The following morning (if one considers two PM to be morning) I find that I am the last to rise.  I bleary my way downstairs to find that some Team Evil is being played out which is cool as I get to spend some time enjoying just sitting on a bench overlooking acres and acres of non-city.  I discover that my voice is a bit raspy and blown out, but then I found out so is everyone else’s so all’s right in the world.  I came back in to find that two new characters were rolled up – one for Blake and one for Jeff.  Blake had done some amazing research and had woven a nice tale stringing together many pieces of arcane to create an Elven character of powerful lineage.  Given the obvious work and the substantial creativity that went into the creation of his character concept, he was well rewarded.  The character, again blast my poor memory, was of high nobility and shared a very close lineage to Elrond.  Jeff was given a character of similar if somewhat less lineage who was of Noldorian descent thus placing him in conflict with Blake and most elves for that matter due to ancient enmity between the Noldo and the Sindar elves.  As Jeff was playing a Noldorian elf of fairly high lineage his character was a tad on the insufferable side – this too would lead to future in game conflicts.  More artery clogging food was prepared, consumed and cleared away.  The game proper began around 5pm or so with a weaving of a series of scenes with various characters that would eventually draw them all to Rivendell. 

Actually I am mistaken.  The night began with the GM handing out and having us all read a chapter of the Silmarillion entitled, “Of The Rings of Power and The Third Age.”  This “reading” before a game has never happened since I’ve been playing and from what I understand ever at all.  I’m not entirely sure of the GM’s intent but what I gathered was the importance, extremely long history and powerful ties between the Dunedain and Elrond.

The night began innocently enough with the conclusion of a small scenario that involved just Montana, an NPC and myself.  Driven by an encounter with an overwhelming number of trolls in the Trollshaws I was forced to flee with the NPC elf, Calune (“Gloom’s Light” – actually a PC elf that was played by an Easterling many, many years ago.) which landed us in what appeared to be an ancient Dunedain keep.  It was there that we found Montana’s elf (“The Hunter”) trapped in the bottom of a well.  (Given that back-story Montana’s elf has been seeking out and “hunting” the undead.)  I tried to affect a rescue but found myself at the bottom of the well as well.  Noticing that I started bleeding from my nose and feeling a dread I called out in surprise and fear thus bringing Calune down as well.  What I knew, but my character did not know, was that Montana’s elf, “The Hunter,” had a run in with a vampire (The Master Vampire?) in his past and had been bitten.  Whereas he had not been turned into a vampire because he was an elf, the stain of that “infection” was upon him and was the source and cause of my (and Calune’s when he jumped down into the well) nose bleeding and fear.  (Given that this effect happens to all elves who come into contact with him he is, in effect, in a self-imposed exile from all his people.  Hence his ferocious hatred of the “undead.”)  What was really super cool in my book as a player was the speed with which someone in the world, in this case an NPC, was willing to put them self in harm’s way for my sake.  This moment was a great Sim moment for me – it really made me feel important to the world that a “personage” from the world that I as a player held in high regard treated me as if I was someone worth possible dying for.  This does not happen readily in our game and does not happen at random, thus it was a very special moment for me.  It’s a sign, a communication if you will, between the GM and myself that I had acquitted myself well in the playing of this elven Character.

I would also like talk about something that happened in this encounter that was also very cool.  Montana’s elf had been pinned to the well wall by one of his own rune-covered spikes that he used on the undead.  Because of his taint he could not remove the spike on his own, nor could I pull it out of the stone it had been driven in so deeply.  So I decided to try and cut though the spike with my sword.  Normally this would be absurd as the spike was solid metal more than an inch in diameter, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do so I figured that my only hope lay in my “magical sword.”  I don’t much about my sword as a character other than it is what might be called virginal (pure?), never used prior to my using it, it is and it has a fate of some sort.  From a player’s knowledge I know that it is +1 magic and though “magic items” are extremely rare its “power” was not particularly strong. 

