Son of Iron Game Chef!

[Eero Tuovinen]

OK, this is getting slightly ridiculous. Pretty soon I'm winning just because everyone has forgotten good old home cooking and nobody else cares to have some good ol' tolkienist sensibilities here... I'll have you remember that ice melts in Araby, or I would if it weren't so obvious that I'm green with envy.

I'm now revealing a significant portion of the Battle of the Frozen Waste in the form of the first phase of play. The game is divided into two phases, of which this is the first. I'm afraid the text gets only denser, I'll probably have to restructure and rewrite the whole after I get it all done, with hopefully some play examples. I won't be explaining this yet, though; that'll be the last, when I interpret the masterpiece for the masses...


Waiting for Dawn

When the play is prepared the players move into the first actual phase. This is "Waiting for Dawn", the time for introductions, expositions, building suspense and preparing surprises. During this time the players ready themselves for the chaos of the battle proper, and the characters gird themselves for the very same confrontation. If the battle is the great climax, this is the build-up.
   
Play will progress with players taking turns to interact with the setting, NPCs and other player characters. Other players not currently in character will communally take on the traditional GM tasks, preserving the domains outlined in play preparation (that is, the Ambassador won't describe any Order stuff or play Order NPCs, and the Order players won't play wilderness or monsters). The point here is two-fold: first, the players will have opportunities for detailing (and therefore strenghtening) their characters, and second, they have the opportunity to perform heroic deeds to better the Order's chances in the coming confrontation. A central decision is how much effort the players put toward each of these goals, and whether they strive for the artefact option detailed in the chapter about the Chalice of Doom.

   When a player gets a turn during the Waiting he will draw a fist of stones from the Bag and place it in his free stones for all to see. As usual, the fist may be empty. When the Bag is empty the Waiting will be at end and dawn will come. The players can easily judge some rough approximation of how many stones are left and can apply the knowledge to the flow of time and other such matters. It's assumed that the play will start during the day before the Battle, during the march of the Order. Where the players take it from there is largely in their hands, but most characters will probably spend the night in camp to get at least a little rest.

   The Ambassador doesn't get a regular turn during the Waiting; instead His minions and pure will will harass the Order in various ways. If all goes well for him he will be that much more powerful come the morn. Maybe the Order will break during the night and the whole battle becomes unnecessary, who knows.

   The order of player turns can be arranged to whatever's convenient, and characters can act out of turn if applicable. The goal is however that all players get roughly the same amount of turns in the sense of possibilities for conflict. Their characters can assist others and be all over the place if appropriate, but the mechanics of a turn apply only to the current player.

During each of his turns the player will perform the following actions:
1) Draw a fist.
2) Frame a scene.
3) Play the scene.

   The appropriate scene with it's mechanical results is played to a completion, after which it's the next player's turn. The detailed explanation of the actions follows.

   1) Draw a fist: as already intimated, the player will take a fist of stones from the Bag and put it on the table with his /free stones/. These are used later to play the scene. If the Bag is emptied this is the last scene of the Waiting.

   2) Frame a scene: the player has complete control over the scene his character will appear in. The player may decide that other characters or NPCs are in the scene and may arrange matters within bounds of believability to his satisfaction. The scene may happen in the present of the Order's march or camp, or in any past or future point of time. The latter kind of scenes are played with exactly the same rules as other scenes, but are assumed to be fiction of some kind (either flashbacks, fantasies or plans). Players still always play their own characters and appropriate NPCs in all scenes, and will later acknowledge the truth of facts established in flashbacks. It's assumed that anything the players frame is consistent in some frame of reference with the other scenes already established, making a logical whole.

   3) Play the scene: The scene is played according to the guidelines given above. Every scene ends after a conflict resolution is narrated, regardless of the conflict in question. A scene may also end without a conflict when the players of all characters in the scene agree. In this case the player may invest any amount of his free stones in an /advantage counter/, which are explained a little later.

