Prep is a Four Letter Word: Intro (Almost a Four Letter Word)

If anyone finds this picture in error you've clearly never GMed for 3.5 DnD

Prep can be a task I truly dread. It's like doing my taxes; I have to do it on time or else. But fortunately that's not really what prepping is. Prep is setting basic things up so that way you can adapt more easily to the players. You're not doing prep to control what happens in the session but to make sure that you can improv more easily, which helps you have more fun.

First, ask what needs to be prepped in your game. Most games are good at telling you what must be prepped for each session, but at a bare minimum you must prepare your setting (even if you bought one), your overarching theme (which is based upon your setting), and the major NPCs of your game (who get their goals from deficiencies in your setting). And that's before you even start prepping your sessions!

Actual session prep can vary widely from game to game. You  might have to do anything from prepping set pieces and monsters, compiling a list of things to challenge the players, compiling charts, to nothing at all (that's rare).

But the real question is why prep at all? If you're good at improvising you may find yourself asking why in the world you'd waste your time with such things. It's possible to make all this stuff up on the fly, so why bother? The answer isn't that you should be making up what's going to happen in the session, that's the job of you and the players to figure out as play progresses.

Think of it as making a meal. Take spaghetti, for instance. It's relatively easy to make, even for cooking illiterate. The ingredients are easy to prep and put together. But y'know what's gonna make it hard to put this meal together? If you had to go to the store every time you needed an ingredient instead of just spending the time to get everything at once. Yes, you could do this, particularly if you're rich, fit, or crazy, but how many people would prefer to get their trips to the store down into as few as possible? That's prep: you're getting everything together so you don't have to constantly come up with new stuff on the fly. No, you're not going to see every contingency; somehow the players will find a way to surprise you, just like sometimes you find that you're all out of Italian seasoning for that spaghetti. But you can have a good amount of the environment, NPCS, and the general area done so that way you can be prepared. That way you can go with whatever the players come up with only using a minimal amount of effort.

Prep isn't about making everything up before hand to throw at your players, it's about making sure that enough of your general bases are covered so that way you can adapt to the majority of player craziness. Rather than having to make up stuff on the fly, it's much better to come to the session with a few things to fall back on, that way you can focus on what's most important: having fun

Stay tuned for next week as we talk about your setting, the container that holds it all!

Supplements

If you're around RPGs for any suitable amount of time you'll run into game supplements. They're expansions of the main game, add-ons that the writers of the game thought would be possibly good for your game and hopefully good for their wallet. As a beginning GM it can be really easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff out there! Take a look at any gamestore with 4th edition DnD or Pathfinder and you'll find dozens of supplements with a variety of subjects, from making your fighters more interesting to adding in entirely new aspects of the game. But before we get started, I have to define my terms. There are two different types of supplements available:

1. Add-Ons: Add-ons are essentially taking an incomplete system and filling in the gaps a little bit more; you get more options to tinker with. Most popular RPGs over the last...however long... have taken this route. They give you a few options in the core game and then keep trucking out more and more extra stuff that they've playtested. These supplements vary in length, price, and quality. Read reviews heavily before purchasing. Adventures also fall into this category: you don't truly need them, but they certainly add to the game. While they're tempting it's really not a good idea to purchase these unless they truly do something for the people at your table and yourself.

2. Game-Changers: It's exactly as it sounds: these change your game in significant ways. Campaign settings and add-ons are the usual fare, but you could make a case that the World of Darkness game line has a central core with each "monster type" being a game-changing supplement. While add-ons can be dropped in and taken out almost at-will, game-changers must be looked at carefully if they're to be included. Running straight 4th edition DnD is one thing, but if you decide to run the Dark Sun Campaign Setting you'll find that entire swaths of rules have been altered or dropped. That and the cannibal halflings might ruin your players' day. Generally game-changers aren't mixed, but there's nothing stopping it besides your own imagination.

What's my basic philosophy on supplements? Approach with caution. Add-ons at their best introduce new ideas about the game that can be a lot of fun to try without changing the core rules all that much, but that's only at their best. At their worst add-ons can bog a game down with unnecessary cruft and even produce combinations that hurt your ability to prep well for your players! Game-changers are interesting, but you'll find that you need them less than you'd think. In the four years I ran 4th edition DnD I only used my setting supplements once, and didn't touch the other two entire worlds I'd bought. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in doing so, I just ran out of time and could only execute so many ideas. You can only get so much.

But, of course, that assumes that the game you're playing has supplements at all! Many indie RPGs are one-and-dones, complete after one entry. Games,like Misspent Youth, Lacuna Part One Second Attempt, and Dogs in the Vineyard are kitchen sinks, where you are given the tools to construct your experience rather than having pre-fabbed tools. If you're going for a game that gives you pre-fab that's fine. I've got a very impressive set of 4th edition books sitting on an entire shelf in my parents' home and I really don't regret sinking all that cash into them. Just realize that what you don't sink into on the time-end of things could hit your wallet.

Tilts (Or the Dangers of Sitting in an Armchair)

Tilts are one of the most essential parts of gaming, period. Every sports game I can think of has one in some way, shape, or form, and almost all indie RPGs do as well. So what's a tilt? Well, to be honest, it's a rule that allows for human interference. It's like "tilting" the foosball table when the ball gets stuck (or in general, if you're being aggressive), giving someone a penalty shot for being injured due to someone else's action, or giving a punt as a last ditch effort to delay the inevitable. It breaks into the "normal" rules of the game and allows for exceptions and outright defiance of fate. It's the human element that we all need and crave when we enter a game. We have to know that, should fate screw us over, we have recourse to what we all think of as "fair".

RPGs are a special type of game: they're entirely relational. Most aren't a competition, and even the ones that are are still much more relational than other types of games and require a degree of cooperation and camaraderie that's unique. In fact, if you asked me what I thought the point and purpose of an RPG was, I'd tell you that it was to have fun creating a good story. Since it's an intensely relational activity, it follows that the tilt of an RPG needs to be more relational, more human, and much more frequently invoked than in a sports game.

I'm going to give some examples of tilts from RPGs: The Burning Wheel Family, Misspent Youth, and Dungeon World.

The Burning Wheel family is filled with three types of tilts: fate, persona, and deeds points, all of which allow for the player to muck with the dice to a varying degree so the dice pool doesn't feel unfair. The BWFGs link getting these points to role-playing and driving the story, so your ability to tell the dice to screw off is directly related to your ability to play the game. It's an awesome cycle that will always be very near and dear to my cold, black, hate-filled GM heart.

Misspent Youth's tilts are the character traits themselves: if you're going to lose a conflict you can sell out a youthful trait and make it darker and worse so you can win. This completely shakes the game up and allows the story to go in a different direction. By fighting fate you make yourself just a little bit more like the darkness that you're fighting, which is incredibly appropriate to the game.