In the past the few first times I had actually struck a troll I had rolled “20’s” so I was informed that the blade seems to have a “purpose” against trolls.  This disambiguation, growth of knowledge, about the sword and its abilities is pure Sim in action.  There were no rules or mechanics or existing system elements that codified this process but was a decision created on the fly given the circumstances at hand and the nature of the established world.  Bricolage in action.  To get back to the event in the well, I had “The Hunter” lean as far forward, away from the wall he was pinned to, and swung my sword down with little hope of success and fearing that a roll of a “1” would probably mean that I cut “The Hunter” instead.  (The GM did not overtly state that this failure was a possibility, but we all knew from the history of the game as well as the given circumstances this was a perfectly logical potential event.  Again an important Sim moment in that we are working with our acquired through play knowledge of the world to project forward the possible future consequences of our actions.  IOW I had to use the abductive, inductive, deductive logic cycle using the entirety of my acquired knowledge to try and make accurate predictions.)   I know that Montana was concerned about this possible negative outcome, though he did not say anything, and I was pretty stressed about this as well.  However, as luck would have it, I rolled a “20.”  Much rejoicing ensured and the GM had me roll again which was also a “20!”  Normally I don’t have such luck so this was particularly satisfying. 

There were two really cool parts about this.  First was that I actually did do that which was for all intents and purposes “impossible.”  However “magic” was involved in the equation which is treated not like a science ala D&D but more organic and related to circumstances.  The next really cool thing was the GM informed me that I, as the player, should regard the sword as +2 and that the next time I rolled and got three “20’s” in a row the sword would become +3, and following that four “20’s” etc.  Again a strong Sim act, a totally new “mechanic” was introduced on the fly into the game “system” based upon what had happened in the SIS.  IOW mechanics followed the SIS but did not lead it.  Very very cool all around.  Another moment of disambiguation that led to more understanding of the fictional world.  The new mechanic was a reflection of our in game actions – we had just added a little bit more to the understanding of Middle Earth as we saw it.  Not only was the cutting of the spike met with much jubilation, the new mechanic was the object of much interested conversation and was also well received.  I got a couple of, “that’s really cool” and “congratulations” for that event and I have to admit it was a moment that I strongly enjoyed.  This may have seemed tangential to the main topic, but it is actually a description of a powerful Sim moment/tell.  Sim isn’t about “story” or “step on up” but the creation and maintenance of the Dream via play and that is exactly what happened in the just described events.  It is extraordinarily difficult to talk about Sim because there is no premise or story to reference back to.  Nor is there the shrewd use of the tools of mechanics or “go lengths” to help anchor and steer a conversation.  However, I will return to the events that I started with at the opening of this post – the gathering of the characters and the scenario itself.

After making a deal with the “ghosts” which had imprisoned “The Hunter” all three of us started to leave the stronghold when both my character and the NPC with me were completely overcome by aguish and mourning as we “picked up” on the woe emanating from Rivendell as the bodies of the sons and grandsons of Elrond were brought in by the Great Eagles (of which one was played by Dave Johnson.)  I rolled a ‘1’ at this point as was so overcome by woe that my character could do nothing but weep.  Due to the rolling of several ones as he cut back and forth to me I was in this state for 3 days!  Fortunately for me Montana had his “Hunter” stay and watch over Calune and me for that time – we were in the Trollshaws after all! 

Next the GM cut to Chris Tyler who played his dwarf “Gili son of Fili.”  The scene started with the Dwarves marshalling on the field of battle with “Gili” in charge of a Dwarven Square.  The lead up to this impending war can be found here.  Once the basic elements of the scene were briefly laid out Cary, the GM, “played” the moment where the elven arrow struck Chuck’s dwarf “Gralin” in the throat thus causing both sides to break ranks and start to charge at each other.  Gandalf did something big and attention getting that blinded both King Dain and King Thranduil with shouts on both sides going up that something was wrong with their respective kings.  Both sides withdrew and “Gili” was one of the last squares to march back into the mountain.  The GM played on the player’s (out of game) frequently stated desire to avoid this disastrous war and made it known to him that once the doors close no one will be coming in or going out for a very long time and that now was the time to anything.  As “Gili” has long had a good relationship with the Elves he chose to leave and try to seek the council of Master Elrond - this despite the cost that he “knows” will be weighed against him and his line.

There was some more business and cross cutting between Blake, Jeff, and myself.  This is where I rolled a couple of more ones that resulted in me weeping in grief for three days straight.  Montana was given the choice to stay or go (made aware of would be more accurate) but he elected to stay because I helped him in his time of need and because of the perilous nature of the local circumstances.

