Under a Serpent Sun game in CA near SF

[skandall]

I'm getting ready to run my first BW game and I've decided to use UaSS as the setting. I'm not a big fan of fantasy, so I don't think I make for a very good GM where that genre is concerned. UaSS on the other hand does sound right up my alley. I'll sum up my story idea after this question:

The lifepaths in UaSS don't seem to give Trait points very often but instead list certain traits. I take that to mean that by selecting a certain lifepath you automatically get all of the traits listed for it. I just want to make sure that's right before I burn all the characters for the game.

This is likely to be a one-shot, unless the players really like the game. The players are a family of Meek. They're out shopping at the local mall when a man shouts that the world is a lie (and a few other things) and then commits suicide. The family is shocked by what they heard and saw. The next night the youngest son has a dream about killing a cat. In the morning he learns that he actually did it. The family is visited by police investigators (Holocaust Seed Deceiver) asking about what they heard and saw. The Deceivers report that the family may have heard too much so over the course of the next few nights that family is the target of Dead but Dreaming questions. The develope these new and odd needs overnight and quickly find it very odd. The son switches from killing cats to people and soon dreams that his only way out is suicide. The family will hopefully see through the illusion and become survivors OR they'll all bite the big one (a .45).

That's the really short version. I look forward to using the BW system and also to seeing how this plays out.

[luke]

DUDE, that rocks.

to answer your questions: Lifepath traits are free and obligatory. Ya gotta take 'em.

the scenario is cool, but make sure you give the players characters with room to grow and change in the scenariol. give them beliefs and instincts that are ready to freaking explode once the scenario hits play.

-L

[Melmoth]

When you have played the scenario, please post your comments here. I'd like to know how it went

[skandall]

Abzu,

Well thank you, I didn't expect such a positive response to my idea. Glad to hear you like it. I recall you mentioned in another thread that you had character sheets for UaSS. Any chance I might be able to get my hands on those?

Now some UaSS specific questions and thoughts I'd like to get your opinion on.

1) I gather that the any Meek without Apocalypse-wise would believe that all is well again. Would they know about the Swarm at all?

2) These pocket cities around the globe, are we talking Mega City here or smaller but still with walls surrounding them? Either way, surely even with the Illusion people would wonder what was on the other side, or does the Illusion create a Dark City type of situation where people don't even realize that theyonly think they've been outside.

3) That brings me to... just how elaborate is the Holocaust Seeds efforts to maintain the Illusion? Can people fly to other cities or do they just think they did?

4) I imagine that the Meek think the Apocalypse ended maybe 100 years ago, but the truth would be more like 20 to 40 years.

5) Laslty, Beliefs and Instincts are still the toughest things for me to come up with in BW. If you've got a couple suggestions that would be great.

Thanks for cool setting. Hopefully I can get those character sheets. I'll be sure to let you know how the game went.

Regards,
Craig

[luke]

Hi Craig,

1) No, the Meek don't know about the Swarm at all. Even if they encounter them it'll be explained away in some tabloid fashion: Alien Invaders! Government Cover Up! or Big Foot Sighted type thing. The Holocaust Seed go to great lengths to maintain their illusions. The Swarm cannot be allowed to disturb them, lest they lose control of their power base.

2) I always imagined that their were no cities at all, that the meek lived in these horrid, ashy concrete bunkers and tunnels -- their lives a complete and mocking illusion of the ugly reality. However, I know Dro (the other author of UaSS) has a another take on that. I recommend you decide on how you want to play it before you start and stick to it.

3) Again, this is up to your illusion. Maybe you really have a post apocalyptic world with cities surviving in amongst the wasteland. Those cities contain people aware of what happened, but sedated by the Seed and their Need. Or perhaps it's all an illusion, and you never leave your cell...until you pull the trigger.

4) That's up to you. I always figured the apocalypse never actually ended.

