rafial
03-22-2006, 09:23 PM
Actual Play: Azure Pearl
We are now on the third play session of our Burning Sands campaign, entitled "The Azure Pearl". I'm the GM and it has been rocking my world, so I'd like to share a little of the joy w/y'all.
We started with a world burning session, that everybody seemed to get into. The results of that can bee seen here:
http://www.burningwheel.org/wiki/index.php?title=Azure_Pearl
Then we went for character creation, and things got bumpy. Everybody bogged down with a half-created character, that we then took to the mailing lists, where they stagnated. That combined with some scheduling problems that canceled our next planned session left things pretty directionless. However, at the last minute there was a rally, and some heavy discussion between the players of what sort of play they were actually interested in. Oddly enough, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" became the point of reference.
The dramatis personea:
Lord Rook Oberion, Regent and Warmaster to the child Baroness, played by Brandon
Rangseui Mao, Crippled Analyst and Spymaster, played by Tony
alias Fang Lei, Space Pirate and Black Sheep, played by John
Kensei Yu, Swordmaster and Enigma, played by Phil
I was nervous as hell walking into the first session. I'd done almost no prep and felt like I had no idea about what the players wanted out of this game. So I said "hey, lets go around the table and you each have a scene where you show off why your character is cool." Crap, something to keep them occupied. And I volunteer John to go first.
So Fang Lei (Ruthless Girl Space Pirate) is out to cut up some petty thug for stealing and chopping his ride. We play him jumping the guy at the chop shop, some threats and a chase though the warehouse. And suddenly Brandon says "wait, hold on, we've got an idea how to link into this." And he turns to Tony, and Tony starts narrating. And it's like I've stepped off the side of the platform into the endless blue and just at that moment the repulsor skiff comes up under my feet, and the game is off and flying. Damn!
So it seems that there is an order for Fang Lei's execution on the Seneschal's desk, and the Rangseui Mao is switching that with another paper right under her nose, so he and Lord Oberion can bring her in from the cold. Note that same players who have narrated the execution order into existence are now striving to stop it. Kensei Yu is dispatched to "bring in" the renegade, and he runs off the thugs who are going to beat her up for cutting their ear off their buddy. Phil cuts some guys head off with a single blow, the rest run for it. John's character is "arrested".
Then we went to the first round of the Propaganda War. The nobles went for incite, and pulled if off, by planting insulting cartoons of the Mahdi in the press. Meanwhile, the Jihad swiped a pre-Butlerian autonomous battle construct that some rich guy in Lord Oberion' killer robot SIG (aka Circle of the 9) had foolishly smuggled on planet, and set it loose (making a Point). First session ended there.
Reference -> Anansai class autonomous battle construct:
http://burningwheel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2463
Second session was devoted to tracking down and containing the construct with as little collateral damage as possible. This went pretty well, with Fang Lei conveniently obtaining a factory fresh EMP pod from her black market arms dealer Lina Sanna (although missing the chance to confront the mysterious bad ass bald chick who sold it to said arms dealer) and Kensei Yu got tasked with sticking the thing on to the scary armed robot with autocannons on its head. This was also accomplished, with the slight twist that at least according to some press outlets, the The 9 Ambassador has evinced great interest in getting his hands on bot. They also discovered that the 'bot was trying to take out al-Farouq, the pro-Jihadi station that actually happens to be a front run by Rangseui Mao.
All through this, the system was providing great support, with Circles roles to summon needed characters into existence, such as Tech Sergeant Haiying, the walking talking B6 Sensorium skill and "Girder Monkey", hell raising populist journalist, and Resource roles to get equipment like translinks and ornithopters. Players got into the rhythm of looking around the table for help to crack high obs. We had one critical Sensorium roll that sat on the table, gathering advantage dice for most of the session until the players were ready to pick it up and use it.
Last night was our third run. Jason Lorenzetti, who had contacted me via the BW forums some weeks earlier, was in Seattle, and sat in.
