[YGAD/Universalis] Actual play causes YGAD delay... :)

[Tobias]

Yesterday we played a game of Universalis as an intermezzo between normal YGAD sessions.

The reason: we were getting a new player (K), and we wanted to 'level' the playing field for him by giving him some detailed knowledge and experience of the setting and story without throwing him into the deep, as well as introduce him into the group (3 of the 4 existing players of YGAD didn't know him yet). Also, if things went haywire, it would be in a non-YGAD setting, so the 'standard' campaign wouldn't be bogged down by an inproductive abnormal session.

I am happy to say it went brilliantly and good fun was had by all. It did mean I couldn't playtest the new YGAD core I finished last week, but that's small sacrifice to make for a lot of fun (as game design is a hobby, not a job, to me).

We had informally decided that in this session, we'd try to see if we could create (and not kill off) an interesting character for K, but never made it an actual Tenet. A translation of this character to YGAD could of course be potentially difficult, but I've facilitated this translation by changing the merits and flaws I had in YGAD to 'Trademarks' - short descriptors that can be used both as positive and negative modifier in YGAD, mapping (fairly) directly to character components/attributes from Universalis. I may even tweak the 'World Web' rules I have to make YGAD match Uni a bit more - since my group, with its diverse players, took to Uni like a bunch of ducks to water. We may be alternating YGAD and Uni sessions in the same setting.

Anyways, onto the Uni game:

Tenets:

1. Late medieval
2. Continues on the previous sessions

(For this Tenet, a rule gimmick was introduced, allowing the whole YGAD backdrop and continuation therefrom to be introduced for 1 coin. For those who haven't read those actual plays, at the core there are 3 characters, Eugene, disease-stricken circus strongman, Flemens, travelling alchemist/healer, and Dalena, voodoo child lost in space/time. This didn't mean all those components then sprung to life - basically, anything not paid for by coins probably did exist, but it didn't 'mean' anything until coins were paid for it. For those who read my earlier Actual Play posts and the question on anti-kitchensinking Tenets - this one worked really well by confining the story to a well know setting and well-known character. Very satisfied.).

3. The ghostly archer from previous sessions will feature heavily in this story
4. The city the group is traveling to will be reached
5. 2 soldiers will start the story by forcing some sort of response.

By this point, the tenets started looking like there was a story already brewing, so I suggested we just start playing. There was definately a primary identification with the 'own' character from the players, but they all played all the characters at some point. I think the "narration of other's actions" tiles from YGAD had the players prepped pretty well for this kind of multi-character play.

In the write up, every sentence is the expenditure of at least one coin (or conversation).

Scene 1:

On-scene, we see Eugene, Flemens and Dalena in their trailer. Eugene is panicking for some reason (The YGAD sessions had ended with an aura of fear around their trailer). We see a ghostly archer outside between the trees, but focussing on him is difficult. Tripwires have been set around the camp, but the ghost is not affected. The archer fires an arrow at the trailer at the same moment that two soldiers enter the scene, they see the arrow fly at the trailer. Flemens and Dalena think/know that Eugene's panick and seeing the archer is all in his mind. This quickly ends as the ghostly arrow flies through one wall of the trailer before thwocking, quivering, in the inside of the opposite wall. Flemens is convinced of its reality.

One of the soldiers trips as they walk into camp, and the ghost archer notices the commotion and turns and fires and kills the soldier still standing. The archer then float to the prone figure, intent on sucking out his soul. The soldier has a sword, but the ghost cannot loose to people with normal weapons. The sword however is a family heirloom, named 'ghostkiller' (how appropriate). We also learn that the soldier has no soul, due to thing happening in his past. In the resulting scuffle the archer is extremely surprised when his attempt fails and the soldier punctures him, sending the ghost flying five meters backwards and smacking into a tree. The soldier and ghost are both unharmed, though.

The soldier experiences a short flashback to his past of war, and we see him kill his father with the selfsame sword. The sword encourages people to commit evil acts.

