A few preliminary comments--I started this yesterday, and my computer froze while I was trying to find my notes, so I just gave up and went to bed. I'm trying again tonight. This is a storymap created last Saturday night by my "in-house" playtest group--that is, my family, primarily.

• Why am I posting this? Part of it is to get feedback on it. Part of it is to see whether others are interested in playing it, and what results they get from their story. Part of it is because Seth encouraged me to do so, as storymap generation is a very unusual aspect of the game and so may present particular difficulties to some players.• The map was devised primarily by me (old guy who doesn't remember how old he is, gamer for a quarter century), my second son Kyler (17, the one with the best verbal creativity), and my third son Tristan (15, the one with the graphics art talents), with help from fourth son Evan (13), eldest Ryan (19), and houseguest Kellie (15, female). All have been gaming since second grade but Kellie--I don't know when she started, but her father was an avid gamer, so she, too, started young. My youngest, Adam (11, and has been creating game-like stories before he could talk clearly enough for us to understand him) was very upset that he was not part of this phase, but he fell asleep early and I couldn't wake him; he will participate in play. My wife may also play, depending on whether we do this on a night when she is home.• I'm going to present the map itself in this post, and then come back in a second post with my recollections of how we created it. I wasn't going to include that part, but Seth suggested it might help others figure out how to do the same.• To facilitate understanding, character information will be offset at the points at which the characters are introduced to the story.



The Storymap

There is a sense in which our story begins far away from here, in the distant south, when a certain digger paladin named Doug saw a vision in which a great unicorn led an army of digger paladins against an evil dragon, and left his home to join that army.

Regarding Doug, we wrote: Doug has a gibbous virtue and a gibbous force, half determination, and new insight. He is gibbous trusting, full courageous, crescent socially inept, full purposeful, and gibbous self-controlled.

Concerning Lucifer we wrote: Lucifer has a new virtue and a new force, full insight and crescent determination. He is full shrewd and crescent cowardly, and has three points of corruption.

When we detailed Teresa, we wrote: Teresa has gibbous virtue and gibbous determination, crescent force and crescent insight. She has a new short temper, full good hearted, full loyal (to her friend), gibbous caring, and crescent feeling of rejected. This latter has improved through the gratitude of those she has helped.

About Cory, we wrote: Cory has full virtue and full insight, new force and crescent determination. He has full sympathetic, crescent dependent (as a trait: he feels his dependency, in addition to it being a fact), crescent lack of confidence (which leads him to be quiet), and gibbous brave.

In detailing Bruce, we wrote: Bruce is a common thug of crescent virtue, with full force, crescent determination, and new insight. He is self-centered at crescent, reckless at new, sadistic at crescent, and true to his word at full, with one point of corruption.

Finally, of Lumina, we wrote: Lumina is full virtue, with gibbous determination, crescent force, and crescent insight. She is gibbous brave, full principled, and crescent judgmental, with one point of inspiration and one of corruption.

How did we get to this?

I stated above that I would try to recreate what we did; here goes.

We started with the fact that Tristan wanted a digger paladin. We noted it first.

Kyler thought the paladin ought to be pursuing one of the blessed; but he wanted the blessed to be someone good, whom the paladin ought not destroy, and I suggested that he (became she later) had a genuinely good heart, was a nice guy, and has been helping people with his gifts, and the digger paladin was now hunting him.

Looking for a way to reconcile this apparent enmity between the good paladin and the good blessed character, I suggested that the digger paladin came north and was tricked by a dragon cultist into believing the cultist one of the good guys. This suggested that the cultist would try to get the digger paladin to destroy one of the cultist's enemies. That enemy would be the blessed character.

The fact that the digger was hunting him suggested we had to be in the wilderness. The Citadel really wasn't large enough for there to be any delay in the hunt, and the other locations would not accommodate the presence of a good and helpful blessed. That's what placed our meeting in a southern village, which fit well with the idea that the cultist was the first person the paladin met.

Kyler also suggested both that we should include a misbegotten and that we should include a friend for the blessed character. Since these ideas both came in at once, they fit together--particularly as both would be outcasts normally. In looking for deformities, someone suggested a horn, which I immediately latched onto, as I thought it would be an interesting possibility if the friend of the hunted blessed character had so significant a trait in common with the unicorn of the digger's dream. Kyler then suggested that the misbegotten was born blind, without irises or pupils in the eyes. I asked how such a child could have survived, and his thoughts were that the character has always been dependent on others, but has very strong hearing and other senses. We also decided at that point that this character was also good, and sympathetic in both senses of the word (my idea), so that people would first pity the character and then find compassionate understanding from him.

That gave us four characters, but I was interested in having someone Chosen in the mix. We decided that the chosen character would be an enemy of the cultist, but not know he was a cultist--just didn't like him or trust him. Kyler wanted the gift to be that he could shine forth in a blinding light, because he saw the potential in that this would not hurt the blind character in any way; I was uncomfortable with that idea, because I couldn't think of any way that the gift might have been given in some past situation (I think of the gifts as given at a moment of need, and then used thereafter at need). Kyler suggested that the unicorns knew it would be needed, and so gave it in anticipation of what would happen. I suggested from that that it was given in that cryptic prophetic formula, and that the character had interpreted it to mean helping people be good, which we changed to helping them do good along the way.