At this point we had lots of hooks to get things going. Lina was calling Fang Lei to get payed for the EMP pod, and offering her a job if she couldn't provide cash. The Mahdi Ambassador sent over a curt demand to be received by the Baroness. Maxim Shah, the Baron-Consort (father to the current Baroness), who has not been seen in public in five years, leaves a mysterious message for Kensei Yu. A fanatic with a bomb blows himself up on a cable car in the middle of morning rush on Changshai Platform (about two hours from Azure City). TSgt. Haiying leaves an urgent email for Lord Oberion, which gets buried under his priority filters. Oh, did I mention that Maxim Shah is also Fang Lei's father (by a different mother)?
Fang Lei goes off to deal with Lina, while the rest of characters huddle to put together a task force to deal with the bombing. Marine Commander Hansa gets circled into existence, and turned over to Jason to play. While waiting, Jason does a quick burn of the character, so suddenly he's more than 4 dice and a slave pistol. Lina wants Fang Lei to use her pirate contacts to retrieve some smuggled crates stashed in the Glitter Band (the Pearl's ring). Lei manages to piss Lina off, and now has to take the job AND stil pay her debt. But wait. Lord Oberion uses a front to buy Lei's debt.
Meanwhile, the task force working from camera logs and forensic evidence, digs up a likely suspect for the bombing on Changshai Platform. Kensei Yu drops in on Baron-Consort Maxim Shah, and discovers that he's a quadriplegic ala-Christopher Pike, as a result of the ornithopter crash that killed his wife, the former Baroness. He believes it was a plot by the 9 to replace the old Baroness with somebody more favorable to their interests (Lord Oberion). He wants Kensei Yu to undermine the 9's plan to grab control of the ancient supercomputer at the core of the planet. Yu's loyalties are torn, but he also distrusts the 9. He leaves, after persuading the Baron-Consort's analyst to lend him a house security detail.
Lord Oberion uses his front to instruct Fang Lei to take a mysterious package to a certain address on Changshai platform. Of course it is a nest of Jihadi. Of course the package contains an explosive device. Marines bust in the front door. Kensei Yu and security goons come in the back. Fang Lei tries to go out the back. What's this? Her Kensei Yu with a bunch of troopers in her dad's uniforms? She evades them, heads back out the front, and manages to stun a few marines before being taken down and "arrested" again. She's chucked in a cell with her "co-conspirators".
End session three.
It sounds like next time we'll be having a fancy dress ball for the Mahdi Ambassador. Won't that be just delightful!
We are now on the third play session of our Burning Sands campaign, entitled "The Azure Pearl". I'm the GM and it has been rocking my world, so I'd like to share a little of the joy w/y'all.
We started with a world burning session, that everybody seemed to get into. The results of that can bee seen here:
http://www.burningwheel.org/wiki/index.php?title=Azure_Pearl
Then we went for character creation, and things got bumpy. Everybody bogged down with a half-created character, that we then took to the mailing lists, where they stagnated. That combined with some scheduling problems that canceled our next planned session left things pretty directionless. However, at the last minute there was a rally, and some heavy discussion between the players of what sort of play they were actually interested in. Oddly enough, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" became the point of reference.
The dramatis personea:
Lord Rook Oberion, Regent and Warmaster to the child Baroness, played by Brandon
Rangseui Mao, Crippled Analyst and Spymaster, played by Tony
alias Fang Lei, Space Pirate and Black Sheep, played by John
Kensei Yu, Swordmaster and Enigma, played by Phil
I was nervous as hell walking into the first session. I'd done almost no prep and felt like I had no idea about what the players wanted out of this game. So I said "hey, lets go around the table and you each have a scene where you show off why your character is cool." Crap, something to keep them occupied. And I volunteer John to go first.
So Fang Lei (Ruthless Girl Space Pirate) is out to cut up some petty thug for stealing and chopping his ride. We play him jumping the guy at the chop shop, some threats and a chase though the warehouse. And suddenly Brandon says "wait, hold on, we've got an idea how to link into this." And he turns to Tony, and Tony starts narrating. And it's like I've stepped off the side of the platform into the endless blue and just at that moment the repulsor skiff comes up under my feet, and the game is off and flying. Damn!
So it seems that there is an order for Fang Lei's execution on the Seneschal's desk, and the Rangseui Mao is switching that with another paper right under her nose, so he and Lord Oberion can bring her in from the cold. Note that same players who have narrated the execution order into existence are now striving to stop it. Kensei Yu is dispatched to "bring in" the renegade, and he runs off the thugs who are going to beat her up for cutting their ear off their buddy. Phil cuts some guys head off with a single blow, the rest run for it. John's character is "arrested".
