Burning Wheel: The King in Gray

[Judd]

We got together to play BW and one of the players just wasn't grokkin' it.  The chunkiness of the system, the density of the rule-book, the two different books, everything that makes it a great system to me was just freezing him in his tracks.

He came up with a few concepts and then quickly ditched 'em.  He burned up a PC with the rest of the group but professed that he wasn't feeling it and ditched it.  The rest of the players were coming up with historical bits for their characters and just getting juiced up.

The player and I exchanged nasty e-mails, each frustrated with the other.  I wasn't sure what to do and was on the verge of asking him to leave the table.

Then I went to Luke's for the weekend, played in 3 one-shots in a 12 hour stretch.  I came home refreshed and sent out an e-mail proposing that I ran a few one-shots with pre-made characters so that we all could get a grip on the system and so that Mario, the player who was hating the system, could get a grip on how it worked at the table.

This is the first of those one-shots.

I wanted a Luke-style game, wherein I'd just act as a scene framer and rules interpreter, letting the players drive the action with their Beliefs.  I knew that writing up these beliefs would be akin to me writing up the adventure.  

I decided that it would happen in an elven citadel to the south, where a king had just left his throne due to Grief.

These are the Beliefs and Instincts that I came up with:


The Queen
Concept: Imperious Queen

Lifepaths: Etharch, Loremaster, Bard, Song Singer, Student, Citadel Born

Beliefs

My love will destroy this kingdom but I am helpless before it.

I must embody the beautiful rose and sharp thorn of my crown.

I must never become as weak, bitter and helpless as the king's mother.

Instincts

If I am at court, then do not let my temper flare.

Always begin a DoW with Incite.

When insulted, always smile and pay a vicious compliment in return.

The Lord Protector
Concept: Immortal Gawain

Lifepaths: Lord Protector, Captain, Leutenant, Lancer, Outrider, Rider, Wilderlands Born

Beliefs

My skills will always protect the Winged Throne

The love I harbor for my king's wife will one day demand a terrible price and I will pay that price in full.

None may besmirch my honor and live.

Instincts

If on my way to a tryst, then stealth.

If in public, then support the King and Queen in full.

Always respect my elders.

The Squire
Concept: Noble servant boy.

Lifepaths: Herald, Rider, Spearholder, Boyer, Attendant, Born Etharch

Beliefs

To outshine my betters is to tarnish my name.

If my feelings of hatred for my cousin, the queen show it will shame my family.

The king confided in me that I will be his heir and so I must seek to learn, so that I might be a just king.

Instincts

Always treat servants with respect and dignity.

If I am out of my depth, then I will be polite.

If someone wishes to take adventure of my naivete, then allow them to think they are doign so successfully.

The Bastard
Concept: Jon Snow Inspired Ranger

Lifepaths: Ranger, Forester, Wanderer, Huntsman, Rider, Born Etharch

Beliefs

My only enjoyment at court is the discomfort I bring with my presence.

My father's blood is strong in me, making me as much an Elf as anyone and with as much claim to his holdings.

Just because the open road is my home, doesn't mean I shirk my duties.

Instincts

If insulted, then answer in kind.

Always have a knife.

Always seek the higher ground before a battle.

The Mother
Concept: The Beautiful Crone

Lifepaths: Elder, Patriarch, Spouse, Steward, Artisan, Shaper, Novice, Citadel Born

Beliefs

I still hate my late husband for the bastard he brought to our Citadel.

What a wondrous queen I would have been if only my husband had allowed me to truly reign.

These southerners are a soft lot, nothing like the hard Elves from my cold homeland.

Instincts

If insulted, then offer a bonecraft gift, pregnenat with double meaning.

Never allow my children to be threatened.

If in combat, be as defensive as possible until help arrives.

The Sister
Concept: Plucky, little sister fostered to the sea citadel to the west

Lifepaths: Princess, Sword Singer, Second, Sea Captain, Seafarer, Born Etharch

Beliefs

It is long past due that a woman sits on the Winged Throne.

My martial prowess makes me a great leader.

The sea has taught me all I know and all I need to know.

Instincts

If possible, throw a knife before closing to melee combat.

Always listen to mother when bitterness isn't clouding her judgement.

Always tell stories of the sea when feeling less confident.


For the record, the stressed out player played the Queen.

E-mail sent to players:

I have left my kingdom tonight for the western havens, crown and wedding ring cleaved, wyvern steed let free, royal raiment lit on fire, no heir announced.

I am the thirty-third Etharch of the Southern Citadel, Lord on the Winged Throne, the Wyvern King. The Southern Citadel is a wonder, not built but grown atop a tree that has no peer nor equal. My honor guard ride wyvern as tame as their dragon's blood allows, they fly among the high branches of my kingdom. The children here play amidst leaves the color of sunlight and drink dew that tastes like magic and mystery.

My wife is a tender genius but her womb has given my no heir.

My Lord Protector is a battle-hardened sword singer but his duty gives me no solace.

My Squire is an honorable lad with no evil in his heart but his innocence gives me no joy.

My mother is a beautiful crone, older than some hills, but her counsel gives me no wisdom.

My bastard brother is a driven hero but his ranging gives me no clues concerning my kingdom's woe.

My sister is a famous sea captain but her exploration gives me no knowledge about the bright seas.

May they each live the immortal lives they have earned.

May the stars damn them all to hell.

Duels of Wits

Both of the Duels of Wits were private, one on one verbal duels.  There was a vicious exchange between the Mother and the Bastard, building tension that I'd like to build on if the Mother's player wasn't from outta town.  Ah well.  But everyone kept calling for a DoW but there didn't seem to be anything at stake, just two bitter people sniping at each other with hurtful words.

On to the actual duels:

Queen Vs. King's Champion

She meets him late at night after the king goes west and the family has gathered.  She has stalled court for a week in order to mourn.  She goes into his arms.  He says, it isn't our fault.  She slaps him.  He says the king was weak.  She slaps him.  The duel begins.

Queen: We are responsible for the king's grief and his
going west.

If she wins: He will leave me alone for the entire
week.

King's Champion: We are not responsible, the king was
too weak for his position.

If he wins: She will consider me the better man and
let me into her heart.

The Queen won a resounding victory, leaving from a secret door as a guard let's the King's Champion know that a body has been found in the hallway.

Jevon decides he must mark down a Difficult Grief check on his PC's sheet.

Queen Vs. King's Mother

When the queen get's back to her rooms, she just barely beats the King's Mother, who has been having her and all of the guests followed.  The King's Mother has heard the rumor of the queen's infidelity but for now, its only a rumor.

King's Mother: Tell me the truth about the rumors
concerning your infidelity.

If she wins: You will tell me the entire truth.

Queen: Drop this subject.

If she wins: You will no longer bother me with this issue.

King's mother won a resounding victory and the Queen wanted a follow-up Duel to make the Mother keep it a secret but we decided to hold off for later.

The Killing of the Servant

Jim has the ranger tailing a servant of the Mother who was tailing his sister, the captain.  The Mother has servants tailing every PC.  He is sneaking after the defenseless hand maiden.

Jim:  I'm going to...well, I dunno.

Me: (knowing what he's thinking) Do it.

Jim: I dunno.

Me:  I'll give you an artha point.

Jim:  I kill the servant. *dice are rolled, handmaid killed*  I leave the body in the hallway for anyone to find.

We didn't finish in one session and a friend in from outta town was playing the Queen Mother, so I'll make up a PC for the missing player and we'll finish up next week.

Everyone really dug the DoW and we used some Circles too but for this session, the DoW's ruled the table time.  Everyone played their character to the hilt.  It was good, good stuff.

The best part is that Mario really drove play and I think that in frustration with the system has read the book intensely and when it clicks and he gets it, he'll have a deep understanding of it.  This is, of course, assuming that it clicks and he digs it.

Either way, good gaming is happening and for now, all is right with the world.

We'll finish this next week, getting caught up on time tonight.  I wanted these to be one-shots but so be it.

