[The Shadow of Yesterday] Iron Fists of Vengeance

[Thor Olavsrud]

I ran a really rocking one shot of The Shadow of Yesterday at nerdnyc.com's Recess event Saturday, and I thought I'd share.

I had an idea that TSoY would be great for Wuxia-themed stuff, especially the stuff that Wuxia games never seem to really capture: conflicting lines of obligation, love, unrequited love, honor, face, and bloody-handed vengeance. So rather than using Near, though I really do like it, I set the game in my version of Mythic China.

Since it was a one shot with a four hour slot, I pre-generated the characters to ensure the Keys really hit the stuff I was going for.

Here's the cast of characters:
Lord Zuo Tse: Master of Taishen Sword Sect, and one of the Five Chiefs of the Five Mountain Sword Alliance. Called Gentleman Zuo by the other sects. Master of Taishen Sword Style and keeper of the Radiant 9 Scroll.

Dr. Bao Tien: Geomancer, alchemist and exorcist for the Taishen Clan and master of Magic 8.

Zuo Tan: Eldest son and successor of Lord Zuo, renowned for his Upright Dragon Fist, a Taishen technique.

Bao Li: Daughter of Dr. Bao, and the most beautiful maiden of Taishen. A practitioner of Taishen's Resplendant Crane.

The Lady of Still Water: Deceased, formerly Dr. Bao's wife and Bao Li's mother. Ghost. In life she was famed for her skill with the Courtesan Ribbons.

The Red Snake Fairy: The Lady of Still Water's twin sister, now a vicious warrior of the Demon Cult, feared for her skill with the Fairy Duster and Cold Poison Needles.

Iron-Shirt Shang: A disreputable Buddhist monk famous for his 9 Shadows Boxing.

Justice Wei: An imperial magistrate (policeman) famed for his mastery of the Judge's Pen and Eight-Armed Monkey Boxing.

Devil Yu: Rumored leader of the Demon Cult, master of the devastating Altered Universe.

I gave each of the characters three Keys:
Justice Wei:
Key of the Mission (Catch and Execute The Red Snake Fairy)
Key of Unrequited Love (The Red Snake Fairy)
Key of Conscience

The Red Snake Fairy:
Key of Vengeance (Lord Zuo)
Key of Unrequited Love (Lord Zuo)
Key of Shame (atone for The Lady of Still Water's murder)

Iron-Shirt Shang:
Key of the Mission (Get the Radiant 9 scroll for Shaolin)
Key of Face (Prevent anyone from learning of the shameful truth)
Key of the Masochist

Dr. Bao:
Key of Vengeance (Lord Zuo and his family)
Key of the Fraternity (Lord Zuo)
Key of Love (Bao Li)

Lord Zuo:
Key of Face (Defend reputation at all costs)
Key of Shame (Protect The Red Snake Fairy)
Key of Vengeance (Dr. Bao)

Bao Li:
Key of Vengeance (The Red Snake Fairy)
Key of Love (Zuo Tan)
Key of Fraternity (the Nameless Hero, i.e., Devil Yu in disguise)

Zuo Tan:
Key of Love (Bao Li)
Key of Honor
Key of the Mission (Destroy the Demon Cult)

Devil Yu:
Key of Unrequited Love (Bao Li)
Key of the Clan (as Ammenite Key of the House)
Key of Conscience

The Lady of Still Water:
Key of Love (Dr. Bao)
Key of the Mission (Heal the Familial Rift)
Key of Hell's Geas (similar to Elven Key of the Bloodline, she couldn't reveal her true identity to her immediate family without being forced to return to Hell afterward)

I had six players in the group. The characters that were not selected were Bao Li and The Lady of Still Water. I think it would have made for a very different game if they had been included in the mix. Anyway, I told the players at the outset that this was a PvP scenario, and they didn't have to hold back.

In order to really drive play based on the Keys in the four hours we had, I reduced the cost of Advancements to 5 XP. This worked REALLY well. Some of the players were more adept at finding ways to hit their Keys at first. However, somewhere in the first hour of play, someone initiated a Bringing Down the Pain. Before I asked for Intentions, I asked if anyone had enough experience and wanted to spend an Advancement. One of the players actually had enough for two and spent them both right there and then! After that, the other players instantly grasped how this stuff worked together and they started hitting their Keys right and left and even asking for scenes in order to get to them.

