[Burning Wheel] Duels and Destiny or Bang it works

[Kaare Berg]

A little while ago I had an . . . interesting . . .  yeah that's it . . . an interesting game of Burning Wheel. I've been meaning to share my observations with you for a while now, but life got in the way.

As of late I've been complaining about "long time campaign ennui". I was bored and though I thought I knew why I couldn't see a fix. Suprisingly help came from my dear SO, who offered a simple solution. And voila a renewed flame was burning (and yes that pun was intended).

Let me put this into context:
Our campaign has been running for over a year and a half with an average of one or two games a month. The ongoing goal is to fight the war against the Shadow (aka evil) and to see if they, the Heroes,(aka good) win.
At first it was a straight sim game, but as my forgite comprehension grew, it evolved into the sim/nar hybrid we are playing now. Sim when I loose focus, and Nar when I hold it tight.
I spoke in an early, early post of my plot lines within story arcs within story arcs within overarching story arcs and so on. Both Ron and Ralph pointed out the impossibility of these breakfasts, but I relented. This lead to the current situation where the characters are traveling across the continent restoring old shrines to their former glory in preparation of the prophesized war at the End of the Third Age.

These Shrines of the Virtues are an integral element of the campaign world and I was hoping to make them important through the use of the Faith mechanic in BW.
However.
Aside from a few lucky hits (Force of Compassion) they have been more an excuse to adventure than the focus of the adventure. With three shrines yet to be restored before a planned end to the current characters and a restart with new characters 20 years later I was getting bored, and my players were not into it with the same fire we had in the beginning. (another intentional pun)

Then the mother of my child said: "why don't you just start the war?"

It struck me. I had not made virtues important. Aside from their role as a story element they had no relevance to my players and every session we had played in preparation of the war was in essence a Filler. A waste of time.

Lets look at the session in between my last post and the one this is about.

The siege of Woodhelvin was drawing to a close with the heroes trapped inside the inner keep, and the Red Guard preparing for the final assault outside. Things were grim and our heroes prepared to make their final stand heroic.
However, when dawn came, the enemy army was gone, their dead burning in great pyres and their general crucified for his failure. Our heroes cut down their former enemy, Swordthane Eoad, and questioned him. Binding him by the laws of hospitality. Eoad told of the theft of the Stone of Valor and how the Red Guard was chasing the thief, an elf called Arahorn.
Despite numerous wounds they then left the ruined Woodhelvin and followed the departed army. Bringing Eoad the Prisoner with them. After a days ride they came upon a small group of Red Guards licking their wounds from numerous hopeless assaults on a ruin inhabited by a Draugi. As fate would have it, the Swordthane leading these Red Guard was the brother of Eoad. About to enter the trackless wilderness the Heroes traded Eoad's freedom for that of Torwyn the ranger, an errant outlaw that had harassed the Red Guard over time. To spare the noble Red Guards from from a wasteful death the Heroes assaulted the ruin, and with Calem's mighty white fire the Draugi was defeated.
Departing from their enemies, the ranger Torwyn paid of his debt by leading the heroes deep into the wilderness, following the mad elf Arahorn towards the Valley of the Forsaken. Near the Whispering Forest they met an elven host, led by their Queen. She spoke to the heroes, telling how the elf called Arahorn went insane over the love of a human woman, and that in his madness he stole the Heart of Hope, a artifact from before the First age. She begged that they show clemency and bring back the Heart he had stolen.
Our heroes entered the Whispering Forest and soon learned that the whispers stemmed from the twisted spiders that resided there. A fierce fight broke out, and even though Joshuas' curiosity led him into the enchanted webs of the Brood Queen the heroes prevailed, finding their way to the valley of the Forsaken, home to the two Betrayer Princes.

Nice narrative, neh? And that's about all it was. Despite my players injecting some traits and instincts I never once had a bang, or even a fizzle. We had a great time, but that's mainly because I run good battles. And when I couldn't hit them with things to fire up their Player motivation, nor touch their characters Beliefs and Instincts, I resorted to violence. Makes my game entertaining, but easily forgettable.
And it bores me.

So I started thinking. About war, and about though choices.

And I came up with this.

Entering the Valley of the Forsaken our heroes were surrounded by Black-trolls riding Dragon-spawn. Before blood could be shed a warrior clad in white landed, dropping the broken body of Allanorn in our Heroes' midst. Ressurected by Hate the younger brother of Tengel, Theodern, who had been slain by Tengel, proclaimed the return of the Dark Disciple and the beginning of the war. Mocking them for chasing old artifacts away from the frontlines the Champion of the Shadow left the heroes. At loss ,the Heroes gathered around Allanorn, the last true druid, to hear his final advice to his apprentice Calem, "Remember the First Law of the Druids."

Here I gave them their first choice. Turn back and fight the war or press forward giving the Shadow armies a great advantage. A combination of dwarven oaths and a nagging suspicion that the Shadow wanted them to turn back led the party onwards. My ploy worked. I had them.