Dungeon World (and the rest of the World games) are a bit of a trick question. No, there is no real tilt like how there is in the first two games...wait... no... there is no tilt. At all. There is no fate defying stuff in Dungeon World (or the other games, if I understand correctly), and that game is incredibly fun, so much so that, whenever I get to reviewing it, it'll get a full recommendation from me! Wait, but I said... crap.

So what do I do? Dungeon World falls outside my model, doesn't it? It doesn't have a tilt and is fun. How the heck does that work? I guess I've got a few options. I could try and make Dungeon World fit my little philosophical system, start hating on Dungeon World, ignore it, throw out the system I've devised for y'all to read, or just admit that nothing's perfect. That maybe it doesn't really matter, long as you have fun with the product.

And ultimately that's what I guess I should take away from writing this little article: no system of thought about RPGs, religion, life, or anything's fool-proof, so you just gotta admit that you can't see the whole thing and move on. Tilts are part of RPGs, to be sure, and some of my favorite games have them. And some of my least favorite games do not. That doesn't mean that only good RPGs have tilts. Again, see the World games. So go out there, find a game you like, and have fun with it! You hopefully learned something from my aggressive rambling and it'll help you find a game that you like. Find it and have fun.

...but that doesn't mean I won't judge you if you like F.A.T.A.L. A lot. Like, really a lot. Seriously, if you like F.A.T.A.L. there's something wrong with you.

Another potshot at my own article: tilts are not ubiquitous amongst indie games. They happen more often than in mainstream games, yes, but they're hardly at saturation level. 

Journaling

Journaling isn't just something that you do in your little unicorn book to confide all your hopes and dreams. Oh no, not in the GMing hobby, no sir! Journaling is possibly one of the most useful things I've picked up in the last few years of gaming. It's a bit of work, but it's well worth your time. There's a few benefits to it: it gets the memories out of your head and makes them more objective, it helps focus the game, and it helps pull the group together.

The first benefit's pretty obvious: memory's a shaky thing at it's best. Any actual study into the nature of memory reveals just how quickly details shift around and get lost. Writing it down allows for you to not have to focus on remembering how things went all the time and frees you up for other things, like actually running your game! All your brain power can now be focused on making your players' lives hell just a little bit more... especially if you can get your players to help you journal on their downtime in-session.

Second, since you have it all written down, you can go and reread the whole thing, which has saved me from making making many a bad decision in the story department. All groups develop an overarching narrative and it can be kinda hard to see without being able to take a step back and read the whole thing, beginning to end. It helps the GM to realize what his campaign has actually been about the whole time, pulling him out of whatever fantasy world he's living in back to the reality of the situation he and the group have made.

Journalling helps pull your group together. It helps remind the group of where they've been and gives them a sense of scope of their own campaign. Too often campaigns become the source of people just letting off steam and they forget that they're actually making a story and that their actions have consequences in-story. I've watched as players' eyes go wide with comprehension at what they themselves did, only to go and do some incredible things in response to the recount of their own actions.

There's a lot more to it than that, but those are the basics coming from someone who's only just starting to get why journalling is such a good idea. If someone's got more experience on the subject and wishes to share, please comment below!

I'M BACK!!!

After a stupidly long hiatus due to bootcamp and then not having a computer that worked, I'm back! For all three of you who are reading, I shall return to my regular schedule of advice, tips, and play reports for all you beginning GMs.

ONWARD!

Off to Bootcamp...

I will be at bootcamp until early May, so this blog will be on break until then. Sorry about the suddenness of it all, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I'll see you guys later, keep gaming!

Path: Chapter Six

So this is it, the final session! Bootcamp cut things short.

GM's Goals
-Defeat Golau
-Rescue the town of Aelia

Eva's Beliefs (I'm only writing in the changed ones)
2. My father and Golau's schemes are the only things keeping me here. Let's end this.

Augustes's Beliefs (again, only the changed ones)
1. I just want this to end. I wanna go home and get some sleep.

- As Kincaid, Eva, and Augustes go down the tunnels they hear a rumble behind them. The spiders are not pleased, and they're coming up in force..

-Kincaid gives Eva an empty glass vial, telling her to not drop it at all costs. Kenodoxius, also known as The One in the Deep, is coming for them. Kincaid will hold off the spiders while they run.

-And so they do. But a cloud of black smoke catches up with them and surrounds them, screaming loudly in their minds. Both players barely manage to pass their Steel tests, and Eva not only doesn't drop the vial but Augustes doesn't run away screeching in fright (all three Persona burnt on that one!)

-The One in the Deep demands that the vial be dropped. Augustes, who was leaning on Eva due to his wounds, raises himself up and tells Kenodoxius tha tthey'll do no such thing. Kenodoxius begins to destroy the tunnel...

-...and time freezes.A being, who is surrounded by a soft blue glow, walks up behind them. Each step he changes another race- spider, troll, orc, roden, elf, dwarf, wolf, and human. He introduces Himself as Avgud, and that He's proud  of them both. He explains that The One in the Deep is on his way to kill Golau, since Inimicai are cursed to hate each other so that way they don't band together to rule the world, but that he needs a body to do it. Considering that Kincaid is a Siunattu Soturi, a Blessed Warrior long dead, the only body he can possess is Eva's, since Kenodoxius was an elf himself... once.  Eva always has the option of letting Kenodoxius possess her if she wishes, but Avgud promises victory if only Eva and Augustes obey Him. No strings attached beyond that.

- Eva and Augustes say that what they've been doing hasn't worked out, and considering that all that Avgud asks for is obedience they agree to it. Avgud tells them that they'll be put to the and, once they succeed, He'll tell them what to do next. Off they go!

- Time resumes, and Eva holds up the vial, which is now brightly shining.  They walk through Kenodoxius, who's been thrown back by the vial. They round the corner and Golau with Kai, Eva's father, and Austin, Augustes's brother! They both look a bit wobbly (and are, they're enchanted!); Golau commands them to kil their kin.

- Kai spits out vile hatred for Eva that she's never heard  before. Apparently Eva's mother died giving birth to her, and Kai's always held it against her. Austin also swears vengeance on Augustes for thinking that he's really better than everyone back in Golau.  A Fight! is begun. Kai and Austin have a +2 Ob for being imperfectly mind-controlled, since Golau's attention is focused on holding back Kenodoxius)

Fight!
- Positioning is rolled between Augustes and Austin (hands vs. sword) and Augustes wins. No positioning roll necessary for the elves, since they're both wielding swords.
-Austin charges Austin, ducking under his strike and staggering him back.
-Kai winds up for a Great Strike and Eva flinches (Block)
-Kai moves in for the kill, but trips (Ob 3's hard to crack when your dice hate you!) and Eva slashes into the offending leg, causing him to stumble (+3 Ob from here on out!)
- Crying out in pain, Kai swings a hasty strike (and I roll CRAP yet again!) but Eva blocks so ferociously that Kai stumbles back, guard open.

-After briefly falling back and trying to gain advantage over each other

-This time Augustes actually knocks Austin over even as Austin tries to jump clear. They're on the ground now.
-Kai still hasn't gotten his bearings (Eva hasn't let up), and so Eva cuts his leg tendon, causing him to fall over
Fight over

-As Eva and Augustes stand over their kin, Golau commands them to kill their kin. Eva and Augustes look up and ask why they'd do such a thing. Golau, distracted by Kenodoxius, spits back that they're family, that's why! Eva strides toward Golau, and begins telling her off epically, ending with "...even though we're both not normal, we're not sick in the head like you!"

-With that Eva hears in her mind Avgud telling her to throw the vial at Golau. She does so and everything goes white. They're back in Aelia, the town that was being attacked by trolls, Augustes is healed and holding The Wheel of Fire!

- Obviously, the trolls are taken care of. A Wheel of Fire wielding Augustes, a restored Kai and what's left of Aelia's townsfolk take care of that.

-As Augustes finishes using The Wheel, he looks down at his bare chest (from his piece of chest armor being burned up and thus discarded earlier) and realizes that he's covered in flame tattoos. The Wheel's now gone. The town is saved .

Epilogue: both Eva and Augustes traveled together until Augustes was forced to retire due to age. He settled down in Ortes, a kingdom in The Dragontooth Isles far to the west, happy and content. Eva's Grief (which was a B6 at the beginning of this whole thing was the focus of one of her Beliefs) was reduced to B0 for using the vial. She went on to travel the world in a flying ship named Painoton ("Weightless in Elvish). Their actions pushed back the Goleuni, and Golau didn't reappear immediately after these events, the entire continent nation of Golau began to collapse...

Path: Chapter Five

With this session things get a little complicated. My fiance Maria was visiting for two weeks, and wished to play. I asked the players if this was OK and they jumped at the chance to play with her (Naomi's my youngest sister and Mitch is a coworker who'd been wanting to meet Maria anyway), and so I thought of a way to include Maria. 

In the previous game the major villain was Marian, the Countess of Fire. When she was a little girl she had lost both her parents. Her mother had died because of a plague. Her father had become The Eaten One, a dictator appointed at the behest of an evil spirit named The One in the Deep to overcome a major threat to civilization named The Vermin Lord. The cost for such power was that The Eaten One be thrown into a dark well of The One in the Deep's choosing. Standing above that well, Marian swore revenge against all of civilization for sacrificing her beloved father. In the following events that took place over 50 years Marian found the Fountain of Youth and drank from it in order to have the longevity necessary to find and defeat The One in the Deep.

As detailed in Revenge of the Countess of Fire Marian's attempt to destroy The One in the Deep backfired, and she wound up accidentally giving the evil spirit a body to command instead. She and the player characters Kincaid, Lenore, The Hungry One, and Claire Romar went to the center of the planet with The One in the Deep, who planned to overthrow the Eternal Flame that was the light of all goodness and supplant it with his own. Touching The Eternal Flame, The One in the Deep was burned by it instead and his enemies shoved him in, destroying his body. Marian, driven to the point of suicide, was convinced by the players that the only worthy thing she could do with her immortality was to make the world a better place for as long as she could. 

So that's Marian. For whatever reason things clicked with me, and I asked Maria if she wanted to play Marian as she looked for Insel des Todes, the Fountain of Youth. The original idea was for her to play two sessions with us and set up some crucial information about Golau, who Marian had interacted with. We had decided that, in order to find out about Insel des Todes, Marian had seduced Bonaparte, a fellow mage, into letting her into a secret society that was all about the island. After finding out what she could Marian faked her death by setting their library on fire. 

Oh, and the standard magic for this setting is Art Magic, with the optional rule that you can't cast outside your schools of magic in effect.

OK, enough yakking. You know enough, I think.

Beliefs for the Naomi and Mitch were infuriating to get through this time. It was like pulling teeth to get them to write Beliefs and not Instincts!At some point I gave up and let them have their crappy Beliefs. My blood pressure can only go so high.

Augustes's Beliefs
1. I am going to investigate this elf.
2. I'm going to get the artifact before Golau gets to use it. 
3. To make this dark world a better place I'll save it from Golau.

Eva's Beliefs
1. I really want to trust this elf-something feels good about him.
2. Golau is working with my father. I will stop them both by guiding my companions to Golau.
3. I will not set sail before my father is stopped.

Marian, the Countess of Fire's Beliefs
1. Power is efficiency; I will drink from the Fountain of Youth.
2. I live for revenge: it is the point of my existence.
3. People are a means to my end. Bonaparte's usefulness is ended so I will ignore him.

Marian, the Countess of Fire's Insticts
1. Always remember my goal: revenge.
2. Never let others gain the upper hand. 
3. Never trust a stranger (roll Observation)

Also, it should be noted that Marian started off with a G6(!!!) Sorcery skill, as well as a B4 Astrology skill. To say that she is a powerful sorceress at 5 lifepaths is a bit of an understatement. We asked Naomi and Mitch if it was OK that Marian be that powerful, and they not only approved but they begged for Marian to be MORE powerful. This request was not granted :P

Marian's schools at the time of the campaign are weather, plants, and fire.

-150 Years Ago... Marian set sail for Insel des Todes, The Fountain of Youth. She makes an untrained sailing test to get to the island safely after making sure the weather's favorable via a weather control spell. She fails the sailing test and crashes her ship, winding up on the beaches of Insel des Todes. The time for the test was three years.

-Present Day... After a brief introduction (Kincaid is the new elf's name) the three set out. After being told in a vague way how to get to the center of the planet Eva sings The Song of Paths and Ways... and fails. They wind up in an underground spider outpost and are captured.

-147 Years Ago... Marian slowly picks herself up and examines the island. There's cliffs to her right and left, with plains in front and dense woods farther away. Before she can decide which way to go the clouds scar the sky and an eerie green light starts to shine behind her. Looking behind her Marian sees a ship way off in the distance, surrounded by green light and clouds. It's sailing this way.

-Present Day... Augustes and Eva awaken, hanging upside down from the ceiling in the pitch black tunnels. Mattias is still unconscious, and one else seems to be around. The spiders didn't bind them up very tightly (STUPID SNARES ROLL OF 1 SUCCESS!) so Eva breaks free and lands quietly, more or less.

-The same can't be said of Augustes, who, even with a great amount of effort, lands wrong and pops a suture in his stomach, causing him to scream out in pain. This attracts a spider, of course...

-Fortunately Eva has lit a torch and has her sword out (when surprised draw your sword!), so a Fight! starts. Positioning did not go well for Eva, as the much nimbler Hunter Spider got up inside her reach and charged her, intending to bowl her over. Eva jumped out of the way however (Avoid), cause the spider to sail right past her. The spider tried to change direction (giving up a future action so she could script Avoid) but Eva lopped her head off in one blow (Strike at 5[!!!!!] successes over Obstacle 0, stupid dice...)

-With that out of the way Eva and Augustes cut down Mattias and take a look around. There's a lot of webbing that goes down one particular passageway, so Eva sets it on fire in an attempt to distract the rest of the spiders while she and the others get away. She then sings The Song of Paths and Ways, successfully this time, and leads them away down another tunnel, further into the darkness...

-147 Years Ago... After seeking shelther in the cliffs Marian consults with the sun, Amaunator, using Astrology, trying to find out more about the ship. The ship belongs to Golau, the most powerful sorceress ever, and she's on her way to Insel des Todes to destroy The Fountain of Youth. 

-With that, Marian follows the now disembarked crew (who are composed of a lot of slaves!) at a great distance. They enter the woods, and she follows behind them, looking through plants so she can maintain her distance. Unfortunately Golau looks right back through the plants at her too!

-At the moment Marian feels a presence behind her, and hears her dead mother's voice. Marian makes the Steel test with flying colors and pays it no mind.

-That's when Bonaparte, her old flame, comes up from behind Golau, and chomps down on a slave's neck, revealing a set of vampire fangs. Turns out that Golau is a vampire as well, and is actually Bonaparte's sire. 

-Bonaparte grabs a wicked-looking lance and turns to walk towards a clearing with a small cave that produces a spring...

-... and that's when Marian strides out and sets fire to Bonaparte and Golau with a stunning 12 successes on her Kill It With Sorcerous Fire! roll, a B12! Bonaparte is completely incinerated and Golau falls over from the sheer ferocity of the attack, screaming in pain. Golau's servants drag her off, leaving the spear behind. 

-Marian examines the spear and consults with the sun, Amaunator, and finds out that this is the great evil spear, Schander der Guten. Golau was going to use it to defile and thus destroy the Fountain.

-Still holding Schander der Guten, Marian goes into the small cave and climbs down a modestly-sized cliff. There's a light at the bottom, which turns out to be in a pool of warm water. As Marian wades into the pool she feels the urge to walk in so far as to submerge herself. Once she's done so Marian realizes that the water is breathable and so she takes a deep breath. Life courses through her, and Marian realizes that now she will never get sick again, nor can she ever die. 

-Coming up out of the water Marian grabs hold of Schander der Guten and calls upon Amaunator again, asking how she can get home with her boat smashed...

Unfortunately after this point Maria and I got really sick, and we were unable to hold the next session while she was around. The rest of what happened to Marian will have to wait for another game. I'd mostly switched to Maria at the end because Naomi was getting ready to pass out, and Mitch was interested in finding out about the setting, so he was more than happy to sit back and get an info-dump. And what a useful info dump it'll be...

Note: I accidentally put in Chapter Four as Chapter Three, and the numbering got screwed up. This was originally Chapter Four

Misspent Youth

This review has been ported over from my old blog, The Kitchen Sink.

Well, that was something.

I just got done playing out a full campaign of Misspent Youth, which lasted 5 sessions. The game is made so you can walk yourselves through a story about a bunch of teens trying to tear down the horrible authority that's oppressing everyone. The game supports 2-5 players, plus someone who is playing The Authority (also known as the GM). You start the game by discussing what sort of things bullies do that piss everyone off. Deciding on this allows everyone to define what type of Authority they wish to fight, what it's methods are, what it's systems of control (y'know, what it uses to keep people in line) are, and finally what the Authority really wants in all this.

Players then make their characters from an assortment of lists, choosing three personality traits and then making up two. Each of these five traits sells out to a darker, edgier version that more resembles the authority that you decided to fight (Smart sells out to Pedantic: not only are you smart, but everyone's going to know you're smarter than them). These traits are used in the resolution system. But we'll get to that in a little bit.

Every session has 7 scenes. They are the same scenes no matter what, and may never be changed. The scenes guide you through the narrative of the game. This is a brilliant move, given that the there's really nothing else to guide the gameplay other than the conflict resolution system.

Speaking of which, the conflict resolution system is a blast! You play through a simplified version of craps, and use your character traits as the betting material instead of money. If you accidentally land on an Authority number while rolling your 2d6 you can either choose to lose the conflict or to sell out, which changes one of your young and idealistic character traits to a hardened and dark trait, more resembling the Authority you're fighting. The rest is narration and in-character moments. And it's this simplicity that makes it all work. You start the game as young and idealistic heroes, who slowly start to crack from the pressures of fighting a revolution, until one of you snaps and completely sells out. When this happens, the game is over.

The endgame can get downright chilling, as you realize that there is a definite winner and loser in this RPG, and that even if you win it's probably not a good thing. In our playthrough not a single player got a happy ending (all of them were really close to selling out), and most of them chose endings where they wasted away as they realized that what they had fought for was futile.Which, ironically enough, was fine with them. I mean, the game as played takes you in some pretty horrible directions, so the idea that these characters would get a happy ending is actually kind of repulsive.

I mean, the more I think about it, the more I realize that having a happy ending in a story like this would be very hard to pull off well. You've got a bunch of kids who slowly become more and more corrupted, making worse choices and becoming darker and darker, until they strongly resemble what they hated at the beginning.

So, what're the strong points of this game? It's rule light in the right way: the only thing that gets rules is the conflict resolution system, which gets played out only 7 times each session (once per act). So each time you pick up the dice it's a big deal. You have no idea how it's going to turn out, and if the players and the Authority set up their conditions right it can get downright intense. The game is short to run (we did it in 5 sessions), which in this day and age of long-winded RPGs (4th edition I'm looking at you!) is really nice. So it's short, awesome,to the point, and very much worth the investment.

The game isn't perfect, however. As I complained about before, I'm always kind of afraid of destroying the book by sheer accident, and in a house full of toddlers I can imagine this book lasting only as long as it takes for a parent to blink, yawn, or eat something. Speaking of children... yeah... don't let them see this book. It's got a TON of swearing, middle fingers, and such. While that's part of the appeal of the book (the book is awesomely designed, although I advise getting a print copy as opposed to digital), the appeal is specifically for an older audience. The last problem is with the conflict resolution system. While no system is truly random this one is as close as it can probably get. We had a number of conflicts that stemmed from tense roleplaying that fizzled because the dice resolved things in two throws, as opposed to the 8(!!!) throws we had in a few of the sessions. It's not a glaring problem by any means, but it can get in the way sometimes.

Altogether, Misspent Youth is a really fun game that's helped me get into more rules-lite fair. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's interested in a good narrative game and that won't mind the intentionally excessive nature of the book.

Pathfinder Review

Pathfinder is the most popular role-playing game currently on the market, edging out Dungeons and Dragons for the marketshare. What a success story! Pathfinder was based off of an earlier game, Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition, and was made because Wizards of the Coast dropped 3rd edition and made 4th edition. There was a substantial portion of the RPG audience  that didn't want to move on to the next edition. They didn't mind 3rd edition's bugs (which are many), they liked the core well enough to stick with it. So award-winning design adventurers Paizo stepped up and decided to take over. They revamped 3rd edition into Pathfinder. For those of you who are new to RPGs, this is the review for you.. I'm going to assume you have no knowledge of this stuff in the first place.

Pathfinder is based off the d20 system, which has a pretty simple mechanic: roll a 20-sided dice, add or subtract based upon the relevant skill or ability that the GM picked, and compare to the target number set by the GM. If you equal or beat the target number you succeed at your task, if you fail you don't, but may retry in most situations.

There's only one extended mechanic: combat. The players and the GM roll Initiative, a system that determine who goes when in the combat. Players may take a standard action (a move that intrinsically requires a d20 roll, usually an attack), a move action, and a swift action (minor things).  Damage is dealt with special dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12) to hit points, which measure your health and grit.  Once your hit points (HP) drop to zero, you're unconscious and dying. Once you're at a score equal to your negative Constitution you're dead. There are some special maneuvers that can be done, but it all comes down to that d20+modifier roll. There's really not a lot more to it than that, I'm afraid.  In fact, unless you're a spellcaster things are pretty simple, combat-wise.

Which brings us to the spellcasters, which is either the greatest strength of the system or it's greatest weakness, depending on who you ask. Each spellcaster knows a certain number of spells depending on level. Spellcasters are the weakest physically, and their beginning spells are utilitarian in nature. Any attack spells at the lower levels is sub-par in comparison to regular attacks, but just you wait. Once you hit level 5, your power begins to go up exponentially, to the point to where you're a god at level 20. But more on that later.

Your character shows his growing experience and power with what are called levels, which is a benchmark between different levels of prowess and power. To advance a level you need to get what are called experience points, which you get primarily by killing monsters. I mean, technically you could get experience any way the GM so wishes, but the given assumption in the book is to get experience points (XP) by killing monsters. XP does nothing for you besides being an indicator of how much time you have before you level, and most games I've played with a d20 system completely jettison XP.  There are twenty levels to explore, with level one being a beginner in the path of being a hero and level twenty being "the end all be all" in your class. Multiclassing is possible, but discouraged, since it lends itself to breaking the game.

Now, anyone who's a supporter of Pathfinder is probably not going to like the next paragraph. You're warned right here: I do not like Pathfinder as a game. Sure, I've had fun with it before, so I'm not saying it's a terrible game. But I really... well... you'll see. I've got a number of problems with this game. They are: the completely worthless XP system, the lack of a "tilt" mechanic, and the exponential increase of power for spellcasters as they level. in comparison to non-spellcasters.

First, the XP system: it literally doesn't do anything besides be a counter. This is not a rules-lite RPG, there's plenty of stuff to keep track of. AC, Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves, attack bonuses, calculating skills (which, regardless of how easy it's been made, takes time). All this is well and good, because it has a short-term and a long term point. XP doesn't have a short term point; it just sits there until you hit the requisite number, and that's space wasted.

Second, the game doesn't have a way of "tilting". By tilting I mean being able to cheat the dice mechanics in situations that you really need to. Without being able to cheat the system players are at the mercy of the most swingy dice in popular gaming: the d20. And be warned: she is not a kind mistress. The d20 is possibly the worst dice to not have a tilt for, hands down. Now usually what happens is that players are allowed to reroll every once in a while just because fate can be so cruel. Again, this is a horrifically missed opportunity. A lot of the tension and fun that comes from a tilt could be sorely used for the mediocre combat system.

And finally, there's the spellcaster progression problem. Spellcasting characters are the most complicated characters in the whole game, hands down. They're terribly risky to play at low levels for not a whole lot of reward, and quite frankly I wouldn't play a spellcaster at a lower level even with some of the improvements that Pathfinder put in place over the original product. At around level five the spellcaster catches up with his non-spellcaster brethren and finds that he can finally do some serious damage. If it ended there I'd have no problem. It doesn't. Players can take advantage of the exponentially increasing power of the spellcaster to do some truly broken things. Now, none of this would matter if there was a tilt, because then the point of the game is not to max out your numbers but to play for a reward that lets you dodge cruel fate just a little longer. Without this the spellcaster rises into prominence in later levels. Supporters of the system will say that this has lessened from 3rd edition, and they're mostly right. They miss the point, however. A good game needs a good tilt mechanic. It's as simple as that. And Pathfinder is in desperate need of one.

So, ultimately, I find that Pathfinder is an incomplete game. Without a reason for doing something other than jacking with the numbers it falls into the same pitfalls of it's predecessor. It's not  a very simple game, so it can't make up the difference there. And while it is fun to play every once in a while it's certainly not something I'd have up on my bookshelf all the time. Ultimately I'd advise staying away. There are better designed games for you to plop down 30-50 bucks for.

Now for an afterward to those who are reading this review who are NOT newbies, particularly the Pathfinder fanboys. You're probably not very happy with the review, and think I'm just raining on y'all's parade. I'm well aware that groups have fun with Pathfinder all the time. Heck, I've had fun with Pathfinder a number of times! But, if you asked me what I thought of the game on a technical level, the above review are my thoughts on it. Do not mistake my dislike of the mechanics for hatred of the game or it's creators. Paizo's people are awesome, and they run a good business. I just happen to disagree with their product.

Picking a Game

So you've got your group, your GMing rules, and an idea of what type of story experience you'd like to have with your players (oh, and their feedback on said concept too!) and everyone's committed. Now what? Well, now you have to pick an actual game to play. Now, if you've never GM'ed (or even played!) before, this is a seriously daunting task! Well, I'm here to help. If you go out to your local game/book store and here's what you'll probably find:

The most popular

Ooh! Star Wars!

The close runner-up

Maybe you'll find more stuff, maybe you won't, but the fact remains: there's not a lot of variety out there in brick and mortar stores, and not a lot of explanation of what each thing is.

Now, each, of these choices (whatever they wind up being) are usually perfectly fine. I mean, can a Star Wars game be bad? But remember Rule 4: play to the system's strength. Each gaming system has it's own set of strengths and foci that make it a completely different creature than the next system.  So how do you find a good fit?