I think most of the players averaged 4 or 5 Advancements during the course of the session, and a few of them had as many as 6 or 7.

I really appreciated the way Bringing Down the Pain allowed us to cut loose without fear. At one point, Devil Yu (who we all knew was an identical twin with Zuo Tan, though it had not yet been revealed to the characters in play) came face to face with Zuo Tan as he was exiting Lord Zuo's chambers. He had dressed himself as Zuo Tan and attempted to make Lord Zuo believe that he WAS Zuo Tan.

Zuo Tan's player interjected himself into the scene as Devil Yu was exiting. After coming face to face, both players announced deadly intentions. This happened about 2 hours into the game. Normally, I would have been concerned at the possibility of one character killing the other this early on (and thus taking one player out of the game), but I decided to sit back and let the rules do what they were designed to do.

We played out a few rounds of combat as things went back and forth when Dr. Bao's player interjected himself into the scene and announced his intention of forcing the two to stop fighting and talk. With some bonus dice from his pools AND Gift dice from Devil Yu's and Zuo Tan's players, he was successful. I told the players that they had to change their Intentions away from death, and they were both really pleased with that result.

The final scene was very satisfying, as The Red Snake Fairy's player bought off her Unrequited Love Key in order to get the boost she needed to kill Lord Zuo. As a result, Justice Wei's player bought off his Key of Unrequited Love to get a boost to snap The Red Snake Fairy's neck. He then narrated that his character hung himself the next morning.

Iron-Shirt Shang's player bought of his Key of the Mission in order to destroy the Radiant 9 Scroll. Zuo Tan's character bought off his Key of the Mission after he was forced to accept (in a tense Bringing Down the Pain) that he and Devil Yu were brothers and The Red Snake Fairy was their mother.

All in all, I was extremely pleased with the result. It really captured the tragedy of a good Wuxia novel or movie -- and I feel that was really driven by the Keys and the reversals created by the conflict resolution mechanics.

The Red Snake Fairy's player came up to me afterward and said she had been suffering from game ennui lately, and this session really reinvigorated her. Much as I'd like to take full credit for that, I think Clinton's excellent game played a large part in getting that result.

[Clinton R. Nixon]

I need a towel.

That is an awesome example of play! And it validates that Bringing Down the Pain works as intended. It's worked for me, but I've had a few negative comments. I think it's a just a matter of wrapping your head around a very different way to resolve conflict.

Also, I'm very glad to see that you went the player v. player route. One of the most influential games I've ever played in was, strangely, a convention Aberrant scenario that was strongly PvP. Even with the clunky system, the alliances that formed and betrayals that occured were some of the most engaging play I've been involved in. TSOY was built for that.

Thanks for playing, man, and thanks for the kind words!

[Thor Olavsrud]

I need a towel.

That is an awesome example of play! And it validates that Bringing Down the Pain works as intended. It's worked for me, but I've had a few negative comments. I think it's a just a matter of wrapping your head around a very different way to resolve conflict.

Also, I'm very glad to see that you went the player v. player route. One of the most influential games I've ever played in was, strangely, a convention Aberrant scenario that was strongly PvP. Even with the clunky system, the alliances that formed and betrayals that occured were some of the most engaging play I've been involved in. TSOY was built for that.

Thanks for playing, man, and thanks for the kind words!

My pleasure Clinton!

I felt Bringing Down the Pain was awesome. I loved watching each player struggle with whether to accept a result or Bring Down the Pain. It was fairly easy for me to grasp how it was supposed to work because I cut my teeth on this sort of conflict in HeroQuest and Dogs in the Vineyard too, to a certain extent. That made a big difference, I think.

Incidentally, I wasn't sure whether to use the Speedy version or not, but after a few rounds went by (but before the first Stay Up check), I decided to implement it and it worked swimmingly. Interestingly, I think it made the players much more willing to give up in conflicts before things got seriously out of hand. The more they saw the penalty dice piling up, the more nervous they became.

It took a conflict or two for the nature of opposed conflict in the game to really click for the players. At one point, Iron-Shirt Shang and Justice Wei were drinking together as Justice Wei attempted to pump Iron-Shirt Shang for information about The Red Snake Fairy. Justice Wei started by trying to get the monk drunk enough to spill his guts (using Freeload, I think), then fell into his lap weeping about his love for her (using Sway), and then finally started trying to beat it out of him with his martial arts. Iron-Shirt's Shang player  thought he would be forced to switch his intention (getting Justice Wei so drunk he passed out and stopped asking questions), when I explained that no, if he continuds to succeed he could narrate convincing Justice Wei to take just one more drink each time he got steamed enough to take a swing. And furthermore, the wine jug was a +1 Weapon.

After that, it was like I'd flipped a switch.

I knew PvP was the way to go for the one shot, since I've seen Luke Crane use it to such good effect at so many cons now. It really does two things: it throws the concept of 'party' play out the window right off the bat, and it also rivets the players' attention on what all the other players are doing. And it leaves me, as the GM, free to support, encourage, and suggest as the game moves forward, while throwing in Bangs as appropriate.

Finally, while I'm here, I just wanted to note how Indie-crazy NYC gaming has become! We had 8 RPG games available at Recess, along with a bevy of board and card games. All eight games were fully booked, with more demand than games available.

The eight games? Sorcerer, Dogs in the Vineyard, The Shadow of Yesterday, Cat, Burning Wheel, Bulldogs!, Ghostbusters and Call of Cthulhu. I love NYC!

[Sydney Freedberg]

Dammit. This thread made me switch websites and order TSOY. Bastards. Someday I'll finish My Eventual Game and all of you will have to buy it and it will have splatbooks, dammit, endless hardcover splatbooks with enormous margins!

[looks around, abashed] Err. Right. Cool game. Yeah.

[Judd]

Great stuff, Thor.

Could you give us an example of how combat worked in this martial arts, wire-fu extravaganza with a kind of show of what the players said at the table, what dice were rolled, how the bonus dice worked and how the Brining Down the Pain worked for you?

Thanks.

[Thor Olavsrud]

Great stuff, Thor.

Could you give us an example of how combat worked in this martial arts, wire-fu extravaganza with a kind of show of what the players said at the table, what dice were rolled, how the bonus dice worked and how the Brining Down the Pain worked for you?

Thanks.

Hey Judd. Each character had his martial art as a Fighting skill. No different than any other Fighting skill really. They were free to take the name of the martial art and imagine it any way they wanted. I also gave each of them a number of Secrets based on their martial art. Everyone got the Secret of the Flying Leap for free (and it also covered stuff like running on water or on Willow branches). I didn't make them spend Pool points on this Secret UNLESS they wanted to go somewhere farther and faster than someone else. Then it was a bidding war.

The characters that were supposed to be real masters of their arts (Lord Zuo, Devil Yu, The Red Snake Fairy, Dr. Bao) all got the Secret of Enhancement associated with their martial art. I gave each one a colorful name to go with the art. So Lord Zuo's Secret of Enhancement was the Secret of Sun Crowns the Mountain, while Devil Yu's was the Secret of Feather Overbalances the Universe.

The characters also got a Secret or two that was unique to his art. For instance, Devil Yu's art was all about altering perception and redirection, so he got Uptenbo's Secret of Kinetic Redirection, renamed as Universe Revolves on the Unseen Point.

Justice Wei was based on The Lizard from Five Deadly Venoms. He was supposed to be quick on his feet and able to fight off multiple opponents, so I gave him the Secret of Disarm (Monkey Steals the Fruit), and a defensive Secret of my own creation (Monkey Dances with Eight Maidens), which gave him a bonus die when using his Eight-Armed Monkey Boxing for defense.

Anyway, you get the idea.

Other than that, it was the basic system with loads of narration. For instance, at the climax, Zuo Tan and Devil Yu were flying at each other, sword and kick first, respectively, with deadly intent. Multiple characters had just learned that they were twin brothers (though the two still didn't know), and determined to stop them. Iron-Shirt Shang leapt between them, intending to take their blows on his body.Justice Wei, helping him, leapt forward to place his palm on Iron-Shirt Shang's back, giving him Qi and stabilizing him, while Dr. Bao was throwing his Emerald Needles (accupuncture needles) at them to open up their Pressure Points and allow their Qi to flow more strongly (i.e., using his Magic 8 Emerald Needle technique, otherwise known as Three-Corner Magic Enhancement with the Empower Others Secret). We used the Gestalt method, with bonus dice flowing from Justice Wei to Dr. Bao to Iron-Shirt Shang. Very cool!

Mostly though, the feel flowed from narration. We gathered all the Intentions first. Made sure everyone was satisfied. Then we rolled and determined who had the highest result. This person got to narrate the results, with the caveat that Intentions had to be accounted for.

However, I've got to say that all the martial arts stuff just ended up being very cool color. The Wuxia feel really came from everyone addressing their Keys.

[Andy Kitkowski]

Thor, I have some directed questions for you regarding running a faux-Chinese game that I wanted to run by you (outside of TSOY, which sounds like it worked like a charm).

First, though, some questions about how you introduced the system to the players and how they responded:

After that, the other players instantly grasped how this stuff worked together and they started hitting their Keys right and left and even asking for scenes in order to get to them.

Questions:
1) Did they say "Hey, that means I get an XP, right?" or did you say "Don't forget- that means you get 1 XP." at first? How did you get them to start keeping track of and grabbing for their own XP?

2) How did they know to "ask for scenes"?  Could you describe a couple situtaions in which they asked for scenes? Particularly from people who were asking for the first time.

I ask this because my group of cronies are simply not used to this kind of gaming, and I'm wondering how to get them into asking for scenes as second nature. In other words, take more involvement in the game.  Which is why I'm wondering if you had people that went from "standard involvement" (head down, play the role, jump through the GM hoops) to high involvement (asking for scenes, etc) throughout the course of the adventure.

3) Were there any times during BDTP where you or others were (even mildly) stymied? As in, you couldn't quite map out intentions, or what to use to engage in the action, etc?

Now, my other questions have to do with starting and running a faux-Chinese session:

4) Where did you get your inspirations for the names of the characters, etc? Devil Yi, Radiant 9 Scroll, Red Snake Fairy, etc. It's very clever (hell, more clever than most of the names and items in my Feng Shui books), and right now I'm running a kind of "Tone Deaf" Chinese-themed game that lacks the punch of the above.  Any sourcebooks or websites that you're drawing on?

5) How do you get everyone together and on the same page in terms of Chinese-style names?  Do people get confused at all ("Wait, I thought Zuo Tan was the bald one- Isn't Devil Yu the monk?" etc)?  If so, what helps to alleviate the confusion and keep the names fresh without resorting to "the Monk" "the guy with the moustache" "the evil midget", etc?

I may have more questions later.  

EDIT: One more: I'd love to see a physical copy (if possible, or a DOC version if you used a program to write them) of one or two of the character sheets that you used- Just to see in what kinds of ways you organized the information above to make it usable for the players. Would something like that be possible?

THIS is what Actual Play is all about. (^.^)

Thanks for sharing!
-Andy

[Thor Olavsrud]

Thor, I have some directed questions for you regarding running a faux-Chinese game that I wanted to run by you (outside of TSOY, which sounds like it worked like a charm).

First, though, some questions about how you introduced the system to the players and how they responded:

Hey Andy! My pleasure. I realize it's not the polite thing to do, but I'm going to answer these on a question-by-question basis to make sure I keep to the point.

Questions:
1) Did they say "Hey, that means I get an XP, right?" or did you say "Don't forget- that means you get 1 XP." at first? How did you get them to start keeping track of and grabbing for their own XP?

I had a sheet with all their Keys on it, but I did not tell them this. The first time someone did something that activated a Key, I pointed it out. I then said, "there's no way I'm going to remember all of your Keys. I trust you. When you do something that activates a Key, go ahead and mark it down. If you're not sure, feel free to ask."

I then never mentioned Keys again except when someone asked if something qualified. I did try to keep a running mental tally, but as long as I saw them scribbling on their sheets after hitting one, I wasn't concerned with the actual count. My suggestion is to point it out once, then abdicate responsibility. Keep an eye on what they do to their sheets after you think they hit a Key. If they don't write something down, you should remind them. Otherwise, let them have the responsibility.