Having had a magical pyre for the dead Druid, the heroes marched into the valley, leaving their wounded behind. Well into the Valley they spied two places of note, one a ruined castle and the other a bald hill dominated by a giant tree. They followed a small path to the castle where they carefully made their way up to the central keep. As the group entered through the main doors Torwyn the bandit snuck off to explore the second story of this black foreboding keep.

Torwyn's player, Glenn, is one of my oldest friends. We've been bouncing dice together since eight grade. Real life however has kept him away from gaming until some drastic changes sent him back into the fold. He is however, still not quite into the whole social contract issue, and it is unfair to expect him to be able to just jump into a game that's been going for way over a year. Sneaking off on his own like this might have made sense to him, but most of us where like. . . Ok? I saw the possibility to increase the drama so off he went.

Inside the tower the Crimson Prince gave the heroes one of the objects they had come for, the Elven Heart of Hope. He also told them that the elf Arahorn had passed by and that he had gone to the Tree of Life to challenge Rhuineglir the Crimsons Prince's exiled brother. Stunned by this forthcoming ness and aid given by to them by theis supposedly shadow tainted elf the characters rightly grew suspicious and asked him why. To this he responded that he had given them the Doom of the elves. If the Heart of Hope was given to the elves they would rally to the side of good and fight in the war. This would them be their end, and the elves as a people would be broken and scattered. If the heart was refused the elves would sail west, leaving the lands forever. Sacrifice or Save, the choice was theirs.

Bang. It worked. The choice was there in front of them. Now they had to think. However I hate giving them too much time to do so, so focus turned to the balcony above this drama, where Glenn failed to roll enough successes to open a door quietly.

Calmly the Crimson Prince walked up the stairs, confronting the one who would violate his hospitality. Whispiering words so foul and black that it hurt the ears of those in the room the Crimson Prince summoned a swarm of night critters. Torwyn ran in fear, but before he could escape he was enveloped. Blinded he ran through the very door he had climbed to reach and fell to the courtyard below.

It is amazing what a failed steel roll and a good flavour text can do. I think Glenn got so busy getting out of there that he actually forgot that he was on the second level, three stories above ground. It cost him a Midi wound.

Leaving the castle enshrouded by chittering bats the heroes traveled further into the valley, following the path and the trail of Arahorn and the stone of valor. At the foot of the hill they came upon a small cottage where the gnome Greeter awaited them. He told them of how the once mighty tree of life had been corrupted by the spiteful elf Rhuineglir and that it now was more powerful, but twisted. While the heroes discussed the fate of the elves, Torwyn listened to the gnome who told him a secret of the tree. Night fell.

They had learned that the guardian of the tree could not leave the hill, nor could he die, unless bested in single combat, when the victor would become the new guardian. However all who failed and fell in in this duel to the death became slaves to the tree. Glenn had learned some more, but the others did not listen to him.

Early next morning they climbed the hill, soon spotting the grim remainders of the other challengers who had failed to best the tree's guardian. Their heads hanging from the boughs as oracles. There they found the head of Arahorn, who told Allen the truth of his lineage. Allen had found his secret childhood friend, and long lost father, dead under the tree. Jumping down among them came Rhuineglir, arrogantly taunting them. Tengel took the bait and challenged the elf.

Ironically this happened just as Glenn realized the second option available.

What followed was the most intense fight so far in BW. Tengel got his butt handed to him and was on the ground, when the elf began to taunt him, giving Tengel just the chance he needed to regain his feet, pass a steel test and run the elf through. All in two exchanges.

Now Tengel became the champion of the tree. But who was the master was very much in doubt.

What happened afterwards is the subject of another post, but what I am hoping to show here was how the application of two simple bangs and the pushing on some BITs give a better game than all the words grand plots.

Bang one: Go back and fight the war, or press forward leaving the lands to fend for them self.

Introduced at an early stage this made the players choose this story. Thus they automatically had their stakes raised. They knew they better be successfull, or this entire escapade would set them back in the grand scheme of things.

Making
Bang two: Sacrifice or Save the Elves.

More poignant. They had sacrificed time which they did not have, only to be faced with a second dillemma. Leading them onwards towards the three, where a third bang was waiting. One they never got to cause Christian played Tengel to the hilt and chose option A without waiting to learn Option B (which Glenn had just learned).

This naturally lead to a next bang, but this involved som other issues, involving Battered player syndrome and that is a matter for another post.

To me, contrasting these two sessions, gave me my first real clear insight into the power of Bangs and I figured I'd share it with you.


Thank You Forge.

[Luke]

thanks, Kaare. I'm very interested to see your follow post so I can get the big picture!

-L

[Yokiboy]

Hello Kaare,

Sounds like you're having a great time, and I really liked some of those Bangs.

Good work,

Yoki