If the great failure that turned out to be amazing wasn't tough enough, Day 15 of #RPGaDay made my head spin: "Describe a Tricky RPG Experience I Enjoyed."
I would like to think that I'm quick on my feet and even I can take an honest swing at the wackiest of curve balls thrown by my players. I try to stick with my initial decision, be it a "Yes and..." , " No, But...", or "Yes, but..." situation. Sure, I may scramble between session to tie everything together with at least the basic semblance of logic, but we will all try to figure out the result at the table, together.
So I guess the one of the more trickier situations was finishing up Masks of Nyarlathotep.
I started my Call of Cthulhu campaign over a decade ago, in a response to the intermittent schedule of our gaming group. Sometimes we gamed once a month, sometimes twice, sometimes we missed a few months between sessions.
Not the schedule conducive to fantasy RPGs, but the one-shot capability of CoC, mixed with the inherent fear of going mad/getting eaten, seemed to keep the group engaged, no matter what they encountered.
I essentially gave most of the players an avatar character of themselves, adjusted for the 1920's. Some lived, some died, some got blown up, or eaten by the "Minotaur," but, for the most part, I ran scenarios that used their strengths and improved their skills, so I felt confident they could go through Masks.
***Spoilers***
I won't attempt to tell the trials and ridiculousness they went through during Masks (that's for the actual play link above), but eventually, the investigators made it to Shanghai, found the person of interest, plus learned of an opportunity to attack a cult base.
First problem? The latest patron in this endeavor was the Imperial Navy of Japan.
Second? They disabled/destroyed a lot of the weird tech on the island base before Japanese marines could reach the site.
Third? With the help of an equally deranged Japanese officer/translator, they convinced the Captain of Japanese cruiser they were using on this mission to open fire on a yacht, allegedly belonging to the cultists.
The direct hit created an odd explosion, and a giant radium cloud that killed tens of thousands in the city, and obviously created an international incident.
Needless to say, the Empire of Japan did not appreciate the circumstances the investigators put them in and decided to detain the three surviving Americans for a "debriefing."
At this point it was time to leave and after some wrap-up and Q&A, we called the campaign a success.
Except there were too many unanswered questions on all sides. So, for the first time in my gaming career, I tried Play-by-eMail to fill in the gaps of the story and possibly get everyone home to the East Coast of the United States.
The trickiest part lay when I separated the investigators in game and sent individual emails with the players. Without working together, each one stuck to their guns "I wish to speak to a representative of the United States Embassy in Japan."
The Japanese played a delaying game, even providing small gifts and creature comforts for information. The investigators barely flinched. Finally some meetings were established, the true nature of the radium poisoning accident in Shanghai were made public, and the Japanese finally acquiesced to their secondary demands. For physicist Steven O'Hara, it was proper medical treatment for his radium exposure. for, author David Kavida, it was contact with The New Yorker, and their demand for a story, pronto.
And for history professor Dr Bob Wintermute? It was a simple telegram to a powerful New York Industrialist, Mr Ambrose Mogens.
Mogens was a BIG bad guy in the game. The group had foiled his plans and burned down with mansion in Queens, but the near-immortal Ambrose could use these bumbling fools for his own, and had struck up an interesting arrangement with them.
Within days, there were new conversations, Kavida had submitted a manuscript about he chaos in Shanghai, and the group had individually boarded the same steamer back to America.
The mention of Mogens provided me an interesting escape. He had admitted to some of the players that he worshiped the same dark god as the other cultists they were encountering, just not as deadly and violent. Stopping these cults was a good business decision.
Mogens successfully negotiated their freedom and had the US Ambassador to Japan killed for his insolence (Between the Mogens telegram and my discovery that the Ambassador actually did die while the Investigators were detained made me absolutely giddy.)
Of course this set up a huge "You owe me..." while setting up everyone's return trip home.
If we never get a chance to play with these characters again, I closed a chapter with some terrifying personal horror of dealing with Mogens.
And if we do get to play, I would gleefully appreciate the attention to detail the big bad guy has while dealing with our heroes.
