 2 weeks away). There are ruins scattered in a few days walk from Littletown, but it's dangerous work going scavenging- wild beasts lurk aplenty.

Little town have about 380 residents, about a 120 of them are under 14. Most are farmers or other small craftsmen, few if any with more than average (+1)/ Fair (+2) skills. They just want to make a life for themselves and get by.

Now considering The player character have a slew of skills, a few even at +3 or +4, this meant the PCs are considerably more skileld than most people in town, with a... few exceptions. :smallwink:

So who are these PCs already?
I designed 8 PCs to choose from, for 5 players. The inspiration for PCs I drew mainly from westerns, and they are mostly cly as wellches, because face it- cliches become cliches because people love them! Each character has one High Aspects that defines it, 1 Trouble (THe main issue against she struggles), and 3 others, 5 in total. I intentionally left the fifth one open, as an exercise to the players on how to make aspects. I also gave only a brief description, letting each person "fill in the blanks" as they liked.

The Preacher
Player: A guy who likes to play roleplay complex character. Has some acting background. His character are often at a... "disagreement" with the Merchant guy's characters, proved true this game as well! :smallamused: (We found out that a goodly managed conflict adds a lot to the game).
In the previous logs he played Danves the cursed half elf, and Glimji, the persecuted Gnome Beguiler.
Character: Brother Walter- : A priest with a not so gentle past, this ex bandit/ raider has found faith, and is trying to bring it to this small town. Not a specific religion, but an overall belief in the purpose in things, of some supervision, and of man's responsibility to his fellow men. the preacher is not a zealot or admonisher of hell and heaven and so on. He is a practical man, trying to bring a bit of spirituality to the wasteland.

The preacher is a man of faith, but a practical one who isn't afraid to wield a machete if the need comes...
Aspects:
- Bringing hope to a faithless world
- The one armed marvel
- Ain't always been a priest
- These are MY people!
- The one he chose: Root them before they grow.
Key Skills: Will, Fight and Rapport (Like Diplomacy).

My thoughts:
The preacher was designed as 1 of the 2 more versatile characters. I was quite surprised that the player chose this character, as hasn't shown any inclination to the spiritual with his other characters so far. But I guess he liked the duality of the character. I was a bit worried about the last aspect, as I didn't quite see when it will come into play, but we decided to roll with it.

The Merchant
Player: This guy is the Belkar of our group. His characters are quite often complete bastards. He is a team player however, and a great roleplayer that brings a lot to the group.
In the previous campaigns he played Ipiks the lizardmen, Gabriel the cleric of the Silver Flame and Killpi, the "honest business man!"
Character: D**k Mighty(He chose an appropriate name that made us all laugh). The merchant has made his considerable wealth by being unscrupulous in trade and building a successful trade caravan up to the little town. A skilled driver and caravan leader, he decided to settle in the frontier for now, believing there may be untapped riches here, and liking being a "big fish in a little pond" in this little town. He currently owns a substantial part of the town, competing with the Jenkins for influence.
The merchant has vast wealth, and is willing to do what's necessary to gain more. He is a man with ambition and a plan
Aspects:
- "Making profit anyway I can!"
- Wanna bet?
- Savage of the bad lands
- Fast cars and fast women!
- The one he chose: Doesn't give a S**t about anybody
Key Skills: Resources, Deceive, Drive.

Pics:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Dick1_zps4f107d03.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Dick1_zps4f107d03.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Dick2_zpsd69afa52.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Dick2_zpsd69afa52.jpg.html)

My thoughts
I assumed the player might choose this character, it fitted his style. Resources is an abstract of wealth, and we sought to explore how this mechanic works. It gave us some trouble in the beginning...

The last aspect kind of falls/ duplicate the first one, but we tried to roll with it.

The Biker girl
Player: The other part time DM of our group. A Forgotten Realms fan, and a very resourceful player, often seeking evolving characters, as he have made this one.
In previous campaign he played Red the Ultimate Magus, and DMed the "It began with a crash" campaign.
Character: Jenny Wilson lost her parents at an early aged, and lived with her mechanic brothers. As things grew problematic where they lived, they moved on their modified bikes to this little town, selling themselves as part mechanics, part mercenaries. Jenny developed an unhealthy attachment with one of the other PCs (The player chose D**k Mighty, how appropriate). Not necessarily abusive, but definitely off. She is however quite peppy, happy, and ready to roll!
The player came with a picture for Jenny in the likeness of... Lara Croft. :smalltongue:
Aspects:
- Mercenary thrill seeker biker with blazing guns!
- Trouble: Originally this was supposed to reflect the relationship with Mighty, but he changed this to something more general:“what a mess I got myself into”
- Live fast and keep it simple
- High tech groovy!
- The player created: “just look at her!”
Key Skills: Pilot, shoot, Craft

Pics:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Jenny5_zpse9f469c2.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Jenny5_zpse9f469c2.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Jenny1_zpse2ac9e60.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Jenny1_zpse2ac9e60.jpg.html)

My thoughts:
This was the second vesatile character. I was originally inspired by Harlequin from Batman the animated series, but the player chose to take it somewhere else.

The Mutant
Player: The quiet one who hits hard when it counts. The player is usually more on the ups of the rules (At least in D&D), but often prefers not to stand out, and plays very dependable characters. He usually pipes in at moral debates, acting as a moral compass for the group.
Character: Ruphalo is Similar to the big mutants of the Fallout series, this mutant was captured and used as forced labor in a mine of another town, only to be freed by the Jenkins. The mine collapsed, but he decided to come and serve them in their new place. Excellent crafts man, (And with some knowledge of explosives) the mutant is a sort of a gentle giant- beneficial at most times, but also an excellent melee fighter, a complement to the Sheriff.
The Mutant is the gentle giant, builder and supreme fighter.
Aspects:
- The gentle giant mutant
- They all fear me
- A life debt to the Jenkins
- Thought before action
- He chose: Big strong hands (aren't always enough)
Key Skills: Physique, Fight, Craft

My thoughts
Now this was difficult... The player had a real hard time coming with an aspect. and the last one kind of falls in the first one, a duplicate. We later had trouble with his explosive stunt, but that will come later.

The Sheriff
Player:Actually not one of our group, but a brother to another player (The preacher). Excellent roleplayer, wished to try out the system. After the introduction session he couldn't play with our schedule anymore. But he was in for the first session.
Character: The Sheriff was born to a hard life, and soon learned how to handle a gun. He proved to be a remarkable shot, and a prime fighter. He used this skill mostly as a soldier to one of the warlords of the waste, but after having been a part of too gruesome a battle, he chose to use his skills for the kill for other purposes. The Jenkins hired him to be the law/ security man of their little town, a position which grants him both pleasure and headache. He wishes that can compensate for the bad karma he accumulated.
The Sheriff is a bad ass warrior, with a grumpy spirit
Aspects:
- "I'm the sheriff of this god damned town!"
- Haunted by the past
- "This ain't gonna end well I tell ya!"
- I'm getting too old for this S**t!
- The player chose: "Stick to your gut feeling"
Key Skills: Shoot, Investigate, Athletics

My thoughts
Probably the best planned character of the lot, or that may be my impression due to how he played it. Hell, every western needs a Sheriff!

Characters that were not chosen (Briefly):
- The Madame: An owner of the only entertainment house in Littletown, including shows, drinks, music, dances and... companionship. Was made to be the most socially skilled character.
- The Doctor: A zany surgeon with a knife. Was supposed to be the scholar/ healer/ intellectual of the group.
- The Scavenger: As the name says. a partly mad character, that is good at stealth and burglary.

Ok, ENOUGH introduction, lets get to it! :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-08-05, 05:35 AM
Session 1, part 1- "They are coming for us all!"

I used various types of music in this session, which I compiled with the great help of the playground (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283222). After awhile the players found it distracting, but I think it can be useful for other games as well, no? lets begin...

I put down the simple map of Little Town I made, and started the session: "Pa Jenkins died..." The old bugger died due to a heart attack after dancing with one of the Madame's girls. The town people were called to Grave Hill (Hey, I said I was keeping it simple! :smallwink:) To say a few words. We played out the funeral, giving each person a chance to speak. They provided the goods: The preacher gave an inspirational speech about Pa Jenkin's vision and desire, Ruphalo spoke little, but appropriately, The Sheriff told a small anecdote about Pa Jenkin's philosophy, and Mr Mighty? Well, he made a speech verging real close on an open fire fight, but made it double meaning enough to avoid it, and get away with it. Jenny clung to D**k, but didn't speak at this place. She had troubles of her own.

Soon later the different individuals were called to the Merilyn, the Madame's pleasure house, to converse about things with the new town's rulers- Pa Jenkin's son Burt, and more importantly- the stern steel woman known as Ma Jenkins.

In the Merylin she put her concerns frankly on the table- Now that pa Jenkins was dead, is there anyone going to cause trouble with the transition? The two under examination were mostly the Preacher "We ain't a spiritual town, so don't you get any ideas!" and Mr. Mighty, who didn't like it and spoke back, elegantly, and soon the debate heated up considerably.

But it could go no further, as Joe the scavenger burst in, followed by his dangy mutt, wanting to speak, but becoming silent due to the glare of all the important people. After a bit of reassuring by the Sheriff and others, He finally blurted out what seemed like nonsense- "They are coming! They are coming for us all! The white men! I saw them sneaking! They wish to eat us raw!" and other such stuff. The Sheriff decided to investigate, taking Ryphalo the mutant with him, when they heard gun shots from the northern farms. Mighty rushed off as well, as if raiders come, they might come for his stuff as well!

Design notes
Two opportunities to talk a bit, get a bit in character, get a bit into the skin of the characters, before trouble hits. I usually love to let conversations develop, But in this case I had a limited time for the intro session.

First Fight scene- what are they?!
They rushed to the northern farms. Here I had a small map as well. A note about FATE tactical encounters: Again, things are simplified- there is not grid, no measured distances. Instead there are "Zones"- areas with some focal interest point (Aspect/s). a movement gets you from one zone to another (There can be obstacles to prevent that), but basically int the same zone people are considered to be close to melee range.

Something got the party attention. Here we started using Aspects: I compelled Jenny's player to "Keep it fast and simple" (Or was it "what a mess I get into?" some time has passed) so due to her character, she rushed to the barn and barged in, getting into melee range with...

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Vampire1_zpsf7983096.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Vampire1_zpsf7983096.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Vampire2_zps797b5e9f.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Vampire2_zps797b5e9f.jpg.html)

What were these things? skinny humanoids, very pale, red eyes, and sharp claws/ teeth. They were munching on the farmer, eating him raw, which caused Jenny to psyche out a bit! (I considered this a mental attack. Attacks can be physical or mental, Each tracked separately, I wanted to show that). Jenny got to fight in the barn, the close range not enabling her to shoot the creatures! meanwhile, they blocked her escape.

there were 4 other white raiders, who got into a fight with the party outside, acting individually. This was... a confusing fight, mainly because it took us a bit to understand how the dice worked (In D&D terms think about it as rolling 4d3-8, and add to your skill) and so on.

Mighty's player decided to try and create two advantages (basically- create an aspect with one free use). He used his resource to claim he had a flash light (with which he tried to light the scene), and some lighter fluid (which he used to set fire to the barn because... Well, just because. I don't always understand him!)

They fought the 6 savage humanoids, and killed them all, suffering but minor stress after all. It was then that they heard gunshots and screams from deeper in Littletown!

Thoughts and design notes
This was supposed to be an introductory battle, to see how dice work, attacking and defending, and possibly some aspects. We used the aspects but a little though, and nearly none of the situational aspects.

At that point I found the lack of a tactical map confusing, definitely not something I was used to. I kinda missed the tactical depth.

As for stats for stats? Couldn't be simpler:
Vampyrs
"Aversion to sunlight"
"Unbridled savagery"
"Feed upon the flesh"

Skills: fight +2, stealth, athletics provoke +1
Stunts: when eating people (action) they can target characters up to 1 zone away with provoke for stress damage.
Stress: 1 box of 1
Note: The players didn't find out any of these aspects yet...


Mid town fight- They have hounds too!
They started rushing towards the mid town. I compelled the Sheriff by "Too Old for this S***!" which left him a bit panting behind. Mighty used his "fast cars and fast women!" aspect to claim he knows that Dr. Cross' car is nearby, and him and Jenny jumped into it, and drove fast, arriving a few rounds before. (The decision with the Sheriff was not a good one- Basically I made him sit one more round out. I should have just given him an aspect "winded" or some such).

Jenny and Mighty came in quick, and saw some of the Ghouls (As the party came to call them) eating and attacking some people. Mighty drove to run them over, but Jenny pulled the car aside. (she won her drive roll) "They are already dead!" said Mighty, but Jenny couldn't bring herself to run town people.

It was then they saw the "other" type of ghoul- ones just as disgusting, but wearing clothes, holding shotguns, and sitting atop big red furred hounds, looking like a rottweiler but small horse sized! These were the Mugg hounds.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/DocMarlo2_zpsd741d257.jpeg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/DocMarlo2_zpsd741d257.jpeg.html)

They drove trying to avoid their enemies, and put some bullets in them. Meanwhile the rest arrived from another direction, and got into a fight with some more. Aspects were now being used quite a bit, as the ghouls were fighting as a team, and In FATE this sort of make them one super stat, with some skills combining to have greater effect, giving numbers a REAL punch!

The mutant was under attack of one of the riders, his hound, and several ghouls, while the sheriff tried to shoot the other rider, and the priest coming in with his machete.

Then something interesting happened- Jenny decided to actually ride over some ghouls, and we had to decide how will that be handled. We came up with some idea on the fly, and some rolls, which due to some damage and bad luck (The Doctor's car was never much). Got the car damaged enough to grind to a full stop... just between some ghouls. They started trying to grab and get the two of the car, and they were burning Fate points to void that, when Jenny's player compelled himself: "What a mess I get myself into!" as she tried to grab at D**k, but instead grabbed his lighter fluid, spilling it all over. "Damn! We get about a minute before this car blows up!" But D*** isn't a man to be outdone. "Wanna Bet?" he compelled himself, the cigar falling from his smiling face.

They had 1 round to get out, so they let themselves be pulled outside and then turned and ran, as the car blew up, killing the nearby ghouls!

Ruphalo got injured, but due to being "As tough as Nails" (A stunt) shruged off the damage, and manged to kill a hound and rider, before the few remaining ran off. The raiders have retreated, for now... But what was this mess?

Thoughts and design notes
This was supposed to be a more complex battle, with 3 types of enemies (Vampyrs, Mogol riders and Mugg hounds). In fact, the battle quickly turned into two battles, two groups, one with a car! (That I didn't prepare for!) However, I was delighted how easy it was to just improvise something for the car. As the book says, you can turn anything in the world to aspects, skills, stunts and stress. This worked fairly well, for now. Battle was still confusing, as the car moved more quickly between "zones". I was surprised however to see how naturally zones came to be defined, even without much pre-thought. Not perfect, but useful. Tactics have improved a bit by using aspects, some of them by the scene, some of them created by the players.

A note on fighting as a team: This is the first example, but it came to be a HUGE deal later on- numbers really matter in FATE. Swarms of minions far below your power level can be deadly.

The new enemies:
Mogol rider
Good opposition:
"Aversion to sunlight"
"Herder of the pack"
"Smarter then they look"
Skill: shoot +3, athletics +2, notice fight & ride +1
Stress: box of 1, box of 2

Mugg hounds
"Lock down determination"
"Just a big doggy!"

Skills: Athletics +3, fight +2, notice, physique & stealth +1
Can move 2 zones!
Stress: box of 1, box of 2


End of first "fate session"
This was about 3.5- 4 hours into the session. Our sessions usually last for about 7 hours, but "Fate Sessions" usually last for about 2-4 hours. FATE sessions have mechanical effect- when some Fate points refresh, when some wounds heal, and the ability to slightly alter your character. (Called a Minor Milestone). We've decided to have this "Event" now, and continue on.

Main thoughts so far:
- Aspect use is not intuitive to D&D players, but we're getting there.
- Is there enough tactical depth to the game? Is the stream lining good for our group, or not so much?
- Improvisation seem much easier than with D&D, which for me is a big bonus. Need to check it on further.

We have currently played 3 group sessions (= 6 Fate Sessions) I will update on them as time permits.

Kol Korran
2013-08-05, 07:41 AM
I'm done with the first part. will go on some time later... Would love to hear thoughts, comments, and questions. :smalltongue:

Kol Korran
2013-08-28, 03:15 PM
Sorry that I haven't updated yet, I had some things happening in my personal life, and didn't find the time to write a proper update post. Back to the saddle now, I'll try to update more regularly. Where were we?


Session 1, part 2- A heated discussion, and The not-so-good doctor

The raiders gone for now, Little town turned to do some damage control. (And this being a new "Fate Session", the characters got 3 Fate points) There were nearly 20 people dead from the attack, and quite a few bodies of the raiders, but with little clues. The Sheriff went on to do his job- to investigate the clues, While Jenny was so shaken by the night's occurrences, that she went ahead to get as drunk as possible. While the Sheriff investigated, each went on his own- D*ck made sure none of his stuff got stolen, Ruphalo helped the Sheriff, and The preacher tried to calm the town's people, to lift their spirits in this dark hour.

The Sheriff found quite some clues (He got a stunt that lets him find more than usual with the skill):
- The raiders light weight equipment and tactics fitted those of a "scouting party". There are probably more, but how many more?
- On one of the Mogol's he found a fading Brochure with the title of "Welcome to Forrest Ville!" on it. Wasn't there a ruin of such a town just a bit north?
- One of the mogols had a huge wide lashing mark on his back, something that seemed to come from some "huge barbed whip"?

The players also figured out the "Unbridled savagery" and "eaters of flesh" aspects easily enough. As day light came one of them made the observation that the flesh emited strange smell under the light. "Aversion to sunlight". There was a disturbing growing body of evidence that this was just the start. It was time to make a decision.

The Fate of Little town!
Ma Jenkins called for a meeting in front of the Jenkins manor, sort of like the town's square. "Sheriff, what did you find about this attack?" the crone said, and the Sheriff stood up simply, and displayed the facts. "They are just the forefront, we can expect more. I don't know how many more, but probably quite a bit. And I think they have stronger creatures than we have seen." He remembered back to the whip. "I think they may be coming from Forrest Ville". Ma Jenkins sighed and nodded. "What shall we do now. Any ideas anyone?"

Brother Walter the preacher stood up and suggested to find out more, to send an expedition to Forrest ville, and perhaps even strike at their core. To this D*ck mighty objected, saying they should find a way to fortify Littletown and protect it! What chance did they have against such a horde with a small scouting group?

Luckily, Fate has a good mechanic for solving such situations- a contest, and so I suggested we play it. Basically- each of them tries their way (Brother Walter through rapport, D*ck through deceit) to persuade the crowd and Ma Jenkins. They compete against each other, back and forth until someone wins 3 times.

The preacher spoke of the need to learn more before they strike again, while **** called to stop a suicide mission, not to let the good skilled people of the town go to waste. Brother Walter called upon his "ain't always been a priest" aspect to claim that he knows how such raiders work, and that in their resting place they are more vulnerable, perhaps hiding from the sunlight. D*ck called on the same aspect, calling the preacher's dedication to Littletown into light. Brother Walter didn't stay in debt "You would make profit anyway you can! How can we trust YOU?"

In the middle of this exchange they tied, which calls for... an unexpected complication, that can be used by, or hamper, both sides. I thought for a moment, and then the madame stood up, offering a 3rd alternative! "You speak of a great horde of raiders. Little town is not made of warriors- we are farmer, craftsmen, and many have already died to this small scouting party! I say we need to flee! We should pack up quickly, and make a hasty way towards Rivertown! There with their numbers we might find safety!"

In short, the discussion turned 3 ways, and I used the madame's aspects, as well as the other two to fight back. She soon came up gaining advantage! This is when D*ck changed tactics, and joined forces with Brother Walter and forced all his venom to attack the Madame, and enable Brother Walter to succeed ("Hey, I can't let her win- I'll lose everything! And he's more ahead than me!")

In short, Bother Walter called upon "These are MY people!" and "Bringing hope to the hopeless" and gained the favor of the crowd and Ma Jenkins. "Well argued. Ok, Brother Walter- assemble a team of scouts to go to Forrest Ville. We'll prepare the town for defense while you are gone."

A course of action has been decided.

Design notes and thoughts about Contests
I like giving meaningful choices, or at least complex situations. I planned somewhat towards all 3 likely decisions (A force to Forrest ville, Barricade and protect the town or evacuate) but I was ready to go with other crazy ideas.

The basic plan for the game was wave, then deal with something Not requiring straight up fighting, then possibly another wave, another more subtle issue, and possibly a final wave and climax. Things however have changed...

About the discussion and contest: I really liked that- it gave a more gradual feel to "Social combat" rather than just "roll diplomacy" and the fact you got to use your aspects, and your rival aspects really added up to thing. I especially liked the "Unexpected complication" outcome of a tie. This is one of my favorite mechanics.

Starting to gear up!
The party wanted to gear up, but then began a big discussion (led by Jenny's player) about getting a real monster of a vehicle, refitting it heavily and making a real go for it! Tell the truth, I didn't quite know how to react to it at that moment. The idea was that most vehicles here were barely functioning junk (Except for Jenny and D*ck's vehicles- her motorcycle, his terran jeep) I decided to treat this as a Challenge (Another mechanic, again you need 3 or more successes but against a passive DC.) We decided on a roll of resources (for the base), Mechanics (to fix it) and... I don't remember the third. However, Only Ruphalo actually worked on it at all, while the others did other roleplay stuff. As things became a bit stalled, I moved on to the next scene. We needed to find a better solution for the vehicle.

Hostage situation, and the plot thickens
Which is when the Sheriff heard there were still some ghouls in town! a group of them barricaded themselves inside of one of D*ck Mighty's warehouses! (The player: "WHAT? I hope they didn't damage any of the goods!", "They got hostages their, your workers!", "Yeah yeah... the goods?") It was already sunny, and the party got around the warehouse, when a strangely sweet but deep voice talked to them. It identified itself as Dr. Marlo, one of the mutants (He gave them their right names), who came here seeking... something in the town. They are all drawn to it. Something in it calls to them. He suggested they will give it to them, and then the Vampyrs will let them live, let them be free... If not, then the great horde will come, and devour the town. The speech was intelligent, sophisticated.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/DocMarlo_zps809471da.jpeg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/DocMarlo_zps809471da.jpeg.html)

Jenny snuck by the warehouse, and manged to spot (create an advantage) a small hole through which she peeked. Inside were 8 Vampyrs, and 2 Mogols, along with some prisoners in the warehouse that held the ramshackle vehicles of D*ck Mighty. And there was another mutant, a bit bigger, covered in scales, wearing a stained lab coat. There were also two prisoners who were lying on the floor looking... not well, ill, sweating, breathing hard.

The Sheriff and the preacher conversed with Dr. Marlo, who claimed he was once a scientist till he was transformed, and that he is now trying to find a way to reverse the mutations, and that he believes that whatever is in this town will enable him to do so. They also learned that this was just ONE horde, and apparently there are many. "We are a plague, and if not cured, we shall consume you all!"

I don't remember who exactly, but one of the characters made a slightly surprising turn of events. (I think it was the Sheriff) "Ok, come with us, and let us see what you look for. We can decide then!" They talked and managed to persuade the doctor (It was fairly easy using what he came for) and the doctro and some of his mutants came in two beaten and shaded cars. The Aversion to sunlight did not cause them damage, just discomfort.

This is me, making villains :smalltongue::smallsigh:
So they all drove into the middle of Little town, and Dr. Marlo pushed on, becoming more and more excited, more frantic, till they reached a small about to fall hovel. The Sheriff, preacher and Ruphalo entered inside with the lizardine doctor, to find Talila, one of Little town's residents, and her twin children- Michael and Rose.

"Them!" exclaimed Dr. Marlo, frightening them all. "It's in them! In their flesh, or blood, or skin! Give me them! They are the answer, the cure! They are the source, what we've been searching for so long!" There were a few moments of hesitation, before the Sheriff called. "Screw this! I'm the sheriff of this god damned town! No way you're taking them!"

The battle was fierce at the start- the doctor had a poisonous barb coming from a sheath in his hand with which he tried to poison the warrior, who fought him in the tight quarters, while D*ck and Jenny fought the mooks outside. The battle however was quite bland unfortunately, and VERY one sided- Numbers are a BIG deal in Fate. The Sheriff, preacher and Ruphalo ganged up on the doctor and burned it's Fate points quickly, and then continued to cause him serious harm, even breaking his arm and causing a head concussion, partly blinding him.

In D&D it would be dead, but in Fate there is a possibility to "Concede the fight"- You avoid the worst outcomes of the fight, but you pay some heavy price. This sort of enables characters to avoid death, and the DM to have recurring villains. You can play without this rule though, we decided to try it out.

Dr. Marlo conceded, begging for his life. They decided to lock him up in the Sheriff's office (1 cell), and interrogate him, learning a few more aspects as they went. They also found "Dr. Marlo's map" which had 10 red marking on it, 8 of them are crosses, and 2 more circles around Little town and River town. also they found a few vials and injections. Fro mthe state of the two prisoners in the warehouse they understtod Dr. Marlo was trying to make more Vampyrs? "Must have new test subjects to test potential medications on! You may have beaten me, But soon my children will come, and then you will all perish!" he laughed blindly.

It was time to get into action!

Design Note
The hotage situation was not a situation with a written solution. I try to avoid that. My philosophy is to come up with a situation, give it enough detail and complexity so no direct obvious solution is obvious, maybe try and think of likely approaches and counter reactions, but other than that just roll with the players. Which is what happened here, The players acted in a way I didn't expect.

About antagonist: I often seem to suck at "big bosses", which Dr. Marlo partly was (More like a minor boss). In previous campaigns the major bosses got beat up pretty easily. I will learn from here onwards though...
----------------------------------------
This is where the first session ended (Or the second "Fate session"). I had really expected to go a lot farther, and perhaps finish the introductory session, but apparently we were going to have a second session to wrap this up! All in all people were quite excited about the new system, the characters and game so far. This looked promising...

But there were a few things to settle before the new session comes up. I'll deal with that in the next post- "Between sessions". Hope you like it so far, chip in and give me a holler if you like it, or have any questions. :smallsmile:

kyoryu
2013-08-28, 09:09 PM
I'm happy to help if you have any specific Fate questions. The Fate Core group on G+ is also a great resource.

Kol Korran
2013-08-29, 02:22 AM
I'm happy to help if you have any specific Fate questions. The Fate Core group on G+ is also a great resource.
I'd love any input about things we may be doing wrong, or can do better. I sort of try and give the tale of the group and the gaming, along the tale of the actual in game plot. I'll discuss some stuff that we came across, and if you wish to give advice, it's more than welcomed! :smallamused:

Currently trying to catch up on updates, which brings me to...

Kol Korran
2013-08-29, 02:53 AM
Between Sessions 1 & 2- First kinks in the wheels

(One thing I forgot to mention- I used music throughout the first session, drawing from The help of the playground. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283222) Some good music there! My players found it distracting due to trying to focus on the new game, but I still recommend it. I added a link to the thread in the first session.)

So the group was excited, but some issues came up. I'll try to detail them to the best of my memory (and looking through past emails):

1. The guy playing the Sheriff was a one time guest, and he couldn't come up to the next meeting. He loved the game, but couldn't manage to meet at our times, so he bowed out. The Sheriff was one of the more battle oriented in the group, so this needed a bit more accommodating to.

2. The Players kept talking about future adventures. This caught me a bit by surprise, as I mostly planned this adventure to be a one shot. (Though I'll admit I did put a few future hooks in it, if that might be the case). I decided to play it out and see when the adventure ends. I didn't quite have follow up ideas at that point...

3. There came the matter of the vehicle the party wanted to build and refit. There were lots of discussions on the emails, but in the end I got the idea they wanted something quite permanent, to last them for (potential) future adventures. Something serious and operative, not just a ride. I ruled out that this kind of an undertaking would call for an adventure in itself, and would not fit now. The party could fit a good enough vehicle to go into the wasteland, but that is it's own challenge. I'll describe how we dealt with it mechanically in the session itself.

4. Another issue that came up is non mundane weapons, such as machine guns, grenades, explosives, rocket launchers, and so on. A discussion came up: On one hand these are a staple of a post apocalyptic Fallout-like setting, and they are part of the fun. On the other hand we didn't want to get bogged down with lots of extra rules. The system was about the story, not the simulation.

(Since Fate is supposed to fit to many different genres, an integral part of fitting the game to your setting is called "Extras"- extra rues for things like magic, psychic powers, monsters, space travel, vampires and so on... depending on your fancy. These however usually tend to be kept simple, using stunts, aspects, stress and skills somehow.)

We decided to finish the introduction adventure first, and then decide how to tackle these issues. For now we'll stick to the basics. We're new to this as it is.

4. We did however decide to pick something simple for vehicles: A vehicle has stress boxes and consequences (actual damage that doesn't go off at the end of the fight). They may have aspect to represent a special quality of them. If hitting meat targets, only the vehicle takes stress, the passengers and drivers do not.

With that I'll move on to the second session. :smallwink:

Kol Korran
2013-08-29, 03:19 PM
Session 2, part 1- Of races, plans and betrayel

The sheriff's player bowed out from the game, due to time constraints. We did however have an observer- The preacher's player ex-girlfriend (Or something, I didn't ask too much) She recently played Fallout 3 and was curious about this game, so she asked to watch. We of course agreed! This will become important later on.

The party has just captured Dr. Marlo, the twisted mutant doctor, and decided to step up their plans to go scout the Vampyrs temporary hideout, with a hidden hope to possibly blowing them all up. But first they needed transportation! We decided to do this as a Challenge: Basically a series of steps towards a goal, who all need to be done. You can approach the different tasks by whatever means you wish however. It's important to note that in Fate even if you fail on a roll you may succeed, with a minor or major cost however, to be decided... The party wanted to put all kinds of add ons to the vehicle, and we decided these will be Overcome actions- they succeed or fail on their own.

Mechanically it looked something like this:
Challenge: get decent wasteland transportation,
Stage 1- Get a basic vehicle.
Stage 2- Fix it well enough to be hardy and sturdy.
Stage 3- Get enough power in fuel or microfusion to get them all the way.

Additions the party wanted:
- Make some armor for the vehicle.
- Add UV lights to the vehicles (To utilize the Vampyrs "aversion to sunlight" aspect)
- Add a machine gun to the vehicle as well.

D*ck decided to use his resources to pull out the best vehicles he can. He rolled quite high, and invsted aspects to make an impressive success (Called "Succeed with style", sort of like a super crit on checks). We wanted to represent this, and he had an idea- On top of the fast and maneuverable terran quad, D*ck had his eye on an old beat up wreck of a truck I drew up in the warehouse Dr. Marlo barricaded in before. I agreed to that, but they'll need to fix it too.

So The two mechanics- Ruphalo the mutant and Jenny the mercenary went to work on the two vehicles, and their combined skills did make them operable in time.They still needed power, so the preacher went to the Jenkins and made his way to them. It was no real problem, as the Jenkins provided the needed micro fusion cells. More than that, they offered some men to come with them! Cousin Billy (I was trying hard to make them somewhat Hill-billy like) and 8 more Jenkins will escort them and offer some help if needed. The party didn't quite know how to take it. (Especially D*ck who didn't like the Jenkins much) but they accepted the help.

The Rich Mr. Mighty was able to find some UV lights in his warehouses, While Jenny found an old clanky machine gun, with some limited ammunition, both were added to the quad, while Ruphalo put some added armor plates to the quad. (We treated all of these as aspects with one free use). The vehicles were ready to go!

The results?

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Car_zpsde54b257.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Car_zpsde54b257.jpg.html)
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Truck_zps167ed7b8.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Truck_zps167ed7b8.jpg.html)


All of this got them to afternoon. Jenny loaded her motorcycle on the back of D*ck's truck, and went to drive the quad, with Ruphalo beside her, and The preacher who ain't always been a priest on the machine gun. Cousin Billy and the jenkins followed in tow.

It was time for the expedition to Forrest ville!

Some dirt racing!
The group made good headway, till they reached the bridge over the river. They expected this to be a potential ambush, and so decided that the quad will go ahead, with the others waiting. Jenny drove closer, but they noticed the mogols jumping from their shaded hidey places on their partly covered basic quads, and drove off!

"Damn! they're gonna get away!" Jenny pushed the pedal, and went over the bridge... and into the trap they had between the scattered debris. But the party used their "armored vehicle" aspect to protect against this and raced on. And D*ck raced after them, not noticing the trap as well, and got the truck stuck on the bridge.

It was time for another contest, but this time against 3 other vehicles. and on each vehicle there were people who could shoot the others, and create more advantages. Now, if Jenny knows how to do something, it's to drive! She overtook the first car quickly, and the Preacher shot them down, the quad turning over and burning with the mogols in it. The other two were a bit more difficult, and Both Jenny and Brother Walter used some aspcts to get them, the machine gun helping, but at the end jamming (compel) due to Brother Walter's tough handling with his one arm. As they got close to the last quad Ruphalo leaped between the vehicles and ground the quad to a halt, and smashed the poor remaining mogols to bits.

All through this D*ck smiled and smoked his cigar. The truck blocked the Jenkins's approach. The guy knows how to relax when things are out of control.

Safe for now, the prudent party decided to not waste what they gained, and hid the last surviving quad for potential further use. (Paranoid bunch! :smalltongue:)

Design notes
I wanted to achieve a few things in this scene:
- first I wanted to have a fairly simple encounter to refresh the player's memory about the dice, skills, and how contests and conflict went.
- I wanted us to try and test a slightly more complex scene- contest on the one side, conflict on the other.
- And still an important challenge. Had any of the quads escaped, the party would have been in real trouble now.

One thing I failed to do though was provide an interesting terrain or conditions for the race. The only aspects the people used were their own and on occasion- of the vehicles. We need to do situational aspects better!

So... Where exactly in Forrest Ville?
The scouts arrived at the ruined remains of Forrest Ville, but then understood they don;t exactly know where to look. It was here I realized a little mistake I made- finding the Vampyrs base would normally relied on Investigate, which only the Sheriff had, and the rest lacked. Still- Time to get a bit creative, no?

I don't quite remember how they found the clues- footprints of many feet, strong chemical odor, Some HUGE footprints?... and more. The party was trying to be creative, and I was somewhat lenient. I think they used their Notice skill the most. D*ck produced a pair of thermal scopes. (Using resources) The preacher used his knowledge before being a priest, and Jenny her mercenary skills and more. In the end they found the place- what looked like an old chemical plant, used to augument the taste of cattle, only from the smell of it- it was up and running again?

Design Notes
I didn't plan it well, and I'm not just talking about relying on one main skill the characters don't have, but also since I didn't quite plan (or think on the post in the meeting) about consequences of failure. It was sort of a foregone conclusion they will find the plant, which is a bad assumption of a GM to do. There need to always be a real possibility of failure, but I didn't plan for it, and so dragged this on and pushed them along.

And it felt like it a bit- something to get through, not a meaningful intersection. Thankfully enough this was a very minor part of the whole shabang, and I think the rest went quite well.

Ok, so now what do we do?
The party was on a hill overseeing the plant, and the sun was starting to set. They knew time was of the essence. But scouting came first. They spent several minutes trying to locate any threats, any clues. D*ck's limitless arsenal of useful gadgets came to the fore once more. We started feeling uncomfortable about this- Like a guy with a bag of holding of endless surprises. But this was his main skill, no?

The picture the party got could be summarized so:
- The plant is fenced on 3 sides, on the fourth thee is the river the party crossed before.
- There are 2 main buildings, one of them much larger in the center, and 1-2 smaller buildings, on the far side.
- There was a high tower coming out from the main building, it seemed a bit armored, but no one in it.
- There were no Vampyrs or Mogol guards either!
- There was movement though, pairs of somethings moving around the place in a distinct pattern. Mr. Mighty's scope saw these as small circular mechnical beings. Jenny the High Tech Groovey recognized these as Centagon! Pre war simple alarm system- they were usually connected to some central computer, and some power source. They could alert all who is connected tothe central computer though. The party estimated there were about 3-4 pairs.
- At the far side of the plants they saw more movements- another fence, and in it about 10-20 humanoids, human most likely. They seemed primitive, probably tribals. The party assumed these poor humans are either food supply, or destined to become future Vampyrs.

Ok, so now what? The party assumed the bulk of the force was hiding inside one or tow of the main buildings. They sought to try and maybe sneak in, maybe rescue the prisoners, maybe plant some explosives? (Ruphalo has a stunt that enables him to use explosives, but he has to set them in a non combat situation. He wasn't able to use it yet, which was frustrating. I originally envisioned this coming useful to protect the town from further waves. It needed a change).

Now, with my group, when there is a situation which can be handled in many ways, they will discuss, analyze, argue, discuss again, rethink things and more. Quite exasperating really. So I make a point at having some time pressure in most such situation. After they had enough time I "reminded" them that the sun was setting even more. So they settled finally on this:
Jenny and Ruphalo will swim the river, and come at the side of the compound. Jenny thought she recognized where the Centagons linger two much between the two buildings, and assumed this was their recharge station, along with the main computer. (D*ck even supplied some EMP guns...) They will try to disable it, and maybe Ruphalo could plant some explosives. The player asked if he can prepare them for quicker use, and I agreed for the cost of a Fate point. Meanwhile Brother Walter will get to the far side, and will try to liberate the prisoners, perhaps they could learn something from them? D*ck, who lacked any kindof real infiltration skills, or impressive combat skills, will stay behind on the hill as reinforcement for when (Not IF, some of the party gave me meaningful looks. They know me so well! :smallamused:) things will go bad. And the Jenkins? Um, they could stay on the hill as well. Cousin Billy was fine with that. D*ck provided communication radios for the 3 groups. The "bag of surprises" started to really break the feel of a real world. But we let it slide for now.

With less than an hour for daylight, the party started executing their plan.

The wrong time, the wrong place for old blood
It went more or less to plan at the start. Jenny and Ruphalo went mostly undetected, and snuck past Centagons to the charg station, and got into a fight with the two snoozing Mogols there. Brother Walter was frustrated at climbing the fence due to being short one arm, but managed non the less.

It was then I made a decision that turned the session around, which I'm not entirely sure if it was good or bad- I decided it was time for betrayal! For Cousin Billy and his folk didn't come to this mission to help the party, they figured out it was indeed a suicide mission, and them crazy biker chick and mutant were proving just that! But they mainly came to dispose of an old threat to the Jenkins. Namely- D*ck Mighty.

Luckily enough he locks his doors, and that saved him from getting butchered on the spot. He started the truck and moved the slow vehicle around at full speed, ramming one of the group, Noticing their plan was discovered, they start shooting at the truck, trying to put enough damage into it to stop it.

The gun fire was well heard over the landscape. I didn't say they were really smart now? Jenny, Ruphalo and Walter cursed. Walter suddenly faced some sleepy Vampyr guards who awoke, but manged to hide from them, as they ran towards the main gates. He succeeded doing though with a price though- a Mugg hound spotted him, and came to see the nosy neighbor. Meanwhile Ruphalo crushed the mogols, And Jenny decided not to mess about with the computer and just "kept it simple" and smashed the controls. Centagons around the compound went off, but the damage was done already. The door to the central building (Which were quite near to where Jenny and Ruphalo were, flew open with dozens of Vampyrs and Mogols streaming out. Oh, did I mention the guard tower's dozing guards woke up, and were starting to pellet them with fire?

A round of curses went around the room. :smalltongue:

Design Notes
I planned on the Jenkins acting as antagonists since they seemed somewhat like that from the start, and I felt that they needed "extra push" in that direction. Though admittedly, this push may have been a bit too far, as it turned the focus of the players on them later on, more than the Vampyrs menace.

The decision has bad points- I basically didn't allow the party to fully execute their plan, or investigate inside. (Which I planned quite a lot for). But on the other hand it's a lovely unexpected twist, and it REALLY brought the tension up. Plus, it made an emotionally evoking enemy. Which is always a good thing, no? :smallbiggrin:

Why exactly did I do it? I don't quite know. I originally planned the Jenkins to betray the party once they get out, and are badly beaten, but in the spur of the moment, with the party split so nicely, and D*ck so vulnerable (The player LOVES nearly impossible under dog situations) I just thought it would be cool.

The Betrayers?
6 Jenkins
Skills: drive +2, shoot, stealth +1

3 Elite Jenkins (Amongst them Cousin Billy)
Skills: Shoot: +3 Drive, athletics: +2 Fight, craft, lore +1
Aspects"One big happy family"
"**** Mighty goes down


"Run! Run away! No- that way! Wait! I'm being shot at! Me too!"
On the hill **** managed to run more of the Jenkins down, but the truck was taking heavy damage .They didn't expect him to be such a resistance! But as a "Savage of the bad lands" D*ck wasn't about to go down! As the truck nearly collapsed, He decided to try something else, and rove the truck towards the plants gates! As the truck launched down hill D*ck climebed to the back of the truck, cut the bonds of Jenny's bike, and with quite an impressive turn of skill soared with bike back towards the hill just as the truck toppled over crushing some of hungry horde with it.

Meanwhile Brother Walter fought the mugg haund, who wounded him nicely, but he came up with the upper hand (Pun intended! :smalltongue:) still determined to "bring hope to a faithless world", and free these poor souls. He got to them and broke the lock on their cage, and then with a few sweeping inspiring words he convinced them to basically "get the hell out of here!" He ran trying to lead the tribals over the fence and by it where the river met the fence.

Jenny and Ruphalo however, had quite a bit more trouble. They started running with the tower putting bullets in them, while taking some cover withe the various crates and stuff around (Yay! finally some use of situational aspects), but they were mostly out running the horde behind them. "Can I use the prepared explosives now?" Asked Ruphalo, and I agreed, it seemed cool and appropriate. One semi grenade- semi explosive later, and a loud "Boom!" and there were many dead Vampyrs and mogols back, the rest unsure of whether to pursue. This gave them some time, and Walter called them to come towards him. (And away from D*ck Mighty)

Speaking of which, **** was riding towards the last Jenkins on Jenny's motorcycle (Her player: "If there is even a scratch!") But behind him there was the horde coming! fueled by his anger, He manged to do some fancy driving, making Cousin Billy fall, and then... running the bike's tyre over his face. Meanwhile one jenkins tried to sabotage the groups' hard earend quad, but died to D*ck Mighty's bullets. the rest turned to run, and two Mugg hounds with Mogol riders on them. Another contest, but the Mogols actually got running Jenkins before D*ck had, but the rest put even more wounds to him. Barely alive, with the horde behind him, D*ck knew that he "Doesn't give a sh*t about anybody!" and contacted the party through radio: "I'm going south! Can't help you now!"

Meanwhile more vampyrs came out of other places, And Ruphalo and JEnny were running like hell. Coming by A centagon I compelled JEnny to have a look (High Tech Groovy) and though she came under some attacks, she took the robot's computing unit. Ruphaloe was taking some heavy damage as well, But was fighting it off, while The precher was trying to shoot down the mogols in the tower.

It was then that IT came out from one of the side hanger sized door of the main building- some towering creature, looking like some sort of giant, approximately two stories tall. The party didn't make any details in the darkness, butthey as sure as hell weren't staying to find out! They remembered the signs of the "Huge barbed whip", and were in no ocndition to face that.

Dooublign their efforts they crossed the fence, swam up river, decided on getting as far up north as possible (The Vampyrs proved to be poor swimmers), along with the tribals, and try and regroup there. Jenny called to D*ck with the radio, who went south towards Littletown. "Find a way to get to us, we're going north!"

The Vampyrs didn't pursue those who went up north. They had a target- Little town still had to fall down. And so the party was split- Walter, Jenny and Ruphalo somewhat wounded, going far north, with no vehicles. While D*ck alone on his bike going south, a horde of Vampyrs behind him.

GM notes for this turnout of a scene
This was great fun! I think the players enjoyed it immensely too. They like fighting great odds, and thinking fast. I didn't plan this (I planned a thorough investigation and infiltration of the plant) but having a good grasp of the situation and set up involved, and the great ease FATE enables to improvise with made this quite easy.
---------------------------------------------
The first half (more like 2/3rds) of the session ended here. We had a short break while they talked plans, and they got 3 fate points back (Which were sorely needed!).

I'm not sure I'll be able to update tomorrow or the day after, but most likely I'll update on Sunday or Monday. I hope you're enjoying the read, please feel free to put your voice (or writing) in. :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-09-02, 03:44 AM
Final Gynecology exam is over! Psychiatry next, but hopefully I'll have a bit more time to update. In the mean time, a tiny tiny vacation! :smallwink: So where were we?


Session 2, part 2- Ma Jenkins' Folly, Final show down! Ogre and the Siren

The party was separated, D*ck was alone and on his heels where The Vampyrs, and the rest ran up north to some remains of a patchy forest, with no vehicles or anything. But that didn't bother people, what bothered them was that they were betrayed- by the Jenkins! A sure proof way to get players motivated is to screw them over. They will do whatever it takes, WHATEVER it takes to get their revenge. Works every time! :smallbiggrin: we had a little break as they discussed their plans. Meanwhile, I listened, and though up of challenges to come.

The benefits of being prudent, and a question of loyalty
D*ck changed course, taking Jenny's Harley away from the horde's path, going somewhat west, intending for them to go past him. As much as he wanted to get back into town and shoot Ma Jenkins in the face, he was in no shape for that, and definitely not prepared to face the whole tribe. Grudingly he had to admit he needed the rest. He had an idea, he hoped it was not too late.

Meanwhile up north the party tried to rest and figure out what to do. "We should start walking back!" demanded the preacher. "To where? Little town may be doomed, and we'll never get there in time!" replied Jenny, in a bitter mood. "D*ck will come for us, I think..." The preacher snorted his contempt. "Oh yeah! HE will come! The rich bastard who doesn't give sh*t about anyone else will just RIDE to our rescue, I'm sure!" Jenny didn't quite know how to respond, and tried to defend D*ck weakly, but she had doubts herself. He was not exactly the most moral of men.

Brother Walter sat down, running his one hand through his hair. "We need to decide what to do. I'm not leaving the town to the Vampyrs, or the Jenkins. These are MY people!" But he was at a lost as to what to do. Ruphalo surprisingly got in the conversation. "I do not wish to go against the JEnkins, they saved my life back in the mines" (PArt of the back story, and also an aspect I was surprised he played!). The other two watched him stunned. "They just tried to kill you! You don't think your debt to them is over?" Ruphalo shrugged his great shoulder. "They tried to kill Mighty, not us. They just didn't plan it well". Brother Walter was beyond itself. "Didn't plan it well? We were in the middle of the Vampyrs compound? They left you as dead Ruphalo!" The big mutant shrugged again, but added nothing. It seemed to shy from verbal confrontations, and added no more.

The trio was watched curiously by the tribals they rescued. Walter went to them, and tried to talk to their hearts, to promise them a future in Littletown, or at least good trade if they will join them, to help them fight to rescue it. Having had most of their people taken by the Vampyrs for... whatever cause (They didn't find out) Mau, the remaining leader of the small bunch wasn't exactly enthusiastic to help, despite avid persuasion (and poor rolls). At the end they decided to just sleep for a few hours this night, get some of their strength back.

Near morning however Jenny was awakened by her radio. "Jenny, you there? where the hell are you guys?" D*ck's annoyed voice came over the radio. She hurried and explained their location, and soon enough after He reached them, on the quad they hid after the bridge race, a bit roughed up, but in working order, and with Jenny's bike strapped to the rear. Apparently being prudent paid off!

D*ck came down from the quad, in a foul mood. "Now, lets get back and kick some Jenkins!" Noticing the tribals he tried his own manner of persuasion. "You come with us, I get you guns, I get booze, I get you shiny stuff if you fight for us!" He didn't exactly hide his contempt for the tribals. Walter talked against him "You're just using them!" But Mau and his people liked D*ck's suggestion, as they needed some stuff to survive the wasteland.

Unfortunately they had no vehicles for the tribals, and in the end just bid them farewell, With Brother Walter preparing to perhaps get back and help them.

Things have changed here lately...
The party rode back, communicating through their radios, and decided to stop on a hill nearby Littletown, and scout it, with D*ck trying to use his radio to maybe find out how things are. It proved a bit surprising!

D*ck's henchman (forgot the name I've given this NPC) responded to the radio, surprised. "Is that you boss? They said you were dead!", "Well it happens I'm not, what's going on in the town?" "Well boss, Soon after you left, Ma Jenkins went to talk with the creepy mutant Doctor guy, and then got Talila and her kids taken to the manor! She said that it's the dawn of a new age- that the only way to stop the night mutants was to help them find what they want, and maybe Little town can benefit in the process. Some of them settled here, and people say they are doing experiments in the manor! The creepy Doctor is there as well! And they are saying the rest of their force are coming tonight. People are scared boss! what do we do?!"

"Wait, you said "the rest of their numbers", how many Vampyrs are in the town now?", "about 50-80 I think" The party cursed. they went to planning. Amongst other things they somehow came to the conclusion that Ma Jenkins had some deal with the horde long BEFORE they came here (Which is an... interesting idea :smallwink: Might use it myself). They also learned that the Mogols brought some sort of simple armored hovercraft. They didn't know how to deal with that many Vampyrs, or that many Jenkins. So, as Jenny suggested "Lets use them against each other, lets cause a fight! We'll get them at each other's throats, and use the diversion to get that hag!"

