[Grey Ranks] Life in the ruins

[GreatWolf]

We finished up Grey Ranks on Friday.  We started off the night tired and dragged out.  Nevertheless, we managed to wrap up an incredible game with an incredibly powerful session.  (The previous ones:  Session One, Session Two

Session Three:  Disaster

Chapter 7:  Old Town Must Hold<sure<

Gigant saw the locket lying on the ground.  Apparently it has torn off his neck while he was carrying the civilians.  So he picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket.

While in the German encampment, Leon tries to make off with a functioning German pistol.  (Goal of Personal Scene:  snag a working weapon.)  Keith rolled a d6 and failed.  So, while Leon made off with the gun, it was being field-stripped and was useless.<Plug is nearby and sees this happening.  Flashback to earlier this week.  His brother is patched up as best as he will be.  His group is just about out of ammunition; they are all wounded.  Nevertheless, they are going out to the front lines.  (Goal of Personal Scene:  does Plug understand why his brother is making this sacrifice?)  Ralph rolled a d8 and succeeded.  So Plug stands up a little straighter and salutes as his brother fades into the distance.  Then he turns and walks the other way.<

I singled out Gigant, which landed him on Suicidal Depression.  Plug  landed on Martyrdom.  This was the second visit for both characters, so they would be written out during their next scenes.


 Chapter 8:  Old Town Falls and the Sewers Become a Highway<

<



Keith singled out Leon.


Chapter 9:  The Soviets Reach the Vistula and Stop Cold<<





Ralph singled out Leon, which meant that he slipped through the Derangement corner and into Martyrdom.  So, Leon would be written out next scene.  Yes, technically that is in the epilogue, but it still worked out.


Chapter 10:  Capitulation<Solidarity<Post Game Reflections

Wow.

Um.

Wow.

Playing Grey Ranks<Primetime Adventures<here<Being cruel to your crewmates

Grey Ranks<really<A word on Chapter 9<Crystal<Another word on bleakness<Grey Ranks<Grey Ranks is not a bleak game without hope.  And I think that my crew will stand with me.


Conclusion<Grey Ranks in this way.  I know that you desire this to be a gesture of respect to the real Polish teens who gave their lives in the defense of their country.

I believe that you have succeeded.

This is a worthy testament to the boys and girls of the Szare Szeregi.

I commend you.

[Jason Morningstar]

I just posted a question about character death in the "chapter two" thread that was meant for here, I suppose - I'm particularly interested in how the players of dead characters interacted in later chapters. 

Thanks very much for this thorough and detailed write-up - it is enormously informative and compelling. 

[Valamir]

I initially had some concerns about it.  I found myself in a position where it was almost certain (barring herculean effort) that I was going to wind up in my second corner (Martyr) after Chapter 7.  That meant I'd be going through 2 chapters and the epilogue...dead.  Seth assured me that wouldn't be a problem, so we plunged right in.

It really wasn't. 

My role as a player didn't change much.  I was mission leader for Chapter 9 even though Plug was dead.  It wasn't that hard to come up with a "mission scene" for Plug though it was clearly more of a reach than if he'd been alive and participating.

If this were a game that would be played more frequently, or if there's been more players written out earlier, then the "more of a reach" probably would get old as the "easy" options would quickly get used (and reused, and reused).

If that's a concern for you, then for the next edition I'd come up with either 1) a list of possible examples for participation that serves as a springboard or 2) change the function of how a player interacts with the mission when they're passed.

[GreatWolf]

Some Random Comments

Hey, here's some additional comments about the game.

I love the bookmark.  I'd use it to mark the next section of Radio Lightning to read, plus I'd consult it to keep track of what we were supposed to be doing.  For some reason, I'd always forget something at the beginning of a Chapter, but then I'd glance at the bookmark, and there it is.

The game also led to an interesting exchange.  At one point, Keith made the comment that Crystal made two types of characters:  fluffy bunny characters, or character that she doesn't like and then destroys.  I told him that he wasn't right.  The game went on.

Then, a couple minutes later, Keith says to Crystal, "No, it's this.  You make a character that you do like, and then you destroy her."

Yeah, that.

In later conversation, Crystal commented to me, "The next step is when he understands that I identified with Ola."

Makes me look around the table and wonder.  Crystal was playing close to home.  What about the rest of us?  What were we saying about ourselves through our characters?


I See Dead Characters

Jason, I pretty much agree with Ralph.  Personal scenes were relatively simple, because you can always flashback to some past time.  Mission scenes were harder, though, because they needed to be in the present.  It was only a couple of Chapters, so it was possible to talk about other characters being "inspired by Gigant's memory" or discussing Plug's amazing exploits.  And, to be fair, a couple of those scenes were quite emotionally powerful.  I'm thinking here especially of the scene with the children talking about Plug's adventures, with Ola the turncoat listening to them all.

But, at the same time, it might have been difficult to keep up the pace if it had been more than a couple of Chapters.

Now, if the characters hadn't been dead, it might be different.  But I'm having a hard time seeing how to interpret "martyrdom" as anything other than a death.  I can even see "suicidal depression" theoretically not requiring a death, but "martyrdom" is a hard stretch.

[Jason Morningstar]

Thanks, guys.  I can definitely understand how an early death (there's a hard limit to how early it can happen based on grid movement, so it can never get too bad) would have the potential to get tedious with mission scenes. 

The bookmarks were a Gen Con freebie - sounds like I ought to print up some more.