SGA 2003 Archive

The following SGA games took place in 2003:

It Came From The Desert

Game System

Savage Worlds

Pitch

The 4-H club has taken it upon itself to ensure that America's children experience the blessed rugged heart of America: the Rockies. For a week, you've tromped around the mountains with a posse of kids, seeing the spring waterfalls and the mountain goats and the bright, bright mountain stars. Now, you're exhausted, and it's time to get home.

Home is Sweet Creek, Colorado, population 1043, which is, as the sign says, "the Pumpkin Capital of the Foothills." Sweet Creek is an All-American town. It's the home of test pilot Buck Drinkwalter and the boxer Harold "Wide Mouth" Mason, and the A-league Sweet Creek Sweets.

But alas, trouble struck on the road. The five of you -- the cheerleader, the nerd, the reporter, the social studies teacher, and the delinquent*--were riding in the teacher's Jeep when it blew out a tire. The spare was flat, and Mr. James in the school bus didn't seem to notice that you weren't behind him anymore. You had to walk fifteen miles to the next town to get a tow and a new tire, and that was this morning. What should have been a four-hour ride home has taken all day.

Now, it's after suppertime, getting close to dark, when you round the last hill before Sweet Creek and see....

Game Master

Johnzo

Players

Wilhelm, Alan B., and others.

Characters

Alan B. had the teacher. I believe Wil had a reporter.

Date

Monday, Sept. 15, 2003 in Cardhaus' sweaty back room.

Technical Notes

This was all miniatures on whiteboards. The bugs were purchased at Archie McPhee's. I had ants and spiders and honeybees and locusts.

Recaps

The bugs attacked while the flat was half-changed. There was a bridge involved. Weapons were improvised from a high-school chem lab. At one point, the bugs tore a rag top off a car and feasted on the soft, chewy innards.

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

TORG

Game System

Pitch

Anybody up for Monday TORG?

There'll be jungle mist, monster trucks, one of those big firefighting seaplanes, dinosaurs, a mountain lake hideaway, an Egyptian megalomaniac, ticking bombs, shootouts, swordfights, and, provisionally, syphillis.

Characters will be provided. All you need bring is a d20.

Syphilis? I have no goddamn idea what I was thinking when I sent this out.

Game Master

Johnzo

Players

Laura, Matt Wilson, and others.

Characters

A bunch of templated guys. I remember there was a lizardman and a mountie. Maybe a wizard too.

Date

Monday, May 19, 2003

Technical Notes

Recaps

There wasn't much to this scenario. It was just a tryout of the rules with several combat scenes, seeing how the oddball cards worked, etc. The rules seemed to work fine.

The only concrete thing I remember was that the lizardman came with a minigun that did completely ridiculous damage--it sawed a tyranosaur in half with one shot. Plus there was a helicopter shootdown too.

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Torg had long been a bridesmaid game of mine so it was fun to try it out. Maybe TORG in 2006?

Riddle of Steel

Game System

Riddle of Steel

Pitch

Game Master

Alan Barclay

Players

Characters

Date

January 20, 2003

Technical Notes

Recaps

10 folks made it out for the evening... Alan ran "Riddle of Steel". Kevin ran "All Flesh Must Be Eaten" (zombie game).

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

FREEDOM, WVa

Game System

All Flesh Must Be Eaten

Pitch

Game Master

Kevin Perrine

Players

Pete playing Dimitri

JoeZ playing Virgil

 ??? playing Forest

Lynn playing Calvin

Wilhelm playing Edgar

Laura playing Sara

Characters (aka. "our cast")

Dimitri: russian college friend / scientist.

Virgil: Tim's long lost brother and notorious Biker.

Forest: college buddy, now Tree Hugger type.

Calvin: 15 yr old Goth kid, taking pictures of the dying Tim.

Edgar: Youth Pastor and guitar playing friend to Tim.

Sara: childhood friend, now police officer.

Date

January 20, 2003

Technical & Pre-Game Notes

I plan to have the basics of several archetypes from the books.

