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Dan Maruschak
United States
Eugene
Oregon
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Leo, Nolan, and I got together on Skype for a two hour session on November 15, 2010 for a playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.67 (An audio recording of this session is available as episode 14 of the Designer vs. Reality podcast). This was the start of a new story arc so, as usual, we all roll for words on the theme table and transform them into story seeds:
Nolan gets one group of eight words: Male, Throne, Power, Inherit, Female, Learning, Family, Star
He rearranged them to inspire the seed: A man and woman must learn to work together to obtain the throne of the celestial family and the power that it represents. (1 intersection).
Leo rolls enough words to form three groups, and creates a seed for each one.
Leo's first group: Belief, Crown, Large, Greed, Learning, Poor
Leo's first seed: A prophet claims that a king's immense lust for knowledge will leave the kingdom impoverished. (6 intersections)
Leo's second group: Ring, Underground, Family, Farm, Throne, Fire
Leo's second seed: A magical ring beneath an ancient family farmstead hides a throne of fire. (7 intersections)
Leo's third group: Female, Sea, Return.
Leo's third seed: The Goddess of the Sea will return to the mortal realm. (0 intersections)
I also roll eight words in a single group: Large, Belief, Noble, Learning, Division, Power, Prophecy, Duty
Dan's seed: A young prince, being groomed to take the throne one day, believes in a prophecy that the kingdom will be torn asunder. (11 intersections)
Plot
With all the seeds created we figure out the plot axis. Since the star chart for my seed has the most intersections that is the protagonist seed. Leo's magical ring seed has the next most intersections so it is the antagonist seed. Figuring out the protagonist is pretty simple: the young prince is the protagonist and the kingdom is the community that's in jeopardy. We discuss several alternatives for the antagonist, and Leo expresses excitement for the challenge of playing the ring itself as an antagonist. We synthesize some of the ideas from various seeds and come up with the backstory that the ring is the earthly embodiment of the god of fire who tried to seize the throne of the heavens eons ago so that he could remake the world into something more to his liking (a hellish inferno), but his plans were thwarted when the other gods sent the throne of heaven to the mortal realm for safekeeping. The fire god has embodied himself in a magic ring in the mortal realm where he can complete his original plan if he takes the throne. We decide that my prince character has been raised in secret by a cabal of prophets and scholars who are trying to thwart the fiery apocalypse.
With the main plot axis sketched out, Leo and I elaborate our competing three-stage plot threads.
My protagonist thread is: Learn true heritage, Find the prophet, Take the throne.
Leo's antagonist thread is: Be discovered from underground "prison", Find the True Host, Ascend to the Throne and Assume True Form.
Nolan thinks that a fun supporting character for him would be the woman who needs to learn to work with a man to obtain the throne. We decide that his character has an arranged marriage with whoever is next to sit on the throne, and that she is actually the daughter of the Sea Goddess who has lived all of her life to this point under the sea and hasn't yet learned how to live among humans.
Nolan takes the subplot: Learn to live with humanity. This will complicate the antagonist's third segment and support the protagonist's first segment.
Characters
With the plot outline established, we created characters:
Dan's Protagonist: Marcus. Traits: Young, Scholar's Apprentice, Quick-witted, Yearns for adventure.
Leo's Antagonist: Pyrotenax. Traits: Fire Magic, Mystical Will, Beguiler of Mortals, Ancient Spirit.
Nolan's Supporting Character: Marian. Traits: Demigoddess, Sea Creature, Virtuous, Adaptive.
Based on the backstory (and a little bit of foreknowledge about how the game plays out over this and the next three sessions) here is what might be the prologue of the story:
Prologue
Long ago, beyond the memory of even the oldest dragon, there was a war in the heavens. The fire god Pyrotenax wished to return the world to his forge where he might refashion it to his liking. The other gods resisted, so Pyrotenax tried to overturn the celestial order and seat himself on the throne of the gods from whence his will would dictate the cosmos. To safeguard the throne, the sea goddess Hydrallia transported it to the mortal realm and gave it to her most devoted followers. They founded a peaceful and prosperous kingdom around it where the throne would pass from father to son throughout the generations, thus guaranteeing by the magic of the throne that no god could sieze it.