The soldier then runs at the trailer, intent on attacking Dalena, Eugene and Flemens. Dalena quickly pulls one of her hairs through her voodoo-needle, Eugene draws his knife's with which he's an expert, and flemens' is knowledgeable of the occult and recognizes the sword. In the resulting scuffle Eugene throws his knife through the soldiers throat, killing him instantly. Dalena screams her head off, causing ringing ears for all, and Flemens is slashed in the arm by the soldier's sword. Dalena moves over to Flemens to sow up his wound, but Flemens, healer that he is, wants none of that and tells her to buzz off, as he walks away to get some bandages and bandage himself. Dalena does manage to smear some of Flemens' blood on the needle. The archer fades from the scene.

A rules gimmick is introduced that soulless character that die become ghosts. A little accounting and retro-coing spending on the soldier makes him a ghost (with scenic dagger-through-the-throat and speech impediment), who is now free of the influence of the sword. The scene ends with cries for help being hear from the forest.

Scene 2:

I start this scene by introducing the friendly control rules gimmick. (I like introducing this one after the first scene, because people will be encouraged to create stuff in the first scene, and start borrowing later).

This scene is set 5 minutes after scene 1. We're in an open area in the forest, with one big tree, to which a man is tied. The man is Richard, rat-catcher with a special flute, who is charming and extremly opportunistic.

Also present are a group of 4 soldiers and their captain. Richard is the one screaming for help, but the captain belts him across the face, shutting him up.

Eugene is shown in close-up as he became aware of the cries for help, we see him look back and yell something like "let's go!". He then runs to the scene. Dalena also arrives at the edge of the clearing and spots the ghostly archer at the other side. The archer opens fire on the soldiers and the captain. We discover the captain is named Karel the Cruel, and Karel is very experienced in avoiding damage. All the soldiers go down to the archer's arrows, but Karel is only nicked. We learn that the archer has accomplished his task (for now), and is now somewhat at rest (normally furious with soldiers), so he fades away.

Dalena tries to be the innocent little girl and scamper up to the tied-up Richard to steal his flute, but Karel is standing close by and he sees her, giving her a slap and telling her to get lost. That flute's going nowhere.

We then have a bit of dialogue between Eugene and Karel. Karel is startled by the possible hostiles (Eugene isn't a very trustworthy or comforting sight) and whips out his sword to Richard's throat, shouting at Eugene that "I'm the law here". He explains Richard has been messing with children and that he will be taken to trial in the nearby city. Eugene offers the use of Flemens' trailer for the travel. Karel agrees, after his soldier have been buried. Eugene and Flemens then have a conversation in which Eugene explains the situation to Flemens, who also agrees. Flemens arrives on-scene late because he picked up the heirloom sword, becoming it's new owner.

Scene 3:

This scene is set a half day later, in the smallish prison in the smallish town. Present are Karel and Richard, who is behind bars. We hear shouting from outside: "death to the childmolester".

Karel confiscates Richard's flute.

In a corner of the shot, we see Dalena, who has snuck into the prison. We see her creep over to the coat/uniform of Karel, and see her sow her fair (still covered with Flemens' blood) through the coat. There's a tense moment as Richard may notice her and betray her presence by his reaction. As she tries to sneak out, Richard's reaction does give her away she's noticed by Karel (again!). Karel is between her and the door, and grabs her and tries to kick her out of the prison roughly. Both of them are pretty pissed at each other at this point. Karel shucks on his coat (to look official) and opens the door to give Dalena the boot, however, he comically missed and falls flat on his ass, as Dalena runs off quickly. Karel slams the door shut in annoyance as we see the camera pan around - right into the small mob of tens of people there, who quickly start coddling and protecting Dalena.

(A sense of doom-on-Karel starts pervading the players).

We learn that Karel is waiting on three city elders, who arrive inside the prison shortly. The chanting of "death to the childmolester" continues outside. Eugene and Flemens arrive on-scene outside the prison, searching for the missing Dalena. We learn that Flemens remembers Richard from the past (and that Flemens has a very good memory), and knows Richard might be a valuable addition to the group. Flemens is also a great speaker, and he sweet-talks the guard posted at the door into letting them in because they are "important witnesses". The guard announces them as he lets them in.

(At this point, the story is floundering a bit as hunger sets in and people are running low on energy. We break for Thai food and continue. Everyone's a bit lost, so I decide the story needs a bit of a kick to get going again).

In the crowd is a dangerous crazyman who's here not out of concern for any of the issues, but just to create havoc. He throws a burning torch on the roof of the prison. The guard sees this and is torn between going for the guy or warning the people inside - he decides on the latter.