We now had five characters, but we might have seven (or even eight) people at the table when we play (anyway, that's the hope, but probably someone will miss the game). We also realized we had only one villain, even if the paladin was mistakenly on his side, so we needed another. A thug who worked for the cultist seemed a viable option, someone strong and dumb who likes beating up people.

Fleshing out the characters was something of a round robin affair. We each wound up with two character papers in front of us (actually, we started the papers while there were only five characters, and added the sixth during the naming part). We named Doug first--Evan suggested the name after we kicked around several others (Digger, Alladin the Paladin, Large Dark (sorry, that's from an Alan Sherman song we sing, the Large Dark Aardvark Song), a few others). I suggested Lucifer for the villain and Teresa, after Mother Theresa, for the blessed character, because I thought they'd be memorable. For the misbegotten, I suggested Cory because of the relation to horn, and Tristan pointed out that this also fit with Unicorn. Lumina was the only name we even considered for the chosen. On the Thug, we started with Brute and Brutus, but it reminded us too much of Popeye. It morphed to Bruts and then Bruce. There were some other names popped in places, but they more or less fizzled immediately. We started the virtues before we finished the names, but had all the names and virtues before we started the attributes. We kept naming traits for characters, but setting them aside by jotting them on the story map rather than the character papers until we got the attributes together. It was during the naming that Kyler said the Blessed should be a girl, and then that the misbegotten should be a boy. We made the chosen a girl to even the numbers a bit after we had the other five identified by gender, although I think I'd envisioned her a girl before that.

Doug, who was in my hands, had strong force and determination as befits his calling, but low insight because he was totally taken in by the cultist. Lucifer, in Tristan's pile, we quickly agreed was all scheming insight, with a sliver of determination. I think at times we would have liked enough points to give someone one full attribute and one half attribute or one full and two crescent, but we stayed within the parameters. It made sense for Lucifer to have no force. Neither Doug nor Teresa were purely good, we thought, but Lucifer was completely evil. Kyler had Teresa, and decided that she did not have much insight or strength, so we put both of those at crescent and gave her gibbous determination. I think it was Kyler's idea that Cory have full virtue and full insight. I don't know that I'd have done either of those without his input, but Cory was in his hands so we sort of deferred to him on that. We agreed that the extra point should be crescent determination. We also agreed that Bruce was not all bad, but he was all muscle including in his head, which gave us his scores. I immediately said Lumina should be full virtue because she was chosen, but we were less certain where her strengths were. They landed in gibbous determination after much discussion, with crescent in the other two.

We spent a lot of time coming up with traits, and looked up the book list about a third of the way through but still tried to come up with our own. We started with those we'd already noted about the characters during the other phases--Doug was trusting, Lucifer shrewd, Teresa good-hearted, and Cory dependent. Kyler added short-tempered to Teresa so quickly it wound up her first trait; he wanted her to have a weakness in that area that would connect to why she didn't have full virtue. Doug was the most difficult, in part because we didn't want to give him any I/C points. Lucifer may have been easiest, although when Kyler suggested he was Cowardly, it took probably a full minute for Tristan to decide whether or not that was how he saw the character. I sort of wanted Lucifer to have the corruption points to spend on taking over resolution at times. We rejected Lecherous for Bruce partly because we expect to have an eleven year old in the game, but more because I couldn't see an effective way for it to become part of play. I could almost imagine someone invoking lechery against him with "a sexy barmaid comes through the room and distracts him", but that didn't seem like one character using it against another. Kyler suggested that since there were two girls on the good guys side, this might be a factor, but I objected that Bruce didn't have a subtle bone in his body. If it were Lucifer (for whom the trait didn't fit), you could invoke lechery against him as preventing him from making enemies of women he wanted to seduce, but with Bruce it wouldn't work that way--he wouldn't be bright enough not to make enemies of them. The biggest sticking point, I think, was trying to find a good quality for Bruce; it wasn't the last one (we had started with Doug, and set him aside with three traits but didn't want to put the rest into I/C and couldn't think of two more just then), but it was the one on which we spent the most time. "True to his Word" came out of knocking around reliable and dependable and loyal and obedient (everyone contributed on this), trying to get exactly what we wanted--the idea of self-centered had several times been described as "I'm not going out to do that; it's raining, and I'm not going anywhere until it stops", which didn't sound like any of those, but we decided he was the sort of person who would do what he said once he'd said it.

So that's basically how we got what we got.

I'd be glad to entertain questions, if anyone has any.

--M. J. Young

The big question, of course, is who is going to play which character. It seems to be working out fairly well, as most of the potential players are interested in two characters, so it will be a matter of fitting everyone together.

Kyler would like to play either Teresa or Cory; we'll probably let him have Teresa, as we think he could do it extremely well.

For Adam, Doug and Cory are the choices that interest him. There's some thought that he shouldn't play Doug, because it was feared that he would immediately switch sides to the good side rather than play it through; on the other hand, Adam is the one who suggested a possible outcome in which Lucifer repents and Doug, confused and betrayed, attacks him. Adam's position is that it's allowed for the really bad villain to change sides, but that the number two villain (in this case Bruce) can't.

Ryan has expressed an interest in playing Lucifer, but he's flexible. He's the strategist of the group, so having him in the villain role would be particularly interesting.

Tristan has not expressed a choice yet, but people have suggested Bruce for him.

There's also talk about how it might resolve; but we'll see how that develops.

--M. J. Young

I'm curious about something. Lucifer was given a Full Moon in his Shrewd Trait. Why Full and not New? From where I sit, it seems that his being shrewd is quite evil. Or am I misunderstanding something about the character?

I also love the symbolism of Cory's horn. Great stuff.

Looking forward to hearing more.

Seth Ben-Ezra
Great Wolf

GreatWolf wrote: I'm curious about something. Lucifer was given a Full Moon in his Shrewd Trait. Why Full and not New? From where I sit, it seems that his being shrewd is quite evil. Or am I misunderstanding something about the character?

Remember that Traits are not as much a matter of "strength/weakness" or "positive/negative". Rather, they are "Good/Evil". Traits must therefore be morally aligned. If Lucifer's shrewdness is merely a strength of the character, then it is adequately represented by his high Insight. Saying that he has a Full Moon Shrewd means two things:

--His Shrewdness is intense (otherwise it would be Gibbous)

--His Shrewdness is morally aligned towards Good

From where I'm sitting, Lucifer's Shrewdness should be a New Moon Trait. It is an intense Trait, but one that would be judged as evil. In a way, it is an evil wisdom and should be treated as such.

How could it be turned against him? There is always the simple matter of his thinking past his opponents. For instance, in Lord of the Rings, the Free People counted on Sauron's not even thinking that they would destroy the Ring. Sauron's shrewdness did not allow for such a selfless option to exist in his thinking. Thus he was blinded to the true plan of the Free People. His New Moon Shrewdness was activated against him.

In the current manuscript, I note that chargen in Alyria is unusual in that it requires that you sit in judgment on your character. As you create them, you must be willing to state, "He is good. She is evil. This Trait is good. This is evil."

Is this clear? I have to run, but I'll offer further insight later.

Seth Ben-Ezra
Great Wolf

I spent the night thinking about it; today I talked it over a bit with Kyler to help focus my thoughts and get his opinion. Here's what we came up with.

It seems fairly clear that Bruce's True to his Word is a good trait, even though in its present context it's being used for evil (he promises to hurt people, and once he's promised that he's not going to back down). Similarly, Doug's Trusting is a good trait that has been used against him (in that he trusts Lucifer). These would both be good traits, probably, even if the characters reversed their virtues--should Doug shift over to evil or Bruce to good, these would still be good traits.

Shrewdness may be different. It may be that it is not like Alyria traits at all; but if that's correct, I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with traits that describe some people.

The problem lies here: Lucifer's Shrewdness is a bad thing precisely because Lucifer is bad and uses it for evil. This is because he has a new virtue. Yet what if Lucifer had a crescent virtue, and then during play he was pulled to half and then to gibbous virtue? In this case, would it not be so that Lucifer could use his shrewdness for good? We would almost expect that the person who turns from evil to good who had long been crafty would still be sharp; that the person who had skill at manipulating people to get what he wanted could manipulate them to make the world better.

It thus seems that Shrewd is not the same kind of trait as these others.

On the other hand, this makes the entire thing complicated.

Would Doug's Purposeful suddenly jump from full to new if he were to tip to evil? Or is Purposeful inappropriate as a trait?

Lucifer is listed as cowardly, and that's placed at crescent; but from a grander perspective, isn't it a good thing that the villain is a coward, and shouldn't that therefore be a gibbous virtue trait?

C. S. Lewis somewhere wrote that someone with the capacity to be a great good had the capacity to be a great evil, while someone who could only be a minor good could only be a minor evil. The idea here is that the same traits that make powerful saints, when used in the other direction, make deadly fiends.

Thus I'm not certain how to rate those traits whose moral value is dependent more on their use than on their nature.

That seems to be where the problem lies. Are such traits inappropriate for Alyrian characters, and if so how do we figure out traits more clearly?

--M. J. Young

Hey, I've been really busy, but I do intend on getting back to this thread. Your question deserves a comprehensive answer, and I haven't been able to sit down and do it.

If anyone else cares to take a shot, though, feel free to jump in.

Seth

In an otherwise unrelated e-mail,

Seth Ben-Ezra wrote: I really have been meaning to reply to your post in the forum. I've just been swamped with Real Life and haven't had an opportunity to sit down and gather my thoughts well enough to give you a satisfactory answer. So that you can begin play, I'd answer your question by saying that you should view the character in terms of his role within the story and assign Trait values appropriately. In the context of *this* character, is being Shrewd evil? If he were to suddenly gain a Full Moon Virtue, would his Shrewdness pull him towards evil? If so, then a New Moon is appropriate. I'll fill this out more when I post.

We did play last night. I had to cajole and twist arms to get everyone to the table, including promising that we would wrap up early (two players insisted they had to get to bed early because they had to get up early, although go figure, after the game they watched a movie and stayed up later than I did). We were interrupted by a grandmother's phone call during the critical scene, which derailed us for half an hour while she talked to everyone. Still, I think everyone had a good time, and the story is progressing in interesting ways.

So here is where we are.

*****

About character assignment, we wrote: Tristan wanted to play Doug. Adam had wanted to play either Doug or Cory, and Kyler wanted to play either Cory or Teresa. Evan immediately called Dibs on Bruce. It was generally known that Ryan wanted to play the villain Lucifer. If we gave Adam Cory and Kyler Teresa, it would leave Lumina for Kellie, and she would enjoy that part. Thus parts were parceled pretty much as people preferred.

Regarding character information, we wrote: These details of character age were announced by the players at this moment, as well as Ryan's idea that Lucifer's influence included a web of contacts.

On town names, we wrote: Sussex was the first town we named. It started when someone said Teresa was on her way to such-and-such place, which was quickly contracted to Sussex. Kellie objected that she wanted it to be Arius, the name of a place she had created in an unrelated story, but Ryan suggested that Lumina, Lucifer, and Bruce were all from Arius. I tossed out the name Midway as being the town between Arius and Sussex.

On Bruce's character, we wrote: Bruce spent his point of corruption to give himself a crescent trait of drunk, a weakness to alcohol.

Regarding these actions, we wrote: Lumina gained a point of Inspiration for having pushed through the night to warn Teresa, which I thought was a particularly virtuous thing to have done, considering that she could have stayed at Midway for the night and still had a chance of getting to Sussex first.

In reporting this situation, we wrote: When Evan had Bruce mistake the gate guard at Sussex for the gate guard at Midway, we all fell into gales of laughter; it will be a long remembered game moment.

About the details, we wrote: The sword was invented at this moment, when I asked whether Doug had a weapon, and whether he was carrying it or wearing it.

In resolving this conflict, we wrote: Doug used his Gibbous Force, and Teresa her Gibbous Determination. He activated her New Short Temper against her, saying that she was too angry to stay in control; she activated his Gibbous Self-Controlled against him, saying that he would not allow himself to go too far until he was certain he was doing the right thing. These cancelled out, leaving Gibbous against Gibbous, and both players rolled Half.

Concerning this conflict, we wrote: In this contest, Bruce was using his Full Force; Teresa also decided to use her Force, which was at Crescent. Bruce activated his Sadistic, at Crescent, against her, saying that he was going to enjoy this; but Teresa activated Bruce's New Reckless against him, saying that he was out of control and unable to do what he wanted. Bruce rolled New, and Teresa rolled Full.

About this, we wrote: We decided this was a contest as well. Cory used his full insight, and Teresa her Gibbous determination. Teresa activated Cory's Crescent Lacks Confidence against him, saying he wouldn't be able to overcome her determination, but Cory activated her Full Good-hearted against her, saying she would be unwilling to hurt him. Since both of these traits would go against Teresa's roll, they cancelled, leaving Cory to roll Gibbous and Teresa to roll Full. That is what they rolled, suggesting that both were successful but Teresa more so. Kyler, playing Teresa, narrated.

Sounds like a great run so far! Just a few questions:

1) It seems as though all Trait activation has been countered so far. Have you perceived this to be a problem?

2) How well have your players handled the free-form "magic" power, like the Blessing? I saw one instance of use; have your players grasped the flavor of the power well?

3) I saw that you used the conflict system for Cory and Teresa's argument. I completely agree with that decision, but I'm curious who called for its use. Was the text sufficiently clear to indicate that this was the right time?

4) Many actions are adjudicated without use of a dice roll. How has that been going? Are the rules clear enough on how to deal with these situations?

5) How has actual play affected the opinion on Trait assignment which you expressed earlier in this thread? Has it been confirmed, or is it still an open question?

I am looking forward to hearing the rest of this story.

Seth Ben-Ezra
Great Wolf

Seth 'GreatWolf' Ben-Ezra wrote: Just a few questions:

Seth wrote: 1) It seems as though all Trait activation has been countered so far. Have you perceived this to be a problem?

Then Seth wrote: 2) How well have your players handled the free-form "magic" power, like the Blessing? I saw one instance of use; have your players grasped the flavor of the power well?

Next, Seth wrote: 3) I saw that you used the conflict system for Cory and Teresa's argument. I completely agree with that decision, but I'm curious who called for its use. Was the text sufficiently clear to indicate that this was the right time?

Then he wrote: 4) Many actions are adjudicated without use of a dice roll. How has that been going? Are the rules clear enough on how to deal with these situations?

Finally, Seth wrote: 5) How has actual play affected the opinion on Trait assignment which you expressed earlier in this thread? Has it been confirmed, or is it still an open question?

Our story continued tonight (that is, Saturday into Sunday morning); here is the current addition.

I should say that unlike the first session, there was some excitement about this. I mentioned late in the afternoon that I was hoping I could finish my work (of which I was heavily burdened today) and we could play Alyria, and immediately there was a lot of buzz about it. Before I knew it, the dinner was cleared away, the table washed, and the papers put out, and I was persuaded to leave some of my work for later and come to the game. All of the players were waiting.

*****

Doug took Bruce back to the inn and arranged rooms; he made certain Bruce was settled in his own before going to bed himself. Teresa and Cory continued helping people, and then retired to the house where they were staying. Lumina, who had slept most of the day, joined them for dinner. It was pork and potatoes, Lumina's favorite.

Teresa was a bit brusque with Lumina, suggesting that she should return home to Arius in the morning. Teresa was only concerned with the girl's safety, but Lumina took it badly?took it in the sense of an older person (Teresa is about twenty-seven) suggesting that a teenager is still just a child. She stormed off to her room, and decided that in the morning she would return to Arius.

About this conduct, we wrote: Lumina got a point of corruption for throwing a hissy fit.

Regarding names, we wrote: Nexton was invented by Kyler as the name of the next town.

As to this conflict, we wrote: Whether Teresa was going to be able to avoid Doug became a contest. It was insight against insight, weak attributes for both?Doug's is new and Teresa's crescent. Doug activated his full purposeful in his favor, saying that since he knew he had to find her, he would leave early enough to do so; Teresa activated Doug's crescent socially inept against him, saying that he wouldn't be able to find out where she was because he doesn't have the skills to get information from people. Teresa rolled half and Doug crescent, both successes but more so for Teresa.

Because there was a contest here, we wrote: It seemed that Teresa's effort to elude Bruce and Doug had to be rolled somehow. I chose Bruce as the person she was evading, and Bruce chose to use his crescent determination to keep after her. Teresa used her crescent insight to evade. She also activated his New Reckless against him, saying that he wouldn't be able to pick up the trail because care was required; but, prompted by Ryan who plays Lucifer, Bruce activated his Full True to his Word, saying that he was already upset with himself that he'd failed at Sussex and lost her. These cancelled. Teresa rolled crescent and Bruce half, both successes but a better success for Bruce. It was difficult for anyone to figure out how Bruce could be successful without Teresa failing, and I stepped in and narrated that Bruce listed several towns to which Teresa might have gone, including Sussex, Midway, Otherton, and Faraway, and chose to start looking in Otherton, with Faraway his next intended stop.

On this difficult issue, we wrote: Whether Lucifer would be able to avoid Lumina was the current contest; the meeting was something I threw in to try to push the scenario into something happening?the dispersion of the characters seemed to my mind to be breaking down into a fragmented might-have-been story, and I wanted there to be something to push it forward to something. Lumina decided her Gibbous Determination would keep her at it until she found him; Lucifer tried to use his Full Insight to avoid this. Lumina activated her gibbous bravery, saying she would courageously confront him, but Lucifer activated her full principled against her, on the basis that she would not be so gauche as to push past his household servant. Then Lumina decided to spend a point of inspiration to make it come out in favor of good. Lucifer debated whether to spend a point of corruption to cancel this and throw it back to the dice. We were not certain whether that was correct, but it seemed inappropriate to say that he could not, since the resolution system tries to avoid the "who said it first" aspect. However, Lucifer shrewdly decided to hold on to his corruption points. It was then difficult to determine how this could be resolved for Good. At first, Kyler suggested that someone told Lumina she'd missed Lucifer, who had been seen headed out to the mountains. Ryan objected that this thing about the mountains had not been established, but after discussion about the difference between a player creating and a character lying, it was determined that Lumina had seen Lucifer going to the mountains, but that the cult meetings were actually not in the mountains but in the forest. Kelly and I felt that Lumina missing Lucifer completely and getting nothing out of it did not "advance good" in any significant way, particularly in view of the fact that a point of inspiration had been spent. We tossed the narration to Ryan, who said that given all the circumstances about the best he could see was that Lumina caught Lucifer as he left the house, and so was able to confront him.

Concerning these events, we wrote: Kelly invented the influential father at this point. The confrontation at this point seemed to be about whether Lumina could convince Lucifer to answer her; she again used her gibbous determination against his full insight, as he attempted to persuade her that she should come back tomorrow. She again activated her gibbous bravery to stand up to him, but he activated her Full Principled against her, saying that she would have to recognize that he was being reasonable in agreeing to speak with her the next day and that she was being unreasonable in insisting that he do so immediately. Both rolled New, unresolved double failure.

In the end, we wrote: At this point, a couple people were wearing out, including me; Kelly was having trouble thinking of what Lumina would say to Lucifer; and it was getting a bit late for Adam to be up. So we called it a night, and agreed to return next time and begin with Lumina's later confrontation of Lucifer.

I'm beginning to have some worries about how things are going; I'm not exactly certain what to do about it, but hopefully if I can lay out some of the concerns I can get a handle on whether I should take any action.

I have some concern as to whether my players' gamist tendencies might be creeping into play. It doesn't seem to be impacting their mechanics decisions significantly--they're still choosing attributes which are appropriate, and we had only one situation in which someone tried to activate a trait for which no one could see any sense but the value, but there are some choices of action that are odd and some comments that suggest they suspect each other of this. Most notably, Kyler's decision to have Teresa attempt to get away from Bruce completely so that no one would know where she was seems a bit like trying to win; but he feels like Ryan's careful plotting play of Lucifer is calculated to cause the villain to win in the end, and that this is a violation of the spirit of what we're trying to accomplish. There has also been a lot of joking about Lucifer's efforts to corrupt Doug.

There is also an aspect of an uncertainty about how long this should go. I was playing it as if we would tell the story in a couple of sessions; Ryan, running Lucifer, has been holding back considerably as if he expects it to go several sessions before he has to become involved directly in events. I think that stemming from this uncertainty, we're getting a bit of loss of focus--the villain won't become involved directly, and so we can't push it to a climax, but there isn't much more room to build so it's starting to fall off. Now, maybe my concerns are misplaced--I can see it swelling again, even fluctuating a bit over time. It's just that at this moment it feels like the game tension has dispersed.

And speaking of dispersion, my characters have now pretty much split up. Cory and Teresa are hiding in the wilderness, Bruce and Doug have found their last known address but don't really have a clear lead on them, and Lumina is back in Arius with Lucifer, the two of them at least four days' journey from Teresa and Cory. There is very little I could see that would bring them back together at this point, as Teresa is quite reasonably hiding and Lucifer is also fairly reasonably keeping his position secure.

This leads to a mechanics problem. There were a couple of times in play tonight where there was a gut reaction that a player really needed to roll for something, but there wasn't anyone to roll against. At one point Lucifer wanted to expand his network of contacts to reach the towns beyond those he'd already reached, and I couldn't really figure how to do this; it hasn't been incorporated, really, because even if he were to succeed it should logically take a bit of time. The effort to track Teresa was reduced to a contest between tracker and tracked, but this is going to run into problems eventually. After all, if it comes down to Bruce always seeking and Teresa always hiding, each session will require a roll to see if he can find her yet, or else a statement that it was already determined that he'll never find her. Each roll will either mean he didn't find her yet, or that he found her. She can't escape forever. At one point it occurred to me that I might let her run to the Citadel, but I can't imagine anyone ever finding her there, so I avoided it--but if she did go there, even though I can't imagine her being found, it would still seem that Bruce would eventually roll a success and so find her.

Thus I am wondering whether I need to do anything to bring the characters back together, and whether I need to do anything to nudge this toward a conclusion, or whether on the other hand it might be good for the story to let it stretch into this dispersion and then wait for it to come back together.

As an aside, it was noticed tonight that most of our contests seem to have been Teresa against someone. Teresa has won more contests than anyone else has entered. Kyler is getting nervous about his dice luck--thus far no one has rolled a blood moon, but since he's rolling the dice more than anyone else, he's betting it will be he who does so if he can't reduce the conflicts he faces. This seems to be part of the impetus for the flight--to get away from Bruce and Doug so that he doesn't have to roll. He may be all to aware of the power that could be unleashed if a blessed character rolls a blood moon.

Insights and advice solicited.

--M. J. Young

Hi M.J,

How powerful is Lucifer's 'network of spies' ? I don't think you specified whether the 'Spies' simply exist, or if they're a Trait of Lucifer's, or a separate component on the Relationship Map with their own Virtue, Insight, etc. However, they always seem to deliver absolutely reliable information, which encourages Lucifer to stay behind the scenes.

What I'm asking is: Does Lucifer ever need to roll in order to get the information he does? Any time Lucifer wants to know something, you could have a contest of Spies versus Teresa. Or you could make their information less reliable the further away from Arius they are (as the resources of the network become more stretched). Without perfect information, Lucifer is going to have to make some tough decisions and perhaps get involved more personally.

Another thought that just struck me: as you say, expanding his network will take time, and this recruitment seems like the sort of thing Lucifer would have to do in person - in other words, travelling outside of Arius.

As to the fragmentation of the story, I wasn't that worried. The Conflict is "Teresa has been targeted for assassination". Unless Teresa decides to confront Lucifer, the characters will probably stay widely separated. However, things may get shaken up if Doug ever discovers he's been lied to. Remember, Bruce admitted he was a dragon cultist.

I did find it interesting that so far Lumina seems to be the only one who's making moral choices regarding the Conflict. Her decision to confront Lucifer seems brave to me.

Steve.

Good stuff, Steve; I think that will help.

The spies were not a trait; they were simply a created fact that seemed reasonable. Lucifer had been defined as someone with significant insight and some local influence that had been impacted by Teresa, and Ryan stated that the Lucifer had created this network to provide him with information. As such, it's much like Doug's sword, a prop that functions within the game world. In another sense, it's very like Teresa's Blessed power--there's no place on a character sheet for that to be written, but it's a tool she can use at need.

The problem I think arose from the aspect of opposed versus unopposed actions in the rules. Somewhere (it might be in private correspondence, in which case it's not canon, obviously) Seth commented that if a Blessed wants to blow the doors open on a village and enter, and no one is acting against that, it's just ratified as "yes, that's something you could do". That outcome-resolution approach is something of a shock to my old action-resolution mind. I had been seeing Lucifer's efforts to gain information as an unopposed action, and using narrative limitations on it--it takes time for information to reach him, she's gone beyond his local network, that sort of thing. The notion that this was actually a matter of tracking Teresa, and therefore an opposed action, had not occurred to me.

It's also worth noting that one reason Kyler has Teresa on the run is to avoid rolling. There's a 10% chance of a serious botch in Alyria, and we've had a lot of rolls go by without that occurring. Most such contests involve Teresa, so Kyler has thrown the dice more than any other character, and he's beginning to get edgy about cumulative odds--that whoever rolls the most frequently has the highest chance to botch, all other things being equal. I'm not sure he'd like the idea that he has to roll the dice to escape; on the other hand, the recognition by the player that running doesn't save him from rolling could pull him back toward Arius and Lucifer.

Having the spies return unreliable information in an open game might be tricky, but I think my players could handle it.

I had wondered how Lucifer intended to expand his network; I'll have to put that point forward. I thought it a creative solution--I said that Teresa had gotten outside the net, and rather than go looking for her himself, he said he would make the net bigger. How that's done is still a bit up for grabs.

Your observations regarding Lumina are on target. Teresa is choosing mostly for her own survival, and Cory is acting as a calming voice in trouble, but neither of them seem to have any better idea than to get away from pursuit. Doug is still confused, thinking that Teresa is a villain, and so unable really to make a solid choice (although his decision to investigate before acting was strong). Bruce has come out a bit too dull to be aware that there's a moral issue at work here--he's reduced it to a job, and perhaps in some ways is a more despicable villain than Lucifer for that. Arguably, Lucifer is the impetus for the moral choices; but most of his actions have been based on utility and safety. Lumina has done very well several times, from pressing on to warn Teresa to heading back to confront Lucifer. She's got the Full Virtue, and has done quite well in the part.

Thanks for the insights.

--M. J. Young

Sorry that I haven't replied sooner. I've been out of town.

As I've read your description of the game, it does seem to me that (with the exception of Lumina) the players are being far too safe with their characters. This is often the result of a fear of failure. However, the question should be raised: What does failure look like, in this context? In Legends of Alyria, failure is when the story is not enjoyed by everyone. Each player needs to be making decisions about his character with this in mind. How will my choices impact the enjoyment of the game for everyone? Also, the players should take some comfort in the safety nets provided in the game. So what if Kyler rolls Blood Moon? Does that mean that he is out of the game? Success and failure are both opportunities to advance the story.

Example: Teresa is trying to escape from Bruce. The dice are rolled and Teresa gets a Blood Moon. What then? Here's a possibility. Teresa and Cory are ambushed by Bruce and Doug. Caught off-guard, both are easily captured. Bruce then decides to have some fun and begins to torture Cory. This would also please the dragons, so it makes sense. Now, suddenly, there is an opportunity for Doug to realize what is going on. How will he react?

Another point to consider is the necessity of Author stance when playing Alyria. Your players need to see themselves as creating a story together. Therefore, they should be encouraged to use all the information available to them as players to advance the story as a whole. They need to remember that character survival and character success are not the point. Rather, ultimately, the point is the creation of an enjoyable story. Is Lucifer acting in a satisfying way? Would the players enjoy a story with such a villain? What about Bruce? Are the players (on some level) frustrated with Doug's failure to see the truth? Are they satisfied with the developing story? Remember, it is the responsibility of all the players to assure that this is occurring.

So, something to consider is a discussion with your players OOC about where the story is going and why they are pursuing the choices that they are pursuing. Make sure that everyone is on the same page.

I'd also suggest reading the Interactive Toolkit by our very own Chris Kubasik. It is in four parts:

http://www.rpg.net/oracle/essays/itoolkit1.html
http://www.rpg.net/oracle/essays/itoolkit2.html
http://www.rpg.net/oracle/essays/itoolkit3.html
http://www.rpg.net/oracle/essays/itoolkit4.html

I particularly like his comments in Part Three about the characters being Problem Magnets. It's a bit long, but I'm going to quote it here:

Characters Should Be Problem Magnets. To begin with, you need to allow your character to get into trouble in the pursuit of his or her Goal. Remember, this Goal matters so much it defines the character; without it, your character would no longer be himself or herself. Because this Goal is so vital your character can indulge in all sorts of ridiculous, extraordinary, and even dangerous behavior in pursuit of this goal. We're not looking for the characters who want what is safe and steady, who can rationalize their Goals out of existence because it might mean trouble. We want characters who throw themselves with wild abandon into their desires, dreams and passions!

Be surprising! Let your character's passions and Goals drive him to actions that calmer men would not commit. In Le Morte D'Arthur Sir Balin kills an enemy of his family, the Lady of the Lake, in the middle of King Arthur's Court. This is a terrible crime, not just for the murder, but because the laws of Hospitality require Arthur keep all safe within his castle walls. Balin brings terrible shame upon Arthur. In punishment, a punishment he could have anticipated had he considered his actions beforehand, the High King banishes Balin.

Now, in most roleplaying game sessions, the encounter would usually go something like this:

"You enter the Great Hall of King Arthur. There rests the Round Table; a few knights are gathered around it, telling tales of deeds done in recent months. Servants carry platters laden with pheasant and roast pig back and forth. Arthur sits on his throne, speaking with a woman. You move toward the Round Table to take your place and see the woman is none other than the Lady of the Lake, your family's sworn enemy, upon whom you have sworn an oath to kill. What do you do?"

"I glare at her, biding my time for the proper moment of revenge."

"What?"

"If I do it now, I'll get in trouble."

NO! Go up and lob her head off! Or don't. But it should always be an option to get carried away. Too often in our games we mock other players for doing the "wrong" thing, when in fact these actions are the most interesting things going on in the game. Driven by character Goals, spontaneous and dangerous, these actions are the cornerstone of the spontaneity possible within roleplaying games. In Le Morte D'Arthur, after Balin is banished, he takes part in many adventures to win back a place of affection in Arthur's heart. Thus, the story continues, unfolding in ways unexpected, in a manner no one could have predicted had Balin "played it safe."

Look for problems! In the Prisoner of Zenda, while Rudolph Rassendyl tries to save a nation by imperonating the country's king he falls in love with Princess Flavia, the king's fiance. Oops. That wasn't part of the plan. It complicates things. He's given a choice because of this lovely problem. He could side with Rupert von Hentzau, the bad guy, kill the king, get the Princess and the Kingdom and live happily ever after-a dream come true. Or he could refuse von Hentzau's offer of a dark alliance and get nothing. He refuses, of course, and leaves the princess and the kingdom after saving the day. But the fact that he had to make the choice, the fact that he was tempted-made his refusal of the offer richer. He became a much nobler and interesting man than if he never had any affections for the Princess at all. And in a roleplaying game the decision made when a choice is offered is always uncertain. The character might accept the offer, what then? What will happen next?

As the designer of the character you shouldn't simply depend on the Fifth Business (the "gamemaster" of a story entertainment) to provide you with trouble. You should look for trouble for your character. For example, if you were playing the Lead character in the Prisoner of Zenda, choose to fall in love with Princess Flavia don't make the Fifth Business force it on you. Look for problems in your character's background as well. Han Solo had Jabba the Hutt on his back before Star Wars started. Luke was the son of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and didn't even know it. You have to think: "What problems can I load my characters with?" Problems provide obstacles, and obstacles mean unexpected action must be taken. This is always more interesting than saying "We draw our swords and kill it," for fifth time that night.

Moreover, you know best of all what kind of problems you want for your character. You might tell Fifth Business, "'I want my character to be torn by the legacy of his father," and leave it up to him to decide who your father is. Or maybe you'll create the equivalent of a Darth Vader and say, "This is dad." Filling in some of the blanks yourself or leaving it all a mystery - that's not the part that matters. What does matter is that in a story entertainment you're not the passive passenger in the gamemaster's roller coaster. You are a co-creator with the Fifth Business and the other players of a story.

In the Hero System, there are all sorts of Disadvantages players can choose from. This is a step in the right direction, but all those numbers....

Why should problems built into a character be balanced against a proportional advantage? The implication is that you only take bad stuff to be more powerful. Not in a story entertainment. In a story entertainment you build problems into your character's background and decisions because they're entertaining. This isn't about being fair. Stories aren't fair. Rassendyl doesn't get the girl in Prisoner of Zenda. It's a great ending.

He is alive.

It's good to hear from you, and I think that will be helpful--although I'm going to have to go back and do a lot more reading on awarding I/C, and since 1) I seem to be finishing early and 2) Mom works tonight, we might be getting to that next installment after dinner.

Anyway, it's a possibility.

--M. J. Young

If anyone is holding their breath awaiting a game report, please don't. It happens that I've got a really killer URI (head cold, sinus infection) on top of my seasonal asthma, and was too beat last night even to suggest a game to anyone.

I'm making some chicken soup (what Salem County, New Jersey residents call Pot Pie, but it's more like Chicken and Dumplings) right now. (I'm also taking Tussafed and Avelox, thanks to my family physician.)

--M. J. Young

Consider my breath exhaled. Get better soon
and look forward to hearing the next installment.

Steve.