We cut back to Chris as Gili in Rivendell seeking and eventually receiving an audience with Elrond.  Gili was received well and was welcomed warmly by Elrond.  Not long after their meeting had started a cry went up and Elrond took leave to his chamber where a few moments later Gili could hear him utter in utmost agony, “My sons…”  The GM, himself a newly minted parent with an 18 month old son really had it in himself pull off the wracking pain in his voice of such an utterance.  While all of us at the table were moved by the “performance,” one player, Montana who has two young boys himself, became bleary eyed upon hearing the words.  Upon reflection I now suspect that his strong resonance with Elrond’s loss (linked with the performance of the GM) had a significant impact on his later actions in the scenario.

Chris was asked what and how he would handle himself.  He basically stated, “This is exactly the circumstance for which protocol was created and follow it wholly.  If it is proper for me to stay in my room until instructed otherwise I stay.  If it is truer to good manners that I withdraw then I do that instead.  I do everything and anything not to offend or get in the way.” 

The scene continued to play out as the Great Eagles landed in pairs, first laying Elladan and Elrohir side by side.  Blake and Jeff were present and it was from their point of view that this scene played out.  After the initial shock a second set of Great Eagles arrived a few minutes later and lay the sons of Elladan and Elrohir next to their fathers.  I don’t remember the exact phrasing but at this point Elrond uttered something like, “They have taken everything from me.  Is there ought left?”  And so began the mourning (which my character felt in the Troll Shaws) when about an hour later, horror upon horror, a fifth Great Eagle arrived with Turindir, the slayer of all four of Elrond’s dead.  Much dissent and anger stirred in the Elves and there arose dark murmuring about the Dunedain and it was turned toward those who yet lived in Rivendell – the women, the young and the aged.  Elrond put a stop to this and had Turindir brought to the houses of the healing.  Jeff chose at this moment to have his Elf speak darkly of the Edain which garnered him a stinging rebuke from one of Elrond’s closest confidants and protector, Gildor Inglorion a first age Noldorian Elf.  While this tension was rising and the rest of the Elves were overwhelmed with grief the GM cut back to Montana and myself.

At this point I had started to come to a bit and was wandering towards Rivendell when Chuck’s Istari, Meneltir, arrived in great haste.  I greeted him and told him of what had happened when the ground began to shake and not long afterward a loud crashing could be heard coming from the north.  Not too far away a head which rose above(!) the tress could be seen moving in the direction of Rivendell. 

Urulóki!  Dragon!!!  The music changed at this point from sorrow filled to track 10, Molossus, of the Batman Returns soundtrack.  The energy and pace of this track clearly indicated that this was the shit.  Bad and much, much worse was racing straight to Rivendell – “RIGHT NOW.”

Off we ran with all haste, heedless of any danger.  Meneltir galloped off on his mount while Montana (“The Hunter”), the NPC “Calune” and myself (“Aeglin”) made the best speed we could and ran together.  As we ran I kept trying to “reach out” but then I as a player began to literally yell out “Urulóki! Urulóki!” when I didn’t see any of the march wardens at their posts.  More “very-bad.”  I could see the head of the dragon racing forward and then began to catch fleeting glimpses of what would eventually turn out to be thousands of orcs.  This was a full scale assault and Rivendell did not have its guard up, it was going to be caught completely unaware unless we got there first.  Just before we were to enter the bounds of Rivendell “The Hunter” pulled up and handed me a skin filled with what looked like water but told me it was, “very powerful and to use it well.”  He broke off and charged directly into what would turn out to be the main orc thrust.

Cut to Chuck (Meneltir) reaching Rivendell proper as the Duruden (the Dragon) was approaching.  Chaos was reigning and Duruden was spewing fire all about.  Buildings were exploding and elves were running around in panic, some engulfed in flames.  In all the years that I have played I have neither seen an elf in panic nor one engulfed in flames much less so in a protected and hidden realm.  This was shocking to the core to behold.  I as a player was stunned into indecision for a little while as this world was crumbling apart.  Elrond ordered that the Houses of the Healing be evacuated and this was where Meneltir set up his defense.  Chuck, with great urgency in his voice, said that he was going to wait until the very last moment to get as close to Duruden before he fired off his lightning bolt – which he was going to increase its force/damage by a factor of four.  While he was saying this he started peeling off “Tomahawk 20’s” like one hundred dollar bills off a wad of cash.  Six he threw down on the table counting them off one at a time in front of the GM for maximum impact. 