In a quick intermezzo, we hear the evil heirloom sword (which is not on-scene) whisper "Kill them aaallll" into Flemens' ear.

Karel is under stress and panicks a bit, telling the guard to close the door against the mob. The guard does so. One of the village elders says: "This situation is becoming to dangerous, we should quickly decide on what to do and who's guilty before things get too far out of hand." Flemens thinks this is ridiculous en tries to convince them. Flemens is charming.

(Confrontation between Karel+elders vs. Flemens and Dalena's voodoo spell).

Dalena's earlier actions with the needle have power against Karel in that he is at a disadvantage to act against her or Flemens (due to hair and blood). Flemens' arguments convince the elders that a fair trial is needed.

We learn that Richard is handy with locks, and he tries to sneak open the lock. Karel notices, however, and forces his Richard to stop. While he's yelling at Richard, though, his coat falls open and the flute falls from it, rolling to a stop at one of the elders' feet. The village elders overrule Karel and tell him to move over and open the door again. They go outside to talk to the crowd. We learn the lead elder is known as Sam the Grey (leading to jokes about him walking smack-bam into a torch and then being known as Sam the Black). We also learn the lock of the cell door has broken due to Richard's messing with it.

The mob continues its chant, adding pleas to let them in to let them kill the child molester. In the conflict between the village elders and the mob, we learn that Crazy Gerrit it the agitator in the mob. His reputation is actually an aid to the elders in the resulting argument. Grey Sam is a respected elder. The mob are spurred on further by Dalena, though, who mentions Karel slapped her and "he tried to touch me!".

We learn Karel is a pedophile, and Dalena convinces the crowd of Karel's wrong. The mob demands Grey Sam prove Karel's innocence. Grey Sam turns to one of the other elders and tell him: "Tell Karel to run".

The roof catches fire.

Inside the prison, the ghost of the soldier (dagger in throat and all) appears. He makes richard the offer: "give me your soul, and I will avenge you after your death". The rules gimmick is introduced that all ghosts can suck souls. The ghost wants to start to suck the soul, but Eugene is still present in the prison. He is immensely strong and bends open the rusty bars of the cell door. Richard is thus free to say no to the ghost, and he sneak out the cell door. As he does so, a big glob of fire falls into the room onto his flute, which was still on the floor. Richard is quick and nimble, and he scoops up the flute. The mob starts trying to force its way into the prison, egged on by Crazy Gerrit, but the people in front of the mob hesitate due to respect for Grey Sam. The city elder tells Karel in some more detail about the trouble he's in. We also learn that Karel is indeed the child molester the mob is looking for. Karel flips and tries to grab his sword to take Richard as a hostage. Richard quickly tries to play his flute to weave a spell over Karel. Richard is quick enough and plays a calming song, making Karel no threat to him. As a further result, Richard is also seen as "mostly harmless" to everyone else. Karel also forgets about the crowd outside.

Smoke, heat, things will soon collapse.

The village elders and Grey Sam and lead the mob away from the prison a bit. Eugene also shoulders his way outside. Richard, in his rush of "I've got control over this situation" also goes outside. The guard, however, is under no such spell, and tries to stop richard. In the scuffle we discover that Richard cannot convince the quard by non-violent means. We also learn the guard is the next in line of succession from Karel for his job. Richard uses the flute and his control over Karel to make Karel attack the guard, cleaving open his head. The guard is VERY dead. The mob sees Karel chop down the guard, and despite the earlier control the elder had over them, this pushed the mob over the edge. As everyone is escaping from the burning prison, the people in front of the mob pretend they will let Karel escape as well, but once he's the last one outside, they toss him back into the burning building and slam the door on him.

Inside, Karel quickly turns to the ghost of the soldier, drops to his knees, and begs him: "take my soul". As this happens, the ghostly archer also materialises, and due to his hate of the soldier fires at Karel, trying to kill Karel before the soldier can get his soul. The soldier goes for Karel's soul, but is too slow as Karel dies, impaled on an arrow from the back. The archer yells at the soldier: "I will always be here so that you will never get a soul", to which the soldier replies: "There are still plenty of people outside". As the scene fades to a close, we hear the heirloom sword laugh wickedly and whisper: "more ghosts for meeeee...."

- END -

Uni rocks, again. :)

[Valamir]

Cool Story Tobias.  I'm very eager to hear how your cross over experience works out.  I'm keenly interested in examples of using Uni in conjunction with other RPG play.  Please be sure to keep us updated on how it works and any tricks or techniques you develop or snags you run into.

I'm exceedingly flattered to hear you've modified YGAD to make it more easily convertable with Uni.

Further, if you have any intention of publishing YGAD commercially, I happily encourage you to include you guidelines for using Uni in the game.

[Tobias]

It's a pleasure, Ralph.

I've been very pleased by Uni, as people know, especially by its ability to draw in the 'non-gamers' and give them a good time. Also, it is a game that just 'fits' me naturally, which is better than a bonus - it's a requirement for continued play if I'm to be the driving force. (And yes, I think a GM is often the driving force of a playgroup - I'm not saying that's mandatory or desirable, it's just my experience).

One of the aspects of Uni, its ease of access (of course, in my case still facilitated by an experienced roleplayer and game-player), is something I appreciate so much I am trying incorporate it in YGAD as well.

One of the things that 'scares off' novice role-players (of the demographic I am targeting) is numerically and rules-complex character creation. (AD&D & WOD fall under this, for novices, IMHO). Not because they are incapable of it - but because all the time learning the little bits that build character and how you 'apply' him/her are viewed as 'dead time' - time you could actually be playing a different game in, or going to the movies, or something else you like. Sure, some games require a heavy time investment (Axis/Allies, Civilization the board game, etc.). It helps draw in people if they can start getting a return on their time investment fairly quickly, because novice players will expect this thing you've described to be 'fun' to be 'fun', and not 'waiting and building so the fun can start later'.

I'm preaching to the choir, here, but once the words start flowing...

In YGAD I am aiming for good descriptive power of the character, with knowledge of the issues that motivate him/her, without serious crunchyness. I hope to make YGAD a game that will be accessible and fun to play for a group of new players + 1 experienced GM, and 'deep' enough for a number of experienced players to be able to jam in it as well.

For that reason, and the fact I find them stale, Merits and Flaws (a tweaker's dream) had to go - because they weren't doing what I wanted them to do, and that is make a character cool and recognizable without introducing a bunch of modifiers and special rulez. Around that time I was tuning into Uni anyway, and I noticed that some parallels were possible. Thus the creation of Trademarks (which I understand is something Fudge/FATE uses as well), with compatibility with Uni character traits in mind, yes.

The World Web (relationship-maplike-thingy) I am using in YGAD has to be compatible with all the other stuff in YGAD, of course, so it borrows from the thinking I did on the trademarks. Since my players like both the character-immersion in YGAD as well as the GM-fullness of Uni, it would be wise of me to allow compatibility of YGAD Nodes/Strands and Uni components.

YGAD is growing, at a slower pace than I imagined, but I'm ok with that pace (now). Initially, I had planned distribution as nicely layed-out .pdf, and that's still my goal. I don't know whether I'll ask money for it, though - I might, if it's deemed viable and interesting enough once I get near the end stage. At that time, I'll have to see whether Uni guidelines are something to include in the .pdf or make a seperate text. If I have them, including them will be easy, of course, since I have no page count issues for corporeal print runs.

Thanks very much for the encouragement to include them, though!

[Tobias]

Naughty, replying to myself, but it occured to me I could actually show some of the character translation that has gone on and will be going on (I expect).

The existing YGAD characters were Eugene, Flemens, and Dalena. Note that all YGAD Trademarks can work both to a character's advantage or disadvantage - just because it sounds positive or negative doesn't mean it always is. (For instance, Strong can become a liability in a court case on violence, or Frail could be an advantage due to a familiarity with pain).

Eugene, disease-stricken circus artist with ruined face, a goal of getting well and a nature of perfectionism, is described in YGAD by several 'careers' (basically, blocks of skill groups that help him perform certain skills), several hobbies (knife-throwing and lockpicking, most significantly) and several Trademarks, namely: Very Strong, Laudanum addiction, Perfect Balance, Underworld connection, Famous Artist, Ugly, and Frail.

In Uni, he came back as:

Eugene
- 5 knives
- expert with knives due to circus background
- strong (3)

And a a bunch of temporary advantages in conflicts. Interestingly, his player commented on the fact that his disadvantages didn't come into play in Uni, but he expects them to come in later. Excellent.

Flemens has as goal discovering the occult, nature of curious. His careers are basically travelling merchant/alchemist, his hobbies are languages, fast talk and geography. Trademarks are Smooth talker, Eiditic Memory, Brainy, High status, Deep Sleeper, Phobia of Vermin, Bad sight, Academic Standing, Academic Rival, Library, Alchemist Contacts.

In Uni, he came back as:

Flemens:
- knows occult
- healer
- (owns heirloom sword)
- excellent memory
- great speaker
- charming

Again, since most traits were bought as conflict-supporting positive modifiers, we don't see his 'negative' Traits yet. I expect the players to get into the characters a bit deeper in the next Uni session, so we'll see those popping up as well. And if not, I can always buy them myself. ;)

(Which means I might have to pay some attention to the difference between "YGADplayer & UNIplayer" vs. "YGADGM & UNIplayer" in any text I write about this.)

In YGAD, Dalena has very few careers ('plantation kid') and the hobby of voodoo. Her Trademarks are Surprisingly Strong, Natural Linguist, Natural Scrapper, and Strange Social Ties. In Uni, she became:

Dalena
- Owns Voodoo needle
- Small and Quick
- Innocent girly appearence

Then, we have Richard, created in Uni, soon to be translated to YGAD:

Richard
- Charming
- Owns flute
- Extremely opportunistic
- Rat-catcher
- Handy with locks

In YGAD, his Value might become Opportunist - thus becoming the first character to have that aspect defined both in YGAD and in Uni. His Goal is unknown. Rat-catcher will probably translate to some careers, lockpicking as a hobby, Charming as Trademark.

Readily apparent things to work out:

1. Objects (Flute, heirloom sword)
2. The 'need' (?) to define Value, Goal and Role as Uni aspects
3. What if too many trademarks become attached to a character? Is that bad for YGAD?
4. In YGAD, trademarks can be positive and negative - is it really the same in UNI?
5. Do I need special Uni rule gimmicks to match the effects that Role, Value and Goal have in YGAD? (Of course, I could just ask my players that and offer it as an option)
6. Who 'translates' characters between YGAD<->UNI? The players themselves? With strict rules, or according to a more flexible interpretation? Or should the YGAD GM do so?
7. The same for the World Web. Players? GM? Strict? In full openness? With hidden effects to keep mystery for the players in YGAD?

(I am leaning for 6 to be a player thing, and 7 to be a GM thing. But have to do that in such a way that the 'normal' players will be encouraged to keep their full GM-fullness in Uni. Too many rules will probably smother the freedom of creativity people can feel in Uni).

Thoughts... :)

[Valamir]

1. Objects (Flute, heirloom sword)

Based on what you have now.  In Uni terms I'd probably make the flute just a Trait of Richard, but the heirloom sword I'd make its own component and give Richard an "Owns Ghostkiller Sword" Trait.

That approach might work for you in YGAD too.  Defining objects with Trademarks just as you would characters (although typically not with values and goals).

2. The 'need' (?) to define Value, Goal and Role as Uni aspects

As you've already discovered you don't need to define anything in Uni until you actually use it, Goals and Values should translate perfectly the same way.

3. What if too many trademarks become attached to a character? Is that bad for YGAD?

Good question.  Uni scales pretty easily between games where important Components only have 2 or 3 Traits and games where important Components have a dozen +.

What you may want to do is figure out the scale of Trademarks that works best for YGAD (Trained Soldier ---> Good with Guns ---> Rifleman ---> M16 for instance) and then make a Tenet in Uni to try to adhere to the same scale.

Or you might find that the scale almost doesn't matter.  I originally had all sorts of scale rules in Uni to differentiate between narrow and broad and wound up scrapping them all.

4. In YGAD, trademarks can be positive and negative - is it really the same in UNI?

Indeed.  The example you used of the Strong trait above could work exactly the same in Uni

5. Do I need special Uni rule gimmicks to match the effects that Role, Value and Goal have in YGAD? (Of course, I could just ask my players that and offer it as an option)
6. Who 'translates' characters between YGAD<->UNI? The players themselves? With strict rules, or according to a more flexible interpretation? Or should the YGAD GM do so?
7. The same for the World Web. Players? GM? Strict? In full openness? With hidden effects to keep mystery for the players in YGAD?

