[Annalise] When "Rome" meets "The Wire"

[EarthenForge]

This is the first installment of an Annalise game. I tried to include some of the game function to a point. I'll be happy to go into more detail if you wish.

All Claims are in bold.

Setting:
We started out with some of the cool things about "The Wire" and combined that with "Rome." Guess we're on an HBO inspiration kick. The city of Rome, around 100 B.C. while Rome is still proud and strong, with a powerful army and a huge empire. Specifically: members of the Praetorian Guard – Rome's secret service and sometimes-police, involved in solving crimes as much partaking in them.

Characters:
*Manius Ursius Triarius – a man with red hair and a scar over his left eye, and a ceremonial bronze dagger he carries everywhere. He is vulnerable because his wife is dying and he doesn't want to lose her.

*Sextus Lucilius Galeo – a broad and towering man. He lost his blood brothers and rose out of slavery and he is vulnerable because he is desperate for a close relationship now.

*Cordia Canus – a woman with long blond hair and an athletic build, she earned her place among the guard to protect Cesar's wife. But she is vulnerable because she always falls for the wrong man.

Phase 1: Discovering characters.

Triarius opens the door of his small house and quickly ushers in a man in white robes carrying herbs. The room is illuminated by torchlight. Triarius' wife, Tertia, lies on the bed, suffering from an unknown illness. As the man tends Tertia, Triarius sits by a small table with little god figurines, and holds one anxiously, casting his eyes between his wife and the unnaturally dark corner.

Galeo stands in an office, before Markus, the captain of the Praetorian Guard, who sits at a table. Markus hands over a tightly rolled, mysterious scroll and Galeo nods and leaves. Next, Galeo, in full gear and red cloak, walks purposefully through a slum until he finds the right door. Pushing his way in, he gives little chance for Ovidius Blaesus to speak. He seizes the man, stabs him, and leaves the scroll, disappearing as quickly as he came. That night, he stares into the darkness, unable to sleep.

The sun is setting on the busy marketplace. Cordia, dolled up for the first time in a long time, stands around uncomfortably, waiting for him. But she's been waiting far too long. Something's wrong. She wanders idly through the streets and comes upon an outdoor party, where everyone is singing and laughing and drinking too much. She sees him. Corvinus has a drink in one hand, and the other is around the waist of Tiberia. Cordia's stomach lurches and she hurries off. A company of strangers nearby notices Cordia and hails her. There's something unusual about them, but she ignores her instinct. She doesn't want to be alone again tonight. 

Phase 2: Laying the Foundation.

Galeo's scene:
Galeo is at the bathhouse and he recognizes Albius Minius, a slave from his past whom he mistreated and who is apparently still a slave. Minius has a long, ugly scar across his chest that peaks out beneath his robe. He is hoping to avoid Minius, but someone nearby calls out Galeo's name, identifying him. Minius walks up to Galeo, fearless. "I know you. Risen in the world, eh?" Galeo is wholly uncomfortable and already annoyed at the confrontation, "Yes. And you haven't – you should have done much better, as I did" and he turns away. Flushed red with outrage, Minius grabs Galeo's shoulder and yells loud enough that everyone can hear, "You were a slave once! How quickly you forget your roots!" And then it comes to blows.

And we have our first Moment. Galeo gains the Satellite Vulnerability Trait: Pride.
Consequence (C): Minius overpowers Galeo (no). Achievement (A): Galeo puts Minius in his place (yes). (C): Minius marks Galeo for the vampire (yes).

So, they struggle. Minius is strong, but Galeo is stronger. Galeo causes Minius to flinch when he presses the ugly scar and gains the upper hand, soundly beating the slave, but not before Minius touches Galeo's neck, causing a strange warming sensation.       

Triarius' scene (in which a connection to a fellow character is established):
It is early morning. Triarius is summoned before Markus. Galeo stands there also. Markus says, "Thank you for coming, Triarius. I understand that your wife is ill – you may hurry back as soon as you are done. I have...a delicate matter for you and Galeo to investigate. I can't trust just anyone. There is a man by the name of Corvinus [The man who stood Cordia up]. He is one of us, but lower ranking...Ah, you know him. Well, then you must know that he is not a wealthy man, and has no family. Recently he has shown some extraordinary displays of wealth, and I am concerned he has dipped into the treasury. I would like you both to visit his small home and see what you can find. You know what to do." Triarius takes the offered scroll, "I know how to deal with treason."