Viva la revulition
Mr. NPC-who's-name-I-Don't-remember got persuaded to sneak the party in town, towards D*ck's manor (It's good to be rich) in return for some good words with The Madam's ladies ("I really like Mary Beth... mmmmm...") Ruphalo's size almost caused trouble, but they were finally in town. They managed to also get the madam to meet them. "We need you to try and provoke the town to fight once all hell breaks out. We also need you to convey a little message- say to the Jenkins that **** and Jenny hides in THIS house. (The hosue they pointed too was a derelict resting place for Vampyrs from the sun, which they scouted earlier). give us half an hour to get into position though..." The madam agreed, and went to start talking some resistance in the town folks.

Jenny and Walter decided to head towards a vantage point, and wished to sneak in the town. I deemed it a challenge. D*ck supplied some camouflage gear from his mansion (He was angry that most of it was ransacked though. People took the news of his death... kindly) and the two were able to get into position easily enough. They watched and waited.

Meanwhile D*ck got one of his more down beaten cars, and had his man drive it with him and Ruphalo under covers towards a point looking at the fence of the Jenkins manor. He too waited.

And spurned by the Madam's words, a group of Jenkins came rushing down the street towards the Vampyrs hide out. (I tried compelling Jenny, saying one of her concerned brothers were there as well, but the player didn't accept, the first time in the game!) As soon as they got there, they bust in "Where is Mighty?" Which is when Jenny shot one bullet to a Jenkins head, and Walter shot a Vampyr.

A few gun shots and howls later, all hell broke loose!:smallbiggrin: The Vampyrs howled an attack, the Jenkins as well, and the settlers of Littletown fought to regain their town! In the midst of it all Jenny and Walter ran to where D*ck and Ruphalo were hiding.

But there were more surprises on the way! From the middle of the Jenkins manor a great whirring noise came, and a turret came up, along with a high tech cannon, who suddenly shot an energy beam towards the Mogols Hovercraft! The party exchanged worried glances, but decided they were too far in this to back now. It was Ma baker in the turret, and she was furious! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLzqMJQzzcA)

For some reason I don't exactly fathom, the preacher tried to sneak over open ground to the Jenkins mannor, only to be shot at by some of the Jenkins holed up there (I ruled that their diversion took about 1/2-2/3rds of their forces out of the manor. There was still resistance though!) The lazer turned his way and he could see Ma Jenkins in her turret, aiming at him, and barely missing, living scorched ground. It looked as if there was some sort of an energy shield around the top of the turret?

D*ck sighed, then cursed. "There goes another car!" as he just put the peddale to the metal and rammed his way through the fence, putting his car near the building. The rest jumped out and made their way towards the doors, taking slight damage from the frantic shots of the Jenkins. D*ck stayed in the car for a moment too long, as Ma Baker's laser burned through the roof and almost incinerated him, as he rolled off just in time, cursing again for the loss of his car. Ruphalo got to the door and despite reinforcments and a bar on the other side just broke itwide open with his mutant's strength, the rest coming behind him. Then they faced about 10 Jenkins there, obviously frightened of the entire situation. "I don't wanna hurt them" said Ruphalo, but the rest got engaged. Still- numbers pack a punch, and this wasn't doing them good.

To make matter's worse, Dr. Marlo appeared fro ma side corridor! "You again? Don't you give up? we are here! we have what we want! And soon our major force will arrive, My Ogre and Sirine leading them! You are dead as we speak!"

Which is when the party did something brilliant, they stopped fighting the Jenkins, and talked to their hearts- about the wrongness of what Ma Jenkins was doing, about this path taking Little town down, about Talila's children, and more. Brother Walter joined forces with Mr. mighty and they got them to hesitate long enough. Ma Baker called down to her sons, undoing the effect, but the party would not relent and spoke again. "is this what Pa Baker wanted for the town? Is this the fate of Littletown" they managed to turn their opinions once more, and turn on Marlo!" And as I said before- Numbers matter! the surprised doctor was ganged up on, the Jenkins beating up all their frustration! This time, there was no conceding.

But there was someone else listening- Burt Jenkings, Ma Jenkins's son. He was too persuaded, and took some of his men and shot down the Microfusion station powering up M Jenkins laser. the turret went down, and Ma Baker escorted under guns to a hold cell in the manor, while the fighting outside finishing, the Vampyrs far less strong in daylight. Burt came out, apologizing profusely. "We shouldn't have listened to her, we knew she was wrong, but... well... she was our ma!" and such excuses. The party wasn't that convinced, but decided to let that rest for now. For night was approaching, and FAST! The major part of the Vampyrs horde was coming.

Design notes
I had the Jenkins as possible side antagonists from the beginning, but they became major only when Cousin Billy and his pals betrayed the party. So while the party discussed plans I came up with some ideas. I thought that the Microfusion might power something nifty, and though up the laser cannon. Not exactly a great element (And it got bypassed real fast with the party's tactics), but it added tension, which was it's purpose. Really easy to stat it though!

As before, I decided to make up a situation, and let the party break their minds figuring out how to deal with it. They came with a decent and fun plan, so we went with it. Breaking into the Jenkins manor was far easier than I expected with D*ck's car and Ruphalo's strength, but they did quite well. The entire thing was improvised, and I just loved how easy it was to do so!

Some stats for those interested:
Ma Jenkins
"I taught my sons well!"
"Old fashioned crone"

Gun aspects:
"Charging power gap"
"Rotator not fully operational"

Skills:
Great: Provoke
Good: Rapport, Will (Shoot in the gun)
Fair: Physique, Shoot, Deceive
Average: Lore, fight, craft, Athletics

OOOO
OOOO
Stunts:
Intimidating persona: once per scene can use provoke on all without splitting her dice.
Tough old biddy: uses her will for physical stress
Mother's love: for a Fate point, Ma Jenkins can grant aid to ALL her siblings for a single round.

Laser cannon Stunts:
- It burns! On a successful hit the gun causes 2 more stress
- Disintegrate cover: if the target used cover to defend, the cover aspect is destroyed
- Power screen: each successful shot is rerolled

(power screen can be taken down by taking down the generator, inside the mansion, causing it 4 stress)

Burt Jenkins
- Not much of a people's person.
- Master rancher and hunter.
- Ain't too bright, trying to do what's right.

OOO
OO
Skills:
Good: Shoot
Fair: Rapport, stealth
Average: Physique, athletics, fight

Jenkins:
Craft +2
Atheltics, shoot, fight +1


Boss Fight! Ogre and Sirine
The town got as prepared as it could to the coming of the Vampyrs. We skimmed over that since the session was getting late, and we sought to finish the intro adventure that session. So I... cut corners a bit... As the rest of the horde came, a mogol spoke up a challenge: "You are strong, stronger than others before you! You killed Marlo, you killed many of us, you destroyed the flying fortress." (Forgot about that- I decided that the hover crat was taken down, not salvageable at this point) "But you cannot beat our strongest! Bring your strong, and face our champions! Ogre and Sirine!" Now the party assumed the ogre was the huge impressive fella two stories high they saw back at the plant, and they guessed the giant barbed whip belongs to it as well, but the Sirine?

Soon after they heard the town people yelling as it approached, coming into the Junkyard, the final battle zone. Now this battle zone I prepared with quite a few aspects to be used (Scraps of old junk, a water tower, a partially working crane, and a few other stuff). but most of the party decided to focus on their own aspects, we're still not doing this well enough.

The shadow loomed, and huge figure came out, twisted and meaty, They saw the creature with a thick metal helmet covering it's entire face other htan his jaw, even his eyes, and something? someone? perched on it's shoulder/ back? They didn't have time to think when that someone shot Jenny with it's sniper rifle, a very precise shot, taking the breath of her! So this was the Sirine... The ogre Lashed with a "whip" (Actually a telecommunication cord) at the biggest target- Ruphalo, and hit him, entangling him, and drawing him towards him, to bash the mutant with his other weapon- a street light pole. But Ruphalo, instead of resisting, rushed towards the Ogre, unleashing a fearsome bellow, striking at it! Inspired by the giant Brother Walter rushed after him to offer aid! Meanwhile, D*ck who surmized this was NOT the kind of battle he wants to be in, decided to get into the crane, and went to lift some cars to drop on the monster.

Ruphalo was struck however by a great cacophony of fear and loathing in his head, a psychich attack by the Sirine, as the ogre tried to strike him. This is where we understood how to go nova in Fate... Ruphalo's player haven't used nearly any fate point during the game, and accepted his share of compels, which meant he had LOTS of Fate points now, and it showed! for the reminder of the fight Ruphalo shelled out fate points like a stream, to protect and to hit the ogre quite mightily. Foucsing on him, The precher used his fighting and inspirationl skills to create advantages to further the mutant's attacks (A tactic he began to like), while Jenny tried to take out the Sirine in a shootout.

But the Sirine appeared to have the upper hand, and after 2-3 exchanges already had shot Jenny's lung (Sever consequence, one step beneath death), so when the next shot came aligned Jenny's player conceded his fight. We needed a price though, and decided Jenny blocks the last shot with her Barret, breaking it (One of her stunts relies on two her using her two barrets).

D*ck unfortunately couldn't hit the ogre with the cars, but managed to distrat it a bit. Brother Walter noticed a weak point- a twisted ankle, (Aspect) which they used to attack the beast, (and give me extra fate points to use against them). The fight dragged on till all fate points were lost, except those of Ruphalo, who kept hitting hard, till finally, with one might blow he took down the Ogre, Killing the Sirine as well, as they were connected to each other.

Hearing the death growls of their champions, the Vampyrs and mogols around Littltown broke into a panic, fleeing into the night, leaderless. Gone for now, but not forgotten.

Now was a time to rejoice though- it seems Little town was saved! Oh, and get Jenny to Dr. Cross, quick!

Design notes and thoughts about the end battle
I think it was a good attempt for a first try, but there is quite a bit to improve. At one point it just turned to the old D&D familiar of "I hit it again!" Which I hoped to avoid, which this system is supposed to avoid. I didn't use scene aspects as the antagonists, I didn't really plan for them, which is not a good design. Also, there was not enough build up to the scene, the players were not really emotionally invested in it. I don't quite do Boss scenes well enough, it's my weak point, but getting better. The players enjoyed it though (Except for Jenny's player who came to close to dying to his liking!)

One thing that bothered me about the fight which D*ck's player later mentioned- it lacked the "going all out" element that you get in D&D, where in the final battle you use the best spells, best magic items, all the action points and so on. True, Ruphalo used many fate points (and the rest depleted theirs entirely), but it still didn't feel the same. Something to think about... :smallconfused:

Stats?
Beauty and the Beast
"half brawn, half brain, conjoined"
"Share the suffering"
"half crippled, half blind, but compensating"
"weak ankle"
Gaps of speed…

Skills:
+6: Provoke, physique
Superb: fight, athletics
Great: shoot, Empathy
Good: Will, notice

Stress: OOOO (+ mild)
Stress: OOOO

Stunts:
2 minds, joined body: can take 2 actions though with one stress and consequence track
Great Whip: the beast can attack from 2 zones away. If hits then fight vs. physique or be dragged one zone each round.
Psionic crush: using a fate point, the siren can attack with her mind a single target by using provoke from one zone away.
Regenerate: Once per scene the beast can use it's action to roll physique against a physical consequence to eliminate it.

-----------------------------------------------------

And so our introduction to FATE was concluded! Not my best adventure, but still not bad. I only regret the somewhat forced ending... The party was thrilled, and had some thoughts about things to come, and issues to deal with (D*ck's player: "I would like to have a quiet word with Ma Jenkins, alone...") and they wished to continue gaming in this setting! Which I guess is a... good thing?

However, I didn't quite plan for this evolving into a full campaign, and we still had a lot of issues to resolve before contiuing. If we were to make it a serious campaign, we need to make some Extra rules, and perhaps some changes as well. But that, I'll discuss in my next post. Hopefully later today or tomorrow.

A request: Writing these post takes time, and some investment. Though I enjoy writing, knowing others read this as well is a great encouragement. IF you liked this odd beginning to a game so far, it would gladden me to know so. Thanks! :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-09-02, 09:19 AM
In between Sessions 2 & 3- Ironing out a few rules, Trying to set the ground for a new campaign

So the Introductory game was successful. So successful in fact the party wanted to continue with the same characters, same setting (As minimal as it was). Now, though I put a few hints of potential bigger things, I didn't have a "great master plan"/ game arc/ campaign in mind. I am used to the D&D general frame of mind when designing adventures, but the FATE system seems to have a much more cooperative role in adventure planning, with the players giving a great deal of the input in terms of what aspects they want to see used (Either of their characters, or of the world) or in other terms- what great issues concern them. FATE has a different approach of designing adventures, which is far more loose in form, based on using aspects to create contradicting conflicts, motivations and goals, setting the opposition, a general plan, the first scene and... see how it goes. While on general principles this is quite similar to the way I design adventures, the FATE system leaves much more to improvisation and reacting on the spot. I wanted to try that.

Characters adjustment
First things first though. Since the characters were premade by me, I offered them all a free character make up, including scraping a character and making a new one. Jenny's player took the most active interest, and tried to use Jenny's "near death" experience to start alter her perception, make a bit of character development. He changed his trouble aspect of "What a mess I get myself into" into "dodging the reaper". We also needed to choose what exactly does the damage to the Barret means. After discussion we decided that it may jam on certain rolls of the dice, making the gun inoperable till fixed. She could still use her other gun to fire, but for her "double shot" stunt she needed them both.

D*ck's player also felt like the character wasn't exactly... fitting the image he wanted to give it. He changed 3 aspects: His primary aspect of "Making money anyway I can" into "I'm but an honest business man" (This is a cynical joke from a previous character, which was Belkar like, but liked to claim he was an honest business man, just after murdering someone). "Doesn't give sh*t about anyone!" was changed to "Few friends, many enemies"( He LOVES conflict!) and "fast cars, fast women" was changed to "Weapon and drug baron" which made out most of his income. He wanted to make D*ck a more suave, more subtle, and more "big time" merchant than he was so far, downplaying the driving skills for social skills.

The rest made minor changes to skills, but not to aspects. Also, all characters gained one average +1 skill for completing the scenario. I don't quite remember what everyone chose (it's in between emails and word documents) We did add another skill: Survival, detailing surviving the Wastelands (A bit like Outdoors man from Fallout I think?)

Any interest?
I then tried to see what the players are interested in. I suggested a few issues:
- The Vampyrs menace: They were dispersed, but the danger was far from gone.
- A matter of blood: Why were Michael and Rose so special? What drew the Vampyrs to them? Are any others interested in them?
- Ma Jenkins Folly: Where exactly did the old biddy get a laser cannon? How long was it hidden from the town? the Jenkins themselves? Can it be fixed perhaps? Tell the truth, I never thought of the origins of the laser cannon, it was just a 50's thing to pull out in the former adventure. But I was ready to make something out of it if they were interested.
- Rivertown is only a bit south: Did it escape the Vampyrs menace, or are they also under attack? What if the Vampyrs killed members of their council on route, and there is a power vacuum?
- Something from your own characters? Jenny's mercenary past, The preacher's hidden past? Ruphalo's relationships with other mutants? D*ck's reason for staying at this little town?

Unfortunately, my players are lazy bastards, who have gone used to the D& mind frame as well of the DM doing most of the work. They gave very little input as to what they exactly want. D*ck's player wanted to make some sort of a power grab in Littletown, but specified no longer. Jenny's player wanted to get to a place to fix his Barret (probably Littletown), and to develop his character further. Heard little from the rest. :smallsigh::smallannoyed:

So it was up to me to come up with something. I decided to use a "net adventure"- create an adventure with many potential hooks, and see what I catch. I also decided that I'll need to develop the world more than Littletown- it was good enough for an intro session, but not for a campaign. I decided I need to get the party to Rivertown, and mess things up a bit. That is what the next adventure is about, but I'll get to that in the next post. A few things to settle before that though...

The resource skill
In the past session we felt more and more that Resource shouldn't be used to just pull up endless things from a bag. But we didn't know quite how to fix that. Ban resources? It will kill D*ck's character. Limit it? How exaclty? what is ok, what is not? So I posted this thread here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293389) The responses helped me, and we came to this decision:
The skill represents the material abilities of a person, in their various forms, mimicking the role of money in our world. It can be trading goods, live stock, precious items and commodities, or even just your word or contracts (Even the word and contracts of **** Mighty!). They can be used in the way money can be used in our world- to buy things, influence situations, and basically anything where you can throw money at stuff, only in other forms. The resources however do not directly represent Adventuring Gear, and cannot be used to "pop up" all kinds of equipment out of nowhere. You can try and purchase lots of things in advance if you're going on an expedition, but you're limited to things in that location. You might be able to "produce" certain things, but only if they highly fit the theme and reason of the situation (Such the lighter, maybe the binoculars and such. Vehicles? no.)

Special weapons rules
As mentioned on one of the earlier posts, we discussed and came to an agreement that special weapons are a staple of post apocalyptic setting, and that we need to make something for them. We needed a way to make them special enough to not come always, but cool enough to keep them interesting. Plus, Ruphalo's explosive stunt barely came up at all. We came up with 3 weapon categories (Machine guns, explosives, rockets) for which we made simple rules, to suffice for now hopefully. Ruphalo's stunt changed, but no one else took any such stunt. Jenny's player has taken the Siren's sniper rifle, and wanted to make something out of it. Currently we just gave it an aspect of "Far sight, far shoot", but no stunt yet. We decided we'll live that to later.

Exact rules can be found here, if you're REALLY interested: (Probably not perfect, but we're still learning the way it works)
you need a stunt to be proficient with them, be it heavy weapons or explosives. the weapons sort of give you a specific stunt for that weapon They are not easy to find. For these I think we WILL count ammunition, but in a simplified form, suggestions below... Thse items can be purchased through resources or contacts, or crafted through craft between scenarios (Adventures). 1 attempt for all. Note that these can get jammed/ broken.

- small machine guns: these can be easily carried and used. Once per scene you can use suppressive fire- anyone in a zone you select (including allies) who moves, is considered attacked by your shooting skill.
- Large machine guns: these can be carried disassembled or placed upon vehicles or a stationary position. They function the same, but they can affect 3 adjacent zones, and act twice in a scene.

Both machine guns require their own type of ammunition, the ammunition units are "Cartridges", where a cartridge is used each time suppressive fire is used. Shouldn't be too hard to get, but not common. Between scenarios, Cartridges can be crafted by a target number of 2, each success above adding 2

- Grenades: These come in different types and skill. A character can throw a grenade up to 2 zones away. All targets (allies included) are attacked by an attack force of (Grenade grade+ dice roll). Alternatively a grenade can be used to "create an advantage" in the affected zone, with the grenade grade used as the skill for the test to create it.

Grenades comes in many grades, and are created such: in between scenarios. A character with A craft skill is used. A result of 2 creates one grenade with the grenade grade of +1. Each result above either doubles the number of grenades, or upgrades the grade of all grenades by 1. Grenades cannot be created between scenarios, and their ingredients become useless after a scenario ends.

- "Explosives": Creation rules the same as grenades, except the initial target number is 3, but the initial grade is also +3. Explosives can only be used given enough time (A few minutes). Affecting several zones require several charges. Again, materials go bad after a scenario ends.

- "Rocket launchers": can attack only large targets (Vehicles, guard posts, giant flesh eating robots of doom), not individuals. Hit all targets in the large target, but not an entire zone. They ignore armor, attack at a force of (4+dice roll).

Ammo is rockets, Craft DC is 4 for 1 rocket, each success above grant 2 more. Rockets go bad after a Scenario ends (Explosives ineffective).
---------------------------------
And... I think that is all that happened between sessions. I was a bit nervous, as I didn't yet have an overall plan, and felt a bit like I was winging it. But I hoped to gauge my players interests more in the coming scenario. You play, you learn, no? :smalltongue:

DarkWhisper
2013-09-02, 10:36 AM
Writing these post takes time, and some investment. Though I enjoy writing, knowing others read this as well is a great encouragement. IF you liked this odd beginning to a game so far, it would gladden me to know so.

I've recently taken an interest in Fate and reading a campaign log from someone (an entire group) essentially learning the system is really great.
Also, I'm interested in how things continue.

I like the 'design notes' section and reading the reasoning behind certain decisions.
Good work; bookmarked - and looking for updates !

Erock
2013-09-02, 11:25 AM
In case this wasn't obvious in the Fate PBP thread, I've avidly read every post, and this was my tipping point for checking out Fate.

Kol Korran
2013-09-03, 09:10 AM
Glad to hear you are reading DarkWhisper, Erock. Every little bit counts! I better use some of this short vacation to pick up some more. On Saturday we'll be having out 5th session, which means that I'm currently one Scenario/ adventure behind in the log, I hope to finish most if not all by the time we meet.


Second Scenario- "A trip to Rivertown"
3rd Session, part 1- Aftermath and the Jackal prowling

recap from last adventure, and what happened afterwards?
The plan was to get the party to Rivertown, but first we needed to deal with some issues of what happened in between scenarios and build tension a bit. Using the little bit the party told me about their characters in the meantime, I sent the following email to the party.

The ogre crashed to the ground, the siren on top of it, both distorted mutated figures dead. The Vampyrs, hearing their shrieks of death, lacking the leadership of Dr. Marlo, felt confused, and dispersed, fleeing to the surrounding area. But they are not gone. Jenny lay gasping on the floor, partly in shock, her beloved Barrette sporting a bullet through it.

It was time to deal with the after math, as they say...

Jenny was quickly moved to Dr. Cross' clinic, where he labored upon her and some of the other wounded through the mayhem between Jenkins and town's people the Vampyrs that the party caused. She Worked on her as best he could, and she lay there recuperating, thinking on her "dodging the reaper", and learning what she can from Dr. Cross books and teachings, in between bed rests. On the side she toyed with the sniper rifle the Siren had. a bit broken and damaged, but she might make something of it.

D*ck didn't quite come to see her surprisingly. Apparently the Vampyrs caused some havoc to his holdings, and they disrupted one of his caravans, killing many of it's people. Despite his desire to grab a firmer hold of Little town, he had to put his efforts into maining his resources, and to reestablishing his image as "but an honest business man!" rumors told him that their actions may probably have not gone entirely unnoticed. He might need to inquire in Rivertown, or people who come from there. After all, a man who has "Few friends, many enemies" can't be too careful.

Brother Walter and Ruphalo helped settle the situation in town. There were quite a few dead, and the Vampyrs were still out there. Ruphalo designed the ground works for a fence/ wall to help protect the town, the Jenkins putting their people behind it. Brother Walter tried to strengthen the resolve of the people, comfort those who have lost, and even tried to train them protect themselves better against the coming threats of this world. But even he could feel- the situation was tense, and was hanging by a thread. He may just need a miracle...

A few big questions hung in the air: Can Burt lead the town, does he have the leadership skills for it? What of the menace of the Vampyrs? What did Ma Jenkins investigate, and where did they get the ray gun here, without anyone (including many of the Jenkins) knowing? What will be done with Talila's twins? Their blood is special, Dr. Cross said! Can it be used to benefit the town? And what shall be done with the giant rotting hulk of the ogre?

The sheriff silently presided over Little Town, feeling the peace is on a breaking point. "I'm telling you Ruphalo, This ain't gonna end well!"


But the party, especially D*ck mighty's player wanted to add a few stuff. Quite a few stuff. The merchant drug baron noticed the madam trying to help built the fence Ruphalo planned, and got some men to help her, himself included. Meanwhile he had a bit of a talk with her. She distrusted him, knowing of his reputation, but he tried to convince her of his intentions and care for Little town, and his desire to see it come to be something better, talking about his distrust of the Jenkins, and maybe a need to elect a new mayor to have control of the Microfusion? She of course, quite politely and elegantly, hinted that he cares more the resource than the people. A small conversation ensued, with D*ck trying to persuade her, but her high empathy and tact seeing through most (But not all!) of his deceit. Some doubt was implanted, which was what D*ck wanted. His plans to start gathering allies to overthrow the Jenkins has begun!

GMing notes
I knew the player had something in mind, but didn't know how reverently he would go about it! The player himself is a suave and slick lawyer in real life, quite good with perusasion. I guess he wanted to play the manipulator. I improvised the discussion with the madam. My main points of arguments however came easily through the aspects- what was known of D*ck and the situation. That was quite handy.

I decided to make change gradual. It is more believable with D*ck's reputation, and the player quite like to earn stuff, and roleplay through them instead of a quick resolution.

He also made sure to visit Jenny in the clinic, but rarely, more "checking on his valuable asset" than anything else. Jenny's player wanted to take her more towards getting out of her usual mess, and told the doctor that she seeks to withdraw from her usual (non medical) drugs. D*ck made a bit of a B*tch move there, taking the doctor outside, basically threatening to cut off his supply (In subtle and polite yet venomous words) if he doesn't keep her on the drugs, through her IV or something else, even if she doesn't like it. The player made the doctor one of his "customers" through a decleration, so we rolled with it. Jenny's player was a bit miffed about it, but accepted it graciously. This was mostly a roleplay opportunity for both of them, and we kept it as such. Jenny was drugged without her knowing.

About D*ck's player
If you've read previous campaign logs of mine you might recognize him as Killpi/ Ipiks/ Gabriel. The player usually plays the bastard characters, sharing similarities with Belkar, but he is also quite of a group's player, and goes a long way for the team. His antics, and inner party conflicts give a LOT of room for interesting roleplay and more. He knows when he's stepping over the line, which is rarely, and tries to make the story better, not just his character. All in all, he is great fun to have around, even if he makes us apprehensive at times.

Microfusion and a matter of blood
The Jenkins called the party and a few select characters (Madam included) to partake in a small urgent meeting in the Merilyn, Burt presided, with two of his siblings advising. "We're in trouble, from two directions. First the microfusion is bust. It's power converter is too damaged beyond our capabilities. We have little power left, the laser having used most of the power. If we don't fix it, we have little to trade with Rivertown, and we NEED that trade."

Which is when Mr. Mighty interrupted. "And I really don't see why you should keep guarding it! It was Ma Jenkins that brought us to this situation, and you Burt shot the damned thing! Under Jenkins' "Leadership" Littletown has lost a substantial part of it's people, and as far as I understand the attacks keep on coming. I suggest maybe someone new should lead this town?"

The Jenkins grimaced, and Burt spurted out "Someone like you I'd bet?" to which D*ck just smiled. "No no, I cannot undertake such a responsibility. I instead suggest someone who fought and cared for this town, and whom I believe many of this fine town's people will support! I suggest the Madam!" This caught everyone by surprise, including the madam, including me! We all understood his game though- a sort of a puppet ruler. The madam declined the offer, and a small began whether this is appropriate or not, but Burt surprisingly ended it by saying "If the town people still feel like it after the current crisis is resolved, we may talk about this further. Microfusion is Jenkins fusion, and there will be no change in power till we solve this situation." To which all agreed. D*ck however was pleased as he felt he set the seed of the idea in the Madam's mind.

"We need capable people to get south to Rivertown, and see if any of the powers there can fix or replace or however solve the power converter issue. Ruphalo and Jenny, you are our top engineers, and probably amongst our top fighters, we'd like you to join this expedition. Ruphalo agreed due to his debt to the Jenkins (He still strongly believed in them), and Jenny called for some sort of price (Mercenary) which Burt reluctently agreed to. Plus, it would give her an excuse to find a replacement part for her Barret. She felt her bandaged torso (She still carried the Severe Consequence from the fight with the Ogre and Siren! It would follow her till the end of the scenario!) and worried of the road.

Walter volunteered to go, he sought to help his people, and his conversational skills were most likely needed. Rivertown was a trading town after all, Barter skills were needed. And as to D*ck- "Getting the part might be fairly expensive. We'd appreciate it if you could go with them, and provide the needed resources. ate you." We will find a way to compens" Glimpsing at the madam from the side of his eye, D*ck wavered the compensation. "I am a changed man. I will do this for Little town, Her fate is my fate." Beside, he needed to check why his caravans haven't arrived yet.

"Which leads us to ur second matter. Michael and Rose. The Sheriff has concluded the Vampyrs in the Wasteland are still drawn here. We need to get them elsewhere. There were a few attacks, and a few more town people perished. We think that getting them to Rivertown might be best!"

The Sheriff however interceded. "With Ruphalo's fence coming up slowly, I think we might be able to defend the town and get it walled soon enough. I'm not sure what the Vampyrs will do then, but this is my goddamned town, and I don't like it sending people away. I think we might protect them."

Which opened up a discussion between the PCs. They sure didn't like the idea of taking Talila and the children with them, and have the horde follow them. D*ck even asked the madam as to her opinion, and she said that the best for the children is the best for Littletown, and that is probably in Rivertown. Plus, if they'll go, she will escort the party, and find someplace amongst her contacts to place them, start a new life. The discussion lasted a bit longer, but they decided to take the small family. (I think mostly because they thought it would be more interesting).

GMing notes
I didn't expect D*ck to get so involved in his plan to overthrow the Jenkins. I made myself a mental note that this is important to him. However, I also noted that other than the preacher's player (Who as usual in our games, began to be his rival) the others didn't quite care and just sought to get on with the game. Hmmmm...

The decision with the children: The idea of them playing some central part intrigues me. This was an important decision, one which was discussed very briefly in the previous adventure. I still didn't know it's exact reprecautions except for those of the immediate future- A small part, a hunting party of the horde will follow them. I was cool with both decisions, they both presented juicy opportunities for the future! :smallamused:

Getting ready
There was very little microfusion, enough to power two vehicles. They chose D*ck's converted field jeep/ modified hammer (Which He didn't dare to endanger on the previous adventure), and Jenny's motrocyle. D*ck rode his jeep, with the family and Ruphalo inside. The madam joined beside him, which was fine for him! Walter rode behind Jenny on her motorcyle. They decided to have the Motorcycle ride ahead and scout, keeping the family more safe.

Oh, a small thing that will become important later- due to our modified rules Ruphalo, Jenny and D*ck each used their skills to get/ craft Grenades to Ruphalo during the downtime. I think he ended up with 4-5 grenades. Time to test these rules!

Understanding the madam is becoming more important NPC (Brother Walter tried to converse with her some more, undermine D*ck's obvious attempts) I tried to put a bit more character into her. She came dressed with more "road worthy" clothes, even packing a small gun, and some traveling equipment. D*ck was oddly starting to get impressed by her (Or was that a show?) Trying to gain more in her favor, he supplied the frightened Talila with some supplies, and a gun (Which she barely could hold, hands trembling).

Knowing the road is long, they got on their vehicles, and set out, wishing to make most of the day while the sun is out, and the Vampyrs are hidden.

The long way. Beginning of the hunt
In the spirit of the times (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdYZNR07G1U)

Design notes
My usual approach with travel is... skip it. Get to the main place of interest, and have your fun there. This approach is useful in Eberron which is my usual D&D setting. However, in a post apocalyptic setting I felt that the travel and wasteland itself should be important, dangerous, and fraught with peril. That was part of what defined the setting after all.

But most of it was... well.. wasteland. In a high fantasy setting I had a lot of ideas of what to put on the road (Not just monsters, other stuff as well), But considering this was a road that most of the party traveled through before, and that most places were already scavenged for whatever it had, I needed to come up with new stuff. And I couldn't have it all be Vampyrs and their ilk. This was challenging, a definite blind spot. Let's see how it went


The party made good progress, with D*ck conversing idly with the madam, talking about stories from the past, and small chatting her up, not trying to push his ideas... yet., She talked back a bit, and he got the impression she had some past in Rivertown, something she avoided. He didn't push it. They drove till near night, when Jenny and Walter reached what looked like a raided caravan (Not one of D*ck's though) the animals seemed dead, and there weren't human bodies nearby. They got closer, closer, till they noticed some movement under the hoods of one of the upturned carriages. They quickly turned back, and devised a quick plan. Jenny will go to a nearby spot, and lie with her sniper file, while the ret will approach. They suspected Vampyrs, but wanted to make sure. Jenny took her place, and the Hammer got close, with the family and madam waiting behind, while Ruphalo, D*ck and the preacher approached.

It was indeed Vampyrs, but they changed place while the party conversed (They noticed them too) and hid between rocks near the approach. They attacked by surprise (The group was small, about 4-5 Vampyrs and 2 mogols). The fight went off quickly, with Jenny shooting the mogols from afar while Ruphalo and the preacher tackling the nearby Vampyrs. However, in the middle of the fight they sensed a smell, and some of them broke in a mad run towards the vehicle, howling wildly like mad! D*ck cursed and tried to shoot them, but it was Ruphalo with his giant stride that caught up to them and smashed them before they reached the shrieking Talila.

"Well, there goes the element of stealth" cursed D*ck again, lighting a cigar. They surveyed the Caravan quickly, but found it was ravaged for some time now, with but hints of former human occupation, only tiny bone pieces were left. Jenny looked alarmed. "We're wasting time, lets get ahead while we can!"

Design notes
The Scene wasn't a tough battle scene. I t had a few goals which it did nicely:
- Make the party understand the horde IS after the children.
- Provide a simple challenge to "heat the engines" sort to speak. Plus, it gives the feeling of "we can handle this kind of challenge" which was quite similar to the initial challenges of the previous adventure, a bit of feeling of growth?
- Set the tension of the beginning of a hunt.


A laughing matter, coming of The Jackal

The party drove on through darkness, but it was becoming harder to drive, and Jenny was getting tired with her aching wound. Despite reservations, they decided to stop for the night, and found a mostly intact small storgae facility, and set down for a haunted sleep.

It was in Ruphalo's watch when he heard feet (and hands?) scampering close, and suddenly a crazed, maniacal, strange laughter. (Which I tried to mimic, the group gave me the "Are you crazy?" looks). "Looky looky, they brings them out! I smells them! They come for us! How wonderful! they comesee see me!" and then he laughed hysterically again! They could hear bangs and the voices of Vampyrs trying to upturn D*ck's jeep.

Ruphalo woke the others up, and... not exactly being a subtle fellow, opened the doors and try to strike the weird creature outside- a gangly, tall, spidery like mutant with a big jaw and long jittery limbs. Not as big as The Ogre, but similar in size to Dr. Marlo. "You comesee for Jackal too! How wonderful! Lots of bloodsee we make!" Ruphalo tried to strike it, but the creature was fast, quite fast. It dove Under Ruphalo's massive hand, and spread it's arms, holding sharp long knives, and did a sort of... dance? that struck most of the party!

Jenny, Walter and Ruphalo tried to fight it, while D*ck tried to sneak off the back door towards his jeep ("f we lose that we're never escaping the horde!" Only the door was blocked by two more Vampyrs, and the Jackal seemed like a tough opponent. Ruphalo was flanked by a few more Vampyrs (Having positioned himself in the door way), and was taking heavy attacks from the cackling and laughing Jackal, and the Vampyrs as well.

The battle began to look quite tough. Due to the high Atheletics skill of the Jackal (superb, +5) They could barely hit it, while it hit them nice, mainly Ruphalo, but taking stress of the others, depending who amused it most. I kept laughing and singing/ rhyming/ speaking maniacally through out the fight, giving the fight a frustrating feel. Jenny turned her attention to the Vampyrs holding D*ck up and disposed of them quickly, (Her gun not jamming) letting him out, where he snuck and got to his car, and tried to run the Vampyrs outside, but doing quite poorly (He lowered his driving skills and stunts quite a ibt in the remake). Things were looking Grim, Ruphalo was already taking consequences, and the Jackal was playing on Jenny's wounded torso too to cause her damage. They were burning fate points, but it was not helping, The Jackal was using his as well and negating the party's successes. T

Which is when the preacher tried a different tactic- creating advantages through provoking the creature "We killed the ogre, the siren! You'll soon be as dead as Dr. Marlo!" and creating moral for the group through rapport, encouraging them, and doing some fancy machete drills, frightening the creature (poor will), they started stacking up advantages, with Rupahlo taking the brunt of the attacks, and hitting poorly, till they used most at once, and finally managed to hit the Jackal, Jenny shooting his rump nice.

This seemed to frighten him, and it opened up some pores in his body and unlseashed some stench (Go troglodytes!) which Ruphalo nearly succombed to, if it wasn't for Brother Walter again, strengthening his resolve (A stunt he has). The Jackal then surprisingly dove once more under Ruphalo's arm, and ran quickly away. They tried shooting at it, but failed to hit it, as it whined crying in the dark. They took care of the other Vampyrs quickly, and some ran away. Only then did they catch a breath.

Rupahlo was badly wounded- one moderate consequence, and two mild ones (He has a stunt which enables him to lower a moderate consequence to a mild one, after which he took another severe). and I think the others got mild consequences as well (Don't remember). Jenny tried to put some basic bandages, but not to much avail.

"Right, we're getting out of here, now!" They got on the vehicles, and drove on in the night, hearing a loud cackle not far behind...

GM design
The Jackal was my attempt at creating a more fight worthy and itneresting opponent. However, I still think he is quite less pwerful than The Ogre and Siren, so I don't exactly know WHY this battle turned out SOOO tough for the party! Maybe it was bad dice, maybe it was the added Vampyrs (Though they managed to do very little), Maybe it was due to the party not having as much fate points as they did in the battle with the ogre. Not sure yet.

The main changes to make it more battle worthy were the follows:
- Upgrade his athletics considerably.
- Upgrade his fight skill.
- Give it some ability to tackle action economy. I gave it a stunt enabling to attack many, but at the cost of a fate point.
- Give him some escape method (Stench and quick running).

I wanted this guy to become a repeating villain, but not a main one. I decided that once it gets wounded, it is so cowardly it runs away, unless there is some higher authority. (Some ideas started to form). Mostly I wanted this to become a hound after the children and party.

The Jackal Statistics"
Skills:
Superb: athletics, stealth
Great: Fight, Physique
Good: Notice, Survival
Fair: Will
OOOO, OOO

Aspects:
"Prey upon the weak"
"I will survive!"
"Dedicated hunter"
"Twisted sense of murderous humor"

Stunts:
- Dance of blades: Using a Fate point, the Jackal can attack 4 characters in the same zone without splitting his dice.
- The Stench overcomes: once per scene, the Jackal can exhude a stench in his zone, of Physique. In order to attack in the same zone you need to roll higher on will.
- Great speed: The Jackal can sprint for 2 zones instead of one.

The battle proved quite effective. Noted that as well. I may have a new more central antagonist?

Oh, About The family and the Madam? I kinda forgot about them in the fight. Oopsy!
--------------------------------------
This is where we had our "fate session" end. They got the deeply needed fate points, and drove off, into the night, with relentless pursers on their backs.

Hope you like the read! :smalltongue:

obryn
2013-09-03, 09:25 AM
Nice. I'm looking into running some Fate for my folks, too. :smallsmile:

-O

Kol Korran
2013-09-03, 02:04 PM
Thanks Obryn! I'm glad you're liking it so far! :smalltongue: Time for another update, while I can!


Session 3, part 2- The long road, a "warm" welcome, King Harry in the flesh!

So the party decided to pull an all nighter after the battle with the Jackal. after some time riding I however called that Jenny find her wound aching, and the rest becoming sleepy after the long driving hours. Walter wished to Drive Jenny's bike, but she didn't trust him with his one hand. There was some heated discussion, when at last they decided D*ck will drive Jenny's harley, (He was the only one she sort of trusted) while Ruphalo will try to drive his Hammer. They drove like that for some while, when I made them roll for Physique, and compelled Ruphalo who nearly crashed the jeep. He opted to succeed with a major cost, which I called his wound opening again (The mild consequence Jenny helped try and heal). In an act of "generosity", D*ck allowed the madam to take over (He too didn't trust the preacher). The madam drove quite slow, very careful (She had no ranks in the drive skill) but they managed to get along. D*ck used this to talk a bit with Jenny, strengthen his connection with her. She told him of her new found apprehension of death, and how easily her life could have ended, a conversation she had with the priest before. D*ck didn't like where this was going and just tried to get her out of her mood. He wasn't at his best though, preoccupied with the situation.

Yeah, I was giving them a hard time. It's the wasteland, it's supposed to be hard. They were driving on tired, Some with a temporary "sleep deprived" aspect. When they reached an old ransacked ruin. They returned to their usual driving positions, hoping to cover more ground, knowing that in the morn the Vampyrs and their ilk don't travel. (Or so they hoped?) That Jackal fellow looked awfully fast...

Jenny and the preacher reached a street, but part of it was blockaded by two hulls of auto buses, and before they knew it (Lousy Notice) two more hulls were blockading them from the back, with... Mutants behind them? (I'm not talking Vampyr mutants, but rather Mutants as in those mentioned in Fallout, or those of Ruphalo's kind) The hammer came behind the ones in the back, but they stopped and listened.

From a building overseeingthe trap came out a voice (and a gun out of the window), calling out robbery, to live their things, and that they won't be hurt. It was a deep voice, obviously not human, and the motorcycle duo figured out it must be another mutant, like the ones hiding behind the busses in front, and the buses at the back. I made a point of saying mutants are quite uncommon in these lands, and that Ruphalo is quite a rare exception. I hoped this would interest them.

It didn't. :smallfrown: Jenny just revved up her Harley, and shot in the very narrow gap between the buses, while brother Walter shot at the muties, and D*ck backed up and turned around, with Ruphalo covering fire. A short fire fight, very short in fat, while the party escaped.

Design notes
The ambush held 5-6 mutants, but though it could evolve to a battle, I hoped it would evolve into a more social/ exploratory encounter. I especially hoped to get the least talkative member (Ruphalo) to play up a little.

The scene was part of the "net adventure" design I made up. I had an idea of mutants coming up to human lands, and wanted to see if they would be interested. I guess they weren't! Oh well... :smallamused:

A place to rest?
The party drove on, until night neared, and I called for more Physique tests. They decided they must rest, and sought out a place to crash in, but which could be well enough hidden from The Jackal if it pursued them. This had them spend some fate points on some aspects to find a secure place, while the Jackal spend his fate points persuing them. At the end they were tied, except that the party made "gained the distance" aspect by their long driving.

Surprisingly this is the first time I came to think of the characters (Or enemies or whatever) creating aspects just by DOING stuff, and not necessarily by making rolls. Yeah, should have been obvious, but took me awhile... :smalltongue: So they found an old underground freeze storing unit, far out of use, but that had mostly in tact sealed doors, that blocked out smell. And yet, again in Ruphalo's watch, near morning, he could hear the cackling and confused laughter of the Jackal, not far from their hiding place. "I smellsee! Where you Hidesee? Come for me! Come to Jackal, we playsee niiiiicee, yesee?" But they were safe.

D*ck gets an unwanted present

As the morning came along, they decided to head on. D*ck talked more with the madam, who was somewhat impressed with his dedication to the group. While Walter tried to undermine the "false smiles and sweet lies" of D*ck, whenever he could (If a bit more subtly). The preacher however was mostly on Jenny's bike, and talked with her (in none preaching tones), trying to help her find her own way through her confusion and dillema. Jenny was very conflicted.

Near midday Jenny and Walter sighted another torn down caravan, with the animals dead, and so looked the drivers, but Jenny was especially concernred when noticing "Mighty enterprises" logo on the cover. D*ck came rushing and they went to explore. The bodies were slashed and thrashed, and some of the stuff obviously raided and stolen. Walter was a bit concerned though "If it were Vampyrs, why didn't they eat them?" D*ck however spotted the transportable safe on the second cart, and went on it with Ruphalo, and quickly opened it.

*Click* and KABOOM! went the explosive, the shock wave dropping Ruphalo off the cart, but doing much worse to D*ck who wasn't prepared. It gave him great burns (Mediocre consequences) and both Jenny and the Madam rushed to his aid. "Someone... set me up! Only I knew the code. A trap? but who?" mumbled D*ck through the pain. I tossed the player a fate point "few friends, many enemies" and he nodded in return. The party tried to explore the scene for any clues, but they are dismal at any skills relating to that, and failed miserably. "We'll find out in Rivertown" said Mr. Mighty, his burns still oozing, the meager band aids not working.

They decided to rush to Rivertown, driving all the way. In their condition they couldn't face anyone, and Ruphalo and D*ck needed serious medical attention!

They finally made it after another long day drive, arriving to the gates of the trading hub, Just at early morning of their fourth day driving. However, getting in was not going to be that easy...

Thoughts on the long road, and design of the assassination attempt
As explained earlier, I wanted to give the traveling between spaces some meaning, as this was a post apocalyptic setting. Whiel some players enjoyed it more or less, it didn't quite rhyme with them. As one player commented when the scenario ended- "The road just felt like a string of unconnected random encounters".

While they weren't random (Perhaps their "Random feel" comes from the "net adventure" design?) I can understand what he felt. They didn't quite fel like a part of the bigger story, and didn't contribute much to the doings in Rivertown later on. However, I didn't HAVE a bigger story yet. Hmmmm... still requires improvement on my part I guess.

A small important part that I learned from this- I need to have a few sample "quick fit" locations to put battles and such in. When they booked it in for the night with the Jackal battle, we just pulled something out of our head, that wasn't all that interesting, and didn't give that many interesting options. I should think of a few of thee in advance, and have them ready.

Bomb: PCs are special characters, so I assume they might survive something that regular Joes won't. This is why they have longer stress scales, and consequences. I decided to rule the bomb like this:
An attack of strength 5, that can only be defended with Strength and Physique if you can't defend. (Like D*ck was) or with Stress as well if you can (Like Ruphalo). Not perfect, and I still wish to improve on it. I may just get the chance! :smallamused:

A bit about Rivertown
A small explanation before we go on. A bit before the meet I emailed the party a small promo about Rivertown and the factions in it, in case they want to associate with them, and since I knew they will probably have to meet with some of them if they wanted their power converter fixed. I attach the promo here:

River town
Aspects:
- Regional trading hub: Rivertown was mainly built as a trading center, and focuses the trade and cultures of all surrounding settlements.
- Underlying power struggle: Rivertown has a few major factions that compose it's rulership, via a council of representatives. They make the major decisions of Rivertown, but there are political, commercial and other attempts to gain more power by each faction.
- Criminal undertones: As long as you don't mess with the trade, much is overlooked. There are quite a few "criminal" aspects in Rivertown, though since there is little law, it's hard quite to define crime.
- Don't mess with the brown coats: This mercenary company functions as the peace keepers of Rivertown. Tough, skilled, and with low tolerance to insubordination, the brown coats keep things relatively quiet.
Major power groups:
These are the major powers, though there are many smaller ones.
1) The purifiers:
A group of three families who have fixed the water purifying plant on the river's edge, and have been water merchant ever since. (Most water is polluted somewhat, their water is clean). Also raise a lot of high quality cattle. Fairly paranoid, fairly religious, believing that they bring salvation to the polluted land. Preach and live "clean lives". Their knowledge of engineering is well known.
Aspects: "cleanse the polluted", "Top engineers".
2) The Silvertones:
An old family, very influential, with connections in many places, quite political. High believers in education and gaining knowledge, though they have their opinion as to who that knowledge should go to. Have their hands in many things, but mostly specialize in producing common weapons, and various types of alcohol.
Aspects: "Many ties in many places", "Knowledge is power. Our power!"
3) King Harry and the misbegotten:
The background radiation affected many people differently. King Harry has gathered those less fortunate in the more miserable parts of Rivertown. Together he has whipped them into an unparalleled working force that does the worst jobs. These slight mutants and odd people are often a bit more resistant to radiation, and King Harry made them into excellent scavenger teams, often seeking and finding the lost world technology. They tend to be an oddly spiritual group, their beliefs not understood by the common folk.
Aspects: "what you want? We can do it for ya!", "A place for every freak!"
4) The Diamonds:
A small group of highly successful enterpeneurs, who'se past is a mystery. They built gambling houses, brothels, and anything concerning entertainment for the wide crowd. Their main establishment- "The sunny acres" is probably one of the most sinful and carnal place in the region. They are also well known as the sole distrbuters of the hallucinogenic drug known as "Sizzle", a growing commodity.
Aspects: "Seeking the best in the world? Seek a diamond!", "You know you want to Sizzle with me baby!"
5) The Hudson corporation:
A large group of smaller families who have joined ther resources and influence together, who have their own private council. They grow large quantities of cattle (Though not to the quality of the Purifiers), and have many small manufactoruing factories of common goods and house hold items. They are best known however for their supreme weapon makers, amongst the best in the region.
Aspects: "Together we can build a better future!", "Buy a Hudson, save your life!"
6) Captain O'Riley's brown coats:
A fairly big mercenary group, who was hired by Rivertown about 6 years ago to protect it's streets. They do not have a say in the council per se, but O'Riley does have significant influence in the town. The brown coats are known for their lack of humor, and their lack of tolerance for Bull****. Most make fairly good shots as well. Though they mostly protect Rivertown, They also hire people for other jobs, as long as these don't contradict any current contracts.
Aspects: "Don't mess with the brown coats", "A gun for hire", "always find our man".


