BWG Online, European Time

[Suicide King]

Hey guys

I really want to try out running BWG. I've run BWR for 7 years now, but the recent overhaul has me itching to play. So I would like to put together an online game. It's going to be european time, likely tuesday or wednesday nights, though I might also be open to fridays, saturdays and sundays. We'll set up a schedule of some kind, at a glance I am thinking something like 18-22 UCT +1.

Technology-wise, think I'd prefer using voice chat of some kind, along with google hangouts or something similar. I am also open to using IRC and the like.

Game ideas are in the posts below. I often hang out in the BW IRC channel, so catch me there if you want to discuss the game or send me a mail.

The list below is not exclusive - if we get together and someone has a good idea, we can run with that, but those below are my pitch.

[Suicide King]

The Fall of a City

Idea:
The player characters are soldiers in an army, sent ahead to infiltrate a city and help the army take it. The idea is blatantly stolen from Steven Erikson's "Gardens of the Moon", though it is not exclusive to him.
It is essential for the army to take the city quickly, so there is a lot of pressure on the characters, both to succeed in their mission, but also to stay alive.
The basic was to infiltrate the city, meet with a contact who had gunpowder and a map of the city's underground. Then use the underground to get close enough to the gate, mine it and blow it at the right time. Enabling the army to take it quickly from the shocked defenders. Needless to say, it doesn't go quite as planned.
Something has happened to the contact. Now you have neither gunpowder nor map and the army will soon arrive. What to do?

Characters:
Picking a lifepath in the soldier setting is obvious, but not mandatory. Soldiers and members of an army come from all walks of life, and the ones sent ahead will be specialists of some kind. Most characters should have some kind of inconspicious or stealthy skill, some way to move quietly.

Setting:
I am imagining a region full of warring city states or something similar. The army is or has been sponsored by one city state or the other and now closes on the gate of another.
The army has pretty much the same culture as the city, though there could be some differences. Close enough that it isn't that hard to infiltrate the city. Close enough that characters might have lived in the city at one time, been banished from it, perhaps even have friends and/or family in it.

[Suicide King]

Troubled Homecoming

Idea: The player characters have been away from their home village for years, helping reinstate the true king of the realm, fighting the good fight. Now, victorious and flush with fame and riches, they return home to their old village to meet friends and family; and to settle old disputes or debts.
It should be glorious, but as always, things get complicated.
There is bitterness and regret in the village. The long civil war has stolen the majority of the male working population, so the winters have been harsh. Many loved ones have not returned, so there is loss.
Also, something has happened to the village. There is a threat of some kind lurking in the village, something sinister below the surface. There is something in the air...

Characters:
Every character should have been through the village or peasant setting at some point, though it's not absolutely necessary.
You should all have something you left behind in the village when you left. An old flame, a dispute, a disgruntled mentor, etc. Something you need to return to and settle.
When you left the village isn't that important, the important thing is you all return together. Perhaps ypu met up in the aftermath of victory, recognising each other or hearing of each other, deciding to return together. Perhaps some of you left together. We will figure that out.
4 lifepaths, maybe 5 lifepaths. Skill cap of 5.

Setting:
Depending on what kind of threat we/I go for, for the village, the mood of the village can wary.
There are mostly children, women and old people in the village, the ones left alive by the war. Winters have been hard, so the village is not as properous as it has been.
Perhaps something similar to Sleepy Hollow or the village from "the Return of Martin Guerre"

[Suicide King]

By the way, the two concepts so far might sound kind of closed - they're not intended to be. Both could be very malleable. They're intended as starting points, I am very open to changes. If someone goes "I like the idea of taking a city, but can the area be more like ancient greece and can we be elves instead of human soldiers?", then I am open for it. They're what I've come up with in a vacuum, so they serve mostly as a starting point. I am confident that we can come up with cool stuff once we sit down and start burning.

[horrorshowmalchick]

I'd certainly be interested in this!
I'm just waiting for my copy of BWG to come through. I don't have time for a lengthy response at the moment (I'm at work) but I'll reply in more detail later!

Will

[horrorshowmalchick]

I'd certainly be interested in this!
I'm just waiting for my copy of BWG to come through. I don't have time for a lengthy response at the moment (I'm at work) but I'll reply in more detail later!

Will

[Suicide King]

Showing a new player the ropes is always fun, so you are very welcome. (Dunno if you played burning wheel before).

[horrorshowmalchick]

I first bought the books about five years ago, but have struggled long to get people in my area to play it. I've been super keen, but my friends are useless. I ran The Sword for them, and that we all had great fun, but then when we tried to play our own game, we had a few difficulties, and it never really got off the ground :(

I'd say I'm familiar but rusty with the rules, and would need reminding of things a little bit during play.

I like the idea of the Troubled Homecoming game, specifically coming back home to find the village mysteriously threatened by unknown forces. That said, sneaky infiltration is always fun..

[horrorshowmalchick]

I first bought the books about five years ago, but have struggled long to get people in my area to play it. I've been super keen, but my friends are useless. I ran The Sword for them, and that we all had great fun, but then when we tried to play our own game, we had a few difficulties, and it never really got off the ground :(

I'd say I'm familiar but rusty with the rules, and would need reminding of things a little bit during play.

I like the idea of the Troubled Homecoming game, specifically coming back home to find the village mysteriously threatened by unknown forces. That said, sneaky infiltration is always fun..

[Suicide King]

Well, the troubled homecoming could definitely work. We need to decide how much the game is going to be about the social conflicts and how much is going to be about the threats. Basically, how complex and easy to resolve should the things "left behind" be, how much should the threat take spotlight. Also, what kind of threat? How much we detail the threat depends on how much you want to be surprised :)

The city scenario / starting point is an "Oh FUCK!" scenario. You are in a tense situation, plan A has just been crashed. What do you do? It's much more about solving a problem, with the (limited) tools you have, than the other. Time is your enemy, you are in hostile territory, what to do? It's more tense, stressful fun than the other.

Anyway, rules and so on should be no problem. The changes between BWR and BWG are clear and easily pointed out. Lifepaths are almost completely identical. We can definitely work from your old books until the new ones arrive.