Soon after, the guards knock at Corvinus' door. A minute later, Corvinus, bleary-eyed and still in bedclothes opens the door a crack. "Oh – what is it?" Triarius explains they've been sent by Markus to investigate his house. "Ha! What can he possibly think is of interest here?" And he begins to close the door. Triarius catches it, "We mean to come in. Galeo is here as well." Corvinus only then notices the hulking guardsman and reluctantly lets them in.

Moment! Triarius gains the Satellite Secret Trait: "This isn't how it's going to happen."  (C): Corvinus has wealth beyond his means (yes). (A): Corvinus is innocent but knows of a treasonous plot (yes). (C): Corvinus bribes Triarius to look the other way (yes). (A): Corvinus is linked to a vampire cult (yes). (A): The wealth = gifts from his many "conquests" (yes).

While Galeo is investigating downstairs, Triarius goes upstairs, with Corvinus on his heels. In the flickering torchlight, Triarius first sees a pile of fancy spoils dumped unceremoniously in the corner. Then he notices a man, breathing shallowly, and clearly badly injured, lying on a cot, red cloak hanging near. [It is Ovidius Blaesus, the man who Galeo stabbed, and who apparently has dirt on Markus.] Corvinus explains that the spoils are gifts from lovers and that the man is a friend. He offers some treasures to Triarius "to help his wife." Triarius, goes downstairs and calls to Galeo, "let's go – there is nothing here."

We ran out of time before getting to Cordia's first scene, but it's already shaping up to be really interesting! We wallowed a bit in our understanding of the rules, which slowed this down, and it's hard to start with such blank slates, but by the end things were clicking. Motifs are already becoming evident, the oppression is there, and twisty plots are forming. I'll post the next installment as soon as we play again. Thanks for reading.

-Rachel.

[sirogit]

Hello,

I'm curious about the "Rules wallowing" - What points did you have trouble on?

- Sean Musgrave

[EarthenForge]

Hey Sean,

I'm the only one who had read through the book. And I had the chance to play a session of it some months back at DexCon. I felt I had a pretty good understanding of it, but of course when it comes time to 'splainin' it to others for the first time, some holes in my understanding show up. That, and I haven't had enough experience with this game that I've developed a streamlined way of presenting it. So a lot of it was just your basic muddling that happens with most new games.

What did we have trouble with that was specific to this game? Organization may have had something to do with it. The book has two parts - the rules of the game and how to play the game. There's some overlap between the two. In my mind, the divide seems artificial and makes it more difficult to look something up. I think the biggest question we had was regarding coins in Moments: are coins moved into a trait for a Moment "spent" or do they stay there? Well, we figured out that they're spent, but it took us a while looking under Moments in the rules section only to find the answer under Moments in the how to play section. It was a little frustrating, but I hesitate to make it a complaint, because organization is a funny thing - what seems intuitive to one person is often not to another, so other people might understand the divide a little better. Me, I like stuff in one place as much as possible - it might make for drier reading or lose a certain amount of aesthetic value, but when it comes to needing to refer to something now, it's quite helpful. I'd like to eventually write up a one-page quick-start reference to make it easier on me and everyone else at the table.

The other trouble came from starting with so little defined in the beginning. It's much easier to bring in ideas when there's some constraint or something to riff off or a basic idea of where the story's going. We had the basic setting, so there was something , but in the beginning, all you define about your character is name and vulnerability. And on that you have to frame a scene for them. It's very simple in theory, but it's a lot of creative pressure to start with.

But that is ok with me, because it creates a very special quality in this game which is a joy to be a part of: an unfolding mystery that is a mystery to everyone. There's no railroad. And we can make guesses and guide the story in ways which we think are cool, but none of us knows how these little details will all come together. We don't know who the vampire will be or what will happen. You can say this about a lot of story games but Annalise is more subtle about it and does this particularly well - anticipation really builds. But it's hard to explain. I also love that in starting with a vulnerability and little else, you create instant sympathy for your character - not in an overdone way, just enough.

-Rachel.

[Nathan P.]

Hey Rachel,

Very cool. I'm glad to hear y'all are having fun, and your fiction so far is really interesting!