During the playing of the scene all players except the Ambassador player can start conflicts whenever they wish by taking their character or a NPC and placing it in odds with another character. If another player capable of controlling the opposition concents, a conflict is started. This is played as indicated in the last chapter, and the Ambassador player may take part. A player may make his character or NPC do anything at all as long as another player does not declare conflict. A conflict can only be started when a character tries to do something active, so in effect you need two players willing to start a conflict.

   A player can bring his own character or NPCs to the scene whenever they wish, as well as narrate other events they prefer. If another player disagrees, he can start a conflict like in the case of characters disagreeing. If a conflict is so abstract that it has no actual plot significanse it's not narrated at all and any winning stones are discarded without repercussions. Examples might be arguments about control of NPCs, or whether the parthians are drunk on wine before the battle or not. This kind of abstract conflict /doesn't/ end the scene. A conflict is to be considered abstract if no character is present and able to either use or gain traits from it.

   The Ambassador doesn't get turns during the Waiting, but he can still narrate anything concerning the frozen waste. He cannot start conflicts, but can join in on conflicts started by the other players. The Ambassador character is considered to be in the scene for trait use and gain whenever the scene takes place in the frozen waste (that is, any time it's not a flashback or similar about the midlands or some other faraway place).

   During the Waiting all stones discarded by the other players are added to the Ambassador's free stones. Stones discarded by the Ambassador are returned to the reserve.

When a player gains an advantage counter, he puts the stones used to buy it aside with a short note about the situation where the counter was gained. Gaining an advantage counter is a sign of a benefit that has accrued for the Order in general, and thus the narration should probably tell about alliances, new intelligence about the enemy, a commando strike at the demons or powerful magics gained, as examples. Something that will help the Order in the future. Any player may during the scene announce the advantage counter, at which stage the other players have to either accent or announce conflict with whatever is the in-game reason for the counter. If two players resist the advance counter (not counting Ambassador), they can postpone both the counter and the conflict to a specified later stage of the scene, if they should so wish.

   If the advantage counter goes through, the players will narrate it based on the stones the staging player put in the counter. This happens in a way similar to the narration of conflict resolution, with each stone providing color based on it's meaning. The scene ends after this counter narration.

   Advantage counters are used in the next phase to sway the outcome of the battle. Hopefully they will be enough, because the Order is otherwise horribly outnumbered.

[Crackerjacker]

One thing I can say about my game: it's "survival comedy" that, like most of my ideas for systems, is not conventional in the way the system defines the boundaries and capacities of the game. Look for a tasty teaser some time later tonight/tommorow morning.

[Jonathan Walton]

Time to bring out the big guns, i.e. GummiBears/Asterix-influenced mechanics and a whole lot of Color...

-----

Seadog Tuxedo: System, Part Two


Dawnwine

Deep in the Summer Isles, the Fortress Impervious houses the vineyards of the Sun-god himself, carefully tended by the Cult of Sun-Worshiping Shaman-Wizards.  Grapes shine like tiny solar orbs, bursting with warm juice: the nectar that sustains the entire immortal civilization and it's autocratic priesthood.  Sungrapes can be ritually prepared, through ceremony and (if they're available) penguin sacrifice, to create a divine elixer known as The Essence of Dawn.  This ambrosia not only extends the life of humans, but endows them with the solar fury of their patron, empowing the Sun-Worshipping Shaman-Wizards with the moxie required to kick serious ass.

To pirates, this drink is known as Dawnwine.  Why do they bother raiding the Summer Isles so much?  Dawnwine.  After all, pirates do their best to keep the drink out of the hands of the Sun-Worshipping Shaman-Wizards, who will only use it for evil, extending their lives and using their solar magic to subdue Decent Human Beings.  Besides, have you seen what Dawnwine can do for pirate penguins?

