Like Putting a Leash on a Rocket Launcher: Intercon J run

[hazliya]

My players rock my world.

That's the summary of this game.

But if you want more details, sure! Without spoiling too much:

- Players going to their room for Excedrin were mistaken for their characters fleeing justice and assaulted in the hallway by nearly the entire game xD
- Happy endings
- Sad endings
- Powers used for good
- Powers used for awesome
- Handlers fighting with their E-phos
- E-phos fighting with themselves
- Gay mexican standoffs
- Impassioned speeches
- True love
- Fake love
- A lot of inconvenient switching
- Mad dashes to keep people in control
- Taking a minute to take the napkin away from the dog, who was having a shred-things party
- Collars and forehead stamps
- "You made me swear up and down to be fully clothed! I am. You weren't more specific than that!"
- Teenagers being teenagers
- Small rodents
- Me breaking at least half a dozen times and laughing so hard my ribs cramped

Feel free to add more. Please do. We'd love to hear about it. Feel free to be spoilery in the comments if need be.

I think what really made this game was the cast. All of my players were absolutely amazing and went so far for their characters that I was really turned on as a storyteller. There were a lot of tears shed by half a dozen characters, a lot of heartfelt silences, and a lot of character breakthroughs. People are e-mailing me telling me that they're still coming down from their character's headspace, which is awesome and a huge surprise. I didn't think that this game would have as much of an impact as it did.

Also, one thing I'm definitely going to explore in my next game is production and presentation. It was amazing how much of a difference the collars and forehead stickers made. It was a stark physical reminder that you weren't talking to a human, and a lot of people said that those two things really changed how they, as a player, saw the other characters, which is what I was hoping for. It's a huge tone-setter, and something I really want to tweak in the future. I think this is something very much up elenuial's alley, and this game was very heavy with collaboration. It proved that we could work together and have something come out well (as well as not kill one another), so next time, we might want to work on a more setting-immersive game.

100+ picture slideshow, as well as a few random samples from the first 50 or so, below the cut:

There were a few plots that didn't happen, and I've learned my lesson about relying on players to set certain things off, and those hitches have been fixed. And we added a lot of impromptu things, and we're rewriting certain characters to change their focus quite a bit more.

Other than that, we've had pretty positive feedback and players were still talking to me about it for days afterward. And swapping character sheets. =)

If we do run this again, it'll probably be in the fall, probably at Brandeis. And again, casting will be absolutely crucial. Probably wanting another runtime GM, too.

Also, since people really seemed to love the world and the concept, I'm toying with the idea of turning it into a campaign. Maybe. I've never written one of those bad boys before.

Any thoughts on re-running? As in, requests and whatnot? Thoughts on it as a campaign?

Also, I will soon be posting a poll for you guys to help me decide what game I'll be writing/running next year. There are a bunch of ideas bouncing around in my head, and I need to freaking pick one.

Comments

[offside7.livejournal.com]

Sounds and looks like a really awesome game. I hope you do run it again (and I hope it's at a time I can make it! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Saturday at Brandeis.) I'm already looking forward to the next run of Martha's. ^_^

[laurion]

I don't think I really had much of a GM interaction the whole game (excepting some indirect ones while exploring the underside of a table), which is to me the hallmark of an excellent character-oriented game.

I had a -ton- of fun, and indeed, the casting was wonderful!

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

Yesplz, re re-running it! :)

[darkoni]

I didn't have too much need for a GM during the game, so you might not need a third one, except for when something gets out of hand, like a need for painkillers.

I am certain there are sufficient people that will want to play in it again, such that you can easily fill it with a Brandeis run. If it runs on a Sunday, I would be free to help out.

I also think a campaign idea is a good one, which I've already mentioned. I will second rigel's thoughts that Leash makes a better campaign setting than Martha, mostly due to the plethora of subject matter to create plots around. Additionally, there is a much stronger reason for people in Leash to keep getting together for gatherings. In Martha's there is less reason for characters to get together again, not counting the ten person world travel extravaganza we created amongst the adventurous characters in that game.

[darkoni]

Also, I'm glad you got a picture of me against the wall. I was hoping that moment got captured. :)

[elenuial.livejournal.com]

No, we definitely need another runtime GM. Generally, Haz was where the major drama was, and I was trying to take care of everything else. That was kind of, uh, stressful. XD

(Plus I had a couple of plots in particular I was watching and shepherding...)

Another GM might mean there's some GM downtime, but it also means I don't run around like a nutjob the entire time. This would be good.

[darkoni]

I understand that kind of thing. Since Story Wars is mostly my concept and everything, gower and jingsaw come to me most of the time to remember how something is supposed to work or the history of something.

From an outside player perspective, it seemed like it ran smoothly, but if another GM allows less stress and more smooth, then yes, plan for that. As I said, if you two run it on a Sunday, when I usually do not work, I can easily help and would generally like to, if only to see how a different run transpires. Different outcomes fascinate me.

[v-cat.livejournal.com]

Another GM is definitely a good idea which might also help with plots coming out. also as i've mentioned to you guys, abilities that in theory can be used to like scan people while talking to them can perhaps be less gm-dependent if it was like an ability card or something and can be done between players rather than having to harass the gm.