This was unprecedented in the history of the game.  Chuck must have been saving everyone of this “20’s” for 4-5 years to have accumulated that many, then he burned every … single … one he had in an instant.  Gili, at this point, saw that Meneltir was making a stand before the dragon and placed himself and    as a shield between the Dragon and Meneltir.  This was suicide for nothing they had, even their armor and shields, could protect them from Dragon fire, but Meneltir was a hero of the dwarven people and so it was done without hesitation.  And so it came to be that the Dragon came into view, effectively point blank, to which Meneltir fired off his four times strength lightning bolt – which climbed and arced right into the tear duct of the right eye.  Mind you a regular lightning bolt would kill just about any man; a two times strength lightning bolt would kill just about everything else with the possible exception of a troll or a mumakil and a certain number of “specials.”  This point blank four times strength bolt to the head, and specifically the eye, of the dragon resulted in that eye being destroyed and Durudun recoiling and roaring in pain, but neither did it kill nor did it slow it down to any great degree.  Our biggest cannon merely plinked the target.  Oh shiiiiiiit!  The shock around the table was palpable.

Abduction time – the chances of us being able to defeat this dragon were verging on nil.  Time to make some decisions (deductions) about what we were able and willing to do.

My character arrived at this moment, and not knowing what to do, I positioned myself next to Meneltir to offer whatever aid I could render.  I did know that I had the skin of special water that Montana (The Hunter) had handed me so I figured I would use that on Meneltir at the appropriate time.

Cut to Jeff at this moment, who went charging into the Houses of the Healing searching for something.  It was pretty obvious that he was searching for Gurthang, the sword of Turandir.  The problem was that his character had no knowledge that the sword was around and certainly not that it was in the Houses of the Healing.  This was read as pretty much of a power grab that was based on OOC knowledge and as far as our table goes very close if not an actual case of “cheating.”  Jeff’s character reached the second floor frantically searching for the sword when the building was blown to flinders by the dragon fire sending him soaring out of the building.  I think this was a rebuke by the GM, but if so then the player got off light for he could just as easily died in the building or have taken massive damage upon hitting the ground.  If I recall correctly I was later told that it was at this moment that Jeff wrote a note to Montana saying something like, “I’m through.”

(continued in the following post)

(continued from previous post)

The evacuations were proceeding a pace and Chuck (Meneltir) held his ground firing off another 4 times strength lightning bolt which not only emptied him out but possibly over extended himself.  He collapsed to the ground and it was at this moment that I recognized the opportunity to have a potentially significant on the turn of events.  As a player I made my way around the table to where Chuck was literally bent one knee with his head bent in exhaustion.  It was very important to me that the GM see me in “real” physical proximity to Chuck, not to just say state it.  From my dice bag which I used as a prop I showed the GM me dipping my finger into the dice bag which was to represent the skin of the special liquid that Montana’s “Hunter” had given me and dropping a drop upon Chucks head.  The effect of me playing this out would have a much more powerful effect that merely describing my actions.  The result was immediate in that Meneltir was no longer helplessly exhausted and regained control of his faculties.  Once this was accomplished, which all in all took less than a minute, as I returned to my seat Jeff grumped that I had interfered with the moment he was about to portray.
I felt a bit awkward about this for it was not my intent to “steal his spotlight” and I apologized to him on the spot but I do not think I mollified his anger. My intent was to help Meneltir out in the best way I could, as he was sooooo vital to all of our chances of saving Rivendell not to mention our own skins.  Personal glory was not a motive for me, just a quick seizing of an opportunity to support the team effort.  I quickly returned to my seat without further ado.  However Jeff felt that I had interrupted and stolen something from his play though the camera was not focused on him nor was it in the process of doing so.  Recognizing that my perceptions could be in error I later spoke with several of the other players seeking other perspectives.  The general agreement was similar to my own and many felt that aiding Meneltir was a very important and useful thing to do.

I think it was at this moment that Montana’s “Hunter” charged directly into the oncoming assault of the orcs.  It was very clear this was not a survivable action.  As he ran in he shouted to the GM that he was going to light his soul on fire.  What was super cool was the GM instantly understood what Montana meant.  This self-immolation had never before been done or even been discussed in the world and there was no mechanic to cover this event.  But the GM understood exactly what he meant.  Montana’s soul was corrupted by the taint of the vampire bite so he was offering himself up, like a soul in purgatory, to burn off his taint/sins which was granted given the selfless and sacrificial nature in which he was doing so.  He immolated which took some of the steam out of the orcish advance and when he closed Montana called out saying, “I throw my presence forward which basically resulted in an explosion of flames spreading out away from his body taking out many orcs.  He continued to rush forward and again threw his presence forward again causing an explosion of fire outward from his body.  This he did maybe once or twice more but then he was consumed and there was ought left.  He died, but he had broken or at least stalled the orcish assault on this flank.