When drunk by a penguin pirate, Dawnwine also empowers them with serious moxie, represented by an immediate projection of their Idiom out into the world.  If Forked Lightning, for example, downed some Dawnwine before confronting the enemy, electric arcs would erupt from his diminuative penguin body, making him near-invincible for a short period of time.  He could hold off an entire army by himself, as long as he managed to get away before the effect of the ambrosia wore off.


Narration Rules

Seadog Tuxedo uses a turn-based system of free narration.  Play proceed in a circle, with each player giving a brief description of what their character does.  This narration is basically unlimited, as long as it fits within the genre and color of the game.  Pirate penguins can swing from chandeliers, sneak through towns under the cover of dark, pull off amazings stunt of spectacular daring, all by their player simply narrating what happens.  Likewise, the GM (or other players, if you have enough) should narrate for the Sun-Worshipping Shaman-Wizards and other significant characters.

This means that, in practice, confrontations are like duels.  No one ever fails to do what they narrate, but no one gets narration rights over someone else's character.  For example:

SWSW #1:  "Aha, Forked Lightning!  We meet again!  I'm going to burn you to a crisp you scurvy scalliwag!  Reaching into my belt, I pull out a magic solar wand and fire bolts of heat at the penguin!"

FL:  "That's what you think, Villain!  I scamper nimbly out of the way of a few bolts, before lauching myself in the air, sword swinging!"

SWSW #1:  "I step out of the way and wiggle my eyebrows menacingly.  You've overestimated yourself, this time, little one...  Face the wrath of the sun!  I fire a blast at the gunpowder barrel he's standing next to, causing it to explode in a cloud of heat and smoke!"

FL: "Rolling out of the way, Forked Lighting emerges looking slight burnt and bruised, but he smiles triumphantly, though in pain.  Is that the best you can do, you old fake!  I pick up a barrel of Dawnwine, obviously feeling a bit weak, and throw it into the ocean, jumping on top and paddling it back towards the iceship!"

This pattern of unchallenged narration can be broken by one of two ritual phrases, which indicates that an opponent is challenging what you've just narrated.

For those opposing the heroes, this phrase is: "Cute trick, pirate!"  Oh no!  Pirates can't be cute!  This sends a shock to the Pirate's psyche and requires them to roll or risk going into cute Penguin mode!

For the pirates, their challenge phrase is: "Not so, bozo!"  Bozo?  But... but... Sun-Worshipping Shaman-Wizards don't mean to be evil and cruel.  They're just Decent Human Beings that do what's necessary to preserve their way of life.  Better roll or risk succombing to compassion and weakness.

Rolls are done Risk-style, with the narrator getting 2 dice (d6's) and the challenger getting one.  The narrator simply has to beat the challenger's roll, but the challenger automatically succeeds on a 6.  Whoever wins the roll gets to re-narrate the last action, ignoring the rule about not narrating for other characters.  Failing to overcome a challenge means the narrator's character reverts to "sweet" mode (Penguin or Decent Human Being, depending).  Having your challenge ignored means that you can't issue another challenge for the remainder of the scene.

Continuing the example:

FL: "I pick up a barrel of Dawnwine, obviously feeling a bit weak, and throw it into the ocean, jumping on top and paddling it back towards the iceship!

SWSW #1: "Cute trick, pirate!"

They roll.  FL gets 2, 4.  SWSW gets a 5.

SWSW #1: "Forked Lightning leaps onto the floating Dawnwine barrel, but it rolls out from under his feet, causing him to fall unceremoniously on his rear end.  He looks dazed and very cute and adorable."

FL:  "Help!  Help!  Somebody help me!  Oh, the evil man is going to get me!"

Alternately, it could go the other way...

SWSW #1: "Cute trick, pirate!"

They roll.  FL gets 2, 4.  SWSW gets a 3.

FL:  "The Shaman-Wizard calls for his troops to come get the pirate, but when they rush to the edge of the pier, the ones in the rear bump into the ones in front, causing a domino effect that ends with the Shaman-Wizard flying unceremoniously into the brine!"

