Mask of Khatri, a Perilous Intersections and FU walk-through, part 3

Continued from here is the continuation of my Perilous Intersections walk-through examining scenes four and five.

Leaving off with a rather unwelcome curse that threatens to derail her quest, our heroine goes in search of the death cult leader. Here, I gave him a name, and used my chosen seed for scene four to give a bit of detail about his nature. I decided to give him a serpent-like aspect.

She tosses a point to use a special power and tracks him magically. Aleena is easily surrounded, but demands the mask anyway.

She handily conquers most of the challenges here, all of which were set up to provide a challenge as suggested by the increasing Danger Level. Except being able to capture the fleeing Valdemar, she defeats her opponents. This leaves her in the fictional position to deny a story probe for this scene.

Also, no change in the DL happens here, because there's no movement to either the positive or negative.

In the fifth scene, Aleena's magical compulsion gets her into plenty of hot water in Arrabar due to slaying some officials. This is a long chase scene ending in a confrontation in another land. I posed the challenge of travel inspired by the seed of the undead boatman, which could have derailed her had she not been able to determine his destination.

Confronting her target, I went ahead and posed a story probe just for fun that might turn the whole plot on its head. The answer was affirmative, which meant that the rakshasa who enchanted Aleena is behind the real plot. Even though I had confirmed answers for some of the Big Questions, it is still acceptable to amend them along the way before the Big Boss Fight phase.

Lastly, she causes trouble for herself in Turmish before getting captured there, earning her some points. The Danger Level is already at its highest point, so cannot escalate further. In the next scene, all missing BQ's must get answered, because there is only one seed remaining.

What will happen next? Will she be forced to play the unwitting part in Relajii's nefarious plot? Can she find a means to thwart whatever dark plan he has and free herself from her curse?

The conclusion of this short adventure in my next post...

Mask of Khatri, a Perilous Intersections and FU walk-through, part 2

Continued from here is part two of my Mask of Khatri walk-through for Perilous Intersections.

To set up, it's necessary to generate seeds. I wanted a shorter game, so I chose six. I use Rory's Story Cubes for my idea generator.

Given the character generation, which produced a conflict with Wianar, I went ahead and put his name in the Who position of the plot. This also facilitated my shorter game. And with only six starting seeds, it won't feel like such a panic to obtain three more answers. It was also fine to begin already with some danger (one step up on the DL), and close to the next phase of action.

Here's the first play sheet:

Starting with one of the Big Questions still left the phase in the Something Amiss phase, which targets the PC’s goals rather than the PC herself. I choose the hamster wheel for my scene’s obstacle. I knew Aleena would start by seeking out the last priest of Mystra there to protect and question him. I interpreted this event as a distraction (having Aleena “running in circles”). By the time she dealt with that, her target was already captured by someone. Taking the bait is very much in line with the idea of an intersection — an interpretation that has the potential to push the narrative in a new trajectory.

The action pushed on from naturally from there. But since the heroine was clocked on the head, it denied her being able to pose a Story Probe. I interpreted this as a setback for her, which raised the Danger Level. Although I didn’t have a second BQ yet, I felt justified to moving into the Rears Its Ugly Head phase. There was a good chance that whoever took Iankul would also be interested in Aleena as well.

Onward with scene two:

In this scene, Aleena finds herself a captive. I chose the scary skull (that Fright set of Rory’s Story Cubes is the bee’s knees!). I decided to interpret this as the cult’s scary leader and his countenance granted by his freaky mask. I also mixed up the order of things, so asked the Story Probe first, before jumping to the intersection event.

I came up with a bog-standard goal for the baddies, and got a “Yes” due to adding when to the die throw. Then, having my answer, I knew they were going to sacrifice the two Mystran priests for their nefarious death god.

A daring escape ensued, and I had some fun.

As an aside, FU is wonderful for those times when one really wants to delve more into story, because it really gets out of the way by the virtue of being able to resolve any big action in a single throw of the dice. Perilous Intersections is a bit demanding on the brain, and focusing more on its twists and turns it’s pushing than the system I’m using is helpful. Having said that, any rpg system that allows for twists and turns, like FU or Fate, adds to the experience.