Let me make this clear – he sacrificed a favorite character not because he was suicidal but because he so loved the fictional world and its denizens/NPC’s that he was willing to lay down his life for others.  He will never have another character like the one he sacrificed.

Chuck at this point was trying to catch the eye of the Dragon and engage him in mentally knowing full well that he stood little chance of success against the might and will of Durudun.  But Chuck waited until he was out of spell points incase he was dominated that he would not be able to do serious damage.  IOW he too was making ready to sacrifice a deeply beloved character, if need be, in an effort to try and protect Rivendell and its inhabitants.

There is much more yet to cover during that nights play, but I am exhausted and will stop here for the present.

Thank you anyone who has taken the time to read this and respond.

I'm somewhat confused by the mechanics here. 

You're tossing out "rolled a 20" and "rolled a 1" like they're common occurances.  For instance you say

I rolled a ‘1’ at this point as was so overcome by woe that my character could do nothing but weep.  Due to the rolling of several ones as he cut back and forth to me I was in this state for 3 days!

In the past the few first times I had actually struck a troll I had rolled “20’s”

The next really cool thing was the GM informed me that [snip] the next time I rolled and got three “20’s” in a row the sword would become +3, and following that four “20’s” etc.  Again a strong Sim act, a totally new “mechanic” was introduced on the fly into the game “system” based upon what had happened in the SIS.  IOW mechanics followed the SIS but did not lead it.  Very very cool all around.

Valamir wrote:
I don't want to sound like I'm sniping at you here or anything, but its a trend in pretty much all of your actual play posts that all of the really exciting and memorable moments happened because somebody rolled a 20 or a 1...and that just doesn't seem very likely...nor does it seem very reliable, and I'm just trying to get a handle for what the mechanics really are.

A few aspects of this interested me but what struck me comes from the following quote.

Silmenume wrote:
There were two really cool parts about this.  First was that I actually did do that which was for all intents and purposes “impossible.”  However “magic” was involved in the equation which is treated not like a science ala D&D but more organic and related to circumstances.  The next really cool thing was the GM informed me that I, as the player, should regard the sword as +2 and that the next time I rolled and got three “20’s” in a row the sword would become +3, and following that four “20’s” etc.  Again a strong Sim act, a totally new “mechanic” was introduced on the fly into the game “system” based upon what had happened in the SIS.  IOW mechanics followed the SIS but did not lead it.  Very very cool all around.  Another moment of disambiguation that led to more understanding of the fictional world.  The new mechanic was a reflection of our in game actions – we had just added a little bit more to the understanding of Middle Earth as we saw it.  Not only was the cutting of the spike met with much jubilation, the new mechanic was the object of much interested conversation and was also well received.  I got a couple of, “that’s really cool” and “congratulations” for that event and I have to admit it was a moment that I strongly enjoyed.  This may have seemed tangential to the main topic, but it is actually a description of a powerful Sim moment/tell.  Sim isn’t about “story” or “step on up” but the creation and maintenance of the Dream via play and that is exactly what happened in the just described events.  It is extraordinarily difficult to talk about Sim because there is no premise or story to reference back to.  Nor is there the shrewd use of the tools of mechanics or “go lengths” to help anchor and steer a conversation.

Hey Ralph,

Thanks for taking the time to wade through my novellas… er posts.

Valamir wrote: Yet you and your group sound excited by this new addition to the rules expanding your understanding of how middle earth works...I don't get it.  Its not a rule if it will never ever happen.    Help me understand why you're seeing this as a cool and exciting feature and not a "quit wasting our time with stuff that might as well be impossible" moment.

Valamir wrote: How often are you typically rolling in the game?

Valamir wrote: You then say

In the past the few first times I had actually struck a troll I had rolled “20’s”

 

I mean I can understand "the first few times I rolled really well"...but "the first few times I rolled 20's"??  Is rolling 20's just short hand for "got a good roll" or do you mean literally you rolled several 20s while fighting trolls?

Valamir wrote: Further this whole section has me puzzled

The next really cool thing was the GM informed me that [snip] the next time I rolled and got three “20’s” in a row the sword would become +3, and following that four “20’s” etc.  Again a strong Sim act, a totally new “mechanic” was introduced on the fly into the game “system” based upon what had happened in the SIS.  IOW mechanics followed the SIS but did not lead it.  Very very cool all around.

