AP: The Diner and the Storm that's coming

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AP: The Diner and the Storm that's coming
« on: September 07, 2010, 07:58:02 PM »
So, I've been thinking a lot about the game I'm playing in, with Simon C MCing.

It's been a hard start - both in-game, due to the way that the little trading post we're based it got made up, and the fact that it took all three of us players a little while to get into our characters' heads. Last night's session - the 4th (although one player has missed one) - everything really seemed to come together and it has got really interesting.

There's a couple of places that the game's hitting hard for me. The big one, is that my battlebabe Sunset, I made him super lethal. So he's got a default way to deal with anyone who stands up to him, i.e. blowing them away. That, plus the fact that we're in a total anarchy, not even a hardholder around to enforce some order... well, it makes dealing with trouble difficult. Maybe it's a mindset thing: he can seduce or manipulate with the best of them, although I haven't often been in a position to do so. Then, at the end of session two, I took the advance to gain a gang (I'd previously killed the leader of these guys), so I've been in the position of having to run this group of violent bastards. This isn't easy when your default way to resolve a conflict is a deadly ultimatum. I'm finding all this pretty fascinating (and disturbing) to work through. I didn't really have a strong concept for the character at first - I was planning to let that fall out in play. I think what has ended up happening is that the game start was a turning point for him, when he decided working as any chump's bodyguard or muscle wasn't good enough, and that he'd try to do some good instead. I don't think I've managed yet, but I'm trying. Man, heavy stuff.

The other thing that came out last night was this incredibly sad and poignant series of events around our brainer, Lively. She'd been in a psychic maelstrom induced coma for a few days (i.e. the missed session) and we left her in the care of Pepper, a refugee we'd rescued from the gang that I now lead. Lively's been a profoundly broken, creepy brainer and her relationship with Pepper gave her someone to protect coupled with a tenderness that had previously never been hinted at. Later in the session, Lively blew an acting under fire roll and had to make an ugly choice - let the bad guy shoot her or Pepper. She choose Pepper, who died of those wounds. That left Lively angry, and she went to kill Millions who she decided (irrationally) to blame for the death, but couldn't bring herself to do that when the moment came (because Millions, a kind of ogre-matriarch, has all these kids who would be left behind - at least, that seemed to be the reason. Maybe also that the death wasn't really her fault in any way). So... wow... that play was really intense and awesome.

In the aftermath of that, the characters made a plan - to get out of this doomed trading post and look for a holding secure enough to ride out the storm that's coming, and hire on there (or maybe take it over if we have to). That shared decision and plan for them is the final piece of things falling into place, I think. I am really looking forward to the next session, to see where it goes.

I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this - I think I needed to write it all down to work through some of it. Plus, I figured some of the others in the game might be interested (and the rest of you, watching from the sidelines). Steve, if you read this, I'm not leaving Must out because your stuff isn't interesting, too. It's just thay I didn't need to process any of it to that level, myself.

Re: AP: The Diner and the Storm that's coming
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2010, 10:49:15 PM »
Those are good thoughts, Mike.

Lively blaming Millions made sense to me, at least at an emotional level. Pepper would probably still be alive if Millions wasn't so awful. I still feel kind of sick about Pepper dying. So rough. "Look Through Crosshairs" can be a burden as well as a release.

I'm really looking forward to seeing where this thing goes next. I feel like we've tapped into the thematic core of the characters much more now, and the game will only be richer as a result. Also it's going to be fun cooking up some awfulness for Joan's Town.


Re: AP: The Diner and the Storm that's coming
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2010, 11:22:40 PM »
I agree about Millions - it certainly felt emotionally right that Lively blamed her. But she didn't do anything in particular to cause Pepper's death.

Re: AP: The Diner and the Storm that's coming
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2010, 06:41:35 AM »
We just played the next session of this game. The characters moving to a new place, and making ourselves a niche there (even if a very provisional niche, so far) was really satisfying. And it wasn't all gains, either, I think there was some definite leaving behind of baggage, some concrete and some spiritual or psychological.

A lot of stuff came out about all of the characters, things that are organically kind of growing out of the situations that they're in. Plus, our MC is beginning to seriously mess with us via the psychic maelstrom. It seems focused on the brainer and hocus in particular because they were involved in its creation and the apocalypse? Crazy stuff, I love it! Simon, you are a mad genius as MC.

I don't know how well they'll all do in the place - Must the hocus got told his followers had to stay outside the holding walls, and also took wealth & holding as an advance, setting up a shantytown right next door. My battlebabe Sunset has been allowed to stay in town in case Joan the holder needs anyone murdered (with the very definite instructions "don't kill anyone unless I say so") and Lively the brainer just went and seduced Joan to get in good.

We also hit the first ungiven future advances, with me creating a second character (Burdick the savvyhead). I'm not sure what playing two characters will be like here, but I am looking forward to sometimes taking a break from being the loose cannon that is Sunset. On the other hand, he's maybe going to set up house with Joe's Girl, the one remaining member of the gang he briefly led, so maybe Sunset's going to mellow out a bit as well.