2) How did they know to "ask for scenes"?  Could you describe a couple situtaions in which they asked for scenes? Particularly from people who were asking for the first time.

I ask this because my group of cronies are simply not used to this kind of gaming, and I'm wondering how to get them into asking for scenes as second nature. In other words, take more involvement in the game.  Which is why I'm wondering if you had people that went from "standard involvement" (head down, play the role, jump through the GM hoops) to high involvement (asking for scenes, etc) throughout the course of the adventure.

I told them right off the bat that they were always free to introduce themselves into a scene that interested them, or to ask for a scene at any point. It 'clicked' for some of them more than others, at least at first. Once one of them started doing it, the rest of them naturally followed suit, without even really thinking about it.

Examples:
-   One of the first scenes in the game, I framed Justice Wei and The Red Snake Fairy into a confrontation on a rooftop. After letting them converse for a while (a BDTP in which Justice Wei attempted to convince The Red Snake Fairy to turn herself in), Iron-Shirt Shang's player said, "I see them on the roof and leap up!" He hadn't been established in the scene earlier, but I stopped in the middle of the BDTP and said to the rest of the group, anytime you want to join in, just narrate your arrival. This player saw a chance to exercise one of his Keys, and he went for it.

-   A little later, Dr. Bao's player, having seen how it worked, said, "I want a confrontation with Lord Zuo in the chamber where he keeps the scroll." So I said cool! Let's do it.

-   Devil Yu's player had just attempted to pass himself off as Zuo Tan before Lord Zuo. As he was exiting, Zuo Tan's player said, "It would be really cool if I ran into him just as he was leaving." I just smiled and said, "just as Devil Yu is coming out the door, Zuo Tan walks right into him. You're face-to-face and it's like looking into a mirror!

Anyway, be up front with them, and give them a few judicious nudges now and then when appropriate. PvP scenarios are actually excellent in this regard, because the players instinctively look to the other players for their cues rather than to the GM.

3) Were there any times during BDTP where you or others were (even mildly) stymied? As in, you couldn't quite map out intentions, or what to use to engage in the action, etc?

No. I would go around the table asking, "okay, what's your Intention here?" They wanted to give me detailed explanations of what they were trying to do. I would listen just long enough to figure out what they were going for, and then I would interrupt them and say, "Got it, you're trying to make him back down with your Sway." Or "You're trying to make him spill his guts about The Red Snake Fairy with your Eight-Armed Monkey Boxing." Then I went on to the next player. I tried to be ruthless about this. Pretty soon, they got the picture. I always helped them figure out which skill to use.

Now, my other questions have to do with starting and running a faux-Chinese session:

4) Where did you get your inspirations for the names of the characters, etc? Devil Yi, Radiant 9 Scroll, Red Snake Fairy, etc. It's very clever (hell, more clever than most of the names and items in my Feng Shui books), and right now I'm running a kind of "Tone Deaf" Chinese-themed game that lacks the punch of the above. Any sourcebooks or websites that you're drawing on?

I made up most of the names. The Red Snake Fairy is stolen directly from a villainess in Louis Cha's novel The Legendary Couple, which is being released as a manhua here in the States. Highly recommended! Radiant 9 and Altered Universe are stolen from Louis Cha's Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre, another fantastic Wuxia novel that is being released as a manhua here in the States (and also made a nearly unrecognizable appearance as the movie "Kung Fu Cult Master.")

You can check out some complete translation and some sample chapters of Louis Cha (also known under the name Jin Yong) novels here. I especially recommend The Smiling Proud Wanderer

Steal judiciously from these, and make up some of your own that sound like them, and you'll be all set!

5) How do you get everyone together and on the same page in terms of Chinese-style names?  Do people get confused at all ("Wait, I thought Zuo Tan was the bald one- Isn't Devil Yu the monk?" etc)?  If so, what helps to alleviate the confusion and keep the names fresh without resorting to "the Monk" "the guy with the moustache" "the evil midget", etc?