Now I had a new BQ answered, but by implication, it also changed the Who. The subject of the plot was not confirmed by my probe, so is marked “u” for unconfirmed, and is subject to amendment during the Big Boss Fight. With one BQ answered (What) and one amended through guessing and clarification (Who), this balanced the DL, meaning no change for the next scene.

On to scene three:

This scene proved t be all too brief. I chose the tiger for my seed. Interpreting it gave a head scratcher, so I went with my immediate reaction. I knew Aleena wanted to take Iankul out of town for safekeeping and some questioning. However, I felt as though the intersection event had to come first here.

Yep, a rakshasa!

What did he want? First I had to see if Aleena could resist his powers. Nope. She was magically compelled to perform a task for him. The probe is as seen on the sheet. What could it be? I searched the events from before and decided it was that scary mask the leader of the death cult wore (that would eventually be my adventure’s namesake). What did it do and what was its significance? I had to play to find out...

For now, that was enough to deduce that the cult was going to use the mask in some sort of rite to achieve their ends. But why? That remained to be seen. However, it was enough to raise the DL to its highest level. Things were getting difficult for poor Aleena! Also, not being able to act autonomously from her role as stooge for Relajii the rakshasa made life much more difficult.

In my next post, we examine scenes four and five, and things get turned completely upside down...

Mask of Khatri, a Perilous Intersections and FU walk-through, part 1

It occurs to me that I have very few walk-through AP's for my Perilous Intersections solo plot driver. I whipped up an example using my favorite ultra-lite, FU by Nathan Russell, which I later dubbed Mask of Khatri. In this first part, I simply go through a character generation process.

I love Forgotten Realms. I don't really know why. It's mostly nostalgic familiarity. Anyway, I'll go with this to generate some anchors and hooks. I decided to use the John Fiore's 9Qs NPC generator to fill in some missing gaps.

I recently came across this picture (credit: Jason Chan art):

An awesome piece of art. Off we go...

Aleena Seranskar

Background

Trained by not one, but two of the Seven Sisters in magic, Aleena is a native of Aglarond. Having served there as the Simbul’s personal handmaiden and a caretaker for the Queen’s house, her talents were recognized, and she served under another purpose.

A devout of Mystra, Aleena is also ordained as a member of the Lady of Magic’s clergy. Under that, she learned not only the secrets of the Art, but of the hearts of men, and the corruption that leads them to their folly. During her studies, she vowed to defy and destroy corruption where she found it.

She traveled to the deep south where corruption was great. In the steaming lands south of the Sea of Fallen Stars, she was captured by wemics. There she stayed with the tribe for months and developed a friendship with a massive male lion. Since then, they have been inseparable.

While working in the south, she met others of her cloth. In tandem, they focused on routing out the evil and corruption in places like Chondath. This was no easy task. The power and corruption was deep and old. She was poisoned by her own kind. Tholamin was a traitor and double-agent in the church and the employ of Lord Wianar of Arrabar. She survived the attempt, but she is now an uncompromising loner.

Aleena Today

Her search has now illuminated some sort of death cult in Arrabar that may or may not be connected to the elite’s corruption in the region. However, several others of her order have perished as sacrifices to the deity in question, their remains dumped in the streets at night after their dark rites. Aleena is trying to route out the group and see if it somehow relates to Wianar’s corruption.

Appearance

Aleena is slender woman of modest height garbed in common clothing. She has dark brown hair and dark eyes, with a pretty-but-plain face. She wears a cobalt blue cloak about her, and has seemingly few possessions. She carries a dagger with her concealed in one boot. She keeps her magical accoutrements in pouches about her belt.

Drives

Aleena is bent on the impossible — routing out ages-old corruption that seeks to destroy the world with unwieldy magical power. Currently, she concentrates on the areas of the south, specifically Chondath. She is tireless and unrealistic about her pursuit.

