Capes game scheduled!!

[Sindyr]

I have been able to beseech and cajole 2 other folks into giving it a shot, Saturday the 8th at noon at a local gaming store!

Looking forward to it!

I assume it would be very uncool to shoot either of them a copy of the pdf as they have not paid.

I can teach them what they need to know, and I will email them links to the swf demo at the company website.

But I'm psyched!!

Actual Play!!

Woot!!!

[TonyLB]

I assume it would be very uncool to shoot either of them a copy of the pdf as they have not paid.

These people are members of your playing group.  I insist you send them a copy of the PDF.  The copyright notice is explicitly written to give you that right.  Enjoy!

[Tuxboy]

Cool...and good luck with that first game ;)

[Sindyr]

Now I just wish it wasn't a week and a half away - but I should just be happy its happening.  :)

[Sydney Freedberg]

Great! Some advice, based on reading lots of other people's Actual Play:

You're the guy who organized the game; you're the guy who's on fire with enthusiasm. You're not "the GM," because there isn't one, but you are the guy the others will look to -- so you need to lead by example.

What does that mean? My best sense is that it means

DO know the rules. (Try playing out a scene by yourself before you go to the game store, and use Tony's excellent flash tutorial on the website).

DO have a strong sense of the tone of the superhero story you want to play -- Batman animated series (dark and brooding) or Batman the 60s TV show (camp and silly), for example -- and get the other players to buy-in.

DO take the first turn and establish some strong, clear conflict people can react to -- at one quick-start game I played with Tony, he took the character of Magneto from X-Men, described the White House in smouldering ruins, and immediately placed out the goal, "kill the president on live TV." You can get subtle later. (Note that having a particular tone in mind really makes it easier to figure out what this BANG! starting conflict should be).

BUT DON'T spend more than five minutes creating characters.* Tell people the tone you're shooting for, give them the click-and-locks, and have them choose something quick from their gut-instinct of what appeals to them; then GO!

In short: If you try to play Capes with zero preparation time, you won't have as much fun as you should, because you'll flail around on those first turns -- but if you spend more than five minutes on preparation, you won't have as much fun as you should, either, because you'll have created stuff that gets in the way.

Note that you have already broken these rules by making up characters and posting them on this board. I would encourage you not to use those characters in the actual game: Use what you make up in that first five minutes poring over the click-and-locks with everybody else. This is not GURPS! This is not D20! This is a game where going with your gut instinct is a much, much more powerful tactic than sitting back and calculating: It rewards passion, intensity, and excitement.

[Andrew Cooper]

More advice, if you want to hear it...

1.)  Get two items that are easily passed around but blatantly visible and different from each other to use as Page/Turn markers.  I use two different colored Koosh Balls.  The person who started the Page gets and keeps the Blue Koosh.  The Red Koosh gets passed to whoevers turn it is.  When the Red Koosh gets back to the Blue Koosh, the Page is over.  Do end of Page stuff.  Makes it easy to keep track.

2.)  Get a metric shit-ton of Debt/Story Token markers, different colored d6's, 3x5 cards and pencils.  It really makes things go easier.  I suggest using Poker chips for Debt and Story Tokens.

3.)  Play the guy that everyone loves to hate for the first scene and then absolutely play him to the hilt.  Pull no punches.  If the other players make hero types, play the nastiest, most ungodly awful villain you can dream up.  Make them hate him.  If one of the other players picks a villain character first, then play a really, really obnoxious hero that everyone reacts to in a negative way.  Tony's Major Victory character is someone like this.  If the other players look at you and say, "I really hate that guy." then you're a success.  They're invested in opposing him/her.

4.)  You've mentioned all sorts of house rules you're working on.  Those are cool and I'd love to see them.  Don't use them for this first game.  Play it as written.  You don't have any experience with the game yet.  Check it out and see how it actually works in practice.  It might even help you develop those house rules you were considering.

[Sindyr]

I assume it would be very uncool to shoot either of them a copy of the pdf as they have not paid.