In addition to their character sheets, I gave each player two additional sheets of paper. One had their Secrets with full descriptions and also their Keys with full descriptions. The second page looked like this:

Lien Cho, The Red Snake Fairy:
The Red Snake Fairy has given up her life to vengeance. She will make Zuo pay, and hand the Taishen Clan to her son, Devil Yu, not that interloper Tan. Everything she does is designed to make Zuo suffer. However, deep down, she still loves him. Nevertheless, he will pay.

Opinions on other characters:
Lord Zuo: He used you to get over the loss of your sister to Dr. Bao, and then cast you off to make a political marriage. Hatred for him burns in your heart. No matter how hard you try, you cannot extinguish the love you feel for him.

Zuo Tan: An interloper and usurper that would take the rightful place of your son, Devil Yu. You will write your revenge upon Zuo in Tan's pain.

Dr. Bao: Your sister's husband and a good man. He too has suffered at the hands of Zuo, and could be an ally if approached properly. You would go to him if you had not added to his grief with your own hands. How can you face him?

The Lady of Still Water: The designation of your sister, Lien Li, now that she is an Ancestor. To your horror, you mistakenly killed her with one blow a year ago, before realizing who it was. Just one more crime to lay at Zuo's feet.

Bao Li: Your niece, though you have never met her. Horrified when you killed her mother, you spared her life. Perhaps she would make a suitable bride for your son, Devil Yu?

Justice Wei: Who?

Iron-Shirt Shang: A drunken and lecherous monk. His master, Nine Shadow Wen, bears no love for Zuo. Perhaps he could be an ally.

Devil Yu: Your beloved son, and Master of the Demon Cult. You will ensure that Yu takes his rightful place as Master of Taishen as well.

I found this to be enough.

[Andy Kitkowski]

Tres cool, thanks!
My comment on the character sheets (I'd love to see one of these three-pages, as handed out, for one or two of these characters) still stands.

Thanks!

-Andy

[Thor Olavsrud]

Tres cool, thanks!
My comment on the character sheets (I'd love to see one of these three-pages, as handed out, for one or two of these characters) still stands.

Hey Andy, let's take that stuff to PM/email. Feel free to ask more questions here though.

[Luke]

take heed, yon reader. While The Shadow of Yesterday exemplifies precisely why system does matter, what Thor does here applies to all games in all con/one-off scenarios.

-L

[Andy Kitkowski]

take heed, yon reader. While The Shadow of Yesterday exemplifies precisely why system does matter, what Thor does here applies to all games in all con/one-off scenarios.

Ahhh, you mean the injection of 80ccs of pure, brilliant Awesome? Yeah, I had a feeling to that extent when I was reading the write up.  Also, check out the DITV writeup by "jasonm" below to see the same applied to that game.

There's definitely a science and an art to running a good con game, and a good game that Your Gaming Table will respond to well.  The system stuff is good and all, and lets me get my head around that game faster, but I'm also trying to pick out those fragments of "What makes a good snap-shot.one-shot GM" as well.

Every time I find a fragment or two, it reminds me of why this forum is the most important forum at the Forge, perhaps the most important RPG forum period.

-Andy

[Judd]

Can we distill these elements that make up a good one-shot that we have seen here?

Characters that have strong agendas, often conflicting, allowing the GM to arbitrate and drive the action rather than take the role as an entertainer.

Characters that will propel the players into situations that will highlight the rules.

A GM who vocally and loudly told the player when they were kicking ass, gave them their reward and then cut them loose to pursue their rewards and the pursuit of said rewards of course make the game more exciting.

A fun, basic concept that everyone can grasp quickly and easily.

Character sheets that inform the players and allow them to stay informed at a glance.

[Andy Kitkowski]

Can we distill these elements that make up a good one-shot that we have seen here?

Good job.  Also with distillation comes the importance of specific, complete examples, almost word-for-word script-like transscripts of interactions between GM and player, when possible.  At least, that's what I'm aiming for. (^.^)

It's the difference between telling an engineer "A passenger plane should have two wings, four engines, some landing gear and a pilot or two" vs showing them schematics of several successful airplanes.  

I'm glad Thor's been so detail-oriented, this is helping us all out.

[Thor Olavsrud]

Hey guys, I think this is an awesome topic, but a tangent from my TSoY actual play. Andy, why don't you start another thread about how to work up an intense one shot/con scenario?