Editing SGA 2007 Archive (section)

=Roanoke=
; Game System
: [http://www.clintkrause.com/ Wushu: Roanoke]
; Pitch
: 1587: A small group of English colonists establish a settlement on Roanoke Island

: 1590: The colony is found completely abandoned with no trace of the colonists.

: What happened? Find out!
; Game Master
: Edmund Metheny
; Players
: 9
; Characters
: Reverend Ezekiel Parris, Fire-and-Brimstone Preacher (Cain)
: Lady Charity de Warwick, Pirate Hunter (Sophie)
: Haunce Walters, Devious deck hand and opportunist (Mark)
: Miss Emme Merrimoth, Dorset Farmgirl (Laura)
: Braith Madog, Unhangable Loner (Johnzo)
: Paiyn, Runaway Slave Child (Kevin)
: Alice Langston, Feisty Widow (Meg)
: Thomas "the Butcher" Vessel, Redeemed Convict (Taylor)
; Date
: February 5 & 12, March 12, April 9, May 21, June 11, 2007
; Technical Notes
: This game is intended to be a ''Lost''-style recurring series, with characters drawn from the pool of colonists and local Tribes as needed to accomodate new or occasional players.
; Recaps
* See also the [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=310201 Actual Play thread] on RPGNet.
** [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=6893629&postcount=2 Episode 1]
** [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=6964657&postcount=19 Episode 2]
** [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=7043542&postcount=37 Episode 3], continued [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=7046500&postcount=41 here]
** [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=7184322&postcount=71 Episode 4]
** [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=7408017&postcount=89 Episode 5]
** [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=7416222&postcount=90 Episode 6], continued [http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=7416222&postcount=91 here].
; Player Thoughts	
: '''[[User:Johnzo|Johnzo]]:''' My favorite part was when the Rev. and Haunce faced off over the missing grain. I liked how the conflict dicing allowed the characters to showcase their traits, and I really liked how the players regarded the issue as suspended after the dicing was done. I was worried that it was going to degenerate into more rounds of "well, I can't get him with this skill, maybe I'll try this skill." Instead, the point was made, the issue put off to another day, and tensions increased.

: I thought the large ensemble worked well, with people patiently waiting through downtime. One thing that might help even more in this regard is aggressive scene framing, where people state their objectives at the front of the scene, and as soon as the scene either denies or confirms those objectives, we move on to another thing. I don't know how that fits with people's gaming tastes, though. And it's not that I think there's a problem, but I'm always in favor of experimenting to try to redline my gaming. :)
: Also on the topic of the big ensemble, it was one of my goals to reduce its effective size by establishing a subunit for Braith to work in. I thought this would be with Haunce, but instead it was with Kev's character, and that strikes me as good and natural.

: Like so many of my characters, Braith didn't really reveal himself until actual play started. I'm thinking that instead of "gentle" his Social trait should be "knows he is destined for something special." This makes him somewhat resistant to fear, but also makes him a little cold and fatalistic and weird.

: I think that Braith's essential struggle will pit his aloof and destined nature against the human connections he'll generate on the island, most notably with the little slave kid, whose name he has still not learned, and with his aborted hatred of the absent Ferdinando. In a way, fostering Kev's character is his way at striking back at Ferdinando. I also want to keep his deference to Haunce, I don't know why, but this feels like an interesting choice.

: Speaking of Haunce, I'm super glad for Mark's desperate attempts to push everyone's buttons. My favorite horror stories are siege tales like Stephen King's "The Mist" or "Battlestar Galactica" where the external horror is balanced by an internal horror of people coming apart under enormous stress. Haunce is the driver of that internal horror right now. I think he's the central character of the tale. What we do with him will be very interesting.

: '''Mark:''' My favorite part was hitting the doom button to keep everyone from discovering Haunce's secret. He's so terrified of this, that he'll go to some lengths to protect himself, even though it might spell disaster for others. This makes for an interesting conflict, because he doesn't really want the colony to fail. At heart, he's not a bad guy, he's just weak, and it will be his undoing.

: Roleplaying is fun :) I'm glad Cain didn't back off when he had the chance. Rev. Parris both scares and fascinates Haunce. Given the chance, Haunce will try to suck up to him because of the influence he weilds in the colony.

: It would make sense for the others to become involved in the Haunce-Ezekiel conflict. Braith, for example, might develop a distrust of Haunce. Emme might become an ally or an exasperated enemy, depending on how Laura plays her. It would be fun to expand the stand-off.

: Haunce He's the kind of guy who either ends up being the charismatic leader, or gets locked up in stocks and has rotten vegetables thrown at him. Or both. It's a fine line between greatness and gitness, and "great" men tend to be really just successful or lucky con artists. One only needs to look towards Commodore John Paul Jones in our own history to see an example of that. Or General Benedict Arnold. Or Vice President Aron Burr. Haunce is a bird of their flock, just born into more modest circumstances.

: Doing this in scenes is really working well, and a nice break from the usual "Okay what's the party's marching order?" kind of roleplaying. As we play (and I'm sure Ed intended this), I'm thinking about what my character would be doing as if this were a movie or a play. I'm imagining cut-scenes, fades, swipes, dramatic music, even camera angles. I might try describing my actions more in those terms next week.

: I thought the roleplaying was all great... especially that done by Meg (Alice) and Kevin (Paiyn). It's been a while since I've been in a game that captured everyone's imagination the way this one has.

: '''[[User:Mechante Anemone|Mechante Anemone]]:''' I really liked the atmosphere, including the use of environmental sound and candle lighting.
; Additional GM Thoughts
: