trollbabe

[joshua neff]

Trollbabe: The Adventures of Oga

or

The Game, The GM, His Girlfriend, & Her Character

Last night, I ran Trollbabe for my girlfriend, Julie. The week before, we made her a character, who Julie named "Oga." And here's how the first session went...

The Scenario: "Hunters of the Grey Forest"--Oga the Trollbabe come wandering from the north down a lonely countryside path & encounters a sheep that's been mutilated & eaten. Further down the road, she comes upon two farms across the road from each other. Both farms have had sheep attacked for the past three nights. The farmers are sure its the work of a vicious troll who lives in the nearby Grey Forest, & they've hired Berek, a hunter from the nearest town, to come & hunt the "beast" down. The farmers are suspicious of Oga, what with her trollish features & all. Oga is suspicious of the farmers & their kneejerk prejudice towards trolls. Berek arrives, brought by Gar, son of one of the farmers. Gar seems curious & in a certain amount of awe of Oga. Berek, on the other hand, doesn't like the Trollbabe. He heads off towards the woods to hunt down the troll. Oga follows, but soon loses him. She, in turn, is followed by Gar, who tells her he's friendly with the troll, named Ursh. Ursh is peaceful & nice, & is definitely not the thing attacking the sheep. Oga finds Ursh in a clearing & discovers that he is exactly as Gar said he was. Ursh, in fact, knows what is responsible for the attacks: a dark forest spirit, the Hunter in the Dark. Suddenly, he is shot in the leg by Berek's crossbow. Berek walks in the clearing, axe in hand, ready to kill both Ursh & Oga. Oga snatches the axe away Berek, wounds both his body & his pride, & tells him to head back & tell everyone not to bother the troll. She then decides the only way to clear Ursh is to find & kill the Hunter in the Dark. She waits until nightfall on the edge of the forest, & sure enough, the Hunter comes lurching out of the woods, looking like the unholy spawn of a wolf & a serpent, but walking on two legs. Oga enters into a desperate battle with the terrible beast, finally slaying him (thanks to an accidental assist by the angry Berek). She manages to win the grudging respect of the farmers, who allow her to stay with them for the night (albeit in the barn, as they haven't a bed big enough for the Trollbabe).

The Mechanics: Not suprisingly, the mechanics work really nicely. Julie rolled horribly at the beginning of the session, blowing all of her Social rolls. She decided to save the rerolls for later & let the failed rolls stand, discommoding her by having the farmers & Berek be very suspicious of her. Which fit in nicely with the narrative. (Sure, it could've gone the other way, with the humans taking a cotton to her from the start, & that would've been cool, too. Which is exactly what I like about the way successes & failures work in Trollbabe.) She didn't roll all that well in the big battle with the Hunter, either, & this time she pulled out the rerolls. First, she checked off "Remembered spell" & blew the reroll. She let the failure stand & took the injury. In the second exchange she rolled badly again. This time, she checked off "A sudden ally" &, with my permission, had Berek run up & accidently shoot the monster with a crossbow bolt (trying to hit Oga, angered by the way she easily defeated him in the forest), which distracted the monster & allowed Oga to decapitate it (with Berek's axe!). (Actually, the "Berek hits the monster by mistake" move was my idea, just one of a number of suggestions I gave to Julie on how you can use the rerolls list in the game. But she liked it enough to use it.)
The only thing that comes close to a complaint I could make about Trollbabe is that only the Player(s) roll dice. Which takes a lot of the strain & stress off of the GM, except that I love to roll dice. Whenever I play RPGs, I fidget with the dice. So, it's purely a personal thing. I do like that NPCs have no stats, which makes whipping them up on the fly easier than whipping up instant pudding.

Other Thoughts: This is the first one-on-one playing I've done since...I can't even remember. And it's the first one-on-one playing I've done with a girlfriend ever. (It helps that Julie the first girlfriend I've ever had that actually likes playing RPGs. When I got to her house last night, one of the first things she asked me was, "Are we going to play Trollbabe tonight? I'm really antsy to play.") And it was damn easy. All I had was the Stakes of the scenario ("Safety"--the safety of the farmers, the safety of the troll.), the Consequences ("The monster is stopped or it isn't."), & the basic conflicts & NPCs involved. Julie did the rest, creating a whole mess of story just by getting in there & getting involved. We both had a lot of fun, & I'm looking forward to future sessions (we're planning on playing weekly), which I'll also post about, if people are interested.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Josh,

Yay! I love playing Trollbabe, and hearing about it is almost as good.

The cool part about the "Berek returns to the fight" business is that it shows very well just how the GM and player treat an NPC who's been enlisted in a Relationship.

I assume Berek was taken as an Enemy or at least a Rival, right? If so, then you guys did it just right: the player says actually what the character does (shoots the Hunter) and the GM can say what the NPC thinks or how he does it in some minor way (trying to shoot Oga).

As a comparative note, if Oga were instead using another "check-off" Re-roll item (Sudden ally) regarding a non-Relationship NPC, then why and how the NPC helps the trollbabe is pretty much up to the GM, or to dialogue between player and GM.

Sometimes I think of the Trollbabe mechanics as "no-bullshit consensus." That is to say, everyone must agree in order for things to happen, but every component of the agreement has a clearly-designated person with whom the buck stops.

Julie's (hi Julie!) interest in playing again seems to happen a lot. The game has a "did the job" quality from the first few moments of play that still surprises me.

Best,
Ron

P.S. Don't forget to follow the comics!

[joshua neff]

Berek's reappearance was, in fact, a check off rather than a relationship. I told Julie that it was my perogative to allow her (or not) the use of a named NPC, but since it had been my example in the first place, I said, "Yeah, go for it. Use Berek."

And yeah, from the first few moments of play until the end, it was very much a case of "everything is going well & story is being made."

One interesting thing was really noticing the way the doling out of information works with the Player(s) & GM. Oga encountered the first sheep on the road. Julie shrugged & said, "Well, I'm not really hungry for mutton today, so I keep walking." She met the first farm couple looking over another sheep & they reacted to her suspiciously, but didn't say who or what they thought was attacking the sheep. So, Julie had Oga keep going. "Nothing for me here." Then she came to the second farm couple, who mentioned that they were sure it was a troll who was attacking the sheep & they'd hired Berek to deal with it. Bam! Julie was hooked (Bigotry? Knee-jerk reactions? A kinperson-of-sorts being hunted like an animal? No way!) & Oga got involved in the conflict.

So, yeah, very good first session. I'm particularly pleased because historically, my first sessions aren't usually my best, especially with a new game. Like a TV show, the Players & I need to find my feet before the game really starts getting good. Trollbabe is good stuff.

[Julie]

I'm not going to get ripped a new one for posting only to say, "Yeah, I second that," am I?  I'm commenting purely from a re-nouveau player's perspective.

Ron, your stuff tends to be easy in practice, but if you dig down it can get very nuanced and complex.  Funny how things can be totally spur-of-the-moment and nuanced at the same time. I know you probably meant it to be that way and it works.  

Another thing:  Your games can't be played  by the dummies, and you know who I mean.   Not catering to the lowest common denominator may be considered a design flaw by some, but I kind of like that.  

Josh, don't bring that Gugdamned glittery D10 next time.  It hates me.

That stinkin' D10 was the one I rolled poorly on the most.   I needed 1-4, rolled an 8.  Needed 5-10, rolled a 2.  Reroll needs 6-10, roll a 1.  Darndarndarn.

The good thing about this is even failing a roll doesn't mean FAILURE, as in 'you screwed up so bad, you're going to die,' or 'you screw up so bad, you look like an idiot, may as well quit here.'  No dying allowed, and the idioting is almost totally up to the player regardless of dice.

Someone with some drawing ability needs to do me up a sketch of Oga.  Morgan's renderings, while heartfelt, just don't have the technical flair I want.

So that's all.  When I find my voice and reaccustom myself to being back into this particular pasttime (might take a little while longer), I'll probably have more scathing praise.

[Uncle Dark]

Hi Josh,

Sometimes I think of the Trollbabe mechanics as "no-bullshit consensus." That is to say, everyone must agree in order for things to happen, but every component of the agreement has a clearly-designated person with whom the buck stops.

Huh.  Could (either of) you go into how that works a bit more, or is that the sort of thing I'd have to buy the game to find out?

Lon

[Ron Edwards]

Hey,

That'll be $10, my darling Dark.

Oh, I so wanted to have that be the only content of this post. But here are some links that might help a bit.

New game from Adept Press
More fun with Trollbabe
Trollbabe PBEM
Trollbabe 3rd re-roll question
RPG.net review

Best,
Ron

[Uncle Dark]

Ron,

Thanks for indulging me.  I was wondering what you meant by no-bullshit consensus.  Now I see.

Lon

[joshua neff]

Okay, we had our second session last night.