5) BITs are a challenge in any setting for BW. But in Serpent Sun, they are vital. Use Beliefs to set up how much the character buys into the illusion, how they react to their Need, how they react to change. AND THEN CHALLENGE THEM. BREAK THEM. SKEWER THOSE BELIEFS and force the players to play out the consequences. Serpent Sun is ALL about challenging Beliefs -- and realizing you were living a lie.

If a character has a Belief that "Family is my strength" the Holocaust Seed are going to start toying with his family in order to increase his Need.... But if you take away his family altogether -- if a Vulture drains them one by one as the character helplessly watches -- then suddenly the whole illusion is questioned. Suddenly, he's without his strength. So NOW what?

6) My internet access is currently down (i'm at work right now). I'll try to upload those character sheets as soon as I can.

rock!
-L

PS if you haven't listened to the music that inspired this, I highly recommend it.

[Drozdal]

Hi Craig


I always imagined that their were no cities at all, that the meek lived in these horrid, ashy concrete bunkers and tunnels -- their lives a complete and mocking illusion of the ugly reality. However, I know Dro (the other author of UaSS) has a another take on that. I recommend you decide on how you want to play it before you start and stick to it.

My vision of cities is a little bit different than Abzu's. I always imagined that cities are surrounded by "mind spheres" or illusion spheres created by Dead but Dreaming, and inside those spheres they create illusion and keep meek captive. Meek really do not have any way to get out of cities or travel, remeber that they have just a shit jobs on the bottom of society, none of them will ever be able to afford plane ticket. (Think Truman Show" type of control). Dark City is also a good idea of holocaust seed control over meek.


That's up to you. I always figured the apocalypse never actually ended.

I think we even considered running a scenario just before apocalypse, or even on the first day, when Swarm have arrived. :twisted:

Under a Serpent Sun is very freeform setting, and you have to decide what to keep in the game and what to kick out of it. The only thing that really counts are all of the mechanics we developed for it, the world is left fot You to create.

And the best way to get into mood of this setting is to listen to those albums that inspired it. \m/

[skandall]

Thanks for the comments! I really look forward to running this game on Sunday. Now, I've got some characters to Burn.

[skandall]

Okay, I've finished burning all the characters and NPCs. For the Holocaust Seed NPCs I took Born Meek then Voice of Stars then Holocaust Seed before their actual job.

As for the PCs, here are the BITs I came up with:

Mom:
B1) The Apocalypse is a myth
B2) I have sacrificed my career to raise this family properly.
I1) If my children are in danger then I'll do anything to save them.
I2) If my children are out late then I'll call them frequently.
I3) Is always aware of the nearest exit in case of danger.

Dad:
B1) You can always rely on family.
B2) There is a bright side to everything.
B3) Life is what YOU make of it.
I1) If there's trouble, protect wife and youngest son.
I2) If something bad happens, then look for the good in it.
I3) Always keeps a pen and pad of paper on him.

Oldest Son:
B1) This city is not what it appears to be.
B2) I will find safety in the real world beyond this city.
B3) This isn't even my real family, but I can't let on that I know.
I1) Always has a plausable (at first) reason for being where he shouldn't.
I2) Always has a mag-light and extra batteries.
I3) Will Assess for people tailing him at regular intervals.

Youngest Son:
B1) My parents can protect me from anything.
B2) There's no such thing as monsters.
B3) Dreams are not real.
I1) Always leave a light on when I sleep.
I2) Always check room for monsters before getting in bed at night.
I3) If I get scared, run to mommy.

The mother is a stay at home mom. The father thinks he's moving up the corporate ladder. The older son is a bike messenger in the city and as such he's ridden all over the place and realizes that something isn't right. The youngest son is on the verge of going psychotic

What really scares me is that not a single one of them has any combat skills. What with how deadly BW combat is, I sure hope my players keep a cool head and run at the first sign of conflict.

[Drozdal]

Hey Craig

Those BiTS are awesome, my personal favourite is "If something bad happens, then look for the good in it." - perfect meek Instinct :wink:


What really scares me is that not a single one of them has any combat skills. What with how deadly BW combat is, I sure hope my players keep a cool head and run at the first sign of conflict.

