1D6 12 hours in Duskvol

IMG_4533.jpeg

There was something about Blades in the Dark that captured my imagination when I read it last year. Apart from a couple of games, it has not become part of our regular repertoire, so when the opportunity to take part in the 24 Hour RPG came up, Blades was my first choice to run at the event.

It’s an annual event; I did RuneQuest Borderlands for 24 hours last year. It takes place the week after GROGMEET which affects the number of people available to participate. Neil and Will were great players and between them they gradually brought their characters to life in the world of Duskvol: starting as lucky chancers in the thrall of Bazo Baz, to finally becoming the Kings of Crowsfoot, seizing the turf from under the noses of The Lamp Blacks.

Donations to Mind are still being accepted at the Just Giving site. Thanks to the generous support of the GROGSQUAD we have helped the event burst through its target of £1500.

Five highlights and a fumble …

The Dark Needles 

IMG_4528 3.jpg

The players created a created a ‘Shadows’ crew as it was the best fit for their characters’ Playbooks (a Lurk and Slide). The most satisfying element of the day was seeing the crew grow its resources during the long session. Their lair was beneath a shop that sold fine Iruvian cloth, needles and thimbles had a number of upgrades. Once the crew began building up their capacity by upgrading and investing in long term projects (such as mapping the underground network of tunnels beneath Crowsfoot) it spurned them on to become more ambitious and take on more audacious scores.

Blades … allows mechanics and imagination work really well together in the crew creation rules.

Crowsfoot

To keep things simple, I limited the hunting grounds to a single district: Crowsfoot, where the three factions of The Crows, Lamp Blacks and Red Sashes, are on the brink of a gang war. One of the highlights of the 12 hour session was seeing the loyalties and allegiances shift from score to score. The players were smart in how they played the factions off each other and developed relationships when it was expedient.

Fortune Rolls

IMG_4529.jpeg

I was more confident this time with some of the core mechanics of the game. There’s a structure to the game that imposes some discipline to provide focus for the action. On the previous occasions I’ve played, I found it stifling and the moments of Freeplay and Downtime seemed to merge into each other. I was more strict with it this time as the nature of the session allowed more space to impose a rhythm to Freeplay, Score and Downtime.

In previous games I’d ignored the ‘Fortune Rolls’ that are made at the start of each score.

This sets the level of the situation. Depending on the outcome of the roll, the score can be Controlled, Risky or Desperate, with each stage representing increasing danger.

This time the Fortune Rolls added an exciting dimension to the scores mechanically and contributed to the narrative in the game world. Thanks to meticulous planning they were able to stage an audience with the leader of The Crows and pull off an audacious trick on her, while their attempt to shake-down a barber and steal some action from his gambling outfit was Desperate as there was an unexpected encounter waiting for them.

Once a rhythm is established Fortune Rolls work really well.

Flash Back!

The use of the ‘Flash Back’ device was stunning in all of the scores completed by The Dark Needles. They were used sparingly, just they allowed the game to keep moving without the need for endless planning. For example, they forged a pardon to boost an assassin from prison, as the Blue Coat constable was about to study the paperwork, they flashed back to a moment the night before when one of the Skulks from the crew, swapped his eye-glasses. Neil rolled a triple critical.

The extra dice added to the scene meant that there was another critical. The constable, embarrassed that he was unable to read the document fully, released the prisoner.

It was so easy. That was only the beginning of their problems.

A cast of Thousands

Before and during the event, I was receiving numbers from members of the GROGSQUAD who were making donations. At the back of Blades in the Dark there are a number of tables that allow you to create NPCs and situations at random during the game.

Roethe Hellyers was an emaciated, annoying, ruthless assassin who bargained with The Needles, they reunited him with his daughter, so he became an asset of the crew, until he met a tragic end (Andrew Cowie).

“Twelves” was Baz Bazo’s beautiful capo and handler of The Needles who met them in the dark corners of The Leaky Bucket to give them scores. (Lee Carnell)

‘Wicker’ was an assassin preparing an ambush for Roethe in league with Twelves. The Dark Needles stole him away before he could make an attack. (Matt the Clownfist!)

