Shadows in the Fog playtest

[Mike Holmes]

You're just saying that, mostly you intend to play Sim. That's cool. Some might argue that "subconciously" that you're addressing themes, but that's why, trying to observe, it's so hard to say. And why Ron uses the larger "instant" notion, rather than looking at any one decision.

Anyhow, not really that important. We should get back to other stuff about the game.

Did the character generation seem to work well? Were you comfortable with the level of the characters prior knolwledge of the occult (was there a lot)?

Mike

[John Kim]

 You're just saying that, mostly you intend to play Sim. That's cool. Some might argue that "subconciously" that you're addressing themes, but that's why, trying to observe, it's so hard to say. And why Ron uses the larger "instant" notion, rather than looking at any one decision.  

Well, on the one hand, that makes sense.  On the other hand, I was told after describing my Water-Uphill campaign at length that it was probably Narrativist.  I think this is actually an important issue, but it probably belongs in a separate thread in the GNS forum.  

Did the character generation seem to work well? Were you comfortable with the level of the characters prior knolwledge of the occult (was there a lot)?

The character generation worked pretty well, I think, with some caveats.  The skills were not well-defined, and a few in particular stumped us on what they meant -- the interpersonal skills "Trusting" and "Accepting".  The rules (version 1.2) refers to a character sheet at points, but no character sheet is actually included.  

There was not much prior knowledge of the occult, especially in terms of practical applications.  For one, my impression is that the game is supposed to be about a journey into the occult.  Plus, none of the players were very clear on how magic really worked in the game.  Two PCs had significant occult knowledge (meaning that it came into play).  Mr. Kingsley (Liz's PC) had knowledge of a variety of native beliefs, especially Central American.  And Mr. Coneybeare (Jim's PC) had knowledge of old European beliefs and his opinion that the key to that lay in philology.

[Mike Holmes]

I think this is actually an important issue, but it probably belongs in a separate thread in the GNS forum.

Good point.

There was not much prior knowledge of the occult, especially in terms of practical applications.  For one, my impression is that the game is supposed to be about a journey into the occult.

See, this was my impression as well. But the rules did say (I'm not sure I've read the latest, that there was a specific portion of chargen that's associated with determining what the character's association with the occult is. I wondered if those were conflicting.

Plus, none of the players were very clear on how magic really worked in the game.

So do you think they would have taken more advanced knowledge descriptions if they had been more comfortable with the game? Did the idea that magic and normal resolution are intermingled seem to work for the atmosphere it's supposed to provide?

Mike

[John Kim]

There was not much prior knowledge of the occult, especially in terms of practical applications.  For one, my impression is that the game is supposed to be about a journey into the occult.

See, this was my impression as well. But the rules did say (I'm not sure I've read the latest, that there was a specific portion of chargen that's associated with determining what the character's association with the occult is. I wondered if those were conflicting.

No, I don't think so.  What the rules say is the following:

Since you will be involved in the occult world, it is particularly important to consider:
1. How will the character react to the unnatural, and why?
2. Why is the character interested in such things?
3. What kinds of occult activities would I like to mess around with?
Note that #3 above is a player concern, not necessarily a character one. If you, the player, have no interest whatever in astrology, you should avoid a character for whom this is a major issue. To make playing a Shadows in the Fog character enjoyable, you will need to fake, or “double-speak” that character’s occult perspective. Be sure to choose something you can live with.

Note the use of "will" and "would" -- implying (I think) that practical involvement in the occult is a future thing, but the character should have some interest in it.  

So do you think they would have taken more advanced knowledge descriptions if they had been more comfortable with the game? Did the idea that magic and normal resolution are intermingled seem to work for the atmosphere it's supposed to provide?

OK, my off-the-cuff impression is that they still would have taken beginners even if they were more familiar -- but that could be wrong.  The mixed resolution was actually a source of confusion.  We weren't clear on what playing a trump meant in-game.  Is playing a trump always a magical effect?  If so, is it related to the character of the player who played the trump?  If not, what exactly was the difference between the character taking a magical action and the player playing a trump to affect the scene?  At least on the surface, these two look pretty similar.  We worked it out that playing a trump by itself was not magic, but a trump card was required for magical action.  Still, it seems like it could be clarified.