There was more to it for every factions, and a few other secrets, but it would suffice to the start. I left them open enough in case I wanted to revise them, according to the PC's actions. The inspiration I think came from Fallout2's New Reno. a majortrading hub with power criminal families. Not exact, but clsoe. D*ck allready has some of his people here, but currently he was rifling through the factions, trying to see who framed him

A warm welcome
At the gates the wounded, burned, tired party met with 4 Brown Coats, led by Deputy Kell, a not very pleasant law man at best, a rude jerk at worst. As they saw Ruphalo get out of the car I tossed him a fate point. "They all fear you" as they raised shaking guns at him, nearly opening fire before the preacher interceded. Deputy Kell said the mutants were raiding merchants going in and out of the city (the party understood not just from Littletown's direction), and they've been waiting to question one! Hey, maybe even a hanging? Deputy Kell was looking at promotion opportunities!

But what's this? "Just look at her!" (I tossed Jenny a fate point) Isn't that a striking resemblance to the woman described killing that guy two months ago? (In her background, Jenny killed a local crime lord called Tough Mike. Sure, it wasn't in her aspects, but the player wanted to play this out). This was a good day for Deputy Kell! He smiled as he called his men to arrest the murderer (giving her some unseemly looks) and the mutie!

Brother Walter started to speak for them both, that they come from Littletown, that they helped save it from the Vampyrs ("Who? Ohhh.. you mean the Night Beasts!") and so on and so forth. D*ck however didn't much care for Ruphalo, and mostly wanted to get Jenny's out of trouble, trying to both intimidate the punk deputy by being "A drug and weapon's baron" and offering him promotion through his connection and influence. In the end, they succeeded to gain his interest, and somewhat concern that he might endanger merchants from Littletown, till the little weasel caved in. "Ok, but don't let me see you on the street! you keep your head down- next time I see you- it's the cells for you!"

Design notes
Three goals:
- Bring some of the past and aspects of the characters to the fore, especially the fear of mutants (Which will play a big role next), and Jenny's past.
- A chance for a conversational scene, with interesting consequences. As always- I put them up in a situation. I was quite ready to go forth with them trying to liberate them from the Brown Coats' make shift prison. Could have been fun!
- The inital impression of Rivertown- a tough place, where people try to take advantage of you. I think that worked quite well.


Healing and a trip to the Hudsons.
This being very early morning, D*ck wanted to disappear before people knew they came. In a town this big an assasination could come from anywhere. (Paranoid little bastard! :smallbiggrin:) D*ck used his connection to find a local healer, someone called Siri (had to made her on the spot) who used to work for the purifiers, but now did her own discreet work. They knocked on her door and the strict looking black dressed woman opened it, took a quick glance at them, and ushered them in, though she gave a double look over Ruphalo. D*ck managed to accommodate her price, and she went on treating them both, while Jenny and Walter took a bit of a snooze. The madam however, went on her own business, using her own connections to hide Talila and her kids, hopefully this will end the matter, now that they are safe in Rivertown. (I wouldn't be quite so certain...)

A bit about healing in FATE, and out game
Once you take a consequence, you need a good enough roll from a medical inclined skill (In our case it's the default- Lore) in order to start a healing process. You then have to wait enough time for the healing to take place- 1 Scene for mild consequences, 1 Session for moderate, 1 Scenario for Severe. Until then you have a negative aspect that can be used by others. (But hey! it gives you Fate points like any other compel!)

After a quick nap, Jenny and Walter went to visit the Hudsons. Being the major arm manufacturers in Rivertown, Jenny hoped to find a replacement part for her Barret. She found a master crafter, and tried to persuade him, but made the mistake of mentioning D*ck Mighty. I compelled them since D*ck was a competitor, and an unsavory one at that. Frustrated, they decided to go to King Harry's misbigotten. "They say they can get everything, worth a shot, no?"

King Harry! In all his glory!
They made their way to the outskirts of town, to the very dredges of Rivertown, where the poor, the mutated, the misbigotten now leave. For reference, think of the Ghouls in Fallout, only not exactly "dead-alive", but more like different sickly looking mutations, a whole hodge-podge of miscreants.

They came to King Harry's "palace"- a great mishappen and confusing ramshackled hip of buildings and add onns and conctractions and balconies and many other stuff. Quite a few of the affected were there. They had an odd and slightly disturbing conversation with a... clerk? Who once he learned of where they came from, and the complexity of their desire, took them straight to King Harry.

Now, The king was in his own hall, somewhat purtid in smell and color, but oddly- grandiose. He was a huge fat blob, sitting on a great comfy cushioned pedestal, with an enormous chin and great smile, with milky skin including fungus growing on it. The players dubbed him "Jabba" :smallbiggrin: (Though if I remember correctly, the name and inspiration comes from some Discowrld's character. Been a long time since I read the books)

Jenny took hold of the conversation, while the preacher oddly stood quiet most of the time (I don't know if i rubbed the player the wrong way here somehow, but his character is usually the one doing the talking). King Harry was fun to play, in his mannerisms, and his speech. The palyers were a bit disturbed by it, but a reaction is a good thing. He seemed to want a sort of a... trade! King Harry didn't have a power converter, but he knew where to find one, and could send the party there. However, I would like to get his hands on the formula of Sizzle, the drug the diamonds are spreading like a plague. It is causing bad stuff to his people, he would like to counter it. "Why don't your people get it?" King Harry smiled a mirthless smile. "You see how we look youngster, we can't 100 feet of a Diamond. They probably keep it in Sunny Acres, in a vault or something? Shouldn't be too hard..."

Jenny and Walter didn't think so, and decided to so far recline the offer (Despite jokes about trying to convince King Harry to throw in a mechanical arm... They can find everything, yes?) and returned to the group, a bit confused and uncertain.
------------------------------------------------------

This is where we ended the session, it was getting late. The party was in Rivertown, but it seemed that getting there was only half the challenge. The party assumed (correctly), that they are entering the power struggle between the different factions. At least they seemed interested!

In the next Session we have a new player joining in, the woman who watched our second session! She though it was a blast, and asked if she could play. She is brand new to roleplay, so we had our concerns, but she seemed cool enough. How does that work out? See in the next session!

As always, would love comments, questions, or whatever. I am not getting it quite as "Short and succinct" as I want, but no fighting one's own nature I guess. :smallwink:

Kol Korran
2013-09-04, 06:32 AM
While I still can post in a good rate, here goes! :smallsmile: Happy Rosh Hashana to those of you who celebrate it. For the rest of you? Just celebrate as well, why not?


Between Session 3 & 4- Absent player, new player

This was going to be a very special meeting, due to composition. One absent player, one new player! A new and interesting new group dynamics?

1) Absent player: Our group is composed of people in their 30's, and so we have enough real life commitments that it became quite hard to schedule a session. We decided to try a solution we were (And still are) hesitant about- playing with 1 player missing. We tried this long time in a D&D campaign, and it was quite a mess. The other players couldn't cope with playingthe missing character (And I had enough to do running the session) but more than that- we really missed the player's contirbution to the game.

Despite that, we chose to play with a missing player if we couldn't set a meeting with all players in a reasonable time (A month or less). SO this time we were to play without D*ck's player. Luckily enough we could make his character fade to the background in this situation easily enough. I guess the real test will come when one player had to play another character. Though my bet is that this will be MUCH easier than D&D due to the simplicity of character design. No biggy, eh?

2) New player: She watched our second mission, and since she got hooked to playing Fallout 3 just recently, she got real intrigued. So she asked the preacher's player to join (He's connected to her... somehow, I'm not sure, didn't pry. Seem like good friends). She is brand new to roleplay in general, but she seemed enthusiastic and active, so we chose to bring her in! New blood and all of that.

The Preacher's player sat with her and explained to her the basics of FATE and roleplaying, and when I contacted her to discuss her new character and role in the world she surprised me by saying she already chose a character! She will play the madam! :smallamused: (D*ck's player moaned when he heard that "All my plans, down the drain! Curse the preacher! HE put her up to that!" Jokingly of course... I think?)

He sent her the files about Rivertown and such, and explained the basic plot. We first thought about doing some background (The madam could fit into many niches in Rivertown) but decided to focus on the basic play for the first meeting, and possibly add extra stuff later on. Let her get a feel for the game, for the character, for the setting and we can add things from there.

She still went with the 4 basic aspects, quite drawn to the Madam's personality of a social manipulator, tough woman, but caring for the less fortunate. She'll add a fifth aspect once she gets the game a bit more. As to skills, she made her a bit more fight worthy and talk worthy (upgraded Rapport and Shooting instead of Empathy and Resources as original), but other than that nothing new.

I was worried however about the Madam's conceived occupation. She was based originally after the companion character from Firefly. However, We delicately talked aboutthe subject and she declared that while the madam employes women of that profession, she does not partake in it herself, though she doesn't mind using that assumption to her advantage. This player gave a very resolute feeling, knowing exactly what she wants! Good!

I must say I was excited- It had been a long time since we had new people in our group!

The Madam
Concept and background: A refined and classy lady that acts as the town's supplier of entertainment- be it a bar, a screening theater, a gambling place, conversation or even a brothel. (She runs these activities, not directly participate in them). She is intelligent, quite influential and savvy in the ways of culture and society (the little that this town has). She is also a fiery powerful spirit, not to be underestimated.

The Madam is the subtle face and beneficial manipulator.

Inspiration: different women who are both aware and certain of their femininity, but with guts and character to rival any other. The companion from Firefly, Esmeralda from the hunchback of Notre dame, various roles of Monica Belluci.

Adjusted Refresh (Base Refresh): 3 (3)
Current Fate Points: 3

Aspects
- "Classy subtle lady of entertainment and delight"
- "Accustomed to finer things"
- "Tougher than she looks"
- "Protector of the less fortunate"

Notes: The Madam owns The Merilyn, a small entertainment/ brothel house, along with a small stuff of minor security, and 4 working gals. She also holds a small assortment of fine quality items from the wasteland. (not necessarily useful)

Skills
Great (+4): Rapport
Good (+3): Empathy, contacts
Fair (+2): Athletics, Deceive, Shoot
Average (+1): will, physique, resources, notice


This was an.... interesting meeting... :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-09-04, 07:56 AM
Session 4, part 1- Enter the Madam, conversations, dealings and mobs.

We welcomed the new player, recapped where we were, and started the game. The party were at the clinic of Siri the healer. after being sufficiently bandaged up, D*ck rose up, and with a flourish bade farewell to the party. "I fear that the assassination attempts may continue, and I cannot risk our group or the power converter in such dealings. I shall... go investigate with my own connections. I will meet you later on, don't worry. Goodbye Madam, Jenny." And with that he left. I tried to play on him courting the Madam, though the player didn't quite get what it was about yet.

The rest sat down to decide. Jenny and Brother Walter relayed their meeting with King Harry. They decided to split forces, and talk to others. They decided Jenny and Walter will go speak with the Purifieres, (Perhaps Jenny could converse shop?) and The Madam and Ruphalo will go to visit The Silvertones.

A trip to the silvertones
As they made their way in the streets, the Madam and Ruphalo heard gasps, exclamations, hushed conversations and curses. "Mutie!", "Killers!", "Abomination", "Get back to where you came from!" and more... There was some unease , but they made it to the Silvertones grounds.

At the entrance stood two guards, who easily proved to be quite punks. One of them eying the madam without shame. They questioned them as to their reasons to come, and she tried to lie to him, saying that she and Mr. Silvertone had a long lasting relationship. One of them laughed "yeah, I bet what kind of a relationship". They nearly caught her in her lie, but she came out persuasive enough. It was a tie in the roll, which meant some minor price for success, which she made by agreeing to dinner with one of the punks. Such ties became quite common place in this session, and we kept making jokes about her dinner card. She took it well.

They were escorted inside, into what looked like a ruin of an old world cathedral. They saw from the side the famous Silvertones Library, though they weren't escorted there. They were brought to an old looking office, with a very distinguished and respectable looking old man. The way I presented him and the way I talked made the party dub him as "The god father". :smallbiggrin: He insisted on manners, etiquette, and cordiality. The Madam took head in the conversation, while Ruphalo took to the back, looking more like a bodyguard.

Soon enough she understood that though Samuel Silvertone didn't have a power converter, he was QUITE sure he could get his hands on one, in exchange for... A little service. He could use their expertise being out of towners, and especially due to the madam's impressive conversational skills. She tried sensing his character(learning his aspects) through Empathy, and was surprised to know that... he was afraid, deeply afraid of something, though she knew not what! She decided not to use it for now. She got a bit confused and Ruphalo took over the conversation, asking about the service Mr. Silvertone sought.

He tried to play it as a little matter, but still something he wanted done. There were two merchants, one from this town, lets call him "D", and one out of this town, a woman we'll call "W". They were int town trying to do business together, and Mr. Silvertone wished them to do no such business. "Violence? No! I am not a violent person! I am a civilized man, a man of etiquette and conscience. No, this is a matter of commerce only. They deal, you make them... not deal. A feud? A disagreement? I'll leave that to you. However, one thing is highly important- NO ONE is to know you're working for me, understood? Get that my lady, fair giant, my friends, and you'll get my gratitude, friendship, and your power converter!"

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MrSilvertone1_zps8157aeab.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MrSilvertone1_zps8157aeab.jpg.html)

They sought a bit more information about them, but only learned the other merchant came from far away, and dealt with some mechanical ingredients- High power capacitors?). Mr. Silvertone was reluctant to detail anything more until they'll agree. They decided to converse with their friends. As they were about to leave, the madam tried to sense if he is lying to them. She succeeded, but again-= at a minor cost. Instead of a meal we decided he now sees Ruphalo as the main speaker, and the madam as someone the smart sly mutant might have hired. She took some offense to that, but promised to return later today.

GM design and thoughts of the madam
As you might have guessed, and as My players have, the different factions may have different missions and the like to suggest to the party, most of them taking them across one of the other factions paths. The trades are not all equal, and there are different kinds of missions. I tried to aim for mostly "Non direct combat" missions, to try something a bit new, with a slight take from some Shadowrun style missions I've played (Though downscale in complexity)

As to the new player- I was quite impressed, she took to the forefront, played to character, took initiative and stood her own quite well! She even suggested some of the minor costs, showing creativity. Good!

Trip to the purifiers
jenny and brother Walter wentto their grounds, who were just by the river, from which they purified water. As they wentthrrough the gates they could see a long line of mid class to better off people coming to buy the precious clean water. ("What, so what do we drink?", "You? radiated polluted muck!", "Yay, good to know!") They were escorted to meet one of the engineers, a woman called Peter, a bit of a tech geek, who listened to their request, and when they didn't have anything to offer in return, offered a mission ("But of course!" laughed Jenny's player).

The Purifiers had a small water reservoir out of town, for the few rain waters that came here. Being out of town, the Brown Coats didn't protect it, and for a few weeks now, every night the Vampyrs come and steal water. The frightened guard lock themselves in their booth, while the monsters steal precious water on their cart and go away in the night. The party was asked to eliminate the threat, if they had indeed came from the besieged Littletown. How many Vampyrs? Oh, about 10-20. And there are some rumors of a bigger one. Jenny didn't like the sound of that! They decided to talk with the others. Peter bed them farewell.

GM design
The mission does sound simpler, but there is a twist, later... However, I didn't make the meeting very interesting or flavorful like I did with King Harry and Mr. Silvertone. Given that I've given the Purifiers slight religious and zeloty overtones, I perhaps could have played it more. Oh well...

Pitchforks and torches, only a bit different
The party couldn't meet at Siri's place no more. The madam suggested that one of her contacts might put them in while they stayed. We decided it's one of the Hudson's farmer and came with the name Mr. Sandman (For some strange reason I had Neil Gaiman on my mind :smalltongue:) However, getting to Mr. Sandman was going to be a problem...

As the madam and Ruphalo neared the main market they saw a crowd moving in to block them, from the frnt, back, and one side. "There he is! Mutie! Get him!" there were grumbles, a rock or two thrown, and it didn't look good.

I didn't know what they would do, but thought to maybe talk to the crowd, or threaten it. Instead, Ruphalo grabbed the madam unceremoniously, put her on his shoulder and started running between some buildings, the crowd rushing after him!

We decided to make this a chase scene, using the Contest rules. (If they win, they get away, if they lose, conflict with a few dozens angry citizens). Ruphalo didn't make quite good at the start, where the madam was distraught tumbling on his shoulder, and tried to grab things and turn them (Unsuccessful) when she drew her gun and shot a few ceramic vases, pouring out stuff to slow the crowd. (Quite successful Create advantage). As they were getting blockaded, Ruphalo played to his strength (Literally) and climbed a roof, and while the Madam occupied the pursuing climbers, built a small rump to jump to another building, from which they snuck down and hurried to Sandman. It was a close contest (2 wins to 3)

Getting there the Madam quickly talked with Sandman, and managed to convince him that the mutant wasn't dangerous (Mutant raiders have been attacking the Hudson cattle) and hid him in the barn.

Walking back Jenny and Brother Walter heard about a mutant lynch in the process, but were relieved when they heard that "the damned mutie escaped!" and quickly walked to Sandman to understand what the hell happened.

"An offer you can't refuse."
Sandman was a widowed man, with 6 children who knew the madam earlier, when she consoled him by talking about his grief over his dead wife. they sat to eat, as they discussed options. Ruphalo was still wounded and they didn't like the odds with the Vampyrs. Walter was confused- "Why do they still water? With a cart?" but the rest just put it out as mogols, and moved on. They settled on going to talk with Mr. Silvertone again, though they were hesitant at accepting an offer without knowing exactly what it entails.

This time it was the madam and brother Walter who went, the two more talkative members of the group, as Ruphalo couldn't go. Again they met with the sleazy guy at the entrance, who checked upon his dinner, but quicky escorted to Mr. Silvertone who dined in his own little dining room. He offered them food, drink, but they refused. With some apprehension, they agreed to his offer, and he divulged more.

There was a small time merchant called Davis Garnald from this town, usually a long range merchant, who somehow got a connection in the form of Winifred, a merchant from Low Creek Vallet, of which Silvertone knew little. What he did know was that she was in control of High power capacitors ("A factory? A warehouse? I don't know") Which Silvertone wanted. AsWalter inquired why Walter waved him off as "My tech man says it could do good for business, soemthing we could use for electrical stuff and so, yes?" but he felt there was mroe to it. As said before, Mr. Silvertone wanted to break up this potential partnership. Davis could be easily found out. "Probably near those Hudson bastards" he muttered, with Walter acutely hearing. While Winifred stayed at the McDona in ("You can see the big yellow M over it")

"And why can no one knows it's you wanting the deal?" Asked the madam, suspicious. Mr. Silvertone face hardened momentarily, before softening, but speaking in a bemused voice. "There are things you need to know, and there are things you don't. This you don't. Come! We are friends now! You do this for me, and I'll be good to you! Power converter in no time, yes?"

They understood that they have agreed by hearing the details, but were uncomfortable by the entire deal. The Madam wanted to settle just one more thing though- "There is this man, at the gate, that has been bothering me, treating me with... disrespect." Mr. Silvertone rose up, apologizing, promising her that in his new position, the man wouldn't be able to obther anyone. The Misbigotten would pity him! Satisfied, though slightly worried, the madam and the preacher walked out.

Meanwhile, at the Sandman's farm!

I threw Ruphalo's player another chip, as some people noticed them getting there, and reported to the Brown coats. The party head a commotion as 4 of them approached, and quickly went into hiding. Again, we treated this as a contest, but due to Ruphalo's size it was hard to hide away in the fields. But there were two ties in the contest ("Unexpected complication!" :smallbiggrin:) which brought up Sandman's kids jumping out and helping look/ confusing the searchers, and also a big Brahmin that took an interest in Ruphalo. The party used the dark, the kids, and even the Brahmin to help this difficult stealthy mission, but managed to succeed, when the brown coats gave up. "He must have went somewhere else by now, damnit!" They could hear Deputy's Kell voice.

When The madam arrived back, she needed to explain to the worried Sandman why the brown coats were visiting him, but managed to somehow ease his mind. "Damn it you guys! You're undoing away my contacts!"

GM design
This was a scene I cam up on the spot, since they didn't quite resolve the mob issue, and I wanted to put the "Mutie distrust" thing more on focus. We kind of improvised the entire contest, which was quite funny (Jenny got covered in mud from head to toe... "Shower! I need a shower!")
It also helped drive more the issue of the Brown Coats as an authority a bit more.

More to the relationship then it seems
Next morning the madam went to the McDona, having established a connection there in the form of a waitress at this motel. From her she learned that Winifred and Davis were probably more than just business partners. To make a long story short- it seemed they were possibly lovers as well? Though from the sound of it there were a few serious fights between the couple.

Meanwhile Walter tried to ascertain Davis relation to the Hudson, but just found out he is a small time merchant, dealing with whatever falls to his lap, quite a small fish really, and possibly a bit sleazy as well...

The combined info raised a lot of questions- were they really lovers? Might he be using her? Or is it genuine? Does he have any connection to the Hudsons? And most importantly- Are the party ok with breaking them apart?

The discussion was long, and kind of ended the first half of the meeting.

GM design
I intentionally wished to put morally ambiguous situations and decisions at the party's lap, to see if they like it or not. In the past we usually played D&D in the "Big heroes!" mode, But I wanted to check out something different. Net Adventure...
------------------------------------
I'll stop here, so far a very easy going adventure, with some decisions to be made, and Ruphalo persecuted. ("Hang the mutie! Hang him!") So far I quite liked the new player.

Next part is concluding this little Adventure. :smallsmile:

kyoryu
2013-09-04, 11:50 AM
A few thoughts and suggestions on GMing Fate... (posted here by request)

1) Sounds like you're having a good time, that's awesome :)

2) You're right about Create Advantage not just being a roll, but being attached to "doing stuff." Fate's supposed to work that way, it's the "golden rule". Figure out what you want your character to do, then figure out how to represent that in the rules. If you go the other way - "Can I Create Advantage based on Physique?" - the game starts to suck quickly.

3) One thing that I generally recommend for Fate is putting the players in the drivers' seat. They should be proactive, and trying to do things, not *reactive* and having things happen to them. Things *can* happen to the players of course (I can get into game structures and whatnot), but generally you want players *doing* things and getting themselves into trouble a lot of the time.

4) I don't know what "defend with Physique and Strength instead of Stress" means. Stress isn't an active defense, it just absorbs shifts on an attack. You can't "roll" it. At the same time, Physique might be used as a defense in some cases, but it's not something that absorbs shifts from an attack.

5) I'd probably model the vehicle modifications as Create Advantage. Then, the modifications become Situation Aspects, so they have some mechanical bits behind them. Just remember that something should happen on a failure beyond "you don't get your mod" - mucking with things can have negative consequences!

6) Finding the vehicle probably isn't just 'using' an Aspect. It might be spending a Fate Point, or just making an appropriate Resources roll, depending on how you want to handle it. (Yes, I'm jumping around in the timeline). You don't really 'use' an aspect in that way - you either get its permissions (due to the "always true" bits), or you use it to Invoke or Compel. Same with "used the armor to defend against the bomb", though that may have just been due to brevity of description. That's not saying that you handled it "wrong" or anything - I'd look at it as an opportunity for more things to go wrong on a bad roll ;)

7) Remember that aspects can change between sessions! THis is good for players that want to show how their character evolves over time - Aspects can be pretty specific too, like "I don't trust Johnny". Really, an aspect is mostly a way of saying "this is important to the story".

Anyway, that's what comes to mind. Happy to assist more if you have any questions, or things you want to know other ways of handling.

I also wrote a bunch of posts on G+ in the Fate Core community that mostly detail my process of learning Fate (and, really, *unlearning* other games). If you search for "Thought of the Day" you should get them - they may be of help.

beknoll
2013-09-04, 01:08 PM
Kol,

I've been thoroughly enjoying your posts. I'm been toying with the idea of running a Fate Core session with some friends. Reading about your ideas, their development, and then implementation has been entertaining and informative.

Please continue to post, if it's possible!

One small rules thing I noticed: Fate Points change hands after a conflict/scene versus during. That's to ensure it's not a "zero sum" exchange, with points just going back and forth during the same conflict.
http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/26031/why-does-a-character-get-fate-points-from-invocation-at-the-end-of-a-scene-in-co

kyoryu
2013-09-04, 02:02 PM
Fate Points spent on invocations of aspects are handed out at the end of the scene - Compels are granted immediately.

(BTW, I had originally sent Kol my comments via PM, he asked me to share them here. His campaign is great fun to read, and I didn't want to derail it... please be assured that I'm not trying to nitpick here or say that Kol is doing a bad job in any way!)

Kol Korran
2013-09-05, 02:13 AM
Kyoryu was worried he might be interrupting my log, but I feel that he has some good points and interesting advice. As I assume that some of the readers are people new to FATE and running games in it, I thought they may benefit as well, and so I asked him to post in the main log. I'll address the points made, and then continue on with the story. If you care more about that, just skip on.



2) You're right about Create Advantage not just being a roll, but being attached to "doing stuff." Fate's supposed to work that way, it's the "golden rule". Figure out what you want your character to do, then figure out how to represent that in the rules. If you go the other way - "Can I Create Advantage based on Physique?" - the game starts to suck quickly.
Yeah, I'm coming to realize it's about what you do, not just the rolls. I intend to play more to that in the future hopefully. I didn't mention it, but some players already taken into it, at least through equipment. Remember the Centagon processing unit Jenny got? We made it into an aspect with 1 free invoke for burglary. D*ck kept Dr. Marlo's map, as an aspect for possible leverage on Rivertown in the matter of Vampyrs, and a few more odds and ends. I don't remember everything from the adventures, little stuff may come up. it's a good way to make strategist, planning, and fore though matter more.


3) One thing that I generally recommend for Fate is putting the players in the drivers' seat. They should be proactive, and trying to do things, not *reactive* and having things happen to them. Things *can* happen to the players of course (I can get into game structures and whatnot), but generally you want players *doing* things and getting themselves into trouble a lot of the time. I'm not sure, but I assume you're reffering mostly to the "On the road" section, where they mostly reacted, rather than initiated actions? I usually like to present a situation to the characters, and see what they make of it. (QUite often not any of my anticipated actions! :smallbiggrin:) I thought they were quite active in the second part of the first adventure (With deciding how to respond to the threat, executing it, and then retaking Littletown). and they've been quite active in Rivertown as well I think.

But I agree that FATE requires more active players. I'm having some trouble with that, as we mostly come form a D&D mind set, where the DM is far more responsible for the adventure than the players. But the players are coming about (I think) and like the greater initiative. I think this is possible only due to the ease that FATE enables you to improvise. I did try to enable such freedom in D&D, but it required TREMENDOUS amount of planning and doing stats for so many things, that it bogged me down so much (with the little time I had), that we had to stop a campaign mid stride. :smallfrown:

It takes me about a 1/5 the amount of time to prepare for a FATE session than it does for D&D, and that is IMPORTANT with our time constraints. Also, I can improvise much easier. This I hope will lead to greater player activity and taking initiative.


4) I don't know what "defend with Physique and Strength instead of Stress" means. Stress isn't an active defense, it just absorbs shifts on an attack. You can't "roll" it. At the same time, Physique might be used as a defense in some cases, but it's not something that absorbs shifts from an attack. I assume you're talking about the bomb? Yeah, I didn't quite know how to module it. I think I tried to make up a sort of a house rule for explosives or such. I agree it doesn't fly well, I'm still thinking of how to model it. (I do think it needs to be defended by Physique mostly, unles you can jump to cover, in that case- athletics). Thoughts?


5) I'd probably model the vehicle modifications as Create Advantage. Then, the modifications become Situation Aspects, so they have some mechanical bits behind them. Just remember that something should happen on a failure beyond "you don't get your mod" - mucking with things can have negative consequences!You're talking about the first adventure pimped up ride? We did consider these as "create advantage" actions. I didn't quite think at the time what would happen if they failed though... I need to get used to the "failure adds to the story" mind frame. This is fun! :smallsmile:


6) Finding the vehicle probably isn't just 'using' an Aspect. It might be spending a Fate Point, or just making an appropriate Resources roll, depending on how you want to handle it. (Yes, I'm jumping around in the timeline). You don't really 'use' an aspect in that way - you either get its permissions (due to the "always true" bits), or you use it to Invoke or Compel. Same with "used the armor to defend against the bomb", though that may have just been due to brevity of description. That's not saying that you handled it "wrong" or anything - I'd look at it as an opportunity for more things to go wrong on a bad roll ;) I assume you refer to D*ck finding Dr. Cross's beat up vehicle? It was a "making a declaration" use of an aspect. I thought one of the uses of aspects was to determine small fats about the world, referring to the aspects. True, "Fast cars and fast women" Didn't directly refer to that, but it was amongst the first uses of aspects in the game, and in a creative manner, that added to the fun. I thought to allow it.


7) Remember that aspects can change between sessions! This is good for players that want to show how their character evolves over time - Aspects can be pretty specific too, like "I don't trust Johnny". Really, an aspect is mostly a way of saying "this is important to the story". Oh, some characters do change aspects. Jenny changed her "What a mess I get into" into "dodge the reaper", showing her new found fear of death and possibly her change from prior shenanigans. I forgot to mention it but the preacher changed his "These are my people" to "SOME of these are my people" to show he doesn't fulyl trust the Jenkins any more."As I said before, some things slip my mind. D*ck made the most changes to his aspects, butthose were in the process of the makeover, mostly to refine his image of the character, not the changes he has gone though. Ruphalo stays the same. The player likes it that way so far.


Anyway, that's what comes to mind. Happy to assist more if you have any questions, or things you want to know other ways of handling.Thank you for your advice! I like learning from more experienced people, who think about the games they play. Still a learning process, but getting there!


I also wrote a bunch of posts on G+ in the Fate Core community that mostly detail my process of learning Fate (and, really, *unlearning* other games). If you search for "Thought of the Day" you should get them - they may be of help. I will, though It might take some time for me to do so. Vacation over, so I'm writing the next post and then back to studying! Psychiatry, here I come!


Kol,

I've been thoroughly enjoying your posts. I'm been toying with the idea of running a Fate Core session with some friends. Reading about your ideas, their development, and then implementation has been entertaining and informative.

Please continue to post, if it's possible!
Thanks for the encouragement! I will soon catch up to the current time, after which posts may become slower, at the pace of our gaming. We hope to play about once every 2-3 weeks, but sometimes it's more. :smallsigh:


One small rules thing I noticed: Fate Points change hands after a conflict/scene versus during. That's to ensure it's not a "zero sum" exchange, with points just going back and forth during the same conflict.
http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/26031/why-does-a-character-get-fate-points-from-invocation-at-the-end-of-a-scene-in-co


Fate Points spent on invocations of aspects are handed out at the end of the scene - Compels are granted immediately.
[quote]

Huh, really? I guess that makes some sort of sense... Can you tell me where is that written? The preacher's player is a stickler for rules, so I would like to show him that when he asks. And I thought that giving a baddie some sort of a handicap the PCs can use is also a way of charging them with Fate points mid conflict (Like the twisted ankle of the Ogre)

[quote](BTW, I had originally sent Kol my comments via PM, he asked me to share them here. His campaign is great fun to read, and I didn't want to derail it... please be assured that I'm not trying to nitpick here or say that Kol is doing a bad job in any way!)Kyoryu, No problem, I appreciate your advice and observations, as I'm sure others here will as well. Feel free to jump in whenever you feel like it!
--------------------------------------------------------------

I thank all who read, jump in to just say they like it (Always nice to know! :smallsmile:) Or who have some advice, some insight, some thought to share. Thanks for helping my game get better!

Ok, Time to write the ending of this adventure, eh?:smallwink:

Kol Korran
2013-09-05, 03:48 AM
Session 4, part 2- A polite refusal, A matter of appearances, Shoot out at noon!

At the end of the discussion neither Jenny, the Madam or Brother Walter felt comfortable with breaking up lovers. (When I told D*ck this he replied with "What the hell? Such a great risk free mission! You fools!") and so decided to go back to Mr. Silvertone, and decline the offer. Brother Walter was uneasy at this- They had already accepted. Still, they decided that this time the madam will go with Jenny, as a more suitable backup.

As they arrived in the Silvertones grounds they were now escorted to the Library (The madam noticed with satisfaction the lack of one personal). Jenny noticed several guards, several dogs, and even a small booth with some dozing Brown coats, probably as support. Inside the saw the oddly computerized library. The Silvertones valued knowledge. They met with Mr. Silvertone presiding over a few youths, learning in the somewhat old tech computers. (Jenny salivated, almost compelled to run to them). Noticing them, he motioned them to a more private chamber.

"So, you've done it already? Good! Good!" He seemed pleased. "And you bring a new friend? each time someone else? It's good you have so many friends, shows you got talent, eh?" Needless to say, he didn't take the news well. "What? But we made a deal! I did not force you, we talked like civilized people and came to an agreement, now they will finalize the deal today, and I can't stop them! You cause me great grief! Not good, not good! Madam, you disappoint me!"

She tried to stand her ground, appeal their case, and that this was not the type of jobs they took. However, aspects were turning up against them, but she put up her own aspects as well, and dude to a great Rapport skill, roles, and about 3 or so aspects, managed to tie (Again!) so she succeeded, at a cost (another dinner?).

We were a bit stumped at this point, and tried to come up with ideas. It also felt a bit... boffed up that she succeeded, but we decided to play it so. At the end we played it that Mr. Silvertone was actually impressed by the way the madam presented her case, and that she almost persuaded him. He then turned to her. "Very well, I shall deal with this. I should have known that you might be too weak for this. But I like the way you talk madam. I am willing to... forgive this transgression, if you owe me a little favor. One time in the future, I will call upon you to talk for me. And then, I expect no backing out, is it understood?" He said with a low menacing voice. The madam agreed, and they were ready to depart, feelign they got out with the skin of their teeth.

GMing thoughts
Ok, I agree, as the players said later, this still felt a bit too easy. I like to play where the dice falls thoguh, they add an impact of randomality that forces you to improvise, and often take the story places you didn't expect. In my games the players roll all the dice, even of opponents, so everything is seen.

I think the "cost", while not exactly a "minor" one turned up nicely. It's a hook for further adventure, and the madam felt like she's making herself a contact, which is something she really seems into. At the point I didn't know what sort of future favor Silvertone might need, but when did that stop you? :smalltongue:

A face from the past!
As they walked outside the library, talking in hushed tones, a group passed them by, looking to be some street thugs or something, when I threw Jenny's player a fate point, as someone suddenly drew a gun on her. "Well lookey here!"

Suddenly many guns were drawn, and thee was quite a bit of tension. The sly looking first gun drawer too ka good look at Jenny. "If it ain't my brother's killer! I got a bullet with your name on it!" However, before things escalated, The Silvertones guards came about, calling to cease hostilities on the grounds. "You've drawn a weapon on me" Jenny replied "On Silvertones grounds... Hope you got a good excuse! and if you wish to go through with this, whomever you are, you'll soon be as dead as Not-So-Tough-Mike" the guns were withdrawn, and the smiling bastard responded. "Oh, Mr. Silvertone won't mind. And you can call me Sid, Lucky Sid, and you'll be in the ground soon enough!" They went to meet the Silvertones, as Jenny ushered the madam outside "Quickly!"

GM design
True, it wasn't an aspect, but Jenny wrote a bit of a past where she killed Tough Mike, a local gang member, and ran from Rivertown. The player wanted to put it in somehow, so we did.

Besides- Net design and all that...

A side joke on D*ck's expense
I'm not quite sure when this happened in the session, but his player sent us a message to see what it up. We decided to play a joke on him. over a course of a bit of the session we sent him messages that his vehilce blew up due to Vampyrs, that the madam was now courted by the preacher and more. He got somewhat pissed aboutthe entire thing, promising Walter to become a "two handed marvel", and that "revenge will come". However, when I recounted the game session to him a day or two later I couldn't keep up the ruse. I'm such a terrible liar. :smallbiggrin:

The Purifiers' reservoir, and unexpected outcomes/U]
The party decided to accept the Purifiers offer. They managed to Get Peter to install some permanent UV lights on both vehicles ("Succeeded with style- a permanent aspect of the vehicles, with two free invokes!) After telling Peter, they took their vehicles and set out to the reservoir, getting near dark. Talking to the few simple guards they heard the Vampyrs come every night, with great howling and noise before. They guards saw some Vampyrs figures from afar, usually by a big Vampyr, flailing it's arms. They pull the tarp of the reservoir, take their water, and pull out. Brother Walter was confused. "Wait, and they don't come for you, try to eat you or stuff?" The guards replied panicked "Thank god no! we shot at them in the first few times, and they leave us alone!" Despite Brother Walter's misgivings, the party set to prepare an ambush.

Ruphalo bobby trapped their approach zone with two grenades. (Finally he got to use the stunt!). Jenny set up with her sniper scope to shoot them from across the reservoir, her bike nearby, and the rest decided that once the grenades go off, they ride towards them with the hammer. Walter even terrified two of the guards to join them, feeling they might need extra fire power, and because he still didn't trust them.

Then they waited, till night came. Soon after, the wailing began, great howling noises. They waited. Then Jenny saw some figures, moving and shifting like Vampyrs, only more... cautiously? Behind them came a big Vampyr, probably another Unique one, who flailed it's arms into the air, and then stepping slwoly, awkwardly forward. behind them caem a few more figures, pulling a cart. I had Jenny rol la few rolls to see if she notices something, but no. The party got a bit tense.

When they were in the spot, Ruphalo activated his grenades, and KABOOM, they saw some of the figures fall, and the rest wailing but in strange voices, not Vampyr like. Plus... The arm of the big one just fell off, and it was moving around frantically. Jenny tried to shoot it, but barely missed. Meanwhile the other rushed to the "Vampyrs", allready feeling something here is wrong, With Jenny and the madam on the bike behind them.

The site was a sorry site, 5 bodies lay on the ground, a few mroe slightly wounded (Wasn't a great grenade roll), but they didn't look like Vampyrs, rather like the misbigotten mutants of King Harry's people. And the big one? A contraption propelled by another Misbigotten, apparently their leader. They were frantic, trying to bandage the wounded, trying to pull off atthe same time, when the party cornered them.

I think some in the party felt bad (Especially the madam's player) but not that much. "That's what you get when you try to look as Vampyrs, you get people trying to kill you" Said Jenny, shaking her head a bit, but looking resolute. The others made similar comments, though Walter andthe madam went to try and help them. "Why do you come for the water anyway?" Plonker, their leader, who had a talent for imitating voices (Including howling Vampyrs voices) moaned sadly "We need the pure water for our seek. Purifiers won't sell to use, think we are an abomination, a filth to cleanse" Madam and The Preacher came up with a plan to maybe have an intermediate buy and sell water for them, perhaps one of the madam's contacts.

As the misbigotten, with their wounded and dead went away, the party stood silent for a moment. "Well, job's done" they concluded, but with somewhat mixed feelings.

GM design
I'm not sure whether this scene was good or not. Sure, it got some responses, but I got the feeling that by this part in the session they were expecting some big fight, and felt a bit like a fight was robbed of them. I also don't think they liked the morally ambiguous dilemmas much. Maybe it's time to return to more "big hero" stuff.

Also, I'm thinking the misbigotten are creating more a feeling of "pathetic and weird" rather than "curiously odd and intriguing". Hmmm...

Return of Lucky Sid
Early dusk, the party made their way towards Sandman's farm. As they parked, and Ruphalo got into the bar, he was suddenly shot and then clubbered by part of Lucky Sid's gang! They managed to hit him quite well, and take off quite a ibt of his stress, trying to prevent him getting out, while Sid shot some nasty remarks at Jenny outise trying to lure them in to the trap.

So Jenny? She did the exact opposite! calling him out to "fight like a real man, better than your puny coward brother did! You want to kill me? Come and fight me straight! Just the two of us! your cronies and my people aside!" The clever player played on aspects of Sid he suspected without actually knowing them, and beat the gangster's resolve, who accepted the challenge, sure of his skill and his luck.

And so the battle field changed, in the mid of the cabbage field, with the two parties lining up a combat zone between Sid and Jenny. Sid shot first, and shot well (lots of Fate point), taking ALL of Jenny's stress out! She shot back, but his name fitted him well, and Jenny rerolled (Stunt). Walter and the madam then spoke, trying to strike fear and doubt into Sid (Create advantage) which indeed worked, but then Sid told his men to put new hols in them if anyone else speaks.

The doubt was enough for Jenny to shoot well, and after about 2 more shots, Sid's luck seemed to have run out (Literally, no more Fate points) and he called on his men to "Kill the B*tch!". Which is exactly what our PCs have been waiting for. Ruphalo closed in and threw another grenade, taking about 3 people out, while the preacher took out his machete, and carved nice slashes through two of Sid's men. Jenny shot him hard as well, the madam following with her gun, getting down and picking one of his men's rifles to shoot Sid with it, for poetic justice. (I really liked that touch). Sid was shot well, before he conceded the fight, just wanting to escape with his life!

They could hear Brown coats approaching after the gunfire and grenade boom, so Jenny had an idea. "Right, he concedes, but he takes blames for this entire fiasco, and the death of tough mike, to rot a nice time in prison!" That worked, and Sid and his few living men were escorted to the Brown coats headquarters. And Ruphalo? he hid in the barn with his Brahmin (We joked about it "What is it with your characters? First the Harpy, now the Brahmin?" which is a reference to an older campaign of ours, also on a log. He laughed up big this time!)

GM design
I sort of imagined Sid's revenge to come up later, but I felt the pary really wanted their "battle rations" and so changed this up a bit. The battle was nto tough, as people had lots of fate points, and the enemies' advantage was taken by Jenny's ruse. I think it was fun, though not that challenging in retrospect.

[U]Sid and his gang
Lucky Sid: "Avenge my brother's death" "sly little weasel" "better to screw you over with!"
Great: provoke good: shoot athletics Fair: Deceive, notice, empathy
Average: physique, will, resources OOO
Stunts: twice per scene can force a reroll of an attack that hit him, can call new gang members to him if within territory by provoke against 2.
Gang members:
Athletics +2, fight/ shoot, notice +1



Mr. Sandman and his kids were kept in the basement by two of Sids' men, and he seemed really, really displeased with the Mada m this time! ("You're ruining all of my contacts!") She promised him she'll make up to him, and make a really, really long talk with him this time.

Maybe a dinner? :smallwink:

We decided that the party will get their Power converter fixed by the Purifiers in a matter of a few days. Peter was pleased and promised they will get revenge against the Misbigotten. (The guards that escorted the party told her). And Jenny even got her guy part fixed!
-------------------------------------------------------------

So this is where we stopped. It was a weird adventure, of two parts: First the travel to Rivertown, than dealing in Rivertown. The players enjoyed, but they did say it wasn't challenging enough. Jenny's player commented: "It was fun, and different, but the previous adventure had us much more at the edge of our sits. There wasn't much to lose here" While the madam's player said that she felt like I was going a bit too easy on them, and asked if I can make it a bit more difficult next time.

Beware of what you wish for! :smallamused: (Just kidding, not going to kill them... hard)

The adventure for me was... so so. I too felt it lacked structure, jumping from doing this to doing that and so on. I think it was good at giving Rivertown some feel, and the power groups in it (Even though the Hudsons and Diamonds were barely touched upon). A big realization is that the Party wants more heroic style kind of adventure I think, and less ambiguous moral decisions.

There was a new dynamic in the group due to the new player and missing player. I think it worked quite well. I wonder how things will be when the entire group will be there!

I was really pleased with the new player. Her grasp of the rules wasn't perfect, but that mattered little- it will come with time. What mattered is that she was an active, creative, immersed and engaging player, and really- who could ask for more?

The "net adventure" design garnered me a few insights, but as a thrilling gripping adventure it didn't go so well .I had quite a few hooks now, and a few inclinations of what the group liked, but still no Campaign in sight... It was time I'll get unto that. :smallamused:

beknoll
2013-09-05, 07:24 AM
[QUOTE=kyoryu;15958203]Fate Points spent on invocations of aspects are handed out at the end of the scene - Compels are granted immediately.

Thanks for the clarification, Kyoryu!

I agree: Kol's campaign has been a blast to read.

Kol Korran
2013-09-05, 07:30 AM
Ok folks, Through a short marathon of updates, I finally got to the current time! Hurray! Updates from here on will be according to our playing frequency (Which is about once every 2-4 weeks unfortunately) or more if you have questions and what not. I hope to have you follow. If you're bored, well- there are my other logs? :smallsmile: Non FATE though...

A few matters still remain


Between Session 4 & 5- A new wiki, a few articles, and a bit about arc/ campaign building

We'll meet in 2 days from now, on Saturday. I'm not sure I'm including everything in this post, as my players have the tendency to think about the game only 1-2 days before the game, SO they may throw me a curve ball, and I may add things later, but a few things to note:

1) We made ourselves a new Wiki for our game! (http://postapocalypsefate.pbworks.com/w/page/68639571/FrontPage) I wanted to pull together all the info we had, and also have a place for short session summaries for players who missed a session or so. We've had wikis for previous games we ran, but this one is supposed to be more basic, in the works. Most of it is self explanatory, but a few notes worthy of notice:
-Jenny's story: The player keeps recordings of our sessions as I've said, which he intends to turn into a story from his own point of view. He is more occupied than I am and so has little time to dedicate to it. It goes slow. It is currently at the end of the first session (After the first wave of Vampyrs)

- Pics: The same player also love visual aids, and is quite good with photoshop. He informed me of his intent to add quite a few pics to the site, to give it a more appropriate feel. So the visual aspect of the wiki may change in the following week- two weeks.

- Characters: Some are missing, yeah. The players haven't added them to the site yet. :smallannoyed:... Not all of them like the use of wiki's.

- Updates: Will mostly happen whenever We have anything to add. Usually I add things, with the rest contributing sporadically. I don't expect anything major will be added that won't be mentioned here.

2) Some of you may have noticed another thread by me floating in the forum these days: How to create more interesting battles in FATE and using situational aspects. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15949574#post15949574) I got some good responses, and came to a few conclusions. I'm Copy pasting from that thread the main things:

Originally by Kol Korran:
1) Your responses have made it clear to me that my group (Myself included) Still haven't got around to the narrative thought process of FATE, we're still somewhat busy adding up modifiers. In the majority of instances in our sessions so far, Using aspects/ advantages and so on had just the "+2 bonus" effect, with little description of what it means in game, but not actually considering the specifics of the aspects (except of whether it fits) or it's meaning and significance to the scene! "Dark lighting" or "enemy cowering in fear" were not used for their full effect, but rather just the bonus. With this new insight in mind, I hope I could make my players (And self) play more narratively, and take thee into account. I think it would grant the situational aspects more weight as well, and make the game much better! SO thanks for that everyone!

Secondly, Kyoryu brings up two points that helped me understand better how FATE works:
2) That the players lose quite a bit of their struggles/ conflicts. That is... quite different than the D&D approach (of Succeed in all!) and an interesting take on things. My players fail from time to time, but usually due to miss planning and such, not since they are being over whelmed. I was under the impression that most "failure"s in the game come from compels, not from actually, well, failing!. I'll keep this in mind!

3) FATE conflicts are a game of bidding and chicken (Who bids more fate points, who runs first) I will need to wrap my head around it. It's not how I'm used to running conflicts, but may be quite interesting, with lots of tension. (And tension is good for a game, eh?)

3) False_Tautology from Myth Weavers have suggested I check two articles about Fate Fractal (A suggestion that was repeated byObryn and perhaps a few more). Basically it's a way to represent everything in your game world by giving it mechanics of characters: Aspects, Skills, Stress and stunts.

The first article: The core of FATE core (http://www.faterpg.com/2011/the-core-of-fate-core/)- is a great articel for getting the hand of the main mechanics of FATE. If you read long enough down (Or just search for "FATE fractal") You get to what I was talking about. A very interesting read.

"It's on Fire" (http://www.faterpg.com/2012/fire/) is an example of how Fate fractal works, and is very short and a good explanation. Not everything is aspects...

I intend to look at Kyuryu's articles later on, when I get the chance to look it up.

4) Character changes and plans: I don't know everything yet, as even as I type this my players started to converse about changes and plans. Told you! :smallwink: What I know so far:
- Jenny: Decided to alter her "Live fast and keep it simple" aspect to "Cut to the heart of the matter". She is less impulsive than before, and decides to maybe improve her conversational abilities, but still seeks to get to the coe of a subject, disliking bullsh*t.

- Brother Walter: He got about 9 (!!!) fate points left at the end of the session, and he wishes to use them for... something. I guess he saved up like Ruphalo the previous scenario. He wishes to establish some deal between the misbigotten and the Purifiers, getting water to them. It's nice to see SOMEONE remembered about that. :smalltongue: He also wishes to change his "unroot them before they grow" Aspect which was used maybe once in this adventure. Still looking for things to do in Rivertown before they head back. I feel a surprise-to-the-GM coming up. :smallamused:

- D*ck: The player wants to get something out of his explorations. Either a lead, or we even thought to roleplay it for an hour or two before the session start (We usually meet before hand, to chat and so on). Also he still has a few machinations about taking over Littletown, though he didn't quite specify what. As far as I understand plan A includes the madam, and plan B may include one of the Rivertown factions? :smallconfused:

- Ruphalo and the madam's players haven't notify me of any plans or changes yet...:smallfrown:

I may update on this later on, If there are any major changes. I'll let you know.

5) The building of a new campaign: These are general thoughts I have in the idea of making a story arc for our people. This is NOT a complete work out of the story, NOR do I intend to give everything up, I aim to share some leading thoughts on the matter.