SWSW #1:  "Hack, spit, cough!  Curses, foiled again!  I'll get you, you... pirate!"

Idiom-based narration (as opposed to that based on Pirate or Sun-Worshipping Shaman-Wizard concepts) works a bit differently.  Erruptions of Idiom result from drinking Dawnwine.  This makes a character's actions unchallengable for 2D6 turns, rolled the turn when the Dawnwine is drunk.  Furthermore, the character is able to narrate supernatural effects into their actions, as long as those effects are part of their Idiom.  Additionally, those empowered by Dawnwine suffer no ill effects from losing a challenge.  They retain total control of their character, the winner isn't allowed to narrate for them, and they can freely challenge again on their next turn.  All of these powers are lost once their turns of Dawnwine-empowerment are up.

Conflict is complicated by two Dawnwine-empowered characters facing off against each other,.  In such cases, rolling works similarly, but both characters roll two dice and BOTH have to be higher for one side to triumph.  Otherwise, nothing happens.  [EDIT:  "Nothing happens" means that no side gains a distinct advantage.  All narrations still succeed as normal and supernatural effects are probably flying all over the place.] The consequences of losing a Dawnwine challenge are different as well, and make no distinction between challenger and defender.  Whoever loses a Dawnwine confrontation immediately looses the powers of Dawnwine and should probably run, since the other character is still empowered and can challenge without restrictions or fear.


The Power of Being Cute and Decent

Once a character is in Penguin or Decent Human Being mode, they cannot be challenged, but they are officially banned from being badass.  Everything they do should be as cute and innocent as possible.  They can still try to run away or escape, but no actions of daring or crazy stunts are possible.  

However, no real harm can ever befall someone cute or decent.  This is the secret power.  While sun-worshiping shaman-wizards hate pirates with all their hearts, they really have a soft spot for cute penguins.  Likewise, even pirates have a code of honor and refuse to hurt or humiliate Decent Human Beings.  This is what protects them from challenges.

Additionally, cute and decent characters are much more successful, socially, than pirates or sun-worshipping shaman-wizards.  Normal people won't give a pirate the time of day.  If the scurvy seadog wants something, they'll have to fight for it (and most gladly do).  Pirates never get anywhere in relationships with humans.  Whatever they do, the pirate will always been a mangy seadog, worthy of contempt.  Likewise, everyone hates sun-worshiping shaman-wizards, even their own people.  They're stupid, egocentric tyrants that whine like babies whenever the pirates succeed in stealing some Dawnwine.  Everyone resists their rule, but the shaman-wizards also have the power to take what they want (and most gladly do).

However, once a pirate has switched into cute Penguin mode, or a sun-wizards reveals themselves to be a Decent Human Being, things really change.  Humans are always more than happy to assist cute penguins (though shaman-wizards, being badass, don't succumb to this weakness and can get people to obey them, and not the cute penguin, out of fear).  I mean, who can resist cuteness?  Also, penguins and other humans will always treat Decent Human Beings like they would want to be treated themselves.  That's the humane thing to do.  Pirates, however, regularly steal and plunder and beat people up, so they're immune to such tactics.


Next Episode: Iceships, becoming marooned on the Summer Isles, Gregory (the shaman-wizard's penguin assistant), and Isabel (Volcano Raga's traitorous and very hot pirate daughter).  Don't touch that dial!

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, I can't believe I forgot this part!

Whenever your character drinks some Dawnwine, you (the player) have to take a shot of the cheap rum or whatever you're using.  And that's definitely cheap gold rum.  I mean, it's frickin' Dawnwine we're talking about here!  I don't care if it's nasty.  Suck it up!

Also, drinking Dawnwine is the only time anyone can drink any rum (or whatever).  So part of the incentive for pirate pillaging is to get more rum for the players. ;)

[hanschristianandersen]

Dammit Jonathan, quit it!  You're making the rest of us look bad!

