10.10.10 Stathakion Sleep Deprivation Center

[gooderguy]

After a long weekend of little sleep, a lot of talking and some awesome experiences I'll never forget, I"m happy to have a little down time to say nothing and just write some stuff about this weekend.

One thing I noticed was that there was very little time for artha awards at the end of each scenario I was in as we were all rushing off to eat and jump into the next game. We all needed fuel to recharge us at the Stathakion Sleep Deprivation Center.

I think rewarding players is very important, but since artha is meant to be spent and we're not gonna have time to play again and spend it, i thought of some other more topical awards for the people i played with. Forgive me if i get names wrong. My brain is still reeling.

Stat Awards

Perception Award - Anthony. One of the most perceptive GMs I"ve ever played with, Anthony's Who Shot the Sheriff? scenario was full of awesome Western tropes, but it was his amazingly reactive GM skills that made for such a smooth, engaging scenario with the perfect pacing.

Will Award - Bret. Despite near exhaustion, Bret kept it real for the whole sprint, withstanding PaulB's abuses time and time again as everything dear to his character was abused and stripped away maneuver by maneuver.

Power Award - Greg. This guy had a real powerful presence at the table. His choices were strong and really made for an engaging climax to the Blossoms scenario.

Forte Award - Paul B. I can't say enough about how badass this guy was. He survived montezuma's revenge in South America to get to NYC and then held his own through GMing a whole BE phase in less than 15 hours of play. And he won (w./22 dispo left for those who care). seems like he can endure anything, and make it seem 'easy-peasy'

Agility Award - Colin. he really showed me how mastery of the rules could not only make for a smooth game, but could heighten the scenario for all the other players. he was ready for everything i threw at him and i commend him for it.

Speed Award - John Anderson. Never have i seen someone pack so much into such short scenes. and he's never even played BE before. can't believe the subtleties he could draw out of his character with such little descriptions and quick dialogue.

Attribute Awards

Resources Award - Willhelm. i've never seen someone drop into a character trope so quickly. playing the western dolt deputy seemed second nature to this resourceful gamer.

Circles Award - Sean. Sean was the first guy I played BW with and it was awesome to see how far he's come. full circle, man.

Health Award - Phil 'baby-daddy' Walton. man, this guy had the healthiest attitude at the table. It was like he was happy just to be playing, and he really made for a great game and an engaging character.

Steel Award - Jenn. Having very little knowledge of the Blossoms rules, she jumped right into the game, asked the right questions and made it happen. She jumped into a Fight! against 5 monks all by herself and came out on top with some clever, steely reserve, even after i gave her the option to give in time and time again. (and I found out after, she had never really done a full Fight! before either)

Reflexes - Zach. what a flexible monster of a player. at first hesitant to play the possessed abbot in my Blossoms scenario, this guy stepped up to the plate and made the coolest choice/moldbreaker moment i've ever seen.

To all the rest of you who I didn't get to play with, I can only say that I've heard stories about how awesome your games were and how great it was to play with you. awesome weekend.

[Paul B]

Thanks, man. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have you at the sprint. You're welcome at my table any time! :-)

(Looking forward to a sprint debrief in another thread later, too!)

[xenomouse]

Health Award - Paul 'baby-daddy' (sorry, don't know your last name, dude). man, this guy had the healthiest attitude at the table. It was like he was happy just to be playing, and he really made for a great game and an engaging character.
Did you mean the guy attached to the baby for half the slots? That was me (Phil Walton) - and thank you! If you don't mean me, then sadface.

That western game was really memorable - Anthony Hersey colored each failed Circles roll in such a way that had me looking forward to the next failed Circles roll (and there were quite a few in that game). Thumbs up to Willhelm playing the deputy trying to pin a murder on my guy (and weathering my insults all the while).

[luke]

Thanks for posting this, Jonathan.

My MVP for the weekend has to be Nick of the Goldfish Pond. He weathered running The Sword for me, Pete, Dro and Mayuran with fortitude and aplomb. I think we took him to the edge, but he did not break. MVP!

Workhorse is, of course, Megan.

Mayuran gets Embodiment for roleplaying a me at various times throughout the weekend.

Kurt gets Right Skill, Right Time for busting out the jaw-dropping sketches.

Colin gets the Goals Persona point for winning Thelon's Rift. Dwight, Adam and Sean get a well-deserved Fate point for defeating that medusa, but not quite getting the sword.

I wish I could remember my Burning Empires game, but my brain is mush.

[Odie]

You just want to conveniently forget getting outscripted twice in our Duels of Wits. You don't remember standing up and shouting over moments of glorious triumph and bitter defeat? I bet most of the other burners do, by the way I saw them staring curiously!

-B

[rafial]

Thanks, xenomouse, but I think you deserve a Helping Die award for saying yes to my Belief and eagerly framing yourself (literally and figuratively) into the perfect position to be the object of my suspicions. And I think the Embodiment award at that table has to go to the player of Jan the Brewer, who was pitch perfect the whole scenario through. If course the fact that he came equiped with the perfect Mennonite beard earns him the Ineffable Feature award as well!