As to the organization of the book, the intention is to make it possible for people with different learning styles to absorb the information. I don't know if I've 100% succeeded, but there it is.

Anyway, thanks for posting this! Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.

[EarthenForge]

Session #2

Cordia's scene (we only gave a nod to her knowing the other PCs here, but more will come later):
Begins in Cordia's small house. It's the day after having spent the evening in the company of stangers. She wakes up, mind foggy, late in the day (off sleep cycles), unable to remember the previous night but for flashes of random memory. Something about small blackish god figurines. Troubling. There's an abrupt pounding on the door. A young, antsy messenger boy awaits and blurts out a summons from Markus, Captain of the Praetorian Guard. Shaking the cobwebs and grumpiness, Cordia throws on civilian clothes, leaving her red cloak behind and runs to find her boss.

At the offices of the Guard, Markus, who is looking a bit ill, pulls Cordia from guard duty of Caesar's wife, and puts her in charge of investigating Kamraan, a mysterious Persian noble and suspected cult leader. The cult may be involved in anti-sun god (Apollo/Sol) activities.

So she heads to the upper-class cosmopolitan district and finds a restaurant Kamraan is known to frequent.

Moment! Cordia gains the Satellite Secret Trait: "It's more than intuition."
(Consequence): Someone from the cult identifies Cordia as being from the Praetorian Guard (yes). (Achievement): Cordia identifies Kamraan and finds out where he lives (yes). (C): Cordia is smitten with Kamraan (yes). (A): Cordia learns that the cult meetings take place at Kamraan's house (yes). (C): Cordia has fraternized with the cult (the company of strangers) and drank their red elixer but remembers little else (yes).

She seems to know just where to place herself and how to act. Cordia hands the server a coin and asks her to let her know when Kamraan shows. As she waits for her food, she carefully observes the others in the room and her eye catches on a handsome, dark-haired gentleman. He smiles and winks at her, filling her gut with butterflies, and he leaves soon after. The server comes by with dinner, "That man who just left? That was the one you mentioned – Kamraan." "Oh s**t!" Cordia runs off, and manages to tail Kamraan and stake herself near his house. After he enters, others show, two or three people at a time. Her gut clenches – those are the strangers from last night! She has a flash of memory of drinking laughing and drinking a red elixir with them. This is bad! While she's busy watching and worrying, she fails to see Corvinus (the guy who stood her up last night and whom the other guards investigated) observe *her* and slip into the house around back.

Galeo's scene:
At the offices, Markus, still ill, and lounging on a chaise, has called Sextus Galeo before him, and states flatly, "the man you 'killed' isn't dead, Sextus. He's been sighted at a small working-class bathhouse North of here." He doesn't give his worried guard the benefit of further explanation, expecting Galeo to remedy the problem immediately.

Sun setting, Galeo hurries through the slums and into the bathhouse, which is humid and crowded. Leaving his gear by the door, he slips in and spots Ovidius right away, an active man of about 60, torso heavily wrapped, and leg dangling idly in the pool. Galeo doesn't waste a second. He hunkers down next to Ovidius, hand grasping the man's wound. Ovidius pales, "oh...oh gods. Oh gods!" The room clears.

Moment! Galeo gains the Satellite Secret Trait: "Not afraid to get my hands dirty."
(A): Galeo "convinces" Ovidius to spill the beans about his survival (yes). (C): Ovidius reveals that Markus is plotting against Caesar (yes).

What then follows is Galeo's interrogation of Ovidius that involves Ovidius spending much of his time with his head under water.
G: "I *killed* you! How are you still alive?!"
O: "Perhaps your not as good as you think." ::dunk::
G: "NOT good enough! What happened?"
O: "My...friend Corvinus was nearby. He had medicine. A red elixir. I don't know – the bleeding stopped."
G: "Why did Markus want you dead?"
O: "You don't want to know." ::dunk, plus wound squeezing:: "Argh!"
G: "Tell me!"
O: "Markus...is plotting...against Caesar."

More dunking ensues, but several horrible realizations creep into Galeo's mind at once:
* Markus, his captain, may be plotting against the man they've both sworn to protect.
*Ovidius needs to die, but he might be a friend.
*What the hell is up with Corvinus?
*Triarius lied when he said there was nothing at Corvinus' house – is he untrustworthy also?
The scene ends with Galeo exiling Ovidius to the suburbs, hoping that will save them both.