Relationships

Aleena is seen traveling abroad with her lion, Rovahan. He is the only companion she trusts. However, in cities, she enters usually alone if there is any alarm from the locals. Rovahan is free to roam the outskirts of town biding his time until Aleena emerges. Sometimes, he tracks her by scent at night by stealth.

Her nemesis is Tholamin, a trusted of Wianar who also serves as a cleric of Mystra. Currently, he believes Aleena to be dead. She wishes to keep this notion intact for the time being. Wianar is currently the subject of her investigation.

She has few friends, though the Simbul and Alustriel Silverhand are beloved mentors and friends. They are far away with problems of their own. Aleena has thought to reach out to the Emerald Enclave, whose aims parallel her own (via a different paradigm). She, however, correctly assumes that the Enclave would have trouble taking her as a trusted ally due to their aversion to sorcery and wizardry.

Stat Block

Concept. Lone Adventuring Sorceress-Priestess of Mystra
Descriptors. Willful, Inconspicuous, High Sorcery, Uncompromising
Gear. Concealed Dagger, Rovahan (Massive Male Lion)
Starting FU Points. 3
Conditions. [ ] Angry, [ ] Scared, [ ] Tired, [ ] Trapped, [ ] Blinded, [ ] Hungry, [ ] Dazed, [ ] Injured, [ ] Dying

Options

Options for spending/earning:

gain 1 for notable inconvenient twist
gain 1 for taking a hit
gain 1 for putting leverage on relationships
spend 1 to use a prop for a scene
spend 1 to use a rule-breaking power granted by a concept or a special thing

I'll cover the first three of ten scenes in the next post with images of notes plus my own commentary.

In and Out of Threshold, part 3

continued from here, Adventure two:

Adventure 2: Return To the Cave of the Vengeful Fish-Men

The next day, our heroes return. First, they stop at the logging camp to inquire if any further signs of aggressive fish folk have been observed. However, it has been relatively quiet.

So, they push on back to the cave. Two more fiendish fish people confront them as they enter, but both Dmetrius and Piotr deal with the two in quick order.

Returning to the last passage that they had not yet investigated, they listen carefully. They would assume the mysterious chopping noise would stop. However, the sounds of chipping still is heard with renewed vigor.

Vlad carefully and quietly slips forward to spy on what is seen ahead. He traverses a very long passage. Along its length, several timbers are laid within. The chipping sound increases in volume. There is also a bright illumination up ahead.

When the ranger peers ahead into the next larger chamber, he sees a network of scaffolds along the walls of the cavern. A multitude of fish folk are at work, laboring with many wheels and cogs.

Two very big and ugly hobgoblin taskmasters are barking at the fish people, snapping a whip to work them harder. A handful of other smaller goblins also assist in bullying the fish people. It is some fiendish labor camp.

Reporting to the others, Sara the Strong wastes no time in charging ahead, screaming a war-cry at the top of her lungs. Her surprise is complete when her battle ax connects with several goblins, flinging them left and right into bloody heaps.

Vlad enters the room next, his wolf charging forward while he releases arrow after arrow. He strikes one of the taskmasters in the neck, but the fiend continues on. When a hobgoblin orders the fish folk to start flinging rocks down at the ranger, he is forced to take cover.

Dmetrius enters next, standing his ground, but taking several nicks and minor wounds. From behind, Piotr watches the action, but a lone goblin sneaks up behind him and grabs him around the neck.

Piotr fights with the goblin, who stabs the wizard in the back. Down on the ground, Piotr is not finished. He quickly draws his own blade, seeing that his quicksilver vials have all skittered from his grasp. In a quick motion, he stabs at the creature, killing it, but not before the goblin's blade simultaneously comes down and slays the wizard.

Only Vlad escapes injury. But finally, the goblins and the hobgoblin taskmasters have all been dispatched. Communicating with the fish people is not easy, but Dmetrius manages to communicate that they are free. With a tense silence, they all file out.