I think that's perfect start for those who lived secured lives, they just have to learn how to throw punches (make sure that you do not throw some Heavy Hitters againtst unskilled characters, and if you do they better be running).
Best way to learn how to fight is get someone to teach you, or fight (and learn) against same loosers as you :). Other solution is to let player characters find firearms somehow :twisted:, those are really quick problem solvers, and you do not have to be skilled hit, and they deal awful amounts of damage :) .

Just remeber BW combat can get very ugly pretty fast, make sure that players knows about that before combat begins.

Anyway - great stuff, can't wait to read some actual play.

[Melmoth]

Hey Droz, it seems that we have tha same take about the cities. When I read UaSS, I thouhgt that the Dead but Dreaming made that all look well outside the city.

[skandall]

Okay, so here is a quick summary of what's happened thus far.

The Stephenson family is Larry (father), Susan (mother), and Philip (son). They were out shopping for Christmas presents at the local mall. As they returned through the mall to the side their car was parked on they notcied a large crowd was gathered up ahead. Soon they heard a mans voice over a bull horn, "Why don't you come down her sir. We can talk, and I'm sure work out whatever it is that's troubling you. I know this can be a tough time of year, but that's no reason for hurting yourself."

They could see a man standing on a crossbeam three stories up. He looked crazed and his movements erratic. "Look at you all. Like ants, or sheep. You go about your day doing whatever it is that you think you should be doing. HAH, You're blind! It's all a lie!"

"What's a lie? I'm being honest with you. No one wants you to hurt yourself." The cop did appear confused. Larry, always finding the good in everything thought that while it sucked for the guy up there, he and his family benefited from easy movement around the crowds edge. Philip was oblivious to the world as he walked with his head down and walkman cranked. All he could think about was how badly he wanted to escape this life of lies, to get away from these people pretending to be his family.

"Your lives are a lie, hell even this mall is a lie. It's all a wasteland but you can't even see it. We've lost and there's only one way to escape this world of lies and misery." In a flash on motion the man pulled a gun from inside his jacket, placed it in his mouth and squeezed the trigger. His headless body plumetted to the ground slpattering as the crowd started to panic and run. The gunshot got Philips attention and the Stephenson family froze in shock and horror as they saw the man commit suicide.

Larry rushed his family home. They didn't speak of the mall and forgot about the bags of presents in the car. Susan prepared dinner. The family ate in silence and Philip left the table as soon as he was done. He went to his room and set to work on his city map again. He couldn't understand how it could need so many revisions. Susan and Larry sat on the couch watching TV for a few hours.

As they set off to bed, Larry poked his head into Philips room, "Say there son. About what happened today. If you need to talk about it, you just let us know. It was a terrible thing to see, but I suspect that man is better off, not that suicide is a good thing that is, er it's just"

"I'm fine dad, just some crazy guy doing something crazy. It's no big deal. I'll see you tomorrow." Larry nodded and went to bed. Philip did the same. This night would be different for as he slept, Philip had an intense wet dream. So intense that it woke his father. Though Larry knew what was going on, he said nothing.

While Larry was at work the next day Susan got some visitors at home. Three men in black suits claiming to be from the Sherrifs department. She didn't trust them, so she didn't let them in. They talked to her through a chained door wanting to know when they could stop by to question the family about what they saw and heard. Susan told them what she recalled and that she didn't want them to come back. Seeing it was bad enough but she sure as hell didn't want to put her family through it again.

Once the family was home they sat down to eat. Just as they were finishing up there was a knock at the door. The same three men. Larry stepped out onto the front porch and reitterated what his wife had said, but something strange happened. One of the men told Larry that it would help the investigation and that was what Larry wanted to do, and Larry couldn't agree more. So, he invited the men in. They came in and took seats on the couch, except for the tallest one.

Susan sent Philip upstairs. "We'll want to question him" said one of the seated men, but as Philip hesitated his mother repeated that he go upstairs. She looked at Larry and said, "I thought that we had discussed this already."

