The Gaming Outpost

I’m taking my mechanics thread from Toward Twenty Eleven Behind the Screens to continue here on my game forum, to which I have gradually been migrating the games I am running. Today it appears that I have game posts from. Happy New Year to all; my players on this day are John 4, Michael, Kurt, and John 3.

John 4′s orientation to this world should be pretty quick.

Michael is going to use his 1@1 Suggestion P1@4 to get the disorderly customer to give up on the lobster tail and take the shrimp instead. He rolls 65, but since he has a 15@ bias I’m going to have to check the world bias and crunch some numbers just to be sure. I’ve got a 10@ psi bias in this world, so that’s 20, plus 1@1, plus his 2@1 BRA puts him at 52, not enough. (Had the world bias been 15@, his chance would have been 62, which is closer but not close enough.) I notice another option as I check his sheet, so if he’s on top of things he might try that next. I should also give him an ordinary persuasion check against will power of an arrogant 1@9 Will Power customer, but Michael’s 35 won’t change the situation no matter what the other guy rolls.

Kurt is going to use his diagnosis skill to identify the location of the disease. I’m going to bonus him +20 because he’s not trying to figure out the cause, and I roll 95 which is problematic for him. He has a 2@2 tech BRA +20 for the sit-mod I gave him, plus twice the 5@ world bias, +1@2 SAL, and this kind of disease is a 6@ problem so he gets +1 for the bias difference, but that’s going to put him at 65, not near the needed roll but not a botch.

I’m probably pulling the rug out from under John 3‘s analogy before he makes it, but I don’t want my brownies to be like another kingdom run in secret by hidden people, but to be something entirely unexpected.

And with that, I officially launch the new year and the new thread.

–M. J. Young

Harry has privately requested that I pick up his game from where we left off in November of 2010, when he versed out and went to Adam’s care. While I don’t want to make that a common practice (I’ve plenty of new players even now) I enjoy Harry’s games usually and want to bring him back. I’ve even thought of an interesting concept to start a new world, but I’ve got the additional problem that Arabella is going with him but she’s not closer than a few city blocks from him at the moment, so I’ve got to think through how to launch them–and him at stage 2, her at stage 1, to complicate it. But I’ll start with him, then address posts from Kurt, John 4, and Michael.

There’s a lot to do, including character sheets for my returning player and his spouse, but I think I’m good. Harry versed out from the now archived forum in Harry’s Game, in the midst of a fire, and failed a flex check so he’s still at stage 2.

Kurt wants to thumb through Tuck’s book of prayers, but we’ll cover that after we’ve finished seeing to the villagers.

On a roll of 23, I don’t have to worry too much about John 4‘s ability to start a fire–anyone who has experience as a Boy Scout is probably at least a low-level professional at this. I am adding 2@3 Simple Fire Skills Package Tech 1@X. This convenience listing incorporates at the stated SAL these skills: T1@1 Basic Fire Skills Package, T1@2 Ignite Fire from Spark, T1@2 Operate Lighter, T1@2 Ignite Fire from Friction, T1@2 Operate Match, T1@3 Torch, T1@4 Ignite Fire from Light, T1@6 Ignite Fire from Electrical Current. The Basic Fire Skills Package contains Maintain Solid Fuel Fire, Transfer Fire, Contain Fire, and Extinguish Fire, all of which are T1@1 skills. He rolls 86 on using the compass, and even though I’ll make the use of the compass 2@3 Use Compass T6@2 it’s not going to work, and that’s going to answer a question for me as to whether compasses work here.

I’m also waiting for what James does next, who is absent today.

Michael rolls another difficult persuasion check with a roll of 14+10=24. He has a 2@1 persuasion, but given that he has psionically calmed his target I’m going to call that a success.

I think I’m done with the games.

–M. J. Young

You know, I think I got a notification to that effect from Facebook. Happy birthday, old man. And although it’s not really a present, I’ll pretend it is when I put Harry first, followed by John 4, Michael, and Kurt.

Harry hasn’t quite figured out what’s happening to him, but he probably will about now.