*smacks Jonathan upside the head with a slushball*

[timfire]

CUTE TRICK, Jonathon!

Just wait 'til everyone sees my Dark-Samurai-Fantasy cooking!

[Zak Arntson]

Terra Australis

I tricked you all! I don't believe in swordfish! It's squid all the way down.

---

In this post: Example play script, with light mechanics notes, highlighting two features of play. Fighting with monsters and creating your Terra Mythos. I want any conflict to further the story; there are _no_ whiffs. Conflict is physical, emotional or mythos, without yes/no outcomes. It is more, "Do we get in more trouble? Or do we solve a problem?"

---
Setup
Established facets of the Mythos are called Evidences (because they are not entirely factual). The default beginning to the game are the following Evidences:
Terra Australis: A vast maze of islands where Antarctica would be.
The World Royal Society: A coalition of great thinkers from all over the world.
Bastion: A growing compound created in response to the threats from Terra Australis. It is on Van Dieman's Islands (modern day Bellamy Islands), in Horror's Bay, surrounded by ice and snow.
Robert Hooke: Ambitious and frighteningly intelligent leader of the World Royal Society in Bastion. Not only does he preside over Bastion's scholarly goals, he addresses the practical, such as overseeing the Bastion's ongoing construction.

For this example, the players have established these Evidences during the "setup/social contract" phase of the game. The Evidences are required to handle the following: What are the Player Characters? What was the enemy's first assault? What is the weird globalizing science which gave rise to the World Royal Society? What is this strange enemy?
Irregulars: Pronounced 'ee-regular' for a bit of flair. They are discovered in many ways, some being born, others found frozen in Norwegian ice, and so on.
The Great Fire: The worldwide event that prompted the formation of the World Royal Society. Horrible cults summoned or released great salamanders to threaten the entire world. These
Coalhearts: The Night of Fires left behind weird burning coals which cannot be extinguished, provide a limitless source of bitumen, and which, when worked upon by various means (depending on the culture that uses it, from clockwork to prayer), allows instant communication. They are called Coalhearts, as they were found in the smouldering corpses of the Terrors. Because of their rarity, they are hoarded by the Royal World Society and used very sparingly.
Terrors: Monsters unleashed in the Great Fire, and discovered to be spawning from somewhere south of all civilization.

There is the GM and two players, Grace and Mark. Grace is playing Kleykir, a massive Viking brute found in Norwegian ice (who, incidentally, has a body temperature a few degrees below freezing). Mark is playing Vedun, a psychic squid-headed scholar from India who wields a cane sword in combat. There are a pair of NPCs, human companions. There have been no relationships made, yet, so the humans are handled simply by some measure of a) respect for monsters, b) fear of monsters, c) possibly some effectiveness. Their names are Li and Becher.