Vond ‘Rooster’ Coleburn was an accomplished fence who was offered to The Needles as a contact in return for favours.(Andrew Clark)

The Birch and Thorn were leaders of the sword academy of the Red sashes (Ty Callaghan-Jones and Per Boden)

Vey Hellyer or ‘Thistle’ was Roethe’s daughter. (Rick Knott)

Hix Haron or ‘Ogre’ was a Cutter, employed by Baz Bazo as an assassin to kill Lyssa (the leader of The Crows) when Roethe ‘disappeared’. (Glen Robinson)

Crowl Sevoy a Crow who flipped to the Lamp Blacks following the death of Roric: a valuable source of information (Andrew Jones)

Rustol was Lyssa’s personal bodyguard. In a flashback, The Needles commanded Roethe to abduct his only son. (Mike Watson)

Skannon Harvon was the barber who ran a cock-fighting operation between the hours of Smoke and Ash. (Mike Hobbs)

Wester Dalmore appeared as an assistant alchemist for the Red Sashes producing spark-bombs for the explosive finale (Chris Miles)

Skinner was the faithful Skulk who aided in the final raid of The Crow’s lair (Daily Dwarf)

All of you who pledged appeared in the game, if you haven’t seen your character on Twitter or elsewhere, let me know and I’ll tell you who you were. Thanks for taking part and donating, it’s really appreciated.

24 Hours 

The organisers also were very accommodating and willing to allow me run to adjust the format and run the game for 12 hours. The time zipped by and my only regret was not playing for longer. This was one of my most satisfying moments as a GamesMaster this year: collaborating with the players to construct adventure on the fly and producing unforgettable dramatic scenes. Fantastic.

1D6 No sleep ’til Five Eyes!

I think my ‘old-timer’ body clock is almost getting back into synch after last weekend when I participated in the 24 hour RPG charity event.

This is the fourth time that the event has been run, but the first time I’ve taken part. I was kindly invited by Tim from the Old Scroats, (see the UnEarthed Arcana part of the D&D podcast episodes.)

WarGames, the huge games store that can be found on swanky Lords Street in Southport, UK, were the generous hosts for the event.

If you’ve listened to my appearance on The Smart Party podcast, you’ll know that I originally intended to run the new RuneQuest rules in Dorastor, however at the last minute, I decided to make things easier for myself and keep it old school: I ran the BorderLands campaign using the Classic RuneQuest rules.

I can run those games in my sleep, which is just as well as the plan was to run the game from noon Saturday to noon on Sunday.

The whole experience was tremendous fun and for a good cause too. So far, with the Just Giving account and cash collected, the event has raised a whopping £2281. Thanks to all the participants and the generous pledgers.

You know the format … 5 highlights and a fumble.

1.Once more, with character …

IMG_3882.jpg
Fresh-faced at noon on Saturday

Rather than turn up with a fistful of pre-gens, we created the characters at the table (a session zero, if you will). The process took a little longer than I anticipated, but it allowed me to do a quick prima on Glorantha as well as the rules.

In the end, I think it was a good idea for the players to create their own characters as it allowed them to establish relationships and rivalries with the other players. There were a couple of siblings, for example, which meant that they looked out for each other more (jumping in the river to rescue a brother in distress), or they had deep rooted antipathy towards each other (“You are a coward brother!”).

IMG_3883.jpg

 

2. RoneQuest

IMG_3891.jpg

A party of six mercenaries gathered at the fort of Raus of Rone, ready to tame the wild lands and broker deals with the local beast-riders and other nomad tribes in the region. The fusty old Lunar Duke-in-exile plans to create a new colony of settlers from the North, but first, order needs to be brought to bare on new frontier.

The episodic format was perfect for the 24 hour long session as it was straight-forward, “go there, do that” mission based with a punitive contract that encourages the party to break the rules.

One of the players was a veteran of the BorderLands campaign, so he became Gerontiios, the right-hand man of Daine, the Duke’s sergeant at arms, (the lapsed Humakt Rune Lord and stoical NPC confident for the players.)