These people are members of your playing group.  I insist you send them a copy of the PDF.  The copyright notice is explicitly written to give you that right.  Enjoy!

Oh, how very excellent! Thank you, Tony, will do.

[Sindyr]

Great! Some advice, based on reading lots of other people's Actual Play:

You're the guy who organized the game; you're the guy who's on fire with enthusiasm. You're not "the GM," because there isn't one, but you are the guy the others will look to -- so you need to lead by example.

What does that mean? My best sense is that it means

DO know the rules. (Try playing out a scene by yourself before you go to the game store, and use Tony's excellent flash tutorial on the website).

I have run through that flash tutorial over a dozen times and will do so again.  Tony, FYI, it was that Flash tutorial more than anything that nabbed me.

DO have a strong sense of the tone of the superhero story you want to play -- Batman animated series (dark and brooding) or Batman the 60s TV show (camp and silly), for example -- and get the other players to buy-in.

I have already discussed tone with the other players - the specs are four-color, not gritty, generally upbeat.

DO take the first turn and establish some strong, clear conflict people can react to -- at one quick-start game I played with Tony, he took the character of Magneto from X-Men, described the White House in smouldering ruins, and immediately placed out the goal, "kill the president on live TV." You can get subtle later. (Note that having a particular tone in mind really makes it easier to figure out what this BANG! starting conflict should be).

Good idea.  I should plan out the first turn and assume that I will be setting the first scene.  Great thought.

BUT DON'T spend more than five minutes creating characters.* Tell people the tone you're shooting for, give them the click-and-locks, and have them choose something quick from their gut-instinct of what appeals to them; then GO!

How does one "give them the click and locks" at a table with no internet if one does not have the vinyl thingies that Tony sells?  The two options are really pass the book around and have them choose their click modules from it, and have them write it down (or help them write it down) or help people create from scratch.

Will probably do the former, since I want them grabbing and going, not agonizing over what they should create.

In short: If you try to play Capes with zero preparation time, you won't have as much fun as you should, because you'll flail around on those first turns -- but if you spend more than five minutes on preparation, you won't have as much fun as you should, either, because you'll have created stuff that gets in the way.

Note that you have already broken these rules by making up characters and posting them on this board. I would encourage you not to use those characters in the actual game: Use what you make up in that first five minutes poring over the click-and-locks with everybody else. This is not GURPS! This is not D20! This is a game where going with your gut instinct is a much, much more powerful tactic than sitting back and calculating: It rewards passion, intensity, and excitement.

I take your point - but I also can't not prethink things - it's my nature to plan and think ahead.  What I *will* do is not commit anything to paper for the hero I will play - already thinking of a music-based hero.

Thanks for the tips!

[Adam Biltcliffe]

I take your point - but I also can't not prethink things - it's my nature to plan and think ahead.  What I *will* do is not commit anything to paper for the hero I will play - already thinking of a music-based hero.

Plan as much as you want, in all the detail you can think of. Get your music-based hero down in all the detail you care to record, and when you get to the session, put it aside and think of a new hero.

[Sindyr]

More advice, if you want to hear it...

1.)  Get two items that are easily passed around but blatantly visible and different from each other to use as Page/Turn markers.  I use two different colored Koosh Balls.  The person who started the Page gets and keeps the Blue Koosh.  The Red Koosh gets passed to whoevers turn it is.  When the Red Koosh gets back to the Blue Koosh, the Page is over.  Do end of Page stuff.  Makes it easy to keep track.

Good idea - will get something.

2.)  Get a metric shit-ton of Debt/Story Token markers, different colored d6's, 3x5 cards and pencils.  It really makes things go easier.  I suggest using Poker chips for Debt and Story Tokens.

Got 'em.  I got both sticky post-it 3x5's and normal notecard 3x5's.

3.)  Play the guy that everyone loves to hate for the first scene and then absolutely play him to the hilt.  Pull no punches.  If the other players make hero types, play the nastiest, most ungodly awful villain you can dream up.  Make them hate him.  If one of the other players picks a villain character first, then play a really, really obnoxious hero that everyone reacts to in a negative way.  Tony's Major Victory character is someone like this.  If the other players look at you and say, "I really hate that guy." then you're a success.  They're invested in opposing him/her.