1. Write down a one sentence elevator pitch. This is not difficult at all! Make sure to reference a rough setting and key activities that the players will be doing. For instance, let's say I want a medieval game with a lot of intrigue and supernatural stuff going on. WRITE THAT DOWN.
2. Brainstorm what actions will make that pitch happen. For an intrigue heavy game that means arguments, schemes, and the occasional tense fight. You'll need a pretty flexible rules system for that. If, however, you wanted a more combat-heavy game with arguments and scheming being less the point, you'll want something more focused on fights and blood instead.
3. Determine how rules-heavy you'd like the game to be. This is an important step: is everyone fine with wrapping their heads around something that's a bit heavier rules-wise, or do y'all not wanna expend that effort? Either answer is perfectly fine, I guarantee there's a game for it out there somewhere. You just have to be clear.
4. Go online and ask for help. Well, if you're reading this blog you've obviously already got that somewhat covered. Ask here on the blog and I'll see what I can do. Or head over to RPG.net or another gaming site and ask for help there. Folks are generally quite friendly and will help you with whatever you need. Give them your elevator pitch and they'll generally be able to find a product that'll work for you.
5. Check out the suggestions. Read reviews for the games people mention or that you find. Do not buy blindly; RPG books can be expensive! And while it's possible to get refunds it's still a gigantic pain to have to return the book. I'll be putting up my own reviews for games I've played, so there's a resource that'll be developing over here, but check out multiple reviews anyway. One review source is going to have certain biases and such and will never be able to be totally up front with you.

I will always recommend buying hardcopy. PDFs are nice if you need a quick reference, but nothing works as well as an actual book on your table for everyone's convenience. And, of course, the last and most important rule is to make sure your players actually want to play that particular game too! Sometimes the players just don't agree, and you'll have to find a new game. But at least you have a method now!

Here's a short list of what I've played. Maybe it'll help you shorten your search time:

• Longer epics (20+ sessions): Burning Wheel, Burning Empires
• Short games (1-10 sessions): Tenra Bansho Zero, Mouse Guard, Torchbearer, and Misspent Youth
• Action-packed: Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, Riddle of Steel, Dungeon World, and Tenra Bansho Zero
• Dungeon crawls: Torchbearer, Basic Dungeons and Dragons, Numenera
• Players vs. GM: Burning Empires, Misspent Youth, and Marvel Heroic
• Intrigue: Burning Wheel, Burning Empires, Misspent Youth

Picking a game to play can seem like a daunting task, but as long as you're judicious you'll get the game you want. 

The Burning Wheel Family

The Burning Wheel games are a series from the minds of Luke Crane, Thor Olavsrud, and the other awesome folks at Burning Wheel Headquarters (BWHQ from now on). They have four games out, listed from simplest to most complicated, Mouse Guard, Torchbearer, Burning Empires, and Burning Wheel. These games all have somethings in common, but express them differently. The basis of these games are what're known as BITs: Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits.

BITs
A Belief is a proactive statement of purpose. It guides your actions. If you write a Belief and don't find yourself wanting to do things based off of this Belief you're doing it wrong. At it's simplest a Belief is simply an ethical statement. In some BWHQ games, however, Beliefs are broader and include goals as well, allowing for more nuance and depth to the proactive statement.

Instincts a reactive statement of purpose about what a character would do in a specific event. It's the exact opposite of Belief in every way. Whereas a Belief is a broader statement that drives the character forward, an Instinct is statement governing a reaction to a very small, very finite situation.  Instincts are the same no matter where you go.

Traits are qualities about your character that define him, like hairy, tough, or charismatic.  They have the most variance within the Burning Wheel family. Traits always have some sort of special goody attached to using them, whether it's generating rewards or adding dice to rolls.

Dice Mechanics
All these games also employ similar dice mechanics. All are a d6 dice pool system. That means that numbers represent numbers of regular dice to be rolled. Most of the games determine success on a 4, 5, 6 on each dice. You're trying to get the number of successes that the GM set at the beginning of the roll. Speaking of which, this is how you make such a roll:

1. Declare your intent. The GM decides what skill or ability is to be used, and then sets a difficulty, which is the number of successes that must be rolled.
2. The GM then declares what will happen if you fail. The failure must not completely shut down your intent, but put a nasty twist in it. In some games he might throw a condition on you instead. 
3. Put together your dice pool. You're allowed to help yourself with other skills you have that apply and ask for help from your friends. Figure out if you're going to be modifying the dice pool any other, and then roll!
4. Count up the number of successes, and figure out if you can manipulate the pool any further.
5. The GM and you interpret the results.

Rolls are only made when interesting failure could happen. The rest of the time,   whatever the player says happens. Oh, and there's a rule called Let it Ride, which means that whatever die rolls you make are unrepeatable unless the situation changes dramatically.

Rewards
The Burning Wheel Family of Games (BWFG from here on out) gives out rewards based upon following and denying Beliefs and Instincts and for good roleplaying. The games all hand out two types of points: Fate and Persona.

Fate points are given out for following in a character's path defined by their Beliefs and Instincts. Fate points can be spent to reroll all 6's in a single dice roll.

Persona points are given for breaking Beliefs, fulfilling G(g)oals, being the force behind the scenes to get everything working (Workhorse), being the star of the hour (MVP), and good roleplaying. Persona points may add one dice to your dice pool per point spent, up to three.

Extended Mechanics

In addition to the basic dice rules the Burning Wheel family also uses what's called extended mechanics. You and the GM declare intents, and then you pick up to (usually) three moves ahead privately, and then reveal them one at a time.Usually both sides have what's called Disposition, which are points that represent the strength of your side. When one side's Disposition drops to zero the extended conflict is over. There's usually a form of compromise that happens based upon the damage to the winner's Disposition. 

All this focuses on Burning Wheel's central core experience: struggle. These games are not high fantasy romps through the woods where people kick ass and take names. No, Burning Wheel games are about struggle: against the elements (Mouseguard), society (Torchbearer), betrayal (Burning Empires), or yourself (Burning Wheel). If you want games where your protagonist bleeds, cries, and probably gives up every once in a while but becomes a hero in spite of, maybe because of, their difficulties, then man these games are for you. Not a single one pulls a punch. Even Mouseguard, the easiest game of the bunch, still manages to deliver sessions full of barely hanging on for dear life. 

I'll be reviewing each of the games, referring to this review each time so that way I don't have to go over new ground all over again. First up: the simplest game, Mouse Guard!

EDIT/ADDENDUM: Forgot to put this in before, but one of the things that all Burning Wheel games have is a bibliography of the works fiction, non-fiction, movies, music, and gaming, that inspired the game. Do yourself a favor: check into at least a few items on the list. I've found that even a little bit of research into their bibliographies has helped me get a better understanding of how to run the games. And besides: reading's good for you.