Gerontiios was bold, leading the unruly sell-swords, around the wilds of the Zola Fell valley. They encountered High Llama riders, dinosaurs, chariot-raced with Morokanth, battled with crocodile riding ducks and much more.

3. Gift from the Gods

IMG_3893.jpg

This being RuneQuest, there were limbs flying and fumbles galore, but I gave them a little advantage. At the start of the game I gave them a packet of wine gums. This was their luck pool. They could use the sweets to reduce their roll so that a near miss could be a hit.

In addition, some of the players had been given extra rolls thanks to sponsorship donations. They came in handy at some crucial moments.

3. Multiverse

IMG_3900.jpg

There were other games being played: Numenera, StarFinder and D&D 5e.

The GMs agreed beforehand that we would have a common theme of “an evil presence, breaking through the dimensions, aided by acolytes in the different Universes.”

An obscure symbol would unite the campaigns, to identify the influence of this cosmic evil as it attempted to penetrate the different realms of the multiverse.

IMG_4008.jpg

Using ‘whats app’, we shared elements that had escaped from our games. Ethan sent “500 tonnes of rock and dirt from a plane,” from Numenera which manifested in Glorantha as a rain of silt which formed into a congregation of Whirlvishes – a vortex of sand.

I followed Baz & Gaz’s advice and had a group of rival mercenaries tormenting the PCs. The Sartarite bandits led by Rattle Poisionknife, a Sartarite bandit who had a tattoo of the symbol on his arm and was leading some of the locals towards his sinister faction, who were intent on awakening the dormant Nosferal.

At midnight, Gerontiios was sent on a HeroQuest to another table. He ended up in a dimension of sound in Numenera.

A nano from the Numenera game manifested as a purple duck at our table. He taught the Flintnail masonries how technologies of a ‘lifting device’ to help them in the construction of the Duke’s Fort. He defied being tied by a Waha rope by reversing his temporal existence.

Delirium began to set in at this point.

5. Five Eyes

“Avoid Five Eyes Temple,” Gerontiios commanded. Once they eventually went there, he was hit in the face with a manticore stinger and left for dead. Thanks to Divine Intervention (and a couple of wine gums) the Red Moon goddess revived him.

The River Horse temple had been taken over by the revived soul of Nosferal. The Newtlings were now undead servants in his thrall.

Despite his depleted power Gerontiios explored the far corners of the river caves and was possessed by a disorder ghost, who unleashed Nosferal from his tomb!

IMG_3918.jpg

6. The 4am Wall (fumble)

IMG_3917.jpg

By 4am, the esprit-de-corps was breaking down somewhat. 16 hours of play and things started to fray. They struggled to motivate themselves to reach the lofty heights of Condor Crags.

“What the hell are we doing this for? Why are we here?” they exclaimed. I’m not sure whether or not it was in character.

“We are all of us!” declared Gerontiios, rallying the band together to make the final push.

As dawn broke, the players found a second wind, an Orlanthi wind, which blew them towards a final confrontation with Nosferal, Rattle PoisonKnife, and the zombified bone-dragon Kerrang!

Their enemies were defeated thanks to the cypher recovered to Numenera (water from the River Styx) and a few remaining wine gums.

IMG_3919.jpg
Noon on Sunday!

 

GROGMEET 2017 ScrapBook

In April last year, I sent out a speculative tweet, asking if anyone would be interested in meeting up in Manchester to play a game. Last time I did an advert like that, only Eddy and his mates turned up, this time it created GROGMEET.

Last year there were 8 games available, this time there was the opportunity to play 19 games over two days.

Thank you to everyone who attended, especially the Games Masters, without whom it wouldn’t be possible.

We also had a fundraising event to support the 24 Hour Game of RuneQuest that I’m running next week for Alder Hey children’s hospital. There were some very generous prizes provided by people attending and we raised £283.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Until next year …

Adios amigos!