Scenario: "Witch-King of the Crimson Tower"--Oga is staying at an inn that sits in a lonely range of mountains. She washes her fur outift & settles into the (too small) bed for sleep when she hears a man screaming in the room across the hall. She busts open the door & rushes into the room, stark naked, & asks the man if he's okay. He brusquely tells her he's fine & his nightmares are none of her concern. Oga shrugs & leaves the room. The next morning, she joins the man for breakfast. He tells her his name is Ulfric. He's a warrior who was asked to be the bodyguard for Ragnar, a powerful sorcerer who lives north of the inn. Ulfric, knowing Ragnar to be evil, turned the job down. Ragnar, not taking refusals well, cursed Ulfric with nightmares whenever he sleeps & then magicked him far away. It's taken 5 years for Ulfric to make his way back, & he's ready to go kill Ragnar & end the curse. Oga offers to accompany Ulfric, who accepts, saying some company would be nice. They travel for three days, over which they bond (despite Ulfric's laconic & grim nature). Finally, they reach Ragnar's tower, composed of dark-red stone. They enter the tower & are confronted by Ragnar's new bodyguard, a giant snake. They fight the snake, & Oga shatters its fangs with some well-thrown rocks, then hurls another rock & knocks the beast out. Continuing on, they're attacked by a thick smoke that curls around them & chokes them. Oga summons up wind that disperses the smoke. At last, they reach Ragnar's main chamber. He sits on a throne & snootily waves them off, telling them to leave & not bother him. As Ulfric threatens Ragnar, waving his sword around, Oga puffs herself up to full Trollbabe height & stares at Ragnar, to intimidate him. Using some Troll magic, she causes grass to grow around the throne & rain & lightning to fall from the ceiling above the sorcerer. She manages to cow Ragnar, who puts on a brave face & says, "Bah, this curse means nothing to me now. Very well, I'll lift it. Now leave me be." The curse is ended, & Oga & her new companion leave.

The Mechanics: I reviewed the rules on Relationships before play this time, which helped a lot. (I've been playing without a full copy of the rules on hand, since my printer crapped out mid-printing.) Julie rolled a Social roll & made Ulfric a companion. (With my permission, since he was a named NPC.) This made a big difference. The first conflict roll, the fight with the snake, had Julie declare that Ulfric went first. She said he leapt up onto the snake's head to blind it with his sword. She rolled & failed, but because Ulfric went first, she got a free reroll. This time she succeeded. So, Ulfric was discommoded (thrown off by the snake without blinding it), but Oga managed to shatter its fangs. A second Fighting roll also succeeded, & the snake was knocked unconscious.

Now, I wasn't exactly sure how to handle a Relationship that is forged in the middle of a session with a named NPC. So, I controlled Ulfric, except in conflict situations, when I let Julie take control & declare what his intentions were. It worked out fine, with control passing back & forth effortlessly. But for future sessions, should I run it the same way? Or should Julie have control over him?

I fully expected the final conflict to be a big fight scene, but Julie decided she wanted Oga to be more peaceful. So, she went for Social rather than Fighting, trying to intimidate Ragnar. Which was a cool way to go.

Final Thoughts: Trollbabe is a fantastic sword & sorcery game. I'm really, really enjoying running it, & Julie's enjoying playing it (aren't you? Feel free to ring in here).

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Josh,

The rule for GMing/playing characters with whom the trollbabe has a relationship is as follows:

1) All basic actions, as in, what the person just plain does, are stated by the player. Yup, even when it's a named NPC in the middle of the run.

In a session like yours, basically Julie took over your basic motor for the story, and she had the right to do anything she wanted with it - including having Ulfric decide to give up on the quest and start a pig farm. (That is, after all, a solution to the adventure.) When this happens in a Trollbabe session that I'm running, it's a wonderful thing - it just means I have to look about for another NPC or two to use as sources of conflict, which is pretty easy; in your case, it'd be the sorcerer.

2) The GM provides the person's dialogue and general attitude or outlook on the actions and situations. This is actually quite a lot of fun, in role-playing terms - it's a direct reversal of the traditional GM's concern with NPCs as plot-drivers and information-banks, in favor of just letting him or her enjoy role-playing.

It looks as if Julie's kept the adventures on the "personal" Scale so far. Are you reminding her that she has the right to rack them to a higher Scale between each session?

Best,
Ron

[joshua neff]

Ron--

Ah, got it. Okay, so from now on, establishing a Relationship means transfer of control completely. Cool.

As for the Scale...after the first session, Julie was ready to move up to the next level. But I, myself, wasn't quite ready to move up, & I asked her to hold off for at least one more scenario, which she agreed to. (Consensus is a wonderful thing.) But after this session, we're going up to the next Scale level. And Julie pointed to the map & said, "The next adventure is starting on a boat on the way to this island." Which almost certainly means "the crew of a ship encounters something nasty on an island." Woohoo!

(Oh, I just checked the rules. The Scale up from "personal" is "small group", while the one after that is "organized group, like the crew of a ship." Well...maybe it'll be a small crew this time around. Or something like that, anyway. Or maybe it'll be something completely different.)