The next time you get three 20s in a row?  Are you playing with loaded dice or are you using some kind of "spend a benie for an auto 20" rule or something?  The odds of rolling three 20s in a row is 0.01%.  The odds of rolling four 20s in a row is 0.0006%.  You will need to roll something like 16 MILLION d20s before you roll four 20s in a row.  If you rolled once every 10 seconds of game play it would take you over 4000 ten-hour long play sessions until you see four 20s in a row. The odds are something like 1 in 800,000 rolls that you'll ever see your trip 20s.

Yet you and your group sound excited by this new addition to the rules expanding your understanding of how middle earth works...I don't get it.  Its not a rule if it will never ever happen.    Help me understand why you're seeing this as a cool and exciting feature and not a "quit wasting our time with stuff that might as well be impossible" moment.

Valamir wrote: There's some disconnect here.   Either

1) you're using "20s" and "1s" as a shorthand that doesn't literally mean 20s and 1s  
2) you're using some sort of meta mechanic that lets you turn rolls into 20s and 1s with some frequency
3) you're rolling truly amazing volumes of dice
4) you're memory is playing tricks with you and some of those really cool results were actually 17s and 18s and such but through the haze of time you remember them as being 20s...or
5) your group rolls statistically unlikely results on a regular basis.

Valamir wrote: … I'm just trying to get a handle for what the mechanics really are.

Hi Precious Villain!

I’ve been pondering your post for a while trying to figure out a way to respond to it coherently, which probably means I’ll be all over the map on this one.  My apologies ahead of time, but at least forewarned is forearmed!

I get your point about the odds and all that, and as far as the frequency of in which certain seeming unusual numbers coming up fairly frequently I am in agreement.

The topic I would like to take on is the issue of Illusionism, even if it is only “mild.”  :)

It is my understanding that Illusionism means that the GM is deprotagonizing player choices, though the players are not aware of it (either by negation or removing the choice itself).  In the example you provided with the “mystery rolls” I’m not sure what choices are being negated or what choices might be being withheld from the players.

However, using the situation you provided, I will describe how our table would handle it.  This will help me clarify my thoughts to myself and hopefully for you as well.

The GM would frame the scene using appropriately descriptive words while introducing the situational needs of the characters.  IOW the reasons why each of has for being at such a God forsaken place and even worse, why we “need” to enter it.  Note - that the reasons/motivations the GM provides are almost always unique to each player character present.  These motivations are based upon player interests, each character’s individual history as well as the GM’s own interest in seeing how the players cope with the Situation.  Typically he’ll add at least one and frequently several NPC’s to the mix to act as his agents within the game.  They usually used to create some sort of tension with the group to, as he says, to stir up the pot (not plot!).

Before we enter some conflicting interests are introduced and then we are on our own.  We may choose to enter or not as we see fit.  He can cajole through the NPC’s, the use of intuition to impart information to the PC’s, use of environmental prompts but he always leaves room for an out if a player chooses not to bite.  However, every decision carries some sort of consequences, so if a PC says, “Screw it.  I’m outta here, its just too spooky,” and takes off he must understand that through long history of the game itself that traveling by one’s self is incredibly dangerous, especially near places like graveyards.  The choice is still always open to the player, but no decision comes without cost – which is totally cool.

Yet despite all the dangers and some discord within the party, the players press on and enter this vile place.  Rolls are called for a number of times.  Someone rolls a ‘1’ and the GM might say, “Your intuition is telling you that this is a baaaad place.  Put a check in your Intuition skill.”  Or he might say, “You see some movement just at the periphery of your vision, but you can’t make out if it was really there or not.”  Or the ‘1’ might mean one of the NPC’s starts to freak out.  Or maybe there is an encounter.  Icky!  Perhaps a gust of wind comes up blowing out some of the torches or lanterns.  Maybe the horses start shying and we now are faced with the decision to press on without our mounts (which contain lots of important gear) and the decision of whose going to stay back and guard the horses or try to force them on or turn back and face the consequences of our failure.