These would make good thread topics in the Uni forum at some point.

[Tobias]

1. Objects (Flute, heirloom sword)

Based on what you have now.  In Uni terms I'd probably make the flute just a Trait of Richard, but the heirloom sword I'd make its own component and give Richard an "Owns Ghostkiller Sword" Trait.

Nit-pick - Flemens owns the Ghostkiller sword. But point taken.

That approach might work for you in YGAD too.  Defining objects with Trademarks just as you would characters (although typically not with values and goals).

That's actually a cool way to make magical items. None of this +5 rubbish, but, say:

-Orc-wounder
-Soul-drinker
-Flame-aura

Some Trademarks fairly obvious, some not so.

I'll have to see how far that can extend to Places or Spells (basically, a spell could be a collection of Trademarks with a specific purpose). If it works well, matching them to Nodes/Strands should be easy, after that.

2. The 'need' (?) to define Value, Goal and Role as Uni aspects

As you've already discovered you don't need to define anything in Uni until you actually use it, Goals and Values should translate perfectly the same way.

Mechanically, there is no need, indeed. It might be interesting to keep the uni sessions going in the same general direction as the YGAD sessions, though.

3. What if too many trademarks become attached to a character? Is that bad for YGAD?

Good question.  Uni scales pretty easily between games where important Components only have 2 or 3 Traits and games where important Components have a dozen +.

What you may want to do is figure out the scale of Trademarks that works best for YGAD (Trained Soldier ---> Good with Guns ---> Rifleman ---> M16 for instance) and then make a Tenet in Uni to try to adhere to the same scale.

Or you might find that the scale almost doesn't matter.  I originally had all sorts of scale rules in Uni to differentiate between narrow and broad and wound up scrapping them all.

Right now I'm leaning to a "let them go crazy and add stuff", just to see how severe the problem might get. I could always challenge new inappropriate trademarks. Or I could have the rule that any trademark not used in 3(?) sessions disappears (after all, if you're not using it, it's hardly a Trademark, now is it?).

Interestingly, this means I could have a 'reward' system that's not based on XP, but on the amount of Trademarks a players may add to his character (and items, places, etc. in his posession). Or maybe Trademarks can be added/removed through actions in the game, and this could be enough reward.

5. Do I need special Uni rule gimmicks to match the effects that Role, Value and Goal have in YGAD? (Of course, I could just ask my players that and offer it as an option)
6. Who 'translates' characters between YGAD<->UNI? The players themselves? With strict rules, or according to a more flexible interpretation? Or should the YGAD GM do so?
7. The same for the World Web. Players? GM? Strict? In full openness? With hidden effects to keep mystery for the players in YGAD?

These would make good thread topics in the Uni forum at some point.

Once I'll get there, I'll put it up. Until then, I'll just make sure to observe the process and rules in my head I am using to translate back and forth, and the discussion/negotiation with the players that goes on. If that happens often enough and is workable, that's something I can write up.

Note: The biggest die pool I have seen in a complication has been about 7, until now (in all my Uni sessions). I'm curious what a complication that would result in one player getting about 20 coins would look like when it happens to us. :)

[Valamir]

I'm curious what a complication that would result in one player getting about 20 coins would look like when it happens to us. :)

Heh, it can be pretty interesting.  Alot depends on how many Traits your typical components have.  If you have a 17 Importance junior henchman, then 20 Coins is just barely enough to take him out.  If you have 4 Importance Protagonists than 20 Coins is enough to redirect the whole story.

In one game I played with Ron we had an Island of Dr Moreau with merpeople thing going on and in the final Complication generated enough Coins to basically destroy the entire island from a volcanic eruption and kill pretty much every character we'd introduced.

[Tobias]

Until now, in my games I think importance 6 is about the biggest thing reached... 8 definately tops.

So 20'd be a big big thing. In our terorrists in the caribbean game, we kinda had an end-blowout as well - but that was just finishing off our coins, no complication involved.

I actually had the one player that left early mail me to see whether we could keep Uni going regularly for this setting.

Shame there's so few hours in a week and so many fun things to do. :)