The Basic Requirements of Being a GM

Anyone who's starting an RPG group needs a GM. Usually one person steps up because no one else will do it. This is unfortunate, because sometimes the people who really shouldn't be in that position wind up right there. There are a number of qualities a GM should have:

1. A strong personal presence. Regardless of the presence of the other qualities, if you don't have good people skills you will never be a good GM. If you can't command the room then you really shouldn't be the GM.
2. Decent story chops. You don't need to know all the tropes of all the genres or be Dostoevsky. You just need to know about the three act structure (introduction-rising action-climax-falling action) and how to make trouble for characters in a constructive way. You don't need to be an expert, just have a basic sense.
3. The ability to absorb rules. Again, you don't need to be an expert, or even the most educated. But if you don't know your way around your rulebook even a little bit it's going to make being in authority that much harder. 

It's really quite simple, there's really nothing more to it then that. 

So What's Up with All These Story Posts?

For anyone who's completely new to the world of RPGs you're probably wondering why on earth I have all these posts about play reports are up here.

1. So that way anyone who wonders how my advice works in practice can see for themselves, good and bad. I'll be putting up more play reports, including any badly run games I put up so that way you can see the difference.
2. Keeping notes is a good practice. I'm practicing what I preach.
3. I get nerdy fun from looking at it on my blog. 

There ya go!

Path: Chapter Four

Here's the GM's Goals I gave everyone for the session

1. Infiltrate Itawarete Ira Hu, the Temple of the Wheel of Fire
2. Find the elf
3. Scare/defeat the Roden
4. Get the Wheel of Fire

Fulfilling any of these goals nets a Persona Point in addition to whatever they get for Beliefs. I list them for dark hilarity's sake. You'll see what I mean.

Eva's Beliefs
1. My life is more important than the Wheel of Fire because my father must be stopped.
2. I will not sail before my father is stopped.
3. I brought Augustes here, I will get him out.

Eva's Instincts
1. Whenever I enter a new area I search for hiding spots.
2. When surprised I draw my sword.
3. Always assume the worst about elves

Augustes's Beliefs
1. Another elf is around, cool! It must be my lucky day. I'll find him.
2. I'm going to find whatever this Wheel is in this God-forsaken well
3. I will save the town, even though I'm worthless.

Augustes's Instincts
1. I refuse to speak to new people.
2. If someone scares me I do what they ask.
3. Whenever I fail a Steel test I use Soothing Platitudes (which, at the moment, is untrained)

- Eva and Augustes size up the cavern. There's blue fluorescent mushrooms everywhere, dimly lighting up the cavern, which is roughly hewn. Eva starts to look around for places to hide and fails. As she was looking around Augustes chucked a rock idly and hit a nearby unseen Roden inbetween the eyes, knocking him out cold. This alerts his nearby compatriots to their presence. 

-The pair attempt to knock out the remaining two roden before the alarm can be sounded, but they don't move fast enough to stop the roden from shrieking out an alarm call.

-Eva and Augustes try and get away, but are backed into a corner briefly by the roden. They manage to bowl past the roden who are cornering them and make their escape. With their newfound freedom, the dynamic duo decide they're gonna escape... right into the temple, where the roden are thickest. No, I did not advise this. I refrained from facepalming, but you better believe I held back.

-Now that they're in the temple and being chased from all sides, Eva and Augustes have to try and make a break for it again. Eva gets away, but Augustes is captured and cowed. After running for a minute, Eva curses, turns around, and runs back after Augustes to save him, her own hide be damned. Unfortunately she sees...

- Augustes, captured and having failed a Steel test, begins to plead for his life with his untrained Soothing Platitudes and fails. When told that he must help capture his elvish friend Augustes breaks down in tears, offering to help capture the other elf that he's heard rumors of. He offers everything he owns, his own freedom and eternal slavery even, but he won't betray Eva. He gets an axe to the gut for his troubles....

-...yeah... that's a B9 to the stomach...Traumatic Wound...Augustes's intestines are all over the floor... Eva fails her Steel test and passes out from sheer despair. 

-Both wake up inside the temple. Augustes's stomach has been bound up and he's on the mend. Standing above them is the elf everyone's been talking about.

- He explains to them that he was trying to stop Golau from getting the Wheel of Fire but failed. Golau is, even now, heading to the center of the earth to put out the Eternal Flame, the source of all life and goodness in the world. He asks for the dynamic duo's help in getting there. Eva begrudgingly accepts, but Augustes refuses: he's only worth something with Golau and so he won't fight her.

-Eva challenges Augustes to a Duel of Wits, Augustes accepts.

Augustes: I am worthless and must go back to Golau. Let me be.

Eva: Slavery isn't good enough for you, so you better help me stop Golau.

I didn't record all the stuff for the Duel of Wits (I'll start to next time!), but Eva TROUNCED Augustes (he does have a Traumatic Wound and isn't trained in any social skills whatsoever...), and he agrees to help the unnamed elf and Eva.

Overall that was the most disastrous session of Burning Wheel I've ever seen dice-wise. Even when the players did roll well their decisions were horrific and led to more pain and death for them. But it led to a really good story!

Path: Chapter Three

-Eva and Augustes get to the bottom of the well and... nothing happens.

-After a quick check of the bottom, Eva starts jumping up and down to loosen the pressure plate they're standing on. Augustes joins in, and a door opens in front of them, spilling the water out . They look down a well-crafted stone hallway, with torches lit every 50 feet

-Eva scouts out ahead, and finds that there are a group of evil dwarves from Itan Horu also undergound. She guides Augustes away from them by softly humming The Song of Paths and Ways, staying just one step ahead of the dwarves.

-They come to a fork in the road, and they pick the right passage because it's warmer. 

-Augustes and Eva hear singing and see a soft glow behind them and flee, trying to get away and arrive upon a spiral staircase. They bolt down it, but all of a sudden the lights go out. The lights turn back on with a horrific scream AND..

-Augustes finds himself in a magnificent golden palace with relief carvings in the wall, showing scenes of sadism and torture beyond imagination. Golau, the eternal Queen of the Continent Golau walks up to him and asks why he has these illusions of grandeur. Becoming a hero! Bah! A Duel of Wits ensues:

Augustes (3 disposition): I wanna be a hero!

Golau (8 Disposition) you're worthless, accept it and come back home.

It doesn't take look for Golau to verbally browbeat Augustes into submission. But he does get a minor compromise: he wants to save Aelia before going back to Golau to beg forgiveness for thinking he could do anything apart from her.

-Eva also comes to the same room, but is face to face with her father instead. A Duel of Wits also ensues.

Eva (4 Disposition): Never talk to me again, get away from me!

"Kai" (8 Disposition): Running away from me and my plans is pointless, you know I'm right.