The group is saddened to see the wizard fallen. They rummage through the goblins' bodies, and manage to scrounge up several more coins as well as a fine silver fleece. Dmetrius investigates further, discovering that the machinery is all installed for the purpose of boring a hole into the ground down below. They all wonder, for what purpose?

They bring Piotr’s body back to the church to be buried. Dmetrius feels it’s their next task to contact the church and tell them their findings. Then, perhaps the town officials may investigate further.

Sara, however, goes to the local tavern to sing a song of lament as she goes into her cups. “Oh, how the merry four are now sad three… But now, the crotchety wizard at last is free.”

Afterthoughts

This was a fun experiment. I never had a chance to rely use the wizard's powers. All of this was randomly determined and interpreted through logic. It all represents about three hours of playing time total, along with note taking, which is pretty fast for me. The downside, as with any PbtA game, all those partial results takes a lot of creative energy...especially for one person.

Will I play more? Probably. It was a nice departure to do everything scribbling on a map and imagining rather than the tedium of prose-esque writing.

In and Out of Threshold, part 2

continued from here, Adventure one:

Adventure 1: Cave of the Vengeful Fish-Men

Our heroes begin their adventure by visiting the local tavern. There, they hear many rumors. One person has lost their gold, snatched out of their hands by some flying monstrosity from the passes. However, they also hear about someone who disappeared from a logging camp north of town. They hear that a man went digging where he shouldn’t have been, and has not been seen since. After his disappearance, there’s been a rash of purported ugly fish-men attacking loggers.

The four friends decide to check out the last rumor. Trekking north, they arrive in the logging camp. Dmetrius asks some of the loggers, and discovers tell of a trail leading to a partially flooded cave. Naturally, the group goes to investigate.

The group quickly finds the trail and follows it along the edge of the river. Some strange fin-like marks in the ground look as though they might be tracks left by some bipedal fish folk.

They enter a glittering cave full of minerals out of which flows some sort of underground river which forms a tributary of the Windrush River. Lighting a torch, they explore into the camper. It is not long before they are met by angry fish people. The group fights as more and more of these things come out of the woodwork. They fare well. However, Vlad loses his bow in the river. The Ranger decides to dive into the water to fetch his bow, but more of the things lurking beneath the surface of the water hold him down. It is with the help of mighty Sara that he is able to come out of the water. But he managed to keep his bow!

The group follows the only way they can that is not flooded into a seemingly empty room. However, Sara, the barbarian, sinks halfway into a concealed pool of quicksand. She is able to pull her self out with a bit of struggle and the help of her friends.

Two other passages lead from the quicksand room. Down one, Vlad’s wolf, Fang snarls viciously at whatever he smells there. The smell from beyond is horrible. Down the other passage, the group here’s a strange sporadic chopping sound.

They decide to explore the smelly passage with caution.

They descend down a natural staircase into a largish room littered with refuse, and something used as a pallet for sleeping. Old bones of previous meals litter the floor. Dmetrius is standing rear guard, when a huge ogre closes in from behind, trapping them in the room.

Dmetrius tries to defend, but a giant club catches him in the midsection and flings him across the chamber. He crumples. Sara, however, charges with a war cry to avenge her friend. In a single blow, she defeats the ogre.

It turns out that the cleric is still alive, albeit barely. The others do what they can for him, but it is plain that they need to get him back to the church, where healers can tend to him. They search the area, finding a stash of gold and silver, as well as a mysterious grimacing green mask.

They retreat from the cave without any further mishap. Once back in the town of threshold, Piotr takes the mask to a dealer, who seems to recognize the artifact. The dealer claims that a local lord had lost a mask such as this and might pay to have it returned.

Dmetrius is healed, but recalls a dreadful dream when he lay dying that he may in the future be called upon to perform an assassination. And the group goes shopping…

To be continued...

In and Out of Threshold, part 1

a sandbox game of John Harper’s World of Dungeons rules
random character generation
random dungeon creation through a d6 random generator

Particulars

Here are the rules I’m considering:

• I’ll use WoDu’s Die of Fate and a single Rory's Story Cubes die per area generated.
• I’ll summarize the entire adventure in a few paragraphs, highlighting particular moments.
• I’ll conduct play by scribbling on a map as I go.