---
Example Script: Monster Fight w/ Mythos Creation

GM: As you descend the rough-hewn steps, you realize they are stone beneath a layer of pitted ice. The cave is growing warmer, slightly more bearable. The tunnel is bigger, now. Carved pillars, dusted with frost, rise to an icicled roof. Sunlight is thrown in by the snowy entrance, and casts weird shadows. The other end of the cavern could be an ornamented door or a giant statue; you're not sure.
Grace: It's going to be a slumbering guardian. And we're going to wake it up. [conflict mechanic: fails to create a fightable monster] Oops, it's long-dead and mummified.
Mark: [somehow gains control of the conflict, and uses this chance to add Evidence] It smells awful, and Li recognizes the thing from the library at the Bastion. It's called a [consulting Terra Australis sourcebook of weird & occult names] re'em, a terrible beast of which only two exist at one time. It gives birth before dying to a pair of twins.
GM: [Mark can give NPC Li direction, but the GM actually plays NPCs] Li lights a lamp and advances into the cave. He tells you of the re'em, and shines his lamp upon the beast [GM embellishing the new Evidence]. 'See how its three eyes see in all directions, and three horns gore its enemies?' Li grabs Becher's arm as Becher goes to touch the thing.
Grace: 'Vedun, can you feel anything?'
... at this point it can be a conflict, or the GM simply narrates. The GM chooses conflict ...
GM: Mark, Vedun feels a sinister presence, whispering in your mind in two discordant tones. You feel an ethereal stirring from the re'em! [GM instigates fighting conflict, psychic in Vedun's case].
Mark: Vedun closes his eyes and writhes his tentacles [spending some resource to bulk up success, but still fails].
GM: The re'em stirs, but only its belly. From its womb two horrors tear free! One swings its hairy paw at Vedun, sending him into a column. Vedun collapses to the ground, moaning.
Grace: Kreykir hefts his axe. Time to get rough on these guys! I'll decapitate one of them! [conflict mechanic, Grace gains ground]
GM: You swing your axe into its neck and are sprayed with black blood!
Mark: [his character is low on resources, but not out of action] Vedun rises from the column and draws his sword. He lunges at the uninjured re'em. [conflict mechanic, Vedun loses ground, sacrifices a resource, in the form of an NPC]
GM: You draw your sword, and advance to save save Becher. The bleeding re'em collapses on him, squashing him.

---
And so play continues. Already the group has established a particular monster and some of its features. This can be built on and changed and so on. Perhaps later, they meet more re'em, and the lore was wrong about there only being two on earth. Maybe they drag a re'em corpse back to the Bastion, only to have it give birth to two more. Or maybe the re'em are guarding something terrible, and the group continues deeper into the cavern to investigate.

A character will consist of a conflict resolution ability/resource (for using your character's abilities, whether it's fighting, shooting, whatever), and an Evidence creation/modifiation resource. NPCs also count as a shared resource. To heighten the value of NPCs, I'll say that you get more oomph by sacrificing/damaging an NPC if you have a relationship with him/her. Same with PCs, possibly.

I want to have some sort of dwindling resource to create tension. PCs should always have a chance to overcome conflict, though. I'm thinking some sort of "spend resource, reroll failure" (like Dying Earth) or "see odds, spend resource to increase odds" type of thing.

Lastly, when somebody 'fails', everyone has a chance to turn it into something else. If you fail in a conflict, someone can use the failure to create/modify Evidence and vice versa. Or you can shift the conflict into a different direction. I want all the players to be very active, so if there is no current conflict, you just create one.

[Jonathan Walton]

Dammit Jonathan, quit it!  You're making the rest of us look bad!

CUTE TRICK, Jonathon!

I'm not the one you guys should be worried about, believe me.  I never win, because I post often and early, right as the inspiration hits.  By the time the food hits the judges' table, it's already cold.  People have gotten used to the ideas, and it's never as fresh and exciting as whatever dark horse flavor-of-the-week rolls in near the end (at least, that's my excuse; sometimes the later designs are just better).

Nevertheless, I keep doing things this way to up the ante.  Somebody has to be out there in front, doing the flashy design thing.  It's a challenge.  Think your samurai can take my penguins, Tim?  Bring it!  This is about us pushing each other to design better.

*throws snowball at hans and runs towards the house for more cocoa*

[Dav]

Holmes-sama:

With everybody smacktalking their way through this contest, and with my mind fraying at the attempts to understand how some of these games manage to get labeled with the brush of "fantasy" (the main fantasy seems to be in their designers' hopes of defeating me).  Good ol' Walt, who cooks up a fine game... though he has never faced the likes of me.