It's only one action longer and Eva still loses, but she does get a major compromise out of it. Eva may be wrong about running away from her father and his ideals (elves suck and should be destroyed, humans are awesome and everything should be done to help them!), but she isn't wrong about her father. And she's determined to stop him before she sets sail.

-Eva comes to, only to find that Augustes is standing next to her on the staircase, still in a trance. She then hears the dwarves coming in their direction, complaining that they of all people are lost in their ancestral home!

-Eva hides under the spiral staircase, the unconscious Augustes  limp over her back, and watches as the dwarves walk past into the unfurnished caves... she then drags Augustes back up the stairs and slaps him into wakefulness. Together they make their way down the hall, and choose the other way in the fork in the road.

-As they traverse the labyrinth the two hear roden off in the distance, looking for "some damn elf". using the Song of Paths and Ways Eva keeps her and Augustes clear of the roden. They stumble upon a massive underground dwarven temple, manned by roden...

Path: Chapter Two

-Eva is wandering the shores of Lake Vtia, looking for a place to sleep, when the forest flares up like a giant bonfire. She runs toward the fort and happens upon a troll who's trying to have his way with a very young human girl. She strikes at the troll from behind. I rolled a Die of Fate to see if Naomi's strike would cause the troll to trip into a nearby burning tree and kill himself. It was just an act of fun, and well... I rolled a one. Figures. Well, the troll's dead with a burning branch through his eye now! Naomi's feeling good...

-Eva attempts to bandage up the little girl who, as it turns out, has her intestines spilled out across the ground. She rolls Field Dressing and fails. Eva stitches her stomach together, but she probably won't last...Eva hears more screams and heads off to do what she can for the non-injured.

-Meanwhile Augustes is trying to get out of the burning forest with his unconscious brother. He thinks there's a town through the woods and sets off, dragging his brother with him. Mitch fails the Orienteering roll and finds himself back at Lake Vita, with three trolls staring at him, the fallen girl that Eva had found earlier.

-Eva makes her way into Vitae Custos and attempts to take on another troll, but doesn't get nearly as lucky since this time the troll's armor dice protect him from her blow. The troll turns to kill her, and Eva spends the next twenty minutes evading trolls and making her way back to the girl, where she finds three trolls and two young men, cornered...

-The trolls lunge at Augustes and Austin, grabbing them with a truly horrendous failed roll. Eva then tries to cut their tendons against, bu the troll's skins once again make the armor roll.

-Just when things look hopeless The Elf appears and single-handedly DESTROYS the three trolls. He tortures the last one for fun as Augustes and Eva stare in astonishment. The Elf stands up and runs to Eva excitedly, trying to hug her as he calls out to her. Eva pushes him back, yelling at him to leave her alone. Turns out The Elf's Eva's father! She spits in his face and tells him to screw off. Her father shakes his head sadly and walks off, warning them to get to the next town before his trolls find them.

-Augustes and Eva carry Austin through the burning forest to the nearby town of Aelia, using Eva's Song of Paths and Ways to show them the way. Yeah, Naomi failed this roll too, so their armor catches fire. Eva loses her left leg and Augustes his chest. Having stripped those things off the two get to Aelia.

-At the town gates they meet Otho, captain of the guard of Aelia. They inform him of Vitae Custos's fall, and Otho orders an immediate evacuation of Aelia

-As Augustes sees to Austine getting medical attention Eva hears a familiar bird-call and goes outside Aelia to meet with her father. He informs her that, while the trolls are delayed by the forest fire, they won't be safe for too much longer. He tells her about The Wheel of Fire, an artifact that is somewhere beneath Aelia. It's the real reason the trolls have been sent to Aelia in the first place, to provide a distraction while the Wheel is found. He tells Eva that the only way to get to the Wheel is through Aelia's town well.

-Eva goes back and finds Augustes. She informs him of her plans to save the town and Augustes gets up immediately and walks out with her. The two, using the rope, climb into the Well of Aelia...

Path: Chapter One

-BOOM! The front gate of Vitae Custos, the Argentum army base on Lake Vita, is knocked in by a group of 30 trolls. No alarm was sounded, and panic quickly ensues with the advent of the trolls. 

-Augustes, who's a common footsoldier (spear and shield...) on guard duty, sees the trolls and turns to run! He successfully evades a troll (Speed vs. Speed) and is just running out the back gate when...

-He turns around to fight the troll because a young woman happens to be attacked by said troll. He tries to drive off the Trolls (Spear vs. Speed), but fails: the troll bites her head off. Augustes flees the doomed fort. 

-At this point I asked Mitch to make an Orienteering check so he didn't get lost in the woods that surround Lake Vita. Unfamiliar territory at night and Augustes being untrained means that Augustes accidentally runs into the last person he expected to see: his brother Austin! Austin has clearly seen better days. He's dressed in rags, has chains around his ankles, and holds a rusty old sword. 

-Augustes steps forward to attack Austin, but Austin falls down, begging for mercy. After Augustes escaped Austin was forced into the newly occupied slave position in punishment for losing Augustes. He begs for mercy over and over as Augustes steps forward with his spear, intent on killing the man who had so badly scarred him. At this point I asked Mitch to make a Perception test, which he horrifically failed (Ob vs. Stealth G. The whole world goes black.

- Augustes wakes up in a dirty room with his brother tied and gagged to a bed. An elf approaches Augustes and offers him a cruel torture knife. The elf explains that he was happening through the forest when he spied the two brothers. He decided that Augustes was right and wished to make it easier to torture Austin. The elf steps outside, telling Augustes he'll be waiting. 

- After ten MINUTES of mostly-silent out-of-game thinking (stopping only to tell me that I was being a jerk  ) Augustes finally steps forward and cuts Austin's bonds. He then tells Austin the he'd better have learned his lesson, because Augustes may not be so merciful the next time. 

-The elf comes back in and asks for his knife back, which after a short few minutes of banter Augustes does so. The Elf tells Augustes that he's free to go, but Austin isn't. Augustes is show out with his equipment, into the forest. The door slams shut and Augustes finds that he was never in a house at all, but a giant tree! That's when the screaming starts. 

-After listening and pondering for another five minutes out-of-game Augustes does the only thing he knows how to do: build a gigantic bonfire. I laughed at Mitch when he took Firebuilding as a skill, and man did that get turned back on me! Augustes makes an enormous bonfire that sets the whole forest ablaze. The elf throws Austin sans-ear out of the tree and asks Augustes if this is really how he wants to play it. Augustes responds that he can't turn his back on a helpless being, even if that being is his asshole of a brother. Augustes picks up Austin and cauterizes his wound shut (failed Field Dressing). The elf bids him adieu and walks off into the burning forest as Augustes lugs his unconscious brother through the burning forest...

-Yes, Mitch got Right Skill Right Time. I've never seen Firebuilding be useful before, looks like he showed me!