Larry looked confused, "Well, yes we did and I remember deciding not to allow them to come in but..." as Larry trailed off Susan turned to the three men and adressed them in a very stern manner, "Get out of my house now, and so there's no confusion do NOT come back again."

One of the men looked at her and asked, "but you want to help don't you?" Susan ignored the smirk on his face, clearly he thought that would get her to change her mind, but it wasn't happening. The three men left quietly after a moment.

That night both Larry and Philip had intense wet dreams. The next day at work Larry asked around the office if anyone else had been at the mall that day. He ran into a guy from accounting. They talked about what they saw and he told Larry about the men coming and asking what he remembered. The men said they suspected the suicide was part of a radical anarchist group seeking to undermine the city. It didn't seem to make much sense at first, but hey those fanatical groups will do anything to make a point. Larry asked if it was the first time he'd seen a suicide and the man said no. He also pointed out, "now that I think about it, seems there are a lot of people from this company who have commited suicide. At least half a dozen in the past year, but you know how it is."

Larry replied, "Well, maybe it's different for you accountants." After their chat Larry was really bothered. He kept trying to remember if there were others that had commited suicide. He would think about someone that moved away only to realize that person hadn't moved at all, they commited suicide. He got a wild hair and decided to check the company records. It was against policy, he knew it, but this question was eating at him. After an hours work he gained access to the archived records and ran the search. He nearly had a heart attack when the results came back, nearly 100 employees had commited suicide in the past two years. He printed the report out and shoved it into his briefcase then called his boss to say he was going home sick.

On the way home he spotted the tail. Three guys in a black sedan, just like the one that had come to their house the day before. He got nervous, how could they know he had the report? Then he realized that this was perfect, he could go to the Sherrifs office and find out if these were really deputies or not. As he neared the sherrif department his tail pulled over and parked three blocks away. The stood and watched as he entered the building.

Larry explained the situation to the Sheriff who said he didn't know about any questioning, men in black, or anarchists. Larry told him the men were waiting for him. The Sherrif excused himself to check it out. When he came back he began to ask Larry questions. Soon they turned toward the topic of the suicide. Larry thought it rather odd that the Sherrif would take such a sudden interest in the suicide and then he saw something. The Sherrifs blurred, his features changed and there sitting in front of him was a terrifying human clad in black leather with rough features and obvious scars from fights. Larry excused himself to the restroom and ran for his car.

--- More after the next session ---

[luke]

cool.

tell me about the player reactions! and please highlight some of the mechanics used.

thanks!
-L

[skandall]

Mechanics wise we've only just scratched the surface of BW. The players all got to make Steel tests, and with a B1 they spent some time standing and drooling. Other than that it was all skill tests. NPCs used a couple questions against the players and so far Mom has resisted everything. I was most worried about the players having trouble with advancement, but they seemed to catch onto that pretty quickly. The only complaint being that the character sheet (the one page burning wheel sheet I used because I was hoping to get the UaSS sheets before the game) was too small to read in places.

Reaction was good from the players. They all slipped into a perfectly dysfunctional family mode in no time flat. Thus far they really like the mechanics of the game. I'm looking forward to the next game.

[luke]

Sorry, sorry, sorry.
well, today has been a day of getting shit done...

you can jump over to the DL section and grab the Serpent Sun cs (http://www.burningwheel.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=viewdownload&cid=7)

-L

PS The game sounds great!

[skandall]

Very cool! Thank you for the sheet. I did notice a couple things about it:

Certain elements from the Character Index don't seem to be there.

Resources seems to be listed as if it were a skill. Now, I think I recall you saying somewhere that resources would be changed to be skill based and that's cool with me. Is there anyway that I can start using that now?

[luke]

hey man,
i tried to trim the Serpent Sun CS down to the bare minimum. hopefully though, all that you need to play is right on that one sheet.

As far as Resources goes... there's a thread about them up in Spreading Fire, but they are still in playtest here at BWHQ. Looks like they are going to debut with the revision.

-L