First of all, what did my players show an interest so far:
- They seem to prefer "on the edge of your seat" type of action, so mostly action packed, very tense, high risk type of stuff.
- D*ck, The Preacher and the Madam show some interest in Littletown. Littletown presents a problem in more ways than one- The characters are somewhat tied to it (Having holdings, hirelings, or an invested interest there) but it's also quite small and undeveloped. Rivertown offers much more in terms of potential, So how to balance the two? At first I thought to focus on Rivertwon (Mainly to not quite finishing the issue of Michael and Rose, "a matter of blood") but I needed to include Littletown as well. How do I include the two? Maybe an issue big enough to hold both of them together?
- I think that though the players Liked fighting the Vampyrs, that they are starting to feel a bit too known, and without a hint on how to learn more about them. I think it's time to introduce something more threatening, and with more story behind it. I usually like putting in "Something known, something new", that way players can use things they have learned and feel an accomplishment, but also face something new- and keep the suspense and tension up.

Now, what sort of things do we have running along? what sort of hooks, semi plots and things I can use? Lets see:
- The Vampyrs menace, joined with "a matter of blood" and the presence of the Jackal, which I want as a recurring character. This is probably the major issue.
- Politics in Littletown. I need to create some sort of a conflict, tense situation, in which the characters can act with or against The Jenkins (or... do something unexpected)
- In Rivertown the two major factions that came to the eye of the players are The Silvertones (What are Mr. Silvertones schemes? What is he afraid of? Why did he need the merchants break up?) and the Misbigotten of King Henry (Which posed their own questions, but perhaps proved an interesting faction to explore). I have a few ideas of how to tie these together to my main idea. The Hudsons and Purifiers might also play a role, though I need to figure it out. I think I'll ignore the Diamonds for now.
- Brother Walters' past, and his abilities: I felt he didn't quite had enough opportunity to shine as a public speaker, or a man of great faith and will. I may need some enemies who can cause mental damage, or mental effects.
- Other bits and ends that might be tied: The mutants (Ruphalo's kind) coming to human lands for some reasons, and an idea of how to give the Ogre and Siren a new twist?

I know this may be a confusing list, but I would like to come up with some concept of a background story, and then building upon it (ESPECIALLY in Fate!) is quite easy, Sort of like setting the board for a game, and then letting the players move around, bump into things, wreck some things up, run from others, and generally make the lovely mess we call a roleplay game!

I've read briefly the Fate section of creating scenarios, which is quite intriguing- basically you first come up with a problem (Usually using the world and character situation), or even 2-3 problems, best if they are opposed in some way, and then you ask questions. The questions dictate what can happen in general. The idea however is not to write the end of things, not to decide upon a plot or a road the party must follow. (Yeah, I know I'm a bit at fault here on this. I never even imagined them not getting the power converter :smallfrown:) While I don't feel quite as comfortable with the FATE way of creating adventures, I'm trying to get more accustomed to it.

I have the basics of the next scenario. I'll probably work on it more tomorrow and the day after, in the short time I can offer to it. Hopefully this will turn better, eh? :smallsmile:

Hope you're enjoying, the update after the session will come sometime next week I guess, time permitting. No more vacation. Drop a line if you wish! Catching up officially done!

kyoryu
2013-09-05, 01:34 PM
Remember the Centagon processing unit Jenny got? We made it into an aspect with 1 free invoke for burglary

Sounds about right. Aspects are just "handles" on things that are established in the fiction. There's a common saying on G+ - the room isn't dark because it has a _Pitch Black_ aspect, it has a _Pitch Black_ aspect because it's dark.


I'm not sure, but I assume you're reffering mostly to the "On the road" section, where they mostly reacted, rather than initiated actions? I usually like to present a situation to the characters, and see what they make of it.

That's pretty much what I do and recommend :) I often deliberately avoid having a solution in mind, or even predicting what will happen. I often play it like a chess game - put a couple of 'sides' out there, let the players make a move, let the others make moves, etc. This may make the PCs *reactive* on the 'enemy turns', but I think that's okay.

Even 'random encounters' can work, but I prefer to make them the result of a failed roll. So to get from Point A to Point B might be a Drive roll - success means you get there on time, don't get lost, and without incident. Failure means something bad happens, which could be anything from a mechanical malfunction to getting lost to an ambush.


But the players are coming about (I think) and like the greater initiative. I think this is possible only due to the ease that FATE enables you to improvise.

Agreed. The fact that you can whip up an NPC in about thirty seconds makes improvisation pretty fluid.


It takes me about a 1/5 the amount of time to prepare for a FATE session than it does for D&D, and that is IMPORTANT with our time constraints. Also, I can improvise much easier. This I hope will lead to greater player activity and taking initiative.

There's a thread on the Yahoo Fate group where Leonard Balsera talks about how he preps. I think he ends up taking about 30 minutes at most. That's about par for me too. Here's a link to my "GM Guide for Fate", as well as the Yahoo thread.

https://plus.google.com/108546067488075210468/posts/K2E4ivswdQZ
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FateRPG/conversations/topics/25088


I assume you're talking about the bomb? Yeah, I didn't quite know how to module it. I think I tried to make up a sort of a house rule for explosives or such.

Defending with Physique, eh, maybe - you already get extra stress, so that's already a benefit of Physique. Again, it depends on what the characters say they're doing. I don't think defending with Physique is "wrong" in any way.

My bigger question was what does "defend with stress" mean?


I assume you refer to D*ck finding Dr. Cross's beat up vehicle? It was a "making a declaration" use of an aspect. I thought one of the uses of aspects was to determine small fats about the world, referring to the aspects.

Yeah, but it costs a FP to do so - page 13 has an example. It's not a bad thing to just give it out, of course, but I'd be hesitant to allow free uses that frequently. That's what skills are for - they represent the 'camera time' finding the vehicle, and the chance that it could have gone wrong. Using a FP allows you to bypass that and just have it 'happen' to be there.


Ruphalo stays the same. The player likes it that way so far.

Perfectly awesome. You may wish to suggest new aspects as old ones become less relevant.



Fate Points spent on invocations of aspects are handed out at the end of the scene - Compels are granted immediately.


Huh, really? I guess that makes some sort of sense... Can you tell me where is that written?

Page 69 says that points given for invokes are given after the end of the scene. Page 71 talks about Compels, and that you accept the complication and receive a Fate Point. By omission, the Fate Point is given immediately (the "after the scene" clause for Invokes has no impact on Compels, since they're not the same thing).

I don't know if there's something that lays it out that simply, but it's been hashed over a few times on G+ and the official word has come down that FP from hostile invokes are granted at the end of the scene, but FP from Compels are granted immediately (well, after the complication, anyway).


Kyoryu, No problem, I appreciate your advice and observations, as I'm sure others here will as well. Feel free to jump in whenever you feel like it!

So long as I'm being helpful! And if you have any specific things that felt weird for you, or you weren't sure how to handle, let me know and I'll see if I can help.

And keep up the campaign journal! It's seriously fun reading!

DarkWhisper
2013-09-05, 04:23 PM
Nice reading :)

Pity the player's didn't really pick up on the 'Purifiers vs. Misbegotten' moral dilemma; I'd have been interested in the views of the various characters on this (and the tension created by it).

Another factor why the players might be more interested in Littletown than Rivertown might be that LT has only one power left (the Jenkins clan) while Rivertown is divided amongst four of five powers.
And with only one power to oppose them (in addition to have the basis of a power structure on their own, there), they can more easily shape Littletown and make it 'their own'.

Btw: How smoothly did the transfer of power go from Ma Jenkins to her son ? Are there children of the late matriarch that are dissatisfied by 'Whats-his-Name' taking charge of the family clan ?
An intra-familiy conflict might just be the powderkeg that could tear the whole of Littletown apart... ;)

Eagerly waiting for the next update ;)

Scow2
2013-09-05, 08:26 PM
Well... I think a big reason the party is so attached to "Littletown" is because it's "Home" - they have holdings there, and it functions as their Base of Operations... sort of. Also, although they don't see eye-to-eye with the Jenkins', they're "Safe" there (And with the sudden power changes with the Jenkins, they have a chance of making it even safer).

In Rivertown, they're outsiders that, if they want to influence the town, have to 'pick a side', and play the competing factions against each other AND balance them, but aren't inherently invested in ANY of them. In Littletown, they are inherently invested the power centers (Mainly because they are the power centers there).

I can't claim to speak for your players - but I think you might want to let the conflict with the Jenkins 'cool off', instead of ramp it up. A shame the Sheriff could only play the first session - I'm getting a strong "Junktown/Megaton" vibe from Littletown, with the classic/stereotypical/cliche "Corrupt Businessman (Gizmo, Colin Moriarty, D*ck Mighty/possibly Madame) Vs. Established Authority(Killian Darkwater, Lucas Simms, The Late "Pa" Jenkins/Burt Jenkins/The Sherrif/Brother Walter) conflict... except there are several more people with a claim to Lawful Authority in Littletown now that "Pa"'s dead and "Ma"'s incarcerated, and Player Characters are on both sides of the conflict. I'd suggest not bothering with forcing internal conflict in Littletown, and let the players stir stuff up, and if they get complacent-but-immobile, bring more threats and events from outside.

Littletown may be "Undeveloped" and "Empty" right now - but that just means there's more room for the players to fill it with stuff and develop it how they need to, as a blank slate for them to take in any direction they want. The difference between Littletown and Rivertown is the former's like a level 1 D&D character, and the Latter's like a level 7 one - sure, there's more going on with the latter - but the former has more places it has yet to go.

Kol Korran
2013-09-06, 01:22 AM
Hey! People are taking an interest! Cool, I'll try and respond my thoughts as well as I can!

There have been so many ideas running through my head these past few days, I love it when that happens! Suffice to say I think I have a much more complex and interesting "gaming table" forthe players to have their fun with, and I'll be amping the ante a bit, both social/ political wise, and "actual threat wise". The players, as I mentioned, have been active this past day, and we might be making a few changes. I'll let you know! I think it's going to be quite exciting! :smallbiggrin:




Even 'random encounters' can work, but I prefer to make them the result of a failed roll. So to get from Point A to Point B might be a Drive roll - success means you get there on time, don't get lost, and without incident. Failure means something bad happens, which could be anything from a mechanical malfunction to getting lost to an ambush. Actually that could be a really cool way to make Driving or Survival (A skill we added) a very simple and easy way to resolve my "travel through the wasteland" problem... I'll need cool enough "random" encounters though. Something that means something.


There's a thread on the Yahoo Fate group where Leonard Balsera talks about how he preps. I think he ends up taking about 30 minutes at most. That's about par for me too. Here's a link to my "GM Guide for Fate", as well as the Yahoo thread.

https://plus.google.com/108546067488075210468/posts/K2E4ivswdQZ
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FateRPG/conversations/topics/25088 Hey, I read part way through it before I needed to get to sleep,. sounds interesting though. Unfortunately we didn't do world building and character building collaboratively. I hope maybe in the next campaign? My players are more in the D&D mind set.


Defending with Physique, eh, maybe - you already get extra stress, so that's already a benefit of Physique. Again, it depends on what the characters say they're doing. I don't think defending with Physique is "wrong" in any way.

My bigger question was what does "defend with stress" mean?
Yeah, just reread the rules. I think I got them wrong. I thought stress was your ability to active deflect blows and such, and so I thought that if you couldn't defend, you couldn't use stress, and so I ruled that D*ck couldn't protect from the bomb using stress...

Still learning the system. thanks for pointing this out. I really need to come up with a good way to handle explosives. :smallfrown:


Yeah, but it costs a FP to do so - page 13 has an example. It's not a bad thing to just give it out, of course, but I'd be hesitant to allow free uses that frequently. That's what skills are for - they represent the 'camera time' finding the vehicle, and the chance that it could have gone wrong. Using a FP allows you to bypass that and just have it 'happen' to be there. Oh, sorry I didn't make that clear. D*ck did use a fate point to decide the car was there.


Page 69 says that points given for invokes are given after the end of the scene. Page 71 talks about Compels, and that you accept the complication and receive a Fate Point. By omission, the Fate Point is given immediately (the "after the scene" clause for Invokes has no impact on Compels, since they're not the same thing). Cool, thanks. While going through it I noticed something else we did wrong, but the rules make more sense- the rules say that at the end of the session you get your refresh points back, IF you don't have more than the refresh value. We added regardless, which explains why some characters were able to stack up a ridiculous amount of fate points! (We have about 3-4 "Fate sessions" in a scenario!)


And keep up the campaign journal! It's seriously fun reading! Glad you like it!


Originally by DarkWhisper
Pity the player's didn't really pick up on the 'Purifiers vs. Misbegotten' moral dilemma; I'd have been interested in the views of the various characters on this (and the tension created by it).
Actually, I think they have! The preacher's player showed renewed interest in that. We'll be playing it this session hopefully.


Another factor why the players might be more interested in Littletown than Rivertown might be that LT has only one power left (the Jenkins clan) while Rivertown is divided amongst four of five powers.
And with only one power to oppose them (in addition to have the basis of a power structure on their own, there), they can more easily shape Littletown and make it 'their own'. That is one theory. I think that Scow2 ideas have some merit as well. Frankly I think it's just what thye started with, and attached to first, but there may be several factors.


Btw: How smoothly did the transfer of power go from Ma Jenkins to her son ? Are there children of the late matriarch that are dissatisfied by 'Whats-his-Name' taking charge of the family clan ? um... Um... we didn't quite touch on that! I think we mostly glossed over it, with Burt Jenkins taking over as the oldest son. He was seen as a somewhat odd choice, never been that political himself, but currently an authority while the situation is still tough. D*ck tried to breach the subject of his incompatibility (according to D*ck) but they agreed to postpone this "discussion" until the current situation is resolved.

Needless to say, now that the power converter is restored, D*ck has plans... (ANd I now have plans for his plans :smallamused:)

About Ma Jenkins? Actually I don't think we quite touched on what happened to her! Dead? Imprisoned by the Sheriff? In the Jenkins mansion? I'm not sure we decided. (Though knowing the party she is probably dead. Betrayel will stir up some emotions indeed!)


Eagerly waiting for the next update ;) Thanks! Hopefully it won't come too long after the meeting. Real life and all that jazz!



Well... I think a big reason the party is so attached to "Littletown" is because it's "Home" - they have holdings there, and it functions as their Base of Operations... sort of. Also, although they don't see eye-to-eye with the Jenkins', they're "Safe" there (And with the sudden power changes with the Jenkins, they have a chance of making it even safer).

In Rivertown, they're outsiders that, if they want to influence the town, have to 'pick a side', and play the competing factions against each other AND balance them, but aren't inherently invested in ANY of them. In Littletown, they are inherently invested the power centers (Mainly because they are the power centers there).

I can't claim to speak for your players - but I think you might want to let the conflict with the Jenkins 'cool off', instead of ramp it up. A shame the Sheriff could only play the first session - I'm getting a strong "Junktown/Megaton" vibe from Littletown, with the classic/stereotypical/cliche "Corrupt Businessman (Gizmo, Colin Moriarty, D*ck Mighty/possibly Madame) Vs. Established Authority(Killian Darkwater, Lucas Simms, The Late "Pa" Jenkins/Burt Jenkins/The Sherrif/Brother Walter) conflict... except there are several more people with a claim to Lawful Authority in Littletown now that "Pa"'s dead and "Ma"'s incarcerated, and Player Characters are on both sides of the conflict. I'd suggest not bothering with forcing internal conflict in Littletown, and let the players stir stuff up, and if they get complacent-but-immobile, bring more threats and events from outside.

Littletown may be "Undeveloped" and "Empty" right now - but that just means there's more room for the players to fill it with stuff and develop it how they need to, as a blank slate for them to take in any direction they want. The difference between Littletown and Rivertown is the former's like a level 1 D&D character, and the Latter's like a level 7 one - sure, there's more going on with the latter - but the former has more places it has yet to go.

I like your view of Littletown has having room to develop. It might be a cool scenario, arc or even a campaign, making it grow and see it prosper. I like it!

As to the conflict in Littletown, knowing my players, I think it's inevitable. D*ck is dead set on it, the madam seems to see where things go, and the preacher wants to bring it to a better place (Be it with the Jenkins or someone else leading. I don't think he sees himself in leadership). So knowing that, I just need to make it fun and interesting. I intend to do so by dragging Rivertown into it, and depending on what the players do, possibly adding some other external pressure to it.

I also regret the Sheriff not playing anymore. It was a cool character, and more than that- a great player!
----------------------------------------------

Thanks for the responses, interest and encouragement, does my heart good it does! Can't wait to see what happens... :smallamused:

beknoll
2013-09-06, 08:04 AM
Huh, really? I guess that makes some sort of sense... Can you tell me where is that written? The preacher's player is a stickler for rules, so I would like to show him that when he asks.


FC-69 Invoking Aspects
"If the aspect you invoke is on someone else’s character sheet, including
situation aspects attached to them, you give them the fate point you spent.
They don’t actually get to use it until after the end of the scene, though."

I'm a little confused, as "invoking an aspect on someone else's character sheet" is a compel, right?

In regard to being immediately awarded a Fate Point for compels as per Kyoryu, this is all I could find:
FC-71 Compelling
"Whoever is getting compelled then has two options:
• Accept the complication and receive a fate point
• Pay a fate point to prevent the complication from happening"

I thought this interesting too:
FC-76 Aspects always true
"This may seem self-evident, but we figured we’d call it out
anyway—the aspects on your character sheet are true of your character at
all times, not just when they’re invoked or compelled."

And I was wondering how to handle Fate Points for NPCs and this covers it:
FC-82 The GM and Fate Points
"Whenever a scene starts, you get one fate point for every PC in that scene."



And I thought that giving a baddie some sort of a handicap the PCs can use is also a way of charging them with Fate points mid conflict (Like the twisted ankle of the Ogre)


Yeah, I think it works this way. Enemy has a twisted ankle aspect. Player's can compel it by paying a Fate Point. Per the NPC rules, the NPC would get that Fate Point at the end of the scene to use in a different scene possibly.

Out of curiosity, how in the world do you capture such detailed After-Action-Reports? Are you taking notes during the session? Do you write them up immediately after (I'm thinking no based on your previous comments)? I love the detail and would like to be able to capture as much myself.

Again, Kol, thanks for the posting. You've gotten me through many a boring hour and given me many thoughts to ponder.

On a side note based on what you're studying and--again out of curiosity-- you're in med school? No wonder time is tight!

kyoryu
2013-09-06, 12:52 PM
I'm a little confused, as "invoking an aspect on someone else's character sheet" is a compel, right?

Nope. An invoke gives you +2/reroll. A compel is "because of <aspect>, bad things happen."


In regard to being immediately awarded a Fate Point for compels as per Kyoryu, this is all I could find:

Yeah, that's about it. If you check out the G+ group, this has been clarified pretty authoritatively (by Fred Hicks).


Yeah, I think it works this way. Enemy has a twisted ankle aspect. Player's can compel it by paying a Fate Point. Per the NPC rules, the NPC would get that Fate Point at the end of the scene to use in a different scene possibly.

If it was a compel, it would look like:
"Because Bad Bill has a twisted ankle, it would make sense that he would trip and fall, preventing him from getting through the door before it closed. Damn his luck."

If it's an Invoke, it would look like:
"Bad Bill dodges out of the way? I don't think so... I'm going to pay a Fate Point to invoke his Twisted Ankle aspect for a +2". (Actually, I'd hope that the dialogue wouldn't be that mechanical, but it serves to point out what's going on here).

The first pays out immediately, the second at the end of the scene. Compels are more common outside of Conflicts, for many people, while Invokes are kind of ubiquitous.

Kol Korran
2013-09-07, 06:08 PM
Just came back from the session, and boy was it an intense one! I'll start posting in the next few days, as time permits. I'll answer some of beknoll's questions now, before heading to sleep. This post has nothing to do with the actual game, so skip it if not interested.


FC-69
Out of curiosity, how in the world do you capture such detailed After-Action-Reports? Are you taking notes during the session? Do you write them up immediately after (I'm thinking no based on your previous comments)? I love the detail and would like to be able to capture as much myself. Thanks! I think I may be losing quite a few readers due to TOO much details, it's nice to see someone who likes them. I can't tell exactly how do I do this, but the following help:
- I have the Session's adventure file on my computer, going through it helps jog things up.
- In session, I'm usually very intent on the game, very aware and present, taking things in. I found that it puts them better to memory.
-Thankfully most of my players action have a sort of sense to them, some sort of "action- reaction" to them, if loosely, so it helps organize stuff. When writign posts I often go back and forth as some things remind of other things, and so on.
- On some complicated sessions (Like the one just played), I come back home, and write brief comments, in chapters, about what happened.
- On the rare few occasions that I play (Like in the "It began with a crash" log in my sig) I take active notes during session. These logs come more flavorful and colorful!


Again, Kol, thanks for the posting. You've gotten me through many a boring hour and given me many thoughts to ponder. Glad you like it!


On a side note based on what you're studying and--again out of curiosity-- you're in med school? No wonder time is tight! yeah, I'm in med school. The biggest challenge is not passing the tests, but to try and sustain a life! However, I wish this thread to remain game related. I thank you for the interest, but if you have more in depth questions of the studying, I'll be happy to answer, but in private.

Thanks again,
Kol.

Scow2
2013-09-07, 08:42 PM
Well, I look forward to reading more!

Kol Korran
2013-09-09, 04:07 PM
We've had a few snags and problems after the last session, working through them, But I'll get to that in the proper time. But back to schedule, eh?


Mini Session 4.5- D*ck Mighty's investigations

As you might recall, the fourth session was without D*ck's player, as he tried to look for his assassin. With the rush of ideas and other stuff to my head I saw this as an opportunity to play a short "pre-session" before the actual game. I could introduce more elements through him. He could play D*ck to his full "Scheming weapons & drug baron" potential. And... I could test how well the FATE system works with catering to just one player.

He told me he was going to investigate who tried to kill him with the planted explosion in his caravan (On the way to Rivertown). So I prepared for that in mind. Knowing this is a complex and surprising player, I knew quite well I may need to improvise here, a lot! The other group was two days ahead of him in the time frame, and we sought to bring it up with them as the session starts, so there was a time limit to the investigations. (We both agreed it's best, no forcing his hand)

The master returns home!
Leaving the party with his flourish of words, D*ck went straight to delivery depot his business used when sending caravans. He put his hat lower and his coat up, no reason to let others know he's alive yet, is there? He got there and looked for the man in charge. I put up a stuffy looking, British cliche speaking loyal manager- Mr. Charles. "Oh sir! You're back from Littletown? Quite a surprise! Are you well? I heard rumors of nasty beasts on the road! And muties too!" D*ck exchanged pleasantries, and tried to sense if old Charles is hiding something, but the kooper seemed real. They went to the office and started talking. D*ck explained the situation and investigated who had access to the cash box vault that was blown up. "Only me and you sir, that's how it works! I keep an eye on it and make sure it has the funds just before it leaves!" D*ck grimaced "So it was on the road... SOmeone got the whole caravan to do that."

As they talked D*ck heard a few people trying to eaves drop, so he kicked the door hard, and the frightened hirelings scattered. D*ck rose up. "Charles, try to see who is willing to spill some info on the matter, pay them WHATEVER you need". Charles nodded "Be on it sir! I promise you we shall get this villain! He shall rue the day he messed up with you Mr. Mighty!" D*ck smiled and left. There were other sources he could check.

Me and Mr. Jones
Throwing up a good contact, He suggested we make a barkeep who keeps his ear to the ground, a "gossip monger". So Mr. Jones was contacted, in his dim and slow going bar, right near the main Rivertown market. "Ah! Mr. Mighty! Come in! Fancy a drink?" But D*ck hurried the bartnder to the back room.

"There's an assassin on my head. You hear things, what's it about?" Jones paled a little. "Well, yeah, there were rumors of someone putting a target on you, but I thought it just a rumor! Glad to see you're not dead Mr. Mighty!" He gave a nervous little smile. "You and me both. Now, who made the contract?" Jones seemed agitated under D*ck's glare. "Last I heard it, the contract was handled by a middleman, or woman. A woman called Reese the Red?" D*ck continued to stare. "She owns a small mercenry outsourcing company, in downtown, near the Brown Coats stables. That's all I know Mr. Mighty! A discreet work, a client pays her to find a... "problem solver", and she pays him." D*ck frowned. "Very well. I'm going to learn a bit more of this... Reese. And as to YOU, I would be so obliged if you spread the rumor I was gone, explosion, yes?" The barman nodded, as D*ck left.

GMing notes
Both scenes, with Charles and Mr. Jones were completely improvised, other than the info piece of Reese. I think that in theory you can just roll contact to gain the info, but we decided to play the contacts, like the madam's Sandman. Felt like fun!

A civilized conversation
I was sort of expecting D*ck's player to tell me he was going to use mroe contacts, or go straight to Reese, when he utterly surprised me- "D*ck is going to the Silvertones." It took me a moment to realize that he read the last session, and had something in mind here. I rolled with it.

In the time frame it fitted to the madam's second visit, so D*ck came seeing her and Brother Walter just living, looking disturbed. Not wishing to draw attention, he didn't call to them. The guards recognized him (We established before D*ck was a main merchant in Rivertown) and so he was escorted to Mr. Silvertone.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MrSilvertone2_zps40007d45.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MrSilvertone2_zps40007d45.jpg.html)

"Ah! Mr. Mighty! What a surprise! Come, sit. I heard there was some trouble in Littletown? I hear there are beasts! Savages! Barbarians even attacking caravans out of Rivertown. While we try to make this an honorable, civilized place, such a shame... such a shame... "Are the Jenkins well? Pa Jenkins is a crafty old man, but violence was not his style!"" D*ck sat down, and simply put "Pa Jankins is dead, it was a prostitute, the details are unimportant, So is Ma Jankins." He then started relaying quite a bit about the Vampyrs and Mogols, but refrained of mentioning their interest in Littletown, or their interest in the twins. He portrayed it like some plague" Mr. SIlvertone listened intently, as D*ck knew he would, relying on his aspect of "Knowledge is power".

Finally Mr. Silvertone put his hands on the table. "What I can do for you Mr. Mighty?". I was thinking he would start talking about the assassination attempt, but he had bigger plans. "I would like to suggest... an opportunity. Littletown is in a delicate position right now, with a leader who may not be... ideal, and I think I might be able to persuade someone to exchange him, and perhaps that someone might be forward looking for better deals with anyone who... supports this effort? Like more Microfusion?" Mr. Silvertone listened passively. "That is an interesting proposal... theoretically Mr. Mighty. It is intriguing indeed, I shall think about it, theoretically of course. We do not yet have full trust, do we... However there is a meeting in a few more days, and what you have told me might be of importance then. We shall see Mr. Mighty, I will need to chaeck a few things. Is that all you wished to talk about?"

Then, after establishing some ground work, he came up with the current issue. "Well, There is a contract on my head. I'm sure you might have heard?" D*ck tried to assess (Empathy) if Silvertone was lying. The old mad confirmed that he knew, but that he knows few details of it. It wasn't that much of an interest to him, then. "Well, Do you happened to know anything of Reese The Red?" after an appropriate roll Mr. Silvertone shrugged his shoulders "A thing here, a thing there, people tell me things." (The last is a name of a stunt he has) "Reese is an aging woman, but quite tough. She holds to it that "Discretion is key in her business". D*ck cursed. That was going to be a problem. "Anything else? In order for oour opportunity to succeed, it may benefit us if I'm alive." Mr. Silvertone thought and then mimicked drinking heavily from a bottle, and nodded back to Mr. Mighty. D*ck understood and rose. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Silvertone. I hope we meet again." Mr. Silvertone hummed, as D*ck let himself out.

GMing notes
This conversation quite fitted things that I planned for in the group session, and this worked quite nicely. I was surprised to see D*ck adding another layer to his plans for Littletown, now adding the Silvertones as well?

This was a great scene to play out. Like a civilized conversation between two criminal lords, with undertones all around. I believe this is exactly what the player aimed for.

Reese the Red
D*ck returend to Jones' bar. "How well protected is Reese?" Jones eyes widened slightly "I don't know Mr. Mighty, a few bodyguards perhaps?" D*ck cursed. He didn't risk facing such odds, and most of his men were craftsmen and merchants. He looked at Jones coldly. "You know of someone who could track? I want someone to follow her, find where she sleeps, where she goes to, when is she without protection. You got that?" One contact role later "Yes boss, just the one, a misbigotten by the name of Smut Nose Smitty. People don't mind him, he is harmless.

D*ck settled in a chair, he walked quite a bit this day. "Good, find him now, get him on the job. I'll pay his price. I want a good spot quick!" Jones looked nervous. "It could take awhile" To which D*ck replied by pulling out a bottle of drink. "Then better get started!" D*ck settled there, with his gun towards the only entrance, while thinking up plans.

A few hours passed. Jones tried to hint at the state of the bar, to which D*ck agreed, and said he might send a few men later, give it a polish, maybe fix a few thing,s maybe some polish. Jones groveled in gratitude, and left D*ck who wished to be alone. Finally, near midnight came Smut Nose Smitty, a poor looking misbigooten with all kind of pores on his face pouring smut. He told D*ck that Reese was now in a bar, with only one bodyguard. D*ck jumped up, and headed to meet the woman who dealt his contract.

We didn't have a name for the bar, so we decided on "Get Drunk!" (An excellent name in all seriousness I think!) This was not like Jones' bar, this wasn't a place where people came to socialize, this was where people went to die in their drink, and be left alone. D*ck noticed a red headed woman sitting aside a guy with a shotgun at a corner table. they both looked like they've been drinking for quite awhile. D*ck sauntered by, and quickly and nonchalantly sat beside Reese, while drawing his gun and putting it to her ribs. He managed to surprise her "Shout and you're dead." She tried to protest, but a quick jab from the pistol convinced her otherwise.

With silent whispers and deadly intent, (Using his condition and reputation to frighten her) D*ck managed to extract all she knew, if in pieces. Apparently about a month ago A Hudson man came to her, one called Dean Malcolm, a weasely little man, and offered quite a big price on D*ck's head. More than that, he wanted it to be a "Deadman's Contract"- Hiring amongst the best, but once the money is given, all in advance, the assassin will pursue the target till the job is done, even if the contractor wishes it to be revoked. D*ck was disturbed. First it meant that he must face this assassin, and cannot just hope to change people's mind. Also.. .The Hudsons? They competed against him for arms, but he wasn't a serious threat to their business... D*ck didn't know of any conflict with them. Also, he was sure it were the Jenkins! A change of plan... And last- the assassin was one of the top professionals

"So who is this assassin, how do I find him?" Reese didn't quite know. "He comes from time to time, a normal looking guy, though with n accent of being out of town, if you listen well to him. I know that he, or there are several people, though they sound the same, are very good with explosives, their specialty." D*ck felt his new skin "Yes, I know! Make me a meeting with him, tell him I want to hire him." Reese nodded negatively. "He comes when he wants, I never know why or how he chooses his targets." Then she suddenly remembered something (He succeeded with style) "Hearing your name he said "Oh, the new guy in Littletwon. I'll deal with him." This did interest D*ck, since that meant it was someone who knew Littltown. But... new guy? He was there for several years now. Quite a few people came after he got there.

After not getting any more with Reese, he bought a drink of strong lacquer and pushed it to her arms. "pleasure doing business with you!" Late night, he got back to Charles office, and had him guard him while he took a few hours of sleep.

GM design
While originally planning Reese I thought she'd be encountered in her office. But D*ck played very well, getting info on her, and then cornering her in a delicate place, and thus he could use quite a few aspects (situational and his own) to terrify her to hell! I initially thought coaxing the information from her would be a great challenge, he manged to circumvent it entirely. Nice work! :smallwink:

Confrontation
Early morning D*ck went towards the Hudson Corporation, with the massive farms the side of town. He reached their Community hall, and persuaded a guard to lead him to Dean Malcolm. The middle ranking Hudson's face were stern. If he was surprised to see Mr. Mighty, he didn't show it. But Mr. Might decided to play for brokes, and directly confronted Dean, laying out that he put a contract on his head, demanding to know why.

Dean denied the accusations, but Mr. Mighty felt he was lying (Empathy), He did not manage to get any more info from him. After a failed threat guards were summoned, but Mr. Mighty let himself out. He was satisfied to learn that his instincts told him that the man was indeed lying. He did however just put a big red target on his head. Mr. Mighty smiled, lighting a cigar. Time to see if a "friend" might know a bit more...

Once more to the Silvertones
D*ck arrived just as the Madam was ushered quickly by Jenny outside, almost at a run from something. He smiled to himself, wondering what mischeif Jenny got herself into this time. As he met Mr. Silvertone, this time in the library, the old man was upset, angry even, though keeping his composture. "Mr. Mighty, you have a habit of coming after your friends of Littletown, they do not make me happy!" (This was just after they refused to break up the tow merchants). "They have cost me time, and I may lose an important piece of this situation. I apologize for hurrying you, it is quite impolite, but I need to attend to other things. What can I do for you?"

D*ck explained what he learned about the Hudsons, and wondered if Silvertone heard anything. With a look of distaste Mr. Silvertone answered. "Malcolm is the dirty work man, a clerk, or a messanger. He works for higher ups. I'd look up the ladder." He then looked concerned, perhaps even fearful "But I'd suggest not to look too high. The Hudsons can be dangerous people."

D*ck then continued on his other... interest. "You seem concerned Mr. Silvertone. I would like to help you, show you of my intentions for our... theoretical... business opportunity together". Mr. Silvertone thought for s moment. "Mr. Mighty, you act, speak and feel like a civilized man, like a man who understands the value of a word, of an agreement, of an understanding between people who know society." D*ck nodded empathically. "There is a meeting within a few days. The situation in Littletwon has become known, and the powers of Rivertown are taking an interest, especially in the possibility of new quotas of Microfusion. If we... understand each other, I think it might help our combined venture if you, on the behalf of Littletown, make sure that the Silvertones come favorable in that meeting. I will consider it a favor, a personal favor, and I do take my favors seriously, and repay them in full. A silvertone debt is a silvered debt. Are we in agreement?"

D*ck smiled, and agreed whole heartedly, after a few more pleasentries, he left. There was a new aspect on him "A silvered favor" while he dealt with this well enough to gain "Ear of the Silvertones"

Two can play this game!
Which is when the player surprised me yet again, heading straight towards Reese' office. As he came in the bodyguard with the shotgun was intent to shoot but Reese stopped him. "I want to make a contract, on Dean Malcolm". Reese however wouldn't hear of it, it would certainly kill her discretion.

Which is when D*ck pulled out all his cards (And FATE points), leanign on his mercantile reputation, his criminal reputation and her drunkeness secret, while promising some good money (Money talks). He managed the roll just barely, So she agreed, probalby thinking of relocating next. But the next questions surprised him "Regular contract, or dead man". He didn't hesitate "Deadman's contract". Only that cost more, and D*ck had no more fate points, leverages or anything. The player told me he's ready to take a hit to make this happen. We decided he'll draw deeply into his funds, making a "Cash shortage" moderate consequence.

Dean Malcolm now had a deadman's contract on his head, it was a matter of days. When I asked the player later why Dean, if he knew he was just the messanger. "Well, that's good, because I'm sending them a message!"

There time we set for the minisession was coming short, and we needed to get ready. But D*ck had done everything he wanted, and so we said he dealt the rest ofthe day actually getting the bartering goods for Reese, and then slept to meet the party the next day. If there were high ups meetings about the future of Littletown, D*ck needed to be in the game!
-------------------------------------------
So this is when it ended. Writing this seems quite packed, almost feels liek a group session. I guess this is because with the group there may be way more discussions and with one player things just flow in a fast pace.

Speaking of fast pace, if you didn't see D*ck's image in our wiki sight, it is based on Jack Bauer from "24", which I haven't watched. He says that in the session you keep going fast paced from scene to scene, with the clock ticking. He said he felt it was quite like it! Yay, eh? :smallbiggrin:

It is quite easy to play a 1 person FATE session, though as usual with single player sessions, you probably need to model them to their desires and needs (as this was)

I'm not sure I have the time to update more in the next few days. Hopefully I will but I believe the next big log update will be on Friday. See you then! :smallwink:

Scow2
2013-09-09, 05:13 PM
I'm looking forward to the big update!

... and D!ck's quite a clever scumbag.:smallbiggrin: Great story!

Does that 'assassin' wear a blue-and-yellow jumpsuit?

Kol Korran
2013-09-13, 02:32 AM
Glad to have you reading Scow2. :smallsmile: I have a bit more time now, better use it. Now where were we?


Session 5, part 1- Water merchants, growing interest in Littletown

This was one of our best meetings, in that it was quite charge, VERY tense, and brought up quite a lot of responses from characters and players. It however heralded a further complication which I'll touch on later.

A few things before we jump to the thick of it. I felt the party felt the end of the scenario (Getting the part from the Purifiers) wasn't a climax enough, and was a bit of a letdown. I had many new ideas coming into my head beforethe meeting, so I thought of something a bit different- We return to the party after the battle with Lucky Sid, and play it from there, with another (Potential, but highly likely) climax for the scenario. The party agreed. Mechanics wise we didn't change a thing, I let them have the skill upgrades (Though they won't add new ones when the scene is actually over), but their Fate points aren't reset. This affected mostly Brother Walter, who still had a bucket load of those. (From the little I understood he suspected meeting the Jackal at some point, and sought an advantage).

We also decided to correct all of our mistakes concerning the fate points economy, chief amongst them is that you only get fate points at the end of a fate session if you ave below your refresh rate.

Jenny's player decided to take a stunt for her sniper rilfle. We had various discussions about wording and deciding on the stunt, anf finally came up with the following: Sniper: You can shoot enemies outside normal weapons' range. If you hit, you cause 2 more shifts of damage. If noticed, the effect ends, however you can use "Far away shooter" aspect to improve stealth. Once the enemies are aware of you, the advantage of the stunt ends. The weapon cannot be used in normal weapons ranges. A Sniper weapon is needed in order to use this stunt.

The madam's player chose a name! Meet madam Cynthia Blanch (Blanch is a stage name, sorta). She also chose her last aspect- "Expecting the worst", which nicely contradicts (Or compliments?) her "protector of the unfortunate" aspect)

Ok, I think these are all of the last minute changes, time to get on with the show! :smalltongue:

A mater of water
As D*ck met with the rest, following the gunshots, they told of what happened, though D*Ck didn't share all the exact details, just that the Hudsons had a hit on him for some reason, and the few flimsy details he knew of the assassin (Works with explosives, might be out of town, either a few people or one that disguises well). The party didn't trust him though, and when he told them he was telling the truth the party immediately coughed "hardly", "barely", "as if"... which made us all laugh.

The Preacher, Jenny and Madam all wished to help King Harry with the water problem, so the party went towards his "palace", in the slums, in the filth, along the misbigotten. Once more they were brought to the putrid hall of the King. I tried to compel the madam with "Accustomed to finer things" to hurl and embarrass herself, but she decided to pay the fate point, and control herself. :smallfrown: I played the king disgustingly but cheerfully, inquiring the party of their desires, when Jenny offered to get a middle man, or to buy the water for him.

This surprised Harry, and when he requested what they ask in return, D*ck offered to do it or free, perhaps for a future favor? King Harry didn't like dealing with favors, (Or with D*ck), and so a slight haggling went on, with King Harry to maybe give things out of his hoard. The party... mostly accepted. They requested more explosives for Ruphalo, The madam requested diamonds ("It will be hard getting those!" said Harry. "You asked for a price, that's what it is!" she replied, quite a tough cookie!) Jenny asked for a safe haven for them and Ruphalo if the time comes, D*ck joining on the request, and The Preacher joked about getting a mechanical arm, to which the King mumbled. "I think I can get you something of the like... Not exactly, but similar..."

However, the amount the King requested was quite a lot, enough for about 300 people for a week or so! They looked at D*ck, who said. "Lets get this over with" grumbling. Ruphalo decided to stay in King Harry's palace, trying to make friends. (This troubled me quite a bit, as it neutrelized the player. I offered that they might find ways to circumvent this, but he just wished to stay. :smallfrown:)

They then went to the purifiers again, to their water merchant, a small bespectacled man, with the look of a library clerk named Walter Stilt, who tallied the resources brought to him in exchange of purified clean water. As D*ck wished to deal with him I compelled "Weapons and Drug baron" to show the purifiers dislike of him. They would not deal with him! When the madam took charge, lying easily that she does not know this wretched man, and managing to impress the clerk with her looks, composure and style. She was able to manage a deal, but it would cost a lot, more than anyone except D*ck had. So they promised to be back later, and went into town.

Where D*ck called upon all his resources to gather enough bartering goods to make the deal, the madam helping with what she could. I compelled him with the "Cash Shortage" consequence in our little mini session, but he too paid a fate point to ignore it. ( :smallfrown: Ah.... what is it with people suddenly ignoring compels?) Together they got the goods, and came back a few hours later, with a few carts, and loaded them into Walter's waiting carts. He tallied everything neatly, checking the quality of each item, till he was satisfied. "Pleasure doing business with you madam!" he said, and ordered his man loading the tanks of the party with the fresh water.

The party was satisfied, and then turned to head back, when Jenny was called to see Peter.

GM design
Brother Walter's player informed me a bit before the session began of his desires to pursue this. I welcome player initiative, and we just played it how it went. I didn't see this as THAT much of a hard task, and tried to challenge them a bit. D*ck surprised me by not accepting the compel, (So far he always welcomed complications) So things got a bit easier from that point. Oh well, their choice.

About that Mircofusion...
Jenny was called to Peter, who led her to the office of Jack Stilt, leader of the Purifiers. A tall impressive man, dressed in black, with a beard (Inspiration from the way Abraham Lincoln looks, though no similarities in character), who welcomed the suspicious Jenny. He told her that news of Littletown, of Pa and Ma Jenkins death and the change in leadership came to Rivertown, and that it presented an interesting... opportunity. Pa Jenkins had a policy of sharing the microfusion power evenly between the great powers of Rivertown, despite offers of greater barter, deals or such. Mr. Stilt wondered if the division of power could be changed?

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/JackStilt2_zps2f5cfcf8.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/JackStilt2_zps2f5cfcf8.jpg.html)

He went to a blackboard, and chowed complicated schematics (That looked kosher for Jenny at first looking) showing the potential increase to the purifying plant if substantial more power will be given, the possibility to irrigate more land, to make more people free of radiated water, of bettering and even cleansing the land of pollution! "We can start reclaiming the land, making it new, as it were before, we can start terraforming it!" he said with the passion of his vision. "If you'll agree to our proposal, and direct most microfusion to our humble but right organization, we coul also send a delegation of engineers to Littltown, to find ways to increase the microfusion output, to better it's yield!" Jack said that in two days the powers of Rivertown are all meeting at Sunny Acres ("That den of filth and prostitution!") where they discuss matters of the city, but where this particular matter, the trade with Littletown will also be discussed. (The same meeting D*ck heard of from Silvertone) Jenny was unsure, the vision seemed ok enough, but she wasn't all that certain that she could trust the Purifiers, especially with their "other" intentions of "cleansing". Jenny politely said it is not her decision to make, but that she will consider it, and talk to the other visitors from Littletown.

As she went outside she dropped again by Peter, asking when the part will be ready. Learning that it is probably after them meeting, she asked Peter to put reassure on it, that it must be ready before. "It will make us think of the proposal more positively." (Jenny was afraid that it will be used against them as leverage, which is a brilliant idea I didn't really think of!) Peter said she will try to do as much as she can, but Jenny wasn't sure about it...

A civilized matter getting out of hand
Meanwhile the others directed their water carts towards King Harry's abode, when one of Mr. Silvertones' men came by the Madam. "Mr. Silvertone requires your presence my lady.Now if possible". A bit alarmed due to her least dealing with Silvertone, she accepted and went with the man.

She came into his office once more, quite tense. He greeted her amiably, but cut quickly to the chase. He explained her about the meeting and the powers' interest in Littltown, and asked her to pay the small favor she owes him, by attending the party and... disrupting (sociably) any attempt the Hudsons' make to persuade her friends. The Hudsons must not accept the price. If she could persuade her party to accept him as the main client of Microfusion, he would consider this favorably, but her role is first to distract the Hudsons, he has... someone to deal with the rest.

She was deeply conflicted. She understood that she can't afford to piss him off again, but she didn't trust him at all, and she felt some sort of sympathy for the Hudsons due to her relationship with the Sandman (I never imagined a minor NPC relationship coming to the fore like that, but I really liked it!) A small discussion opened in the group, with Jenn'y player telling her to turn him down, but very politely, D*ck player telling her to accet, and that she can always claim later she did not succeed ("I don't think Mr. Silvertone takes kindly to failure" replied the Preacher's player) D*ck also commented that "the Hudsons put a contract on my head!" But the rest seem to trust Mr. Silvertone even less... The preacher's player kept telling her to never "accept his strings", that she'll never know how she gets out of them, that she needs to cut loose.

In short, I think it managed to confuse her even more. She tried to persuade him that she can't do this, and that she doesn't have that power and so, burning some of her fate points on this, but Mr. Silvertone was not convinced, getting quite annoyed in fact. "What is this? You made a deal with me, and then you break it, I offer you a simple task to remedy this, and you continue to insult me! I do not take kidnly to insult madam, not at all! I need this to happen and you gave me my word! Either accept my offer, or you'll owe me BIG time for this refusal, and next time I won't ask so nicely" His tone were more cold, more finite this time. (The "big favor" was the "big price" she could have by succeeding to persuade him). She however took it into another direction. Her eyes narrowed "You threaten me?!" He sat back "I... advise you". She stood tall, and stormed out. "No one speaks like that to me!" and stormed out, fearing that there will be bullets shot at her any moment. But that is just... not civilized.

She headed back towards King Harry's palace, wondering what sort of a mess she got into now. The players started betting how long till she's dead, while D*ck smiled at her and offered an imaginary cigar. "Well, now BOTH of us have contracts on our heads!" She started cursing the preacher's advice, and immediately coming up with a proposal. "Ok, so we need to assasinate Mr. Silvertone. Suggestions? Ideas? But the party thought it might be too complicated right now.

GM design and notes
I didn't plan for any of the madam's reactions, I was ready to play along with what happens, thoguh this surprised me quite a bit. The idea was to draw on the favor she owed from last session. One player wondered if this favor is indeed a "small price", but it was- the party still had to decide, and they could negate the madam's actions in the meeting, it was something mostly to be played at.

It was at this point that I understood how successful Mr. Silvertone's character was becoming- out of the various characters in Rivertown that inspired an emotional reaction, Mr. Silvertone won by far. Most of the party hated him/ feared him, thinking he is quite the mafia mobster (Though I swear that was never my intention! Games have lives of their own. :smallamused: While D*ck player's plans incorporated him into them, and he quite liked the old bastard. This looked like a promising interaction!

Gifts from a King!
Meanwhile D*ck, and the preacher arrived at King Harry's palace ("Wait! We're traveling to gether? Just the two of us? No one's dead yet? Can I pay a fate point to prevent that?" they said jokingly) Plonker, the misbigotten from the water reservoir heist gone wrong ushered them to King Harry. Needless to say, he was impressed and grateful ("Aspect: "The Kings friendship") But he went on to present them with their rewards:

"The Misbigotten have a safe place for everyone, but you shall be safer still! In my own palace you may stay whenever you wish, as honored guests of the palace!"
"We are chemist and makers here, as we need to make most things for ourselves, your mighty gentle Ruphalo shall have his explosives!" He was given two explosive charges, and 3 packs of high potent poweder, that can make explosive compunds more damaging, upgrading the damage by 1.
"I couldn't find Diamonds, but I hope this will suffice the Madam's desires?" a box of fine jewellery, which could be used as an aspect when appropriate, probably for social stuff, or maybe for resources. The madam's player just commented. "We'll see aboutthis when I get back..."
And last but not least, a handy man for the one with no arm!" a small hovering, slightly slimy and smelly robot was brought, with 4 hands, who chirpped and quircked a little. "It can be programmed to follow one person's voice, and can do many things, though you can program it to do one thing exceptionally well!" The group was amused by this, but the preacher didn't seem to like it much unfortunately. The robot has notice, craft, shoot, athletics, fight and physique of average (+1) though it can be programed to have one of these skills at fair (+2). It also had Armor of 1, and 3 stress.

D*ck had an idea, and asked aboutthe possibility of an assassin on these grounds, of an "outlier", who finds it easy to be amongst outcasts, but King Harry didn't seem to know much, though he agreed that could happen. "Many people here, we welcome all!"

Jenny arrived before the madam, when the King also laid down a similar offer to Mr. Stilt an Mr. Silvertone, with a little important difference. "We don't want you to give the Microfusion to us. Instead keep it as Pa Jenkins had- no one gets a better share." Jenny wondered why not wish to become the stronger power, when King Harry laughed a bit and replied. "My people is not liked as it is. We are tolerated because we can be useful, and because we are no danger to anyone. You, and others, think us funny. We work to keep it that way." Jenny was not convinced. "You prefer to live in the dirt, in the squalor, live your life in the shadow?" The king hummed, amused. "Better live in shadow, then die brilliantly in the light. We manage good enough lives." Jenny was troubled. "And that is why you needed us to get water for your sick, yes?" Brother Walter however agreed heartily with King Harry. "So far we've met but scum and criminals here. Giving any of them the power will mean bad things, for Rivertown, and eventually Littletown. Pa Jenkins was a wise man, and kept Littletown safe for quite some time, We better hold on to that." D*ck grimaced a bit, and prepared to answer when the madam came.