John 4 seems to have overlooked that feeling of needing to meet someone, and is instead headed up the mountain; but he has a 6 GE roll in his favor now, so he’s going to get a lot more information than he might otherwise.

Having wrapped up his encounter successfully, Michael has reached the end of his shift. I’m curious what he does next.

Kurt has a couple of questions for Tuck, and Tuck will answer them.

I believe that’s everyone.

–M. J. Young

It’s not uncommon for me to find a heavier-than-usual player load if I hit the forums early as I did yesterday and then return later as I am doing today, but it is still surprising, particularly when long-absent players reappear. Kurt launches today’s batch, but Rebecca is back following major computer problems, John 4 has posted to his new thread, Harry is exploring his new world, and Michael is still active.

I’m putting a new perspective on the problem for Kurt–not a different problem, but a different way of seeing it with some additional information.

Rebecca is back in action, being removed from the unfortunate accident scene.

I was hoping that James would arrive to engage John 4, but John has taken the initiative, and let me again encourage them to post to each other.

Harry is still getting oriented to the new world.

Michael has mentioned a psionic skill to Kim that he hadn’t previously mentioned; that will catch her attention.

I think that’s everyone.

–M. J. Young

Let’s see–there’s Kurt, and there’s Harry, and Michael, and John 4 posting without James, and John 3, so I’m busy, I think.

Kurt is working on piecing together the larger political picture.

Harry has been offered a job. We’ll see how he reacts.

I was expecting Michael to attempt to read Kim’s mind again, and was thinking about what she might be thinking, but he didn’t so I’ll let it go.

I’ll give John 4 some of the information I’ve already given James; maybe James will pick up the thread and fill in some of what his companion missed.

John 3 is trying to lead the brownie to understanding something that is so completely alien to the brownie’s view of the world that it’s not going to be easy to get there.

–M. J. Young

Again Kurt, Harry, Michael, and this time both James and John 4, all are awaiting my attention.

Tuck has quite a few prayers at which he is proficient, but he doesn’t think of them that way so it’s difficult to get a list from him; his book isn’t much help, either, because nothing in the book matches what he actually prays, except as the proper formulas for the conducting of ceremonies from the book. But Kurt might learn something from them.

Harry thought of the right question; he is now going to have to explain to Arabella (who comes from a world in which they don’t even have stories of fantasy magic) where they are and how they got there.

With an 05 Michael manages to read the mind of the man who seems nervous around him; technically I should probably roll a GE for whether he gets what he wants to know from that, but then, he’s doing it when the guy is nervous, so the guy is pretty certainly thinking about it at the time.

Let’s toss out more details for James and John 2 and see what they decide to do next.

I believe I am done.

–M. J. Young

I start with Harry, then move through Michael and Kurt.

I am addressing Harry’s behind the screens point (which is properly posted here, as it is a question about how the game is running that is out-of-character) in thread, partly so that he’ll have the answer before he sees the rest of the post; and we’ll get through the issue of explaining to Arabella what happened to them pretty quickly, I expect.

Michael gets a 13 GE roll, barely good enough, so we’ll move him to another department but not reduce his contact with the troublemakers too much.

Kurt has suggested that Tuck write down his prayers, which is actually a good suggestion but for a few obstacles. Tuck will probably agree to write them soon enough, but Kurt might have to share some of his secret machines and supplies.

–M. J. Young

I’m running a bit later than anticipated tonight, but I don’t have the usual deadline pressures, so I should be reasonably able to address the posts from Kurt, Harry, Michael, and James.

We’ll fix the protection skill for Kurt, and continue the conversation.

Harry is moving into the castle.

Michael rolls 53 on the teaching skill, which is a 1@1 SAL with a 2@1 BRA in a 10@ world, 52% chance of success, not quite. I figure eventually he will get it, but if he botches first I want to know. I also need a GE roll for when/whether he catches the troublemakers making trouble, and 21 is not favorable for that yet.

James rather cleverly is keeping an eye out for oysters among the shellfish; I’m inclined to think that mussels are the more likely and oysters tend to lie in deeper waters, but we’ll give him a GE roll for it–19 means no oysters, certainly.

Interesting. A demain.

–M. J. Young