So... uh, let's talk odds...  Walt has the belt, so he's the favorite to win.  Jack had Ron's "kiss of death", so we know his game will suck.  Hans over there, well, his game isn't called "The Ice Maiden", so we know he is breaking with family tradition.  And I know, I am in a difficult position.  Hell, I can barely recall the last game I made.  So, with Paul-san's greatful permission, I would post odds:

Walt: 1.5:1
Jack: 2.2:1
Hans: 2.6:1 (drops to 2.2:1 if he follows family tradition in the title)
Zak: 2:1
John Walton: 3:1
Eero: 3.2:1
Timfire: 2.5:1
Dev: 2.8:1 (would be higher, late entry, but the title is so... big)
Dav: 13:1
Anyone else: about 3.2:1

Oh, and here's a glance at part of the character sheet for "Broken Vows"

Lived by the: (Cloth, Crown, Scales, Sword) [Circle One]
Died by the: (Cloth, Crown, Scales, Sword) [Circle One]
Sold my Soul for: (Blood, Breath, Flesh, Shadow) [Circle One]

Sins left to resolve:

Soul:  Ice:
        Fire:

Blood-
Breath-
Flesh-
Shadow-

That is all.  Bring it kids, bring it.

Dav

[Mike Holmes]

Rating himself at 13:1, a classic attempt to throw folks off the trail of his cooking. From the man on The Forge who's had, perhaps the most commercial success of all? False humility, perhaps? Or just tactical maneuvering?

And he didn't even rate the first Iron Game Chef crowned. John Laviolette is in there duking it out. Also I think Walton has gotten runner ups in both contests - or are you buying his "too early" jive talk?

Indeed the smack talking groweth plentiful. It seems to be affecting the odds-makers.

(And here's Mike now really wishing that he could get in on some of the longshot betting - I'm going to have to retire someday so I can make a killing)

[Jonathan Walton]

This is the last you'll hear from me today.

You've already seen a picture of a pirate penguin, so how about Isabel (renegade pirate daughter of Volcano Raga) and Azmodeus (the Shaman-Wizard in charge of the Fortress Impervious and the vineyards of the Sun-god).



I'm too much of a honky to talk jive, Mike.  I just talk smack ;)

[Crackerjacker]

PREVEIW, with chapter samples





Dawn of the Day of the Monsters

"Creeper Creek, Texas. The DM seems to of stopped it's movement at that

location."

"Gentlemen, I propose an air to ground missile strike, which will

hopefully subdue the beast so we can capture and quarantine it."

"No time. We'll have to nuke it."

"Texas, you'r going to launch a nuclear strike on Texas?"

"Yessir."

The good news: the tactical nuke dropped on the hostile entity given

the military codename "DM" was far enough out in the desert to not

destroy the town of Creeper Creek. The bad news: now creeper creek is a

shifting landmass somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, an irradiated chunk

of a Gilligan's island carved out of Texas like a nuclear knife through

butter.

The sun was rising as the military final found the island that used to

be the Texas town of Creeper Creek. As the army green helicopters

swooped down over the island the video feed started to give out.

Radioactive interference with the transmition. However the blurring

subsided for a few seconds, just long enough to show the secret

military council what they needed to see: a town crawling with atomic

mutants.

"Send in the O.R.C.'s"

Chapter One, PC's:
In DoDM, the Player's Character is one of the townspeople of Creeper

Creek, now a survivor a nuclear holocaust and flesh-eating mutants. To

make things worst the army has declared the entire island contaminated

with the genetic mutatagens of the presumably dead hostile giant mutant

beast, codenamed DM. Thusly, the army has sent in hordes of goblins

(goblin: derogatory term for U.S. soldier) and O.R.C.'s (experimental

combat soldiers) who are just as ready to kill as the mutants, and a

heck of a lot smarter (well, not the O.R.C.'s). The goal of the game is

to survive, so the characters will have to work together (or stab each

other in the back) to survive as best as they can until they can figure

out a way to escape.

Chapter Two, Secret Military Commander's Only (Gamemasters):
Of course, there is no way the PC's are going to escape. Theyre going

to survive as long as possible, and hopefully die off one by one in the

most glorious and goriest ways. But don't tell them that. You want them

to actually think they have a chance, and when they play that way, by

the end of the game everyone would of had a great time.