But, with time, even the strongest traditions can go awry. A king ascended the throne with a lust for knowledge so intense that it bordered on madness. In all the books and scrolls and songs and stories there was one secret that eluded him, one question that seemed to have no answer. It was said that the sea goddess commanded that the very throne he held be passed from father to son through the generations, but what would happen if there was no heir? What great celestial truth would then be revealed? A cabal of prophets and scholars saw the folly of the king's path and smuggled his infant son out of the palace where he could be raised in safety and secrecy so that he would be ready to ascend to the throne when the time was right.
Chapter 1
Viewpoint: Dan 19. Leo 5. Nolan 5.
Adversity: Leo 7,7,3. Nolan 16,7.
For as long as he can remember, Marcus has lived in a small, secluded house with his mentor, studying a wide variety of topics in the scholar's immense but eclectic library. [Nolan spends his 16 to introduce an NPC, an envoy of the king who has been sent to consult the scholar. Since it's a reasonable implication that a king would have vassals, Nolan has to pay the implied-by creation tax of 2. In describing the location I said that people occasionally came to consult the scholar, so we decided it was reasonable and expected for this NPC to be at this place at this time, so the plausibility tax is 0. A 16 normally activates 4 traits, but there is a tax of 2 traits, so Nolan can activate 4 – 2 = 2 traits. Nolan names the NPC Robur, and gives him the traits: Strong, Fiercely Loyal, Knight, Courtier. He activates Fiercely Loyal at d8 and Courtier at d6] The influential knight Robur, Assistant to the King, arrives to consult the scholar and Marcus is relegated to a back room. Robur and the scholar get into a heated argument. Robur is clearly intent on following his liege's orders [Fiercly Loyal d8] with regard to some mysterious courtly intrigue [Courtier d6] and is trying to force the scholar to do something against his will. [I spend my 19 to activate all four of my character's traits (I don't owe any tax). I activate Scholar's Apprentice at d8, Quick-witted at d6, Yearns for adventure at d6, and Young at d4.] Ever eager to be where the action is [Yearns for adventure d6], Marcus prepares a pot of tea for his master [Scholar's Apprentice d8] and takes it to him, hoping he will be able to insert himself into the converation. [Dan 4,3 vs. Nolan 5,5. Nolan wins and bumps Courtier up to d8, my Scholar's Apprentice and Yearns for adventure are exhausted] Robur is too clever a courtier to let anything important slip in front of a mere apprentice, however, so Marcus's efforts are for naught. Despite the scholar's reluctance, Robur is able to manipulate the scholar into leaving the house with him [Courtier d8], in furtherance of the king's plan [Fiercely Loyal d8].
Marcus quickly realizes that he needs to follow them surreptitiously if he has any hope of figuring out what is going on [Quick-witted d6]. [Dan 5 vs. Nolan 8,5. Nolan wins but I don't exhaust.] Robur hears Marcus following and orders the scholar ahead while he turns around and blocks the path. [Nolan spends his 7 to activate Strong at d6] "Don't think I don't know what you're up to," Robur says, taking Marcus more seriously than he is used to being treated. The burly knight readies himself to physically confront Marcus [Fiercely Loyal d8, Strong d6]. Marcus quickly deduces [Quick-witted d6] that, even though he is not being especially courteous, Robur is still bound by the code of honor and shouldn't raise a sword against an unarmed young man like Marcus [Young d4], so Marcus marches right up to him to call his bluff. [Dan 3,1 vs. Nolan 7,6. Nolan wins and would bump a trait if there was going to be another exchange, both of my traits are exhausted.] Robur grabs the scrawny apprentice and lifts him up to say directly to his face, "You're right, my honor won't let me draw my weapon here, but it won't stop me from breaking you if I need to." Marcus is terrified, and Robur tosses him to the ground and stalks off after the scholar [Nolan won as adversity so he gets an extra viewpoint die. He takes the d12 on the first phase of his subplot].
Chapter 2
Viewpoint: Dan 8. Leo 11. Nolan 9,3.
Adversity: Dan 2,1. Nolan 12,8.