(Check #GROGMEET  #GROGMEET17 #GROGMEET2017 for more great pics)

GROGMEET EVE

IMG_3654.jpg
The new Fan Boy Three is very well lit for a World of Darkness (Jon Dawson, story-telling)

 

 

IMG_3659.jpg
Andrew Cowie was the DM for D&D 5e (if you can’t spot him, he’s the one standing up)
IMG_3653.jpg
Blythy chasing the players around the 9th World with a Meat-packer monster.
IMG_3652.jpg
GROGMEETers sinking their teeth into Nights Black Agents, uncovering a sinister conspiracy to control telluric current in the UK (circa 1984)
IMG_3648.jpg
Counter subversion agent in deep cover within the mining community in Leeds (1984) – The handouts made by the players (@xNearDark)! The game featured a high-speed chase in a British Telecom yellow-van.
IMG_3664 2.jpg
GROGMEET grog. Expensive grog.
IMG_3700.jpg
RuneQuest Classic – apparently, no left legs were harmed in this adventure – with Kat Simmons-Smith
IMG_3679.jpg
Neil Benson was sending his players around the bend.

 

23376519_1506247742793122_5058770606724151131_n.jpg
That’s right – down the plughole with vertical minis and a piece of string …
IMG_3699.jpg
@Asako_Soh provided a wholesome game of WarHammer Fantasy Role-Playing, concluding with someone getting a dagger through the eye
IMG_3711.jpg
Blakes 7 Traveller settles down once the thorny issue of “who’s playing Avon?” is resolved
IMG_3706.jpg
Richard August said that ‘There will be blood …” in his Cthulhu Hack adventure … by all accounts, he delivered.
IMG_3710.jpg
Andrew Jones’ RuneQuest: Role Playing in Glorantha game: Let the Ducks see the Hob Nobs!
IMG_3694.jpg
@dailydwarf delivers Better Living Through Chemistry in Mega City One
IMG_3717.jpg
How many fatties can you get on a floor plan?
IMG_3718.jpg
The scenario developed a Prog on the wall
IMG_3701.jpg
Cris Watkins from bonhomiegames.uk provided atmosphere, sound FX and lots, and lots of D6s in ShadowRun
23472723_10155848460297556_8080825810768303466_n.jpg
Mike Mason appeared to bring added insanity!
IMG_3729 2.jpg
Andy Hemming’s spectacular models provided the backdrop for the Idiot God’s Festival
IMG_3751.jpg
DragonQuest with Paul Baldowski – dice and oven timers!
IMG_3757.jpg
Dr RPG (Ian Griffiths) is your friend … Paranoia, everyone is out to get you.
IMG_3764.jpg
George Formby was being rescued in Kehaar’s very British Civil War using Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes.
IMG_3765.jpg
Chaosium’s Ian Cooper put players on the JonsTown watch in HeroQuest

 

IMG_3775.jpg
Quick, shut the door!

IMG_3806.jpg

IMG_3807.jpg
The Boys with a D4 in their sides … Dirk the Dice, @dailydwarf and Blythy

 

Twenty Four Hour Total Party-Kill

I’m honoured to be taking part in this year’s Charity 24 hour RPG organised by Tim from the Old Scroates. On 18th November from 1pm to 1 pm the next day there will be an RPG endurance test at WarGames in Southport, featuring Numenera, StarFinder and D&D 5e.

The event is in aid of a very worthy cause: Alder Hey Children’s Hospital; a specialist unit  that has touched the lives of many families in the North West region. Players will pledge a donation and the top 6 bids will ‘win’ a place at the table.

If you can’t attend, but would still like to support the players in this test of an old man’s ability to think straight for longer than 3 hours, then please donate at the Just Giving page, where you’ll also find more details about the event.

RUNEQUEST

IMG_3303.jpg

I will be offering a table of RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha, using the GENCON preview version. You’ll roll characters using the new-improved immersive rules, before heading north, from Dragon Pass, to forge a new life for you and your clan in the Dorastor region. A new life awaits you in the Land of Doom.

IMG_3366.JPG

MAKE A PLEDGE

If you would like to play any of the games, simply send an email to kinoandhermes@gmail.com with your details, which game you’d like to play and your pledge amount.

You don’t have to pay anything at this stage. The bidding closes 1st November.