This will be a challenge for me - I don't tend to play villains unless I am the GM.  Will do my best - but given the tone of the game and my own sensitivities - the villain I bring will probably be the most dastardly but not nasty.  Obnoxious is fun - although I almost want to create an obnoxious hero (not my spotlight one) that is the hero the others want to outshine...

4.)  You've mentioned all sorts of house rules you're working on.  Those are cool and I'd love to see them.  Don't use them for this first game.  Play it as written.  You don't have any experience with the game yet.  Check it out and see how it actually works in practice.  It might even help you develop those house rules you were considering.

I agree, as I have been saying, I intend to get several vanilla Capes session under my belt before getting creative.  The only 3 exceptions are:
a) The Spotlight Rule will be used.
b) The tone of the game is preset.
c) I do not want anyone at my gaming table to have their personal vulnerabilities exploited in such a way as to cause them harm or significant anxiety.

However, I will be not employing any additional rules to enforce b or c - will enforce those through the social contract.

Thanks. :)

[Sindyr]

I take your point - but I also can't not prethink things - it's my nature to plan and think ahead.  What I *will* do is not commit anything to paper for the hero I will play - already thinking of a music-based hero.

Plan as much as you want, in all the detail you can think of. Get your music-based hero down in all the detail you care to record, and when you get to the session, put it aside and think of a new hero.

I can try, but the honest truth is, I can put aside all the characters I want, the character that I will be thinking about the most is the character I will be playing that day.  In other words, if I *know* that I will not be playing a particular character that day, than I wont be thinking of him either.

I can't not think about what I will be doing then. :/

But thanks for the advice.

[Sydney Freedberg]

How does one "give them the click and locks" at a table with no internet if one does not have the vinyl thingies that Tony sells? 

Printer + Scissors = disposable click & locks!

Go to the downloads portion of Tony's website (specifically http://www.museoffire.com/Games/Downloads/ClickSheets.pdf), save the PDF file of the click-and-locks, print it out (maybe twice), and then cut them out.

(Just cut 'em out as rectangles; don't worry about making the little projecting bits under "Styles" able to interlock -- you'll go crazy, and people will get the idea without your doing that).

It's not reusable, and it's not as low-effort as Tony's awesome laminated click-and-locks, but it's free.

And it's just for that first game: Once people get over their hang up that "character generation" is a big deal, they'll be merrily scribbling away on scratch paper. I personally made most of my non-spotlight characters for the campaign with Tony and Eric on a spare notepad propped against the steering wheel of my car while I waited in the back-up of traffic turning right onto Memorial Bridge out of DC into northern Virginia. Most days, trafffic was just bad enough that this pause was a great enforcer of the "five minutes of prep, no more, no less" guideline.

[Glendower]

One piece of advice... don't use scissors.  Exacto knives are the way to go, far more control if you want the click and locks to ... click and lock. 

[drnuncheon]

(Just cut 'em out as rectangles; don't worry about making the little projecting bits under "Styles" able to interlock -- you'll go crazy, and people will get the idea without your doing that).

I only cut out the projecting bits on one side (I forget which one), and then we used gluesticks to, er...stick & lock?

J

[Sindyr]

3.)  Play the guy that everyone loves to hate for the first scene and then absolutely play him to the hilt.  Pull no punches.  If the other players make hero types, play the nastiest, most ungodly awful villain you can dream up.  Make them hate him.  If one of the other players picks a villain character first, then play a really, really obnoxious hero that everyone reacts to in a negative way.  Tony's Major Victory character is someone like this.  If the other players look at you and say, "I really hate that guy." then you're a success.  They're invested in opposing him/her.

What should I pre-create for jump starting the game with a bunch of newbies (complete newbies, even less exposed than myself)?

Should I create a villain or two, some major plot elements, a back story, etc?  And then fram the first scene around introducing elements leading into that stuff?

I should have *something* prepared to jump start the process...