Chapter Three, The Madness to the Method (System):
sample of play-
Bob: I shoot it! (makes a gun motion towards the "direction" of the

fictional O.R.C. with his hands)
Military Commander (GM): (thinks: damn that was fast) Ok..um, you were

really fast so you shoot first. The O.R.C. didnt even have time to

raise his gun, it crumbles and falls over. There's the sound of grunts,

squeals and army boots behind you!
Andy: Ok, ok, ok I pull out my revol-
Military Commander: BANG BANG! The O.R.C. command squad fires, and a

bullet bursts through Andy's head. The rest of you, who didnt even

raise you guns, are surrounded and the O.R.C.'s are hesistating but

they dont take prisoners...
Bob: I reach for my gun slowly hoping they dont notice, just edging
Gamemaster: One of the O.R.C.'s twitch
Samantha: I start jumping and shouting! distractin-them!!
Bob: I kick up my gun with my foot and grab ahold of the handle
GM: the O.R.C.'s cut you down in a hail of gunfi--!!
Bob: DODGE! DUCK! ROLL! and I shoot back
GM: The ORCs are on the move and you arent shooting very well with all

that stunts so there not hit and pointing their guns and
Bob: BANGBANGBANG (it's a revolver, I can get three shots squeezed off)
GM: TWO ORCS down, ONE LEFT, SQUEAL-SHOOT-SAMMY!
Sam: I fall down while jumping! (slower but well thought out)
GM: umm..you get hit in the shoulder, and it hurts, a lot.




(This is just a preview, the full submission will be forthcoming in the next few days)

[anonymouse]

I must admit, I'm a little surprised at some of the entries. They are.. they are not what you might consider standard fantasy--

Fukui-san?

Yes, Ota-san?

Sorry to interrupt, but some of the other chefs have voiced similar opinions. They are concerned over what they believe to be some liberal interpretations of "fantasy".

I don't know, I mean, they seem alright to me.

Oh, absolutely. "Fantasy" is such a broad theme. If you go into a bookstore, there are a lot of things under the "fantasy" heading, and just think of how much is simply "fiction"!

Hmm, I suppose that is true!

Yes, the Chairman has been pretty open in past contests, and certainly doesn't hesitate to sample dishes even if they don't exactly fall under the theme!

*laughter from commentator panel*

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the Chariman thinks of some of these entries.

Yes, yes, exactly. I think all of the entries so far fit the theme, in, you know, in their own way. It's very exciting!

[Asrogoth]

Be warned...

The Gods are coming!

[John Harper]

Using three of the four terms in the game title should count for something, right? Right? And I have no cute penguins, piratical or otherwise. The judges have got to be loving that.

Assault Force ICE DAWN

Pre-Game Prep: Making the Cards
---------------------------------------------
The group gets together and does the prep work before the mission. The GM should resist the urge to make cards ahead of time. You will make one set of 10 cards for the group, not 10 cards per player.

First, you need some index cards. You're going to write one word on each card, as directed below. Write the word up near the top of the card to leave room for more notes that you'll add later.

On the first card, write ANALYST. On the second card, write NEGOTIATOR. On the third card, write SORCERER. These cards represent your support team. Put these cards aside for now.

Grab four more cards. One card gets labeled ALPHA, one is BRAVO, one is DELTA, and the last is ECHO. These cards represent your operations teams. Put these cards aside.

Now you're gonna label three cards: INTEL, DIPLOMACY, and ACTION. These cards will be used to keep track of bonus dice during play. Lay them out in the middle of the table.

You should now have 10 cards on the table, one word each.
- Analyst
- Negotiator
- Sorcerer

- Alpha
- Bravo
- Delta
- Echo

- Intel
- Diplomacy
- Action

Now it's time to create the characters.

More to come...