I've trimmed them all down to the NORM level for this playtest session. If have the book and you'd like to make your own character and bring it - go ahead, but be sure and use the NORM rules... I'd also stay away from the supernatural powers (stuff using Essence) unless you clear it with me prior to Monday.

For background:

My base idea is that the PCs are all coming into town to have ONE LAST HURRAH with an old friend that's dying from cancer... He's checking himself out for the weekend and you'll be partying like it's 1999 to celebrate his life. So characters can be from anytime/place from your friend's life (High School, College, Work, a walkabout in Europe, etc...), the only real requisite is that you're his friend (or family). :-)

Archetype I have are:

Alcoholic, Athlete, Beautician, Biker, Business Man, Butcher, Cheerleader, Tree Hugger, Criminal, Goth, Hacker, Hustler, Musician, Priest, Reporter, Rural, Scientist, Store Clerk, Teacher / Academic. If you have requests for something else I can write it up for you...

Recaps

check out threads around the SGA Yahoo Group starting here

10 folks made it out for the evening... Alan ran "Riddle of Steel". Kevin ran "All Flesh Must Be Eaten" (zombie game).

Player Thoughts

Ok that was alot of fun! It more than met my expectations. The only problem is the group (including the ZM) was so involved and did such a great job that i have no idea if the game mechanics were good. I've roleplayed for about 12 years now and i must say that SGA members tend to do a wonderful job playing their characters even if they didnt create them. I feel like an amature everytime. My favorite part was realised as my character when flying off the car that we were all headed to my SUV and not only do i have the keys but im the only one who knows the zombies weekness. other good moments included the tree hugger screaming somthing about death to toxic waste and charging in, the goth kid snaping photos of the zombies, the youth pastor thinking hes the right hand of god for a moment, the cop useing a flag pole as a weapon, and of course the biker fending off a little zombie with a teddy bear. -pete

I also had a great time. You have so much great energy Kev. You really got the zombie movie feeling going with your opening description of the semi truck driving down the highway outside of town! I also had fun with the improvised weapons. Calvin sticking Mr. Wiffle in the head with the check holder. Sarah accidently flinging Mrs. Wiffle at her friend with the West Virginia State flag, Whoops -- Laura

I thought the story was excellent. Unfortunately the amount of set up cut down on the time we were able to spend bashing Zombies, but it did also provide a good "normality anchor" to drive home the gruesomeness when the dead started walking. Part of it was simply dealing with the fact that since Monday night games are oneshots, we were on a limited time budget. They, um, kinda shambled? I found the rules system rather banal, and not particularly contributing to the genre, but they didn't inhibit it either. For example, I like the idea of open ended die rolls, but the AFMBE version of them just seemed like a clunky implementation of a good idea. I thought it worked well, and jumping between characters kept everybody involved. I really admired your effort to keep things moving quickly. It seems like the AFMBE combat system could be prone to bogging down if not carefully managed. For the most part we avoided that. The frenetic narration style you adopted was excellent. Really helped set the mood. Or are you always like that? Keeping the lifepoints hidden was a good idea. I was actually surprised when Dimitry went down, and I had no idea how badly Forest was hurting. I think love of Zombies transcends all barriers. "I kick ass for the LORD!" from the fine Peter Jackson film "Dead Alive". Which everybody should run out and watch. That or "Meet the Feebles". Both fine films. As good as "Lord of the Rings." Really. Trust Me. -- Wilhelm