Then we went to the first round of the Propaganda War. The nobles went for incite, and pulled if off, by planting insulting cartoons of the Mahdi in the press. Meanwhile, the Jihad swiped a pre-Butlerian autonomous battle construct that some rich guy in Lord Oberion' killer robot SIG (aka Circle of the 9) had foolishly smuggled on planet, and set it loose (making a Point). First session ended there.
Reference -> Anansai class autonomous battle construct:
http://burningwheel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2463
Second session was devoted to tracking down and containing the construct with as little collateral damage as possible. This went pretty well, with Fang Lei conveniently obtaining a factory fresh EMP pod from her black market arms dealer Lina Sanna (although missing the chance to confront the mysterious bad ass bald chick who sold it to said arms dealer) and Kensei Yu got tasked with sticking the thing on to the scary armed robot with autocannons on its head. This was also accomplished, with the slight twist that at least according to some press outlets, the The 9 Ambassador has evinced great interest in getting his hands on bot. They also discovered that the 'bot was trying to take out al-Farouq, the pro-Jihadi station that actually happens to be a front run by Rangseui Mao.
All through this, the system was providing great support, with Circles roles to summon needed characters into existence, such as Tech Sergeant Haiying, the walking talking B6 Sensorium skill and "Girder Monkey", hell raising populist journalist, and Resource roles to get equipment like translinks and ornithopters. Players got into the rhythm of looking around the table for help to crack high obs. We had one critical Sensorium roll that sat on the table, gathering advantage dice for most of the session until the players were ready to pick it up and use it.
Last night was our third run. Jason Lorenzetti, who had contacted me via the BW forums some weeks earlier, was in Seattle, and sat in.
At this point we had lots of hooks to get things going. Lina was calling Fang Lei to get payed for the EMP pod, and offering her a job if she couldn't provide cash. The Mahdi Ambassador sent over a curt demand to be received by the Baroness. Maxim Shah, the Baron-Consort (father to the current Baroness), who has not been seen in public in five years, leaves a mysterious message for Kensei Yu. A fanatic with a bomb blows himself up on a cable car in the middle of morning rush on Changshai Platform (about two hours from Azure City). TSgt. Haiying leaves an urgent email for Lord Oberion, which gets buried under his priority filters. Oh, did I mention that Maxim Shah is also Fang Lei's father (by a different mother)?
Fang Lei goes off to deal with Lina, while the rest of characters huddle to put together a task force to deal with the bombing. Marine Commander Hansa gets circled into existence, and turned over to Jason to play. While waiting, Jason does a quick burn of the character, so suddenly he's more than 4 dice and a slave pistol. Lina wants Fang Lei to use her pirate contacts to retrieve some smuggled crates stashed in the Glitter Band (the Pearl's ring). Lei manages to piss Lina off, and now has to take the job AND stil pay her debt. But wait. Lord Oberion uses a front to buy Lei's debt.
Meanwhile, the task force working from camera logs and forensic evidence, digs up a likely suspect for the bombing on Changshai Platform. Kensei Yu drops in on Baron-Consort Maxim Shah, and discovers that he's a quadriplegic ala-Christopher Pike, as a result of the ornithopter crash that killed his wife, the former Baroness. He believes it was a plot by the 9 to replace the old Baroness with somebody more favorable to their interests (Lord Oberion). He wants Kensei Yu to undermine the 9's plan to grab control of the ancient supercomputer at the core of the planet. Yu's loyalties are torn, but he also distrusts the 9. He leaves, after persuading the Baron-Consort's analyst to lend him a house security detail.
Lord Oberion uses his front to instruct Fang Lei to take a mysterious package to a certain address on Changshai platform. Of course it is a nest of Jihadi. Of course the package contains an explosive device. Marines bust in the front door. Kensei Yu and security goons come in the back. Fang Lei tries to go out the back. What's this? Her Kensei Yu with a bunch of troopers in her dad's uniforms? She evades them, heads back out the front, and manages to stun a few marines before being taken down and "arrested" again. She's chucked in a cell with her "co-conspirators".
End session three.
It sounds like next time we'll be having a fancy dress ball for the Mahdi Ambassador. Won't that be just delightful!