[Bill Cook]

Pretty slick. Revised is almost unrecognizable to the Classic mind. Those're some pretty loaded Beliefs. The Sea Captain character interests me. What was she up to when the handmaiden bought it?

Reading over the Queen's Beliefs .. So, about that first one, was there something more apparent going on at the table? I'm just wondering how her love is destructive and why she's helpless.

[Judd]

Pretty slick. Revised is almost unrecognizable to the Classic mind. Those're some pretty loaded Beliefs.

The Beliefs have to be loaded for the Luke-style one-shot to work well.  I ran one with flat Beliefs and the game was really lame, quite flat.

The Sea Captain character interests me. What was she up to when the handmaiden bought it?

The sea captain was mourning the passing of her brother with her crew and sending out trusted members of her crew to gather info on her old home, that she hadn't been back to in a hundred years.

Reading over the Queen's Beliefs .. So, about that first one, was there something more apparent going on at the table? I'm just wondering how her love is destructive and why she's helpless.

Her love is destructive because its a total Lancelot-Arthur-Guinevere thang going on.  She is having an affair with her husband, the king's champion and then POOF, her husband goes west without a word to anyone, leaving his wedding ring cut in half on a chord around her neck.

She's only helpless in that she's in love with the wrong man...or the right man but in the wrong situation.  Does that make sense?

Mario played the hell out of that guilt.  I was really digging it.

Revised is an all-together better game.  Great stuff.

[Judd]

I also attached the following to the PC's character sheets, each character's angles on the throne on their prospective sheet:

The Queen

Claim to the Throne:  You are a wise and just queen who would be a fantastic ruler, with or without your husband.

Problems: Legally, you were more of a consort.  The local elves see you as a foreigner where the throne is concerned, as you are from the Eastern Citadel, cousin of the Griffon Queen.


The King's Champion

Claim to the Throne: You were like a brother to the king and you control the wyvern cavalry.  History has had Lord Protectors take the throne when no heir was declared but it was always under odd and momentous circumstances.

Problems: You do not have noble blood, nor do you have any real legal claim to the throne.


The King's Squire and Herald

Claim to the Throne:  The King often spoke of making you his heir and what a fine king you'd make, noble blood and all.

Problems:  He never did declare you heir and you aren't sure he told anyone else.


The King's Sister

Claim to the Throne: You are the next in line to the throne (not counting the bastard...and who does?) and your skills would make for a fine queen..  

Problems: However, the North and South Citadels have always had kings.  You are fighting millennia of tradition and you have been gone from this kingdom for almost a century, off sailing the seas.  You know nothing of this citadel or its people.


The Bastard

Claim to the Throne: You are your father's next born son.

Problems: Human blood, bastard born and a lifetime of ranging.


The King's Mother

Claim to the Throne: None, other than that you'd make a fine, fine queen and you have centuries of experience and possibly the power to take the crown.

Problems: You were born in the Northern Citadel, considered a foreigner in this land when the throne is concerned.  The Southern Citadel's Winged Throne has always been held by a man.  You are fighting a rough, uphill battle here.

[Thor Olavsrud]

Hey Judd,

Sounds like a great session! Could you tell me a little bit about how they used Circles?

[Judd]

Hey Judd,

Sounds like a great session! Could you tell me a little bit about how they used Circles?

Sure thing.

The King's Squire and Herald wanted to meet with one of the Mother's Handmaidens to get some information.  He asked for one of the girls who he had been sleeping with after another of the handmaidens was killed by the Bastard.

He failed his roll.  Enmity Clause!

We decided that he let slip that her fellow handmaiden was killed and she hadn't known that yet.  Woops.  Instead of giving him information she just fell apart that one of her sistser handmaidens was dead, brutally murdered.  He didn't calm her down, just walked away, let her go back to her duties.


The Mother used Council Caller to call her relatives in the North in the Raven Citadel.  She wanted to call one of her relatives to send help and we decided calling the  Raven King would not be out of hand.  We set an obstacle and she hit it but it was GM's choice when the NPC arrived.