Triarius' scene:
Triarius and Galeo stand before Markus to make their report on the investigation of Corvinus. There are bags under Markus' eyes and he mops his brow, but he refuses to discuss his health with them. Triarius (with Galeo very quietly freaking out in the background) reports that there was really nothing much out of the ordinary.

Moment! Triarius gains the Satellite Secret Trait: "Paranoid of my peers."
(C): Markus doesn't trust Triarius (yes). (A): Markus accidentally reveals disloyalty to Caesar (yes).

M: "What do you mean, nothing out of the ordinary? You're saying that Corvinus does not have wealth beyond his means?"
T: "He does, but his treasures are gifts from his...um...conquests."
Markus eyes him suspiciously. "And you believed him?"
Triarius hurries on to reveal the tip about a treasonous plot within the Praetorian Guard.
M: "Oh?" ::arches an eyebrow, but is clearly not feeling well or thinking clearly:: "I suppose that's not surprising. Caesar has many enemies, and he's done little to remedy that."
T: "Sir?!"
M: ::dismissively:: "If that's all, you may go back to you wife. But keep an eye on Corvinus."

Triarius and Galeo leave together and Galeo is still reeling under the implications. He wants to confront Triarius but is afraid to stamp out their fragile friendship. Triarius gives him an out, "Come to dinner at my house tonight."

Cordia's scene:
Begins similarly to her last. She wakes up late in the day (sleep cycle off) to the banging of the messenger boy at the door. Markus again. She reports. He wants a full account of her investigation. As she begins, Corvinus shows up. Cordia flushes red and gets flustered. Markus turns his attention to Corvinus and scolds him for his womanizing, which makes Cordia blush all the harder. Then she begins her account anew.

Moment! Cordia gains the Satellite Vulnerability Trait: "Gives the benefit of the doubt."
(C): Markus learns of Cordia's fraternization with the cult (yes). (A): Cordia throws Corvinus under the bus (no). (C): Galeo and Triarius investigate Cordia (yes). (A): Cordia gets the additional funding and help (Galeo and/or Triarius) she needs for a proper investigation (yes). (C): Markus reports to Caesar that there is cult activity within the Praetorian Guard (yes).

In explaining the fullness of her investigation, Cordia reveals her previous encounter with the cult members (but tries to work it as an advantage). Markus starts to speak harshly, but Corvinus comes to her defense. Cordia's wrath at Corvinus softens and she starts to wonder if maybe he's not such a bad guy. 

And we had to leave off there – it was *so* hard to stop. "Laying the Foundation" is a great title for this phase because the build up is SO palatable. There should be some intense interactions among the PCs coming up, an interesting investigation, and we still don't know who the vampire is. Could be Kamraan, Corvinus, Markus, Caesar, or...? Also, my character (Cordia) is low on coins and I've been rolling for crap, so I'm pretty sure the vampire will be gaining a hold on her soon. Which is neat! And bad! And neat! I'm so glad we found another time to play again soon - that's the worst part of this game - not being able to play the whole thing at once and having to WAIT. Gah!

[Nathan P.]

Hey Rachel,

I'm noticing that most of your outcomes in Moments are ending up happening, both achievements and consequences. I'm curious as to whether that's because of advantageous dice rolling, or because players have been using Claims to make them happen (or the proportion of the two, in general). I'm guessing the latter, as you have a lot of great fiction stuff happening, but it's something I'm curious about.

Thanks!

[EarthenForge]

Good observation! There have been a couple of Moments where the dice rolling was really lucky, but I think the large number of "yeses" are happening in part from using Claims to alter results and in part because we often think the negative consequences are hot, so we use the higher dice to get what we want and let the bad stuff stand.

I'm really enjoying my character Cordia, and part of me wants to her succeed and have a happy end. But that's only going to be cool to me if she's put through a refiner's fire first. If all this bad stuff happens to her and she still stands strong in the end: fantastic - what a great story of survival and the human spirit. But if she succumbs, after all this struggle, I have tragedy, which is also a good story. So I'm quite motivated to fight for her and have her succeed as much as possible (thus, lots of yeses to Achievements). But I am also motivated to let the fire come and she what she's made of (thus, lots of yeses to Consequences).