After millenia of waiting, Pyrotenax's consciousness, embodied in a golden ring buried in the earth, senses that the time has come for him to make his move and claim the throne that will allow him to impose his will on all of creation. [Nolan spends his 8 to introduce a d4 passive threat: buried under a farmhouse] The ring is not just underground, but under a cornerstone of the farmhouse, built there to contain Pyrotenax's evil. [Leo spends his 11 to activate Beguiler of Mortals at d8 and Ancient Spirit at d6.] Pyrotenax calls out to the minds of the mortals in the area [Beguiler of Mortals d8], hoping to find someone who can rescue him. [Leo 2 vs. Nolan 1. Leo wins but his d8 is already maxed out so he can't bump any traits. Nolan's threat is exhausted.] The psychic influence weighs heavily on the men who work the farm, especially on a farmboy whose work begins to suffer. [Nolan spends his 12 to create a new NPC, the farmboy Agricola with the traits Pig Headed, Strong as an Ox, Eagle Eyed, and Farmer. He's part of the family mentioned on Leo's seed, so Nolan has to pay the mentioned on seed creation tax of 1. It's expected that he'd be on the farm so there's no plausibility tax. A 12 normally activates 2 traits on a character, so after tax Nolan gets 2 – 1 = 1 trait. He activates Pig Headed at d8] Although Pyrotenax is able to communicate with the boy, he's so dense and set in his ways [Pig Headed d8] that Pyrotenax finds it difficult to manipulate him effectively. "Listen to me, child," Pyrotenax whispers to his mind. "I am your ancient god [Ancient Spirit d6] and I need you to help me [Beguiler of Mortals d8]." [Leo 7,3 vs. Nolan 2. Leo wins and would bump something up if the chapter wasn't ending, but Nolan's trait is exhausted and he's out of traits and dice.] Agricola the farm boy finds this argument compelling, and Pyrotenax knows he can exploit this weakness to begin bending the boy's mind to his will [Leo wins the chapter as viewpoint so he marks his first plot phase complete].
Chapter 3
Viewpoint: Dan 11. Leo 8. Nolan 10,7.
Adversity: Leo 12,11,9. Nolan 9,8.
Marcus has returned to the house [Leo spends his 9 to introduce a d4 passive threat: Alone] where he is alone [d4] and left to his own devices without guidance about what to study. [I spend my 11 to activate Scholar's Apprentice at d8 and Quick-witted at d6] Marcus figures [Quick-witted d6] that his master [Scholar's Apprentice d8] must have some notes about what lessons he was planning next, so he begins searching for them [Dan 2,1 vs. Leo 3. Leo wins and would bump Alone to d6, but I'm out of traits so the chapter is over.] but finds nothing but a sense of directionless confusion. [Leo won as adversity so he gets a new viewpoint die. He takes the d10 on his second phase.]
Chapter 4
Viewpoint: Dan 3. Leo 3,1. Nolan 7,6.
Adversity: Dan 10,10. Leo 11,11,6.
Marian, daughter of the Sea Goddess, is aboard a large sailing ship bound for the capital city where she is destined to marry the land-dweller who becomes king. [Leo spends an 11 to introduce a d6 active threat: Lightning Storm] The god of thunder must not want Marian to reach land, because a huge thunderstorm heads straight for the ship. [Nolan spends his 6 to activate Virtuous at d8 and his 7 to activate Demigoddess at d6] At first she is unconcerned, knowing she can survive perfectly well in the water even if the ship is smashed to splinters, but then she remembers that she should care for the humans who crew the ship as well [Virtuous d8], so she extends her power over the water out to calm the waves around them and drive away the rain [Demigoddess d6]. [Nolan 1,1 vs. Leo 1. Nolan wins and bumps Demigoddess up to d8. Leo doesn't exhaust.] Thus protected, the ship begins sailing through the storm. A huge bolt of lightning [Lightning Storm d6] strikes the mast, shattering it [Leo spends his 11 to introduce a new d6 active threat: Adrift] and leaving the ship adrift. As the crew rushes to attend to the burning splinters of the mast, Marian feels her obligation to help these people [Virtuous d8] and calls on her power to have the waves themselves push to vessel in the direction in needs to go [Demigoddess d8]. [Nolan 3,2 vs. Leo 6,5. Leo wins and would bump something if the chapter wasn't over, but both of Nolan's traits are exhausted and he has no more dice so he can't continue.] Unfortunately, the chaos of the storm has so befuddled the captain and crew that they are hopelessly lost. [Leo won as adversity so he gets another viewpoint die. He takes the d10 for his fourth phase.]
That's where we broke for the night. The story will continue in the next playtest report.
(Final Hour of a Storied Age is currently in beta testing. I really need feedback from people trying to play my game without my direct involvement. I would deeply appreciate it if you would consider giving the game a shot. I want to produce the highest quality game I can, but I can only do that with the help of playtesters. If there's anything I can do that would help you get a game going just let me know.)
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