Hello, Barfers.
Just finished my first session as MC, after lurking around here and sucking up all your goodness. Gotta say, very excited by my groups response to the game; whilst still a little bit wobbly on things, everybody had a good time and got to make some rolls and throw some detail into the stewpot. Whilst it was a quiet session in action terms it really set up some stuff which will hopefully make for a good set of charged circumstance. Can't wait to draw up a couple of fronts and look for some more areas to push into and get my bloody fingerprints on...
So, if anybody's interested, here's the sitch...
Characters:
Specialist Stone, Jeremiah (USMC), Quarantine
Bright Lizard, Hocus
"Dr "Boo, Angel
AT Wolf, Gunlugger
Francois, Maestro 'D
The action takes place in a city decimated by a seismic climate catastrophe. A huge sinkhole has opened up in what was once the industrial district, which now serves to irrigate the farmlands around which a settlement has been built. Parson, the ruler of the holding, has established a firm hold on the water supply and keeps things in check, but is troubled by raiders and encroachments from holdings outside the area. Further into town, in what was once a fairly upmarket townhouse district, is the establishment run by Francois (Frankie), a coffee shop and debate house catering to a (relatively small) clientele of self-styled intellectuals and scenesters. Here debates and theological discussion are presented as 'spectacle' to the elite of the holding. Francois fancies himself a keeper of humanity's flame of knowledge, although the exclusive and rarefied nature of his business requires him to siphon resources otherwise 'rightly' belonging to Parson, who keeps a close eye on things that go on there. AT Wolf, a gunlugger in sometime employ of the hardholder, is a regular, chiefly because she's super-sweet on Francois.
Down the street, in a converted plastic surgery clinic, is the infirmary run by Boo. The only doctor in town, she has a deal with Parson to keep her in medical supplies in exchange for preferential treatment. She's the only person who knows about Parson's medical condition. She abhors senseless violence and once turned AT Wolf out of her surgery after one-too-many surprise visits, causing a bitterness between the two of them to fester.
Further out, into the crumbling and burnt out remains of the city, the fringes of society clash and victimise each other with violence and thievery. On the outskirts of this ruinous urban waste sits the home of The Followers of the Great Salamander, presided over by Bright Lizard (Rich, Bright Lizard's player, assumed that you had to pick two names from the separated name sections of the playbook. We all liked Bright Lizard so much we kept it). A dedicated, humble, somewhat debauched and dangerous reside in the building. They are fiercely loyal, and work as diviners for the farmers in the inner circle; when the crops are good, they clean up by offering portents and advice gleaned from The Great Slamander (who swims through the maelstrom, leaving tunnels which those enlightened can follow to learn the truth of the universe). Bright Lizard himself is VERY old, old enough to remember the event which changed the world. When pressed on the nature of this event, all he had to say way "The Salamander Awoke". I'm fucking in love with this guy.
Finally, somewhere in the ruins there stands a building, once used as an intelligence and 'reprogramming' centre by a wing of the Military before the event. Far beneath the building, in a basement facility hidden and protected by advanced defense systems, a young Marine Corps specialist was awoken from stasis by an unknown event. He stumbled up into the city and fought his way through the perilous streets, where he was discovered by AT Wolf, who was on a 'routine patrol' on Parson's behalf. AT Wolf helped Stone survive the hazards of downtown and took him to Francois, who immediately took a shine to young marine, probing him with questions on his origins and the nature of his time. Word, however, has gotten out about this strange new visitor, and he (and his impressive military hardware) have attracted the attentions of the hardholder.
So, that's our group. I'll sketch up some of the details of the first session and throw them up on here. Thanks so much to all of you who post regularly and from whom I've been able to harvest tons of useful information about running AW; it really helped me to structure play and probe for things in the first session. I'm sure I could've dug up more (and one or two of the players seem determined to play a bit against one another; no bad thing, but sometimes hard to marshall toward action rather than just discussion), but there's already quite a bit of stuff to play with...
So, thanks very much!
Jamolah