I wonder if this will shift though, as the intensity ratchets up and the stakes become more and more demanding. We might become more motivated to fight against Consequences, even if they're cool. I'll find out soon and report back.  

[EarthenForge]

Session #3

My hunch was correct – as the stakes rose with the mounting tension of the story, it became more desirable to stop the Consequences from happening. Some still went through, but you'll see more "no" results. This was accompanied by more Claims conflicts as we each, in turn, tried to assert our will over the story and make each other "fight" for desired results.

Sextus Galeo's scene:
Sunset. Sextus stands outside Triarius's door. He's been invited to dinner. The smell of roasting meat wafts through the walls. He's nervous because he doesn't want to lose a potential friend, but he knows Triarius has been less than honest. Knocks. Tertia, Triarius' ill wife, opens the door first. Triarius gently ushers her away to rest while the servants finish dinner and then he and Sextus sit and chat. At first it's just small talk, but Sextus steers the conversation to Tertia's health and how priests and herbs can get pretty expensive. 

Moment! Sextus Galeo gains the Satellite Vulnerability Trait: Deeply emotional (but awkward).
(Achievement): Triarius reveals Corvinus' payoff to Sextus (yes). (Consequence): Triarius suspects that Sextus is investigating him on Markus' orders (no). (A): Sextus connects emotionally with Triarius by revealing his suspicion of Markus (yes). (C): Tertia reveals possession of a black god figurine (yes). (A): Sextus reveals his interactions with Ovidius and Triarius is okay with it (yes).

As the conversation becomes more meaty, Sextus just starts to dump everything – what he knows about Triarius taking Corvinus' bribe, his suspicions of Markus going after Caesar, and about his own attempt to kill Ovidius and then sending him into hiding. It gets a little tense - they start to call each other on their neglected duties. "Does this dagger mean nothing to you?" Then tempers begin to cool as they realize they're more similar than not. "We wear the same cloak..."

As dinner is served, Tertia shuffles out, Triarius's red guard cloak wrapped tightly around her. She sits, as though in a daze, and reaches for her wine glass, accidentally dropping a little black figurine into it. Triarius questions her – he saw similar little gods at Corvinus' home – but her mind is foggy and she seems unable to give a useful answer. Then she sways a bit and faints. This goes right into:

Triarius' scene:
Sextus and Triarius carry Tertia to her bed.

Moment! Triarius gains the Satellite Vulnerability Trait: My wife is too ill.
(C): Tertia's been bitten (yes). (A): Triarius removes the black god figurine, and her health stops degrading (no). (A): Triarius finds evidence that the figurine came in a package from Corvinus (yes). (C): The package includes a romantic note (yes). (A): Triarius finds evidence that Kamraan is involved in the same cult as Corvinus (yes).

As Tertia rolls onto the bed and her hair falls back, Triarius notices something he hadn't before – a bite mark on her neck. He suddenly remembers the apothecary/priest quickly brushing hair over her neck when he entered the room a couple of days ago. He notices something else, too: a slight paper crunching sound as her head hits the pillow. He reaches under and pulls out a little opened box with a small note inside on fancy paper, "Tertia, you are enchanting." It goes on with praises of her beauty and then, "Please accept this small token of my affection. My friend Kamraan brought it from his homeland in Persia and I thought you might like to have it. Yours always, Corvinus." Triarius and Sextus put the pieces together, and Triarius is left with mounting anger as he feels the sting of betrayal, remembering Corvinus' concern for his wife's health and how he let Corvinus off the hook in exchange for some of his wealth to pay the apothecary priests.

Cordia's scene:
At the restaurant in the upper-class cosmopolitan district. Markus sent Triarius and Corvinus to work with Cordia on her investigation. Although she likes Triarius, there is tension between her and Corvinus and between Triarius and Corvinus. (And Corvinus is nervous because he's been sent to investigate the cult he's a part of). For the moment, everyone is trying to keep cool and focus on the job. Cordia lays out everything she knows about the cult (which isn't much) and awkwardly answers some difficult questions regarding her accidental involvement with the cult and the holes in her investigation. She asks for their help and any useful bits of information they may know.

Moment! Cordia gains the Satellite Vulnerability Trait: Doesn't want to be alone.
(C): Corvinus makes Cordia an ally (yes). (A): Corvinus lets on more than he should about the cult (yes).