Monsters will have a HD rating, and a mode of attack:

• weak = 1d6-1
• moderate = 1d6
• strong = 1d6+2
• extreme = 2d6+2

They also may have an armor rating. Multiples of a creature roll a damage die per participant, taking the highest roll. Special abilities are assumed and will make use of partials and misses.

Experience vale (XP) of monsters and hazards are based on the following:

• 1 HD = 10
• 2 HD = 15
• 3 HD = 25
• 4 HD = 45
• 5 HD = 75
• 6 HD = 125
• 7+ HD = 200

Exhibited special abilities in creatures may bump the value by one or more tiers.

My dungeon generator (a vastly simplified version of one found here) will handle the layout.

When initiating an adventure, first rumors (generated by Story Cubes) will be determined for dungeon location and theme, serving to anchor all future action. Once at the site to explore, roll a Cube for each area. These inspire the sights, sounds, and smells that will give life to the dungeon. The chosen game system will push the fiction forward from there.

Treasure is the source from which heroes earn most of their experience. The presence of treasure is determined if deemed logical, and/or if an effort is made (via avoided trap, monster, search in a logical area). If present, a story cube will determine the form of the treasure. The Die of Fate (d6) will determine its value.

• 1 = minuscule (1d6 sp)
• 2 = minor (2d6 sp)
• 3 = decent (1d6 x 1d6 sp)
• 4 = abundant (10 x 1d6 sp, plus another item of value)
• 5 = worthy (10 x 4d6 sp, plus another item of value)
• 6 = trove (100x 1d6 sp, plus 1d6 other items of value)

If an item of value is rolled (after its nature has been determined by a Story Cube), roll another Die of Fate to determine its value. A treasure roll should be reduced or capped based on the amount of opposition faced during the adventure.

A session must be completed in one go. If the session must end prematurely, the dungeon can be assumed to be fully explored.

The Characters

Only their summaries here, not their full character sheets — all sheets and notes will be handled with actual pen and paper. I've decided to place this in the world of Mystara, right smack in the middle of Threshold, my favorite old school setting from my junior high years.

Dmetrius Lumovich — A local cleric for the Traladaran church. Dmetrius makes inquiries about the death of Aleena Halaran, but secretly seeks reconciliation between his faith and his desire for vengeance.

Piotr Radu-Belovich — Piotr is a childhood friend of Dmetrius, and has become somewhat of a wizard. He desires greater power and knowledge. However, some strange unknown power from the wilds draws him.

Vlad the Wild — A loner and ranger, Vlad has wandered the lands serving as a guide for some time. He travels with his pet gray wolf, Fang. He was once captured by evil elves. He secretly hopes to find and vanquish these troublesome tricksters.

Sara the Strong — An outcast from a mountain tribe, Sara seeks naught but adventure and dominion. Huzzah!

Next… the adventures!

Pool of Oblivion

A most rocking kick-ass session, even though it was our first. Usually, I use this blog to discus solo concepts and play reports. However, being my first actual play of Fate with someone else, I got all jazzed up about it.

I ran a Fate Accelerated game for a friend of mine. This represented his first foray into Fate (having read it once or so).

This began with me giving a few pitches in a mutually familiar game setting, that of the Forgotten Realms. Some of them included the rebuilding of Phlan, and a return of the Banites (a sequel to the Pool of Radiance video game series), revelries in Thentia with political intrigue there, and finally a visit to the last lord of Hulburg. In the end, we decided to merge some of the results of the first and last.

Getting a few more specifics down, we knew that Hulburg was a ruin — a monster-infested rundown has-been city on the north coast of the Moonsea. We knew that only the lord’s keep, a now dilapidated structure on the acropolis, was the last inhabited structure. The lord, one Gallard Hulmaster (name change edit post-facto, because I remembered that’s what the family’s surname was), an old widow in the winter of his life lived with his two remaining offspring, a sullen pouty boy named Derek, and his homely daughter, Rowena, who the lord wanted to marry off.