I think if one person really jumps into character everyone else starts to follow along. Also kev you were really into it and kept the pace moving so we didnt have time to think about turning every situation into a pun. I think dead time is when i personaly start thinking of jokes. I love and hate opening sceens. I love them in that every game ive ever played with one has been an intresting story, usualy done by a good story teller and does a great job of keeping players motivated and intrested. I hate them because i have yet to see an open ended game that used them well. Games that use open sceens or movie style sceens are usualy built around a story and not the characters, however you cant really build a one shot around the characters. The beauty of the one shot is in that players are willing to be more heroic and go out with a bang rather than worry about losing this character they have played for a year. love it! one of the reasons i love shadowrun so much is the ability to burn a karma pool point for an automatic success I agree (lifepoints secret), one of the reason i like games that gauge damage on light vs serrious and things of that nature is that as a player im not tempted to say im ok i got 20 hit points ill use it when i get to 5 (yes i have munchkin temptations i must resist) As a GM though i try to let players keep track of most things because im lazy and i dont want to take the time im already tracking for the 20 bad guys. idealy though a GM should always discribe how bad a player is hurt and players shouldnt know stuff like i can take 2 more hits from a longsword. -- Pete

Additional GM Thoughts

6 folks had planned to play "All Flesh" for the evening. I handed out templates to choose from and we got the game rolling...

The mandatory piece for the evening was to come up with your connection to one: Timmy Coffin... our dying friend, who we were all coming into town for one last HURRAH to celebrate. The Town... a little place we like to call - "Freedom, WVa".

Some key things I wanted to mention:

• I planned just too much, and missed some stuff but I don't think it effected the game so much. I tried using "bullet counters" for the players and I kept all the life points for the characters to add some dramatics to injuries taken...
• the players get a standing ovation from me... you guys did EXCELLENT! And Will - your girlfriend (forgot her name again damnit!) was incredible for not playing RPGs.
• My Favorite Quote: "I'm kicking Zombie Ass in the name of the LORD!"
• My favorite character Moment: tie between - Dimitri shot off the top of the police car into the store window and all that followed or Calvin using one of those pointy things you put checks on in restaurants to impale the Zombie Mr. Whipple's brain!!
• My favorite NPC Moment: that poor little Zombie boy with teddy bear in his footy pajamas...
• I was thinking of sharing my "preperation notes" if anyone is interested in talking about GMing and how you prepare for games, and show mine as an example. Anyone interested?

Zombie Stuff (was Monday (Jan 20) - How it went)

Sometimes players throw me as the GM. I was stuttered when

Joe really jumped into character (with Virgil) there at the begining and then everyone jumped in FAST. I forgot how excited some folks get. Even Lynn!! who is new to RPGs... just incredibly great. To make this relevant (enough butt kissing)... Why do you think that happens in some games? and then others lead to, not enough roleplaying - or just go silly with comedic reference - or are just bad...?

[on Dimitri flying and dying] True - that was epic (and unplanned for the most part).

I had waited all game to share that flashback with someone (that I thought would be appropriate) and I picked the PERFECT person. LONG LIVE DIMITRI!!

I always worry about my "opening scenes" have never NOT ran

a game without opening with some sort of opening scene.... I can't imagine starting a game anymore without that cool opening sequence that always comes prior to the titles and theme song (for movies or TV shows). It's stuff you wouldn't need to know (as players) and stuff you have to firewall as characters (because you technically didn't see it) but sometimes somepeople just don't understand what/ why I'm doing those openings... it also hopefully sets you into the tone of the game universe - starting up your disbelief engine. When I've done it best - they really add to the overall game. I just can't open a game straight to the PCs sitting around a table anymore.

[on Monday Night Short-Shot time budget]

I was trying to watch the clock to plan WHEN to get beyond the set up time. I was doing okay (everyone was in town at at the bar by 8pm) but then the length of time coming out of your rooms slowed down.... and then the group splitting slowly and then getting back together slowly (after the imminent dangers) rolled the game for about 2 hours. Which took up to near 10pm. and I hadn't done any of the stuff from outside (the chooper, the dogs, the rats, the bear, the bikers returning, the State trooper, etc...) I wouldn't change it much though - the set up was excellently played... I just wish we would have had 1-2 hours more or a second game session so that I could draw out some of the stuff I crammed in at the end. the one-shot time was limiting... but for me I'm learning with it. I had NEVER ran a one-shot game before. Combine that with the first time running AFMBE and I'm okay with the outcome. :-)