Corvinus lets it slip that the cult's name is Noctus. When the others give him a funny look, he quickly backpedals, "what? Everyone knows this cult is Noctus – it's the only cult known for drinking a red elixer!"

Soon, they are following Kamraan back to his house and watching the people who enter. Triarius has gone around the side, and as soon as Cordia has a moment alone with Corvinus, she rounds on him. "You're a real bastard! I was waiting for you the other night and you never came! Then I found you with your arms around another woman!" Before she goes on too long, Corvinus explains he had been sent to investigate this woman by Markus. She starts to light into him again, but he keeps his cool and pulls the "let's keep this professional and put our job first" card. It's total BS, but Cordia is impressed by his professional façade and while she might not trust him on a personal level, she does believe he will be good for the investigation. (She doesn't know he's a part of the cult, although Triarius does.)

Sextus Galeo's scene:
In a slum suburb of Rome, Sextus again finds himself knocking at a door (this really should be a Claim!). Ovidius (the man he "killed" once, nearly drowned info out of, and sent into the suburbs to hide) answers, and panics a little, "oh gods, oh gods, please don't!" "Stop – I'm not here to kill you. Again." Ovidius nervously looks left and right out the door and then cautiously ushers Galeo in. A tense but somewhat friendly exchange.

Galeo, armed with a little more knowledge, demands to know more about Ovidius' cult involvement. Ovidius, sweating, but not looking to piss Galeo off again, tells him as much as he knows. "Look, I was dying. My friend Corvinus was there and he gave me this red elixir. It brought me back. I don't know what it does – I don't care. Who am I to question something that works? The elixir, and the cult, gave me my life back – wouldn't you be grateful too?" Then, he becomes less defensive, even slightly predatory. "Maybe...maybe it could do something for you, Sextus."

Moment! Sextus Galeo earns the Satellite Secret Trait: I will use whoever I need.
(C): Ovidius convinces Sextus to visit a cult meeting (no). (A): Sextus uses Ovidius as a spy in the cult (yes). (A): Ovidius avoids detection by Markus (yes).

There is something in Ovidius' tone that is inviting, but the oppressive surroundings of the slum seem to shake him. He hardens again, and, worrying less about friendship and more about getting to the root of the cult, he takes back the higher ground in the discussion. "Look, you want out of this place, right?" Ovidius glances around his pathetic little house – nothing like the comfort he's used to. "More than anything." "Good. I'm getting you out of here, but you have to help me." Sextus then gets Ovidius to go back to the cult as a mole. We next see Ovidius entering Kamraan's house through the back secret entrance.

Triarius' scene:
Back to the stakeout. A little later that night, Triarius wanders over to Corvinus' post when he's alone. "Corvinus, a word. I have some delicate matters to discuss with you." He then flatly explains all the evidence he has that Corvinius is both involved in the cult and with his wife. Corvinus recoils. "There's nothing delicate about this! These are offensive accusations and I will have none of it! Your scar will have a mate." Then he draws his dagger and Triarius draws his.

Moment! Triarius gains the Satellite Vulnerability Trait: I must protect her.
(C): Corvinus overpowers Triarius in a knife fight to win back his façade of honor (no!). (A): Corvinus tells Triarius the purpose of the cult (yes). (A): Corvinus stops pursuing Tertia, Triarius' wife (yes). (C): Tertia enters the cult house that night (yes).

Corvinus and Triarius skillfully leap and strike and parry with their daggers. But Corvinus makes one wild swing and suddenly Triarius is shoving Corvinus against a tree, arms behind his back, knife to his neck. He leans in closely, menacingly, "what is the purpose of your cult?!" Corvinus' face seems to glaze over, "Nocturnus is our lord. We exist to serve him." "You *will* stay away from my wife!" Corvinus answers dully, "Fine. But it's out of my hands. Nocturnus wants her." (And the audience sees Tertia enter the cult house.) Alarmed, Triarius leaves Corvinus to slide to his knees and runs home, throws open the door, and finds his wife's bed empty.

We still don't know exactly who the vampire is, but we're getting close, and just another scene or two should get us to the Confrontation phase.

[Nathan P.]

BIG SMILE

Thanks for taking the time to post all this, Rachel. Sounds like the game is doing that thing it does, which is always neat-o.