GM notes- rewards and King's offer
The players felt that the characters' improvement was very slow. They all (Except maybe D*ck's player) also expressed an interest in gadgets, cool equipment and stuff. I decided to go along with it, and try rewarding some stuff. I made a list of all kind of stuff the party might find, some having mechanical aspects, some less, a bit building on the Fate Fractal concept. Still trying it out.

As to King Harry's offer, I wanted to live a "neutral" offer (Though it is not without it's complications), and King Harry was sort of "king of neutral". I'm not that sue it was a wise choice, game wise- on one hand it does give the party a sort of a "safe back" to fall unto, but it also means that they don't necessarily make a tougher choice. But the choice to be made was far from over! :smallamused:

Once more, To Mr. Silvertone
The Madam was quite upset, and her player had a one track mind now- how to kill Mr. Silvertone. We were all quite surprised at the player's finality and determination about the matter, but quite amused. They quickly explained to her that they don't think it's possible in his grounds, and even if it will be, they will have Captain O'Riley and the brown coats on them at the very least. They decided to postpone it for now.

Presented with the jewellery, the madam was not impressed. "I said diamonds!" King Harry tried to calm her, but failed. So I looked up my list and came up with another idea. "Well" said King Harry "I might have another piece of jewellery which might prove of an interest, eh?" He lifted his chins, and a few folds of fat or some other tissue, and unhooked a small necklace, with a sophisticated and hightech look on it. He handed it to the madam "Can you... um... wipe it first?" The king passed the necklace to plonker, who licked it, and wiped it with a dirty smelling rag. The madam accepted gingerly, with an outstretched arm. "This comes from old times, It grows hot if a person is lying by you. Works on humans only though, we and the mutants of Ruphalo's kind are immune. (+1 to Empathy for detect lies). The Madam DID like this, and accepted graciously.

D*ck however was quite concerned about what the madam told him of Mr. Silvertone. "I will go talk to him, I might reach an... understanding" The preacher's player commented "Oh, I sure you have!" Mr. Mighty arrived at late evening, and was shown to Mr. Silvertone's library office. The old man looked tired, haggred, looking at some computers, and on a bit map, looking prewar. A glimpse showed that it details quite a bit up north, but Mr. Silvertone covered it quickly. ("I must get that map!" said the player excitedly).

Mr. Silvertone was not in a happy mood. "I met with your friend, and my inpression f her worsened considerably. They way she talked! She behaved! Very unbecming! And now I ask myself, Mr. Mighty- If you are friends with such people, how can I trust you? Theoretically?" Mr. Mighty started to lay down the shmooze, explaining that he is not a friend, but a business associate, and you have to deal with people who's standards of civility are not necessarily your own ("I'm sure you know how it is!") and so on and so on. He managed to calm him enough.

Mr. Silvertone rubbed his brow, as he continued. "Very well, these things irritate me. We try to become a civilized people, and that comes first from trust, and a person's word. If we can't trust each other's words, what can we trust? We're back to guns and knives, to barbarism." He looked at Mr. Mighty. "There are bigger things at stake here than who gets the benefits of the microfusion, things at large" He said piquing the player's interest. "We cannot let little obstacle detain us." He could feel the fear the madam spoke of, but only for a second, as Mr. Silvertone resumed his composure, looking on. "Well, for you I am willing to forget all past grievances, IF you and your... business associates manage to first prevent the Hudsons getting control, and more importantly- assure I get control of the microfusion. I can offer you, your group, and Littletown quite a bit in return, we could make it prosper and grow. I am still finalizing the details, I will put them to you at the meeting." D*ck managed to sense two aspects of Mr. Silvertone- "A personal code of honor" and "Master manipulator" ("Are you sure he didn't steal the aspect from you?" jested the preacher's player)

"Can you tell me a bit about the Hudson in the meeting? Who will it be, what can we use against then?" Mr. Silvertone sighed. "It will be their chairman, the one who brought the corporation to be, Mr. Torrent Hudson. The man Is a great advocator of progress and technology, believing it is the way to the future. He a very proud and strong willed man, and he believes he does the best for the Hudsons corporation. I think... I think he thinks quite highly of himself" He Shrugged his shoulders again. (The party learned of the ""Progress is the way to the future!", "The best for the corporation" aspects of Torrent Hudson).

D*ck listened carefully, but was more interested of the news of "bigger stuff". He tried to convince him, calling on "the ear of the silvertones" and "the fear inside", and manged to get the old man to sigh again and speak a little "There is something coming from the north... something big, the Vampyrs are just the start I think. I believe they might allready have connections here." D*ck perked his ears "The Hudsons?" Mr. Silvertone shrugged his shoulders, as if he doesn't know. "There are things better for you not to know, or you might draw attention, unwanted attention. I'e already said too much".

The discussion seemed to be over, and D*ck was about to leave when Mr. Silvertone added one last thing. "You come representing your friends Mr. Mighty. I consider your word as binding them as well!" (The group sat up hearing this, "what the...?") "Do not irk my displeasure in this, You are all responsible for keeping our deal in this. DO this for me, and everything will be forgotten, and you may get the family's respect. We might also start making theory into reality" Mr. Mighty stood silent for a moment, and then nodded, and headed out. The players started cursing.

GM notes
This is the 7th time we have meetings with Mr. Silvertone over the course of 2 sessions! A popular man indeed! :smallbiggrin: I needed to tread carefully in this conversation, mostly about D*ck's desires for Littletown, since the player wished to keep them all secret. So the last comment- "Making theory into reality" refers to D*ck's plan on getting the Silvertones support in his wish to take over Littletown.

I also wanted to "up the ante", and make him more of an antagonist. This required two things- His demands needed to be bigger, and threats more severe, and encompassing the entire party. That way not just the madam was involved.

The big, heated, tense, loooooooong discussion
D*ck came back, and told the party everything about the meeting (Except the meaning of the last comment, which they didn't ask). Now started a big discussion, which soon started to escalate. On one side were Jenny and Brother Walter, who sided with King Harry's desire to keep the status quo. On the other was D*ck who wanted to support Mr. Silvertone. The madamd was conflicted, and changed sides a few times in the discussion, mostly thinking this through and trying to decide her mind, while Ruphalo stayed silent nearly the entire discussion...

Now, many points were made through the arguments, most of them by D*ck who fervently tried to persuade the opposition. He argued mostly these points:

The Hudsons are probably up to something- firstthey try and kill D*ck, but Mr. Silvertone is afraid of them. And if the party fears Mr. Silvertone, than the Hudsons should surely be avoided.
This will save everyone's lives, not just the madams! They can't afford to have Mr. Silvertone who "has many ties in many places" be on their tail as well.
They could work with Mr. Silvertone, and then reneg on him when they are mroe established.
They can agree with Mr. Silvertone, and later say that the Jenkins didn't agree. (The party however knew of his general plan to replace the Jenkins, so they weren't impressed by this)
They could say they intend to persuade the JEnkins, but then put another mayor (noting the madam) and she could decide differently, but now with the might of all Littletown behind her.

Jenny and Walter however had but two principles in this:

Rivertown is a corrupted place, and they don't trust anyone, so give no one control.
Mr. Silvertone plays like a mobster, a master manipulator, they had better stay from his web as far as they can.

This exchange went on and on, and took nearly two hours (!!) of our session. Near the end of it it started to be less about characters, and slightly about players, getting a bit out of hand, with the heat especially between D*ck's player and Brother Walter's player, who always had a friendly rivalry, only here it got a bit too far... D*ck players tired us by going on and on... He was quite determined to succeed.

Ruphalo at one point interjected, saying "I suggest we just skip the meeting!" (Which I was prepared for), but the party felt that ill be too much of a ninsult to everyone, and won't solve anything. So he just stated "Do what you do in the meeting, but afterwards I go with King Harry's suggestion".

At the end some got tired out, I tried to hint that we're moving ahead, and no real consensus was made, though it seemed like most still wished to go with King Harry's idea. D*ck felt frustrated. They were shown to their rooms, knowing that tomorrow evening is the big meeting, where the Fate of Littletown will be decided...

GMing notes
We are all adults, and so I left it to the players to deal with this situation, as I usually do. It's important to note our group isn't a democracy, as in "The will of the majority does not dictate the actions of the few". The tension did cause some bad air at the session, which worried me, but I tried to deal with it after the session
----------------------------------------
So, I leave you with somewhat a tense moment (I hope). It was fun so far. I was most impressed that the party started caring about peoples and groups in the world, be it King Harry and his misbigotten, hating Mr. Silvertone and wanting to kill him, or just simply- The Fate of Littletown!

I hope to update next this night or tomorrow, as time allows. If not then surely in the next few days! :smallsmile: Hope you're enjoying the read!

CombatOwl
2013-09-13, 07:40 AM
Nice. I'm looking into running some Fate for my folks, too. :smallsmile:

-O

Don't expect them to get it the first time around. The first time I ran a fate game for my group (and this group plays a LOT of different systems), they just couldn't wrap their heads around aspects--how to pick them, what they could be used for, what happens when they get changed, why milestones let you change aspects rather than get cool new things, etc. It's not that it's hard, but it is very different from the way most games approach character creation. The only one who did understand were the two players who'd played Dresden Files before, because it's the same system.

I really messed up my first time running that for my usual group. We wasted a quarter of the session with people staring blankly at a character sheet trying to figure out what aspects to pick. My suggestions: come prepared with a strong idea of what you want to run (since it's very likely that you're the one with the most interest in trying FATE), pregen characters for [# of players] +2, and let people either pick one of those pregens or make their own in a similar style. FATE has some good ideas for bringing new players in (like bringing them in with a blank character sheet--just a High Concept and Trouble), but I get the distinct feeling that it wouldn't work at all for people coming off d&d or something broadly similar.

TBH, if I were going to do it again, I would start with the Freeport Companion for FATE Core (if you were in on the kickstarter), since it basically just converts a familiar setting to FATE Core--spells included. Absolutely do not try FATE with a homebrew magic system with players new to the system.

RE: special weapons. By the rules, you basically just treat them as Weapon:4 or Weapon:3 weapons that can affect an entire zone. You might also have them create some situation aspects in that zone like "Pinned!" or "Rolling Waves of Fire" or something. When someone walks in, just use that aspect as you feel is appropriate. Remember, the GM is always free to use aspects, and if you use it in exceptionally mean ways you can compensate by handing them a fate point (because you can call it a compel).

Scow2
2013-09-13, 11:59 AM
Ooh... I'm really liking the way this campaign's coming along. However... what makes the Madame any different than the Hudsons?:smalltongue:

Kol Korran
2013-09-13, 01:43 PM
RE: special weapons. By the rules, you basically just treat them as Weapon:4 or Weapon:3 weapons that can affect an entire zone. You might also have them create some situation aspects in that zone like "Pinned!" or "Rolling Waves of Fire" or something. When someone walks in, just use that aspect as you feel is appropriate. Remember, the GM is always free to use aspects, and if you use it in exceptionally mean ways you can compensate by handing them a fate point (because you can call it a compel).
I'm not sure I get what you mean by "weapon:4 or weapon:3" I saw this mentioned in another game, you mean the damage is increased by 3 or for, a sort of lethality measure? With complementing armors and such? Well, we didn't yet got hat far, still keeping it a bit simple. Besides, you then get a weapon/ arm race, which isn't the focus at the moment, which ultimately leads to everyone HAVING to use heavy armor, and having to use heavy weapons, which kind of kill the concept of a lithe agile shooter like Jenny, or a sophisticated fragile looking but competent character like the madam, or a hard ass that survives by his wits and stubbornness like D*ck. Armor will come into play, as will better weapons, but then they are Special.

I do think of changing a bit the machine guns to just attack all enemies in a zone, without splitting the dice. sounds more appropriate to me.


However... what makes the Madame any different than the Hudsons?:smalltongue: I'm one the guys who terminally, pathologically, don't understand the joke. How is the madam similar to the Hudsons? :smallconfused: you got me there...

kyoryu
2013-09-13, 04:12 PM
I wrote this about introducing new players to Fate - I've had pretty good luck doing so.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/108546067488075210468/posts/DG3weMShYgz

kyoryu
2013-09-13, 04:14 PM
I'm not sure I get what you mean by "weapon:4 or weapon:3" I saw this mentioned in another game, you mean the damage is increased by 3 or for, a sort of lethality measure? With complementing armors and such? Well, we didn't yet got hat far, still keeping it a bit simple. Besides, you then get a weapon/ arm race, which isn't the focus at the moment

If I use numerical bonuses on armor/weapons, I'll usually just have whichever side is 'better' get a one-shift effect on the final output. So better armor (regardless of how much) means you take one shift less on a successful hit, while better weaponry (regardless of how much) means you deal one more shift on a successful hit.

It seems to provide a reasonable balance between "gear is important" and gear being the focus. YMMV.

Kol Korran
2013-09-14, 01:25 AM
That's an interesting way of looking at it Kyoryu, I'll have to think about it! :smallsmile: Anyway, time to conclude the session!


Tension rises, grenades in the city, the fateful meeting

In the morning, the party decided to try and close a few loose ends before the night's meeting. Jenny decided to go to Peter, and make sure the power converter is made in time. She ended up sitting down with Peter and 2 other engineers and working on the part together. Meanwhile The madam went to Mr. Sandman to try and see if he known anything fishy about the Hudsons, and put her new necklace gadget to a test, but Mr. Sandman was too low ranking to know anything of import, and seemed honest.

King Harry notified Ruphalo he managed to arrange an understanding with the Brown Coats that enables him to call upon a brown coat if persecuted, so he could walk in the town. (If the players won't try to settle this, I would. It was waaaaayy to much time for the player to just sit and watch. my bad.) He decided however to wait for now.

Meanwhile Brother wished to try and investigate the contract on D*ck's head, and asked him to tell him everything about his own investigations, but D*ck played it that he already told him everything. This brought more tension as Walkter was sure D*ck was hiding, and D*ck was sure Walter was particularly on his case. This wasn't said directly, and understood only after the fact, but the rise in tension could be felt.

Walter went and started following the same trail D*ck went through, getting to Reese the Red. He decided to have Ruphalo join him for the investigation, perhaps for an intimidating factor. They visited Reese in her office, but as she understood they were talking about D*ck she closed up, and asked them to leave. Walter's player burned about 4 fate points trying to convince her and sense what was behind her objection, but failed. He did come to the conclusion that D*ck was allready here, and threatened her somehow.

This really brought some anger and frustration between the two players, though still in low tones, but more than usual for our group. Walter's player was angry that the other player wasted his time, and made him waste precious resources on nothing, while D*ck's player felt that Walter's player was overly suspicious of him, and too much on his case. Tension rose some more between two characters (Which is fine)) but also between players (Which is not fine). I haven't dealt with this there and then, and it had some re precautions between meetings, but I'll get to that in the "between sessions" post. D*ck in the meantime Spent some time with Mr. Jones, and made sure to get the help to fix up his bar.

GM notes- Walter's investigation
It was improvised, but not that good. I should have either come up with some other info that might help, or just tell the players in advance to settle the length of the investigation without gaming it. Oh well, not one of my finer moments.

The madam went to the Purifiers to meet Jenny at an appointed time, a little bit after the power converter was fixed! They then go to speak with Jack Stilt, and the madam explains that they can't accept his offer, that the decision is not in their hands, but... that she may become mayor of Littletown in the near future, and that if so she will consider his offer more favorably. That satisfied Mr. Stilt, who bid them farewell, and that they would meet in the meeting. The other players jested that she's becoming more and more like D*ck and change seats, get out of his "aura".

With all arrangements done, the party met at King Harry's palace, and got ready for the meeting.

Tic, Tic, Tic... BOOM!
The madam and D*ck dressed up, more accustomed to social events, while Jenny came dressed up in a tight fitting outfit. Walter and Ruphalo came as they are, while Ruphalo trying again to convince the party to just "skip it, nothing good will come out of it". They decided to go anyway, but were a bit more nervous. They still didn't have a finalized decision.

Sunny Acres, the Diamond main entertainment house was located in the middle of town, and required going by foot. (A bit of a cop out, I know :smalltongue:) Whilte they went they suddenly heard a metalic sound, and Ruphalo was the first to identify it was a grenade, and managed to dodge while it exploded. He noticed it came from the third floor of a mostly ruined but still standing building. As another grenade fell down they saw some 4 gun barrles from the second floors of two other buildings across the street. Ambush! There were Rivertown people laid in the street, dead or bleeding, and their own nice attires were messed up. Ruphalo shouted directions, and they all sprang to action.

Jenny Jumped to the building the grenades came from, but stopped at floor level. "Explosives expert assassin" she thought, and worried abotu a booby trap. she turned and shot some cover fire towards the buildings with the shooters. D*ck ran towards them, and to the back, seeking to climb them and surprise from behind. Not quite succeeding to climb he invoked "Savage of the wild lands" to make his way up. Ruphalo and the Madam charged to the same building (An odd couple) and drew the shooters to the floor below. Walter went to the same building as Jenny, and shot at the other two shooters.

Jenny and Walter were hesitant to go up, as the fight progressed quickly on the other side. And they were wise to do so. Two exchanges later (wehre they rolled notice to try and hear the assassin getting away from the building, but failing) the building indeed collapse under explosion! They were near enough the door to have jumped away and get mostly intact. I guess I was too obvious? :smalleek::smallamused: Luckily for them, otherwise quite serious damage could be had.

Meanwhile the other three managed to wipe out two shooters (One with the madam's small gun, one with Ruphalo's great fist) and Walter shot another shooter down. Jenny then threatened the last one, and managed to get him to throw his gun. His investigation yielded little though- He and his friends were paid to take down "An easy target" about half an hour ago. The man was quite normal and regular, but they noticed he wore some black suit underneath, of some strange material. Another point of info about their assassin it seemed.

Some brown coats led by Deputy Kell arrived. "Geeze! what happened to you folks?! Everytime I see you you're blown up! Come, the bosses are waiting for ya!" He then escorted them towards the meeting...

GM design
I wished to put this second assassination attempt where most of the party will be together. I also wished it to be some sort of a tension reliever, somewhere to let loose frustration, and this seemed like a good time. Plus, having their evenign suits be ruined turned out to be fun for the group! :smalltongue: Ruphalo needed to have some place to shine as well.

I think I didn't mke this scene challenging enough though, though that came largly due to two factors: The shooters were quite easy to take down, and the "trapped building" I guess was way too obvious. And I thought it would be a surprise! :smallfrown: Oh well, I guess I'll have to be mroe creative in the future!

Falling building ambush (Not putting in the assassin's stats... yet)
Notice vs. Stealth to notice Assassinand shooters.
Grenades of strength +3

Assassin's building- A run down building, 3 stories high. When characters enter, he seeks to runs away, to a rope, dangling (2 exhanges, roll against stealth -2). If they go after him, on second floor trigger a bomb attack 6.

Avoid falling building: building fall at notice 2 if building falls on you, protect with physique, attack of 7. If to manage to get to the street, athletic to avoid damage of 3

Shooters's buildings: 2 buildings, 2 stores, 2 shooters each.
+2 shoot, +1 atheltics, fight. "He said it would be easy", 1 stress.


Sunny Acres, meeting for the Fate of Littletown
A bit worse for wear (literally) the party arrived at the Sunny Acres. The place is like a grandiose and flashy Las Vegas casino, with bright flashy lights, a show and a cabaret, gambling halls, and of course many comanions of the intimate nature. A few of the silver coats (Brown coats who are also presentable) too the party's weapons. (The madam tried to hide her little pistol, still harboring fantasies about killing Mr. Silvertone). Then they were ushered towards a great private hall, where the powers of Rivertown make their bi-monthly meetings. Jenny used a small moment to load herself on some drugs, quickly wasting her, not wishing to deal with the stress. (A compel. drawing back on the old days- "What a mess I get myself into")

As they were brought in, Miss Diamond, a slightly elderly but "very well preserved" classy lady came to them, all smiles. "Ahhhh, our visitors from Littletown, we have been expecting you!" she gave a slight polite laugh, as she called the attention of the crowd. "Gentlemen! Our guests have arrived! Let me introduce our esteemed members... First of course is Mr. D*ck Mighty, whom we all know soooooo well!" D*ck didn't notice her, and headed straight for the Hudsons. "And Madam Blanch, of the quaint and little lovely Marylin in Littletown, isn't it adorable darling?" The madam noticed the sting, and filed it for later. "This I hear is Brother Walter, a man of words and action. while this here" she looked at Jenny, who wasn't at her best, to say the least. "Um... She's good enough to work for my ladies, if she weren't so... um" The madam tried to take the happy Jenny away, concerned at the embarrassment she was causing. "And also... this fine gentleman" she finished with Ruphalo.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MissDiamond1_zpse6174a67.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MissDiamond1_zpse6174a67.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MissDiamond2_zpsa02d509e.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MissDiamond2_zpsa02d509e.jpg.html)

Now, In the room were allready all the dignitaries. At the back, enjoying his food and drink, but rarely approached, was King Harry. ("How did he get here?", "Lets just say some heavy lifting was involved") At a big table sat the Hudsons, with the stern Torrent Hudson in the middle, with Danes Malcolm to the side. Jack Stilt sat comfortably with 2 of his fellow purifiers, all in black, drinking their own water, probably eating their own food. Miss Diamond and her ladies were fluttering around the hall, conversing, talking. And opposite of the Hudsons sat Mr. Silvertone with about 8 of his bodyguards. (Madam: "So he does leave the house! Maybe we could put an ambush to him on the way back?") On the bar seats a heavy set, bear like man, drinking heavily, seeming pissed at the world, grouchy and malignant- Captain O'riley, leader of the brown coats.

As I said, D*ck was heading straight towards the Hudsons, and Torrent was apparently waiting for him. D*ck wasn't going to waste pleasantries. "So, would you explain to me why you put a contract to my head?" Torrent's face remained impassive. "Ah yes, Malcolm told me you came in accusing him of such a thing. You allready seem determined and convinced, but I would advise you to recheck your sources. You are being tricked against us Mr. Mighty." D*ck doesn't manage to sense if he is sincere or lying. D*ck then attacks Danes, who dodens't answer, and tries to jostle them a bit, but fails. He then speaks to Torrent about the possibility of another interested party in his corporation, and that he should check house. Torrent agrees to do that, though in his stoic, "tough cowboy" manner. D*ck storms off, not wishing to hear Torrent's offers for Littletown.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/TorrentHudson_zps448fd28a.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/TorrentHudson_zps448fd28a.jpg.html)

Meanwhile Ruphalo goes to stand behind King Harry, clearly showing his alliance. The madam seeks for a solution to Jenny's condition, until Miss Diamond offers her a side room, and a key of her own. She picks up Jenny with one of the other courtesans and leads her to the room, The young lady looks at both of them "You know, we could all three, if you'd like?" which stopped the madam's player in her tracks, but only for a few moments. "Later perhaps, don't mix business with pleasure!" She called the reluctant Ruphalo to guard over Jenny's door.

Walter went to talk with the Hudsons as well, more calmly, yet his tone was still accusatory. "Wherever I go in this town, whenever I here the Hudsons name, there is some dirt clung to it". Torrent sighed. "Brother Walter, I heard about you. You of all people would understand that when you try to clean a place up, and ready to get down to it, some dirt may cling to you. I assume you may be talking of the accusations your friend Mr. Mighty made. He is being tricked, though I lack the means to prove it." He looked at the people around. "I guess you have been approached by various other powers in Rivertown, and you may wonder why I am different. You could ask around though- The Hudson corporation has always sought to better the lives of the people in this town, always dealt fairly, was always honest in it's dealings. We seek to make Rivertown a better place, and yes, that requires leverage. Would you prefer the others to control it?" He looked towards the others. "Drug dealers? Racists? criminals?" He looked back at Walter. "With the microfusion we can bring greater technology, more evenly distributed power for all, and make this town, this region, Littletown prosper! If that isn't enough, I offer prime cattle, ammunition, finely crafted weapons for Littletown and it's representatives." However, Brother Walter was not convinced. The party thought it sounded like an election speech (:smallbiggrin:) He told him he would think about it and went back to the party.

As the madam returned from putting Jenny in a secure place, she was met by... Mr. Silvertone. they exchanged a few pleasantries, after which he reiterated that he would forget everything ever happened, but also offered a few more things: His personal favor, them becoming part of his clan, like family to him, free access to his library, the biggest repository of knowledge in the region, some other "crass material stuff" such as a shipment of booze, and special ammunition for Littletown... The madam was suddenly conflicted, her desire for stuff and power showing. "He's giving us the best offer! Maybe we should go with him?" at which Jenny's player laughed. "You were ready to kill him a moment ago. He's trying to manipulate you! He won't back any of this once he gets his way" To which D*ck player's replied "Yes he would... personal code of honor, remember?"

But no time to think, the madam was approached by the other madam- Miss Diamond. "Ah darling, so many new faces, so many offers, they must all suggest to bring a better future, aiding Rivertown, Littletown and so on. But I must ask you, what do YOU get?" she fluttered her fan for a moment, speaking conspiratorially. "I can make you rich, very rich! Pull the microfusion our way, and I make sure you are the sole distributors of Sizzle and other drugs in Littletown and whatever tribals you find north, plus a nice cut of the shares here! We can also send some people and equipment to raise your Merilyn into glory, splendor and magnificence! Think about it lovely, I'm sure you know what I mean..." She was again confused. :smallamused:

Jack Stilt tried to get the preacher's attention, seeing him as somewhat of a spiritual man, talking about his vision of reclaiming the land fro mthe wasteland, and making it pure. However Walter, still the upfront man told him he doesn't like the way he treats those different from him, and that he can't support his brand of "purity", though he does support his vision for the land. Perhaps if The Stilts might rethink things, he might do so too.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/JackStilt1_zpsacc69c73.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/JackStilt1_zpsacc69c73.jpg.html)

After a small discussion between the party, Ruphalo decided to get back to support King Harry's position. I waited until they were certin and settled of it, when I said "That is good, because Miss Diamond has more than one key per room". Jenny found that there was another woman in the room, massaging her, speaking softly to her, caressing her and generally giving her a good time. The woman wished to know about the deals in littletown, and what happened there, on the way here, and so on. Jenny told her everything (part of the compel. She referred her to this log :smalltongue:) The party REALLY didn't like that. They felt something BIG just went amiss, and you know what? They are right! I don;t remember who said it, but "Now we know who our real enemy is! Miss Diamond!".:smallbiggrin:

The time was drawing to an end, most conversation ran down. Mr. Silvertone passed by D*ck. "I hope things will go as discussed?" Mr. Mighty took a draw of his cigar. "I hope so too..." Mr. Silvertone tensed almost imperceptibly. "That is not the answer I was expecting."

Decision time, or "Speech! Speech! Speech!"
Jenny was brought back to the main room by the courtesan who was much more knowledgeable now, and was sat down by the party. Miss Diamond went to the stage, and caleld for attention. "Well, the night is getting late, and some of us till need to party! It is time that our esteemed guests will tell us of their decision in the matter? Who is your representative?"

There was some tension in the group, when Brother Walter decided to take the stage. He gave a speech, and honest speech, a direct don't-beat-around-the-bush speech. First of all this is his opinion, and there are differing opinions in the group, though he believes that his opinion is that of the majority. They cannot make this decision, but only say what they will advise The Jenkins, as they are the ones ruling Littletown and the microfusion. Captain O'riley, the warthog yelled from his seat "Yeah! Give the F*ckers nothing! Nothing I say!" and other obscenities.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/ORiley3_zps20ff8176.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/ORiley3_zps20ff8176.jpg.html)

He said that each maid an offer, and they can't all be good. He heard lots of people wishing to help Littletown, and he'd welcome their help, but not at the price they demand. They will go by the wise system of Pa Jenkins. Don't be angry that you didn't get what you need, accept that others didn't get it either. He welcomes further negotiations with the leaders of Littletown, and it is always ready for negotiation. ("Yeah! make the sh*t F*cks beg for it! Yeah, you heard me *ss holes!") He called to set aside the differences, work for a better Rivertown and region, and combine the many visions of making this a better place and... actually make it a better place! And more stuff I don't quite remember, with a few personal touches to some of the factions. He purposefully avoided mentioning King Harry though. (I may have a few things not exactly right, it has been a long speech and I don't remember it all, I'm bringing the jist of it)

Now, The Preacher has good Rapport, but also the Demagogue stunt, which enables him to not split his dice amongst listeners and add a +2 when delivering an inspiring speech. (Which in a way it was) This makes him a REALLY potent public speaker. He pulled into this all the fate points he had left (About 3- "bringing hop to a hope less world", "underlying power struggle" and... something else.. perhaps "microfusion is Jenkins fusion"?) and rolled against each faction in turn. He did remarkably well, succeeding against all with style except the Silvertones, who also put all their remaining fate points of the scene, and were not convinced. Mr. Silvertone was furious, stood up and stormed away, stopping by D*ck for a brief moment. D*ck tried to palace him in hushed tones "look, we can still make it work, if we only..." But he was cut by Mr. Silvertone "You fools! You have doomed us all!" before leaving.

The rest however came impressed with the preacher's words. perhaps not toally convinced, but palacated enough for now. Miss Diamond rose to greet him and whispered. "Hmmm, such an interesting mind! maybe we can see trade for Littletown? Come to visit, ANY time!". O'riley just swung his bottle at him (The party was greatly amused by him) and gave a foul mouthed cheer. Mr. Stilt came by the preacher. "Hmmm.. Perhaps we might send our experts to look at the microfusion station anyway. If we could improve its yield, then maybe all can profit? I will also think about... the other matter we discussed" Brother Walter was mostly pleased about that. Torrent Hudson came to shake his hand. "A fine speech. We may not agree, but I see there is someone to talk to, someone who also cares about the future. We shall send representatives t odiscuss with the Jenkins. and..." He seemed to think, and whispered something to a hudson beside him who paled. He turned to Walter "When you leave, there will be a Hudson made gun for you. Better keep future partners alive".

And King Harry? He smiled his many chins smiled and spoke to Ruphalo "That was better than expected. Maybe I could find a few more stuff in my hoard for you!"

GM design & notes
So this was supposed to be the culmination, or the climax of this session. I think it worked partyl well, mostly because most of the party were allready set in their minds before they came, so this added mostly to flavor, but less to decision making. They didn't even discuss the decision again (Though that may be due to the tension present).

Why did I make the offers with the Hudsons and Diamonds just now, why not earlier? I did plan so, but it seemed the party had enough on their plates, and were somewhat stressed out as it is. Plus- 4/5 of them had their mind set. Only the madam kept considering offers at the end.

This was a bit challenging because I needed to make several social leaders who would seem different, both flavorwise (which was easier), and mechanically, which was more interesting. I'm not revealing their stats yet, because that may reveal a few things.

What do I think of the outcome? On the whole I think it ended up nicely- a good catharsis of diffusing the tensions, getting (mostly) what they want, but still having a serious enemy. I would have preferred another small complication (Other than Jenny spilling their secrets, I meant something more tangible) But that's the way it goes. The demagogue stunt is powerful... but is very limited to very specific situations. (He only got to use it twice in 5 session!) So I think it balances out. This was his moment to shine.

Oh. The gifts of King Harry and the Hudson handgun:
- "Hudson made" (aspect) gun, with the stunt to 1/scene add +2 to hit roll.
- A holo journal from before the war, (+1 for pre- war knowledge and craft)
- a Vibro spear (1 per scene, add two damage to a hit)
- Other kind of stuff: box of preserved fruit. 2 Pre-war records of Sinatra. A small crate of RutGut. Gilded car tiers…

-----------------------------------------------------

So this is where we ended. A few points about preparing this session:
1) I came to a problem while designing the leaders of the powers. They all needed to have some sort of resource, but this took a big spot of their strong skills, which were mostly needed for other stuff. Too late I remembered the Fate Fractal which meant I could make their organizations as characters, and those could have their resources. I didn't have time to plan it then, but I may do so before next meeting or so.

2) The Assassin: Orignally I didn't have any idea who will want to Kill Mr. Mighty, why or such. I just put it there and wished to see where the players would take it. I just had him as one of the Brown Coats, a mercanery who worked for... I didn't know then. (Part of the "Net adventure" Design). As you might have guessed, now he has a history and place in the setting. Maybe that will be investigated, maybe now, we'll see.

3) When does a scenario starts or end? I guess by answering the major question. Indeed, the original major questions was "Will the party get their power converter fixed or not", but that was a boring question, and led to a disappointing climax. I should have asked something better, which hopefully I did second time around- "How will the party's visit to Rivertown change the fate of Littletown?" Not that great, I'd admit, but hopefully good enough.

4) For some reason I don't know, almost no compels were had in this session (I think there were 3-4, and 2 were rejected.) I don't know why that is. I think we were too embroiled in discussions and conversations to notice. Or maybe because they knew they weren't getting 3 fate points at the end of the session, no matter what. hmmmm...

5) Last, but definitely not least. The session had it's share of tension andrivalry between D*ck's character and player and Walter's character and player. It came a bit too much, and I triedto deal with it between sessions. I'll detail that in that post.

Hope you're liking it, Our next session is next friday, probably without Ruphalo's player. (Which should be interesting, since a lot more violence is probably due. Time for a change, no?). I hope I can get the "in between sessions" post soon enough, plus another... fun little post. :smallwink:
Till then,
Kol.

Kol Korran
2013-09-15, 01:50 PM
Between Sessions 5 & 6- Diffusing tensions, and pics!

There are still 5 more days to the session, but I thought I'll put in some things here while I have the time. May add more in the future.

Tension diffusing
So, I have mentioned it a few times in the sessions' comments, but I hope it was also felt from the relay of the description itself that some tensions arose, mainly between D*ck's player and Walter's player. Now, we have long played with an inter party conflict as something that enriched the party dynamics quite a bit. D*ck's player usually plays some sort of bastard, and Walter's player usually plays some sort of an unlikely hero type. They often have bantering and even work against each other (usually through influencing group decisions) and it was always fine (For quite a LONG time now!). There was a sort of gentlemen agreement to keep it in play, and that it was to add fun to the game, and not to go too far. I wondered if this time, for whatever reason, it had...

So after thinking about it, I decided to send an email to the group, asking them if something was wrong, as I think all felt the tension. Walter's player replied by saying that he felt the problem was that D*ck and Walter were too far apart morally, too much of distinct personalities to be able to reasonably work together. He chose the (somewhat unfortunate) problem name of "The paladin and the assassin"... :smallsigh: He went on to lay his frustrations at D*ck's player playing with him, sending Walter on a wild goose chase (The investigation of Reese the Red) and him hiding so much from them. He felt That the way Walter is coming, he can't quite work with an underhanded man like D*ck.

I then tried to explain to the two that if it's a roleplay business, then they should make adjustments to play with each other. However, D*ck's player felt that he was under some sort of attack/ criticism/ we-were-on-his-back. He got quite offended and angry, saying that Walter's player had been on his case for some time now and so on...

To tell the truth, the argument annoyed me a bit, as it felt a bit like handling kids in kindergarden, but I understood that the players were offended. They are both quite serious roleplayers, and wonderful at that. I think they took it a bit too far this time though. :smallfrown:

So a round of conversations followed, In the end Walter's player apologized to D*ck's player, emphasizing that his problem was with the character, not the player, and that he was sorry for any offense given. D*ck's player on the other hand promised to play less underhanded, and not to hide info from the group, go as far as to say he'll seek the group's agreements on any big moves he'll make. Both said they will try to change the characters a bit to work with each other. Walter might see some value in D*ck after how he helped with the water situation, and how he tried to help the madam. He might at worst consider him "the lesser of two evils". D*ck's player will try to look at the party as more than just useful aspects, maybe as his... friends?

So, all in all I think all is back to normal, sort of. The friendly rivalry, bantering and pokes has returned over the emails, with the Madam's player joining in. Jenny's player is worried that bringing her in might cause undue tension (Apparently she was Walter's player ex girlfriend, and D*ck's player likes to provoke responses). So we both agreed we'll watch the situation, and see if anything is problematic. But I don't think so.

I was quite worried there for awhile. We haven't had any major party issue for years now, but the last time it happened, a player left. I still don't quite know what caused such a rise in tension. I don't think it was just the characters.

Other stuff
1) Ruphalo's player: He won't be attending next session. We try to keep meeting despite having 1 player missing. He might also change a character! This guy loves building and exchanging character, and he might have something new in mind. He is usually the quiet player, but in this game he has been quieter than usual. I think that may be due to the premade character, So I hope he creates one that suits him.

I'm not yet sure how to handle Ruphalo the character- have it be knocked unconcious or some other way taken out from the game? (Feels iffy to me). Have another player play him? (We had bad experience with that in D&D). Or if he chooses another character, maybe just have Ruphalo retire/ disappear? I'll have to think about it.

2)Pics, pics, and more pics! The wiki is coming along nicely, with written stuff added mostly by me, and Pictures added mostly by our visual guy- Jenny's player. I intend to add pics to the log retroactively, so if you've seen the pics, there is nothing new. But for the rest of you, here is a condensed version:

PCs
Unfortunately only Jenny and D*ck have pics, though I think the madam and Ruphalo also have one in the works. Currently we have:
Jennyhttp://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Jenny1_zpse2ac9e60.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Jenny1_zpse2ac9e60.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Jenny5_zpse9f469c2.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Jenny5_zpse9f469c2.jpg.html)

D*ckhttp://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Dick1_zps4f107d03.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Dick1_zps4f107d03.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Dick2_zpsd69afa52.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Dick2_zpsd69afa52.jpg.html)

Rivertown leaders
All but King Harry. We didn't yet find something fitting his grotesqueness. We have:
Jack Stilt
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/JackStilt1_zpsacc69c73.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/JackStilt1_zpsacc69c73.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/JackStilt2_zps2f5cfcf8.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/JackStilt2_zps2f5cfcf8.jpg.html)

Mr. Silvertonehttp://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MrSilvertone1_zps8157aeab.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MrSilvertone1_zps8157aeab.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MrSilvertone2_zps40007d45.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MrSilvertone2_zps40007d45.jpg.html)

Miss Diamond
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MissDiamond1_zpse6174a67.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MissDiamond1_zpse6174a67.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MissDiamond2_zpsa02d509e.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MissDiamond2_zpsa02d509e.jpg.html)

Torrent Hudsonhttp://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/TorrentHudson_zps448fd28a.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/TorrentHudson_zps448fd28a.jpg.html)

Captain O'rileyhttp://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/ORiley3_zps20ff8176.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/ORiley3_zps20ff8176.jpg.html)

Vampyrs, and the last pic is Dr. Marlo
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Vampire1_zpsf7983096.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Vampire1_zpsf7983096.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Vampire2_zps797b5e9f.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Vampire2_zps797b5e9f.jpg.html)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/DocMarlo_zps809471da.jpeg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/DocMarlo_zps809471da.jpeg.html)


Ok, that's it for now. Hope you are enjoying this, till next time!

Steckie
2013-09-16, 06:15 AM
Great read, i've really enjoyed it so far and i'm definatly going to keep following.

Kol Korran
2013-09-16, 12:29 PM
Glad you like it Steckie! :smallsmile:


Help my game?
I thought that I might just call upon the ideas, creativity and good advice of you readers in preparing a part of the next session! What do ya say, eh? Note, if you wish to help know there may be some spoilers ahead, you've been warned! :smalleek: (Yeah, the PC's will probably wreck it all, but still some of the jist of things)

Most likely our little group will travel back to Littletown in the next session. Now this brings two issues to handle:
1- The journey back. I can hand wave it and say they just got back, but considering the travel TO Rivertown, I want to add something special to the way back. Since the plan is to refocus back on the Vampyrs, and the threat behind them, and the unfinished business with the Jackal I thought to perhaps have one big battle, which starts at an Ambush, which might get out of way. Problems with that:
- It's a bit boring. The party expects Vampyrs by now, and know their general tactics (which are not too bright). Plus, they will most likely take precautions of some sort.
- The party will be with vehicles, While the Vampyrs won't (Except maybe a few mogols). Unless The vehicles get disabled (In which case there need to be a reasonable way to also avoid this), the party could just out drive the Vampyrs. I'm thinking of some sort of ambush with dug pits or camouflaged obstacles for tires or such, but it still feels like a stretch.
- I need to make it INTERESTING... which I still find it hard to do. I think of preparing the battle scene before the session, and providing interesting terrain and situational aspects.

So thoughts? :smallconfused:

2) Currently there are 3 BIG threats that complicate the party's life, that should be addressed:
- The Vampyrs.
- The mysterious assassin.
- Mr. Silvertone's displeasure.

Now, the first I'll deal with, but what about the rest? I can't reveal much about the assassin, but he works alone, and though he has some high tech gear, I'm still skeptic if he'll track the party alone. He can disguise and hide his identity well, very well, so I'm thinking of having a small group to maybe joining the party (delegates from one of the powers, or perhaps brown coats the party hires?) I need to find unexpected ways (that can be avoided with precaution enough) to try and assassinate the party. I was thinking of planting a bomb in their car, but they already routinely check the car before getting to it. (Forgot to mention that in the log, oops!) He can also shoot quite nicely, and very good at sneaking. I thought that if he joins the party on their way, he can try and kill someone at night, (how to model that with fate mechanics though? making lots of advantages of "preparing forthe kill"?) or strike when sh*t happens, like the above mentioned Vampyrs attack.

Or we can wait... let them forget about him... lower their guards? :smallamused: He he he!

Similar stuff go with the displeasure of Mr. Silvertone, only I have a few problems with this:
1- Sending assassins feels so... crude for Mr. Silvertone. So barbaric and ineffective. You might waste valuable resources.
2- Having TWO assassins after the party? A bit boring, and feels superfluous and unimaginative. Mr. Silvertone should feel like a VERY imaginative person.

In short, I'd like him to have a more interesting revenge against the party, possibly tricking them? (Sending someone that will become their friend, which will steer them to the "wrong" (nos such thing) path, later showing them they've been tricked? Or perhaps managing to give the party some hard time, possibly get them thrown out of Littletown or maybe declared criminals of some sort? (Hey, that might be a great idea!) perhaps framing them for a murder? Or something else?

Or again, I could wait, and bide my time. That would fit Mr. Silvertone quite well. So... thoughts? Help make this game better!

Important note: Though I like reading ideas, I sometime get stuck on my own. So if I don't accept all ideas or use them, please understand... :smallsmile:

Steckie
2013-09-16, 02:02 PM
Most likely our little group will travel back to Littletown in the next session. Now this brings two issues to handle:
1- The journey back. I can hand wave it and say they just got back, but considering the travel TO Rivertown, I want to add something special to the way back. Since the plan is to refocus back on the Vampyrs, and the threat behind them, and the unfinished business with the Jackal I thought to perhaps have one big battle, which starts at an Ambush, which might get out of way. Problems with that:
- It's a bit boring. The party expects Vampyrs by now, and know their general tactics (which are not too bright). Plus, they will most likely take precautions of some sort.
- The party will be with vehicles, While the Vampyrs won't (Except maybe a few mogols). Unless The vehicles get disabled (In which case there need to be a reasonable way to also avoid this), the party could just out drive the Vampyrs. I'm thinking of some sort of ambush with dug pits or camouflaged obstacles for tires or such, but it still feels like a stretch.
- I need to make it INTERESTING... which I still find it hard to do. I think of preparing the battle scene before the session, and providing interesting terrain and situational aspects.

How about something natural? It doesn't Always have to be enemies.
A sandstorm perhaps? A swarm of locusts? Quicksand? Floods? A migration of thousands of mutated cows? A fungus that keeps on growing on their vehicles, clogging the machinery?



- The mysterious assassin.

Have you already determined who the assassin is?
Perhaps you could make him somebody the party already met, perhaps even likes.
About how to get to Mr. Mighty: poison seems like a good, though making it too lethal is obviously a bad idea.



- Mr. Silvertone's displeasure.

Ok, this is isn't just about Silvertone, but i'll go ahead and put the idea here anyway.
Let's say something happens to Rivertown. Something bad (you can tie it in with your greater plot) and large part of the city is killed.
But there are obviously survivors as well. There are 6 factions, so let's say each of those faction has about 50 survivors, that's 300 in total. And about 100 people without ties to any of those factions survive as well.
With no other place to go, they go to Littletown.
This means the PC's now have a whole lot of things to do to make sure those people survive. And there are now 6 new factions in Littletown. They don't have the power they had in Rivertown, but together they roughly equal the Jenkins in power. The Jenkins still control the microfusion though.
This puts the PC's (and 100 unaligned people) right in the middle between the Jenkins and the 6 factions.

This also puts Silvertone close to the PC's and with new ways to get to them.
As for his revenge, i'd say putting D*ck Mighty out of business (while allied with the Hudsons), putting Madam Blanche out of business (while allied with the diamonds) and removing Walther from the preacher seat (allied with the Purifiers) is great for him.
It destroys the life of the 3 people that annoyed him most, but leaves them alive and unharmed to witness what he did.
It also puts Mr. Silvertone in the center of the power struggle over Littletown because he's allied with 3 former Rivertown factions (he could also try to hire the Brown coats to get a 4the faction on his side).

And, knowing the plans of Mighty, it probably means that he's going to try to recruit those 100 unaligned people and use them to become the 3rd player fighting for control over Littletown.

CombatOwl
2013-09-16, 04:30 PM
I'm not sure I get what you mean by "weapon:4 or weapon:3" I saw this mentioned in another game, you mean the damage is increased by 3 or for, a sort of lethality measure?

Shifts are increased by the weapon rating upon a successful hit--the opposite of armor, which reduces shifts by the armor rating on a failed defense. In other words, if they don't completely defend against the attack, the attacker scores damage equal to the shifts plus weapon rating minus armor. If they completely defend, the dodge does nothing. In Fate Core, it's part of the "Extras" section (an odd place to put it, but not horrible). They also discuss ways to combat the arms race between weapon ratings and armor ratings.


With complementing armors and such? Well, we didn't yet got hat far, still keeping it a bit simple. Besides, you then get a weapon/ arm race, which isn't the focus at the moment, which ultimately leads to everyone HAVING to use heavy armor, and having to use heavy weapons,

You can tag the equipment with problematic aspects when you give it to the players (or NPCs!). For example, you can make the heavy weapons unreliable or unwieldy--letting you invoke or compel that later if needed. Because of the way that "health" works in Fate, having big piles of armor isn't actually a requirement. Even if you get hit hard it just means you're taking consequences, which can be resolved over time. Heavy armor and heavy weapons should have some unpleasant aspects to go with the high ratings, if you want people not to use them all the time (and want to use the weapon system described in Fate Core, obviously you can ignore that if you want).


I do think of changing a bit the machine guns to just attack all enemies in a zone, without splitting the dice. sounds more appropriate to me.

Well, if you're not splitting up shifts on a zone attack, that's going to get pretty deadly in a hurry. The normal way I've seen it done is to split shifts between every target in the zone, but any hit that does get made gets the weapon rating added as additional damage. That way you avoid throwing half a dozen shifts on the entire party and such. A big part of the reason that weapon ratings work the way they do is to allow situations like this to be mechanically interesting (a machine gun emplacement with no way around probably ought to be kind of terrifying to the characters), while at the same time giving the players a chance to dodge out of the way.

Kol Korran
2013-09-18, 08:20 AM
Ok, got myself some time to think and plan the next session better. I'd like to respond to the above posters though.


How about something natural? It doesn't Always have to be enemies.
A sandstorm perhaps? A swarm of locusts? Quicksand? Floods? A migration of thousands of mutated cows? A fungus that keeps on growing on their vehicles, clogging the machinery?
Hey Steckie! :smallsmile: Thanks for the suggestions! I can put some other scene, but I wonder what purpose it would present? What does it add to the story? What important questions does it arise?

The sandstorm might be cool to add (Or a sift storm? :smallconfused:) As an added complication for another scene, but on itself I think it just feels odd, like a distraction out of place. So there need to be something more to it than just a natural hazard...

Some of the other ideas might also be of interest, but again- on their own, out of context to the story they will just be a disruption. The party has enough to worry about, I don't wish to add much more. I'll think about this, and see if I can use these ideas. :smallwink:


Have you already determined who the assassin is?
Perhaps you could make him somebody the party already met, perhaps even likes.
About how to get to Mr. Mighty: poison seems like a good, though making it too lethal is obviously a bad idea.
Yes, I know who the assassin is. Sffice to say that he knows things the party might be interested in, great at stealth, disguise and explosives, a decent shot, and has a few nice gadgets.
Poison? Hmmm.. that might work, Though I'll need to think of how to modulate it in Fate. Could be an attack against Physique. That may be one idea, though I"m thinking of something more direct. I'll need to think about this.


Ok, this is isn't just about Silvertone, but i'll go ahead and put the idea here anyway.
Let's say something happens to Rivertown. Something bad (you can tie it in with your greater plot) and large part of the city is killed.
But there are obviously survivors as well. There are 6 factions, so let's say each of those faction has about 50 survivors, that's 300 in total. And about 100 people without ties to any of those factions survive as well.
With no other place to go, they go to Littletown.
This means the PC's now have a whole lot of things to do to make sure those people survive. And there are now 6 new factions in Littletown. They don't have the power they had in Rivertown, but together they roughly equal the Jenkins in power. The Jenkins still control the microfusion though.
This puts the PC's (and 100 unaligned people) right in the middle between the Jenkins and the 6 factions.