Now lets go back to the player character who becomes “possessed.”  We rarely have save or fail situations.  Said character is given cues and clues that something “bad” is going, he might see things that others aren’t seeing.  He might “feel” something whispering inside his head.  At this point the player has the opportunity to decide how he is going to react to all this while staying true to his character’s established history.  He may feel his hackles go up or a chill crawl down his spine or the feeling that something is trying to claw its way into his consciousness.  However the GM does not wait forever for the player to make his choice, if he can’t decide time rolls on and because the PC hasn’t done anything then the “take over process” will continue without any resistance.  Again, the player is given a number of opportunities but he must seize upon them, the game isn’t stopping for him to make his choice.  Actually one the tenets of our game is that it is better to make a decision, any decision even if it is a bad decision than to make no decision at all.  One of the favorite stock pressure cooker tactics is for the GM to have an NPC call for a PC in a really tough situation to, “Do something!”

See the key to our game is to give the players plenty of opportunities to make decisions, and this happens at an ever-increasing pace.

Now, the die rolls are really regarded as indicative of “fate,” one of the more Themes in LOTR.  So low rolls are a tilt towards the negative, while ‘1’s are a fairly sharp turn to the negative.  The converse is true for high rolls.  High rolls tilt the situation toward a more positive set of circumstances while “20’s” usually result in a fairly sharp turn to the positive.  Rarely are “1’s” or “20’s” absolutes in like the save vs death in D&D as this would be totally deprotagonizing.  This philosophy is reflected in such matters where the PC would be dominated or taken over by a single roll.  Sim lies in the decision making process – take away the opportunity to make a decision and you’ve just excluded the player’s input to the game.

These “mystery rolls” are really indicative of what “life/fate” is going to throw at the player characters.  We do have combat rolls, which are obviously labeled as such.  We also have “hero saving throws” in which the player is notified of what he is rolling for – which is a last roll given to a player whose situation has grown so dire that he is facing imminent death.  This is a roll to see if something happens that might shift the course of events that might spare the character’s life.  If he is successful this does not mean he gets off light, but merely that death has been staved off for the moment.  He still might be captured and dragged down a hole somewhere, but at least he isn’t dead and this means the player still has opportunities to make decisions.

Even in combat itself we rarely use exact numbers.  If a rolled number plus the player’s to hit bonus is pretty high we rarely bother calculating the exact value.  Overwhelming is overwhelming and that’s good enough to keep things moving at a pretty fast clip.  A middling number might get a second roll with the player having to roll higher than the first roll.

Basically high is a good as per the circumstances while low is bad, again according to the circumstances.  Thus many of these mystery rolls reflect those circumstances are really are not really so mysterious if the players are paying close attention.  (Abduction, induction and deduction.)

What really matters is the player’s intentions, via his actions, have an effect on the unfolding of the situation.  As long as this happens there is no is no illusionism.  Its not necessary for the GM to have a plot.  In fact it is far harder to GM a Sim game with a plot in mind that it is without one.  Game prep usually includes drawing up what Ron calls relationship maps, establishing the local power players in the area and motivating them, finding a way to create that nights party with some measure of plausibility, creating the necessary motivation, throw everything in an every hotter cauldron and seeing what happens.

“1’s” and “20’s” usually mean something rather unusual happened, which then might cause a total realignment of the party’s goals or circumstances.  This is cool because we are immediate thrown into a mad scramble that requires quick thinking on the spot, which is both challenging and stimulating.  One time a PC was stuck in a tower and was going to executed very soon.  The GM had the PC make a roll.  “20.”  Roll again.  “20!”  Ugh. Roll again.  “Tweeeenty!”  Am I ever going to get a break?  Roll again.  “Tweeeeeeeeenty!”  The table is all cheering and screaming knowing that something really cool is about to happen.  Looking out of the tower winder the PC in question sees for warriors rise over a rolling hill running toward the castle.  The play complained, “Four twenties in a row and this is all that I get?”  A few moments later the four men were followed by thousands of men.  Given the four twenties this was totally justified.  What we found out later, from the GM prep notes, the GM felt it was time that said PC should die.  Obviously this did not happen.  However it was an absolutely wonderful and emotional moment!  The players at the table were all screaming and shouting in joy at this turn of events.

Yes the GM does place certain elements into play but that does not mean the players have no effective input.  One time a PC was presenting a case to lord that he need prepare for war because a large contingent of barbarians were on the way to attack his keep.  During all this GM was nodding his head, but was somewhat incoherent.  At one point while the PC was making a particularly passionate plea, the lord looked at the PC and asked him if he liked cantaloupes.  Sound of needle being dragged across a record!  In this case the GM had designed the NPC lord to be deranged, but how that was to inserted into play was totally open, if it was to happen at all.  While the player’s intent to convince the lord went down the toilet, the player still had many opportunities to respond to what was going on.