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Josh,

Geez, what a bossy, pushy, over-controlling GM you are. Takin' over an NPC who's Julie's, opposing an increase in Scale ... damn, Trollbabe was written to keep power-grubbing freaks like you outta there!

Heh.

Seriously, though. One tiny point: the relationship-NPC isn't completely under the player's control, functionally speaking - the GM's input in terms of dialogue, attitude, and so on actually functions as a feedback-system, providing all sorts of inspirations to the player, so that NPC usually ends up being quite a blend between GM and player. As I say, it's awfully fun as GM to be able to role-play a character but be utterly freed from any decision-making in terms of actions.

Best,
Ron

P.S. Oh yeah! Remember that Scale applies to the Stakes, not to the setting and context of the adventure. You can have the next session take place on a huge big-ass ship with a 100-person crew, if you want - but the Stakes only apply to the "small group" that you (the GM) decide upon.

[joshua neff]

Scales, Stakes--you're right. Sheesh. Anyway...

Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting to play Ulfric as the grim, gritty counterpart to Julie's innocent but confident Oga. Not play as in "control" (in the typical GM/NPC sense) but play as in "I get to make dark, sardonic comments." The flipping around of power & the "no-bullshit consensus" are just part of what's fun about Trollbabe.

And for the record, I'm a very fair & easy-going GM. It's as a boyfriend that I'm bossy & pushy & over-controlling. Ahem.

[Julie]

Hi guys!

Ron: Josh has been closing with the three questions: "Do you want to change your number?  Do you want to up the stakes? Where are you going next?" in that order. So no worries there.   We did decide to up the stakes this time.  I'm keeping my number because this time it did me right.   Poor Ulfric was the only one who had a massively failed action, which makes perfect sense, what with a 5-year case of nightly nightmares robbing him of strength and coordination.  Who knows whether he had to fight anything else in the rest of his journey?    When he was attempting to blind the snake, I rolled a 10.  I needed 1-4.  It was sheer luck that the NPC got this crappiest roll, and Oga got to use her beloved rocks.  

I'm getting a good feel for what this character is capable of within the minimalist mechanical structure.   I think, at least for now, she's less of an axe-swinging battle-crying Amazon type than a diplomat and advocate for individuals who will flex prodigiously, magically and physically, at uncooperatives like nasty demonic creatures and pissant warlocks with phallic snakes who think they can impinge on someone's private mind.  I wonder how that'll pan out in a bigger setting.  Hmm...

We'll see how Ulfric presents as a warrior and companion.  After all, he did see Oga in her altogetherness, and she DID get the curse lifted...I didn't expect to have the "bring the outside in" spell work that bloody well.  I could almost imagine Ulfric thinking, "Well this is a bit anticlimactic.  I came wanting to kill this mofo and I have all this adrenaline..."

The ugly orange/yellow/green dice are more cooperative than the pretty ones.  Word to the manufacturers.  

Josh and I have a good dynamic going as far as actual dialogue and play goes.   Even if we weren't, uh, snogmonsters, I think it'd be that way.  

I will eventually want to see Oga in a group, but this is working great  as a solo.

BIT OF AN ASIDE:
We had a long long long conversation about  game dynamics and their potential as written story facilitators.  My conclusion was this, G/N/S structure totally aside:  When you have a solo game going with a writer for a GM and a writer as the player, you can't help but get some noteworthy dialogue.  I KNOW both of us were thinking, "how would this READ on a page?" while were were having our scenes.  

Damn, we're good.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Julie,

You know, Trollbabe is the only RPG I can think of for which I can ask this question and actually be interested in the answer: what does Oga look like?

Perhaps one of the wicked-fine Trollbabe artists would be convinced to do a portrait ...

Best,
Ron

[Julie]

Lemmee see...

Well, you remember what I look like, right?  Ask Josh if you forgot...he'll tell you on no uncertain terms that I'm so Gugdarn cute I make him sick sometimes.  :)

Buff and puff me up to the 7-foot 300+ pound but proportional size, keep the same general face-ish-ness, tack on some black spirally backpointing-from-the-temples horns, dress me neck-to-ankles in reddish-brown bear fur (so as to appear more trollish, it's her convention) including fur leggings, tunic and cloak; slap a motley assortment of jewelry on both wrists (her vanity, she's a sucker for pretty minerals), have a couple of  bags of big and small rocks  (her weapons aside from the brute force grapple factor) hanging off a belt, and you have Oga.  

She was raised almost exclusively with trolls, hence the big furry clothing and seeming naivete.  The time with the sheep, peasants, Ursh and Berek was the furthest she had ever gone from home.

I feel most comfortable playing someone who has at least appearance characteristics in common with me, as you may have already guessed.  My male characters ended up looking something like Hamish from Braveheart.  Snarf.