This also puts Silvertone close to the PC's and with new ways to get to them.
As for his revenge, i'd say putting D*ck Mighty out of business (while allied with the Hudsons), putting Madam Blanche out of business (while allied with the diamonds) and removing Walther from the preacher seat (allied with the Purifiers) is great for him.
It destroys the life of the 3 people that annoyed him most, but leaves them alive and unharmed to witness what he did.
It also puts Mr. Silvertone in the center of the power struggle over Littletown because he's allied with 3 former Rivertown factions (he could also try to hire the Brown coats to get a 4the faction on his side).

And, knowing the plans of Mighty, it probably means that he's going to try to recruit those 100 unaligned people and use them to become the 3rd player fighting for control over Littletown.
This is an interesting idea, but I wish to keep Rivertown active and running for now, and not just scrap it. Plus, if Rivertown suffers such a calamity, It would be crude to make it without the party being able to do SOMETHING about it, which is a whole new issue. Such a calamity will probably wipe out most of the holdings and resources of these powers, making them very much weaker, and most likely much less of a threat.

I'd like to maintain the "small town folks Vs, big town politics" feel, so far. Mr. Silvertones' revenge should be subtle, but in the close future I believe.

Thanks for your advice, it stirred up some ideas. :smallamused: I'm not yet sure what I will use, but we'll see.


Shifts are increased by the weapon rating upon a successful hit--the opposite of armor, which reduces shifts by the armor rating on a failed defense. In other words, if they don't completely defend against the attack, the attacker scores damage equal to the shifts plus weapon rating minus armor. If they completely defend, the dodge does nothing. In Fate Core, it's part of the "Extras" section (an odd place to put it, but not horrible). They also discuss ways to combat the arms race between weapon ratings and armor ratings.
I think it's in the "extras" just because that is what it is- an extra. it's not a
"must be" rule. Currently I don't think the weapon ratign fit my game, as I said- it's just an escalation. I might take Kyuryu's suggestion, but even so people will just "have to" have the best weapon and best armor, which ruins more subtle builds like D*ck and the madam. They need to remain effective in combat without having to resort to going around in heavy armor and miniguns, which are really not their style. The style and flavor of the characters is much more important to me. I'd keep special weapons and special armor just that- special.


You can tag the equipment with problematic aspects when you give it to the players (or NPCs!). For example, you can make the heavy weapons unreliable or unwieldy--letting you invoke or compel that later if needed. Because of the way that "health" works in Fate, having big piles of armor isn't actually a requirement. Even if you get hit hard it just means you're taking consequences, which can be resolved over time. Heavy armor and heavy weapons should have some unpleasant aspects to go with the high ratings, if you want people not to use them all the time (and want to use the weapon system described in Fate Core, obviously you can ignore that if you want). I disagree with you that armor isn't needed if more deadly weapons are in play. you have weapons that cause more damage, yet the health system stays the same. Sure you can heal consequences over time, but you'll be hit more if deadlier weapons are in play than if not, suffer more damage, and suffer more consequences. The little experience I've had so far showed that once you're starting taking consequences, you spiral down FAST! So you MUST have armor...

I do like powerful weapons having drawbacks. For "regular" weapons these are limiting conditions or ammo, expressed in a very simplified manner. for more special weapons it will require stunts or have suitable aspects. That is a good idea, thanks!


Well, if you're not splitting up shifts on a zone attack, that's going to get pretty deadly in a hurry. The normal way I've seen it done is to split shifts between every target in the zone, but any hit that does get made gets the weapon rating added as additional damage. That way you avoid throwing half a dozen shifts on the entire party and such. A big part of the reason that weapon ratings work the way they do is to allow situations like this to be mechanically interesting (a machine gun emplacement with no way around probably ought to be kind of terrifying to the characters), while at the same time giving the players a chance to dodge out of the way.

think we'll need to try it. The limit of ammo for such weapons, combined with the fact that Ruphalo and Walter often close to close combat very often means that I don't think it will be used that much. But we'll try and see. No one taken the stunt yet, perhaps I'll give it to some enemy.

Thanks for the itnerest and suggestions, much appreciated! :smallsmile:
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks folks! I'll go to think and plan for a bit, still welcoming ideas and suggestions. Be sure to drop in a line or two.:smalltongue:

Kol Korran
2013-09-22, 02:46 PM
Session 6- part 1: Last dealings before leaving

Hey there folks! So we had our meeting two days ago. It was a long meeting (9 hours) so I may divide this to 3 parts as well, mostly depending on how tired I get between parts. Ruphalo's player was not present. Let's start, shall we?

A few matters of the last minute
As usual, despite emails to give me relevant info enough time before the meeting, my players awoke to the game just a day before the session. A few changes and plans:

Jenny changed her "dodging the reaper" aspect to "Got a lot to make up for", showing her growing conciounce and morality.
D*ck changed "Wanna bet" (His trouble, which was nearly never used) to "my old friend Murphy", and "few friends, many enemies" to "It's all about appearances".
D*ck's player said he had quite a few plans in store, but wished to lay them down in the meeting, to get an agreement for them.
Jenny's player informed me she plans to explore the "X"s on Dr. Marlo's map when they get back, maybe find out more about the Vampyrs and their menace.


At the start of the sessions itself we decided that most vehicles are crappy vehicles, and can sustain a 1 and a 2 stress boxes, and suffer a mild consequence at most. They have an armor of 2. Better vehicles (Like D*ck's hammer and Jenny's Harley are better). We discussed some other concept and rules issues, but I'll detail these after the session.

Oh, we have a new picture for Madam Cynthia!
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/MadamNew_zpse37d138b.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/MadamNew_zpse37d138b.jpg.html)

Still at the Sunny Acres
The party was REAL worried about Jenny spilling her beans, and decided to investigate. The madam and Walter were on the job, While D*ck and Jenny decided to try and lower the flames and appease Mr. Silvertone somehow. We dealt with Sunny Acres first.

The madam began... socializing. We treated this as a Challenge: composed of contacts, rapport and deceive skills. She did almost failed once, but "expecting the worst" she knew how to manipulate people, finally succeeding. , and we played it that she met an old contact- Tommy Jenkins! Tommy was a bit of a black sheep of the Jenkins family, and was an outside trader for the family. The madam scolded him for not using the services of the Merilyn ,as he apologized, anxiety on his face. "I'm just... here to talk with the girls!" ("That's not what you said last night!") The madam continued to talk with him, with us playing the awkward brothel meeting. ("Just don't tell the wife!") and so on. She got him talking enough to learn the courtesan who milked Jenny for information is called Cherry, and that all the girls are greatly loyal to Miss Diamond and her seconds- Ruby, Jade, Sapphire and Onyx. "Really madam, I'm just passing through, barely seen this place" ("That's not what you said last month!") the meeting was mostly humorous, and quite fun. She managed to succeed in style on one of the checks, and so she learned Cherry was using the drug "Red Haze", which they hoped to use.

Walter caught Cherry just as eh left the meeting earlier, and she promised she would be with him later. The madam managed to tell him the info, before he met with Cherry, about 1-2 hours later. She took him to a private room, where she tried promoting her... wares, but the preacher, being a preacher, moved to stop her and to "Just talk". He tried to be nonthreatening, but when that didn't work did try his best to look serious and "all business", He succeeded nicely, so she blurted out that Miss Diamond sent her, and that she told her everything. Walter tried to gauge if Miss Diamond was interested in anything specific, but that Cherry couldn't tell.

So now they knew Miss Diamond surely knows more than they want. But to what end?

Meanwhile, at the Silvertones
They were out to set an idea D*ck thought of. They wished to buy time, perhaps diffuse the tension. However, the place was bustling, even this late at night, and two armed guards plus two brown coats stopped them at the gate. "No one comes in, especially not YOU Mr. Mighty, Mr. SIlvertone gave specific orders!" Thinking quickly on his feet, Mr. Mighty approached the speaker. "You're doing a fine job at the charade, Mr. Silvertone said you will. Any onlookers will be well deceived. Do continue! I'm sure Mr. Silvertone will thank you for playing up our play." HE then contunued to act as offended dramatically. The guard, confused, decided to play. "Oh yes! In fact he is so angry he'll want to tell you himself!" and led them in.

Needless to say, Silvertone was furious at the guard, and sent him quickly out. He was ready to have Jenny and D8ck expelled, but Jenny "Cut to the chase" and started laying her plan. "You want to learn about the trouble of the north? Very well, we have fought the Vampyrs, we have saved Little town. You give us some slack, and we investigate these troubles for you." D*ck's plan was to have them work for Silvertone on something they already wanted to do, and so kill two birds with one stone. But Mr. Silvertone was not easily appeased. "You wish to deal with me? YOU?! Your group, including your friend here have offended me twice already (aspect), and have proven you have NO honor (Another aspect), you specifically have shown poor restraint in the meeting, you got a contract on your head, The madam insults people, your brother Walter is too stiff and stuck in his opinions, and you call yourself professionals?"

Jenny tried to add. "You know things, you have your contacts. I bet you know about what we do more than anyone in the city. We managed to succeed in most things we've done, amongst them holding of the horde and killing their champions, quite a few of them. We are the best for this."

It didn't seem to yet convince Mr. Silvertone, who was allready waving his hand away, when D*ck intervened. "You fear the trouble from the north, and I know you lack the means to deal with it. We are those means, those assets, disposable assets. (Aspect), You worry about the microfusion, but you know just as me that those wee the words people needed to hear, and now that it's doen, things can progress in closed doors, in hushed words. (Appearances are everything)." He was still not convinced, when both negotiators came up with the right idea. "Look, you want to know, right? We'll be your ears, your eyes, we'll learn and bring back the information to you, as part of your team." (Knowledge is power, Or power).

That was enough to change his mind. A tough negotiation, but a successful one. Mr. Silvertone thought and replied. "very well, A test then. You'll report to me in 30 days, with information you've found. In fact, Mr. Rhodes here" he motioned to a stiff "English butler/ lawyer" guy at the corner. "Will accompany you to Little town, along with the... rest." They both perked up to this "Rest?" Silvertone looked bored. "Due to Brother Walter's speech, some have decided to send their people to speak with the Jenkins themselves.

Jenny and D*ck accepted, and quickly left, before he'll change his mind. They all made it to King Harry's palace, made a small conversation with him about the days in the bad lands, and went to sleep. Ruphalo informed the party he intends to stay with King Harry for the meantime. That was our excuse for him not participating in the session.

GMing notes
I totally winged this session with Silvertone, and was surpised at their success. This... really changes plans. I had quite a few plots for him and his people. Oh well, not the first time this happens. Bummed me a bit though. But I was happy to see the players feeling like they've just taken a big load of their backs.

Checking out?
Next day they drove to the towns gates to meet with Mr. Rhodes. They met the rest of the delegation there as well:

2 trucks of the brown coats, each with a driver and 5 browncoats, led by none otherthan... Deputy Kell!
Mr. Rhodes, with his little black notebook and severe face.
A beautiful young looking woman, who turnedoutto be Sapphire, one of Miss Diamond assistants, only much more alluring. The party nicknamed her "the stewerdess".
Barry Hudson- a large loud and cheerful man, along with the three nondescript Bones Brothers.
William Stilt and Peter! Jenny was quite surprised to see them, and they were surprised as well. They were unsure why they were here, except as to assess the microfusion plant in Littletown, for potential improvements.
About 8-10 merceneries as extra guns.


This was a big delegation, and the party groaned a bit, But were mostly amused. They had other troubles though, as Captain O'Riley came towards them. He called D*ck and Jenny over. "Well, apparently last night Malcolm Danes tripped... into a bullet... in his bed. Now Mr. Mighty, some people said you came to the Hudson's place a few days ago and threatened him? I heard you do the same with my own ears last night." ("Deadman walking" aspect)

"And you Miss Wilson. My resources tell me you're quite the mercenary, good at getting people killed, and with some... involvement with Mr. Mighty here, am I right?" Jenny didn't know quite how to take it, and just exclaimed at how preposterous it all was. D*ck managed to lie his way through this well enough, which also cut the link to Jenny, so they got away with this as well. :smallannoyed:

Before they left the party suddenly joked about checking the hammer for bombs. And... they rolled well, with the stelath for the bomb at -4 (!!) so they... found it! They found the bomb that was supposed to complicate things much more later. They joked about who was to diffuse it, when D*ck just found a new car (only crumpier, like a normal car) and left this one for Ruphalo to disarm. Sapphire, whom D*ck invited to the hammer before was quite mortified, deciding to travel with the brown coats.

another complication undone. :smallsigh:

Finally, they left Rivertown, on their way to Littletown!

GMing notes
1) The delegation: The idea was to bring politics in a more minute form with them, in case this interests them enough, with a slight change of persona.

2) Captain O'Riley's accusations: This was mostly to show that D*ck's contract worked, and give satisfaction to the player, as well as "getting away with it". It could have gone more complicated, but it went quite well... Sigh, this went a LOT in this meeting.

3)The Bomb: I was hoping it will complicate future encounters more, by adding an explosion to the scene. Yes, the assassin was with them, well under disguise...
-----------------------------------------
Ok, growing tired, I'll try and catch up in the next few days. Next time, a BIG fight!

Kol Korran
2013-09-23, 02:16 PM
Another day, another post. :smallsmile:


Session 6, part 2- Road to Littletown, The Jackal returns

This time Walter rode in D*ck's car, and the madam on Jenny's bike. The convoy rode in a long file, with Jenny zip zapping around, and D*ck seeking cover in the middle. For some strange reason the party was sure they are about to be attacked by... missiles? :smallconfused:

Aaaaaaanywho, Instead of running the road as I did on the way to Rivertown, I just skipped to the main scenes, after checking with the general road routine they were all having. They left security for Deputy Kell.

They grow in number, return of the Jackal
On the second night, when they stopped to sleep, they put their car in a circle (ala circle the wagons). Of all characters D*ck tried to guard, but at the end fell asleep, all were quite anticipating and ready for trouble.

And trouble did come, in the form of many, many howls of Vampyrs from 2 sides, and a great rush towards them! As I placed the initial ones who were in sight (about 2 zones from the guard circle) the players were not happy, they looked like many! (about 20 and a little of the first wave). Rhodes, Sapphire, Peter and Stilt ducked under or into cars, while Deputy Kell called to open fire. Some of the vampyrs were blocking part of the way, and the gunshots of a few mogols, trying to wreck the cars made it that escape was unlikely. (That is what he said, I was more than welcome to let the party try it. "You can try everything, but some things are gonna be difficult").

Madam jumps and surprise everyone by getting in front and shooting. We realized this was her first serious fight in roleplay, and it might just kill her. Jenny called her back while activating her headlights, and some of the Vampyrs recoiled from the lights. Walter unpacks "Mr. Handy", who starts shooting as well.

the guards open fire and quite a few vampyrs fall down, but the rest quickly close the gap, with a second wave behind them. The party now hear the frantic screams of the mercenaries, (and some brown coats) trying to fend of the gnashing beasts. The hidden mogols in the meantime shoot up two cars, still trying to take them out of commision.

The party thought it was bad, when the laughing giggling maddened sounds of the Jackal come about "You comsee again! More fleshy to reapsy! Come and play with Jackal hey?" It carves a way through some guards and get straight into the circle. The party shifts their attention to the knife bearing beast.

Knowing he is unlikely to hit it, D*ck tries a different tactics. "Everyone who brings me it's head gets all the drugs, women and guns I can buy for them, or my name isn't D*ck mighty!" We rule out that half the guards manage to turn and shoot at the Jackal (using mob rules) pelting it with a barrage of fire. Mr. Handy, under Walter's directions gives some cover fire (Create an advantage), while the madam turns the UV lights from Jenny's back towards it. The Jackal rushes in with his dance of blade, trying to hit as many as it can, but misses miserably (They rolled -4 for his attack :smallannoyed:) but Jenny... she loads up on all advantages, and adds a fair bit of her own fate points (mercenary with blazing guns, got a lot to make up for) to put a hell of a lot of fire power into him. They've taken out all of it's stress before it even hit him.

But the guards are not faring well, more than half of them are dead, and some Vampyrs even broke in... Walter lets Mr. handy continue, and calls to the guards to continue fighting, that they will soon kill the leader, and other inspiring stuff, trying to keep their spirits up despite of the terror. He succeeds well, so I rule he takes down more of the Vampyrs. D*ck, trying to create a diversion and draw some enemies, gets into one of the undamaged cars and starts it. This does the trick, as about 5-6 of them come and try to break in, turn over the car.

The Jackal, alarmed tries to use it's stench to cause aversion in the party, and almost manages with the madam, but she takes heed of Walter's will (A stunt), and manages to hold tall. Jenny manages to shoot and wound the creature, we say it's again a shot in the ass! ("Turn the other cheek")

An interesting compel, in an interesting time
This is when D*ck wishes to compel his "Old friend Murphy" aspect. He suggests that the assassin (Which they correctly assumed was under some disguise with the delegation), attacks him now! So he did, as he rose from the back sit and struck D*ck wit ha knife, taking out most of his stress. D*ck didn't panic however, and started to drive off, managing to get way across the vampyrs, to the rough surface beyond. The party was alarmed he was basically taking the Assassin himslef, while at a disadvantage (did I mentioned the knife was poisoned and drugged him?) while driving into hostile territory, but we'll get to that soon. D*ck noticed however that the Vampyrs were not trying to get to the assassin...

Meanwhile Jenny and the madam (and Mr. handy!) worked to create advantages for Walter, who created a severe consequence, gutting him, and quite soon after Jenny popped a cap in it's head. The party blew all of their fate points on this, but they weren't that many to begin with. I was quite surprised at how easy this was. Most guards were dead by now, but so were most vampyrs, who decided to run away.

GM design
I'm not sure I handled this battle "Fate style". I think I made it quite a bit tactical, with distances, exact amounts of adverseries, a general estimate of how many guards and vampyrs were taken each turn according to skills and numbers and such. However, the entire time the deal was with the party fighting the Jackal, so perhaps, in Fate's "it's all about the narrative" style I should have explained the situation as "hordes of enemies", and focused on the crucial, the dramatic, the important issues of the party. Had they tried to say, force a break through the vampyr waves, then we could have played that, but no need for the full battle tactics I think...

The battle went quite easily this time, even though they lacked Ruphalo. I As I asked, Jenny's player replied- "We just learned how Fate battles work- you stack up aspects and advantages, and then deliver the blow." Hmmm, it seems I may need to change the way to conduct battles. "Boss fights" seem inappropriate here, or at least the way I ran them so far.

They diffused another complication! :smallfrown::smallsmile: And we still didn't use situation aspects well. :smallsigh: But I think the battle was fun, and a long needed release of aggresion! :smallamused:

Aren't we forgetting someone?
D*ck was in quite a predicament, partly drugged he drove off, However he used his main weapon to get himself out of trouble- Lies, and then lies upon lies! (A stunt). He told the assassin that he was being used, will soon be betrayed and offered to pay him triple the amount her was paid, and more, enough to cause doubt. The assassin questioned him, talking in a raspy old voice, like that of a corpse. (Think sore throat Clint Eastwood) D*ck managed to cause some doubt, but not to turn him away, soe he used deception one more time, and dove off the car while steering wildly and heading the car into a rock. (A challange of deceive, athletics and drive)

This caught the assassin by surprise, and he crashed, but got out well enough. It was hard to see him in the dark, as under the mercanery clothes he wore a suit of a dark material, and D*ck thought he some tiny bits of his face off, like some sort of a very good mask. There was a moment's pause, and a quick shoot out which abruptly stopped as the assassin heard Jenny's bike coming near. He could still kill D*ck, or D*ck him, it was a tense moment.

I decided to try a concede, which ended up like this. "You leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. You're not worth the pay" said the assassin. D*ck, who always preffered open ends as potential opportunities agreed. "What is your name, if I want to find you?" The assassin threw a smoke grenade and vanished, with but a short reply "I'm called Snare". Jenny arrived, and got D*ck back, who told the party about it all. The contract was off his head.

What did the party thought about it? They think he's some sort of a cybrog/ robot/ something mechanical

GM notes
So this happened unexpected, and it was a compel who turned out great, though I don't think compels are supposed to work exactly like that. But I'll touch on that later. I had planned to use Snare in a few ways along the way, amongst them the bomb mentioned in the previous post and more. I actually did intend to have him attack D*ck at this conjecture, but forgot about it. :smalltongue: Good thing he mentioned this. (Though I also think this was his idea of how to uncover the assassin)

I'm posting the mechanics, but not all of his aspects, as it exposes a few too many things yet, but here so far:

Snare
Superb: stealth
Great: deceive, craft
Good: shoot, Investigate, will
Fair: Athletics, survival, notice, Resources
Average: Empathy, Ride, physique, fight
OOO, OOOO

Aspects: "Explosive expert.", "Survived it all"," Haunted by the past". "Stealth assassin"

Stunts:
Explosives: Can create and use grenades and explosives (House rules)
Dark suit: +1 armor, +1 physique protect Vs. radiation, +1 stealth at night
Disguise expert: +2 to use desguises
Bomb maker: add +2 to strength of explosives made.



Bodies on the road
There were only 3 brown coats alive (One a very shocked and pissed off Deputy Kelly), one frightened mercenary, and two of the Bones brothers (Hudson) were dead two. They were all quite shocked, Rhodes impressed, writing in his notebook, Peter terrified, and Sapphire hysteric and swooning. Some took trucks with bodies back to Rivertown, while the rest hopped on a truck and two cars and headed off.

The next day they came upon near the ambush point by the mutants on the way to Rivertown, only they found 3 dead mutant bodies. Worried they stopped, fearing an ambush, or a last surprise from Snare or more. D*ck however noticed Rhodes acutely watching, and decided to try and impress, and strode dramatically towards the bodies. Examining them he was disturbed- one showed cruch wounds, as if something extremely heavy crushed it, including it's skull.

Walter joine,d and examined the other two bodies. One shown burn marks, like those from the Sheriff's plasma rifle, and the other... no mark, except for a terrified expression on it's face. The party discussed the findings "So something huntings mutants, this far south, with big hammers, plasma rifles and... psionics?" They didn't know much more to do, and so got on their vehicles and drove off.

The rest of the journey went off without incident, till they reached Littletown, finally! :smallsmile:


Something for the mood! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir1A74UA2YE) :smallwink:

GM notes
I intended this to be a "clues to what comes up next" kind of little scene, but it's not very well designed- nothing interesting happens if the party fails the investigation, so we either have what I wished them to learn, or... boredom. Not exactly exciting. Might as well narrated a boxed text. Oh well, at least wasn't that big a scene.
-----------------------------------------------
Enough for now. Next will come the dealings in Littletown, and a little exploration. Hope you're enjoying the read!

So far the party managed to diffuse 3 main threats:
- Mr. Silvertone
- The Jackal
- Snare.
Strangely enough I think it's appropriate, as it brings them mroe fresh and unhindered for the trouble to come. :smallsmile:
Drop a line if you feel like it! All are appreciated, even criticism (Though aim for a building one instead of a scorching if possible, eh?)

Scow2
2013-09-23, 02:28 PM
This continues to be a fun read!

Draz74
2013-09-24, 12:13 AM
Good read ... reinforces my impression that I don't want to try running a FATE game until I have had a chance to play under someone else, though.

Kol Korran
2013-09-24, 01:53 PM
Session 6, part 3- Opportunities in Littletown, new investigations.

Little town has changed somewhat While they were gone. About 2/3rds of the wall was complete, as well as two alert towers, on the northeast to town and one the south. They were greeted by the town folks who weren't working, congratulating them.

The madam immediately went to check on the Marilyn (I love it how seriously she takes her roleplay), and was greeted by Betty, her eldest gal. Now, apparently the player didn't quite realize that the Merilyn was a quaint little quality place, and not the sprawling den of sin and delight that Sunny Acres were. But we... sort of compromised on something befitting Littletown. She checked on her girls, profits, and any rumors- but life had been quiet in Littletown, mostly work, Burt trying his best to show involvement and caring for people, and the Sheriff taking selected body of men to scout the surrounding area and take down Vampyrs. The abominations still attacked a few times, in tiny groups, and have killed four more people, but on the whole things were quiet.

The madam wanted more, and we agreed to furnish the Merilyn better between meetings. She wanted to make it the top place in the region! A great goal I must say. Hmmm... I smell future adventures. The other players however made fun of her and her girls (I shouldn't have said Betty was the elder gal) But it was in good jest. She was proud of her girls, and meant to show it!

The group was soon met with Burt Jenkins and a few of his siblings, welcoming them and the delegation. He thanked them all greatly, giving them due credit at becoming the "Saviors of Littletown" (An aspect with 2 free invokes. They should have gotten it after the first save, but hey- better late than never). They all went into the Jenkins manor, as Burt was confused at the delegation.

So they sat around a big table. D*ck noticed Burt giving a good look at Sapphire, and tried to ascertain who's boss diplomatically, though Burt turned him down. Barry quickly introduced themselves, when all eyes turned to Walter, who explained what transpired in Rivertown (minus Silvertone plots). Burt wished to talk with them all in the next few days. He asked abotu the power converter, and Jenny was ready to fix the microfusion station, and wished to have a... quiet word with Burt on the way. D*ck, realizing this, suggested they would all go drinks in his manor, and so the delegation reluctently departed. Peter stayed behind to help Jenny, but only after she talked to Burt.

Jenny advised Burt to not rely on the people of the delegation, and take heed of the siblings advice, as well as of their party. "We have shown you our worth twice so far, if in doubt, talk to us". She fixed the station, and Littltown resumed making microfusion cells. Walter had a similar talk with him, only emphasizing to beware of siblings who might have not jut Littletown's intrest at heart. (I was trying to put faces to the siblings, and chose two names- Clara and Willis. I portrayed them as showing a bit of an interest in the offers, and now the party figured out Clara is some sort of a second Ma Jenkins. :smallsigh: Hey, might be a good idea?)

D*ck meanwhile esocrted them to his manor, into the lounge. Drinks were poured, courtesies made, but then D*ck made a short, but pointed speech who's message was simple- "If any of you make any dealings with the Jenkins behind my back, I'll put all of my power and resources to stop you, and ruin your day". The threat was simple, but well put. The delegation seemed polite about the threat.

Taking it to the Merilyn
The delegation moved to the Merilyn, as well as the party, for some good R&R after the attack on the road. Rhodes sipped a small drink, watching like a hawk. Jenny caught Peter for a talk, seeking to build friendship and maybe change her views from the Purifiers' racist approach, though in a slow measured way. (It won't happen to night). Burt came too, and Sapphire quickly found herself sitting by him, her arm around him, laughing at his jokes and such. Barry and the last Bones brother just drank somberly, along with Deputy Kell who was getting SERIOUSLY drunk. The madam took point at being the hostess, seeing her girls find companions and what not.

Soon after the party started however, came the Sheriff, with the dust of the roads still on his coat. He nodded at everyone. "Glad to see you're alive. Madam, my drink please, and a quiet corner". He took his drink and went to the side to sulk, as all good coppers do. :smallbiggrin:

D*ck, Walter and Jenny went to talk with him. The sheriff was pleased ofthe progress of the wall, but as always his opinion was that "it ain't gonna end well!". His scouting missions confirmed the Vampyrs were unorganized, and in small groups, usually a mogol or two supervising a few Vampyrs, but they were growing more numerous, and.... they were moving. "Moving where?" Asked D*ck. "I don't know, I'm getting too old for this sh*t! just moving." Walter inquired "Have you seen anything unordinary, anything weird or not fitting". The sheriff grimaced. "I'm the sheriff of this goddamned town, I can't go on long scouting mission. I've been to the factory in Forest Ville, killed a few vampyrs, but otherwise it's deserted and non functioning. I found some more notes of that sicko- Dr. Marlo." He thrust some papers down, which had mad looking scriblling on them. "Me and Dr. Cross have been trying to figure them out, but with little success. All we got is that his experiments at transforming humans to Vampyrs were but an imitation of some other science, something he calls "The process", which is apparently bigger by scale, a LOT bigger!" The Sheriff downed his drink down, obviously melancholic. Jenny wondered "We can go explore further, any idea where to start?" The sheriff pulled out Dr. Marlo's map, and pointed at one X, quite close to Littletown. "Here, closest place, probably belonged to those tribals you found. If you can check if there is something in that blasted piece of wasteland, could help a lot.

They thought of this as a good option, and let the Sheriff to his drink. They set off to get some sleep, with Jenny sending a small message to Burt. "Have all the fun you want, just remember our talk. Make sure you know who f***s who!" (I hope this form is ok?)

GM notes- the sheriff
The players loved the character of the sheriff, I thought it would be great fun. They supplied half his lines, using his great aspects. It was a bit of an exposition, but not too much I think.

Not done with that guy yet- The madam's nightly visit
The madam woke up at night in her bed with a hand on her mouth. Surprised she looked up to the face of... Snare. It was dark, so she couldn't see details, but she saw something was a bit off with his face/ mask. "I didn't come to hurt you or harm you madam, just didn't want you to scream. I need to know, where are they?" He asked as he released the grip from her mouth.

"Get off me! now!" she said furiously, and he obeyed. "I need to know, a woman, two children, Talila and the twins. They were here, I left them here. Where are they now?" But the madam was quite furious at having an intruder in her bed room, and demanded to know who he is, where he came from, and other matters. "I gave your friend all the information you need to know for now. I am here to protect them. Where are they?" But she stoically refused to divulge any information before he reveals more himself. He sighed. "Very well, I have an idea where to start looking", and left off the window

The player was quite flustered at the ease she was approached (The Merilyn isn't protected other than locks and the girls and their guns). and started making plans to acquire some night guards.

GM notes
This was an attempt to introduce that Snare may not be all bad, and that he's connected to the bigger picture more than just an assassin for hire. The others were quite interested in this.

Decision point- exploration or politics
At this point two things were on the table. First of all D*ck brought up the subject of removing Burt (In nonviolent ways) because he was "an incompetent wimp who'll end up making deals behind our back with the blond bimbo or someone else, and then all of our work is for nothing! Same with any other big decision- we can't trust him". While Jenny and Walter claimed that "He's a good man, and might prove good enough with the aid of his brothers and sister, and us to advise him when we can." D*ck's player also claimed that "In FATE you don't exactly go up in levels, but your progress is by doing things in the world, in making a difference (and aspects), actually DOING stuff, and what's better than changing the status of a town?" Walter and Jenny's player claimed however that "we cant exactly rule the town and go on adventures now, can we? and if we put someone to rule for us while we're gone, then we're back to square one." The discussion lasted but a little, and in humorous tones, D*ck's player relenting quickly.

The second discussion can probably best be described by this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqH21LEmfbQ) They didn't know if they should all go to investigate the X on the map, or if some should stay and diffuse any attempts by the delegation to make arrangements with Burt behind their back. But... the party had enough of politics for now it seemed. They agreed (Even D*ck) to let Burt fend for himself and go explore. It would take about 6-7 days, they just hoped Littletown will survive till they get back. They were half joking that by the time they get back Burt sell the town by the time they get back probably, but they just wanted more action.

GM notes
The second discussion was good, it told me they don't want to deal with the politics no more. Burt might prove surprisingly resistant I think. Unless I can think up something with a better. But now I had a better idea of their preferences- old style adventuring!

Wasteland exploration
(It was at this point our usuall meeting time ended. I asked them if they wanted to continue, so we decided to go on for 2 more hours)

Not having any more cars, D*ck bought Deputy Kell's truck the following morning. Still not good as his hammer, but reasonable and "Sturdy built". The destination was 3 days away. I divided this to two Challenges: The first was avoiding mishaps such as encounters on the road, the second locating the actual village and making investigation. This went kinda... borked from this point. the players treated this as a series of rolls (Which in a way it was) instead of roleplaying the voyage (Which admited I didn't quite know how to do). This is a bit like Skill challenges in D&D4 which always felt quite unsatisfying to me.

To make a boring story short, after 3 days of uneventful travel they got to the remains of a tribals village. Walter conducted the investigation, but found nothing. The sweeping-scan team however helped him and located vampyr footprints, fresh ones! They sneaked after them, and found two moog hounds and a mogol at the opening of a tunnel probably leading to a small survival bunker that was from before the war. They could hear the voices of Vampyrs down below.

Jenny sat down and placed her sniper rifle, with D*ck and the madam as her backup. Walter in the meantime tried to sneak against the wind. As he got close, Jenny aimed, and shot the first moog hound, killing it dead. Chaos erupted, as 6 more vapyrs came from below, with another mogol. They spread out as Jennyshot the second hound and wounded it. They caught sent of Jenny and Walter, and spread to kill them all. D*ck and the madam managed to kill off the second moog hound as it came galloping, and it's rider fell down and crushed his head. Jenny then managed to blow the head of the last mogol, which was enough to send the rest of the Vampyrs running.

Now what was in the bunker?

Dark tales
They found the small place held a trio of children behind the closed door (Walter's words made them open it). The childre were off the village, and described the group of Dr. Marlo as it came. They were of the prisoners, till they escaped, to the bunker the grownups told them to hide in in case of trouble. (It had the village's provisions in it, acting as a pantry of sorts) But they did have other disturbing news. There was a SECOND group here, who argued with Dr. Marlo. They were people in dark clothing, of a strange material, with faces like mirrors. They came in 2 hover crafts, and their were big big people with them (mutants like Ruphalo) covered in metal. They argued about directions (They understood that Marlo continued to Forest Ville, But didn't understand about the direction of the dark men). The children managed to also hear a name of a place... "Fort Lost"? But no one in the party understood what it meant. With these disturbing news the party thought they may have more leads to explore.
-------------------------------------------------------
And here we ended the session. All in all a fairly mild session, at least compared to the previous ones. But it raised quite a few questions about playing the game of Fate, which I'll raise up in my next post (Some of you may have noticed a few question threads of mine hanging around allready).

I am very pleased that the tension mentioned in the last meeting seem to have dissipated, and now we're back to our regular selves. Plus I like the roleplay this group is producing. Next session things will be turned up a few notches (I hope they find it challenging.) I have a few more plans, but I'm also waiting to see what other plans do the party have.

That is all for now, Hope you're enjoying,
Kol.

Kol Korran
2013-09-24, 02:03 PM
Good read ... reinforces my impression that I don't want to try running a FATE game until I have had a chance to play under someone else, though. Thanks for the interest. I agree with you that I would also prefer to play in a fate group before GMing one. While I think the players are enjoying, I do feel I am getting quite a few basics wrong (I'll touch on it a bit in the "between sessions" post), but my group is understanding (They have to be- I'm one of the only two DMs, and he's burned out currently. :smallamused:) and willing to try something to solve our roleplay problems.

The thing I find it most hard to understand is the FATE mind frame of collaborative story telling. While this is true to some degree in most RPGs, in FATE it is much more, but I still think we play mostly D&D style, where the DM prepares an adventure, and the players mostly come to play it, not quite MAKING the adventure and the world itself.

I'm facing two unique problems here though, not directly linked to the system:
1) I don't know the genre very well, and I don't have that many cool ideas for it. I think 95% of what I came up with I would easily link to Fallout 1&2 somehow. I'm much more in my element in fantasy, but this is quite new.
2) I never intended it to go beyond the introductory adventure, and I'm making it as I go (Though now I have a more solid idea of what's going on). I'm usually much better focused and deliver much better built settings for adventure.

We're getting there, but not quite there yet. Still trying to see if it's for us. Join us and see if it is! :smalltongue:

Scow2
2013-09-26, 09:34 AM
I find D!ck making complaints about others making deals behind closed doors and the party's back amusingly ironic.

Is the sheriff a PC, NPC, or APC (All-player character)?

I can't help but think Snare is 'an adventurer of a different story', that's happened to contact this one for a bit, and possibly the kind of guy that will 'clean up' plot threads the party doesn't bother with (And cause a few of his own)

Kol Korran
2013-09-26, 01:39 PM
Some gaming issues that came up


The past few sessions made me think of a few things, and how we've been doing them in our game. You may have noticed a few threads around, asking more specific questions. I've asked these questions of my players as well. I don't want to bore you with the discussions (You can check the links below if you'd like) But I'll write my main thoughts.

1) When is a compel not that compelling:
In the last session the player suggested just one compel- The "old friend Murphy" that brought Snare to the scene, and they felt it was too much. In the previous session two players preferred to pay the fate point and avoid the complication. They preferred using their allotted fate point at the start of the session, and not get entangled with Compels. As Jenny's player said it when asked- "it screws you way too much, not worth the fate point".

The specific discussion is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=304746)

My main consequences were these:
- A compel should somehow add to the story, not just a complication. (I think I did that, though not perfectly)
- A compel should add a new route or choice. (This will be challenging, but a good idea.)
- As to scale, the compel should be a wrinkle on the adventure, not open new subplots or complicate greatly. I think the general idea is that it could be solved in the same scene or so. If a complication comes up more than once (Like the assassinations) then the compelled character should receive a fate point each time.

2) Deception in social situations: We play openly at our table, with target numbers and rolls open. But it bothered me that the players knew EXACTLY the result of an empathy, or a persuasion or such. Mr. Silvertone couldn't be played as falling for the PCs ploys but actually deceiving, nor could Torrent Hudson clap at Walter's speech but decide to screw him instead. The results were known. I didn't know how to approach this. In D&D the target number was supposed to be secret, and you didn't fully know if you succeeded or failed. The fate points mechanics, which used a very precious resource, relied on knowing the success or failure status of the attempt.

This discussion is a bit more confusing to follow. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=304738)

The main things I got from this are:
- Fate is unlike D&D. While it has it's "overcome a challenge" bit, it's much more of a narrative focused collaborative story telling than D&D is. Player can use aspects, create aspects, decide on some facts in the world and more with the rules. As such, it is CRUCIAL to have them know how they can affect the story and outcome. True, some of the surprise will be lost, but you gain the joint creative work. It's a different set of mind than D&D.
- I also didn't treat the social challenges right. I did them with one roll (and stacking aspects) to resolve a situation. That again, is a D&D method. It was kinda boring, and lacking. Fate gives you two other mechanics to make things more engaging, dramatic and important- the contest, and the social conflict, just like a physical combat, but with social skills, mental stress and what not.

I think contest would have been appropriate for many of the dealings with Silvertones for example, where there was a lot of back and forth. And the last meeting, the big one at Sunny Acres woudl have made a splendid arena for social conflict.

3) The importance of weapons and gear in my game: Jenny's player was anxious for a more interesting weapons system, and Sophie's player just want... well... better gear. Walter and D*ck's player seemed reluctant to alter the game, and to make it into something it's not. On one hand I want to make the game more fun for people, on the other I quite a few concerns about it. The main concerns are:
- I was afraid it might ruin certain concepts, like the Madam and ****'s small reliance on arms and guns, but still being efficient enough in combat, to not worry. I thought that if we add better weapons and armor, that they will HAVE to get them just to be able to compete in the new rules for battle, a sort of an arms race.
- I was worried that it will shift the focus from characters, to characters' gear, like it happens in D&D. Some equipment adds a lot, but too much just misses the point.
- I was worried at adding too many extras to a new system and new game, which we chose partly because of it's few rules, and easy of planning and improvisation. If we'll start with designing a bit of gear, will we stop? I didn't felt like putting in the time and effort to balance it all, I have little time as it is.

Weapons and armor discussion here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=304898)

The main things I learned from it:
- The most crucial question is what level of complexity do we want as a group? Not easy to answer, still trying to do so. It's hard since non of us can give a good estimate.
- One great idea (The few rules version) was to just give situational aspects in battles where the gear should really matter, where it has a sort of "cinematic importance". This way it still adds a dramatic flare, but few rules, and no need for more extras.
- If we'll go with it, we might go with degrading equipment, lowering in grade. Craft and Resources may be used to maintenance or to get replacements.
- a possibility of adding a resources stress track, and some sort of rules for it, making resources (not the skills, the material goods) a more finite supply. Not sure how to implement this yet. :smallconfused:

Still thinking and working about the equipment problem. Feel free to add if you wish, though those other threads might be moved to the "other systems" sub forums.

And now to answer Scow2! :smallbiggrin:


I find D!ck making complaints about others making deals behind closed doors and the party's back amusingly ironic.

Is the sheriff a PC, NPC, or APC (All-player character)?

I can't help but think Snare is 'an adventurer of a different story', that's happened to contact this one for a bit, and possibly the kind of guy that will 'clean up' plot threads the party doesn't bother with (And cause a few of his own)

D*ck's change of heart is somewhat amusing, I'd agree. He's being more of a team player .He still argued for the Silvertones a bit, but quickly gave it up. He plays mroe elaxed now, less tense. His current plan is NOT to overthrow Burt, but to make himself his personal advisor, and so the "power behind the throne" sort to speak. He just need to make sure no one else does it before him. (The party is most weary of Sapphire)

The Sheriff was a PC in the introductory session (The first Scenario I wrote about), but couldn't continue playing him due to real life commitments. So the character became more background . The character has a very clear "tough cop" concept, and the players just loved his aspects, which turned out to be about 70% of the things he said:
"I'm the sheriff of this goddamned town!"
"This ain't gonna end well"
"Getting too old for this sh*t!"
And "Stick to your gut feeling" :smallbiggrin: (At least one character's aspects were right)

As to Snare... he is a possible lead and plot the party may pursue... or not. They nearly killed him, and that was fine. I had him connected to several stuff in the setting, but this may well change. No NPC is impervious, as is no plot. Let the PCs do what PCs do! :smallamused:

Glad to have you reading!

obryn
2013-09-26, 03:40 PM
FYI - if you were in the Kickstarter, the Fate Core version of The Day After Ragnarok was just released to backers. It's amazing and a unique sort of post-apocalyptic. I mean, when you can play a party of barbaric horse-warriors hunting down psychic Nazis, you're hitting alllll sorts of sweet spots.

It might be mine-able for ideas for you.

-O

kyoryu
2013-09-26, 04:52 PM
My main consequences were these:
- A compel should somehow add to the story, not just a complication. (I think I did that, though not perfectly)
- A compel should add a new route or choice. (This will be challenging, but a good idea.)
- As to scale, the compel should be a wrinkle on the adventure, not open new subplots or complicate greatly. I think the general idea is that it could be solved in the same scene or so. If a complication comes up more than once (Like the assassinations) then the compelled character should receive a fate point each time.

I think there's a meta-point here that you touch on later as well. Generally, Fate works best if there's not a single, straight-line 'path' for the game. Each scene should generally reflect a choice of how the game progresses.

Looked at like this, a Compel just offers a new way "forward". If the game is structured as a straight path, then the complication resulting from the Compel represents an obstacle or setback, a detour or delay down the 'path'.


The main things I got from this are:
- Fate is unlike D&D. While it has it's "overcome a challenge" bit, it's much more of a narrative focused collaborative story telling than D&D is. Player can use aspects, create aspects, decide on some facts in the world and more with the rules. As such, it is CRUCIAL to have them know how they can affect the story and outcome. True, some of the surprise will be lost, but you gain the joint creative work. It's a different set of mind than D&D.

This is the key thing I mentioned above. As an 'overcome this challenge' game, Fate kinda sucks. There's just not enough meat in the system to make puzzles in exercising it interesting.

In general, the point of a scene in Fate is to find out what happens - in more traditional games, it's to overcome a challenge.

I also disagree on the 'less surprises'. With that many people throwing the game this way and that, I find it's more common that everyone gets a little bit surprised, including the GM.


- I also didn't treat the social challenges right. I did them with one roll (and stacking aspects) to resolve a situation.

One roll is fine, depending on the narrative importance of what's happening. Fast-talking past a guard? A single roll is sufficient. Serious negotiations with a major NPC? Break out the pacing mechanisms.


I think contest would have been appropriate for many of the dealings with Silvertones for example, where there was a lot of back and forth. And the last meeting, the big one at Sunny Acres woudl have made a splendid arena for social conflict.

I think Contests are pretty much the most generally applicable pacing mechanism socially. Conflicts are more rare, and usually involve trying to get someone to back down or leave in a huff.


3) The importance of weapons and gear in my game:

Yeah, gear is often a big sticking point for new players, it certainly took me a while to adjust! I look at it a few ways:

1) Your skills represent the total of your scene influence, not just your 'skill'. IOW, in D&D, your base level ability in combat is determined by your skill (level), any persistent bonuses you get (feats, etc.), your stats, and your weapon. You add these all up together to figure out how effective you are. In Fate, you just buy a level of effectiveness, and are then free to determine how you got to that level, between gear, skill, physical prowess, etc.

2) Gear differentiation is overrated in most games. In D&D, most weapons of a given 'class' are roughly equivalent. 'Better' classes of weapons almost always have a cost (proficiency goes to non-magic classes, can't use a shield, costs a feat, etc.). 'Weaker' weapons that go to classes that 'should' be effective in combat get special support to even them out (backstab, dual wield, etc.)

Armor's the same. "Armor should make me survive longer." Great. But then the next thing that happens is that someone says "but I'm nimble and lightly armored, so I should be able to dodge better!" and so we get AC bonuses for Dex. And then the wizard gets spells or special gear (bracers, anyone?) to make them more defensible. In the end, outside of charop, most ACs are *relatively* close, especially compared to the very coarse granularity of Fate skills.

3) In movies, how often is the specific armor/weapon used *really* relevant? Frodo's not a wimp in LotR because he uses a shortsword (Sting is pretty cool). He's a wimp because he's not a fighting guy (has a low Fight skill). Aragorn doesn't need to walk around in platemail to be a threat. Boromir is (IIRC) generally portrayed as being more heavily armed/armored than Aragorn, and yet they both certainly hold their own in a fight. In some cases, a weapon or armor *may* be important, but you can generally cover that with an Aspect.

(I'm not utterly against weapons/armor rules, I just think there's a lot to be said for *not* using them, depending on the game).


The main concerns are:

I agree with your concerns, and think that you have a good idea of the issues involved.

I'd also ask this - how will adding weapon/armor rules make the game more fun? Is there something particularly unfun about it now, that weapons/armor rules would help? IOW, if you add weapons/armor rules, how will you know that they're good rules?


The main things I learned from it:

I think the main question, even more than the complexity one (which is key), is "what role do we want weapons and armor to have in the story?"

And as I pointed out before, in most systems the 'differentiation' is kind of bogus, as the systems then go out of their way to make Conan walking around in a loincloth equally as viable as the knight in shining armor. Fate just kinda cuts out the middle part and just says "buy the effectiveness you want, and describe it how you care to."


- a possibility of adding a resources stress track, and some sort of rules for it, making resources (not the skills, the material goods) a more finite supply. Not sure how to implement this yet. :smallconfused:

Resources as a skill was a weird idea for me to get used to, but I think I'm down with it now. Again, I look at skills more as measures of 'scene influence' than anything else - using Resources as a skill basically says 'I can influence scenes by throwing money/items at the problem'. It's bribing your way past the guard instead of fighting him. It's solving the problem of chasing your enemy halfway across the globe by buying a supersonic plane ticket. It's (to use a Castle example) buying the storage unit you need access to outright so that you don't have to sneak in.

I'm not against other implementations, and they probably make more sense in a post-apocalyptic game than in most, where running low on 'stuff' is a pretty constant theme. I just *personally* like to make sure that I 'get' the RAW before I start changing them - when I can argue *for* the rule, I feel like I understand it enough to start tweaking it.


Still thinking and working about the equipment problem. Feel free to add if you wish, though those other threads might be moved to the "other systems" sub forums.

I can move my comments to those threads if you like.


Good read ... reinforces my impression that I don't want to try running a FATE game until I have had a chance to play under someone else, though.

I highly recommend it. There's usually games on G+ you can get in on. Playing there was way instrumental to my getting past the learning curve.

(Is 74 the year you were born? Youngun! ('72 here))

Kol Korran
2013-09-27, 09:55 AM
FYI - if you were in the Kickstarter, the Fate Core version of The Day After Ragnarok was just released to backers. It's amazing and a unique sort of post-apocalyptic. I mean, when you can play a party of barbaric horse-warriors hunting down psychic Nazis, you're hitting alllll sorts of sweet spots.

It might be mine-able for ideas for you.
-O I got to the Kickstarter after it closed, so no, I don't have anything other than the core book, which I bought by thr pay-what-you-want site. We may buy more books (Like this FATE tool kit that I've heard of) if my group likes the game. It's hard for me to grasp my head around it, and they find it harder still. But we're giving it a shot!


I think there's a meta-point here that you touch on later as well. Generally, Fate works best if there's not a single, straight-line 'path' for the game. Each scene should generally reflect a choice of how the game progresses. I think it's more than that. When I used to run games for D&D, it's not like there was no place to improvise, or a lack of choices. True, it's much easier to improvise in FATE, and it's flexibility allows quite a bit more, but we still managed to have a game of meaningful choices in D&D. It took much more work though.

The difference here I think is that in D&D the DM played the scene, and adjudicated what happens according to players' actions. But in FATE players don't just react to possible options, or actively create new options through their actions, the players actually converse and decide with the DM what are the available present choices to begin with. They seem to have a much more influential role in determining what the story will be about (We played it just a little like this in this campaign, but I may wish to change that, or at least try). The players themselves have trouble with this concept, we'll need to try it more fully, I intend to explain this next session. I tried in emails, but it doesn't go through right. I think in person at the table, perhaps with an example or two will clear stuff.