[on rules] I actually like the "Uni-system" as a rules set. Even though

they're not genre specific I think they simulate the world type well... and you're not afraid of rolling the dice. I look at little "gimmicks" like the re-rolling 10s and 1s as just that - Gimmicks.... to set the game further apart from all the other D? + Attribute + Skill = difficulty number games. My only wish... I worried sometimes (as player and GM) that in a game if you NEED to succeed at something and you have no way to help that (other than your roll) it can be hindering. I sort of wish ALL games would include a "hero point" type mechanic (seen in: Adventure!, Deadlands, MnM, 7th Seas, etc...) even if the cost is high, to help with those situations... Actually - Buffy RPG does have these "Drama Points" and it's a trimmed down Uni-system lite game...

[on frenetic narration style]

I do try to go "on-stage" when GMing. I figure - if the players see that I'm okay with making a fool out of myself in front of them by acting the parts and such then they will feel more open to playing their characters to the hilt. Lead by example kinda play... but no - normally I'm more reserved. a little goofy fun sometimes... I don't know that'd be a fun question for me to have answered by Joe or Laura - since they "know me" from other games and outside of games... Guys??

[on Keeping the lifepoints hidden]

Dimitri went down HARD... the throw through the window from the speeding police car crash was: D6 per yard (based on falling) with some "terminal velocity" (up to x50) involved = my roll of, (D6 x 4 slashing) x2 ... which brought him down 24 points (my roll was a 3), then the 4 Zombies ripping at his head (D4 x4 slashing) x2 forced him forced him below -10... making him roll a Survival check. If he failed he was dead. he succeeded so he lived for another minute - then you guys helped him a little stopping the Survival checks for the moment... Forest was in bad shape (hope I described that well enough) he was down to 17 of his 34 LPs prior to getting some first aid bringing him up to 24. One or two more good shots and he would have went down (from a Zombie - a gun would have killed him most likely) hence... I really liked the effect and modifiers that damage did... I like the effect of multiples slashing/stabbing and bullets do alot! It really forces the survival aspect. Minor note - all the damage everyone did to any Zombie was ignored (unless it hit the brain) A "chop" to a leg/arm for 15 points total would have severed them... but that never happened. :-)

Now that I think about it I think it REALLY REALLY matters that

all the participants are open (if not excited) to try the game. Or to try playing with the GM or players no matter the game. Now that I think about it - every game that I've played or ran in which all the participant WERE NOT willing to forgo any doubts about the game (or GM or players) and be way open to making the experience fun for everyone (ie. NOT just themselves!), they've all ended up sucking really bad. sometimes playing with the same players for any long time can build weird assumptions that carry across to any other game you play with them. Sometimes it doesn't. weird... I think if the GM plans and doesn't get lazy with them (or the game) you can continue these right through. For example - if we were to continue the Zombie game I'd probably begin each "episode" like a TV show... First the "PREVIOUSLY on ..." describing last week's actions (and KEY moments or clues from past games). then move into a quick fun pre-titles scene with either the PCs in a short shot scene (setting up something or media res) or plan something showing the bad guys or other events that will lead into the game later... I think everyone gets to that point after playing for a time... I used to HATE rules and figuring them out. I'm still not the best at it but I know the things I like to KNOW before playing a new game. Like: what controls initiative, what the scores you need to be average are (to gauge yourself), etc.. etc... I'm feeling this way more and more these days. It is a LOT to track as a GM but I felt the Zombie game was better because the players just didn't know... It also helped that I didn't have to track bad guy DeadPoints because they only counted if hit in the brain. :-) that's another COOL thing that the Uni-system lite has going for it.... Its not in AFMBE, but in it's spin off rules for Buffy RPG the GM doesn't even have to roll in combat (NPC) situations. The bads have single numbers to compare the PC's roll to (either hitting or dodging) . So it would be easier to track the LifePoints. I'm really seeing that I LIKED the AFMBE Uni-System more than I thought.

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