-Wilhelm

[gooderguy]

Thanks, xenomouse, but I think you deserve a Helping Die award for saying yes to my Belief and eagerly framing yourself (literally and figuratively) into the perfect position to be the object of my suspicions. And I think the Embodiment award at that table has to go to the player of Jan the Brewer, who was pitch perfect the whole scenario through. If course the fact that he came equiped with the perfect Mennonite beard earns him the Ineffable Feature award as well!

-Wilhelm

not quite menanite. menanite's would not grow mustaches. they kept their upper lips clean-shaven because mustaches were historically associated with the military... but thanks for those awards nonetheless. :)

[Azral]

Circles Award - Sean. Sean was the first guy I played BW with and it was awesome to see how far he's come. full circle, man.


Likewise, bro. And after playing 4 scenarios this weekend, Jonathan gets my award for "Most Aggressive Belief-Pushin' MoFo Around." Also a Workhorse Persona point for hosting two Burners and cooking them breakfast, and getting them to Stathakion on time. :)

* "Second biggest" revelation: Luke really is a teddy bear ... a teddy bear that gleefully kicks your ass, but a teddy bear nonetheless.

* Favorite personal in-game moment: tie -- (Luke's "Thelon's Rift") Choking out the medusa; (Anthony's "Who Shot the Sheriff?") thrashing Jonathan's chauvinistic brewer in what amounted to a Beginner's Luck DoW (no core dueling skills anywhere to be found).

* Favorite intense in-game moment by another player: (Thor's "Trouble in Hochen") The sorceress (Jess?) failing her casting and summoning a freakin' angel to summarily put us all in our places ... followed by the ENTIRE TABLE re-writing their Beliefs, and her sorceress tearfully coming clean about everything!

* Favorite hilarious in-game moment by another player: (Luke's "Thelon's Rift") Colin's thief failing everything -- running madly into the dark and then lighting all his possessions on fire! He was so obviously going to win. :)

* Best overall table chemistry: (Anthony's " Who Shot the Sheriff?") It felt totally right, my fellow players (Jonathan, Phil, Wilhelm) were all amazing and focused and in-character from the get-go -- accents and all. And Anthony's deft and understated GMing made it all feel sooo smooth and real. Montana Territory came alive in that one.

BIGGEST REVELATION: The people at this event, almost to a person, were warm, wonderful people, with all of whom I really wish I could spend more time. It's nigh unheard-of to find a group of 60-70 people who are unfailingly awesome, in this hobby or anywhere else. It makes me proud to be a Burner.

-- Sean

[cathexis]

* "Second biggest" revelation: Luke really is a teddy bear ... a teddy bear that gleefully kicks your ass, but a teddy bear nonetheless.

He really is, but don't let him hear you say that.



* Favorite personal in-game moment: tie -- (Luke's "Thelon's Rift") Choking out the medusa;

B3 strength and not much of a brawling skill is the best way to fight an Ophidian.



* Favorite hilarious in-game moment by another player: (Luke's "Thelon's Rift") Colin's thief failing everything -- running madly into the dark and then lighting all his possessions on fire! He was so obviously going to win. :)

I role dice like other people draw cards in freemarket - streaky. I also love long odds because nobody should be afraid of a little failure (or in my case sometimes, a whole lot of failure).
...


BIGGEST REVELATION: The people at this event, almost to a person, were warm, wonderful people, with all of whom I really wish I could spend more time. It's nigh unheard-of to find a group of 60-70 people who are unfailingly awesome, in this hobby or anywhere else. It makes me proud to be a Burner.

-- Sean
Yay!

I'm trying to figure out a good way to say the weekend was awesome beyond saying "it was awesome!" All the games I was in were great, I had a great time putting faces to names and talking about stuff, and being exposed to lots of different play styles (that were all awesome!). It was all great fun and exceptionally enjoyable. Thank you Luke and Company for hosting this!

[Dwight]

* "Second biggest" revelation: Luke really is a teddy bear ... a teddy bear that gleefully kicks your ass, but a teddy bear nonetheless.

An insidious teddy bear that turns players against each other, egging on disagreements. "Don't let them push you around."

[John Anderson]

Speed Award - John Anderson. Never have i seen someone pack so much into such short scenes. and he's never even played BE before. can't believe the subtleties he could draw out of his character with such little descriptions and quick dialogue.

Wow, that is incredibly high praise, and much appreciated. I do, however, feel I failed some major Forte tests in the last session of the sprint and after negotiating the metro heading out to JFK today/yesterday? as everything started to go wrong. I think I also failed a Will test trying to understand the sheer anarchy of the Delta check-in at JFK.

Apart from that, sheer awesomeness all round from the BW posse.

John

[okeefe]

Did anyone manage to Beat Pete?

[Kublai]

Unbeaten, thanks.*

Here was my final script. Me: Orc Head-Taker. ozark1: Elf Spearman.

Volley 1:
Maintain, Action 1 & 2: Brutal Intimidation
Elf skips around and then fails Steel Test by 4.

Volley 2:
Close, Action 1: Aggressive Stance
Elf fails to flee far enough.

Volley 3:
Close, Action 1: Set, Action 2: Great Strike
Elf takes a massive wound and that's pretty much it.

*Yagathai will have certain grumblings to this, I'm certain!