This is the key thing I mentioned above. As an 'overcome this challenge' game, Fate kinda sucks. There's just not enough meat in the system to make puzzles in exercising it interesting. (Sigh :smallsigh:) I was afraid you'd say that. One of my players commented the same. I think this is part of why some of my players want more mechanics in the game, a bit more to think thorough and work out.


One roll is fine, depending on the narrative importance of what's happening. Fast-talking past a guard? A single roll is sufficient. Serious negotiations with a major NPC? Break out the pacing mechanisms.Yeah, Kind of what I figured out while talking to a player.


Yeah, gear is often a big sticking point for new players, it certainly took me a while to adjust! I look at it a few ways:

1) Your skills represent the total of your scene influence, not just your 'skill'. IOW, in D&D, your base level ability in combat is determined by your skill (level), any persistent bonuses you get (feats, etc.), your stats, and your weapon. You add these all up together to figure out how effective you are. In Fate, you just buy a level of effectiveness, and are then free to determine how you got to that level, between gear, skill, physical prowess, etc. Oh that is how I rolled with it, and how I explained it to the party. Some are fine with it, some find it a bit too... simplistic, they want more "meat".


I'd also ask this - how will adding weapon/armor rules make the game more fun? Is there something particularly unfun about it now, that weapons/armor rules would help? IOW, if you add weapons/armor rules, how will you know that they're good rules? (What does IOW means? :smallconfused:) I am struggling with this question. Some players feel it would add more "realism", more complexity, more challenge. Others claim it would come to be just like playing D&D with it's tones of rules for every little freaking thing. I wish to create something in the middle. I just hope that by trying to better the game, I won't end up disappointing both. As the old saying goes though- "If you don't do mistakes, I guess you just don't do".


I think the main question, even more than the complexity one (which is key), is "what role do we want weapons and armor to have in the story?"Oh, that is a fairly easy one. Equipment in the post apocalytpic world is rare, but having it gains you a good advantage. I wish to keep the advantage of aspects more important in the long run, though. Currently equipment feels... ethereal, unimportant, and quite available. Which may be due to me playing it more like a Wild West setting than a post apocalyptic one. Might change that.


I'm not against other implementations, and they probably make more sense in a post-apocalyptic game than in most, where running low on 'stuff' is a pretty constant theme. I just *personally* like to make sure that I 'get' the RAW before I start changing them - when I can argue *for* the rule, I feel like I understand it enough to start tweaking it. Still trying to work it out, but thanks for all the suggestions!


I can move my comments to those threads if you like.This thread deals partly with trying to get into the FATE game frame of mind, and your contributions and advice are an important part of it. I'm fine with your comments here! :smallamused:

By the way, Started to look through the G+ site last night, quite mind boggling and bewildering! I haven't used this resource before, will get me a little while to get used to it, figure how it works. thanks again!

kyoryu
2013-09-27, 03:30 PM
We may buy more books (Like this FATE tool kit that I've heard of) if my group likes the game. It's hard for me to grasp my head around it, and they find it harder still. But we're giving it a shot!

The toolkit is pay-what-you-want.

Also, if I get my butt off my chair (into my chair?) and start an online game, you're more than welcome to join.


I think it's more than that. When I used to run games for D&D, it's not like there was no place to improvise, or a lack of choices. True, it's much easier to improvise in FATE, and it's flexibility allows quite a bit more, but we still managed to have a game of meaningful choices in D&D. It took much more work though.

Oh, absolutely, I don't mean to imply that D&D/etc. are devoid of such things. Just that in 'most' games, the point of a given 'scene'/encounter is to see if you can pass the associated challenge. In Fate, it's to find out what happens.


The difference here I think is that in D&D the DM played the scene, and adjudicated what happens according to players' actions. But in FATE players don't just react to possible options, or actively create new options through their actions, the players actually converse and decide with the DM what are the available present choices to begin with.

I generally handle this less with OOC talk, and more with letting players decide what they want to do next, keeping open to their ideas, and making sure I understand what they're trying to accomplish. This gives them a *ton* of power in determining direction, but still keeps things mostly IC.


They seem to have a much more influential role in determining what the story will be about (We played it just a little like this in this campaign, but I may wish to change that, or at least try).

That's certainly true during session creation! I think it's good, as one of the awesome side benefits of it is (in my experience) a higher level of initial player investment in the game.


The players themselves have trouble with this concept, we'll need to try it more fully, I intend to explain this next session. I tried in emails, but it doesn't go through right. I think in person at the table, perhaps with an example or two will clear stuff.

The questions I like to use with players are: "What are you trying to accomplish with this?" If that fails, I'll ask "okay, describe the best possible result you can imagine from this."


(Sigh :smallsigh:) I was afraid you'd say that. One of my players commented the same. I think this is part of why some of my players want more mechanics in the game, a bit more to think thorough and work out.

It just means that the 'challenges' or tough decisions don't come from the system, but the situation. Also, a lot of it comes down to Fate being more about 'dilemmas' than 'puzzles'.

Lemme give you an example: Let's say you've got a situation where the PCs are trying to defeat an evil wizard, and there's also a power-hungry duke in the area. As well as three or four other factions. If the GM is doing his job, the players are constantly in need of Fate Points. So, when an opportunity for a Compel comes up relating to the Duke, the players have a dilemma on their hands - they can accept the Compel and get a delicious Fate Point to use for the Evil Wizard, but letting the Duke get his way. Or, they can refuse the Compel, and have a better chance of blocking the Duke, but will have fewer Fate Points to use against the Evil Wizard.

Of course, this whole thing falls on its face utterly if the players have enough resources to effectively do *both*.


(What does IOW means? :smallconfused:)

In Other Words


I am struggling with this question. Some players feel it would add more "realism", more complexity, more challenge. Others claim it would come to be just like playing D&D with it's tones of rules for every little freaking thing. I wish to create something in the middle. I just hope that by trying to better the game, I won't end up disappointing both. As the old saying goes though- "If you don't do mistakes, I guess you just don't do".

I'm not against making mistakes. I'm basically asking "how will you know if your weapons/armor rules are good?" Making mistakes is almost guaranteed - being able to have some kind of criteria to determine success is important though, as it lets us evaluate our attempts to figure out what did or didn't work, and what needs to change. If we have *some* kind of criteria to evaluate our experiments against, even a "failed" experiment gives us information that can get us closer to a "good" solution.

Kol Korran
2013-09-29, 12:06 AM
I realized that some readers may not be interested in the discussions, and are more interested in the session logs, the story itself. I edited the first post to include a spoiler with links to the specific sessions' descriptions. I'll update it when we have more sessions. (Next one is this Saturday). Hopefully that will make it easier on some.

Kyoryu, I'll answer your post in the next post.

Kol Korran
2013-09-29, 12:14 AM
Also, if I get my butt off my chair (into my chair?) and start an online game, you're more than welcome to join.
I'll be glad too! I hope I can fit the general schedule, mine is a bit hectic, but I'll try.


I generally handle this less with OOC talk, and more with letting players decide what they want to do next, keeping open to their ideas, and making sure I understand what they're trying to accomplish. This gives them a *ton* of power in determining direction, but still keeps things mostly IC. Hmmmm.... ok, that's an interesting way of doing it.


It just means that the 'challenges' or tough decisions don't come from the system, but the situation. Also, a lot of it comes down to Fate being more about 'dilemmas' than 'puzzles'.

Lemme give you an example: Let's say you've got a situation where the PCs are trying to defeat an evil wizard, and there's also a power-hungry duke in the area. As well as three or four other factions. If the GM is doing his job, the players are constantly in need of Fate Points. So, when an opportunity for a Compel comes up relating to the Duke, the players have a dilemma on their hands - they can accept the Compel and get a delicious Fate Point to use for the Evil Wizard, but letting the Duke get his way. Or, they can refuse the Compel, and have a better chance of blocking the Duke, but will have fewer Fate Points to use against the Evil Wizard.

Of course, this whole thing falls on its face utterly if the players have enough resources to effectively do *both*.Ok, I think I got it. I sort of aimed for that with the whole Rivertown thing, but I guess giving the option of "support no one" kind of negated the "hard choice" somewhat.


being able to have some kind of criteria to determine success is important though, as it lets us evaluate our attempts to figure out what did or didn't work, and what needs to change. If we have *some* kind of criteria to evaluate our experiments against, even a "failed" experiment gives us information that can get us closer to a "good" solution.
This reminds me of my lab days... :smallwink: Positive controls, negative controls and measuring criteria. I think my main criteria here are:
- Do my players have more fun?
- Is the game still mostly about the characters?
- Does adding the rules contribute to the feeling of the setting, and does that enhance the game?

Importance in that order. Not exactly objectively measured criteria, but these are the big questions I think.

Kol Korran
2013-09-30, 10:50 AM
Not a session update yet, we play on Saturday. For those of you who are interested I've came up with what I hope is a reasonable compromise for the equipment, weapons and armor problem. I don't wish to bog this log with the discussion, So I put it here, in the "other systems" forum. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16127394#post16127394) I'd love any feedback on that, whatever makes it better. Thanks! :smallwink:

kyoryu
2013-09-30, 01:38 PM
Ok, I think I got it. I sort of aimed for that with the whole Rivertown thing, but I guess giving the option of "support no one" kind of negated the "hard choice" somewhat.

The hard choices need to be between things that the characters/players actually care about :) If 'support no one' is valid to the players, then that suggests that the players don't really care about any of the factions.

You can also use opportunity cost as a great dilemma builder - 'you only have time to do x of these y things', where y > x.


This reminds me of my lab days... :smallwink: Positive controls, negative controls and measuring criteria. I think my main criteria here are:

Bingo. I usually look at my criteria in terms of 'what *isn't* happening in the game, that I want to have happen?' That's kind of your third point, but to me usually gives at least a slightly more measurable criteria, even if it's a bit vague and fuzzy.

Having the game be mostly about the characters is, I think, also a great criteria. "More fun" should be assumed, but is also very highly subjective.

Kol Korran
2013-10-07, 01:22 PM
We had another session last night. I'll post it in the next few days I hope, but in the meantime...


Between Session 6 & 7

A few things that affects the next session,and our game of Fate:

1) D*ck's player didn't attend the session. Out increased gamign frequency is a bit too much with his family's obligations. However, it seemed problematic to just fade him into the background this session, so he asked me to play him. What happened? You'll have to wait and see.

2) Ruphalo's player decided he wanted a new character! In his words he wanted "Someone who's sneaky, good at killing stuff and goes unnoticed most of the time" The end was... Bob:
Bob
High concept: small unimportant looking ninja
Trouble: technology's not my thing.
Body strength can solve everything
No one pays attention to me
Finding a way to get it done.
Skills:
+4: fight.
+3: athletics. Stealth.
+2: Physique. Notice. Will. Burglary.
+1: Deceive. Investigate. Lore. Rapport
Stunts:
- Martial artist: Bob doesn't need any weapons. Using his fists, legs, head butts and such he is considered armed always. you add 1 to damage
- Crazy kung fu fighting- by spending a fate point Bob can attack 3 enemies in the same zone with him without splitting his dice.
- Blend into the crowd: while with others, you can use stealth to avoid being noticed. This is opposed by empathy. In hostile or otherwise dangerous situations you cannot use this ability.

Bob is the guy you don't look twice at. He tends to be in the background, not staying in a place. He founds he's living by getting into places where things he wanted been kept. He got very good at getting into places he shouldn't, and very good at fighting people trying to stop him.

He got around on foot, not trusting machines. He used them rarely when traveling the relatively large distances, but he believed that he can find a way to solve most problems without them. He knew they had they had their advantages, but he distrusted them.

He found work here and there, but mostly lived under the radar. Usually, he got a job from someone who got it from someone, almost never directly from the source himself/herself.


To tell the truth, I was a bit disturbed by the character- a martial artist didn't quite fit with the theme, and there was hardly a personality and background. More- the aspects were quite hard to compel... I had my doubts, and talked to the player about it, and he changed a few minor things. But he liked the character so much, so we went with it. In D&D he likes to often play the big bruiser who just kills a lot. This is somewhat similar. We decided to see how it goes.

3) The madam's player started working with Jenny's player (the net expert) at finding pictures, and descriptions to all of her working girls... Considering the nature of the madam's business, this was a bit disturbing, though not adult material yet. I was quite a bit surprised at the turn this was taking, but was quite happy to see the player so enthusiastic about it. :smalltongue:

4) I talked to the players about my understandings from the discussions on this thread, and shared with them my ideas about equipment. We discussed it a bit, and came to the following version (A bit long, not needed for the story, just for interest):



Extra- Post apocalyptic weapons, armor and equipment

Goals:
1. To enhance the importance of equipment in the post apocalyptic setting, by creating a class of better gear.
2. Enhance the theme of scarce equipment, that is hard to maintain and keep intact, making precious gear quite precious.
3. Keeping things relatively simple, and not too complex or overbearing. Mostly, keeping the focus on the characters and their actions, and secondary what cool stuff they got.

Basics of the new extra:
1. There are three grades of gear: Normal (which counts for most things, and require no special rules), Grade 1 (High quality gear), and Grade 2 (Supreme gear. The higher the grade, the more benefits it has, but the tougher it is to maintain and fix.
2. Maintenance is done between scenarios, but gear may also malfunction in action and require fixing. Both can be done with various skills, not just craft.
3. Between scenarios the party may also acquire Consumables- equipment that is used and is then gone. This include special ammunition, but also other stuff such as stim packs and more.

Equipment grades:
There are 3 levels of equipment. This refers to everything, but will currently deal with weapons, armor and vehicles. The general guidelines can be used to define other items on the fly.
1. Normal grade: The usual tools of the trade. This refers to mundane equipment of all sorts. No special rules, no maintenance or getting broken. The equipment is not sophisticated and gives no special benefits. Examples: The clothes you wear, simple leather armor, Guns of **** and madam, Walter's machete and so on…
2. Grade 1, high quality: These items refer to the top notchquality items a post apocalyptic world can create. This category includes 2 sorts of items: Either ones conveying special benefits (Like the special weapons and armors, see below) or a higher quality version of mundane equipment. These items may require stunt, or possibly consumables (ammunition and such). All of these require maintenance. Some examples would be most vehicles, Jenny's sniper rifle and barrettes, Walter's Hudsons' gun and the madam's lie detector.
3. Grade 2, Supreme quality: These reflect relics and special items from prewar technology, or otherwise extremely hard to acquire. Usually with added benefits, but harder to maintain, and often with some other cost (Like a stunt or consumables) Examples may be- Mister Handy might be considered such an item (Might be grade 1, haven't decided), Possbily Jenny's bike or ****'s hammer (Supreme types of vehicles)

Fixing and maintenance:
Grades 1 & 2 equipment requires constant maintenance. This comes up in two fashions- one is fixing stuff while adventuring and the other maintaining equipment in general.
1. Fixing: Every time you use a grade 2 or 3 equipment and roll a -3 or -4, it malfunctions. (Gains a suitable aspect, some suggestions are in the specific sections) If you have enough time (usually after a scene, and definitely not in combat) You may try and fix it. The target number is 2 for grade 1 items, or 4 for grade 2. You can use any skill that might suit, like shooting for fire arms, or such. If you can hire people or pay people you may use resources or connections, and so on. Depends on the story. If a fixing attempt failed, You need to wait to the end of the scenario and try and fix it as part of maintenance.
2. Maintenance: Between scenarios, you total all the grades of equipment you have, this is the target number for maintenance. For mixed types of gear use a skills that fits the job (Currently thinking of craft, connections or resources, but will work according to the story) You can use left over fate points from before, or take from next scenario if you wish. If you fail, the most highest grade equipment that got used the most gain a malfunctioning aspect as in "fixing". You can choose to not maintain some gear, but then it automatically gains the aspect. If you fail by 3 points, another item malfunctions.

Acquisition
Between scenarios you can acquire items. These are consumables, weapons, armor and so on, depending on availability of the situation. You roll resources, contacts, craft or even investigate or survival (scavenging). Double your roll- that is your acquisition points total. Acquisitions do not go away after a scenario.
- Most consumables are worth 1-2 acquisition points.
- Graded gear cost 4 points for grade 1, 8 points for grade 2.

Specifics
Weapons:
Grade 1: add +1 to the damage using these weapons. Sample weapons:
1. Machine gun: Requires training (stunt). Special ability: While using the attack action you can also add "let the lead fly" aspect to a zone (target number 2, same roll) The special ability uses up 1 suitable consumable ammo.
2. Grenades: Requires training (Stunt) Affects an entire zone, attacks with a force of 3. Uses up 1 suitable consumable ammo (grenade).
3. Sniper rifle: Requires training (Stunt). If the target is unaware of the shooter, ignore any armor or cover the target has. Can also be used as a normal weapon. Does NOT consume ammunition.
4. Rocket Launcher: Requires training (Stunt). Can attack vehicles or large targets, affecting it and all people in target, ignores armor of target. This ability uses up 1 suitable consumable ammo. (Rocket)
5. "Hudson's arm!" gun: "It's accurate" (Once per scene add +2 to hit) "and reliable!" (Need to fix only if rolls -4 instead of -3 or -4. Maintenance as usual)
6. Jenny's Barretts: covered under Jenny's description.
Grade 2: add +2 to the damage using these weapons. You don't yet know of such weapons, but I'm thinking of something like energy weapons or maybe Fallout's minigun. Better advantages, higher maintenance
Example of malfunction: the special ability of the weapon doesn't function, or 2-3 consumables are lost or such.

Armor:
Grade 1: reduce 1 stress from each hit.
There may be more armors and effects, we could work things out.
Grade 2: reduce 2 stress from each hit. Also a special ability.
None that you know of yet.
Example of malfunction: Armor doesn't protect well, or inhibits movement.

Vehicles:
There is no "normal grade" vehicle. (It's called walking). All vehicles need maintenance.
Grade 1: normal vehicles. +1 armor, 1 and 2 stress boxes, can suffer mild and moderate consequence only.
Grade 2: superior vehicles, +2 armor, 1, 2, and 3 stress boxes, can suffer mild, moderate and severe consequences. Usually with some added benefit of performance or stunt.
Consumables:
- General survival gear: You note how much you have, but without specifics. When you think of a useful item for the scene, just pull 1 of these. Usually creates a suitable aspect. Each item is worth 1 consumable.
- Ammo for grade 1 weapons (Ammunition for machine guns, grenades, rockets and such). Each ammunition is worth 1 consumable.
- Better ammunition: Used for mundane weapons or mundane uses of higher grade weapons. 1 scene worth of ammunition is worth 1 consumable.
- Spare parts: chosen each time for a specific equipment. Grants a boost to fix or maintenance attempts. Worth as much as the grade in consumables. Not all Item may have easily available parts.
- Stim pack: removes 3 physical stress, limit of one per scene. Worth 1 consumable.
- Rad Away: removes 2 radiation stress. Worth 1 consumable.
- Pain Killer: Ignore 1 consequence for 1 scene. Worth 1 consumable.
- Fuel: enables a vehicle to drive for 1 session. Worth 1 consumable.
- Microfusion cell: Enables a suitable vehicle to drive for 1 scenario. Can also power some other old world technology. Worth 2 consumables.
Other ideas are welcomed. I think this may add nicely, but will not hold the game over details, or book keeping too much.

----------------------------

That's what transpired between sessions. So missing one player, one new character, and a new extra to deal with. We were ready to go! I'll try and update when I can, at a convention/ vacation now. :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-10-07, 03:18 PM
Session 7- The dark ones come

This session turned up to be quite compelx to run, as it incorporated mostly one big messy battle. But I think I'll keep be able to keep it in one part. Lets see.

Also, at the start of the session players rolled for consumables, and all got some (Don't remember what exaclty), except for the madam who got really bad dice and got nothing. :smallfrown:

I remember you... Don't I?
With the new infromation from the ruined tribal village, the party decided to head to town. I skipped hazards of the journey, and just had them arrive near evening. They were met by the sheriff, who heard their reports, but did not know what this "Fort Lost" was. All he could tell them, was that It ain't gonna end well...:smallsmile:

Oh, and another truck of brown coats came from river town, to help Deputy Kell, and they brought another guy here, a former resident of Little town called... damn! Just had his name. Madam- you remember him too right? A small guy? Nondescript, kinda ordniary, short? Can't quite put a face to him... Said he wanted to fight the Vampyrs.

Now the party was worried, and suspicious. This is because they still didn't know Ruphalo's player changed character. So they went to seek this new comer, and were suprsied to see who played him. "Wait, so you're... Bob? And what skills do you have, where are your weapons?" Bob thought for a second. "Well, I can kill vampyrs with my bear hands, and when I don't want people to know where I am, they don't... I think the vampyrs are the end results of alll the technology, just like the bombs of the end world war. They are a plague that must be eradicated!".

The party exchanged looks... "Um... yeah... right... kill things with his hands... Um, we'll think about it and see tomorrow? Where you'll be staying?", "Oh, i'll be staying with the Merilyn, not the girls thought, just a room." This made the madame a bit suspicious, but not too much.

Speaking of the Merilyn, they went to see who's there. The delegation was still there, for surprisingly Burt Jenkins said he'll consider the offers, but accepted none. He said a Jenkins Delegation might come to Rivertown and speak with the heads of the factions directly, see what they could offer face to face.

End to politics?
I understood from the previous session that this was not the foucs the party wanted to follow. As I mentioned this to the group, Jenny's player commented. "You get it wrong, we're ok with politics, but with us at the reigns. We'd like to make our own place, possibly at the ruins of ForrestVille?" Hmmmm.. another idea for an arch? :smallwink:

They found Dr. Cross at the Merilyn as well, hugging one of the madam's girls. Jenny hinted they'd liek to talk alone, and he grudingly accepted. They tried to see if he knows anything about Fort Lost, but he did not (bad Lore roll) He did suspect it was not a real name, but rather a nickname for some other place.

They went to talk to Mr. Rhodes then, and relayed all the info, which he wrote in his little black notebook, humming and nodding "Interesting... Yes, Mr. Silvertone will like to know that..." and so on. He said he'll leave to morrow morning with the delegation and the Brown coats escort, and relay their info.

However, the party was stumped. They didn't know how to continue. Possibly back to Rivertown for Silvertone's library? Maybe explore some other abandoned village? Maybe try and scour the Forrestville factory for more information? They didn't quite know, but as the preacher put it. "We can't waste any time, something is on the move, something is a foot." They decided to sleep on it, and decide in the morning.

But things are going to change drastically tonight! :smallamused:

When the Brahmin Manure hits the fan
So the madam and Bob slept in the Merilyn, Walter was at his small hovel, Jenny with her two brothers at their shack in the Junkyard, and D*ck at his mansion (The madam: He has a MANSION?!, Hey resources has some perks :smalltongue:) Which all meant that they were seperated when the nightly attack came.

The watch towers gave no warning, but suddenly there were the howls and sounds of Vampyrs, mogols and moog hounds in the street, but not just them- also... vehicles? and human voices and hollers?

Walter's past comes back to haunt him
Now, I talked with Walter's player before session, and asked him if I can bring his (yet unmentioned or decided) background to the session. He agreed, and gave me free reign, so I sent him an email with a word file, that would be opened at the correct time. This was the time:

Ain't always been a priest
A while ago, some might say a year or two back, Walter wasn't a believer, in fact he was far from that. He was a raider, a pillager, hanging out with one of the worst the wasteland could offer. But he was never as bad as the leader of the gang- Quaker Jones. While Silvertone might be conniving, The purifier racists, and the diamonds are opportunists, they all at least have some morals, however basic, to guide them.
Quaker Jones doesn't. If there was a picture under "Amoral careless sadist", it would be his. The man just goes for what he wants, no compunctions about it. When Walter found out that there must be more to life, more than reckless pillaging and murdering, Quaker took it as an offense, tied him up in the wasteland and sawed off his arm with a knife, smiling the entire time. He left Walter to bleed to death, taking his arm to cook ("Can't waste good meat, eh dead man?") but by some miraculous chance, and great power of will, Walter survived till some wanderers happened to pass by and rescue him. You don't know how he might respond to seeing you again.
The following are some aspects he had back then. May not be true now, but you can hardly imagine such a man changing much. Then again- you did.
"No morals, no worries", "See, Want, Take", "Rule by fear"
You remember him being a superb shot, and quite a good motorcycle rider. He was quite tough and resilient!

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/William-Fichtner-Lone-Ranger-e1372664508555_zpsaa7e60b4.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/William-Fichtner-Lone-Ranger-e1372664508555_zpsaa7e60b4.jpg.html)


Now, this is where things got quite complicated to handle. Why? Because the characters were separated, and each faced different situations and problems. I skipped between them all, since it happened simultaneously. However, for ease of story I'll just detail what happened to the different characters. Starting with...

Jenny's fight
The Junkyard was close to the middle of the Town, and Jenny assumed (correctly) as she woke up, that she has a little time. She was about to have her and her brothers hi tail from here. (The player doesn't like to deal with unexpected situations, and he assumed (again, correctly), that this is probably more formidable threat than the reckless raids of vampyrs) But Jenny "has a lot to make up for", so her conscious made her at least give it a fight. "Barricade yourself, I'm going to have a look" She told her brothers, and quickly, stealthily climbed the water tower. The view was not... comforting.

There was a group of Vampyrs and their ilk coming from the norhtrn farm, towards the middle, and another from the south, currently engaged with a battle over D*ck's mansion and warehouses, along with his people. (D*ck was "out of the picture" for this battle). But there were also humans, some on bikes, and maybe a truck or two? from the west and north east. A hum drew up Jenny's attention, and she noticed not one, but 2 hovercrafts (Like in the first adventure, which Ma Jenkins destroyed), both coming upon the Jenkins holdings, and focusing some heavy fire on them. "F***" cursed Jenny. "Ok, take out the leadership. Mean Mogols for now" Noticing the horde coming over to the Merilyn, Jenny shot one of the mogols, the second shot taking him out.

But Some Vampyrs were getting to the Junkyard, and her brothers were calling for help. So she slid down quickly, and have them all barricade in a shack, creating a bottle neck for the coming vampyrs. They were able to repel some of the creeps, and hold them from getting in. Jenny though this was going well, when she heard a heavy groin of metal, when a huge scrap was fell in front of their opening, blocking them in. It was about tat this time that They all heard the speaker's of the Jenkins manor coming to life, and Burt's beaten and broken voice. "Littletown has been overtaken. we have fallen. Don't find and surrender, or they will be killing many of us now..." The theme of defeat was unmistaken.

Jenny decided to use the junkyard's aspects as her home, to decided on loose boards at the roof. Once they head the Vampyrs and the big thing (whatever it was), move away, Jenny and her brothers climbed out. "Find somewhere to hide! I need to get out of here, perhaps D*ck or the others got out. Keep safe!" She tried to climb the water tower again, but was spotted. She could only see that there were quite a few town people gathered in front of the Jenkins manor, with one of the hovercrafts there and some... hulking figures, like Ruphalo? With that she snuck out to her hidden Harley, and tried to ride out of town.

But a few raiders noticed her, and began a pursuit. We decided on a contest. Jenny could also shoot while riding (A stunt) which really came to her help in the contest, where they nearly took her she shot 2 down, and managed to escape the last, in a dust storm that rose (A tie, which led to an unexpected complication).

She was out of the attack, but with barely any weapons and tools on her, and her family, friends, and community was still back there. What will she do?

Walter meets his nemesis
Hearing the commotion outside, Walter got up, grabbed his stuff and activated Mr. Handy. He tried to move carefully in the little back ways, but came upon a group of some raiders led by... Rash Dan! a bottom feeder of his old gang, a sort of a sniveling yes man. They were surprised, Dan especially "You... You're dead!", "Not as dead as you're gonna be! Quaker here!?" But Dan wouldn't give a replay, and called the others to kill him, as he ran cowardly, clallign for his leader.

But Walter knew this back ways better, and managed to dodge the raiders, and came up with a machete to Dan's face, with Mr. Handy trying and failing (repeatedly) to produce cover fire. The other raiders hwoever called for Quaker as well (I thought the player wanted the chance of a face off) and so he ran up some buildings, and climbed a wall, wanting to have the element of a surprise.

And Quaker did come on his bike, with 2 other riders with him. Walter stood on the roof, like a one armed specter of vengeance from the past, and struck doubt and some fear to Quaker's heart, as he jumped on him with a roar! Only to be somewhat deflected by the armor he wore (Grade 1)

Walter for some reason imagined that Quaker will fight him one on one. Whatever gave him that idea? Quaker and the gang... ganged up on him, but quite surprisingly Walter and Mr. Handy took the burnt of it, and managed to fight back! It was quite a stand, but when Burt's Jenkins' message of defeat came, and when Walter conceded that he couldn't take Quaker that way, he broke off with the help of Mr. handy (4 arms to push the raiders back!) and ran between some houses where bikes would find it harder to pass. "Get him!" he heard Quaker curse as he drove towards the main meeting. 5 raiders decided to follow his trail.

We dealt with this like a contest as well, mainly using athletics and stealth, With Walter and Mr. Handy creating a few advantages to them. They finally managed to escape to the west, away from the meeting, facing the same conundrum as Jenny, only from a different direction.

Fight at the Merilyn
Bob was on the lower floor, and quickly snuck out the window, , but not stealthily enough, gaining the attention of a few Vampyrs, a mogole and his hound. The madam got down to the lower floor, and gathered up her girls, and Barry and Mr. Bones (The Hudsons). As she opened the door she swa the big hoard coming, and so barricaded it. She sought to run, but since she's "protector of the unfortunatew" she decided to stay- She and the rest took cover behind the bar. Barry and Bones shot from the windows at a few Vampyrs, but then shouted- a big guy coming up!

Outside Bob proved to be a formidable warrior, killing 3 vampyrs in one exchange, and then rushing to the mogol and the moog hound. The doro of the Merilyn shook as something big struck it. And again, breaking it, revealing a big mutant, covered in metal armor stepping in.The madam and her girls focused fire on him, but his armor (Grade 1) blocked the few bullets that went through. He strode in towards the bar, and the madam suddenly saw someone else, in the open space outside the Merilyn, a figure in a black suit, and a face like a mirror.

The dark ones
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/Overseer_zps2031edb8.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/meir_8/media/Overseer_zps2031edb8.jpg.html)

As s/he saw her, she felt her mind under attack, a feeling of despair, hopelessenss, a need to submit. A psychic attack! A heated discussion started in the group, of who to attack, but the madam called for her girlsto go into the basement, and barricade themselves with the rest of the delegation, as Barry and bones tried to kill the incoming Vampyrs. The madam? She shot the dark man, but his suit proved to be an even better armor than the mutant's! (Grade 2) It mocked her telepathically, and the mutant and him/ her attacked her physically and mentally.

Feeling overwhelmed, The madam tried using her better skilled, and faked succombing to the assaults and falling down. This was when Bob finished with his assailants, and came to the front of the Merilyn. seeing the dark one, he tried gettign at it, but it's vampyrs, like dogs, came to block him, with the mutant quickly joining. Bob came the new focus of physical and mental attack. His skills not withstanding the assault.

The madam tried to get up and attack the dark person again, and managed to hit it this time, when s/he unleashed a strong mental attack on her, finally wounding her (First minor consequence in this battle if you'd believe). With the urgent suggestions of the party, the madam ran from the back window as well, with Vampyrs following her. Bob decided to retreat as well, and intercepted those vampyrs, giving the madam some time to escape into the city.

Which is when Burt's message was heard. Bob, quite surprisingly for the rest, decided to surrender, and came to the mutant, who tied his arms. He was surprised when one of the hover crafts came, and another dark one and mutants disembarked from it. So it wasn't a singular dark one, but plural...

The madam used her connections to know a good hiding place in one of the hosues, and hid there, fearful and not knowing what will happen next.

This is where we ended this scene, and fate session. It may read short on computer, but this took us quite a few hours, most of the game really.

GM notes
This was the "up the ante" point of the campaign, where the real threat first shows it's face. This was 3 groups- vampyrs, an old threat. The raiders, a new threat, but a recognizable one. And lastly, the dark ones, a new threat, a mystery, and currently superior in equipment.

It may seem that I meant the twon to fall no matter what the party does. It's not so, I made it hard, but not impossible, and fully intended to urn with any interesting or clever ideas. No, it was not a fair situation, but I think the party had options, some of them they took.

I didn't plan for any specific outcome. I came with the ideas for the antagonists plan, and let the players mess with it.

About Quaker: I made him especially as despicable and amoral as I can. One "pure" evil enemy for our "paladin" to face comfortably. And it's quite fun to bash these guys out as well sometimes. Not all have to be the morally ambiguous, sympathetic fallen misunderstood former hero or such.

Observations
Jenny came back in a wide circle to the north eastern hill out looking over the town, took out her binoculars (a survival gear consumable) and tried to scout. The situation didn't please her. The two hovercrafts were near the Jenkins manor, and she could see a lot of the town people ushered to D*ck's warehouse. She could see the armored mutants, about 4? 6? some had machine guns strapped to their back. She could see people dragging corpses too. Quite a few of the town died. She wondered about her brothers... she noticed small groups, of raiders or Vampyrs with mogols combing the town, house to house.

Jenny's player joked "Isn't this a golbin village?" It took me a moment to understand he was referring to a D&D adventure in Eberron, where msot of the party was captured, managed to escape and lots of fun ensued. I guess I'm starting to recycle. :smallwink:

On the exact opposite side of town Walter climbed on Grave Hill, and lay by Pa Jenkings grave, trying to scout the town, but noticing just the search groups. he tucked in and turned Mr. Handy down. wondering what to do.

The madam's flight
The madam, hearing some voices outside, decided she has to run as well. However she was far less stealthy than the rest. Soon in the contest there was a tie, so we decided she bumped to Little John, one of the junior farmer. The player didn't quite understood the mechanical implications of this (An aspect that can be used for her or against her), and mostly considered him a burden. She tried to run with him, and got to soem cattle pens with a Vampyr track on her trail, with two wins to each team. The Vampyrs rolled well, so she used her last fate to invoke Little Johen's help, but it wasn't enough. She then invoked "Saviours of Littletown" and we decided that Littlejohn pushed her to a hiding place. "Yous saved use before, maybe you'll do it again!" he said as he ran at the other direction, drawing the vampyrs attention to him.

She didn't know if he was captured, or killed and eaten, but once there was silence again, she rose and fled west, and then to grave hill, meeting with Walter.

The town was overtaken, the rest dead, missing, or captured, she had no real gear, no vehicle, and the horror of the dark one was still fresh in her mind. This was turning out fairly bad.

The captives
Bob was led to one of D*ck's mighty warehouses, along with some of the people, they were divided between the 3 warehouses. He tried to listen to the outside conversation, but dozed asleep. He did managed t osee D*ck brought in, unconscious. He got hit in the head. (Again, keeping him out of the picture. I also imagined that if anyone could do well without tools, and use his words to get himself out of trouble, it would be D*ck :smalltongue:)

Bob noticed that people were taken out and brought back, and finally it was Bob's turn. He was brought to the Jenkins manor, where he saw Quaker sitting at a chair, his leg on a table, playing with a sharp knife, looking mightily amused. beside him were two dark ones, and a mutant. Quaker tried to question Bob, mostly as to the whereabouts of Walter, and the location of Michael and Rose, the two twins. Bob... answered truthfully (He still didn't know anything) but also quite philosophically, spiritually, monk-ishly. Frustrated, the Dark ones even attacked him mentally, trying to subjugate him, but noticed he... told the truth. (Empathy roll, no mind reading abilities) Quaker sighed disappointingly. "Too bad. I like to get the truth out of people. You know Walter? the preacher here? He displeased me. So I cut off his arm, slowly... I don't do subtle boy!" But there was some displeasure from the dark ones, so Bob was let back to the warehouse.

I just then noticed that I don't have anyone else for an interrogation scene. I didn't plan to play it for D*ck with his player gone. Meanwhile those scouting from the two hills, noticed some commotion in front of the Jenkins manor- Apparently some people were tied in a rope to 2 lines at the back of one of the hovercrafts, there were preparing to go somewhere.

Which is where we stopped the session. I couldn't decide it this prisoner convoy would include Bob and D*ck, or should they stay in town. I put it up to the party for us to think about it. (I intend also to try and run an interrogation scene with D*ck if possible, should be... interesting.)
--------------------------------------------

So, One big event, a few personal choices, but the big events will unfold from now on I believe. I hope you enjoy the read! :smallsmile:

Earthwalker
2013-10-16, 04:40 AM
I have just spent the last few days reading this thread (sneaking it in when I can at work).

I have to say I like the writing and I am very grateful to Kol for the posts. It certainly has me interested in getting a copy of fate and trying a game. Please keep up the posts.

I too had to wonder in the sense of Irony as Mr Mighty showed his concern for people making plans behind his back :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-10-16, 03:06 PM
I have just spent the last few days reading this thread (sneaking it in when I can at work).

I have to say I like the writing and I am very grateful to Kol for the posts. It certainly has me interested in getting a copy of fate and trying a game. Please keep up the posts.

I too had to wonder in the sense of Irony as Mr Mighty showed his concern for people making plans behind his back :smallsmile:

Thanks Earthwalker! It's always great to hear feedback! We'll be playing this Saturday, though strangely enough our group has been very very quiet... :smallconfused: Silence before the storm? Don't yet know, I'll update after we play. Bob's player may not be present, we still don't know. I'll need to think up something QUITE creative for Bobby here, or just let one of the party play it? The character is simple enough...

Again, thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know people are liking this. :smalltongue:

Umbraphobia
2013-10-17, 04:43 PM
Hey, just wanted to say I have enjoyed the log, and will continue reading. Interested in playing FATE now! xD

Thanks for posting all this!

Kol Korran
2013-10-24, 01:05 PM
We played this Saturday, a bit of a shorter meeting, six hours or so. Lots of planning, and furious short bursts of fighting. I think I will cover it all in one post. Here goes!


Session 8- Striking back!
So, a short recap: Bob and D*ck were captured, Jenny was on the north eastern hill, and the madam, Walter and Mr. Handy were on the south western hill. Littletown was captured, and it seemed like there was a slave chain being organized...

D*ck does what D*ck does best
Talking with the player, we decided D*ck should wake and be led to an investigation. A lot could happen with that. He was less pleased when he was brought to the Jenkins meeting room, seeing Quaker Jones playing with a knife (Still bloody) and seeing Peter and Burt Jenkins laying crumpled in the corners, not looking well... ("Wait, you wanted me to negotiate with HIM?" *shrugs shoulders*)

Quaker had two of the black people with him. He leapt straight to the matter at hand. "You were with a party leading twin children to Rivertown, where are they?" D*ck stammered for a moment or two, and was immediately assaulted mentally by the blackman, bringing him to his knees. Thinking quickly, D*ck tried a different venue- if you can't beat them, join them (Or at least make them think you do) "Wait! No need for violence, I can help you!" and in order to pique their interest he added. "In fact I know of another of your kind? One that I would love to see... punished for what he did to me. We might have the same goals, no need for crass violence!"

Some in the party smiled, some in the party groaned. What followed next was a beautiful (if disturbing) "lie on your feet" fast talking. Quaker, not liking having his game taken from him tried to shake D*ck (Provoke attempts of his own. But D*ck put everything he could into standing up to him, gaining a mediocre of respect.

D*ck fabricated they did indeed brought the children to Rivertown, but that they were next transoprted to (insert some far away backwater location hard to reach). He also mentioned Snare, guessing enough to draw their attention (He guessed rightly that he betrayed them somehow), saying he was somewhere near Rivertown, but then disappeared. He tried to glean as much information from them, offering his services, his resources, his connections in Rivertown. The party's suspicions were affirmed when the black men mentioned they allready had some hold in Rivertown, and Quaker blurted out (D*ck succeeded with style) that he was expecting his payment of weapons in return for getting a hold of the microfusion station for "your New Horizon". Some in the party rolled their eyes. "We should have known as soon as he'll meet them, that he'll turn on us." The player tried to explain it was all a ruse, which some bought, but some weren't so sure...

He succeeded so well in fact, that the black men DID in fact consider making use of him! (He gained "Potential confidant of the black" aspect) but I couldn't figure out what they could require of him. (The player really surprised me with this turn of events). So I decided that since I don't know, Neither do they. "You'll join the convoy to meet with our leader, The General (Que BBEG), He may decided better what use of you. You'll go to the bad lands with them, they may inject you with something, take it. It will help you survive."

D*ck was said he could get his equipment back, except for his weapons. With a little bit more persuading he managed to allow him to use one of his beat up cars for the journey ("In case I'll need to go to somewhere quickly after meeting The General. Wouldn't want to detain you...") He'll have a mogol and two Vampyrs escorting him the entire time.

Well, that was an interogation which turned out different, wasn't it? :smalltongue:

GM design
The idea behind the interogation scene (Which I though 1 or more characters may end up having) is to enable to portray the black suits, as well as Quaker in a non-combat manner. It was also a tough social scene, with a lot at stake in it.

Why did I put D*ck through it? A few reasons:
- He was the only character captured who knew where the children are, and so only he had something to lose really.
- He LOVES these kinds of situation, and turning them up. Which is EXACTLY what he did. As I've told him- "If there is anyone who can benefit from being interrogated and overpowered, it's you."

The slave convoy and preparations
How would the party know of each other? They used the "survival gear" consumables to declare having radios (One for Jenny, one for Walter) and notified their positions. Walter, the madam and Mr. Handy made a long detour and joined Jenny.

Jenny in the meantime snuck to the closest house- That of Joe the Scavenger (One of the premade characters. appeared briefly once or twice). She met his mutt, and thenrummaged through his piles of garbage, but managed to just find a crappy pistol (would last one scene before breaking up) and a flare gun (survival gear). She tried to make friends with the sad whiny mutt, who agreed to join her. She got back stealthily enough to her hill, and met the others.

Just in time to see D*ck coming out of the interogation with his head up, escorted by a black person and a mutant. Walter cursed "He sold the town out! Look at him just turning colors!" But Jenny wasn't so sure. "D*ck wants this town more than all of us probably. This is some ruse, I'm sure of it!"

The convoy was assembling. Hovercraft in front, and two lines of slaves, 15 for each long rope. These included Bob, The Sheriff, one of Jenny's brothers ({"Damn it! They didn't escape!") and 2 of the madam's girls. ("Which ones? The good ones or the less good?") The party decided they must take down the convoy. It seemed to have 1 black person, 1 armored mutant with a machine gun, and about 3 mogols, and 10 vampyrs, including those guarding D*ck in his crummy car.

The Hovercraft was moving slow, towards the bad lands. They decided to follow till the convoy makes camp, and then try to strike using the lement of surprise.

Ambush and crash
On the way D*ck tried conversing with the mogol, and gain some influence on him but failed. The party followed all day, till they saw the convoy starting to make camp. The prisoners were brought together, and the Mutant pulled out some metal bars and barb wire and was starting to make a fence.

Jenny snuck up a near by pile, aimed and... "Pow!" shot the black person. Her sniper rifle meant that she overlooked armor, and so she shot him/her/ it, taking down all the stress at once. Surprised, The black person dove into the hovercraft, trying to get the mogol inside to get it working. Jenny got one more shot before her location was discovered, as the mutant howled, and ran towards them with about 3 vampyrs and one mogol in tow. Jenny and the others tried to relocate quickly, but I compelled the madam who was "used to finer things", to delay. Jenny compelled herself by "got a lot to make up for" and stayed with her, ready to face the mutant. Walter tried to create an advantage by coming from another direction.

Meanwhile Bob seized the opportunity to squeaze off his bonds, and tried to sneak to the hovercraft, but failed and got to a fight with the other Vampyrs. D*ck then surprised everyone. He wanted to do something but the mogol and vampyrs would hinder him. So similar to the deal with Snare, he tried to trick them, but htis time failed. So he suggested a compel. "I drive into the hovercraft, taking all the damage, no dodging" Now that sounded cool enough, so he turned and ran his car INTO the hovercraft, cathcing the black man and the mogol inside by complete surprise. The attack was massive, and everyone died, the hovercraft nearly as well! (All stress taken out, as well as two consequences- Jenny's player was like "Noooooo! My precious hovercraft!") D*ck was also beaten nicely, using whatever other fate points he had to lower damage, suffering all stress and a minor consequence.

This kind of ended the fight, as the mutant suddenly shaked, and turned in a roar to attack the mogol and vampyrs! ("He was mind controlled, not working with them! Hey, did we just get a mutant?!") The battle was practically over, except for D*ck trying to extract himself from the wreckage, suffering a moderate consequence ("Burned") as well. D*ck turned to me "I hope everyone just saw that. I hope that for once, they won't think I'm just a traitor, ok?" It was said with jest, but it was a good point. The survivors thanked him greatly, the sheriff even going as far as "I don't normally get people wrong, but this time I think I did. And I'm glad at that".

GM design- Why was it so easy?
First of, it wasn't that easy- D*ck's crash solved a lot of things, but without some good rolls, he would have likely died or suffered severe or even extreme consequences.

Also, I don't have an arbitrary number of dark suits, mutants, vampyrs and so on. The forces that attacked Littletown are numbered, and so they divided their forces accordingly. This force was smaller, due to the raiders not able to go through the bad lands, and needing to maintain hold in Littletown.

And yes, I also made the convoy a "tough but winnable" challenge for the PCs, An opportunity to face a black suit in a more possible situation.

Loooot! (Oh, and info)
The slaves were freed, hugs were shared, and so on and so on. The party had one HEAVILY damaged hovercraft, Which Jenny was able to get to a minimal working condition (I ruled that fixing it better would require a proper workshop). There weren't many weapons (3 mogols, and 2 of them in the wreckage), But the party did find a case with 35 ampules and injections. D*ck surmised these must be for the bad lands.

What about the black person? They managed to drag the remains from the hovercraft, and found out it wasn't a cyborg as they suspected, but something quite disturbing- it looked like a very, very old human being, the flesh and face shriveled, almost like a mummy. There was no hair, no eye lashes, almost like an undead. The party found a sort of a tablet in one of it's pouches, but the programs there seemed cyphered, and Jenny's skills weren't enough to decode it.

*Cough, mutant, cough?*, Yeah, they finally remembered him. He told them that the black people were trying to hunt them, taking over small groups of them, enslaving them. Usually each one controlled one, but they could control more, if less easily. They brought them their armor, weapons and such. HE could think and feel under the influence, but as if he was far away, like being hazy. He told they bring people to a fort in the bad lands, a big place, former military place, but he didn't know much, they usually just guard the outside or the walls. He couldn't navigate there by himself. He said he would help the party if they would help him free his people! They looked at his machine gun. "Um, yeah, sure!"

Decisions, decisions...
The party then faced 2 big decisions: Do they go back to Littletown or do they go to Rivertown? (Had they deciphered the tablet they could have gone to Fort Lostral as well) And what do they do with nearly 30 people with no weapons in the middle on the wasteland?

A looooooong discussion ensued, With D*ck saying they should get to Rivertown first, thatthey couldn't take Littletown back on their own, Jenny and the madam wanted to get back to save the town, Jenny's remaining brother and the madam's girls. Bob? I'm not quite sure... He stayed silent through most of it. Walter's player was a bit pissed off at impossible decision and "this sandbox game". Perhaps I've been allowing TOO much options?

The discussion was long (and tiresome :smallsigh:), but in the end they decided to send Jenny's brother with the hovercraft and 9 more people in the hovercraft (how much it could handle) towards Rivertown with the corpse and suit of the black person, and the tablet. "Seek out Captain O'Riley, hand things ONLY to him, and demand that no one takes control of the findings, and that everything discovered will be discussed together!" They didn't know how much influence he could muster though... The rest- party, mutant, and about 20 people led by the Sheriff would go to Littletown. :smallwink:

And here I was thinking they could use the hovercraft and suit for some sort of trickery?

I love it when a plan comes together! :smallamused:
(If you don't know the above quote, google it. The character it's associted with fits Jenny well in a way)

So they came to a few km out of town, and set out a small camp, letting the sheriff guard it. They knew they were facing great odds, and wanted to use the captives (who were strangely all fairly able bodied :smallconfused:) for added fire power. But for that they needed weapons. D*ck used his "drugs and arms baron" to declare (Costing a fate points) That he hid weapons in every hold he had in town (2-3 darms in town, and 1-2 other things). Walter declares that the dust storm from the day before (When Jenny rode on her bike) Was still in effect ("Dust season") I'm not sure that is how decleration works, but we went with it.

So, under the cover of dust, Jenny, Walter and Bob (who led) snuck into place after place (rather easily thanks to good rolls) and got about 13-15 weapons!, Now that enabled them to arm the people with some fire power. I decided these can be used for aspect or as a fire power of +1 for every 3 people (As not all had skills in shoot). Now what to do with them?

Time for more observation. This time they took their time. THey managed to gather there were about 30-35 raiders probably, about 15-20, 2-3 mogols and moog hounds, and by the reports of the mutant- 3 more black men and 3 more mutants. Oh, and Quaker of course...

The remaining hovercraft remained near the main gate of the Jenkins manor, and two mutants were guarding it nearly at all times. the raiders bikes were parked there too. one of the black people was coming out every some time from the manor, and entered the craft, checking something, then went back. There was a moog hound nearby as well. The forces were located mostly in the manor, and guarding the warehouses.