From the Phlan story, we liked that the cult of Bane might not be destroyed and sought a way to revive their dead god.

Good enough for starters. How does the PC fit in?

Our hero, one Orelbersk (Orel Bersk?), was a silver-tongued foolhardy treasure-seeker. We decided he was marked by the Black Network, indicating his past association as a former agent of the Zhentarim — with a knack for finding relics and treasures needed by the arcane arms of the organization. This gave us some background and hooks off the bat.

We also nailed down that he had a compulsive weakness for “just one more…”. Lastly, the thread that connected Orel to his trouble (being relentlessly hunted by the Zhentarim) was one of his last prizes — a small finger bone — one that belonged to the dead god, Bane. Our hero could not bring himself to deliver the tiny relic, because he knew through coercing a fellow agent that the Banites planned to resurrect their former god. This led to his final character aspect of the evening, a little piece of me.

Compel and invocation examples were easy to come up with for these character aspects. It also gave a very good picture of who our hero was and what he stood for. The last thing was determining what that little god bone did. Apparently, Orel had discovered that the bone offered subtle suggestions and lures, promising riches. More often, it led to trouble, and Orel surmised that the bone sought out more pieces of himself. He also couldn’t destroy or rid himself of the little relic.

This led to the idea that the next piece — the god’s eye — was a powerful artifact, but one that could be destroyed, thus thwarting the Banites’ plans once and for all. This was both our hero’s lure and salvation. Maybe if the Banites’ dreams were dashed, they might leave him alone.

We left one aspect slot open to be determined during play. Lastly, we set Orel’s approaches and stunts, getting:

Orel

High Concept: Silver-Tongued Foolhardy Treasure-Seeker


Trouble: Marked by the Black Network

Others: “Just One More…”; A Little Piece of Me; (pick 1 more)

Good (+3): Sneaky


Fair (+2): Flashy, Quick


Average (+1): Clever, Forceful


Mediocre (+0): Careful

Because I’m a second-story guy, I get +2 to Flashily overcome when attempting feats of acrobatic athleticism.

(Pick 2 more stunts)

Refresh: 3

We didn’t even talk about weapons or gear he might be carrying, which I found actually quite amazing and liberating in retrospect.

Finally, a discussion of the issues for the game included “They’re Coming!”, referring to the Banites and Zhentarim who were now hunting for Orel. There was also the crew of the Tipsy Tempest, a more immediate threat (see below).

The Banquet

We knew that the hero would be in Lord Hulmaster’s house seeking asylum from the nasty things he unwittingly released during his search for the item in question. We thought a dinner scene where Lord Gallard tries to marry off his unattractive daughter would be appropriate and amusing.

We set the scene. Doing so was such great fun!

Firstly, Hulmaster Keep was a simple square structure mostly consisting of the great hall. It was cold, wet, and drafty. It was a dilapidated shadow of its former self (added in retrospect as a minor milestone). Lord Gallard kept a dozen or so staff members and guardsmen in his employ. There were two small wings off the main hall (which served as the feast hall, lord’s court, parlor, trophy room, you name it), one underused wing for guests, and one for the family. Only a single door between you and them kept hostiles out via the front threshold.

I got a better idea of our host, a slightly unhinged aged man with only one last motivation. That gave us:

Lord Gallard Hulmaster

Miserly Lord of the Manor; Denial Is A Bitch; “What Do You Think Of My Daughter?”

Great (+4): Forceful


Fair (+2): Clever


Average (+1): Sneaky

Because I have a quick temper, I gain +2 to Forcefully create advantages when using my temper to leverage emotional states upon guests in my home.

The actual scene included banter by the lord, who tried to push his daughter, and his long and storied past. Hulburg is in a state of perpetual cold rain and wind, giving a very Wuthering Heights vibe. We included interruptions from banging on the door (to indicate the presence of the ghoulish dead crew of the ship Orel had been investigating; which had stirred up the evil there and sent them groping into the night — thus necessitating his need for shelter). That bit was funny as hell.