I'd jump back into that campaign in a heartbeat, if I was given the opportunity.
I would like to think that I'm quick on my feet and even I can take an honest swing at the wackiest of curve balls thrown by my players. I try to stick with my initial decision, be it a "Yes and..." , " No, But...", or "Yes, but..." situation. Sure, I may scramble between session to tie everything together with at least the basic semblance of logic, but we will all try to figure out the result at the table, together.
So I guess the one of the more trickier situations was finishing up Masks of Nyarlathotep.
I started my Call of Cthulhu campaign over a decade ago, in a response to the intermittent schedule of our gaming group. Sometimes we gamed once a month, sometimes twice, sometimes we missed a few months between sessions.
Not the schedule conducive to fantasy RPGs, but the one-shot capability of CoC, mixed with the inherent fear of going mad/getting eaten, seemed to keep the group engaged, no matter what they encountered.
I essentially gave most of the players an avatar character of themselves, adjusted for the 1920's. Some lived, some died, some got blown up, or eaten by the "Minotaur," but, for the most part, I ran scenarios that used their strengths and improved their skills, so I felt confident they could go through Masks.
***Spoilers***
I won't attempt to tell the trials and ridiculousness they went through during Masks (that's for the actual play link above), but eventually, the investigators made it to Shanghai, found the person of interest, plus learned of an opportunity to attack a cult base.
First problem? The latest patron in this endeavor was the Imperial Navy of Japan.
Second? They disabled/destroyed a lot of the weird tech on the island base before Japanese marines could reach the site.
Third? With the help of an equally deranged Japanese officer/translator, they convinced the Captain of Japanese cruiser they were using on this mission to open fire on a yacht, allegedly belonging to the cultists.
The direct hit created an odd explosion, and a giant radium cloud that killed tens of thousands in the city, and obviously created an international incident.
Needless to say, the Empire of Japan did not appreciate the circumstances the investigators put them in and decided to detain the three surviving Americans for a "debriefing."
At this point it was time to leave and after some wrap-up and Q&A, we called the campaign a success.
Except there were too many unanswered questions on all sides. So, for the first time in my gaming career, I tried Play-by-eMail to fill in the gaps of the story and possibly get everyone home to the East Coast of the United States.
The trickiest part lay when I separated the investigators in game and sent individual emails with the players. Without working together, each one stuck to their guns "I wish to speak to a representative of the United States Embassy in Japan."
The Japanese played a delaying game, even providing small gifts and creature comforts for information. The investigators barely flinched. Finally some meetings were established, the true nature of the radium poisoning accident in Shanghai were made public, and the Japanese finally acquiesced to their secondary demands. For physicist Steven O'Hara, it was proper medical treatment for his radium exposure. for, author David Kavida, it was contact with The New Yorker, and their demand for a story, pronto.
And for history professor Dr Bob Wintermute? It was a simple telegram to a powerful New York Industrialist, Mr Ambrose Mogens.
Mogens was a BIG bad guy in the game. The group had foiled his plans and burned down with mansion in Queens, but the near-immortal Ambrose could use these bumbling fools for his own, and had struck up an interesting arrangement with them.
Within days, there were new conversations, Kavida had submitted a manuscript about he chaos in Shanghai, and the group had individually boarded the same steamer back to America.
The mention of Mogens provided me an interesting escape. He had admitted to some of the players that he worshiped the same dark god as the other cultists they were encountering, just not as deadly and violent. Stopping these cults was a good business decision.
Mogens successfully negotiated their freedom and had the US Ambassador to Japan killed for his insolence (Between the Mogens telegram and my discovery that the Ambassador actually did die while the Investigators were detained made me absolutely giddy.)
Of course this set up a huge "You owe me..." while setting up everyone's return trip home.
If we never get a chance to play with these characters again, I closed a chapter with some terrifying personal horror of dealing with Mogens.
And if we do get to play, I would gleefully appreciate the attention to detail the big bad guy has while dealing with our heroes.
I'd jump back into that campaign in a heartbeat, if I was given the opportunity.
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