Now here another long discussion ensued. The party assumed that the big threats were Quaker, the black people, and Quaker. Also- they were VASTLY outnumbered... They needed something to tip the scale, and their idea was to take over the hovercraft. However, it was the mostly guarded... They needed a distraction, and a GOOD one. One idea was to take out 1-2 of the patrols outside, but the party assuemed (Correctly) that this will just alert the raiders, and will ruin the element of surprise. They needed to create a big enough threat to draw them out, and get close enough to get to the hovercraft in time.

There was a huge argument over this, with some saying this is a crazy idea (D*ck suggested getting to Rivertown again, Walter this time supporting him!) and there were any ideas thrown about. At the end they decided on this: Jenny will position on her hill, the mutant and 15 town people on the back slope. Meanwhile the rest will sneak as best they can close to the hovercraft landing. When one of the black people will get out, Jenny will take him/ her out, and will try to draw as many forces her way (Hopefully the bikers). The mutant and the town people will then come up and give fire strikes (A Hebrew term, not sure I'm translating correctly), and draw more people. The rest will try to seize the day and take the hovercraft, with D*ck driving, and cause mayham. One important request the mutant made though- No hurting the mutants! The party hesitated, this was a big one, but they agreed.

It's so crazy it just might work? :smallbiggrin:

GM design
It's nice to know what are the objectives and general smarts of the defenders when coming up to this. The party now had the advantage of info and surprise. The forces of the raiders were small enough to not spread out in great patrols. Yeah, not the wisest, but this also gives the party more interesting choices, and some tactical thinking, which wouldn't be possible with big swooping patrols.

Putting the plan into action
Ready... Set... Go... Under Bob's guidance, with the sheriff and Mr Handy in tow, the party managed to sneak to nearby houses well enough (Lucky bastards!) while Jenny waited with her sniper rifle, creating the "take careful aim" advantage. And soon after, a black person came out to check the craft.

One shot, one kill! The black person was dead, and it's mutant shook free from control, and started beating on the other mutant. Soon quite a lot of mess followed. Jenny show another mogol, and a biker before she was found out, and people started pouring her way, in waves! Meanwhile the party saw the remaining 2 black people come near the opening, along with quaker. With a sudden rush, the uncontrolled mutant was once more in control, and started rushing towards Jenny as well. The black suits and Quaker were out of sight for Jenny, and the rest discussed quickly what to do.

Things were quickly decided for them, as the black suits rushed and entered the hovercraft, the remaining mutant with them. The party then as one (nearly) focused their fire (with aimed shots) against the remaining target- Quaker! Thye took out 9 out of his 10 stress outright! (Numbers and suprise are REALLY important at FATE!) while Bob rushed between vampyrs, remaining raiders and such INTO the hovercraft, and then using "crazy kung fu" (a stunt) attacked the two black men, taking one outright with a few well placed fate points.

The wave approaching Jenny was met by a surprsing armed line of angry town folk and a big mutant, mowing them down quickly. Meanwhile, a mutant hwo's black master was just killed by Bob turned on the rushing Vampyrs with a roar, starting to fight them! Things were looking up!

And despite my attmpts they kept looking up. Quaker tried to fight, and then run, but the party bunched up advantages on... the madam, who shot him in the neck as he tried to drive away. (With Walter shouting "Shot in the back by an entertainer!") and while Bob faced some heavy mental onslaught, He was able to crush the last of the black men. One of the mutants died to Vampyrs, but enough damage was done, including gaining the hovercraft and killing all the leadership that the opposition was thoroughly vanquished!

Little town was saved! (Again, I know...) D*ck's player was a bit stunned "This is the first time a plan of us actually worked without a hitch!"

GM design- too easy?
Credit where credit is due- the plan was GOOD! Surprise and numbers mean a lot in FATE. The party managed to sneak up close enough, which was their main weak point. I tried to complicate things by getting the black suits inside the craft, but Bob is indeed the sneaky acrobatic ninja he wishes to be, and a good placement of FATE points can work marvels.

In short- the party did good. They worked well individually and together, a virtual A-Team! I saw no way to mess up with them that makes sense, and they did indeed deserve this win.

Stats for the various attackers
Quaker Jones
Superb: Shoot Great: athletics, Ride Good: provoke, Physique, Will Fair: Rapport, notice, fight, deceive OOOO, OOOO

Aspects: "Always an opportunist", "No morals, no worries", "See, Want, Take", "Rule by fear", "The dark is my ally"

Stunts: Called shot, pedal to the metal, tough as nails, heavy armor

Equipment:Heavy armor (grade 1), Shot gun, bike (grade 1)
Consumables: Stim pack, better ammo, gas

Raiders (44) (10 bikers, 2 trucks for 6 people each)
Athletics, ride +2, shoot, fight +1
"In it for the loot!", "Fear us!", "punks and hooligans" O

Black suits soldiers(4)
Good: Provoke Fair: Athletics, will Average: Empathy, craft, shoot, OO (armor 2)

Aspects: Loyalty to the "General", "Submit before my will!" "We live to serve"

Stunts: "Mind attack" can attack mentally, causing submission through provoke, can be used in battle.
"Joined minds": Overseers who see each other, can link their mental skill for "mob effect".
"Control" A creature downed by mind damage might be taken under an overseer's mental command. For each 1 beyond the first, provoke is decreased by 1. Can try to wrestle out of control once per day, with will

Equipment:
Equipment: Shadow survival suits (Grade 2)- +1 stealth at night, +2 to survive effects of wasteland, +2 armor.
Repair parts of survival suit x2, rad away x2,

Mind Fists Controlled mutants (4 )
Good: Fight/ shoot Fair: Physique, Athletics Average: Will, ride

Aspects: "Mind controlled", "Seeking freedom", "Big strong muties"

Stunts: "Strike hard!" Once per scene do 2 more damage on a hit., heavy armor, some may have Machine guns/ rocket launcher
Equipment: Grade 1 armor, possibly machine guns/ rocket launcher (In current group 2 have machine guns)

Vampyrs (42) and mogols (8+ 5 moog hounds)
You know these allready

Armored hover craft (2)
"Slow but sure"
"weak hover ring"
"one sided protection"

Skills:
Good: Shoot
Fair: Athletics, will, Drive.
Average: craft

Stunts
Grade 3:, 3 armor OOO, can take 2 consequences: minor, moderate
Machine gun: can spend a fate point to shoot all targets in a zone without dividing shifts
Unload troops: the armored vehicle can unload 1 blacksuit, 1 mindfist , 1 mogol, 4 vampyrs as it's action once in a scene.



After math
The prisoners were saved, ("None of my girls are in too bad a shape? They can work?") and Dr. Cross tended (finally) To D*ck's wounds and burns. The party now had 1 fully functional hovercraft, 3 mutants (thougho nly one with a machine gun), the town's gratitude, and another Tablet in their disposal.

And with the help of Dr. Cross they were able to decipher it! They found a few interesting things:
- a detailed map of the badlands, including A place called Fort Lostral. (The pharmacist in our group laughed- it's a medication. I'm a med student, and apparently it just stuck to me from some studies).
- The map went more north, until it was cut by what looked like an artificial line, called "The great wall" ("Wait, we're in china? Do we have slanted eyes?" :smalltongue:)
- There were some weapon design, energy weapons, similar to that of the sheriff, but different.
- Another energy design, of some sort of laser turret, a bit like that used by... Ma Jenkins?!

The party came to a conclusion that they ARE the defacto leaders of Littletown, as it seemed the Jenkins were very incapable of keeping it safe. They decided to talk over emails to decided what it means.

And with that the scenario ends! They had some ideas what skill they will enhance, but no final decisions. Well, except for the madam. She liked the idea of psionic attacks, and so we talked and said that the late psionic attacks awakened a latent psionic talent in her, so now she can attack with provoke in battle. Not that elegant a development, but I try to work with my players wishes.
------------------------------------
So here the sessions ended. When I began the scenario I didn't know where it will end, except that the party needs to come to some sort of an approach for Littletown, and the general situation. And it went around quite interestingly.

I have various moves and powers in the game now (Most are fairly known to a degree by this point), but I don't quite know where this will lead, or what will be the next scenario exactly. A few more thoughts about the scenario:
- After the previous one dealing mainly with social situations, I think I went a bit too far and taken it to more combative situations. This was liked by most of the party, but the madam's player felt somewhat left out in the last session (I understood this only near the end of the session unfortunately). I may need to find ways to enable more of each type. Usually I do this, but trying to run FATE and also a "sort of" a sand box complicates things for me, which leads me to:
- Some of our discussions, in this scenario and previous scenarios take up A LOT of game time, and at times end up tiring and frustrating. This may be due to giving to open ended situations. I'm a firm believer in choices, but perhaps I've given too much choice? Walter's player was quite frustrated at this this session.
- The grade system works nicely. Even the black suits with their grade 2 armor were within reach of capable characters. The players like the survival gear consumables most so far. We'll see how they like the maintenance roll at the start of the next scenario.

Ok, long enough post, but hopefully not too long. I have no idea where we're going from here, a lot of it will be up to the party. We'll play next Saturday, possibly with D*ck's player missing (Unfortunately... :smallfrown:) I hope you're enjoying this!

Scow2
2013-10-24, 10:35 PM
Awesome. Hopefully they choose to let the Jenkins stay at least in charge of some part of Littletown. It's not good to have the adventurers tied up in the day-to-day operations of the place!

Kol Korran
2013-10-25, 12:29 AM
It's not good to have the adventurers tied up in the day-to-day operations of the place!
Lol, that is exactly their concern. They are trying to decide WHO exactly will be their "representative" in the town.

Earthwalker
2013-10-31, 03:07 AM
Once again thank you the continuing adventures.
I do like watching the PC's getting knocked down to see them get back up again.

Kol Korran
2013-11-01, 02:55 PM
Glad you like it Earthwalker!


Between session 8 & 9- Where to next?

1. Plans and information
Our group has been quite a buzz since the last meeting. I told them that the next scenario will depend much on what they choose to do next. They have enough hooks and things to deal with- Little town's shaky situation, Snare, the children, and the infiltrators in Rivertown, the black suits, the mutants displaced and enslaved, and of course- Fort Lost.

They basically said they have 3 big options:
1. Fortify and protect Littletown from future attacks.
2. Go to Rivertown to get information and supplies to the Journey to Fort Lost (Which is in The Bad Lands (TM) which is a heavily radiated area).
3. Go straight to Fort Lost before their success in Littletown gets known.

The players got into many tactical thinking here (Which is what we are often prone to do), But I tried to make it a more... FATEy kind of decision, telling them simply to think that if this was an interesting movie- what would be a cool scenario to play out next.

They kind of all said- "Go to Fort Lost and kick some black suits' ass!"

I gave them some of the following information (Copy pasted from an email). Awww crap. It's in Hebrew. I'll need to translate the basics:
- They all have a radiation stress track (3 boxes), but the stress can only be healed by medication that takes away stress (Like rad away). They currently have about 13 radaway (taking 2 stress each) and about 80 ampules for the wasteland (increasing the resistence test by 1 for 1 day).

- travel through the bad lands will have them "attack" the character with radiation every some time. Usually about once a day or two days. (Thanks Fate Fractal) Mutants and misbigotten seem somewhat immune or resistant to the radiation... The suits of the black people seem to offer some serious protection as well (But learning how to use the suit costs a stunt). Travel to Fort Lost will probably take about 10-14 days through the badlands, and a few more days in a not radiated area.

- The bad lands are dangerous not only for the radiation, but also for strange phenomena and all kind of mutated creatures.

- The mutants say that Fort Lostral is a small fort, with walls and such, a top a small mountain. They know that there are at least 10 blacksuits there, but also that they have ranks, and the ones the party met so far are mostly soldiers. The fort has a big courtyard with some facilities, but then leads into the mountian in two big tunnels (They also mention some collapsed tunnel) The mutants have never been inside. There are supposed to be some automated defense there, but the mutants never seen it in action. A lot of the fort seem dormant for some reason.

- There are Vampyrs and mogols at the location, but not that many. They are often sent abroad with more unique Vampyrs (Like Dr. Marlo). Quite a few tribals have been brought in though... none got out.

The party deemed this difficult, and thought of maybe to go to Rivertown for a few ventures before. I deemed the following:
- Talking to the various factions and getting some support and perhaps some info and such shouldn't take a lot, a scene or two perhaps.

- Finding Snare and getting more info from him (He knows A LOT), finding the Black suits operatives in Rivertown, might take quite more time, possibly a Scenario.

- Bob's player suggested a cool idea- to try and find some way to counter or overcome the mental powers of the blacksuits! I deemed that this indeed was worth a scenario, as it was a major undertaking with no real dealing with the subject in the setting. It would mean I'd have to plan something from Scratch, but I was willing to!

The party is still leaning towards just going straight for the Fort, take an advantage of the surprise. (They fear that going to Rivertown would alert the Blacksuits' informant) They are contemplating whether to take other people with them (Sheriff, Doctor Cross, mutants). The debate is still ongoing

2. GMing challenges
The following scenario and game session presents a few challenges:
A) This may be the last scenario! :smalleek::smallbiggrin: At least if they go to Fort Lost. It isn't going to be easy by a long shot to take down the general, but the party has a habit of surprising me. I need to plan for an interesting potentially final scenario. It needs to have suprises, twists, interesting choices, and quite a bit of difficulty without killing them entirely.

I have some vague ideas, but haven't written or finalized them down yet. I have this night to do that, so... yeah, gonna be an interesting night. :smallwink:

B) D*ck's player isn't attending. Now this is not good, especially if this is the final scene, but he is aware of it. I really expected them to go to Rivertown first. Our decision to play with a player missing comes to nearly always be between two players... We may need to rethink this.

C) The madam's player's worries me. In the last session with all the tactical discussions she sat aside, and was somewhat overwhelmed. I don't want this to happen now. I need to plan for things to be far more cinematic.

D) Back up: What if they end up going to Rivertown still? (Perhaps they'll think Fort Lost is not that easy to approach) Yeah, some vague plans for that as well, but not finalized. I hope to finish in time. Thankfully, FATE seems immensely easy to work with. If this was D&D I would probably needed A LOT more time, and may have had to postpone the meeting.

So, I just wanted to let you know. Tomorrow is going to be a VERY interesting meeting I believe. I'll update next when the time allows me.

Time to get jamming! :smallamused:

Jacob.Tyr
2013-11-02, 06:31 PM
Been loving the updates. As a primarily DnD player, it's gotten me really interested in more story based systems. Keep up the good work!

Kol Korran
2013-11-05, 04:13 PM
Glad you liked it! We played another session this Saturday, our final session for this arc! :smallamused: D*ck's player unfortunately couldn't join. (he was missed), but I believe it was a blast anyway. We started a bit late due to the madam's player coming a bit late due to some health issues (She is fine, no worries), so we used the time to talk about what we'll do next. But I'll get to that after I detail the session, first things first, right? So without further ado, I give you:


Session 9, Final Session, first part- Into Fort Lost!

Last time the party just managed to take out the raiders, Vampyrs and black suits that took over Littletown, and in the process found out their secret base (TM), deep in the radiated Bad Lands. The party discussed what route to take- whether to go and get help and info from Rivertown, or to strike when the iron was hot, and use the surprise element to go for Fort Lost.

They chose the second option! (I had planned for both, since they often change their mind. This time they didn't).

Preparations
Ok, first- what resources did the party have? I summed it as follows:
4 black suits, 3 mutants (1 machine gun), 1 hover craft, 80 ampules, 13 radaway, 9 motorcycles, 1 heavy armor grade 1, 3 stim packs, 2 better ammo, 8 repair parts for suits, 4 survival gear.

On top of that they had their acquisition and maintenance rolls (They used some acquisition to buy spare parts, and so succeeded with everything). They got some more gear, with D*ck putting in the heavy price to get the Hovercraft up and running for the scenario (D*ck was mostly played by Jenny's player).

What about the black suits though? Jenny decided to trade one of her stunts for the black suit, which protected against harm (Armor 2), plus greatly helped against radiation. Walter and D*ck also too those stunts, as it was an obvious benefit at this point. The madam couldn't due to taking her psychic attack stunt (plus it would ruin her style) And Bob? He didn't trust technology.

Black suits
considering this was an the end of the arc, and that maintenance might not be played out, this was a VERY powerful stunt, but they quite earned it, and it fitted the situation really well.

Next was the issue of Littletown. They ended up choosing 3 people to take care of it while they were gone- The Sheriff, One of the Jenkins and... There was a big discussion whether the third would be of ****'s people or not. Walter was really against it. I played D*ck as playing offended after all he had done for Littletown, but relented it, "not wanting to cause any tension" in Littletown, not now.

Last thing, a Hover craft can hold 10 people. One mutant joined them, the one they rescued first (They called him Jim), which counted for 2 people. They added Dr. Cross (who came tentatively, not exactly one for adventure) Joe the Tracker for his survival skill, and... Craig and Sarah Jenkins, two geezer redneck Jenkins whom I added, who were decent with the shotgun, and always argued between themselves, and cursed each other. Their aspects were "I love this Sh*t!" and "Ain't going nowhere without you!" The party loved them instantly, and they became quite the humerous break throughout this session! :smallbiggrin:

Jenny and Walter rode on Jenny's bike, the rest in the hovercraft. Time to face the Bad Lands.

Journey through radiation, and unexpected allies
The journey through the badlands was to take about 10-14 days depending on how well they did on their challenges, with the radiation "Attacking" them every so often (?Usually about once every 2 days), on a separate radiation stress track, which didn't reset unless radaway was used.

They faced several challenges composed out of ride, survival and notice. They managed all of them with some advantages and stacking skills by mob rules and such. The radiation however didn't do them good. The madam fared the worst, but nearly everyone took some radiation damage. The suits proved great help, but they allready started burning Radaway, not willing to risk consequences os early in the journey.

Jenny's skills took them "ahead of schedule" (Two successes with style), which saved them from one more challenge and radiation attack, before they reached... Fort Lost.

As they saw the big fort in the distance, they were suddenly attacked by... Misbigotten? Walter quickly ended the battle, calling them and drawing on their "favor of King Harry". Th violence stopped, and the confused misbigotten who sought to ambush a lone hovercraft of "the black plague", came to talk to the party. Long story short, the party managed to convince them to supply cover fire and diversion.

What was the plan? To go into the fort under the guise of black suits, and then attack from inside. They knew there were 3 black suits and mutants on the walls, and that there may be some automated defense systems, and that the main courtyard was supposed to be empty, with two tunnels leading inside to an underground fort.

Ok, time to put plans into motion!

GM notes- travel through the Bad Lands
I didn't quite know how to do it well, and I think the target numbers ended being too low (3 or 4 for most tests), as they passed it without a glitch. The idea was something of the sort of "random encounters" if they failed a challenge: roll a d6 and-
- "Red dust": (Lore 3)- Notice 2, survival 3, Physique/ athletics3. If caught in storm then malfunctions sophisticated gear. Physique 3 against the red dust for breath and radiation.
- Misbigotten raiders: 16 of them. Athletics, survival +2, shoot, fight, physique +1 O, 2 with rocket launchers.
- Lost: Try to find next day Survival up by 1.
- 2 Murder hounds: Attack +4, athletics, physique +3, shoot +2, survival +2 spit: shoot from 1 zone away, if hit, secondary +2 radiation damage. Armor :1
- "Burn zone" heat waves come, and then lash out with radiation 3 waves of radiation 2
- Hover craft patrol (As in hover craft)

Yeah, not exactly imaginative... In a way I'm glad we just ended up skipping through it. It didn't add that much to the game.


Now entering Fort Lost!
As the Hovercraft (with the ones without suits inside, hidden) and the motorcycle with Jenny and Walter approached, the black suits came to the main gate, overseeing it from their position on top of the wall. Suddenly they all felt a psychic wave, asking a question "Why so late? Why Alone?"

It was then they remembered no one can speak telepathically. Um, almost no one- I allowed the madam to respond through her stunt. She stammered a bit, but made a plausible lie, strengthened by her "expecting the worst" aspect. Thankfully, that was just enough. "The general would like to know how the battle of the power source went, go report to him".

The gate opened at they entered into a big courtyard. To the left were some greats plastic sheets covering... something low lying . To the right was some sort of a storage house, and a small hanger for some hover crafts.

D*ck called with his radio to the misbigotten "Ok, open fire!" As the misbigotten started shooting, the party turned and opened fir from the back on all three blacksuits, killing them all! (Good rolls, surprise, and support fire). The mutants got free, but only for a moment. The party felt some sort of a powerful psychic influence taking control of them again. "Must be the general!" Shouted Walter, as the mutants turned on them, with Jim the mutant shouting "No! Fight my brothers! Fight!"

But things were getting worse- Two turrets, much like the one Ma Jenkins used long ago, rose from contraptions in the wall. "Get Inside! We're right in the open here!" Jenny shouted, and they all bolted for the left tunnel (They knew the right one was used to lead slaves in). I compelled the madam with "accustomed to finer things", so she didn't run fast enough, and Jenny decided she "had a lot to make up for" and covered her, taking the fire from the turrets.

Slight injuries, but they were inside. Walter was a bit perplexed though. On his way he glanced to the hovercraft hanger, and saw a small regular truck there. There was no time to contemplate though, they ran inside.

GM notes
From here on onwards the Fort acts as a sort of a planned but generally free flowing simple dungeon crawl of a sort. A lot of place was left for the character to improvise. For example their running in and not facing the forces outside. They missed things here and there, but they weren't critical. It was obvious everything will go balistic at the start of gunfire.

To make this place a bit more special, I added some effects to thew location. One of them that the party faced was that the mutants could not be entirely freed (Unless the party does something, mentioned later) and that the psychic power of blacksuits is stronger (4 instead of 3) due to the same reason.

There are more

Not out of this yet!
They ran into a big room, apparently a welcome room to the Ancient Fort. A message was in big faded letters on a big board on the wall: : "Welcome to Fort Lostral, our hope to the future- physics and biology sciences combined! The fore front of research, for a better new tomorrow! Please wear your rad tags at all times. Authorization to the lower levels by higher personal only. We thank you for your cooperation!" The place seemed to run on very low lights, very little power. Jenny wondered that she saw more than 2 turret mounds outside, but only two activated...

The message. really seemed to shake the madam's player. and as if to prove the point, the radiation affected the party again. Apparently the place was more readily radiated than the badlands. "We need to hurry!" said Jenny.

As if to echo her warning, 3 black suits came from a corridor, this time ready. Walter, Jenny and D*ck manage to kill 1, and the madam attack the last one psychically anothe,r nearly killing it. The 2 remaining attack her forcefully with their minds, but Walter helps her ("We shall overcome stunt")And she manages to survive the stress. They manage to kill the rest quickly as they hear the 3 mutants from the walls coming for them. They hear the heavy footsteps of mutants coming from another corridor.

They rush forward, and Jenny sees a door labeled "barracks", and hears some commotion inside. Seeing an electronic lock pad by the door, she manages to use her burglary skill to jam it, and close the door on the few black suits coming up!

They run even further, when D*ck sees an entrance to a mess hall, and tells them to rush deeper into the fort. He stands there, in his black suit and stands down the 6-7 mutants coming at him. He stands imperiously and with a confident commanding flourihs points into the mess hall. (Not wishing to talk and not having a psychic power). His show is so good, the mutants are taken by it, and rush to the mess hall. D*ck turns tail and runs towards the others. He bought them some time, but not a lot of it...

The party got sickened by another surge of radiation. The radaways were starting to worry the party.

Settling an old score
The party comes to a dead end, with 3 doors. One is labeled "Storage", another "Workshop", and the last is big and secure labeled just "Autherized personal only". Jenny thinks to check the workshop, but they have no time. With the help of tech-hating-Bob they unlock the lock pad to the big door, but Jenny hears some rustle inside "We got company, prepare!"

And so they are not taken by surprise, but they are surprised to find 4 black suits wielding... plasma rifles?! The mystery becoems clear when the voice of Torrent Hudson comes clear "You fools! We allready brought him the child! You can't stop progress! Why fight them, they will bring us great advancement, progress, lead us to a better world!" With him and his 3 men were also 2 more regular blacksuits in a small corridor.

Brother Walter raised his gun. "I thought there was hope for you Torrent, Guess you'll die by a Hudson made gun!". D*ck tried to undermine the Hudson' men confidence, but Hudson had loyal people. An automated Turret came from the ceiling, and battle was joined!

Bob rushed and gave an incredible jump, and kick, and smashed the "evil evil tech!" down with one blow! Startled, the Hudsons shot at him, burning almost all of his stress away, mostly due to great luck! (Bad luck would have him as ashes on the floor).

Walter (almost) makes good on hos promise, and shoots Torrent a deadly shot, shattering his knee (Moderate consequence) Don't remember) with the help of Mr. Handy. Sarah and Craig manage to shoot him in the foot ("Bah! Never liked those stifled Hudsons!") While the madam launched a deadly psychic attack, killing one of the black suits instantly!

Jenny shoots the other mooks, while Walter continues to shout insults ("You wil ldie as a traitor to human kind!") and shoots his carotid. Torrent is now crippled and gasping for life. The rest keep exchanging shot, and Bob closes to melee range with the mooks, making it hard for them to shoot him. Jenny hears the mutants coming, and turns away to jam the lock pad again, just in time as they come roaring, getting blocked by the closed door.

The battle is one sided from that point, and they manage to kill all, except on hudson mook who throws down his gun and begs for life! Walter Comes closer, and raises the gun to Torrent "How does it feel to see your dream fall apart?" And puts a cap in his head. Jenny rushes to the other side of the corridor, who connects to the other hald of the compound, and jams it too before the mutants come.

They were safe, for now... They found a few more radaway, which were crucial since another radiatio nwave struck, and many puked or were quite ill. These were starting to run low...

GM notes- battle with Torrent Hudson
The idea was to close a loose end, and also hint that the power of the children is now in the General's hands. Also, it enabled some exposition. I thought they would try to take Torrent alive, but a mook will do too! :smalltongue:

Some info and other stuff
The corridor had 2 more doors: One to a Boardroom, and another to an elevator that went down. But first there was a prisoner. Jenny and Walter manage to frigthen him (as if he needed any more frightening) so He spilled what he knew- Torrent and a few more were contacted by the Blacksuits, to provide them easy access to Rivertown and act as their eyes when the time needs, in return for schematic for superior weapons (Plasma rifles), who just came into production after gaining access to some high power capacitors (Rings a bell? Check the second adventure). This General (whom the mook never met, just knew he lived on a lower level) promised many more technologies in return.

Miss Diamond found out of the presence of the twins in Littletown from Jenny, and so sought to sell the juicy info to the highest bidder, who turned up to be Torrent. He got the kids, and brought one here, and kept another to bargain with. Michael was taken down to the General quite some time ago...

Walter and Jenny again threatened the man to assist them, and try to save the children with them, or else they would make sure his family and all Hudsons would suffer for this! They managed to get a new mook and then... completely forgot about him till the end of the session! :smallbiggrin:

Safe for now, and with this new info, they hunted for more info, which meant- Boardroom. A quick investigation revealed the following:
- "The Great Process": a project to gain more troops, to scour the land for the missing children, the traitor, and a power source for... "New Horizon"?
- The current microfusion power plant is barely working. Need a new power source, or repair parts.
- The lost children may help regenerate "the stasis"
- The psychic amlifier is degenerating, might be maddned.
- Modifications to the General are complete!
- New Horzion finally built. Power is insufficient to go over the Great Wall, but possible for nearer locations. Need a better power source.

With more info, but more confusion the party contemplated. And another radiation pulse struck. They understood that the longer they waited, the worse it will become. They had to move on!

And there was only one way to go- down down into the depths of Fort Lostral. :smallamused:
----------------------------------------
At this point it was getting late, So I asked the party "Do you wish to go on? We can finish this, but it will take a few hours". They decided to go for it! We replensihed FATE points, and moved on. In the next post, hopefully in the next couple of days... :smallsmile:

Earthwalker
2013-11-06, 05:53 AM
/jabs Kol with a stick.

Write quicker. I need to know what happened next.

/keeps jabbing Kol.


This all seems to be building up well for a final confrontation with the General. Its a shame Mr Mighty was not available for the session. Again thanks for writing these up they are great. I am so going to be trying to run something in fate in the future.

Steckie
2013-11-06, 09:03 AM
/jabs Kol with a stick.

Write quicker. I need to know what happened next.

/keeps jabbing Kol.


Stop jabbing him in his typing arm!
Aim for his leg. Or the back of his head.

Kol Korran
2013-11-07, 09:47 AM
Ok, ok! Stop poking me! Such meanies! :smalltongue:


Session 9, Final Session, second part- Depths of Fort Lost, The amplifier, The General

As the party left the first floor, let me just recount that there are a few things they didn't get to do on the first floor:
- Save some tribals from being transformed, gaining their help.
- Some more info from the labs.
- Shutting down the damaged microfusion plant, which powered the auto turrets all through Fort Lost
- Get some mroe equipment (Rad away and such) From different locations.
- Learn aspects of things they'll meet down below from various locations.

But time was ticking, and so our heroes descended down, down, down... Ding! Lowest floor...

The core
As they came to the lowest floor and stepped out, they could feel the radiation here was more intense. There were two directions- "TO the core" and "To the Launch pads". The party rushed to the core.

The corridors were in much worse shape than the upper level- far less lights, debris and fallen pieces. They assumed there must have been some earth quake here. They reached a pair of massive reinforced doors, labeled plainly "Nuclear core", which were further reinforced by some protective sheet, and with lots of warnings. A huge radiation wave came upon them, and nearly all were quite sick to their stomach, the madam suffers a minor consequence- peeling skin burn, but the doc helped her some after taking some radaway.

The party thought of perhaps to open the core and sabotage it to blow the place down (Jenny's idea), but the rest weren't quite thrilled to suicide yet. ("Really? So why did you come here exactly?!"). The rest of their way was blocked by debris, so they turned around. I could see Jenny's player thinking about this still...

Why the core?
There were a few reasons for putting the core here:
- To give more justification and a source to the growing radiation levels.
- In Fallout 1 tradition, any big base needs a way of being destroyed without meeting the boss.
- I was worried how far they'll get with the radiation. The core enabled a "lesser" victory.
- Also, it was important for something... later. :smallwink:

Had they opened the door to the malfunctioning nuclear core, they would have been attack by a radiation attack of 8, and then again every exchange after. The core itself demanded a challenge of 5 for lore, burglary and lore. Failures would do... interesting things

The Psychic amplifier
The party came to a cross roads, fought and destroyed two turrets, and then were faced with a choice. To their right there was a short corridor, and a big unmarked door. To their left another short corridor, and another door, labeled "Robotics" and in front of them was a long continuing corridor leading to the "Launch Pad".

They chose Robotics first, deciphered the electronic lock pad, and went in, seeing a confusing mess of robotic arms, turret parts and more. They decided not to investigate as it would probably mean suffering more radition, and turned to the other door.

It led to a big cave, very tall, with 3 ramps, one after the other at the end of the room, leading to it's top. And at it's top? The ceiling was covered by a slimy huge web of... flesh, eyes, and other such lovely parts, spread all over the ceiling. And it talked to them, mocked at them, laughed at them with it's powerful psychic power. "So strong, yet so weak? You here to end me? hahaha! We shall end you!" (If you want an image think of a huge gibbering mouther from D&D spread all over the ceiling like a very thin web, or... The Master from Fallout 1, spread the same).

On the high platform were 2 blacksuits, and on the middle there were 3 mutants. Battle was joined! Bob understoon he must reach the web (The psychihc amplifier) and started running and climbing platforms. The mutants rushed at him and tried to attack him and stop him, mostly hindering his progress. "Mr Handy! Cover fire!" The robot turned his sensors up.. "Where?" ANd fired aimlessley. A few bullets hit a few strands of flesh, but with no significat affect. Jenny shot and killed one black suit, while D*ck tried to look up and see any vulnerabilities but rolled poorly.

Now this is when things turned quite messy. The madam tried to lash at it with her psychihc power, but it was strong! (Will 5) When it attacked them, it could attack 3 using a fate points, and lashed at Bob, Jenny and the madam. The madam and Bob take 4 psychic damage, and Jenny nearly succombs, when Walter strenghtens her resolve ("We shall overcome" stunt), enabling her to suffer some stres, but still stand. If they didn't get to it quick, it would kill them without much difficulty. Frustrated D*ck kills the other black suit.

Walter tried to shake it's resolve "This place is like a prison! They are using you, abusing you, let it all go, go free!" trying to use the "AMplifier degenerating" aspect they learned before, but it answered to him with multiple angry voices. "nothing! nothing! nothing! Nothing!" I did my best to play this, which... worried some of the players. (Not too much, they know me by now. :smalltongue: Um, the madam doesn't...)

Jim turns and shoots the other mutants. "Sorry brothers! For the others!" Jenny joins him. Bob tries to use the momentum to run past, but the mutants stop him. The amplifier attacks again, And Bob and the madam take consequences, despite Bob using "Harsh survival in a post apocalyptic world". Walter uses "Bringing faith to a faithless world" to strengthen Jenny once more. They are NOT well, but it's the last time the amplifier can attack them all (No more Fate points).

Bob is struck by the futility of it all. His whole struggle against technology was pointless- it was always stronger, more powerful. What was he? and the madam just felt the "This is the day I will die. I will die here in this hell hole. This is the day I will die". D*ck just rolled his eyes and shouted at them "Snap out of it! It ain't over yet!" and shot a mutie dead.

It's not enough to let Bob pass though, and the party focuses fire on the last mutants to enable him to go on, except for Jenny, who feels there must be something else they can do. A successful notice roll later, she spots some grey dark clusters near the corners of the room. The party shoots at these squishy targets as Bob runs and climbs, being stricken by the amplifier, filling his last consequence, before he jumps and rips the web from place! With the shooting of the cluster this enables one last psychic death shriek before the amplifier dies. They are victorious, but disheartened, and most are close to dying from mental stress. Jim Brightens though "I can feel a presence, gone from my mind..." The rest of the party feel a suddenly change too.

The Amplifier
This was a sort of a "second in command". The party didn't have to kill it, but it meant that muties that were now freed from black suits control, remained freed. Also their mental attack was 1 point weaker. In FATE that is a BIG deal!

Stats you ask?

Amplifier:
Room aspects: "Climibing up hill", "ceiling net.", "darkness"
Amplifier aspects: "Degenerated mind", "Many trying to be one", "loyalty to the general", "Powerful empath"

Provoke, will, empathy +5, OOO
Stealth 3 for 3 clusters. Each has defense 0, can take OO damage, causes 5 damage to Amplifier.
stunts:
- Small threads target: For bullets it's like athletics 6. In melee it's 2
- Can use fate points to attack 3 targets without splitting it's dice.
- Unreachable: need athletics 4 from middle platform to reach it. Need athletics 2 from highest platform.


Clues in the robotics factory.
The party tries to starts healing the stress damage. The Doc, Walter and D*ck tries their various method with Bob and the madam. The ysucceed with her (Started healing the moderate and minor consequences) but fail greatly with Bob, Except with his minor consequence.

Sensing this place is a bit more radiation resistent, all stay here except for Walter and the doc who feels they must discover more about what they'll face, and choose the only place to do so- The Robotics factory. Due to some good rolls they manage to find out all clues, which are as follows:
- Weaknesses of auto turrets: "Charge up segment" and "graded power screen" (They didn't face power screens so far, that worried them)
- A build for a cyborg centaur lik body for the general. It seemed to have two weaker spots "Flanks of the centaur" and "Stomach of the centaur". Apparently the construction left a lot to be desired.
- There was some schematics of what looked like a huge -modern-stealth-jet-like flying contraption (New Horizon) The thing seemed... imprevious to normal weapons, except at two locations- It's hover rings, and it's back thrusters. Walter was no mechanic but when the doc showed him the expected power consumtption of the thing even he understood this power was immense! I considered this like a minor scene so the minor consequences of Bob and the madam passed.

Another roll of radiation, the party had about 2-3 radaway left. It was time to end this thing!

The General and New Horizon!
The party rushed down the broken corridor towards the launch pad, and they indeed reached a huge hanger, with great bridges over darkness below. The three bridges held mutants and black suits (3 and 4) and nearer the back stood... The General- the size of two mutants, it looked like a combination of technology and flesh bound together. And the Flesh was that of Michael! The child was strapped to his chest, crying and sobbing, tubes and wires going into him, making him one with The General. The General started to make his speech but Jenny just shot over his head. "If you want to shoot- shoot! Don't talk!" :smallbiggrin: Yeah, the players just wanted to deal with this, not hear his monologue!

Ok, he'll shoot! One ofe his hands was mostly a big plasma gun, and he burned nearly all of Jenny's stress away with it. Wanting to take advantage of their success with the amplifier, Walter shoots and kills a black suits, and Bob rushes past a mutant and kills another. Jim attacks the last and they manage to kill all 3 black suits, freeing 3 of the mutants! (The last one was under the General's control) One starts fighting with the last mutant, while the other tow run towards the general, occupying it a bit.

But there are more surprises! 3 turrets (Improved ones, with power screens) rise and start shooting at the characters. The madam tries to focus her powers on the general, but it manages to block her. As it fights with the mutants, they try and attack it, but try to evoid hitting the child. Well, all except Bob (?!?) and D*ck (obviously). The party starts cloising the distance, spreading around to avoid an "hit many targets" attacks (I accidentally let it slip) But Jenny suffers heavy fire from one of the turrets, taking down her remainign Stress.

The party decides to fight like you fight in FATE- focus fire by piling up advantages, And Walter manages to take down 5 stress with the help of the others! Which is when Michael screams, and the General heals. "Fools! With the child's regenerative power I am invincible!" D*ck and Bob call to kill the child, but Walter notice not all wounds have healed (He heals 2 stress/ consequences per exchange) and seeks to save Michael.

The Madam decides to try not to directly hamr the General, but confuse him, create an advantage. SHe send him images of all they have done, of the dead amlifier, soldiers and more, making him confused. Unlike his soldiers, he is weaker mentally than physically (though still formidable on both fronts).

Angry, and having does with the mutants (And not really worried about Bob who keeps missing) The General seems to power his hand cannon with one of the turrets suddenly subsiding, powering dowm. He turns and shoots Walter, taking all of his stress with one shot, including a minor consequences. The player calls it "First Blood" since... it's the first consequence he ha taken in the game since it started! (WHAT?! :smallsigh::smalltongue: I haven't been doing my job properly!)

The party decides to split their attantion between the General and Turrets (They thought some of his power came from them). Walter manages to cause 8 more damage to the General with the help of the others, Creating their first Consequence, Hitting his shoulder roughly.

I knew that once consequences start piling up, the end is near, so it was time to the next phase. The general shoved Bob away, and started activating some computer counsel. "You shall now see the greatness of what lies beyond the New Horizon!" They could hear something powering up down below, something BIG, something noisy!

The party has bad luck, the turrets hit more, and they all miss, as New Horizon starts to rise. Pankcing, Bob Strikes at technology, and rushed past the general and smashes at the computer, with finishing the job with a round of bullets. I had the players roll a dice, to see whether New Horizon continues to function, or goes down. Luckily for the ungrateful bastards, it powered down. :smallsigh::smallfrown:... :smallbiggrin:

Furious, The general Charges up his other hand (With a turret going numb) with a big electrical charge and smashes at Bob, who has nearly all of his physical stress taken out. Bob has only a minor consequence to spare...

Jenny manages to him The General, causing even more consequences, he fire at her, getting her A moderate consequnce. But due to a lot of fire he is down on his luck.

Which is when the madam stands tall, looking the crazed abomination in the eye. She is sick, he mind is shaken, and her friends are nearly dying around her. She stares down the general and says "This is for my girls you Mother F****r!" and launches a great psychic assault on him, Which made him shouts in terror, and crumple to the floor. The party was mostly worried due to having hear the Madam curse for the first time!

The General was dead, the day was saved. But what is that countdown sound? :smallbiggrin:

GM notes- Final Battle
I did hope to use New Horizon. :smallsigh: And one one pushed ANYONE over a ledge? what are bridges for?! :smalltongue:

Anyway, some stats

General
Fight, shoot: +6 (ray gun, 2 targets)
Physique, athletics: +5
Notice, will: +4
Rapport, Provoke: +3

"Arrogant self centered bastard", " Maddned by science", Centaur body", "Powered by conduits up", "Must use New Horizon", "Weak flank", "weak stomach"

Stunts:
- Grade 2 weapons.
- Can power up a weapon to cause 3 more damage by making a turret inoperable for 1 exchange.
- Michael torso- every hit might hit the child If misses by 1. (Stress O, can take 1 minor consequence) regenerates 2 stress each Exchange. Disabled by killing Michael.
- Armor 2
- Can activate New Horizon. Needs 2 full actions. Council has armor 1, OOO.

Improved auto turrets
"Charge up segment", "Deflector shield down"
Shoot +3, Notice +2, Athletics +2, Armor 2, OOO + O stress.

Laser shot- avoids cover, causes +2 damage.
Power deflector- Once in an exchange can cause a reroll of a shot.

New Horizon
Shoot: Auto turrets +3 (8 attacks)
Athletics +4, Auto pilot ride +4
OOOOO + OO

Impregnable- Armor +4
- Weak cover: Attacked only from back of craft, armor 2, OOO. If damaged can't evade (Athletics down to +1)
4 Hover rings. Armor +2 OOO. destoying 2 forces ride check. 3rd crashes it)


Finishing things up.
Bob, who didn't understand much about technology, still managed to identify a countdown on the general's stomach, with the words "Core overcharging" on the screen. "Um, Guys? Lets get the hell out of here! It's gonna blow!" He yanked the crying Michael from the General's body (nearly killing him, but not quite)

I initially had the players use another more minor craft, but since New Horizon was still functional... We didn't roll from here on. We said the party climbed quickly to the craft, got into it, and soared it up towards the shaft out of Fort Lost. Jenny struggled at the start with controls and flying an aerial craft rather than a land one, but it came quite intuitive, a bit like playing games on an I-phone. They managed to clear enough distance before the core blew up, wiping up Fort Lost ("What about the loot?! WHAT ABOUT THE LOOOOOOOTT?!") with a big bright white explosion, shaking the craft slightly.

They flew towards Littletown, and managed to land the craft a small distance from the town, it's power reservoirs depleted. The thing was a HUGE power eater! They climbed down, quite shaken nd stunned to realize that they are somehow still alive. The sheriff came to see them, qith a confused look on his face. "Well, I sure didn't expect it to end like this!" :smallamused:
------------------------------------------------------
Aaaaaaannnd, this is where we ended things! It was fun, and quite a ride, but I hope you enjoyed it. This session was Looooong. It also played more like D&D rather than FATE- a dungeon crawl, all around battles and so on. The players got compelled very little, but that's fine.

I'll be talking in my next post (When I get to write it) about our plans for the future (Short Version- we'll be playing a A Pathfinder Adventure Path next), and some of my closing thoughts for this arc.

We may return to it in the future though, as there are still some unanswered questions:
- What will the party do with New Horizon? Can they make it profitable?
- Who WERE the black suits? The party didn't investigate that much... There is only Snare left of their kind. What about him?
- How will things turn out in Rivertown, now that Torrent Hudson is dead? Will Silvertone take over? Miss Diamond? D*ck?
- What will become of the twins? (Which everyone forgot about till this meeting)
- Will the madam get more girls? Will her latent psychic power prove to be something more?
- How far will Jenny reform? Where will she take her spiritual journey?
- Will Walter found a new religion/ faith?
- Will we see D*ck sitting on a leather chair, smoking a cigar, and asking "As knot what Mr. Mighty can do for you, but what you can do for D*ck!"?

If you liked this journal (Still 1-2 mroe posts of mine to come) Please let me know. Also, there are 2 more logs in my sig. One of a complete campaign ("Many facets...") and another starts but doesn't end, and probably never will (Though still a good read! "It starts with a crash")

Ok, off for now! :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2013-11-07, 12:15 PM
So what's next?

Well, we've been talking about this the last few weeks, between sessions, here and there. We liked FATE, but... We really miss the tactic depth of D&D. We feel we can make a good enough story without needing the rules, but many of the battles and encounters have been somewhat... Underwhelming. This may well be due to myself not understanding quite the way this game works, it's mind set and such, but it's little use to argue. The players like the complexity of D&D and it's like, so we'll try that.

However, I am worried that my time to prep goes shorter and shorter. The other DM (Jenny's player) Had to stop a campaign because he just didn't have time to prep, and so did I, taking a fairly ambitious undertaking with a homebrew world, multiple plots and a very big sandbox. (Not on the logs, lasted only 5 session).

So we need something more... managable. We're going to try the Pathfinder modules, and hope they reduce the prep time considerably. I hope they are not too constraining or railroady though. But some have voiced they are fine even with a simple plot, and less of a sandbox, so I guess we'll see?

We are worried about the madam's player though- she had some difficulties getting the FATE mechanics, will she deal with the PF ones? However, as I understand she likes gaming a lot (She joined because she last played Fallout 3 and loved it), so hopefully we can ease her to it. Both me, Walter's player and Jenny's player will try and help her.

So far the Adventure Paths on the table are:
- Rise of the Runelords.
- Legacy of Fire.
- Kingmaker (If we can't have little town, we'll make our own damn kingdom!)
- Wrath of the Righteous.

I sent my players an email about choosing between the options. We'll see what will be the winner. :smallbiggrin:


Thoughts about this experience with FATE


The arc contained 4 scenarios:
- Initial attack of the Vampyrs, up to facing up The Ogre and The Sirine.
- Politics in Littletown, ending up in the big meeting, and Walter making his speech.
- Goign back to Littletown, having it attacked by the Black suits, and taking the town back.
- The adventure to Fort Lost.

At the first scenario I think the game worked quite well, with the flow of fate points, aspects and compells driving the game. I think my big mistakes were in the second scenario, where I tried to give the compels more weight, turning the players away from them. It was a turning point- they were very reluctent to be compelled since, and turned into creating advantages in order to get their desires. (With "Cover fire" coming out every damned time!) I think this is also when the party slightly turned away from FATE.

A few more points of thought:
- I really, really, really wish I could play with someone who have GMed FATE for awhile, to see how it is done. I'm quite sure I messed things up quite a bit.

- As I said before- FATE is immensely easy to prepare for and improvise in. You can come up with all the "stats" for an NPC in about 10 seconds top. I really liked this about the system. However, there is one subtle art that may take some thinking prep time- creating scenes and scenarios that speak to the characters' aspects. Done that to start with, but at the last 2-3 sessions not enough. It is tricky to remember using them as well. I've been making notes to myself to not forget, Doesn't always work. Probably with practice?

- At least in this post apocalyptic scenario, without heavy extras, there seem to be relatively few options for the party. Creating advantages seems fairly easy, or at least not that meaningful (all give you a +2, why choose a more difficult one than an easier one). This has been quite frustrating. Aspects are a great invention, but their equality with all other aspects can be vexing.

- For me at least, a post apocalyptic scenario is very hard to with ideas for. I think 90-95% of the ideas I had came in some form or another from Fallout 1 & 2. I'm not sure that I would have had that many ideas to go with had we continued.

- I love the options of a challenge and contest, especially contest, as spreading out a task to not making a one roll win/ lose. It's a good way to enhance drama, as Kyoryu mentioned.

- I got great players! :smallbiggrin:

That is all I can think of as for now. The rest is somewhere in the log I'd wager. I hope you enjoyed! When we start a new campaign, I hope to keep a log of it as well, but in the D&D/PF forum most likely, dunno. I don't know what it will be, the characters or such, but I do know this- "It ain't gonna end well!" :smallamused:

kyoryu
2013-11-07, 07:29 PM
We liked FATE, but... We really miss the tactic depth of D&D. We feel we can make a good enough story without needing the rules, but many of the battles and encounters have been somewhat... Underwhelming. This may well be due to myself not understanding quite the way this game works, it's mind set and such, but it's little use to argue. The players like the complexity of D&D and it's like, so we'll try that.

Sure. Fate isn't really a super-in-depth tactical simulator. It doesn't really emphasize rules manipulation as a primary component of play.


- At least in this post apocalyptic scenario, without heavy extras, there seem to be relatively few options for the party. Creating advantages seems fairly easy, or at least not that meaningful (all give you a +2, why choose a more difficult one than an easier one). This has been quite frustrating. Aspects are a great invention, but their equality with all other aspects can be vexing.

Aspects do a number of things - starting with the fact that they're *true*. If you're tripped, you're on the ground. Period.

1) They can provide passive opposition, which generally acts as a 'floor' on the opposition roll.
2) They prohibit actions - if you're _Tripped On The Ground_, you can't go anywhere.
3) They justify actions - if you're providing _Covering Fire_, you're in a position to actively oppose actions (like movement) with your shooting skill.

If Arachnid-Boy hits the Teal Boggart with his web-fluid and traps him in a web, the Teal Boggart ain't going anywhere until he gets out of the web. Period. That's not a bonus, or a roll. It's just fact.

That said, in general, Fate works best if you approach it from a "fiction-first" viewpoint - start with what makes sense for the characters to do, rather than from a 'how do I get the biggest numbers' point of view.

If people really are just looking for that kind of tactical combat simulator, though, there are definitely better choices.

Earthwalker
2013-11-11, 02:15 AM
Thank you for the write ups Kol.

The whole game sounds alot of fun. As I have said before it has made me intereste in picking up Fate.Of course at the moment I am too busy with a list of other games but when I get free time I am going to try it out.

Good luck with the Pathfinder game.