Friday, 27 May 2011
[actual play] Exalted - Forge of Souls #whitewolf #exalted @white_wolf_fan
Episode 1- Part 2 – The Sins of the Past
Kheralin and Brilliant Light of the Woods (the player retconned the name resplendent trout) where outside the inn in Turg. They could hear the patrons shouting Dorn's name. Inside they found a packed crowd about a table where there were two men passed out surrounded with empty flagons. They spotted Falling Rain, Aisha and Red Echo. All were appalled by Dorn's behaviour. Together they carried the drunk barbarian out and to another inn where they were to stay. Kheralin explained that in the morning they had a meeting to attend with the mayor of Turg.
During the rest of the evening the group sat and talk at a bar, while Kheralin remained at the inn to watch over Dorn. It was agreed that the best way to make it to Khacin was under the guise of travellers going to the tournament.
It was while walking back to the inn that the group heard shouts from the mercantile quarter. On the way there they could see that the noise was coming from the Guild compound. But Rain spotted some large hulking figure with long arms leaping away from rooftop to rooftop. Rain chased after, free running up onto the rooftops, and started chasing the creature. But his chase ended quickly, as he stumbled, failed to grab the ledge, and plummeted down into a barrel of rain water run off. Some nearby children helped him out, and tipped over the barrel.
Meanwhile, Aisha and Light spoke to the guards of the compound, and were met by the old, bearded, merchant in charge who assured them it was just a thief. Light was unconvinced and so with Echo waited for Rain. Rain returned to them, soaking wet. Aisha had left to run to the inn to get Kheralin.
Rain and Light sneaked into the compound. They ran from shadow to shadow, but their footprints were spotted. In a flurry of slashes and thrusts, Light and Rain took out the guards. From outside the gate, Echo, who was not one for sneaking about, or running in without backup, noted that the lantern carried by the guards could not be spotted moving between the gaps in the wooden planks of the compound gate. Things had obviously gone wrong.
Rain and Light found where the animals were kept. They could here the whimpers of people and Light could see people in cages. This was illegal and disgusted him, especially considering his recent loss of family. Light strode forward and launched himself at on of the guards, who were sat playing dice. He drove his spear through the first, while the second fled. Rain released the animals while Light released the slaves. They learnt that a monster, or demon had attacked. And that it had metal claws and no eyes.
In the main courtyard of the Guild compound there was chaos as animals an slaves ran about. Light went to find the merchant while Rain went into the buildings looking for things of interest. He found the finance books and a few maps, of which a number of tombs were marked.
Outside Kheralin, Aisha and Dorn arrived. Echo nodded to the compound, shrugging as if he was not to blame. Kheralin leapt up onto the wall effortlessly, and balanced there with her bow at he ready. Dorn charged forward, smashing the gate of its hinges and causing the merchant and his men to look on in terror.
The group held the merchant to account for his actions, and they looked at his stock and his books. In exchange for all he knew and some goods they allowed his misdemeanor to slip. They found out a child had been stolen from the group of slaves, and so the group returned to their inn, now with a cart of swag. Rain suggested that they can now travel to Khacin as traders. Especially since Aisha was a member of the Guild. Rain also suggested they leave as soon as possible. However, Light, still fuming, demanded they save the missing child.
The group made their way out of the town, and out into the dark fields, heading towards the hills where the monster had headed towards. Dorn waited for his familiar, a large brown bear called Grunsen, to join them. With wagon hidden and scent marked by the bear, they headed further into the woods.
For an hour or more they walked over the rough terrain until the bear led them to a cliff face. Along the way they noted large pieces of metal were embedded in the ground and over grown with moss. They walked around to get to the bottom cliff. There the bear acted with caution, and Dorn noted the air was tinged with the smell of death. There was a breeze, and it seemed to come from the entrance of a cave. Going inside the cave mouth they could hear a metallic whirring with the near cyclic sucking and expulsion of air. Using his essence, Rain made his caste mark glow, and it was clear the cave mouth was only recently opened, and inside the cave was in fact a tube like tunnel, ending in a round portal, surrounded in a cog like bulkhead. Beyond was a stairway leading down.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
[advice] What's my Motivation? @darkerdaysradio #roleplay
A player obviously has certain goals they wish to achieve in a game. Having fun is number 1. Feeling that they have participated in a good story is another. They also wish to see their character achieve certain milestones and follow a certain plot arc. But then some players like the challenge of just beating the game, or solving all the riddles etc.
However, there can be times when the objectives of the player can be in conflict or not in keeping with the character they are playing. Or when the player has bled over into the character. The player then starts to make decisions, or take actions that conflict with how the character was designed. The player has begun to metagame and is letting out of character knowledge or opinions influence the characters own actions.
What does this mean in play? Well it could mean that a character is acting too aggressively because of player frustration or opinion. Or it could mean that the character gets into too much action simply because the player chases any form of plot they percieve, simply because they believe they should. It can also mean that a character can act in ways such that they do not pursue risky behavior even though it is in the character's nature to do so.
How do we get around this? Well it means being more mindful of the character's nature. More mindful of the things they love, hate, fear, and find interesting. It means putting the character in harms way when as a player you know that it foolish to do so. Or even the opposite scenario, and having the character refuse certain actions even though you as a player are aware that doing so hinders the plot.
However, staying true to the character motivations enriches the story, and they are challanges that should be overcome through roleplay. So if a character has a fear then it should be roleplayed out can act as a milestone. Or perhaps they are an addict. Or may even socially inedpt and must learn to be at ease with others. And it may even mean the character coming close to or even dying. But then even a character death is rich with plot and should be properly explore so that the death has meaning. This envitable fate can in fact be a joy to roleplay out.
This ultimately means the goal post for the game. Winning is not about beating the bad guys, it's about telling a compelling story, even if it means putting the character through a hell you as a player would not even want.
[Review] Lost Odyssey - First Impressions
Is this anything of a surprise? No not really. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the famed Final Fantasy series, is behind this. And it shows.
The world has some sort of magic fueled industrial revolution. Some bad ass magitech has gone wrong and it's up to you to find out. There are rather wordy flashback dream sequences to explain more about your immortal (yes you are immortal but the reason hasn't been revealed yet). And of course there are the monsters that attack at random points.
Then there are little things like how skills are learnt by linking immortals to the mortal characters, or the creation of 'rings' which use different components that are collected, and are then used to modify combat i.e. elemental attacks etc. These rings appear in combat as a way to make the player more involved. You pull the trigger as the attack is played out. This causes a ring to shrink about another ring, all centred upon the target of the attack. The aim is to get a perfect overlay. So it is a bit like have a gun blade from Final Fantasy 8. Combat also allows for careful targeting of enemies to cause the enemy to be delayed in their action i.e. casting etc.
Now this could sound like a bit old and dated. I guess it is a little. But then there are a few things I like about the game.
The setting is well designed, and looks vibrant. The party is interesting. The turn based system is easy and more then just pressing A (fuck you FF13). There are enough bits of info to get from people standing around, but they are nice bite size chunks.
So it just plays as a good jrpg. Good mechanics, good setting, no annoying characters. It may not be revolutionary but I think in general rpgs such as this and Mass Effect, Fallout 3, FF13 etc haven't been that revolutionary or changed much in the last 10 years. But I still stand by the fact that I want to be rewarded for the right tatics, and not being hindered when mashing together game genres (you Mass Effect, I'm looking at you).
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Venice unmasked - Now being pimped on French forums
Yeah.... this e-book has gone global.... and it isn't finished yet... gulp
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