She sent the king a message, a dream of the grim going's on in the Southern Citadel.  I am going to use that to set up the introduction of the other PC who was missing from the table, a Loremaster sent by the Raven King.

Normally, I would have made sure that NPC arrived that game but it was an abnormally short session and the Mother was being played by a visitor from out of town.  So, it just didn't work out.

But it will add to the overall game.

That was it for circles yesterday.  Folks are just getting their feet wet with 'em and I am still getting used to setting those obstacles.

[Thor Olavsrud]

Excellent. The trick to setting Obstacles for Circles is just to look at the specific areas that the player is seeking to nail down. You definitely don't have to use ALL the potential Obstacle penalties.

For instance, calling the Raven King probably doesn't require much for the Queen. I'd give her +3 Ob for calling a specific person (riffing off of occupations). He's the same station, so that doesn't come into play. Place obviously isn't a factor in this test, and Disposition and Character Knowledge were not set by the player. Time could be a factor, but clearly the player allowed you to set the Time. So I would call it an Ob 4 test.

Setting those Obstacles is a negotiation between player and GM for authorship.

If the player gets a stricken or shocked look on his face when you set an Obstacle, stop for a moment and discuss it.

"Okay, you want someone with access to information about what's going on with the Queen. I'll set that at +2 Ob. Is it essential that she's a handmaiden? Or do you not care? Handmaiden will bring it up to a total of +4 Ob, if it's not essential we'll leave it at +2.  Also, what time do you want to play with? Do you want to find her right now, soon, or do you want to let me decide when the best time to bring her in is?"

The more specific they get, the higher the Obstacle will be. The more they leave in your hands, the lower the Obstacle will be.

The important thing is that just because they choose not to nail it down as a handmaiden doesn't mean that it won't be a handmaiden. It's just that they've left the decision as to who the person actually is in your hands.

Finally, don't forget to color both who responds and their disposition based on the reputations the player brought into play. If the player uses his reputation in the court as Devastatingly Handsome, the result will be much different than if he had used the reputation Merciless to Those that Get in His Way. Sometimes, using a reputation to get what you want creates complications, and sometimes it's just counterproductive.

[Judd]

Those obstacles were right around where they were set.  Sounds solid.  I had the book open, looked it over before setting 'em.

Circles rolls are fantastic.  I think my group is becoming a fan of 'em and the social power-houses have only just begun to get the hang of it.  As I learned playing at your game, Thor, if the roll fails, there's story and if the roll succeeds there's story.

Its a win-win for the table.

[Judd]

We finished this game up tonight.

The player who had the Queen couldn't make it due to last minute plans.  I am full of wrath and bile about this last minute concellation but I have plans to meet with him for a late lunch and discuss this.

The problem with the game is that I didn't wrap it in one session.  So, the out of town buddy who was playing the King's Mother went home, leaving her for NPC-dom and the player who was playing the Queen wasn't there, leaving me to NPC two of the scenarios premiere movers and shakers.

In the end it came down to a Duel of Wits between the Queen's Mother and the Sister.  The Queen's Mother wanted to marry the Sister to the Herald. The Sister wanted to pick her own King.  The sister lost and rather than spurn her mother and go into exile, she elected to marry the Herald.

The Bastard was accused of his murder and went into hiding.  There was a plot between him and an assassin gained during a Circles test that never came to fruit durign the first session by the King's Mother.  The Bastard ended up getting out-Stealthed by the assassin and agreed to do his dirty work, if the Lord Protector made a bid for the throne, killing him.

It went well and would be a wonderful session if it had been entirely player driven.

I will certainly post the characters on the BW forums so that someone could just print 'em out and have an Elf High Court one-shot ready to roll.

Circles tests are the shining jewel of BW Revised.  They allow the players to really author the story and flesh out their characters in a way that is reinfornced by the system.

Duel of Wits is a favorite of everyone at the table.  So far all of the DoW's have been one on one and private.  I was hoping for a grand and public DoW at the end with everyone throwing dice at the heir they supported but it never quite happened that way.

Between this and Dictionary of Mu, it was a good weekend of gaming.