Comments on: 30 Days of the Burning Wheel: Fight!ing and Killing http://sjarvis.com/2006/06/14/30-days-of-the-burning-wheel-fighting-and-killing/ Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:03:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Steven http://sjarvis.com/2006/06/14/30-days-of-the-burning-wheel-fighting-and-killing/#comment-549 Steven Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:59:17 +0000 http://sjarvis.com/2006/06/14/30-days-of-the-burning-wheel-fighting-and-killing/#comment-549 Thanks for the commentary, Luke. That game really taught us a LOT about playing the game in a more narrativist manner. We'd have a session and then, good or bad, we'd dissect it. For for the longest time, it was mainly just me and Tim doing the dissecting in the parking lot in the middle of the night after a session (on some REALLY COLD nights, too!). It was interesting and VERY frustrating to only occasionally (at first) have sessions where we'd really let the Beliefs push the game and focus on conflict resolution over task resolution, and we had the hardest time with setting stakes. That game was really our group's therapy for getting out of the dysfunctional ways of playing that we'd ALL learned. I say "was" because we basically agreed to hang the game up and start a new one using what we'd learned in that one. We had some other problems, too, mainly with power level and a character that entered the game late and didn't really fit in very well, but I think we mostly just wanted to start a game that just BLAZED from the first scene. So we did: http://www.nwarpg.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630 http://www.nwarpg.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=634 We've been doing group writeups (both actual play and storytime) on our local gaming group's board to try to stimulate some activity and discussion there as we've rebooted the organization lately. I'll post something at the BW boards about it, too. I think Tim already posted his character over there. Steven Thanks for the commentary, Luke. That game really taught us a LOT about playing the game in a more narrativist manner. We’d have a session and then, good or bad, we’d dissect it. For for the longest time, it was mainly just me and Tim doing the dissecting in the parking lot in the middle of the night after a session (on some REALLY COLD nights, too!).

It was interesting and VERY frustrating to only occasionally (at first) have sessions where we’d really let the Beliefs push the game and focus on conflict resolution over task resolution, and we had the hardest time with setting stakes. That game was really our group’s therapy for getting out of the dysfunctional ways of playing that we’d ALL learned.

I say “was” because we basically agreed to hang the game up and start a new one using what we’d learned in that one. We had some other problems, too, mainly with power level and a character that entered the game late and didn’t really fit in very well, but I think we mostly just wanted to start a game that just BLAZED from the first scene.

So we did:
http://www.nwarpg.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630

http://www.nwarpg.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=634

We’ve been doing group writeups (both actual play and storytime) on our local gaming group’s board to try to stimulate some activity and discussion there as we’ve rebooted the organization lately. I’ll post something at the BW boards about it, too. I think Tim already posted his character over there.

Steven

]]> By: luke http://sjarvis.com/2006/06/14/30-days-of-the-burning-wheel-fighting-and-killing/#comment-548 luke Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:19:52 +0000 http://sjarvis.com/2006/06/14/30-days-of-the-burning-wheel-fighting-and-killing/#comment-548 Don't buy into Thor's Belief fascism. “I have done evil things, but I am not evil” is a good set up for your character. It's a proto- or overarching belief Belief that's pregnant with change. In order for it to be changed, it needs to be challenged. We played a similar campaign to the one you described. And it was easy enough to goad players to commit atrocities in the name of what's righteous and "good." And that's what your character needs. You slaughtered whole sleeping villages. Would you slaughter a sleeping barracks? You disappeared the king's enemies and tortured them to confess. Would you disappear the king's allies and torture them to recant? As the game progresses, and your character does more and more evil, that Belief will beg to be changed. I can't wait to hear about it. It's a fun journey. A bit off topic, but I felt it was worthy of addressing, -L Don’t buy into Thor’s Belief fascism. “I have done evil things, but I am not evil” is a good set up for your character. It’s a proto- or overarching belief Belief that’s pregnant with change.

In order for it to be changed, it needs to be challenged. We played a similar campaign to the one you described. And it was easy enough to goad players to commit atrocities in the name of what’s righteous and “good.” And that’s what your character needs. You slaughtered whole sleeping villages. Would you slaughter a sleeping barracks? You disappeared the king’s enemies and tortured them to confess. Would you disappear the king’s allies and torture them to recant?

As the game progresses, and your character does more and more evil, that Belief will beg to be changed. I can’t wait to hear about it. It’s a fun journey.

A bit off topic, but I felt it was worthy of addressing,
-L

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