All put together, that got three compels to pre-load the session with some complications, and thus, points for the player.

Finally, there was the real meat (no pun intended) of the scene…

Orel came right out and asked what the Lord thought of the Banedeath (events from the close of the video game franchise). Gallard didn’t believe (being the type to dismiss things with a wave of the hand) that there might still be followers of Bane remaining, or that a resurrection was possible. Lord Gallard asked what Orel was doing in Hulburg, which the hero skirted somewhat, bringing attention to the homely Rowena. However, he did show the finger bone.

A couple of success with style overcomes caused Gallard to be convinced Orel had sincere interest in his daughter, and to be enamored of our hero. Orel asked if there were any valuable items in the ruined city that he might filch for the old man as a dowry. This pleased Gallard much, and he agreed he would send his son, Derek, to lead him in the morning to where remaining valuables might still be lurking in the ruins of the city.

After that, the party retired.

Off To Bed

Golan, the Hulmasters’ butler, led Orel to his chambers in the guest wing where he would be left to his own devices. He regretted to tell him that there had been few guests of late, and that the room was not as nice as in the old days.

When he was shown, Orel found the room not at all to his liking. The glass panes in the windows had long since fallen out, leaving the elements to stream in through the open window (which they presently were). “Ring if you need anything,” Golan said, indicating the pull cord near the bed.

The butler then left Orel and turned the key, leaving the hero locked inside. Orel pulled the cord, but the tether came free, being altogether mildewed. We decided that the butler was jealous of Orel regarding Rowena’s affections.

I offered a Fate Point if he could come up with a good juicy compel for that locked inside aspect. He leaned out the window to see:

Malevolent Spirits

Malevolent Incorporeal Spirits; Icy Cold Hands

Good at (+2): terrorizing


Bad at (-2): reasoning, moving fast

This was actually scary, because the spirits’ aspects meant our hero could not affect them physically. He saw a trio of the luminescent things float across the castle grounds and up the wall toward him!

He frantically pounded on the door to no avail, then looked outside up to the sheer slippery walls that led to the rooftop. Out came Orel, with no other option, seeking purchase on the surface. This triggered a fun contest to see if he could escape.

We decided since the spirits could just float, it was easy for them, while the slippery walls (with one pre-loaded free invocation) required a threshold of great (+4) to achieve any shifts.

The first exchange went to the spirits as they groped for Orel’s feet with icy cold hands. They tried also to scream to freeze Orel with fear, but he resisted. The next turn went to Orel (2 victory points due to a stunning success with style thanks to some Fate Point expenditures). In another turn, a tie caused Orel to take a maimed hand mild consequence in order to succeed at a minor cost. Eventually he scrambled up and over the rooftop, evading the ghosts between smokestacks and dormers.

Session End

A fun game, to be sure, representing about two and a half hours of play via Skype, game creation and all. Orel ended the session with 5 Fate Points.

Still not too fast with Fate, I was worried our speed would bog down with rules discussion and a monster-length character creation session. I’m happy to say it was not so!

Character creation, along with game creation flowed quickly and smoothly with lots of good ideas coming out, and really almost nothing rejected. Once I asked if my friend had enough ideas on what proactive steps his character would take, thus signaling that our game creation discussion had run its course. This naturally turned into setting the first scene.

Anything awesome that came out of our mouths got turned into a cool game aspect, without debate or discussion…it went fast. NPC stats were quick, simple, and off the cuff. This comes from someone who more often plays lighter games than Fate. Despite this perspective, it still went fast.

When my friend and I do get a chance to play, we play GM-less options, through such devices as Mythic and Rory’s Story Cubes. Fate was so fitting as a collaborative game, with ideas coming unhindered from both sides of the table that it naturally fit our style.

The speed of play was great. Really, we played with only two overcome rolls, and a contest that included some create advantage rolls. I paused to clarify the contest process, but it took only a few minutes.

A good time was had, and I can’t wait for our next session.