Yes the GM has great power to narrate, but it is constrained by the nature of the world, the local circumstances, the PC in question, etc.  Actually I once complained to the GM when I made a go at GMing, that figuring out what to do with “1’s” and “20’s” was incredibly difficult to which he replied, “No shit!”  He’s not interested in seeing his story come to pass; he’s interest in seeing what the players are going to do.  The dice rolls keep things spicy and interesting.

I don’t know if any of that made any sense, I am pretty tired at the moment.  Feel free to ask for clarifications or any other question.

Thanks!

Hello,

I am fascinated by your apparent denial of reality, Jay. The reality is apparent to anyone who's followed your threads over the last year.

A ton of guys are in a room. They are all rolling dice constantly, 1d20 at a time. Cary cherry-picks the 1's and 20's as his "story control" moments and improvises his way toward further conflicts and toward outcomes that he prefers, or deems will generate the most fervent response. You guys essentially act as his creative unconscious, and he acts as its manager and editor. With that many people rolling that many d20s per unit time, 1's and 20's are going to pop up all over the place. Ralph's point about sequential 20s is a good one (and leads me to be highly suspicious of many of them), but that's not relevant to the basic point, which is that Cary has dozens of opportunities to say "he snaps his bonds!" provoking cries of response, with you guys all laboring under this weird illusion that this has anything to do with dice-based task resolution. It's not. You guys play via a Drama mechanic, specifically Cary's, as cued by you all rolling like little madmen.

He is obviously a master of building suspense, whipping all of you into a frenzy, and recognizing when to change his mind. You do realize that, right? Cary was not prompted into not killing off that guy because the four 20s told him to. He changed his mind because the sequence of 20s got you all hot and bothered, and he knew when to satisfy the urge that had built up. It's clear to me that his notes are his springboard for improvising during play. It's also interesting, I think, to point out that if the guy had rolled a 3 or something for his first roll, Cary would have had his character executed, and the bunch of you would have wept and wailed just as intensely as you did for the character's survival.

All this is reinforced by a strange, extensive degree of infantilizing among the lot of you, such that you emotionally subordinate (or open up) to his descriptions and verbal cues. The net effect seems to me to be more like a gestalt self-help group, or perhaps a revivalist meeting, weeping and gnashing their teeth at the direction of a leader, than a role-playing game. Your characters are vehicles for the release of unbridled emotion, and it also seems clear to me that you, and probably the others, prepare yourselves for this experience, partly through a kind of self-hypnosis. You revert into that state when describing character creation, which is why your posts about that have an almost repugnant quality of pseudo-Tolkien, feverish chanting.

I asked a long time ago whether any women played, and you were surprised at your own answer that, why, no, they didn't, or if they showed up, never returned. I rolled my eyes. A room full of hyper-emotionalized, hyper-dependent men, with bulging eyes and the veins sticking out on their necks, all overreacting to the cues of one guy who directs their responses as with a conductor's wand? No wonder any woman who wanders in gets outta there like a candy-assed baboon. I'm only surprised they don't go directly out the window.

Selective memory plays a role too. You don't ever describe basic roll outcomes, all the 3's and 11's and 16's. You only talk about 1's and 20's, including sequences of them. There seems to exist a kind of sea of "blah" dice outcomes which are mixed up in a verbal ferment of shouting in response to Cary's overt direction ("The NPC says, look here!!"), and then the 1's and 20's pop up, as I say, as a solid 10% cue for Cary to make important stuff happen.

And finally, all this fascination with the Tolkien canon is a tremendous mental dodge on your and probably everyone else's parts. Everything in play is Cary's bitch, including the source material, and including anything you guys make up to go with it. It's totally malleable clay, or better, a totally transparent lens through which all of you pretend to be generating some kind of fiction, when the raw release of emotion is really the priority at the table.

When are you going to understand what you actually do, in that room, with these people? This is your men's therapy group, and in psychological terms, a rather disturbing one. It builds dependency rather than achieves any sort of honesty or closure.

I'll carry on with one last point of advice - you should stop rhapsodizing about Simulationist play in an authoritative manner. The intensity of your feelings during play has nothing to do with the SIS, but rather has everything to do with your connection with the group and with Cary. It's all Social Contract. Your group may well have a Simulationist Creative Agenda, but it is a tiny, thready little arrow in the Big Model of your play-experience, not a robust anchor through which everyone connects.

Best, Ron